The Branch Davidians (or the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, or the Branch Seventh-day Adventists) are a religious sect founded in 1955 by Benjamin Roden. They regard themselves as a continuation of the General Association of Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists, established by Victor Houteff in 1935.
Houteff, a Seventh-day Adventist, wrote a series of tracts entitled the "Shepherd's Rod" that called for reform of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. After his ideas were rejected, Houteff and his followers formed the group that became known as "Davidians," and some moved onto land outside Waco, Texas. They built a community called the Mount Carmel Center, which served as headquarters for the movement. After Houteff's death in 1955, his wife Florence took control of the organization. That same year, Benjamin Roden, a follower of Houteff, proclaimed what he believed to be a new message from God and wrote letters presenting it to Davidians.
In 1957, Florence sold the Mount Carmel Center and purchased near Elk, Texas – northeast of Waco – naming it New Mount Carmel Center. After the failure of Florence's prophecy of apocalyptic events on or near April 22, 1959, she dissolved the Davidian Association in 1962 and sold all but of the New Mount Carmel property. Benjamin Roden took possession of it in 1962 and began efforts to purchase the remaining . On February 27, 1973, New Mount Carmel was sold to Benjamin, his wife Lois Roden, and their son George Roden.Kenneth G. C. Newport, The Branch Davidians of Waco: The History and Beliefs of an Apocalyptic Sect (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 199–222, 125–27, quote on 128, ; Eugene V. Gallagher, Davidians and Branch Davidians (1929-1981) From then on, the property was simply known as Mount Carmel. Upon the death of Benjamin Roden in 1978, Lois became the next Davidian prophet at the compound.Davidians and Branch Davidians (1929–1981)
In 1981, a young man named Vernon Howell, later known as David Koresh, came to Mount Carmel and studied biblical prophecy under Lois Roden. By 1983, Howell (Koresh) had gained a group of followers that separated from Lois' organization to form "The Davidian Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Association".June 10, 1985 document written by Vernon Howell Meanwhile, Lois continued to operate the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Association from Mt. Carmel Center near Waco.March 28, 1985 document written by Lois Roden Koresh's group and the Branch Davidians (Lois's group) were two separate organizations with different leaders, names, and locations from 1983. It was not until 1987, after Lois died, that Koresh filed a document claiming to be the president of the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Association.Oct. 30, 1987 document written by Vernon Howell Koresh and followers went to Mt. Carmel center, engaging in a shootout with George Roden that eventually resulted in Koresh's group occupying the land. These actions are regarded by Branch Davidians who remained loyal to Lois Roden as an act of identity theft against them.Waco Untold: How David Koresh Stole The Identity of the Branch Davidians
Koresh's leadership ended at the Waco siege of 1993, a fifty-one–day standoff between the sect and federal agents. Four agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and two residents were killed by the sect during the initial raid, while four sect members were killed by ATF agents on February 28, 1993. Seventy-five members of Koresh's group, including many children, died in a fire that erupted during the siege on April 19, 1993.
Early history In 1929, Victor Houteff, a Bulgarian immigrant and a Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath School teacher from southern California, claimed that he had a new message for the entire Adventist church. He presented his views in a book, The Shepherd's Rod: The 144,000 – A Call for Reformation. The Adventist leadership rejected Houteff's views as contrary to the church's basic teachings, and local church congregations disfellowshipped Houteff and his followers.
In 1934, Houteff established his headquarters to the west of Waco, Texas, and his group became known as the Davidians. In 1942, he renamed the group the General Association of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists 'Davidian' which indicated its belief in the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom of Israel. Following Houteff's death in 1955, his wife Florence usurped the leadership believing herself to be a prophet. Convinced that an apocalypse would occur in 1959, a date which is not found in her husband's original writings, Florence and her council gathered hundreds of their faithful followers at the Mount Carmel Center, the group's compound which was located near Waco, for the fulfillment of the prophecy which is written in Ezekiel 9.
The anticipated events did not occur, and following this disappointment, Benjamin Roden formed another group which he called the Branch Davidians and succeeded in taking control of Mount Carmel. The name of this group is an allusion to the anointed 'Branch' (mentioned in Zechariah 3:8; 6:12). When Benjamin Roden died in 1978, he was succeeded by his wife Lois Roden. Members of the Branch Davidians were torn between allegiance to Ben's wife or to his son, George. After Lois died, George assumed the right to the Presidency. However, less than a year later, Vernon Howell rose to power and became the leader over those in the group who sympathized with him.
Rise of David Koresh
Howell's arrival at Mount Carmel in 1981 was well received by nearly everyone at the Davidian commune. He had engaged in an affair with Lois Roden while he was in his early 20s and she was in her late 60s. Howell wanted to father a child with her, who, according to his understanding, would be the Chosen One. When she died, George Roden inherited the positions of prophet and leader of the sect. A power struggle ensued between Roden and Howell, who soon gained the loyalty of the majority of the Davidians. In 1984, Howell and his followers left Mount Carmel after Roden accused Howell of having started a fire that consumed a $500,000 administration building and press, which Roden subsequently renamed "Rodenville". Another splinter group, led by Charlie Pace, left and settled in Alabama.
