Scott Gosselink
The Branch Davidians
KEYWORDS
Branch Davidians, Koresh, Howell, Houteff, Cult, Seven Seals,
I. ABSTRACT
The Davidians
were formed in 1929 when Victor Houteff was expelled
from the
The Branch Davidians
believe that the Bible is an inerrant prophetic text and that God will always
send them a prophet to help guide them especially in the "Last Days"
before Christ’s return because they feel that they are God's chosen people. Through their messianic leader, the Davidians interpret the Bible as inerrant and practice
strict rituals aimed at their ultimate salvation during Jesus’ return according
to the Bible’s scriptures.
II. SCOPE AND PURPOSE
OF THE SYSTEM
The Davidians
are a highly diverse social and economic, Christian based sect available to anyone
who will strictly follow its teachings. This openness for members created a
multi-racial and multi-ethnic group spanning many countries. Today there are only about a dozen active
members of the Branch Davidians scattered throughout
The Branch Davidians
concentrate on moving into the divinely ordained future, revealing the secrets
of the seven seals, and awaiting the end of time with the Second Coming of
Christ. The Branch Davidians
have worshipped 5 different prophets during their existence: Ben Roden, Lois Roden, David Koresh,
Ellen White and Victor Houteff. Each prophet adopted a messianic role
believed essential to human salvation and ordaining the end of time (Barrett
119). These five prophets help the
Branch Davidians to see the “new light” during the
last days when the end of the world would come upon Jesus’ return.
Each prophet led the Davidians through a strictly Adventist perspective, and
expanded their teachings from the preceding leader. These leaders stressed the importance of a
strict daily routine so that they would be prepared for Jesus’ return to Earth
and would be spared from the looming apocalypse. Also, the Branch Davidians
believe that because these prophets kept the members “in the message” (Tabor
49) by educating the group on the newest teachings of God, the Branch Davidians would be resurrected into eternal life with God
after the Second Advent.
III. AUTHORITY STRUCTURE
a.
Sources
and Criteria of Valid Knowledge
The sources of valid knowledge of
the Davidians have changed through each of its four
active “prophets.” (Ellen White never actively led the Davidians;
she was influential in laying the guidelines that the SDA and consequently the Davidians follow). However, the original constitution of
the group was laid out by Victor Houteff, and
expanded on by all other prophets, clearly states that the Davidians
embrace the core teachings of the Seventh Day Adventists (SDA).
The SDA focuses its teachings on
three main doctrines as inspired by Ellen White. The first being that the date of the
apocalypse set by William Miller in the 1840s was correct; however, it did not
mark the return of Jesus to Earth, but rather that He had entered Heavenly
sanctuary to cleanse it in preparation for the Judgment. Secondly, they believe in innate mortality –
the idea that when someone dies, they remain unconscious until resurrected by
God, or annihilated. A second
resurrection will occur and the righteous will return to a newly cleansed world
upon Jesus’ return to Earth. Thirdly, the
SDA stated that all Christians must obey the laws set forth by the Ten
Commandments, including the retention of Saturday as their Sabbath. Though this was widely abandoned in Christian
teachings, the Davidians believed that it held equal
importance as the other nine commandments and therefore should not be
ignored. Finally, the Adventists
believed that in the last days before the Jesus’ return, the gift of prophecy
would come upon the Church (Barrett 71).
Apart from Houteff’s
stress on the SDA, his apocalyptic readings of the Bible caused him to
emphasize the imminent establishment of the
Houteff’s
teachings continued through the group’s next spiritual leader, Ben Roden. The writings
of White and Houteff appeared in many of his
teachings and publications. Roden expanded from Houteff’s
“true church” by aiming to reproduce the character of Christ in the lives of
the elect 144,000 in preparation for the Second Coming; an idea referred to as
Adventist perfectionism (Tabor 34). However,
the themes of the significance of
David Koresh, the fifth and final
prophet of the Branch Davidians, expanded on the
teachings of prior prophets as well as created new ideas. He believed that he was the Lamb “having
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into
all the earth” (Revelations 5:7) that protected the scroll of the Seven
Seals. He took it upon himself to interpret
the scroll and on accomplishing this task; he and his followers would be spared
during the Second Advent. Also, he said
that through his prophetic status, he could spread the “seed” of God by taking
on all members of the group as his “spiritual wives” in his home which he
renamed the “House of David” (Samples 53).
