Branch Davidians

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David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas

The Branch Davidians is a name given to a religious group which has its origins in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. The original group formed in 1955 from another splinter group (simply known as the Davidians) which itself formed in 1930 from the SDA church proper. The name would be most associated with a specific group (although this group was properly called "students of the Seven Seals") led by David Koresh (birth name: Victor Howell), noted for its 1993 fatal confrontation with ATF agents.

Doctrine

Other than the standard beliefs shared by all Christians generally and Seventh Day Adventists specifically, the Branch Davidians believed:

  • Full-body immersion baptism is a requirement of salvation.
  • That the fourth commandment requires the observance of the seventh day Sabbath, and that Sabbath falls on Saturday.
  • That after death, one is unconscious until the resurrection and judgment day.
  • That there shall be a resurrection both of the just and of the unjust. The resurrection of the just will take place at the second coming of Christ; the resurrection of the unjust will take place a thousand years later, at the close of the millennium.
  • That the sinful, including Satan, will be reduced to a state of non-existence.
  • That no prophetic period [meaning prophetic time-setting of the exact date of Christ's coming] is given in the Bible to reach to the second advent, but that the longest one the 2300 days of Dan. 8:14, terminated in 1844, and brought us to an event called the cleansing of the sanctuary.
  • That three angels will be sent by God to warn Earth of the second coming of Christ.
  • That judgment day will come when Israel is purged of non-Jews.
  • That the followers of Christ should wear neat, modest, dignified apparel, abstain from all intoxicating drinks, tobacco, other narcotics, and meat.
  • That the second coming of Christ near at hand.
  • That the millennial reign of Christ covers the period between the first and the second resurrections, that at the end of the millennium, the Holy City will descend to the earth.
  • That God will make all things new. The earth, restored to its pristine beauty, will become forever the abode of the saints of the Lord. The promise to Abraham, that through Christ he and his seed should possess the earth throughout the endless ages of eternity, will be fulfilled.

History

The original Davidian movement, named for the restoration of the kingdom of David, first developed in 1930 from the teachings of Rev. Victor T. Houteff, who pointed out a number of scriptural shortcomings in the structure of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. After the Church rejected Houteff's teachings, he would establish a new movement at a site named Mount Carmel near Waco, Texas and remained unified there until Houteff's death in 1955, at which point Houteff's wife Florence would attempt to lead the movement.

That same year, Benjamin Roden would claim to receive "revelation from God". Florence would later claim that an apocalypse would occur in 1959 (something Houteff never taught) and would move the group to a new facility 13 miles northeast of Waco; when it failed to happen, in 1962 she would dissolve the organization and sell all but around 78 acres of the property, which Roden would purchase, and over the next several years would eventually gain the remainder of the property. Roden would call his group "Branch Davidians", taking the name from select Bible passages.[1]

Benjamin Roden would die in 1978, his wife Lois would take over the group; however, the members' loyalties were divided between Lois and George Roden, Benjamin and George's son (George would eventually take over leadership upon Lois' death in 1986). Exploiting this division - as well as Lois' widow status - was Victor Howell, who originally came to the compound in 1981, and would soon have an affair with Lois, hoping to father a child with her (despite her being in her 60s at the time) who would be The Chosen One.

A power struggle would ensue between George and Howell, with Howell eventually leaving the compound with his followers and relocating to Palestine, Texas. But in 1987, Howell and followers he had amassed conducted an unsuccessful armed assault on the Mt. Carmel compound. A jury trial resulting from the initial armed assault would find Howell's followers not guilty (and resulted in a hung jury on Howell's guilt). In March 1988 George would be placed in jail on contempt of court charges unrelated to Howell; the day after, Howell and his followers would return to Mount Carmel and cement themselves as the leaders of the group. Howell would also legally change his name to David Koresh, an homage to both King David and Cyrus the Great (Koresh being Hebrew for Cyrus).

Mt. Carmel Siege

The fire which killed residents of Mt. Carmel.

In May 1992, a UPS driver noticed that a package had broken open on its way to Mt. Carmel, and that the package contained several firearms and grenades. It has been debated whether or not a classified investigation was already under way, as a result of reports of automatic gunfire[2] from Mt. Carmel, but after this incident was reported, there was definitely an ATF investigation of the compound.

ATF agents placed Mt. Carmel under surveillance in June 1992. As part of their request for a search warrant, an ATF affidavit claimed there were hundreds of fully automatic weapons in the compound.

On February 28, 1993, ATF agents who had received special forces training attempted to execute the search warrant on the Mt. Carmel property. Koresh, who had been tipped off to the raid, had secured women and children in the interior of the compound, and instructed able-bodied men to take defensive positions on the perimeter. ATF agents approached the compound in unmarked pickup trucks, to meet Koresh, who stood in their path outside the compound. ATF agents opened fire on the dogs Koresh had with him, some Davidians heard the shots, and, thinking Koresh was under attack, fired on the ATF agents. Koresh retreated inside and the ATF agents shot at the defensive positions before retreating. Four ATF agents and five Davidians were killed in the initial assault.

After the McLennan County Sheriff (of which Waco is the county seat), a friend of Koresh, negotiated a ceasefire, the Davidians allowed ATF agents to retrieve their wounded and dead from the area immediately surrounding the compound. Later that day, a Davidian was shot on a patrol around the compound area.

A tense standoff ensued for several weeks in which ATF agents prevented any supplies from reaching Mt. Carmel, but did not attempt to attack the compound.

Despite some agreements being reached, such as the release of the children without their parents, by April 19, the ATF decided not to continue the siege and attacked on April 19. Under the cover of assault weapon fire, and in riot vehicles, ATF agents approached the compound and set it on fire, killing almost eighty people, including many children. Davidians who escaped the fire report being fired at as they fled the flames.

Conservative Veterans, Gun Enthusiasts See Police State Behaviors

Many Conservative veterans, American Oath Keeper Patriots, gun enthusiasts and preppers see the FBI and BATFE's behaviors at both Waco and Ruby Ridge as tyrannical episodes of police state behaviors.

See also

Bibliography - Further Reading

References

  1. ↑ Zechariah 3:8-10; 6:12, 13; Revelation 2:17, 3:12
  2. ↑ Note that automatic weapons are legal in the State of Texas and most free states with just an easily obtainable $250 tax stamp from the BATF
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