Waco, Texas and The Weapons of Our Warfare

Joseph Herrin (01-11-2013)

It is ever my desire to be led of the Spirit of Christ as I fulfill the ministry that has been entrusted to me. In the last two posts I have addressed the issue of gun ownership by Christians. I believe it has been the Spirit of Yahshua that has directed me to write on this subject at this time. Yahshua would spare those who have eyes to see and ears to hear from the tragedy that will befall those Christians who resort to carnal means to respond to what will shortly occur in America and the nations.
           
I pray frequently for the Father to guide me, to order my steps, and to lead me to those issues that He wants me to address with His people. I have often asked Him of late to give me understanding of the days approaching that I might offer godly counsel to His sons and daughters.

Two days ago upon awakening I spent time in prayer. My specific petition was that Yahweh might order my steps that day, and lead me by His Spirit, giving me an anointing to fulfill the ministry of writing of which I am a steward. When I checked my e-mail a sister in Christ who is in her eighties had sent me several links to videos on the slaughter of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas that occurred back in 1993. I had never looked into this event in any depth as my writing ministry did not begin until 1999.

When I saw these e-mails, my initial reaction was to disregard them, for I am continually receiving multitudes of e-mails and links from readers, and I don’t have time to pursue them all. When I noted that the first video was nearly two hours in length, my thought was that I desired to begin a writing on another topic that day and attending to these videos would be a distraction from my goal. After a moment of consideration I decided to open the video and see what its main message was, intending to spend no more than a couple minutes watching it. Several hours later I was still watching videos of this event in Waco.

What changed my mind was a realization that this story aligned perfectly with what the Spirit had been leading me to share with the saints regarding the issue of Christians relying upon guns and bullets to protect them. Yahweh was answering my prayer that had been uttered just moments before by guiding me to a subject He wanted me to consider. In it is a message for His people.

Who Were David Koresh and the Branch Davidians?

The Branch Davidians were an offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventist Church known as Davidian Seventh Day Adventists. The name was NOT a reference to David Koresh, who was the spiritual leader of the congregation in Waco, Texas. David Koresh, however, may have chosen his name because of his affiliation with this religious group. He was born Vernon Wayne Howell. In 1990 he changed his name after being a member of the Branch Davidians since 1983.

The name Koresh is a transliteration of the Persian name Cyrus. David Koresh also named his son Cyrus, after the Persian King Cyrus who was much revered by this group. Cyrus is spoken of in the Scriptures. Yahweh called King Cyrus “My servant.” Yahweh entrusted to this Gentile king the task of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem.

II Chronicles 36:22-23
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia - in order to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah - Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, 'Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may Yahweh his God be with him, and let him go up!'"

David Koresh believed he had a parallel calling to that of King Cyrus. He believed he had also been chosen to perform a great work by God.

The word “Branch” in their name was a reference to Christ, as can be observed in the sign above. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah all refer to Yahshua as “the Branch.” You can see the Scripture references in small print at the bottom of the sign.

This group began in 1935 when Victor Houteff, an outcast from the Seventh Day Adventist church, established a base near Waco. In 1929 Houteff had printed a document titled The Shepherd’s Rod: The 144,000 - A Call for Reformation. He presented this document to the leadership of the SDA church where it was apparently given little consideration. It was quite a lengthy writing, and it is reported that most of the church leadership never took the time to read it.

One SDA leader who did read it rejected it while admitting he had only skimmed parts of the writing. His points of disagreement did not relate to the main message of the writing, which was the identity of the 144,000. This teaching became a foundational text for this splinter group of the SDA church. At the height of Houteff’s popularity, more than 900 people joined his churches. After Houteff’s death others took over leadership and the group experienced a sharp decline. By the time of the Waco massacre there were a little more than 100 people in the fellowship.

Before David Koresh joined the Branch Davidians, the group had moved to a new location near Waco where they adopted a communal living style. Many of the members had regular jobs in the community of Waco, while living at the compound. These men and women were deeply devoted to their faith in Christ. The study of the Scriptures was a major focus of their lives. It was their practice to conduct Bible studies twice a day. Despite the media characterization of these people as brainwashed disciples of David Koresh, many of them pre-dated Koresh in their affiliation with the Mount Carmel Center (the name of their compound), and they embraced their beliefs willingly, having found them to be persuasive and compelling.

According to numerous reports, the men, women and children had a reputation of being good people, were well liked by those who knew them in the Waco community, and lived moral lives. There are videos available on the Internet showing the members of this group involved in church services, and the appearance bears great similarity to church meetings one would find throughout America. There are some differences, however, in their practices and beliefs as most Christians have not adopted a communal living arrangement, and some of the doctrines of this SDA splinter group are not common among other denominations and churches.