He foresaw the apocalypse to come in 1995 with the Ranch Apocalypse as
the center for the battle. For this
reason, Koresh and the Davidians stockpiled over 11
tons worth of weapons and ammunition.
However, this stockpile led to the compounds seizure and eventual
destruction at the hands of the
The remaining members of the Branch
Davidians predicted that the Second Advent would
occur 2,300 days, as described in Daniel, after Koresh’s
death, but that date has since passed and the numbers of believers has dwindled
to nearly nothing.
b.
Methods
of Inquiry
The focus of the members of the
Branch Davidian life is centered on religious rituals
and worship. The Davidians
at
The group places a strong emphasis
on health that focused primarily on a diet.
Davidians are expected to withhold a diet as
interpreted in the Old Testament; most became vegetarian. The group also believed that physical labor
built character and contributed to sharing and enriching communal life (55). The leaders required everyone at the compound
to work, no matter the age, and provided them with wages. However, some also worked outside jobs to
help support the religious group.
The leaders emphasized separation from
the outer world and focused on community practices. The allowing of members to work to help fund
the compound was the Davidians only dependency on the
outside world. To further stress the
importance of segregation, the Branch Davidians had
separate currency from the outside world, and created separate educational
programs to prevent socialization of the young.
Children were required to learn the basic aspects of the Davidian faith, namely the Bible and the teachings of Ellen
White, as well as master a practical skill that would further their importance
to the group (27). It also continued
influence into religious endogamy in which members were not permitted to marry
someone of a different faith. Many Davidians divorced upon entering the group.
Another practice focuses on attire.
Women were required to wear dresses of length between the knees and feet. Exposure of any part of the female anatomy
was discouraged. Women did not wear
makeup and kept their hair long (www.religioustolerance.org). All these practices kept the Branch Davidians in an environment that enabled their full
devotion towards their leader’s word.
Even though there lacked physical evidence, or proof, of these practices
aimed toward aiding their salvation upon the Second Advent, the mere fact that
their leader told the group to follow these practices was reason enough to
follow his orders because his prophetic status made his word parallel with
God’s.
c.
Institutions
and Professional Structure
The Davidians
can be separated into three main periods: under the control of Victor Houteff (The Shepherd’s Rod), under control of Ben and Lois
Roden (The Branch Davidians),
and finally under the control of David Koresh (The Students of the Seven
Seals). However, the basis of authority continued throughout the groups
existence remained the same. It stated
that the leader was able to claim to prophetic interpretation and revelation
and have the acceptance of that claim as legitimate by all others in the
community (Wright 24). These four
leaders all were authoritative figures.
At the beginning, Houteff was the undisputed leader of the sect. There was a council of four officers, but all
decisions must be approved by Houteff. His power was enhanced by the fact that
family members held other positions of power within the compound. This convergence of family support and
religious devotion provided support for the Davidian
leader. However, his most powerful
aspect as a leader was his ability to inspire in his followers a deep sense of
sacrifice and devotion. He led his
followers to say “We believe…with all our heart…that Brother Houteff is a prophet of God” (26) This
belief helps to explain the reasoning behind the members’ sacrifice, commitment
and cohesiveness necessary to the survival of the group.
Roden
built on the ideas that had preceded him.
He believed that he was the third and final prophet. He thought of himself as king and patriarch
of the community of saints, just as the biblical King David had been. In fact, he proclaimed himself to be King
David’s successor. Because of this idea, he believed that he deserved the
complete authority over all Branch Davidians. One member of his group later said that “Ben Roden is the King…. [and] I’m
subject to Ben Roden” (White 35). After his death, his wife, Lois Roden, the fourth and only female prophet, took control of
the group. She believed that the final
part of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, was feminine. Following her belief, she preached God’s
femininity and proclaimed that God would return to Earth as a woman during the
Second Advent (Tabor 40). David Koresh
allied with Lois, but merely as a political move and not because they shared
the same beliefs.
David Koresh quickly gained
influence in the group after Lois Roden proclaimed
him to be the fifth prophet. Koresh, on top of being the Lamb mentioned in
Revelations 5:7, also believed that he was King David and thus deserved the
complete obedience. The Mighty Men were Koresh’s lieutenants who held various organizational and
leadership responsibilities to help Koresh (62). Though each leader took individual approaches
to leading the group, they all were regarded with the same prophetic status and
therefore a completely authoritative role.
IV. HISTORY
The Branch Davidians
is a splinter sect that broke away from the
In
Roden’s most recognizable
contribution was an insignia to represent their beliefs. It was a circular field filled with a Star of
David and twelve perimeter stars. "Ensign" was written across the
center and the reference "Isaiah 11:1" was placed underneath it.
Superimposed upon the design was a plant with three designations: Jesse the
Stem, David the Rod, and Christ the Branch (www.religioustolerance.org).
Roden’s wife, Lois, took over
control of the group in their compound in
Immediately after his rise to
power, Howell amassed an international recruitment drive in 1985. Howell’s charm, good looks, and ability to
serenade with the guitar helped him quickly gain the devotion from the members
(Thibodeau 20). The number of members
residing in Ranch Apocalypse peaked at 130 members in 1993.
Under the rule of Howell, the
community adopted a much stronger communal form of organization with him as the
leader. Vernon Howell changed his name
to David Koresh in 1990. David was named
after King David of the Israelites and Koresh after the Babylonian King Cyrus (www.religioustolerance.org). Under his rule, the Davidians,
also known as the Students of the Seven Seals, continued their Adventist
beliefs. He renamed
In February of 1993, the Federal
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) raided the compound in
V. REPRESENTATIVE
EXAMPLES OF ARGUMENTATION
The Branch Davidians defended their belief of
the immanency of the Second Advent through their basis in millenarian
teachings. William Miller, originally a
farmer from
Since this “Great Disappointment,” the
Davidians has used Daniel to prophesize the Second
Advent after Roden’s and Koresh’s deaths, each time using
the excuse of miscalculations for failed predictions. Each prediction started from a different
date, but followed the same passage that Miller believed would bring Jesus’
Second Coming.
VI. SUGGESTED
POSITION IN COMPARATIVE SCALES
a.
Traditional
Authority (1) à Testimony of
Experience (10) – 2
The Branch Davidians
rely strictly on the Bible as their teachings.
For this reason, they place nearly all their beliefs on traditional
authority. Their belief in the complete
inerrancy of the Bible further portrays their emphasis on traditional authority
over experience.
b.
Centralization
of Authority (1) à Decentralization (10) – 2
The Students of the Seven Seals
relied heavily upon a leader in which they believed was a prophet provided by
God. The members regarded this person’s
preaching to be on par with the Bible and therefore they were to follow his
management.
c.
Emphasis
on Spiritual Realities (1) à Material, Earthly
Realities (10) – 3
The Branch Davidians
believed in the existence on spiritual realities. They, like all Christians, believed in the
concept of the Trinity. However, the Davidians held the idea that God would always send them a
prophet who would lead the members on Earth into Heaven, showing the Earthly
realities of the group.
d.
Spiritual
or Moral Objectives (1) à Pragmatic Aims (10) – 3
The Branch Davidians
follow a very strict and conservative interpretation of the Bible. Therefore they comply with the most
conventional Christian beliefs such as the Ten Commandments, the virgin birth,
the infallibility of the Scripture, etc.
This causes them to focus on many spiritual objectives; however, their
belief that their sanctity during Christ’s Second Coming would allow them to
ascend to heaven shows the purposefulness of their practices.
e.
Power
Reserved for Divine Beings (1) à Individual Power (10) – 5
Although the Branch Davidians followed the guidance of spiritual leader, they
believed that these people had extraordinary powers. The leaders were prophets whose word was
regarded nearly equal with the Bible because he was provided by God. Obedience to these living prophets would
spare them during Christ’s Second Coming.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
I.
Primary
Sources
The Holy Bible:
Authorized King James Version.
Shows sacred text of the Branch Davidians
and allows the interpretations of the text by the group to be recognized.
Thibodeau, David, and
This book is written by David Thibodeau, one only four
member of the Branch Davidians who survived the
massacre in
II.
Secondary
Sources