Comparing Messiah's

In chapter ten of the book of Luke, we given real insight into the humanity of Jesus and His deference to the Father. Jesus sent out 36 teams of 2 disciples each to prepare for His planned visit to each particular town. These teams of two disciples must have felt overwhelmed because Jesus tells them that their workload is great and their numbers are few. He tells them to pray to the Father for more help and helpers.

Again, it is interesting that the Son defers to the Father when He tells His minions where additional resources will come from. When I read a history of false prophets, they defer to no one and are always the source of all power and resources.

There is a poem written by Hóng Xiùquán, born in 1814 and died of apparent suicide in 1864. This man believed himself to be the brother of Jesus Christ and a Chinese prophet of God.

Holding the Universe in the hand,
I slay the evil, spare the righteous, and relieve the suffering of the people.
My eyes see through beyond the west, the north, the rivers, and the mountains,
My sounds shake the east, the south, the Sun, and the Moon.
The glorious sword of authority was given by Lord,
Poems and books are evidences that praise Yahweh in front of Him.
Taiping [perfect Peace] unifies the World of Light,
The domineering air will be joyous for myriads of thousand years.

Hóng Xiùquán was a Hakka Chinese who led the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing Dynasty, establishing the short-lived "Heavenly Kingdom of Taiping" over varying portions of southern China, with himself as the "Heavenly King" and self-proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ.

On his visit to the city of Guangzhou to take the civil service examinations in 1836, Hong heard a Christian missionary preaching about the religion. While there he received translations and summaries of the Bible written by the Christian missionary Liang Fa. The following year Hong failed the examinations again and apparently suffered a nervous collapse. During his recovery in 1837 he had a number of mystical visions. One involved an old man who complained to Hong about men worshiping demons rather than him. In a second one he saw Confucius being punished for his faithlessness, after which he repented. In yet another he dreamed angels carried him to heaven where he met a man in a black dragon robe with a long golden beard who gave him a sword and a magic seal, and told him to purify China of the demons. Several years later he would interpret this to mean that God the Heavenly Father, whom he identified with Shangdi from the Chinese tradition, and his older brother, Jesus Christ, wanted him to rid the world of demon worship. His friends and family said that after this episode he became authoritative and solemn.

It was not until 7 years later that Hong took the time to carefully examine the religious tracts he had received. In his house Hong burned all Confucian and Buddhist statues and books, and began to preach to his community about his visions. His earliest converts were relatives of his who had also failed their examinations and belonged to the Hakka minority, Feng Yunshan and Hong Rengan. He joined with them to destroy idols in small villages to the ire of local citizens and officials. Hong and his converts' acts were not surprisingly considered sacrilegious and they were persecuted by Confucians who forced them to leave their positions as village tutors. Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan fled the district in 1844, walking some 300 miles to the west to Guangxi, where the large Hakka population was much more willing to receive his teachings. As a symbolic gesture to purge China of Confucianism, he asked for two giant swords, three-chi (about 1 metre) long and nine-jin (about 5.5 kg), called the "demon-slaying swords" (???), to be forged.

By 1850 Hong had between 10,000 and 30,000 followers. The authorities were alarmed at the growing size of the sect and ordered them to disperse. A local force was sent to attack them when they refused, but imperial troops were routed and a deputy magistrate killed. A full-scale attack was launched by the government forces in the first month of 1851. In what came to be known as the Jintian Uprising, after the town of Jintian (now Guiping) where the sect was based. Hong's followers emerged victorious and beheaded the Manchu commander of the government troops.

Hong declared the foundation of the "Heavenly Kingdom of Transcendent Peace" on January 11, 1851.

Despite this evidence of forward planning, Hong and his followers faced immediate challenges. The local Green Standard Army outnumbered them ten to one, and had recruited the help of the river pirates to keep the rebellion contained to Jintian. After a month of preparation the Taipings managed to break through the blockade and fight their way to the town of Yongan (not to be confused with Yong'an), which fell to them on September 25, 1851.

Hong and his troops remained in Yongan for three months, sustained by local landowners who were hostile to the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The imperial army regrouped and launched another attack on the Taipings in Yongan. Having run out of gunpowder, Hong's followers fought their way out by sword, and made for the city of Guilin, which they laid siege. However, the fortifications of Guilin proved too secure, and Hong and his followers eventually gave up and set out northwards, towards Hunan. Here, they encountered an elite militia created by a local member of the gentry specifically to put down peasant rebellions. The two forces fought at Soyi Ford on June 10, 1852 where the Taipings were forced into retreat, and 20% of their troops were killed. But in March 1853 Taiping forces managed to take Nanjing and turned it into the capital of their movement.

Hong Xiuquan ruled by making frequent proclamations from his Heavenly Palace, demanding strict compliance with various moral and religious rules. Most trade was suppressed and property socialized. Polygamy was forbidden and men and women were separated, although Hong and other leaders maintained groups of concubines.

Yang Xiuqing was a fellow Taiping leader (the "East King") who had directed successful military campaigns and who often claimed to speak with the voice of God. Hong became increasingly suspicious of Yang's ambitions and his network of spies; in 1856 he had Yang and his family murdered.

Following a failed attempt by the Taiping to take Shanghai in 1860, the Qing forces, aided by Western officers, slowly gained ground.

Some sources say Hong committed suicide by taking poison on June 1, 1864 at the age of 52 after Qing authorities finally gained a decisive military advantage and all hope of maintaining his kingdom was lost. However, in other sources, he was said to have died of illness. Hong Rengan, Hong's cousin said his illness was caused by "eating manna"--a command taken from the Bible that Hong had given to his people as they starved.

He was succeeded by his teenage son, Hong Tianguifu. The Taiping Rebellion was put down by Qing forces later in 1864.

History is full of examples of counterfeit messiah’s and false prophets. The consistent features in their lives are personal revelations that are without biblical foundation, the building of an army of followers who actively engage the government in battle and prolonged war, ever changing rules and religious guidelines originating in the dreams and hallucinations of the leader, murder of the enemies of the prophet and the final fact that after the death of the messiah, you will find that their bodies are still in their grave.

Jesus sends His “army” out into the world armed with only the word of God which He tells us that it will be more than sufficient to meet our needs, encourages His followers to honor government and its leaders because the Father is the one who places them in positions of authority and above all, when you visit His tomb, you will find it empty.