In the shadowed corners of 1960s Harlem, a doctrine emerged that would grow into one of America’s most influential yet spiritually perilous movements among African Americans: the Five Percent Nation, also known as the Nation of Gods and Earths.

Founded by Clarence 13X—a former Nation of Islam minister expelled for heresy—this group did not merely break from its parent organization. It was deliberately designed, from its inception, to lead Black people away from the saving truth of Jesus Christ and into a labyrinth of racial idolatry, self-deification, and anti-Christian blasphemy.

Judged by the Bible, the Five Percent Nation stands condemned as a cult that preaches “another gospel” (Galatians 1:8), one that exalts the Black man as god while demonizing whites and rejecting the exclusive divinity and redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Roots in Deception: From the Nation of Islam to Street-Level Heresy

The Five Percent Nation traces its origin to 1963, when Clarence Edward Smith—renaming himself Clarence 13X and later “Allah the Father”—was cast out of Nation of Islam Temple No. 7 in Harlem for challenging Elijah Muhammad’s teachings. The Nation of Islam itself, founded in 1930 by Wallace Fard Muhammad, was built on a foundation of anti-Christian rhetoric, branding Christianity the “white man’s religion” used to enslave Black minds.

But Clarence took this rejection further. After his expulsion, he began teaching Harlem youth on street corners, drawing from the NOI’s secret “120 Lessons” while discarding Fard’s divinity to proclaim a radical new creed: every Black man is God.

This was no reformation. It was escalation. The Five Percenters adopted the NOI’s racial mythology—most infamously the tale of Yakub, a Black scientist who allegedly grafted the white race as “devils” 6,000 years ago on the island of Patmos—but stripped away hierarchical structure to create a decentralized, youth-driven cult.

By 1965, Clarence established the Allah School in Mecca (Harlem’s code name), using “Supreme Mathematics” and “Supreme Alphabet”—numerological systems to decode reality through racial supremacy—as tools of indoctrination. His assassination in 1969 only elevated him to martyr status, cementing the movement’s grip on urban Black consciousness.

The Bible declares in Isaiah 44:6, “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel… I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” Yet the Five Percenters teach that Black men are Allah incarnate—Arm, Leg, Leg, Arm, Head—manifesting divinity through knowledge, not faith. This is not empowerment. It is the ancient lie of Satan in Genesis 3:5: “Ye shall be as gods.” It is blasphemy.

Core Doctrines: Racism, Idolatry, and Rejection of ChristAt the heart of Five Percent theology lies the “85-10-5” paradigm:

• 85% of humanity—mostly Black people—are “deaf, dumb, and blind,” enslaved to the “mystery god” of Christianity.
• 10% are elite “bloodsuckers” (often whites and Jews) who control the 85% through religion, politics, and economics.
• 5% are the “poor righteous teachers”—enlightened Black men—who know the truth and must awaken the masses.

Whites are not merely oppressors; they are genetically engineered devils, inherently wicked, destined for destruction in a coming racial apocalypse. This doctrine violates Acts 17:26—“[God] hath made of one blood all nations of men”—and sows the discord God hates (Proverbs 6:16-19).

Women, called “Earths,” exist to bear the seed of gods, reducing them to vessels in defiance of Galatians 3:28: “There is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Christianity is dismissed as “tricknology”—a white invention to pacify Blacks. The cross, the resurrection, the virgin birth—all are mocked as spookism. Salvation comes not through repentance and faith in Christ (Romans 10:9), but through mastering the 120 Lessons and living as a “civilized” god. This is a false gospel, accursed by Scripture.

Hip-Hop as Heresy’s Megaphone: Brand Nubian, Busta Rhymes, and Jay-Z

The Five Percent Nation’s most devastating reach came not through temples but through turntables. New York rap in the late 1980s and 1990s became the cult’s missionary force, embedding its theology into the soundtrack of Black America.

• Brand Nubian burst onto the scene with One for All (1990), rapping lines like “The black man is God” and invoking Yakub’s devil-creation myth. Lord Jamar and Sadat X didn’t just reference the teachings—they preached them, turning albums into cipher lessons.
• Busta Rhymes, raised in Brooklyn’s Five Percenter circles, greeted fans with “Peace, God” and laced hits like “Everything Remains Raw” with Supreme Mathematics. His 2024 album Blockbusta honors Fard Muhammad, blending NOI and Five Percent reverence for global audiences.
• Jay-Z, the movement’s most visible icon, has worn the Five Percent medallion since the 1990s. From Reasonable Doubt’s esoteric bars to his production of the 2024 film The Book of Clarence, he has normalized the cult’s symbols—cipher, 7, god body—making racial mysticism a hallmark of “conscious” success.

Through Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, Nas, and others, Five Percent terminology became hip-hop scripture. What began in Harlem parks now echoes in stadiums, streaming platforms, and prisons—reaching millions who may never read the 120 Lessons but absorb their poison through rhythm and rhyme.

The Book of Clarence: Blasphemy in Celluloid

Nowhere is the cult’s agenda more brazen than in the 2024 film The Book of Clarence, produced by Jay-Z and directed by Jeymes Samuel. Set in a Black-populated A.D. 33 Jerusalem, the movie follows Clarence—a weed-smoking hustler and self-proclaimed “13th Apostle”—who fakes miracles to rival Jesus, only to be crucified and resurrected by a surviving Jesus who grants him divinity through racial awakening.

This is not satire. It is sacrilege.

• Jesus’ miracles are reduced to “tricks” that any enlightened Black man can perform.
• The crucifixion—Christ’s atoning sacrifice (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)—is parodied as interchangeable with Clarence’s death.
• Resurrection is reimagined not as Christ’s victory over sin, but as a reward for Black self-knowledge.

The film’s title honors Clarence 13X. Its message: You don’t need Christ. You are God. This is the Five Percent gospel in high definition—streamed on Netflix, celebrated at Sundance, and marketed as empowerment.

A Biblical Verdict

The Five Percent Nation was never about liberation. It was engineered—first by the Nation of Islam, then radicalized by Clarence 13X—to pull African Americans from the foot of the cross into the throne of self-worship. It replaces the Savior with the self, grace with gnosis, and the blood of Christ with the myth of Yakub.

The Apostle Paul warned in 2 Timothy 4:3-4: “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine… and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” That time is now. Through street ciphers, rap verses, and now Hollywood, the Five Percent Nation has fulfilled this prophecy—offering Black America a crown of pride that leads only to destruction (Proverbs 16:18).

The Bible’s call remains clear: “Repent, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). There is one God, one Mediator, one Savior—Jesus Christ, “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). All else is a lie.

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