The 2 Branches

A Brief History of New Mt. Carmel Center

The Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists - BDSDA

Most people have only heard vague references to Davidians or Branch Davidians in relation to an incident that took place in 1993 when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Fire Arms (BATF) raided a small church group on the outskirts of Waco, Texas, at a location called Mt. Carmel Center. The following information is presented to better acquaint the reader with the history and teachings of this group and the present situation of the survivors and the property east of Waco.

The Davidian Seventh Day Adventists - DSDA

The Davidians find their origin within the Seventh Day Adventist Church in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Their founder was a Bulgarian immigrant by the name of Victor Tasho Houteff (pronounced How-teff, rather than Hoo-teff as some have called him). He was a teacher of a Bible class at a Seventh-day Adventist church in Los Angeles. In 1929 he was teaching a class on the book of Isaiah and presenting concepts new to the generally accepted doctrines of the Church, which he believed God was directly revealing to him. As a result large numbers of Church members began flocking to his classes. This caught the attention of the Church leaders and ultimately resulted in his dismissal (being disfellowshipped or excommunicated) from the Church. A large number of his students were also removed from Church membership as well.

The burden of his teachings at that time concerned his trying to call for a return to the standards originally taught by the Church founder Ellen White, who was supposed to be accepted as a prophet of God with the gift of Inspiration. Victor Houteff’s messages taught that a revival of that same Spirit would bring about a reformation within the Church and would bring about God's favor they had formerly enjoyed in their beginnings. His teachings also emphasized the need for church members to seek to receive the "seal of God" as opposed to the "mark of the beast" and thus assure themselves a place amongst the special group brought to light in the book of Revelation, known as the 144,000.

In due time Victor Houteff led his followers out of the Los Angeles metropolis and moved east to Waco, Texas. They established a community on the outskirts of the city, near present-day Lake Waco, and called it Mount Carmel Center. The name Mount Carmel had special significance to them as they believed that their work, strictly confined within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was similar to that of  the ancient Old Testament prophet Elijah. Around 1938 Victor incorporated into his teachings the belief that God was going to establish His Kingdom on this earth, with its headquarters or capitol in Jerusalem. Over the years, through a major literature ministry, backed up by Bible workers giving one-on-one studies to "Adventists" the ranks of the Davidians grew. But on February 5, 1955, the founder, Victor Houteff died. This devastated the Davidian membership because many had not expected him to die and expected to participate in this Kingdom, within their lifetime and as a result not have to pass through the grave, but be translated and have eternal life.

The Davidians After Victor Houteff

With the death of Victor Houteff the Davidian church was left leaderless. Into this vacuum stepped Florence, Victor's widow, who assumed command, not without challenge. Victor Houteff had established a governing board known as the Executive Council and had drawn up a set of By-Laws, which stipulated that the leadership would consist of a President which could be selected or chosen only by God Himself (an inspired person or prophet) and that he or she would then have the authority to select the other individuals who would makeup the Executive Council. Florence declared that Victor had named her the new Vice-President, and the acting VP, an old man by the name of Elder Wilson was asked to vacate his seat on the Executive Council. She felt this would circumvent the need to declare herself as a prophet/president. Ultimately the rest of the Council went along. In all fairness and according to the By-Laws, this was the only way the organization and church could function legitimately while the LORD found a new prophet president to take over the position.

However, there were Davidian members who were stressing the need for a Divinely appointed leader to head the Church. One was a man by the name of Benjamin Roden. He began writing letters to Florence and the Council calling for reform, which they chose to reject. He and those who listened and went along with him were soon removed from church membership. Benjamin Roden began to travel around the various Davidian groups around the U.S. drawing many followers to his teachings. They soon became known as Branch Davidians. The Branch part of the name derived not from the fact that they were an extension, or offshoot, of the Davidian church but, that the name Branch, mentioned in the Scriptures, had reference to Christ Himself.

