Dawning of 'true' millennium renews concerns about cult

Associated Press/January 1, 2001

Denver -- The dawning of what some call the "true" millennium has raised concerns over an apocalyptic prophesy by the leader of a reclusive religious group.

Monte Kim Millier, leader of the Denver-based Concerned Christians, had said he would die on the streets of Jerusalem at the turn of the millennium and be raised from the dead three days later. His prophecy created worries about a mass suicide.

About 70 members of the cult had disappeared along with their spiritual leader in September 1998 after Miller predicted the city would be destroyed by an earthquake the following month. But the millennial madness of 1999-2000 passed without incident, and observers of the group wondered if the prophecy was merely postponed. "It's like the anniversary of everything that was supposed to happen but didn't happen last year," said Mark Roggeman, a Denver police officer who tracks the cult on his own time.

Miller's whereabouts are not known, but 14 members of the group who had settled in Jerusalem were deported in January 1999. The following October, Israel turned back members of the group who were trying to enter the country.

"You'd think, with all the people looking for Kim Miller, somebody would have come up with him by now," said David Cooper, whose brother is believed to be with Miller and his followers. "But for all intents and purposes, nobody's found him. It appears Kim is never really with this group.

Every time they're captured or deported, there's no Kim Miller." Sherry Clark, whose daughter and family disappeared with the group, said that, if Miller is in Jerusalem, he could easily be killed.

"That could surely happen easier than (it) could a year ago," she said. As 2001 approached, relatives wondered whether Miller had altered his take on the apocalypse by simply reinterpretting the calendar.

"I was hoping this would have been resolved in 1999, at the end of the year," Clark said. "But on some calendars, this is the beginning." Some, however, aren't worried about a suicide pact.

Cooper, whose brother is thought to be helping finance the group, said he doesn't believe Miller is a dangerous person after listening to his audiotapes and studying his doctrine. "My brother basically confirmed that, saying suicide is not a Christian value," Cooper said.