Doomsday cult now said to number 72

Observers worry that membership may be quietly preparing for trip to oblivion in Israel

Rocky Mountain News/October 23, 1998
By Charlie Brennan

The number of people who have suddenly abandoned their homes, jobs and loved ones to heed the apocalyptic message of a Denver-based cult appears to have increased.

Mark Roggeman, a Denver policeman who also privately monitors cult activity, counts 72 people with ties to Concerned Christians and its leader, Monte Kim Miller.

"This guy's influence is perhaps even greater than we had thought," Roggeman said.

He and others who track the group had put its membership at 50 to 60.

Now Roggeman says as many as 72 embrace Miller's doomsday teachings.

"I have gotten calls from Houston, New Mexico, all over, from people who knew their friends or family were in the group but never knew how dangerous it was or that this was going on," Roggeman said.

Members of Concerned Christians left their homes before Oct. 10, the day that Miller had predicted Denver was destined for annihilation.

Miller, who claims to speak with the voice of God, also had told his followers he will die in the streets of Jerusalem in December 1999.

He is following the standard operating method of cults, said former Lakewood policeman John Weaver, whose whose daughter left the group after she began fearing for her safety and whose ex-wife is among Miller's followers.

"We're now in the isolation period, and he's not going to allow them to find out any outside news, unless it somehow bolsters his ego ... As far as giving out basic information, I really doubt there will be any contact."

Some people tracking the group members think a number of them are in Albuquerque, which could be one of several staging areas for a group move to Israel.

"They're all out of their places, all leaving similar scenes behind: Places sold, put up for sale or for rent, furniture gone; some of them have just abandoned their vehicles," Roggeman said.

Ross Aragon, mayor of Pagosa Springs in southwestern Colorado, said two members of Concerned Christians from his town returned a phone call from a relative they had left behind.

"They were in Albuquerque, and they said they were on their way to Israel, and that they were going die in Israel," Aragon said.

"I feel real bad. These two people are young and very bright, and I can't understand what they're doing in a situation like that," he said.

Opinion is divided as to whether friends and relatives should expect to hear from members.

Roggeman said some members have told those they left behind that they will be in touch once every two weeks.

They asked in return that they not bring more attention to the group by talking to the media, Roggeman said.

Some recent contacts, he said, have been by letter delivered by the United Parcel Service without showing the point of origin.

Weaver, the former policeman, is not confident there will be any communication.

"I'm very sure that (Miller) is not going to allow that," said Weaver, adding that he has studied Miller and considers him a biblical illiterate and a con artist.

Miller filed for bankruptcy last October, listing thousands of dollars in debts, including bills owed to Christian radio stations for airing his teachings.