To counteract the exodus of so many Davidians to the teachings of Benjamin Roden, Florence Houteff began to interpret the prophetic Scriptures, while still not claiming to have the gift of prophecy or to be a prophet. She took a Scripture from the book of Revelation concerning a period of time called the 42 months and set a date, April 22, 1959, as the time when God would slay those in the Seventh-day Adventist Church who had not received the "seal" or "mark" of God as laid out in Ezekiel Chapter 9. She also predicted that Victor Houteff would be resurrected at that time. Most of the remaining members of the Davidian church went along with her teachings and dug in to wait for this expected judgment of God and hopefully to be taken to the Kingdom around the same time. Very few Davidians from that point would give Benjamin Roden a hearing, preferring to wait and see.

The Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists

In the meantime, Benjamin Roden had been teaching the need for his followers to prepare to go to Israel (which had become a State in 1948) to be on hand when God would begin to establish His Kingdom. In 1958 he had taken a number of families to Israel and set them up in a village called Amirim, in the northern part of the country. He and his wife Lois were in the process of negotiating with the Israeli Government for places of settlement where Christians could come and live and work towards the establishment of this Kingdom as outlined in Scriptures. In 1959 he returned to the U.S. with the invitation to the Davidians to begin moving to Israel, but they refused, hoping against hope that their faith in Florence’s prophecy would be fulfilled. At that time some 900-1000 Davidians had gathered on a 941-acre property that had been purchased on the east side of Waco, approximately 10 miles out of town.

The date set by Florence in 1959 came and went, bringing with it a great disappointment, the expected events did not transpire as they had been taught. Over the next several years many Davidians would abandon their faith, blaming Victor Houteff for their dilemma, rather than the real instigator, which was his wife Florence, and branding him as a false prophet. If they had listened to Ben Roden they would have began setting up the kingdom as prophesied, but in refusing to listen to God's appointed prophet president, they ironically suffered the spiritual slaughter of Ezekiel Chapter 9. In 1961, the Davidian Executive Council voted to dissolve the church and to sell off both the old and new Mount Carmel properties and assets. This illegal transaction, without the knowledge or vote of the general membership around the world, took place the following year and the money was divided up amongst about 70 of the members who had been living and working on the property. 

All but 77.8 acres were thus disposed of. The money used to buy this newer property in 1957 had come from what was called the second tithe fund and which was primarily set aside for the benefit of the membership in their old age. Thus, thousands of members had nothing to take care of them as they reached retirement age. Even the remaining 77.8 acres was destined to be sold and the money divided amongst the remaining church membership who could prove that they had paid second tithe over the years. This would include the very ones that had robbed the church of its tithe and assets in the first place.

Around 1965 a Davidian member from Colorado, by the name of Atwood, made an attempt to purchase the remaining acreage to preserve it for those Davidian members still holding to the faith. He put up $25,000 as a down-payment, but was unable to get any other members to assist him, or financial backing to go through with the deal, and ended up losing his investment. In 1966 Benjamin Roden stepped in and paid $25,000 in order to buy the property. At that time he tried to take possession and was refused the keys to the buildings on the property. His reasoning was that if you pay a down-payment on a vehicle you ought to be able to drive the vehicle off the lot. As a result of this refusal to hand over the keys, by the caretaker, Roden tried to stop payment on the check he had written. The Bank informed him that the transaction had already gone through and been paid into an escrow account. Benjamin Roden managed to rent 3 houses on the property, through a third party, and moved on to the land. 

For the next seven years he fought in the Courts to have his claim honored. In the process he exposed the illegality of the decisions and transactions of the former Davidian Council. Over the years he was unable to convince the Courts that the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists should own the property on the grounds they were the God appointed successors of the original movement and his original down-payment was eaten up in rents and court costs. In 1973 he finally agreed to buy the property all over again. Part of the purchase price was credited by members signing a waiver form saying they did not want any money back personally, but would allow their share to go towards the purchase price. The balance was then made up in cash. Thus the Mount Carmel property was re-bought in the name of the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists with Benjamin Roden, Lois Roden and George Roden as the Trustees.

