E-mail linked to elusive religious group

Leader ID'd as 'seventh angel'

Denver Post/February 16, 2002
By Kevin Simpson

Has Kim Miller, reclusive prophet of the end-times, gone public?

The 47-year-old leader of the Concerned Christians group, who disappeared from Denver virtually overnight with about 70 followers in 1998, appeared to distribute an apocalyptic tract Friday.

If authentic, the mass e-mailing marks the first time in years that Miller has directly contacted some family members or the media. Its authenticity could not immediately be verified, and attempts to reach Miller were unsuccessful.

But one longtime follower of the saga said the prophecy was unmistakeably Miller.

"Knowing him and his style over the years, definitely," said Mark Roggeman, a Denver police officer who tracks cults in his spare time. "The only thing that surprised me was how all-inclusive it is. I've seen him pull Scripture out of context, but now even all the presidents fit into prophecy. And Kim Miller's the one who knows it all."

After aborted stays in Israel and Greece, some members of the group are believed to be back in the United States, according to relatives. But they haven't surfaced, and Miller himself has been an elusive figure for years.

The newest prophecy proclaims Feb. 15 as the day the "Seventh Angel Sounds," and identifies Miller as that angel. According to the Book of Revelation, when the seventh angel sounds, "the mystery of God should be finished."

Although some family members have been alarmed by the group's apocalyptic focus and earlier feared some sort of millennial suicide pact, this latest prophecy appears to speak of "losing one's life" in largely metaphorical terms.

But Miller does speak of imminent end-times, and in a message filled with numerical references linked to Bible passages, he rails against the United States for pursuing political, and not spiritual, deliverance.

Some family members of people in the group received the message directly, but others contacted by The Post said they had not received a copy. Some media outlets were sent electronic copies, which circulated rapidly among those who have followed the saga of the Denver-based group.

"If this is the seventh angel sounding, then e-mail doesn't quite cut it," said Bill Honsberger, a Conservative Baptist missionary who has studied Miller's group. "I'm a Christian pastor, and I take seriously the Book of Revelation. They're not e-mails. They're huge events."

The prophecy makes several references to the Winter Olympics.

In explaining the significance of the number 7 to his prophecy, the document notes that 77 nations began competing on the 770th day of the millennium, the same day Miller finished recording his 777th instructional tape.

According to the Games' official website, however, 78 nations are entered.

Sporting references are not new to Miller, Roggeman said, noting that Miller once cross-referenced a Denver Broncos football score with biblical verses.

Jennifer Cooper, whose father, John Cooper, is believed to be a main financial supporter of the group, took the latest message with a grain of salt and a dose of humor. She said she had e-mail contact with her father in August, and "after a few glasses of wine" wrote to the group saying she'd like to join - just to see how they'd react.

Eventually, she said, they realized she wasn't serious.

"I think (Miller) is whacked out," Cooper said. "And after 9/11, I mean, I don't think anybody really cares anymore."