THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | RELIGION | CHRISTIANITY

The Branch Davidians: A History

To: talk.religion.misc
From: drazen@andrews.edu (Dan Drazen)
Subject: The Branch Davidians: A History (9407.dvdhist.dd)
Date: 49940705

In article  tburnett@nmsu.edu (T. L.
Burnett-Vinz) writes:
>Is the breakoff of the Branch Davidians one you might be willing to
>share??
> 
>I have not heard the whole story, and would be interested... Quite. 
>:)  
>
>Thanx!
>MLizette
>tristan@kazak.nmsu.edu

Don't say I didn't warn you, TL.

It all began in 1929 with Victor T. Houteff.  A Seventh-day Adventist
from (where else?) California, he began an offshoot movement based on a
belief in a literal Remnant of 144,000 (cf. Revelation 7:4-9, 14:1) and
in the need for reform of the church.  Though the group took the name
"Davidian Seventh-day Adventists" in 1942, they were popularly known as
"The Shepherd's Rod" (after the title of Houteff's first book).  In
1935, Houteff, eleven followers and their families migrated from
California to Waco, Texas.  They settled on a farm which they referred to
as Mount Carmel Center.  This was to be the temporary headquarters of
the 144,000 until their sealing and their eventual transport to
Palestine to re-establish the Davidian theocracy.  This, in turn, would
coordinate the closing work of spreading the Gospel, thus setting the
stage for the Second Advent.

That was the theory, at any rate.  The Mount Carmel complex probably
held no more than 125 people when Victor Houteff died in Feb 1955.  With
Houteff's death, the movement began splintering.  Most followed
Houteff's widow, who claimed that April 22, 1959, would see the
intervention of God to clear both Jews and Arabs out of Palestine in
order to establish the Davidian kingdom.  Several hundred people
gathered at Waco in anticipation.  When the date came and went, so did
the people.  By 1962, the leadership admitted the movement had been a
false one and officially disbanded.

Several smaller factions, however, vied with each other for control of
the Waco property.  George Roden, son of Benjamin Roden (a dissident
from an anti-Houteff faction) assumed control of the property, only to
lose control (under a hail of gunfire) to one Vernon Wayne Howell in
1978.  Howell later changed his name to David Koresh and the rest is
hysteria.

For information on the Branch Davidians before the Waco standoff went
down, see "The Madmen of Rodenville", _Wittenburg Door_, Feb-Mar 1988,
pp. 16-22, as well as the article "Davidian Seventh-day Adventists" in
the _Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia_ (vol. 10, SDA Commentary
Reference Series).

Daniel J. Drazen

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races