As an attempt to regain support, Roden challenged Howell to raise the dead, going so far as to exhume the corpse of a two-decades–deceased Davidian in order to demonstrate his spiritual supremacy. (Roden denied this, saying he had only been moving the community cemetery.) This illegal act gave Howell an opportunity to attempt to file charges against Roden, but he was told that he needed evidence in order to substantiate the charges. On November 3, 1987, Howell and seven of his followers raided Mount Carmel, equipped with five .223-caliber semi-automatic rifles, two .22-caliber rifles, two 12-gauge shotguns, and nearly four hundred rounds of ammunition, in an apparent attempt to retake the compound. Although Howell's group claimed that it was trying to obtain evidence of Roden's illegal activities, its members did not take a camera with them.
The trial ended with the jury finding Howell's followers not guilty, but the jury members were unable to agree on a verdict for Howell himself. After his followers were acquitted, Howell invited the prosecutors to Mount Carmel for ice cream.
It is claimed that Howell was never authorized to name his breakaway sect the "Branch Davidians", and the church which bears that name continues to represent the members of the Branch church who did not follow him.
As a spiritual leader Howell, who acquired the position of spiritual leader from Roden, asserted it by changing his name to David Koresh, suggesting that he had ties to the biblical King David and Cyrus the Great (Koresh is the Hebrew version of the name Cyrus). He wanted to create a new lineage of world leaders. This practice later served as the basis for allegations that Koresh was committing child abuse, which contributed to the siege by the ATF.
Interpreting Revelation 5:2, Koresh identified himself with the Lamb mentioned therein. This is traditionally believed to symbolize Jesus Christ; however, Koresh suggested that the Lamb would come before Jesus and pave the way for his Second Coming.
By the time of the 1993 Waco siege, Koresh had encouraged his followers to think of themselves as "students of the Seven Seals," rather than as "Branch Davidians." During the standoff, one of his followers publicly announced that he wanted them to thereafter be identified by the name "Koreshians"."Mr. Ricks [FBI negotiator] said today that Ms. Schroeder had told him that members of the sect, a renegade offshoot of Seventh-day Adventists, henceforth wanted to be known as Koreshians." By Robert Reinhold, Published: March 15, 1993, New York Times [brackets added].
Federal siege
On February 28, 1993, at 4:20 am, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms attempted to execute a search warrant relating to alleged sexual abuse charges and illegal weapons violations.Affidavit of Davy Aguilera, Special Agent with the U.S Treasury Department, BATF, Austin, Texas, sworn before Dennis G. Green, United States Magistrate Judge Western District of Texas – Waco on the February 25, 1993. Aguilera affirmed: "On January 13, 1993, I interviewed Larry Gilbreath in Waco, Texas, and confirmed the information which had previously been related to me by Lt. Barber. Mr. Gilbreath told me that although he had been making deliveries at the "Mag-Bag" and the Mt. Carmel Center for quite some time, his suspicion about the packages being delivered to those places was never aroused until about February 1992. At that time the invoices accompanying a number of packages reflected that they contained firearm parts and accessories as well as various chemicals. He stated that in May 1992, a package which was addressed to the "Mag-Bag" accidentally broke open while it was being loaded on his delivery truck. He saw that it contained three other boxes, the contents of which were "pineapple" type hand grenades which he believed to be inert. He stated that there were about 50 of the grenades and that he later delivered them to the Mt. Carmel Center." The ATF attempted to breach the compound for approximately two hours until their ammunition ran low. Four ATF agents (Steve Willis, Robert Williams, Todd McKeehan, and Conway Charles LeBleu) were killed and another sixteen agents were wounded during the raid. The five Branch Davidians killed in the 9:45 a.m. raid were Winston Blake (British), Peter Gent (Australian), Peter Hipsman, Perry Jones, and Jaydean Wendell; two were killed by the Branch Davidians. Almost six hours after the ceasefire, Michael Schroeder was shot dead by ATF agents who alleged he fired a pistol at agents as he attempted to re-enter the compound with Woodrow Kendrick and Norman Allison.Neil Rawles (February 2, 2007). Inside Waco (Television documentary). Channel 4/HBO. His wife said he was merely returning from work and had not participated in the day's earlier altercation.
After the raid, ATF agents established contact with Koresh and others inside of the compound. The FBI took command after the deaths of federal agents, and managed to facilitate the release of nineteen children (without their parents) relatively early into the negotiations. The children were then interviewed by the FBI and the Texas Rangers.Psychotherapy Networker (2007). "Stairway to Heaven; Treating children in the crosshairs of trauma." Excerpt from the book The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog by Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz.