Scholars have described the theology of Heaven's Gate as a mixture of Christian millenarianism, New Age, and Ufology, and as such it has been characterised as a UFO religion. In 1976, the group stopped recruiting and instituted a monastic lifestyle. Nettles and Applewhite first met in 1972, and went on a journey of spiritual discovery, identifying themselves as the two witnesses of Revelation, attracting a following of several hundred people in the mid 1970s. It was founded in 1974 and led by Bonnie Nettles (1927–1985) and Marshall Applewhite (1931–1997), known within the movement as Ti and Do, respectively. Heaven's Gate was an American new religious movement, often described as a cult. Human Individual Metamorphosis, Total Overcomers Anonymous Heaven's GateĬhristian millenarianism, New Age, Ufology For the 1980 film, see Heaven's Gate (film).