You have perhaps seen billboards along the interstates equating Sunday worship with the mark of the beast spoken of in Revelation. This is a teaching of the SDA church. Seventh Day Adventists, as their name implies, hold to a seventh day Sabbath (Saturday). They also advocate adherence to various parts of the Mosaic Law, such as the dietary laws, while also going beyond the Law in suggesting that vegetarianism is the optimal diet for mankind to eat. They condemn the consumption of all forms of alcohol, caffeine, etc., and they observe the Hebrew feast days set forth in the Old Testament.

Despite the generally good reputation of the group in Waco, there was significant infighting as factions arose in the group. One faction was led by George Roden who was presumed to be the de facto leader of the Mount Carmel community, and the other group was led by David Koresh. Roden forcibly expelled Koresh from the property in 1985, resulting in Koresh and about 25 church members relocating temporarily to Palestine, Texas where they lived in tents for almost two years.

Roden’s support began to wane, and Koresh’s acceptance by the majority of the church members was solid despite his exile. Roden, realizing that his support was fleeing, challenged Koresh to a contest to see who could raise the dead. Roden exhumed a corpse for the purpose, and Koresh reported this to the local authorities. The authorities informed Koresh that he would have to supply proof, such as photographic evidence, that Roden had exhumed a corpse, so he returned with seven armed men to gather the evidence when a gun fight broke out. Roden received a slight wound, and was pinned down behind a tree when the local Sheriff arrived and brought an end to the confrontation. At trial Koresh explained that they had gone to uncover evidence of a crime against a corpse. His followers were all acquitted and his own charges ended in a mistrial.

Not long afterwards, George Roden murdered a member of the church with an axe and was imprisoned. He owed a large sum of money on the property, which Koresh and his followers were able to raise to acquire the property for their own use.

Attitude Toward Gun Ownership

Other than this single event where David Koresh and some followers took guns with them to obtain evidence of a crime being committed on the Mount Carmel property, I know of no other time when violence was employed by the group. Nevertheless, this event reveals a reliance upon carnal weapons and actions to accomplish personal goals. What was done by these men was not performed at the leading of the Holy Spirit.

David Koresh, as the pastor of this group, began placing an emphasis upon apocalyptic teachings. He was focusing much on the seven seals of Revelation. He believed that he would ultimately be martyred, and that his martyrdom would serve as a catalyzing force to overthrow the evil government of this world and usher in the Davidic kingdom in Jerusalem. Koresh was an advocate of armed resistance, and he frequently criticized the American government, and particularly the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

It was widely reported in the news media that Koresh was stockpiling weapons, but in actuality Koresh had a gun business that he used to generate funds. Hundreds of guns were purchased to be taken to gun shows to be sold. At the time of the raid on the compound, one of the church members who oversaw this activity had taken the majority of the guns owned by the Branch Davidians to a gun show, a fact which the government was surely aware of since they had the compound under surveillance for some weeks prior to their assault on the property. This business of being a gun reseller was legally licensed, though this in no respect implies that it found approval in the eyes of God.

Motive for Government Assault

If you have received your information on the Waco massacre from the government and mainstream media sources, you undoubtedly have encountered many false views of what occurred. Two days before the assault on the compound, the local newspaper in Waco began running a series of highly inflammatory articles against David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. Koresh was accused of having multiple wives, committing child abuse, and brainwashing the members of the church. None of these charges have ever been substantiated. The timing of this media attack points to collusion by those in power to present an image of the ensuing conflict that would provide justification for the government’s actions.

It was the BATF that led the assault on the compound, yet the BATF has no authority to investigate or prosecute people for the crimes which the newspaper was accusing Koresh. The true motive for the assault was never disclosed by the media. What is evident is that the BATF wanted David Koresh and the adult members of the Davidian group silenced, and dead men tell no tales. Much evidence has come out in ensuing years that reveals that the FBI who took over the jurisdiction of this matter from the BATF, gave instructions to the church members inside the compound that no one was to exit the building or they would be shot. On the day of the final assault, the government destroyed all exits to the building except one. They set fire to the compound and had snipers positioned at the one remaining exit. As members sought to flee the flames they were gunned down. More than twenty of the 79 members who perished had gun shot wounds and all were found in the vicinity of the exit to the burning building.

The media, however, reported that Koresh had murdered his own people, or that they chose to commit group suicide. I recommend the following videos for those who want to discover the truth.

https://youtu.be/UGT1F0jYhFw



http://youtu.be/_iCfvhl9NXw



http://youtu.be/8xRaJ5QA1kk



http://youtu.be/2N5Dm0LmhMg



https://youtu.be/s3CGyH5ftdE
In this latter video, it is disclosed that there were two members of David Koresh’s group who were compiling information on the activities of the BATF just prior to the raid. One of the members was a computer professional, and it is suggested that he may have breached the BATF computer systems and acquired information on secret plans to disarm the American populace. It is suggested in the video that this is a possible motive for the BATF raid on the compound.

