THE RETURN OF DAVID KORESH

                                 1,335 DAYS

             © Marc Breault November 1995 All Rights Reserved.

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Introduction

Some are surprised that many Branch Davidians expect David Koresh to
“return.” The first question asked is, of course, “when?” I will attempt to
explain both the rationale and the time frame for that expectation.

I believe this is important for a number of reasons.

1. Koresh often preached a cycle of prophecy in which he would be “taken
away,” then return in glory. The various time elements are an integral part
of this cycle. Understanding it may help people understand why Waco
happened.

2. I believe that after all the possible time elements have passed, and
Koresh has failed to return (I believe he will not return), the
psychological effects on the surviving Branch Davidians will be
devastating. The scope of these effects may not be limited to themselves,
but may affect others.

I will discuss this second concern later. For now, however, let us return
to the question at hand, namely, when Branch Davidians expect Koresh to
return.

Koresh and Time Prophecy

Biblical prophecy, especially apocalyptic prophecy, is difficult to
understand, let alone interpret. It is replete with symbolic
representations such as beasts with seven heads and ten horns. Even plants
are symbols. The most difficult aspect of biblical prophecy, however,
revolves around time. There are few time prophecies in Scripture, and these
are full of mystery.

To my knowledge, David Koresh never made a definitive time prediction with
respect to himself. He simply did not know how all the various time
prophecies of the Bible fit together. He made what might be called an
educated guess, although I am sure Branch Davidians feel those “guesses”
were divinely inspired.

Complicating matters considerably for Koresh, was the following words of
Christ.

Matthew 24:21-22
" For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning
of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days
should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's
sake those days shall be shortened."(KJV)

The time of “great tribulation” was seen as the period of persecution
Branch Davidians, and those sympathetic to them would endure. Jesus’ words
imply that the length of that tribulation is fixed, but that God, in his
mercy, will shorten it. Thus, even though there exist specific time
prophecies, one could never be sure whether to fully apply those
prophecies. Since many time prophecies span the “tribulation,” one never
knew whether to expect the full duration, or a shortened period.

This is probably the main reason Koresh was vague with respect to time
prophecies. I will therefore attempt to discuss the range of possibilities
Koresh dealt with, including the 1,335 day prophecy found in Daniel 12,
which I believe to be the prophecy we should consider most carefully with
respect to this question.

Taking Away the Daily

Look at Christ’s words quoted above. Now compare them with these words
found in Daniel.

Matthew 24:21
" For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning
of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (KJV)

Daniel 12:1
"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth
for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such
as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that
time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written
in the book". (KJV)

It was obvious to Koresh, and it should be obvious to anyone who reads
these passages, that both scriptures refer to the same time period. After
all, there can only be one tribulation which tops them all. This fact is
further enforced by the fact that Jesus himself, in this same chapter,
refers to Daniel (Matthew 24:15).

In fact, Matthew 24:15 is very important, so I will quote it here.

Matthew 24:15
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him
understand:)" (KJV)

If you read Matthew 24:15-22, you will see immediately that the great
tribulation begins with the events described in verse 15. A quick look at
Daniel shows exactly where this “abomination of desolation” is spoken of. I
will bold the important parts to make comparison easier.

Daniel 11:31
"And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of
strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the
abomination that maketh desolate."(KJV)

Koresh believed that the great tribulation for Branch Davidians began with
the taking away of the “daily sacrifice.” Before explaining the Branch
Davidian interpretation of “daily sacrifice,” I need to bring up an
important point.

Koresh greatly emphasized the fact that, in the King James Bible, the word
“sacrifice” is written in italics. Thus, the words are rendered as “daily
sacrifice.” The Hebrew and Greek languages are such that translators often
need to supply extra words, to make the reading smoother in English. In
many cases, these extra words are forms of the “to be” verb as well as
other words which do not affect the meaning of the passage. The translators
of the King James, unlike modern translators, felt it necessary to identify
those words which they supplied. They did so by printing them in italics.
Thus, the word sacrifice was added by the translators to help us understand
the meaning of the passage.

Now that we have finished all of this preliminary material, we can make
sense of the time prophecies.

In short, Koresh felt that he was the “daily.” In ancient Israel, a special
offering was made twice a day at the sanctuary. Although the Bible does not
directly state that these offerings were made at the third and ninth hour
of the day respectively, there are enough biblical inferences, as well as
Jewish traditional material, to justify this belief. This offering is
better named in English as “the continual burnt offering.”

