The Charles Manson-Christian Connection

Alleged Charles Manson Connection Are the Concerned Christians, the apocalyptic group's members deported from Israel in early January 1999, really interested (as many others are) in Charles Manson?

Are the Concerned Christians, the apocalyptic group's members deported from Israel in early January 1999, really interested (as many others are) in Charles Manson? We reproduce (without comments or conclusions) the article on this subject "Tape Gives Glimpse Into Cult's Beliefs" by Elaine Ruth Fletcher, published by The Salt Lake Tribune (normally one of the most reliable U.S. newspapers in matters religious) on January 9, 1999. Another version of the Fletcher article on Concerned Christians published in the Salt Lake Tribune appeared with the title Bizarre Tape Turns Up After 14 Arrests in Jerusalem in the San Francisco Examiner for January 5, 1999. On January 6, 1999 the San Francisco Chronicle reported (see Don Lattin, "Cult Experts Say Arrests May Bolster Sect Leader: Israeli Raid Seen As Encouraging Group's Paranoia" ) that, according to Christian groups that monitored the movement, the tape may be genuine but one should not read too much into it, since Miller conducted numerological analyses of a number of names, not only Manson's. See also a simple chronology on Concerned Christians published by The Denver Post.

JERUSALEM - An audiotaped "Time of the End" message, found on the doorstep of a house rented by alleged members of the doomsday sect Concerned Christians, provides a graphic insight into the group's beliefs.

The ``Time of the End" message, dated June 25, 1997, bears the title "I am the Lawmaker" - a reference to a phrase convicted murderer Charles Manson used in a 1988 interview to describe his 1969 killing spree.

An Israeli expert on millennium groups said the tape resembles other messages issued from time to time by the Denver-based sect's leader, Monte Kim Miller, who is said to have predicted his death and resurrection on the streets of Jerusalem sometime in the coming year.

Fourteen cult members, including six children, were deported from Israel early today. Suspected by Israel of plotting violence in Jerusalem to bring about the second coming of Christ, they denied wrongdoing and no charges were filed.

The taped message, delivered by an unidentified voice, offers an intricate and frightening insight into the sect's beliefs and teachings, which appear in large part to be centered around the personal history of Manson and his supposed role as a divine "lawmaker," or "son of man."

In the message, the United States is described as a "dragon kingdom" that will receive "double the judgment" Japan incurred when it was hit with two atomic bombs at the end of World War II. President Clinton is described as a "counterfeit son of man" - false messenger - for his involvement in the Israel-Jordan peace accords.

The message was accompanied by printed materials illustrating the tape's points. Throughout the past century, according to the tape, false messengers and "counterfeit" religious and political figures have clouded the true meaning of biblical prophecy about God's final judgement of the earth.

The message seems to equate the life of Manson with that of Jesus. Manson is repeatedly referred to as the "Man Son," an apparent allusion to the biblical reference to Jesus as the "Son of Man." "The Charles Manson murders connect to the son of man judgments, that is the return of Jesus Christ," the message says. The 1969 Manson family killings of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four friends is said to have rendered a kind of divine judgement by killing a foetus said on the tape to represent the "Antichrist." "The killing of Sharon Tate's baby represents a killing of Rosemary's baby (the Roman Antichrists) by the Lord," explains the tape.

Underlying the message is the messianic prophecy of Isaiah 2:3, which foresees a final end of the days of judgement followed by an era of peace in which "men will beat their swords into plowshares."

The tape also assigns a mystical significance to the number 23. "The NUMBER 23 and LAW is continually connected with the Charles Manson murders representing the return of the Lord and judgment day because of Isaiah 2:3, 'for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem,' " the printed message says.

The timing of key historical events - from the closing days of World War II to the 1992 Hurricane Andrew and the 1993 Oslo peace accords - is linked by a 23-year span to various events in the life and saga of the Manson family. For instance, the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki occured 23 years before Charles Manson's first record album was taped.

Show all stories by   Author:  15070 ( Click here )