HEAVEN'S GATE AND REVELATION 11-(or how wrong we get it sometimes)

Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Lu Nettles, "Bo" and "Peep" (or Do and Ti) are the mysterious "Two" that appeared in the mid 70's to tell us all of the coming of a spaceship to take us up to the next level. Marshall was raised a Presbyterian and most likely was influenced by his background. They believe that Christians will go THROUGH the tribulation and THEN be "raptured" (what the Two thought was the UFO or spaceship coming to get the faithful).

There is a religious component to this whole thing in that Applewhite and Nettles believed they were the two witnesses from Revelation 11. Since Nettles died and then some years later in 1997 Marshall Applewhite committed suicide with a number of his followers they CAN'T be the two from Revelation:

Revelation 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

So as you can see, if you follow things literally and linearly, the two must first be killed and then lie in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 days for the world to see. THEN be raised up and called up to heaven (a sort of "post" rapture). This is followed by an earthquake destroying 1/10 of Jerusalem and 7000 men.
None of this of course happened with the Heaven's Gate crowd so we can pretty much dispense with the idea that they were in fact the "Two". I left out the part where they spit fire out of their mouths to destroy those who would kill them.

I believe all this is a result of a flawed timeline and thus producing a flawed theology. David Koresh of the Branch Davidians was guilty of the same mistakes in thinking. For someone coming out of the Adventist tradition, the world had already entered the End Times in the 1800's according to the prophetess Ellen White. So he felt free to identify himself (blasphemously I might add) with the "Branch" of Jesse and thus usher in the final conflict.

One can only root themselves in Scripture rightly "divided" or you get into a world of weirdness...