Buzz
For centuries, humanity has prophesied the world's demise, yet none of these predictions have materialized. Despite enduring countless catastrophes, the Earth and its inhabitants persist, even as warnings of an impending apocalypse continue to surface.
10. The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
In 1989, Credonia Mwerinde (center left above) began her mission to share her father’s divine vision, which called for the formation of a new church. Upon meeting Joseph Kibwetere (center right above), they discovered their visions and prophecies aligned remarkably.
Followers were convinced the world would end on December 31, 1999, unless strict adherence to the Ten Commandments was observed. This included nightly prayers, renouncing worldly indulgences, and using sign language to prevent dishonesty. Their central hub, named Noah’s Ark, was believed to be the site of the Second Coming.
When the predicted apocalypse failed to occur, the date was shifted to March 17, 2000. On that day, an explosion devastated their church, and subsequent investigations revealed numerous bodies buried beneath the church and in mass graves. The death toll reached at least 338 people.
9. Church Universal and Triumphant
In 1986, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, referred to as “Mother” by her followers, established a community in Livingston, Montana. Her ranch was designed as a sanctuary to escape the negative energy she believed was engulfing the world. Montana was selected for its potential to enable a self-sufficient lifestyle post-apocalypse.
Prophet predicted a nuclear catastrophe on March 14, 1990. In preparation, her group secured 30,000 acres of land, amassed weapons, and stored fuel in underground tanks. They spent their time in prayer, convinced their efforts were delaying the world’s collapse.
The apocalypse never occurred. Prophet relinquished her leadership role in 1996 and disclosed her early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis two years later.
8. God’s Salvation Church
In 1992, Hon-Ming Chen declared he had received a divine message instructing him to dedicate his life to religion. He believed North America was the “Pureland of God,” with the US being the sole safe haven during the apocalypse. He and his followers relocated from Taiwan to Garland, Texas. While most stayed, Chen searched for his messiah in Vancouver, Canada, described as a 28-year-old, 183 cm (6’0″) tall man resembling Abraham Lincoln. No such individual was ever found.
By September 1997, Chen returned to Texas, anticipating God’s arrival. He claimed God would appear in a spacecraft at 3513 Ridgedale Drive at 10:00 AM on March 31, 1998. (A local pawn shop even hosted an “end of the world sale” with UFO-themed decorations.)
When the predicted event failed to occur, Chen postponed the apocalypse, moved to Olcott, New York, and began preaching that nuclear war would bring about the end in 1999. This prediction also didn’t happen.
7. Heaven’s Gate
The tragic story of the Heaven’s Gate cult is widely known. It began when Marshall Applewhite suffered a heart attack in 1972 and became convinced that the nurse who cared for him, Bonnie Nettles, was a witness from the Book of Revelation’s apocalypse. Calling themselves Bo and Peep, they gathered followers and taught what they termed “God’s astronaut program.” The group’s journey ended in a mass suicide on March 26, 1997.
Two members, Mark and Sarah King, survived and remain active. During the cult’s existence, they established a web design firm named Higher Source, creating a website to connect with a broader audience on the emerging World Wide Web. After leaving the group, Mark and Sarah continued to maintain the website and foster communication. The site remains operational to this day.
6. The Order of the Solar Temple
The Order of the Solar Temple, established in 1986 by former con artist Joseph Di Mambro, sounded grand but harbored dark secrets. Di Mambro, who previously ran The Centre for the Preparation of the New Age, joined forces with Luc Jouret to lead their followers to Quebec, claiming it was the sole city that would endure the impending apocalypse. Members believed they were spiritual entities in human form, tasked with warning humanity of the approaching, yet unspecified, end times.
Tony Dutoit, a member, uncovered that the “visions” experienced by the group were fabricated using hidden projection devices. His revelations, along with exposing Di Mambro’s misuse of cult funds for personal gain, caused the group to fracture. Dutoit’s infant was even accused of being the Antichrist.
