Summary Christology, which is the doctrine of the Person, Nature and Work of Christ, is where all cults deviate from true Historic Christianity. This is their most obvious and deadly error. You can be right at every other point of your theology and practice, but if you are wrong here, and have taken onboard the wrong ‘jesus’ then you will lose your soul for all eternity.

Cults that claim to be Christian (there many that don’t) are usually anti-Trinitarian, and therefore, do not accept the Holy Spirit as a co-equal member of the Triune Godhead. Some go to great lengths to explain that the Holy Spirit is just an impersonal ‘force’; or ‘a divine influence’; or ‘a spiritual enablement from God’.

As stated already, the cults will always have some extra-Biblical figurehead that is their "Messiah" or "Christ-substitute". They will accept without argument his specific person and his particular interpretation of the Bible and of world affairs. The following is worth remembering:
(a) The people who start these cults are usually people of great personal magnetism and charisma. They seem to have an unusual ability to attract and inspire followers and generate (or coerce is perhaps a better word) them into great zeal, dedication, and even sacrifice. These leaders are, therefore, usually people with giant egos and great ambitions and often suffer from what has been termed as "messianic complexes".
(b) The leader usually bases his authority on some ‘further’ revelation which he credits with personally having received from ‘god’, or an ‘angelic being’, or from years of ‘personal research’. This ‘revelation’ is sometimes ‘progressive’ - in other words, he may add to, or subtract from it, to suit his circumstances or whims as time goes by. Therefore, these revelations are often found to be contradictory. Revelations will sometimes completely supersede earlier ones in order to fit a newly-developed situation, e.g., Joseph Smith of Mormonism, and Charles Russell of Jehovah's Witness, are good examples of false prophets who given ‘progressive’ (or contradictory) revelations.
(c) Invariably, one finds that the particular group started with some authoritarian pronouncement by a founder, which he claimed was the result of a revelation from God received during a period of retreat, fasting and/or prayer. These leaders usually emerge from such periods of contemplation proclaiming that "the Lord revealed himself to me and told me to ..."?
Victor Paul Wierwille, founder and president of "The Way International" is a good example of this. He reports his so-called revelation from God this way - "I was praying ... and that's when he spoke to me audibly, just like I'm talking to you now. He said he would teach me the word as it has not been known since the first century if I would teach it to others".
The Rev. Sun Myung Moon also claims Jesus appeared to him in 1936, and commissioned him as the ‘latter-day prophet’.
[Please note: Just in case you feel you may have been given a revelation such as this, we strongly recommend that you check it out with a body of mature Christians!]
(d) Most of these founders and leaders, as you can see, are not commissioned or ‘sent out’ by any legitimate, orthodox, biblically-based Body (as were Paul and Barnabas who were sent out by the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1-3). However, these "latter-day prophets" go out ON THEIR OWN AUTHORITY, which constitutes nothing other than self-appointment as they are not validated by a responsible Spirit-guided Body.
(e) In most cases, since these ‘prophets’ are appointed by ‘their own authority’ - therefore founder and leader of their own group - they alone are responsible for all decision-making within the group and have therefore appointed themselves to ‘think for’ their followers. The leader is usually above question. He is followed with blind allegiance and obedience, with his followers being told what they should believe. Those of you who have had contact with a member of any one of the cults will realize that the followers are simply ‘parroting’ their leader’s beliefs and teachings to their hearers. Instant and unquestioning obedience to their leader is imperative for a cult member! As Moon said to his followers: "I am your brain ... I will do your thinking for you". Usually, an attitude of complete closed-mindedness to any other opinion or interpretation exists among cult members. With the result that most followers of such leaders are not interested in a rational, intellectual, cognitive evaluation of the facts of a matter.
(f) With these groups there is usually a ‘gap of knowledge’ between the ‘inner circle’ and a new member. This is a very esoteric approach (such ‘gaps’ exist in JW’s, TM, Mormonism and The Way, et al). The leadership of the cult is very tightly controlled by one man, or by an elite inner core, and they are often cloaked in a veil of mystery and aloofness. These leaders often live in luxury, while the members live rather a bland, austere life of self-denial that sometimes leads to begging, selling or peddling to support the extravagant and wealthy lifestyles of their leaders. The Governing Bod of JW’s, Maharaj Ji of the Divine Light Mission, and Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the World Unification Church have been good examples of this!