Hm, fascinating. But there's one thing that I'm still wondering about.
Supposing there was a group of people traveling about your area, led by a charismatic speaker who claims that the world is ending soon. He promises he alone can save you, but only if you sell your belongings, devote the rest of your life to him, and cut off family members who try to stop you.
He also wants to change your name, advises you to leave your home/job if necessary to follow him, and says that if you don’t love him more than your own family, you’re not worthy of him. What sort of group is that?
Thanks for Upvoting my Post, @alexbeyman. I really appreciated it.
For me, a group with a "charismatic leader who has many claims and a promise that he alone can save me", is a cult.
It is obvious.
If that “charismatic speaker who claims that the world is ending soon” according to his own calculations of days, then I can say that he is a false prophet.
Our Lord told his Disciples, “But of that day and hour no one knoweth, not the angels of heaven, but the Father alone.” (Mat.24:36).
In 2012, some people of the world waited for the “end of the world” according to some prophecies but the world still continued revolving around the sun with the people in it.
We have seen many individuals who founded their own “groups/movements” based on their attempts to foretell the future of the world. It already happened in the past. It’s so sad to say, this is still happening today in many places.