© Aaron Lynett / National PostA billboard near Bloor and Jane streets in Toronto, showing Jose Luis De Jesus. The organization has been accused of being a cult.
Growing in Grace, also known as Creciendo en Gracia, predicted that its Texas-based leader Jose Luis de Jesus, would "transform" into an immortal being, while non-believers and roughly two-thirds of the world's population would be destroyed on June 30 (or July 1, depending on the time zone).
The group predicted Mr. de Jesus - whom they believe is the second coming of Christ - and his followers would also be bestowed with special abilities such as walking through walls and flying, while religious institutions such as the Vatican and the world's financial systems would be wiped out.
But Monday, the global economy continued churning, the Holy See appeared intact and there was no sign of a major global disaster.
When reached in Kitchener on Sunday afternoon, the group's Canadian bishop Alex Poessy would not answer many questions, but said their transformation had not yet come to pass.
"Well, we are still waiting for that," he said.
© Courtesy of The Government of GodJose Luis De Jesus, leader of Growing in Grace International.
His wife, Ileana Poessy, said the followers' transformation and world devastation would come, eventually.
"We don't know when.... He's the boss," she said, pointing upward.
"[Transformation] is going to come for us for sure," she added, warning it was too late for others to be saved.
Just two weeks ago, the group sent out a press release warning that the "Earth is about to fill with cadavers: 66.6% of world population to be removed" by June 30.
Growing in Grace also put up billboards in at least 10 countries, including Canada, U.S., Brazil and Puerto Rico, in recent months warning of the upcoming transformation.
Growing in Grace believes that "666" is a positive symbol of its messianic leader, and many had the numbers tattooed on their bodies to show they are among the chosen on the day of reckoning.
Mr. de Jesus founded the group in 1986 in Puerto Rico. It now boasts that it has 200 members across five Canadian cities and in more than 130 countries.
The teachings are based on the writings of St. Paul, the group says.
But Growing in Grace has been accused in the past of being a cult, which members say is untrue.
The group's official website cegenglish.com now diverts to its YouTube channel, where a video posted on June 30 shows footage of Mr. de Jesus.
"Today, He governs the world with an immortal body," the voiceover says. "The day has arrived. The countdown has come to an end. The era of the immortal beings, the '666,' begins."
Growing in Grace is not the first to set a deadline for the so-called end of the world.
Last year, California preacher and evangelical broadcaster Harold Camping said the world would end on May 21, 2011. After the day passed without incident - after many of his followers sold off all their belongings - Mr. Camping apologized for the faulty predictions and subsequently retired.
Another D-day looms as well - the Mayan calendar picks Dec. 21, 2012.
Still, even when prophecies fail, these groups continue to exist and even thrive, said Lorne Dawson, a University of Waterloo sociologist and religious studies professor who specializes in new religious movements.
Setting a date energizes a religious movement and helps recruit new members, he said in a May interview. When the evidence clearly contradicts their prophecy, members will change the way they interpret the world "as to not face the reality of the defeat," Mr. Dawson said.
"The leader will quickly come up with an explanation, rationalize, and that rationalization will be spread quickly to all of the membership ... and gear them up for another prophecy down the line," Mr. Dawson said.
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