New Mount Carmel After Benjamin Roden

On October 22, 1978 Benjamin Roden passed away, but not before installing his wife Lois as the new President (Prophet). She had begun her ministry the previous year, with emphasis on the understanding of the femininity of that part of the Godhead known as the Holy Spirit. She called her organization the Living Waters Branch. The introduction of these new concepts, in spite of the acceptance of Benjamin Roden himself, the Executive Council, and a majority of the current membership, brought a major division amongst Branch Davidians. Many chose to abandon the church and not follow Lois Roden's teachings or accept her as the new leader. One of the major opponents of her new role and teachings was her own son George.

For a year leading up to his father's death George had resisted his mother's teachings. Immediately upon the death of his father he made a push to take over, believing it his right as the oldest son. However this move on his part was resisted by all the membership, except his own family and one other individual. The leadership of the church, according to the "Leviticus and By-Laws" of both the Davidians and the Branches, was not a hierarchical progression, but was to be determined by God Himself. The President/Prophet was to have a Divinely inspired message and ministry, which George did not have.

George decided to take over by force. He began stealing and selling much of the church assets, as well as destroying property at the church headquarters at Mount Carmel. Things came to a head when his mother was finally forced to take him to Court. Upon the hearing of the evidence presented, the Court decision went against George and he was forbidden to ever hold himself out as President, to interfere in the work of the Association, or to possess or dispose of any of the church assets.

George moved to California and started his own organization and called it The Branch Association. In 1980 Lois made a decision to baptize all of the church members that were living at Mount Carmel at that time and those that were loyal through the world. George and his family were visiting at that time and Lois asked George if he would permit her to baptize him along with the others. He vehemently refused saying he did not accept her or her message and walked out of the service.

In 1981 a young man by the name of Vernon Howell came to Mount Carmel for a visit and over the next two years came back frequently to study Lois' teachings. In the Fall of 1983 Vernon began to share with Lois certain Bible passages that he believed God had been revealing to him. On September 8 of that year she turned the pulpit over to him saying that he should share what he had been telling her with the rest of the residents at Mount Carmel. The Executive Council and other members during the next few days came to accept Vernon as having an inspired message from God and he became co-leader along with Lois for the next six months. Just before the spring of 1984 they both sent out a letter inviting the members from other United States and other countries to come to hear this new message. Upon hearing of this proposal George Roden began contacting Branch members relating horrifying stories about Vernon Howell and trying to prejudice them from either coming or at least from hearing what he had to present.

George moved back to Mount Carmel and took control of the church building at the point of a gun. When it came time for the scheduled meetings to be given George would not allow Vernon or his followers to use the church building and so meetings were held in one of the houses and another rented building off the property. This situation created a schism among Lois Roden's followers, some siding with George, some with Vernon and others not knowing who to support. This situation deeply saddened and grieved Lois who saw her life work being torn asunder. About that time Vernon chose to move off of the Mount Carmel property rather than to allow bloodshed to ensue.

During the next several months most of those who sided with Vernon either left voluntarily or were driven off by George. Lois seemed reluctant to stop the exodus, in spite of the court order in her favor from several years earlier. She did not want George to go to jail. He was her flesh and blood. She did however continue to meet and study with Vernon and his follows over the next two years. In the meantime George steadily tightened his stranglehold on Mount Carmel and proceeded to run off all church members whether they had recently supported him or not.

Lois endeavored to carry on her ministry but with little success and her health suffered. Her treatment at the hands of her son George, which resulted in mental and physical torture, including a reported incident of George hog-tying her and taking her to a mental institution trying to have her committed, ultimately brought about her demise in 1986.

By 1987 George had the Mount Carmel property to himself. He began to gather around him people who were not members, some of whom were involved in criminal activities and who would eventually be incarcerated on various charges. About this time George met a woman by the name of Amo Paul Bishop who he did some work for and who he convinced to enter into a common law arrangement, even though he was still married to his first wife Carmen. It is reported that he had a daughter by Amo who was named Zella. This child would, before very long, be taken from Amo, by the Courts, who had ruled her as an unfit mother.

That same year the Independent School District put a lien on the Mount Carmel property and filed a case against George for payment of delinquent taxes. It was their determination to sell the property in order to recover their share of the taxes that had not been paid since the 1960s. Upon hearing of the situation Vernon Howell intervened and paid the taxes in full, rather than allowing the church property to be lost.

Also in 1987 George decided to dig up one of the female church members who had been buried in the church cemetery years before. He sent a message to Vernon challenging him that if he could resurrect the woman involved, that he, George, would accept Vernon as the leader, but if George managed to resurrect her, then Vernon should accept him.

Vernon declined the challenge. Reports indicate that George made several attempts and failed to revive the corpse. It was at that time that Vernon went to the Sheriff Department in Waco to make a report and a complaint about the grave desecration. Vernon had acquired pictures of the coffin which George had placed in the church building on the property and showed them to the Sheriff deputy to whom he had made the report. He was advised that he would need further proof that there was indeed a body in the coffin and it was suggested that he acquire some means to protect himself while doing so, since George was known to be armed, crazy and violent. In the carrying out of this mission, at the suggestion of the Sheriff Department, a shooting occurred, instigated by George. Vernon, and seven men that he had taken with him, ended up being jailed, went to trial and were ultimately acquitted.

While Vernon's band was being held for trial, George had himself arrested and jailed on totally unrelated charges. He had apparently sent letters to various individuals, including a judge, putting a curse on them saying they would all get aids etc. Upon learning that New Mount Carmel was free from George's tyranny, and that the property had no Branch members living there to take care of it, Vernon gave orders that the church leadership, which had been in exile, so to speak, should return and reclaim the property. This was done by Vernon's followers who had been living in Palestine, in East Texas. When the church members returned, in the early months of 1988, Amo was amongst the few people that they found living on the property. Although invited to stay, each of these individuals chose to leave the property, beginning with Amo.

In September of 1988, a decision was rendered in a case brought by The Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Association against George Roden, in which the judge ruled that George was in violation of the original permanent injunction granted Lois Roden and the Association, in 1979, in which George was told he could not hold himself out as President, nor interfere with the operation of the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Association, and that he could not hold possession of any property belonging to said Association. This Order of Contempt resulted in an additional 90-day confinement being added to the sentence he was already serving on a federal contempt sentence starting in March 1988.

When the followers of Vernon returned to the Mount Carmel property they had found it in a horrendous state of decay. The houses were in a deplorable condition, doors hanging off their hinges, windows with the screens torn, and the structures in general in much need of repair. They also found evidence that there had been a drug lab in operation and also a pornography business being conducted by individuals which George had permitted to live there. The drug paraphernalia was handed over to the Sheriff Dept. and the pornographic material burned. For awhile church members received quite a number of threats of violence, presumably from some of the criminals, that had been permitted to operate under George's tenure. Eventually news reached New Mount Carmel that individuals such as Donny Harvey and Roy Boy Wells had been re-arrested and put in prison. For a time thereafter the members lived in relative peace, spending their time between studying the Bible and engaging in efforts to repair the buildings and make them habitable again.

In the summer of 1989 a Branch member from California, who had not initially joined with Vernon, came to New Mount Carmel and had some studies. His name was Dale Adair. After several studies he was advised by Vernon to return to California and think about what he had heard before making a decision whether to join or not. Unfortunately, on his way home he decided to visit with George Roden, who, by this time, had been released from jail, and was living in Odessa, Texas. Just how long he spent there is not known exactly, but on October 16, 1989, George took it upon himself to murder him. He had killed Dale with a machete and then shot him in order to make it look like self defense. For this crime, rather than being sent to jail, George was incarcerated in Mt. Vernon Hospital an institution for the criminally insane.

