Inri Cristo from Brazil is wheeled around their compound on a rolling pedestal. INRI are the initials that Pontius Pilate had written on top of Jesus's cross, which translates from Latin to "Jesus Christ, King of the Jews."

Jonas Bendiksen is a Norwegian photographer based in Oslo whose work examines the fringes of culture to capture a wider perspective of the world we live in.

Since 2014, Bendiksen has been following seven self-proclaimed Messiahs from around the world, each truly believing that they are the second coming of Jesus Christ. His new book, The Last Testament, chronicles his journey. Here, Bendiksen shares photos from the project, as well as his thoughts on religion, the second coming of Christ, and his personal expectations in meeting the "Messiah."

Christians have been waiting for Jesus's return to earth to bring the end times and God's Kingdom ever since St. Paul wrote his letters in the first century. Actually, when you read Paul's writings, it's clear that he expected Jesus to return in his own lifetime. So according to the people and communities I've photographed, this 2000-year-long wait is finally over, and Jesus is again walking among us. I've tried to take each Messiah's claims as seriously as possible and tried to see what the world looks like from that perspective. What are the implications for humanity if this particular Messiah is in fact the Chosen One?

I guess the project has been growing in me over the last decade, a wish to explore faith and religion itself. I grew up in a rather godless home, so faith has always been a bit of a mystery to me — and yet one can open any newspaper on any given day and see religion's influence and standing in society. So I've had an urge to try to grapple with this a bit. I've always been a slave of science, logic, reason, and things I can touch and feel. I've never been able on willpower alone to shut off that switch. Maybe that is why faith is so fascinating to me. So when the opportunity appeared to actually go and meet Jesus himself, to be able to ask some questions and get answers, and to feel what it is like to be in the room with something divine — well, that was pretty much irresistible for someone like me.