This offering was meant as a continual atonement for the people of Israel.
Twice each day, God would atone for the sins of Israel. This offering, as I
have said, took place at the tabernacle or sanctuary.

As most Christians believe, Koresh also believed that the ancient sanctuary
was a shadow or a symbol (the theological term is type) of something in the
future. Koresh, like most Christians, believed that Jesus Christ was the
true tabernacle and that Jesus was the antitype to which the symbol
pointed. In other words, the ancient sanctuary was the symbol, while Christ
was the reality.

Branch Davidians made one further extension to this idea. They believed
that anyone who had the spirit of God in them was the true tabernacle or
sanctuary for that particular time. Koresh believed that the Christ spirit
dwelt in him. He was not, however, the first Branch Davidian to come up
with this idea, although he extended its meaning far beyond his
predecessors. Ben Roden, who was the founder of the Branch Davidian
movement in 1955, preached that the “daily” was the meeting of God and the
people through the true tabernacle, which he defined as the “living spirit
of prophecy.” The “living spirit of prophecy,” of course, was manifested in
the “living prophet.”

Thus, Koresh simply followed old Branch Davidian tradition. He saw himself
as the true tabernacle, one in a long line of true tabernacles which
included the Protestant reformers and the Davidian and Seventh-day
Adventist prophets.

Just as in ancient Israel, God “met” with the people twice a day, at the
third and ninth hour, so near the end of the world, God would meet with his
people twice a day, through the medium of the true tabernacle. This is why
Branch Davidians have two Bible study sessions daily, one at the third hour
and one at the ninth. These times roughly correspond to 9:00 A.M. and 3:00
P.M. (In ancient times the hours were almost certainly calculated based on
changing sunrise times).

This concept was important in Jesus Christ’s life as well. If you read your
gospels, you will discover that Jesus was placed on the cross at the third
hour, and he died precisely at the ninth. This link between the “daily” and
Christ, was not lost on Koresh either. Could the timing of the events of
day 51 have been preordained by Koresh? Quite probably.

Now back to the time prophecies. I have shown earlier that the great
tribulation begins with the removal of the daily sacrifice. Now that we
know what the daily constitutes in Branch Davidian thinking, things become
much clearer. The removal of the daily is the removal of the true
tabernacle or, in Branch Davidian eyes, the removal of David Koresh.

This is the reason why Koresh preached various cycles of prophecy in which
he would be taken away, then return in glory. Now that we know the event
which triggers the tribulation, we can make sense of the time prophecies of
Daniel. For those who are not familiar with the Bible, Daniel is the main
apocalyptic book of the Old Testament.

           The Time Prophecies of the Great Tribulation in Daniel

Daniel 12:7
"And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the
river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and
sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and
an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the
holy people, all these things shall be finished". (KJV)

Daniel 12:11-13
" And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the
abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two
hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the
thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." But go thou thy way till
the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the
days." (KJV)

Daniel 12:7 is somewhat mysterious to those not used to biblical
apocalyptic prophecy. For this reason, I will concentrate on what should be
obvious now. From the time the daily sacrifice is taken away, 1,290 days
will go by. The verse continues, however, to state that 1,335 days will
elapse. Notice I have doubly emphasized the phrase “end of the days.”
Notice what Daniel is told. He is told that he will rest (die) but that he
will “stand in his lot” at the end of the days. According to Daniel 12:2, a
resurrection will take place. In other words, Daniel is being told that he
will die (he was an old man when he received this vision), but that at the
end of the days, he’ll be back. The phrase “end of the days” almost
certainly refers to the 1,335 days.

Hence, the time spanning the removal of the daily to the resurrection is
1,335. Since Branch Davidians believe that the removal of the daily
constitutes removal of the true tabernacle, or the prophet, it follows that
Branch Davidians expect that Koresh will return 1,335 days after he has
been removed.

I stated earlier that Koresh attempted to juggle many time prophecies. Of
all the scenarios he considered, however, this was the one he most leaned
towards. The possible scenarios are to numerous to cover in this document.

I will now list all the time prophecies in Daniel, using the date of
Koresh’s death as a starting point, since this is the obvious date at which
the “true tabernacle” was removed. David Koresh died on 19 April 1993.