On October 4, 1994, Dutiot, along with his wife and infant son, were fatally stabbed by two cult members. Just 12 hours later, fires erupted in properties owned by the cult, revealing scenes of mass suicides as authorities extinguished the flames. Over the following years, additional clusters of suicides were discovered.
5. Dami Mission
Approximately 20,000 people in South Korea were swayed by the teachings of Dami Mission’s pastor, Lee Jang Rim. He predicted the Rapture would commence on October 28, 1992. Arrested on fraud charges a month prior to the predicted event, around 1,000 followers still gathered at the mission’s Seoul headquarters, awaiting the apocalypse.
The exact number of individuals affected remains uncertain, but according to the Los Angeles Times, numerous individuals resigned from their jobs, destroyed their possessions, ended marriages, and relinquished custody of their children. Tragically, some took their own lives in anticipation of the apocalypse.
After the predicted end of the world failed to occur and his imprisonment ended, Rim adopted the name Lee Dap-gye and established a new church. Although he continues to believe in the imminent end of the world, he refrains from specifying a date.
4. Established King
The cult 'Established King,' founded in 1988, was led by Wu Yangming, who also bore the cult's name as his title. He propagated his beliefs primarily in China's rural regions, claiming that he was sent to Earth as Christ's replacement after His ascension. Wu declared that his presence signaled the impending end of the world, which could occur at any moment. He asserted that salvation was reserved for believers and urged his followers to combat 'Satan's rule,' referring to the Communist Party, to save as many souls as possible.
Wu's decree that his followers must remain celibate—except for engaging in sexual acts with him, which he claimed provided 'God's salvation for ordinary people'—sparked significant issues. When allegations involving underage girls surfaced, Wu faced legal action, was convicted, and received a death sentence.
3. Elohim City
Elohim City's members hold radical beliefs, which aligns with their ties to groups like the KKK, neo-Nazis, Timothy McVeigh, and the Aryan Republican Army. Their ideology asserts that Jews are Satan's offspring and that non-white races are inferior beings. Founder Robert Millar maintained that he harbored no malice toward non-white races but believed it was the white race's destiny to dominate.
During the 1990s, Millar predicted an impending apocalypse, peaking in August 1999. He warned of an invasion by 'Asiatics' into the United States, culminating in a racial conflict as the final tribulation. Although his predictions lacked specificity, he asserted that Jews would face severe consequences for their alleged pact with the Devil during the End Times. While the apocalypse never materialized, Elohim City endured both the unfulfilled prophecy and Millar's passing, now under the leadership of his son.
2. Concerned Christians
Established in 1985 by Monte Kim Miller, Concerned Christians began as a Christian sect blending New Age spirituality with conventional beliefs. By the late 1980s, they began criticizing mainstream religious groups. By the 1990s, their teachings focused on the imminent end of the world.
Miller prophesied that an earthquake would strike Denver on October 10, 1998, marking the beginning of the end. Convinced he was one of the two witnesses mentioned in Revelation, he declared it his fate to be killed in Jerusalem in December 1999, only to rise again three days later.
After the earthquake failed to occur and the End Times did not commence, rumors emerged that the cult intended to trigger a catastrophic event in Israel to hasten the apocalypse. In 1999, members were detained and deported from Israel. Following this, they ceased communication with outsiders.
1. The Seekers
Dorothy Martin believed that extraterrestrial beings called the Guardians communicated through her when her arm grew numb and her handwriting altered. The initial message foretold a massive flood on December 21, 1954, followed by a series of additional prophecies that never came to pass.
Martin repeatedly claimed to receive messages urging her small group of followers to discard all metal objects and prepare to board flying saucers that would rescue them from Earth's impending apocalyptic disasters. Time after time, no UFOs arrived. The cult's persistent efforts to escape the inevitable doom offered scientists and researchers a unique insight into the dynamics of cults when prophecies fail to materialize.
