Branch Davidians

Cultic activity has taken place since the practice of religion was established thousands of years ago. Since then, literally thousands of denominations have been inoculated throughout the world, especially in the United States. A cult, according to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary is a system of religious beliefs and rituals. By definition, this includes organizations such as Baptists, Catholics as well as Satanists and Witches. While this maybe true, cults have been popularly perceived as Separatists who are consumed by the belief of apocalyptic events, and the leader is someone who believes he or she is chosen by God or some other deity to lead those who are to follow him or her. One group that fits this description is the Branch-Davidians. In the early 1990's the Branch-Davidians made national headlines when they had a deadly standoff with government agents in Waco, Texas, where many perished, including their infamous leader, David Koresh. To understand why this happened, we must understand the history, beliefs and the determination of the Branch-Davidians to defy the government by stockpiling arms, supplies and taking refuge in Waco, Texas. We must also enter the world of David Koresh to make sense of how he was able to have the impact he did on the minds of members of the Branch Davidians. The history of the Branch-Davidians can be dated back to 1831 to a man named William Miller. According to chronological studies, Miller began studying end of time prophecies of the Bible in 1833 and concluded that by 1843, the end of the world was imminent. The year 1843 arrived and to the disappointment of Miller and his followers, the world had not yet come to an end as predicted by Miller, this eventually led to him revising his prediction date to 1844. In 1844, Christ failed to appear once again. This second blundering prediction by Miller known as "The Great Disappointment" led to the disbanding of the Millerites. After the splitting of the