Branch Davidians

The Branch Davidians were a religious group, which split from the Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Church in 1955. The Branch Davidians as a movement go back to 1930. In popular usage, the name is usually associated with the specific Branch Davidian group led by David Koresh near Waco, Texas, although this group was properly called "students of the Seven Seals."

Beliefs

Other than the standard beliefs shared by all Christians, the Branch Davidians believe:

• 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 Davidian movements, 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.

The movement set up headquarters a few miles west of Waco, Texas, and remained unified there until 1955, when Houteff died. Multiple leaders arose to take commend of the movement, resulting in several splinter groups. One splinter group, led by Benjamin Roden, called themselves "Branch Davidians," which came from select Bible passages.

In 1959, Israel granted the Branch Davidian movement landed immigrant status, and allowed them to create the town of Amirim in Galilee.

After the death of Benjamin Roden, his wife, Lois Roden, took a leadership role in the Church. In 1983, she allowed a man named Victor Howell (later known as David Koresh) to study at the Mt. Carmel compound outside Waco, but after attracting followers among the movement, he moved to Palestine, Texas. In 1987, Howell and followers he had amassed conducted an armed assault on the Mt. Carmel compound, but were rebuffed. The son of Lois and Ben Roden, George, took control of Mt. Carmel after Lois' death until his arrest for murder, at which time Howell (now David Koresh) took control of the compound.

Waco Siege

The Branch Davidians were under siege after a warrant was secured by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for having illegal firearms and allegations drug laboratory inside their main church building.

The actions of the government resulted in the death of 82 people, including many children. During the raid, the BATF started a fire that burnt down the building and killed many inside. The evidence for this contradicted the longstanding claims by the BATF and FBI that no pyrotechnic devices were used at Waco, causing them to retract their claims and leading to Congressional hearings into the Waco siege.

References

• Waco: The Rules of Engagement, documentary film, 1997
• Waco: A New Revelation, documentary film, 1999
• Thibodeau, David. A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story. HarperCollins, 1999.
• http://www.davidiansda.org/

See also

• Ruby Ridge, Idaho