One of the things that stood out from the Branch Davidian cult were the bible interpretations by the followers. David Koresh, the leader of the cult, took over the helm of this splinter group of the Seventh Day Adventist Church from the founder, Victor Houteff in 1955, after his death (Wessinger, 2005). Former followers describe that David Koresh was on God’s path, and he was the only one who could interpret the bible verses for the masses to comprehend. The former followers’ detailed that to be a Branch-Davidian entailed separating oneself from the world pleasures (De Villiers, 2018). According to them, the world is the sins, and one is supposed to be spiritual. Some of the former followers highlight that the compound they were staying had no running water, electricity, and heat. Besides, the followers were required to conduct three bible studies per day (Wessinger, 2005). After taking over the group, the leader encouraged his followers to use guns and was always involved in preaching apocalyptic prophecy. According to the leader, he feared that there would come a time when the group would be under attack by the United States (US) government hence began amassing ammunition and guns.
Confrontation between the Davidian cult and federal authorities in Waco
The Waco siege was a law enforcement siege carried out at the compound of the Branch-Davidians effected by the US military, federal and Texas law enforcement officers. Based on the initial plan of recovering the illegal weapons and arrest the leader David Koresh, the tactic was going on well (De Villiers, 2018). However, the decision to use tanks and tear gas assault was extreme and tainted the image of the law enforcers in the eyes of the public. The consequence was the structure catching fire, killing 76 Branch Davidians in the process (Wessinger, 2005).
References
De Villiers, P. (2018). The spirituality of apocalyptic and millenarian groups. The case of the Branch Davidians in Waco. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 74(3). doi: 10.4102/hts.v74i3.5152
Wessinger, C. (2005). Autobiographies of Three Surviving Branch Davidians: An Initial Report. Fieldwork in Religion, 1(2). doi: 10.1558/firn.v1i2.165