"There Shall Arise False Christs"

Who are you fighting against? The Law is Mine, the Truth is Mine ... I AM your God and you will bow under My feet. .. My hand made heaven and earth. Mv hand shall also brin~ it to an end.

In these terms David Koresh wrote to the authorities in Texas a few days before the fearful holocaust which consumed his fortress compound last April. His letters were signed "Yahweh Koresh", indicating his claim to be divine, a messiah sent by God as Jesus had been. He claimed also to he "the Lamb" of Revelation who alone had authority to open the seven seals and foresee the fmal sequence of end-time judgements.

Vernon Howell was brought up among Seventh Day Advenfists, but at the age of twenty-five he was attracted to an extreme splinter group called the Branch Davidians, centred on a commune near Waco, Texas. Within five years he became leader of the group, and in 1990 changed his name to David Koresh; Koresh being the Hebrew equivalent of Cyrus.

Koresh developed an apocalyptic theology, conditioning his devoteees to the idea that the world was on the brink of end-time judgements, and that they should prepare themselves for suffering and martyrdom at the hand of ungodly forces.

On joining the group new adherents paid over to Koresh their savings and current earnings, by which he ensured plentiful funds. He organized a communal regime, members being subject to his strict control. He imposed periodic food rationing to prepare them for times of famine. Men worked at practical jobs in the compound; women undertook household chores and child care. All were required to have long sessions of Bible teaching, led by Koresh. They were told that only he understood the Bible, and as "God's messenger" he expounded his private interpretation of the prophetic Word. He seemed to be persuasive in exposition and could fascinate his followers by his authoritative style.

Male members were pledged to celibacy, separate dormitories being provided for men and women. Koresh asserted that only he could rightly be allowed to procreate, because his seed was divine. He bad nineteen "wives", some of their true husbands being also members of the commune, such was the sinister power he exercised over

the minds of his followers.

The Lord Jesus warned that false Christs and false prophets would arise and lead many astray:

Behold, I have told you beforehand. If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chamber; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of Man (Mat. 24: 24-27).

If only the Branch Davidians had not ignored that word!

Nor should they have failed to apply the test of Matthew 7:15-20. False prophets would come in sheep's clothing, the Lord explained, but inwardly they would be ravening wolves. "By their fruits ye shall know them... every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit". The evil fruits of sexual immorality, arrogance and selfesteem were all too apparent in David Koresh. How clearly the apostle John spelt out the truth when he wrote: "Let no man lead you astray: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous: he that doeth sin is of the Devil; for the Devil sinneth from the beginning" (1 John 3:7,8).

Sadly, more than eighty people remained within Koresh' 5 power until it was too late. A first attempt to storm the compound was repulsed, four federal agents being killed and sixteen injured. Almost two months later there was a second attempt. This time fire broke out and the flames rapidly engulfed the whole complex. Very few escaped the flames and Koresh himself perished. Perhaps most tragic of all was the death of twenty-five children, helpless victims of their guardians' religious delusions.

The apostle Peter reminds us that:

"There arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their lascivious doings; by reason of which the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of' (2 Pet. 2:1,2).

How accurately the false messiahship of David Koresh illustrates these Spirit-inspired words. Koresh must surely be placed among "the ignorant and unsteadfast" who wrest the Scrip~ tures to their own destruction (2 Pet.

3:16).

unknown | Oct 1993
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