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The Unification Church: ‘The Moonies’

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Heaven’s Gate

Ingram

‘Heaven’s Gate’ was the name of a US religious group founded by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. They made headlines around the world when, on 26 March 1997, police found the dead bodies of 39 members of the group, who had apparently committed suicide in order to reach an alien spacecraft. But how did this bizarre state of affairs come about?

The story began in the 1970s when Applewhite had what he believed was a near-death experience following a heart attack. He claimed to have been shown the words from the biblical Book of Revelation concerning God’s two witnesses to the end of time. It read:

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The Unification Church: ‘The Moonies’