Although one can only speculate whether this was indeed the true reason, what I am convinced of is that the BATF did not launch this assault because David Koresh was suspected to be a polygamist or a child abuser. Such things are outside of the scope of the BATF. I also sincerely doubt this all-out raid where the BATF went in with men on the ground and men in helicopters firing bullets into the compound before there was ever a knock on the door was precipitated by a concern that the group might have illegal weapons. It is not illegal to own weapons, not even large numbers of them, and as mentioned, most of the group’s guns were off-site at a gun show at the time of the assault.

There was some darker motive for which the BATF launched this attack. The most probable motive I have heard expressed is that the Davidian members had uncovered plans by the government to illegally foment civil unrest, mass gun casualties, etc., to provide an excuse for the BATF to begin confiscating American’s guns. You can go directly to this part of the video by watching the following segment.

http://youtu.be/bUxGQKg8yGY



In light of the recent disclosure of the Obama administration, and Attorney General Holder paving the way for thousands of American guns to be funneled to the hands of violent Mexican drug gangs in an operation that has become known as Operation Fast and Furious, it is apparent that American authorities have been involved in clandestine acts to promote violence and murder for the sole purpose of providing justification to overturn the Second Amendment and take guns out of the hands of the citizenry. That David Koresh, a vocal critic of the BATF, may have obtained sensitive information and suffered this assault as a result seems quite credible.

http://youtu.be/IC2C2lIwNSA



One of the videos above reveals that after the slaughter of the men women and children at the Waco compound, the BATF raised their flag on the property.

This insensitive act provides further support to the belief that the BATF waged a personal war of annihilation against a group they saw as a threat to their organization and aims. The dark powers that control the BATF are revealed in the seal for this organization.

Right in the center of this seal is the Masonic architect’s square, and on the square are 13 stars.

Lessons From Waco

Brothers and sisters, if you have read the previous two posts, you will recognize that I am not sharing this information because I am a Second Amendment advocate. If there are Americans that are not Christians who are upset about the present government eroding their right to keep and bear arms, I am not here to criticize them. What have we to do with judging those outside the church? Paul told Timothy not to entangle himself with the affairs of this world (II Timothy 2:4). The citizens of this world will do as they choose. The disciples of Christ belong to another kingdom.

I share these things to declare to those who are disciples of Christ that if you take up carnal weapons to combat the evil in this world, you will be committing yourself to carnal conflict. It will surely come. Christ stated:

Matthew 26:52
“Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.”

The apostle Paul declared:

II Corinthians 10:3-4
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh...

Our warfare is NOT against the governments and people of this world. As Christians we are not called to defend the constitution of the nation in which we dwell. Nor are we called to take up arms to protect property, or even life. Our weapons are spiritual. The prayers of the saints avail much.

I would far rather entrust my life, and that of my loved ones, to the hands of an all-powerful and all-wise God, than to trust in my own fleshly ability to protect these same ones. By setting my focus upon spiritual realms, and looking to Yahweh for security, defense, leadership, and every necessary thing, I am able to walk in the Spirit. My experience has not been reduced to one of fleshly conflict. My focus is spiritual, and my weapons and resources are spiritual.

If you arm yourself for conflict with the government, then a conflict of arms you will get. Look at what occurred in Waco with this church group that did this very thing. Did they prevail? Did the government’s evil actions end up being exposed and condemned? Was justice served? Did light triumph over darkness? Will you fare any better if you fight fire with fire? Will your guns deliver you from a government that has ordered billions of rounds of ammunition in the past couple years, who has millions of fully automatic assault rifles, tanks, grenades, and Predator drones that can fire missiles with pinpoint accuracy at homes, automobiles, or men on the ground?

I entreat you to NOT set your focus to engage in conflict on this level. You will not win. These are not the weapons of our warfare. You have been given the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the girdle of truth, the gospel of peace, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Let God fight for you. When He says flee, then flee. When He says hide yourself away as Elijah did at the Brook Cherith, then do so. And when He says it is time to suffer that He might be glorified through your faith and patience, then yield yourself freely to the cross.

The Luciferian governments of this world have no compunction regarding the torment and murder of men, women and children. If you enter into a carnal conflict with them, you will not win. They will out-carnal you. They can be more fleshly than you. They will be more vicious, more ruthless, and they have greater weapons at their disposal.

This is not the case, however, if you walk according to the Spirit. The little finger of Yahweh is greater than all the armies of mankind.

There is a rallying cry in Texas that says, “Remember the Alamo!” The Spirit would say to His people, “Remember Waco!” Don’t travel down that same road. Don’t look to carnal weapons to deliver you in a day of distress. Don’t lower yourself to the level of conflict that this world would choose. Rise above it. Put your faith, your trust, your defense, in the heavens.

Psalms 3 (A Psalm of David)
O Yahweh, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. Many are saying of my soul, "There is no deliverance for him in God." Selah. But You, O Yahweh, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head. I was crying to Yahweh with my voice, and He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for Yahweh sustains me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.  Arise, O Yahweh; save me, O my God! For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You have shattered the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to Yahweh; Your blessing be upon Your people!


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Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063