In 1972, Applewhite developed a close friendship with Bonnie Nettles, a nurse; together, they discussed mysticism at length and concluded that they were called as divine messengers.

In August 1974, Applewhite was arrested in Harlingen, Texas, for failing to return a rental car and was extradited to Missouri where he was subsequently jailed for six months.

[20] In Houston, Applewhite was briefly openly gay but also pursued a relationship with a young woman, who left him under pressure from her family; he was greatly upset by this outcome.

[46] While traveling, Applewhite and Nettles pondered the life of Francis of Assisi and read works by authors including Helena Blavatsky, R. D. Laing, and Richard Bach.

[34] Furthermore, they concluded that they were the two witnesses described in the Book of Revelation and occasionally visited churches or other spiritual groups to speak of their identities,[50] often referring to themselves as "The Two", or "The UFO Two".

[54] Applewhite described his role as a "lab instructor"[55] and served as the primary speaker, while Nettles occasionally interjected clarifying remarks or corrections.

[64] Benjamin E. Zeller, an academic who studies new religions, notes that Applewhite and Nettles' teachings focused on salvation through individual growth and sees this as similar to currents in the era's New Age movement.

[66] Janja Lalich, a sociologist who studies cults, attributes their recruitment success to their eclectic mix of beliefs and the way that they deviated from typical New Age teachings: discussing literal spaceships while retaining familiar language.

[76] Applewhite believed that complete separation from earthly desires was a prerequisite of ascension to the Next Level and emphasized passages in the New Testament in which Jesus spoke about forsaking worldly attachments.

[27] Applewhite and Nettles began to place greater demands on their followers' heretofore loosely structured lives, which improved membership retention.

[101] In his 2000 study of the group, Winston Davis states that Applewhite mastered the "fine art of religious entertainment", noting that many of his disciples seemed to enjoy their service.

[88] On one occasion in Texas, they told their followers of a forthcoming visitation from extraterrestrials and instructed them to wait outside all night, at which point they informed them that this had been merely a test.

While she lived for two more years, dying in 1985, Applewhite told their followers that she had "traveled to the Next Level" because she had "too much energy to remain on Earth", abandoning her body to make the journey.

[130] Applewhite abandoned the metaphor of a butterfly in favor of describing the body as a mere container,[131] a vehicle that souls could enter and exit.

[132] This dualism may have been the product of the Christology that Applewhite learned as a young man;[133] Lewis writes that the group's teachings had "Christian elements [that] were basically grafted on to a New Age matrix".

[136] He feared a government raid on their home and spoke highly of the Jewish defenders of Masada in ancient Israel who showed total resistance to the Roman Empire.

[137] Increasingly, he began to discuss the Apocalypse,[138] comparing the Earth to an overgrown garden that was to be recycled or rebooted and humanity to a failed experiment.

[44][160] They purchased 40 acres (16 hectares) and built a compound—which they referred to as the "Earth ship"—using tires and lumber;[161] Applewhite hoped to establish a monastery.

[175] Applewhite recorded a video shortly before his death, in which he termed the suicides the "final exit" of the group and remarked, "We do in all honesty hate this world".

[186] His final message was widely broadcast; Hugh Urban of Ohio State University described his appearance in the video as "wild-eyed [and] rather alarming".

[190] Davis attributes Applewhite's success in convincing his followers to commit suicide to two factors: He isolated them socially and cultivated an attitude of complete religious obedience in them.

[193] Richard Hecht of the University of California, Santa Barbara, echoes this sentiment, arguing that members of the group killed themselves because they believed the narrative that he had constructed, rather than because he psychologically controlled them.

[188] In his 2000 study of apocalyptic movements, John R. Hall posits that they were motivated to commit suicide because they saw it as a way to demonstrate that they had conquered the fear of death and truly believed Applewhite.

[194] Urban writes that Applewhite's life displays "the intense ambivalence and alienation shared by many individuals lost in late 20th-century capitalist society".

[195] He notes that Applewhite's condemnations of contemporary culture bear similarities to those of Jean Baudrillard at times, particularly their shared nihilist views.

[197] While covering the suicides, several media outlets focused on Applewhite's sexuality;[198] the New York Post dubbed him "the Gay Guru".

[199] Gay rights activist Troy Perry argued that Applewhite's repression, and society's rejection, of same-sex relationships ultimately led to his suicide.

[200] Lalich states that Applewhite fit "the traditional view of a charismatic leader",[31] and Evan Thomas deems him a "master manipulator".

[201] Lifton compares Applewhite to Shoko Asahara, the founder of Aum Shinrikyo, describing him as "equally controlling, his paranoia and megalomania gentler yet ever present".

[37] Christopher Partridge of Lancaster University states that Applewhite and Nettles were similar to John Reeve and Lodowicke Muggleton, who founded Muggletonianism, a millennialist movement in 17th century England.