Time Prophecy: 1,150 days (Daniel 8:14)
Date of conclusion: 12 June 1996

Time Prophecy: 1,260 days (Daniel 12:7;7:25)
Date of Conclusion: 30 September 1996

Time Prophecy: 1,290 days (Daniel 12:11)
Date of Conclusion: 30 October 1996

Time Prophecy: 1,335 days (Daniel 12:12)
Date of Conclusion: 14 December 1996

Time Prophecy: 2,300 days (Daniel 8:14)
Date of Conclusion: 6 August 1999

Some of these times require a brief explanation. The 1,150 and 2,300 days
come from the same verse. They are two different interpretations of the
same prophecy. I will just say here that the English translation is
somewhat garbled, and despite the fact that the English says 2,300 days,
most scholars hold to the 1,150 day interpretation as the exegetical merit
for that line of thought is more sound than for 2,300 days.

Daniel 12:7 speaks of times, times, and a half a time. This is generally
understood, as meaning 1,260 days. David Koresh also shared this
understanding. I am not personally aware of anyone who deviates from
reading 1,260 days into this passage.

Conclusion

As you can see, this short discussion uncovers a multitude of
possibilities. Perhaps this will help you understand why some Branch
Davidians expect big things in 1996. If anyone reading this is not a Branch
Davidian, please try to understand their point of view. They have literally
given up everything for the sake of Koresh’s prophecies. They are familiar
with these time prophecies and many would be clinging to these for hope.
After all, it is not pleasant to face the prospect that everything you have
given up and gone through has been for naught. I went through something
similar when I left the group and I can tell you that the feeling is not a
good one.

The surviving Branch Davidians have given up loved ones and, in many cases,
their very freedom. What will happen when Koresh fails to come back? I am
particularly worried about December 1996 since, as I said, the 1,335 day
prophecy was the one Koresh favored most. What will happen to them
psychologically, and what consequences will this have? Will all the
repressed grief, anger, frustration and feelings of helplessness suddenly
explode into violence? Perhaps someone will have a new vision, providing
spiritual interpretations to what they once believed were literal
prophecies. Or, alternatively, will they sink into despair and end their
own lives?

In my opinion, all three loom as large possibilities. Anything which can
better prepare them for these possibilities would be helpful.

In my view, the Branch Davidian interpretation of these time prophecies is,
in many ways, sound. I do not believe Koresh is the daily. I believe these
prophecies apply to a rebuilt Jewish temple. One should not underestimate
the Branch Davidian knowledge of the Bible. Except for the interpretation
of the “daily,” the actual logic in placing the tribulation etc., is
probably the best available interpretation of these prophecies. Koresh
(Vernon Howell then) discussed these prophecies with me many times, often
spending hours together -- just the two of us -- trying to figure them out.

I first began to see the link between Matthew 24 and Daniel 11 and 12 in
1988 and Koresh accepted the logic because it made sense in his view. We
would eventually differ as to our beliefs on the “daily” since I believed
that the addition of the word “sacrifice” was not only justifiable, but the
only meaning possible in this scripture. This difference in opinion,
however, was not a source of contention between Koresh and myself. We had
far more major ones to sort out.

Why am I telling you all this? Simple. These prophecies still exist,
despite Waco. If anyone reading this believes that biblical prophecy has
merit, they should, in my opinion, strive to understand their meaning.
After all, the end has to come some time, and knowing about it can only
help.

I also want to dispel the myth that Branch Davidians are stupid. I disagree
with many of their interpretations of the Bible, but as a rule, they are
far more advanced than your average Christian. Religious people should neve
mistake their complacency for superior intellect or discernment. Branch
Davidians, in their own way, actually gave up all to follow what they
believed to be God’s truth. In other words, they actually did what Christ
commanded. How many others manage that? While Branch Davidians are by no
means the only spiritual people around, many so-called religious people
never take any risks.

My lament is that the Branch Davidians took risks for the wrong cause, and
are now paying the price. I guess that’s the chance you take. When you
blitz the quarterback, you might give up a long bomb. But at least they
tried. If more of us tried while maintaining open minds toward other
viewpoints, this world would be a better place. Like everything else, the
Branch Davidian movement has good and bad points. Perhaps people can learn
from their spirit, dedication, and tenacity, while Branch Davidians can
learn to exercise better judgment. In the end, their calamity befell them
partly because the US government made a shambles of a law enforcement
operation, and partly because of their pride, convinced that they alone had
the truth and that no one else understood God as well as they did. I guess
we can all learn from that mistake.

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