Divine Metaphysical Research, Henry Clifford Kinley, Alonza Joyner, Virginia

Norfolk -- Connie Roberson and her husband, Jimmy, don't save for retirement or their children's college education. Victor Jackson, a senior at Cleveland State University, doesn't worry about the job market.

Jackson and the Robersons believe that by 1996, the world is going to end in an instant. They were among about 1,000 people who attended the Institute of Divine Metaphysical Research's conference last week.

Participants came from different parts of the country but share the belief that the world will end within two years, when the Earth turns seven days old -- in God's reckoning of time -- and will be ready for a rest.

They believe the creator's plans began to unfold in 1931, when the institute's founder said he had received a divine message. Believers at the conference said knowing that their days are numbered gives them a profound sense of relief.

"It puts me into a more relaxed state of mind," said Connie Roberson, of Norfolk. "I don't have as much pressure as the world would have, thinking they have to achieve so much."

Jackson said, "I can't look to long-range plans or anything like that. I just have to take it day by day, knowing the creation won't be here in four or five years, knowing that there will be no world by the year 2000.

"Just to know you won't have to deal with daily life anymore, to not have to be bothered by the cares of this world, is a relief. I'm definitely not sad about it."

End-of-the-world religious scenarios are nothing new. With a new millennium approaching, doomsday prognostications are increasing so quickly that an academic newsletter tries to keep track of them.

But the Los Angeles-based Institute of Divine Metaphysical Research does not consider itself a religion. It calls itself a school for people investigating the meaning of life. Leaders are called "teachers" and "deans." The institute claims 5,600 members nationally.

Many institute members used to be Christians, as was founder Henry Clifford Kinley, a Church of God in Christ minister who renounced his beliefs after claiming that he met Yahweh in a vision in 1931.

Alonza Joyner, a former Baptist and the institute's Virginia dean, said, "We happen to be privileged to be living at that time when creation is coming to a close." He said the institute's main attraction is to "escape the impending doom."

Officials said donations are never requested, but gifts from members are accepted. Deans are not paid. "We're not a cult," said Robert Harris, the organization's international dean, who studied under Kinley in the late 1950s and early 1960s. "We don't have people selling all they have and doing stuff like that.

"Look around. You can see how it is. They're dressed well. They're working people. No one is down in the dumps. They're as happy as can be."