When it comes to doomsday cults, the 20th century was a hotbed of apocalyptic predictions that never came true. Earth kept spinning while these groups prepared for the end of the world.
What Makes Doomsday Cults So Compelling?
10 The Movement For The Restoration Of The Ten Commandments Of God
In 1989, Credonia Mwerinde set out on a missionary tour, claiming her father had received a heavenly vision that urged the gathering of believers into a new church. She later teamed up with Joseph Kibwetere, whose own prophecies mirrored hers, and together they founded a sect that insisted the world would end on December 31, 1999 unless every follower obeyed the Ten Commandments to the letter.
The group’s daily regimen included nightly prayers, total abstinence from worldly pleasures, and even communicating in sign language to avoid “bearing false witness.” Their headquarters, dubbed “Noah’s Ark,” was earmarked as the landing site for the Second Coming.
When the millennium passed without incident, the leaders pushed the apocalypse forward to March 17, 2000. That day an explosion ripped through the church, and investigators later uncovered dozens of bodies buried beneath the structure and in mass graves—at least 338 souls lost their lives.
9 Church Universal And Triumphant
In 1986, Elizabeth Clare Prophet and her devoted followers, who affectionately called her “Mother,” planted roots in Livingston, Montana. The remote ranch was conceived as a sanctuary where believers could escape the “dark energy” Prophet said was saturating the planet.
Prophet warned that a nuclear apocalypse would strike on March 14, 1990. In preparation, the group amassed 30,000 acres, stockpiled weapons, and filled underground tanks with fuel, all while praying fervently, convinced their prayers were helping stave off global collapse.
The world, however, kept on ticking. Prophet stepped down in 1996, and two years later disclosed an early‑onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
8 God’s Salvation Church
In 1992, Hon‑Ming Chen announced he had received a divine directive to devote his life to religion. Convinced that North America was the “Pureland of God” and that only the United States would be safe during the End Times, he led his followers from Taiwan to Garland, Texas.
Chen later claimed the messiah would appear in Vancouver, Canada—a 28‑year‑old man standing 6 ft tall and resembling Abraham Lincoln. The search proved fruitless. By September 1997, Chen was back in Texas, proclaiming that God would arrive at 3513 Ridgedale Drive in a spacecraft at 10:00 a.m. on March 31, 1998. A local pawn shop even staged an “end of the world sale” with UFO décor.
When the spacecraft never showed, Chen shifted the date again, moved to Olcott, New York, and warned of a nuclear war in 1999—another prophecy that never materialized.
7 Heaven’s Gate
The most infamous of the lot, Heaven’s Gate began after Marshall Applewhite survived a heart attack in 1972 and became convinced that the attending nurse, Bonnie Nettles, was a witness to Revelation’s apocalypse. Applewhite and Nettles adopted the monikers “Bo” and “Peep” and gathered a flock around a program they called “God’s astronaut program.”
The cult’s tragic climax arrived on March 26, 1997, when most members participated in a mass suicide. Two survivors, Mark and Sarah King, stayed behind. While the group was active, it founded a web‑design firm called Higher Source, creating a website that reached a new audience on the burgeoning World Wide Web. The site still lives on, maintained by the former members.
6 The Order Of The Solar Temple
Founded in 1986 by former con‑man Joseph Di Mambro, the Order of the Solar Temple settled with partner Luc Jouret in Quebec, preaching that their community would be the sole survivor of an impending apocalypse. Members believed they were spiritual beings temporarily inhabiting human bodies to warn humanity of the end.
One insider, Tony Dutoit, exposed that the “visions” experienced by followers were actually projections from hidden devices, and he also uncovered Di Mambro’s misuse of cult funds for personal expenses. This revelation sparked internal strife, with some accusing Dutoit’s infant son of being the Antichrist.
On October 4, 1994, Dutoit, his wife, and their baby were stabbed to death by two cult members. Hours later, fires ignited in cult‑owned homes, revealing pockets of mass suicide as authorities fought the flames. Additional suicide sites were discovered in the years that followed.
5 Dami Mission
In South Korea, pastor Lee Jang Rim claimed a divine message foretold the Rapture on October 28, 1992. Although he was arrested on fraud charges a month before the predicted date, roughly 1,000 devotees still gathered at the Seoul headquarters to await the apocalypse.
The Los Angeles Times reported that countless adherents quit their jobs, burned possessions, divorced, and even abandoned children in preparation. Some members even took their own lives, hoping to meet the end on their terms.
When the world didn’t end and Rim’s prison term concluded, he changed his name to Lee Dap‑gye and founded another church. He continues to preach the imminent end, but without assigning a specific date.
4 Established King
Founded in 1988, the cult “Established King” took its name from leader Wu Yangming. He spread his doctrine across rural China, proclaiming that Christ’s resurrection had sent him to Earth as a replacement, and that his arrival signaled the imminent end of the world.
Wu taught that only believers would be saved and that followers must help overthrow “Satan’s rule”—a thinly veiled reference to the Communist Party. He also imposed a bizarre celibacy rule, permitting sexual relations only with himself, claiming it delivered “God’s salvation for ordinary people.”
When underage girls came forward, Wu was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death.
3 The Seekers
According to Dorothy Martin, an arm‑numbness episode caused her handwriting to change, and she claimed that alien “Guardians” were communicating through her. The first prophecy warned of a massive flood on December 21, 1954, followed by a string of predictions that never materialized.
Martin insisted her small group must discard any metal on their persons and ready themselves to board UFOs that would whisk them away from Earth’s looming disasters. Each time the promised craft failed to appear, the group’s persistence offered researchers a vivid case study of how cults react when prophecies fall flat.
2 Concerned Christians
Monte Kim Miller founded Concerned Christians in 1985, blending New Age spirituality with traditional Christianity. By the late 1980s the group began condemning mainstream churches, and in the 1990s they turned their focus to the End Times.
Miller proclaimed that Denver would be struck by an earthquake on October 10, 1998, signaling the apocalypse’s onset. He also claimed to be one of Revelation’s two witnesses, destined to be killed in Jerusalem in December 1999 and resurrected three days later.
When no quake occurred and the world stayed intact, rumors swirled that the sect was plotting a catastrophic event in Israel to accelerate the apocalypse. Members were arrested and deported from Israel in 1999, after which the group fell silent toward outsiders.
1 Elohim City
Elohim City’s members held some of the most extreme views, linking themselves to groups ranging from the KKK to neo‑Nazis, and even to Timothy McVeigh’s network. Their doctrine labeled Jews as “children of Satan” and deemed non‑white races subhuman. Founder Robert Millar claimed he harbored no ill will toward non‑white peoples, yet he believed the white race was destined to rule.
In the 1990s Millar forecast a cataclysmic showdown in August 1999, predicting an “Asiatics” invasion of the United States that would culminate in a race war. He also warned that Jews would pay the ultimate price for a pact with the Devil. The prophecy never unfolded, but Elohim City survived both the failed prediction and Millar’s death, now led by his son.