Vernon Wayne Howell a.k.a. David Koresh

Aside from his first disciples, consisting of the leadership of the Branch Davidian Association, he was joined by many other Branch Davidians from around the world. After the death of Lois Roden on November 11, 1986, quite a number of Branches who had not initially chosen to accept his message eventually joined with him. Since the beginning of Vernon's ministry he had the opportunity to travel extensively and addressed hundreds of students, mostly at Seventh Day Adventist college campuses. So the next big increase in numbers came from that. Over his career he traveled not only extensively in the United States but also to Israel (3 times), to Australia (3 times), England, and Canada. It was due to the great influx of students coming from all over the world to Mount Carmel that Vernon decided to dismantle most of the older buildings, from the 1950's, and build a larger building that could accommodate the increased population. This eventually became the building that most people saw on television in 1993.

At some point, around 1990 to 1991, while in California, Vernon legally changed his name to David Koresh. This was partly for publicity purposes having to do with the music ministry he was trying to put together. It also had symbolic significance in as much as he believed there would be a latter-day David, as depicted in the Biblical prophecies connected with God setting up His kingdom in the Holy Land. The Koresh part of the name derives from the ancient Persian king, Cyrus, anointed of God, who defeated the Babylonian empire, and which is also indicated in prophetic writings as having a role in end-time events.

The events surrounding the BATF raid on Mount Carmel on February 28, 1993, and the ensuing siege, by the FBI, lasting 51 days, ending in the fire of April 19, 1993 and which culminated in the deaths of 82 of our church members and four BATF agents will not be dealt with in this brief history. It has been written about by many authors, not always favorably, nor accurately. We will give our version of the details of that event separately.

New Mount Carmel - Post David Koresh

After the fire of April 19, 1993, most of the surviving members of the Branch Davidians found themselves either incarcerated in various County jails awaiting trial, or in half-way houses. It was during this time that Amo, now calling herself Amo Paul Bishop Roden decided to return to the property to take advantage of the situation. She to occupy the premises, using the location to sell her tracts, charge visitors to tour the property, park their cars or to fish in the lakes. She instigated a number of legal cases in the Courts, initially as a representative of George Roden still being held in the mental facility, and later on her own behalf. None of these proceedings ever made a ruling in her favor.

During the years, since the fire, George made several attempts to escape custody, but was re-arrested each time. His last effort was on December 6, 1998, which resulted in him having a fatal heart attack while climbing the chain link fence and falling to the ground breaking his neck.

After the criminal trial against Branch Davidians in San Antonio, during January and February of 1994, three of the defendants were exonerated of all charges; these three included Norman Allison of England, Woodrow Kendrick, a long-time Branch Davidian since the 60's and Clive Doyle, a member since 1964. Clive Doyle was not only a member since that time, but had been part of the Executive Council under Benjamin Roden, Lois Roden and Vernon Howell's administrations. After his release from jail, Clive Doyle sent out requests to every Branch Davidian that could be contacted asking them to acknowledge and accept a group of the survivors, including Clive Doyle, living in the Waco area at the time, as Trustees of the Mount Carmel property. This would also be repeated in 1999. Almost 100 members and former members signed affidavits showing their support. These affidavits not only accepted Clive Doyle in that role as Trustee, but explicitly stated that they did not want Amo Roden to have any jurisdiction, use or control of said property.

In 1995 a grove of Crepe Myrtle trees was planted by the survivors in memory of all the church members who died here in 1993. In the latter part of 1997 a small building was constructed on the property, as a visitors center and museum. In March of 1997, Charles Joseph Pace answered God's call and moved his family onto the church property at New Mount Carmel and has lived there ever since. Charles was a baptized member of the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Association under Ben and Lois Roden and since that time has developed his own ministry along medical missionary lines believing that he has been chosen by God as the leader of the church and anointed by Lois Roden to continue the teaching of The Living Waters Branch which concentrated on the revelation of the Holy Spirit - gender, personality, intercession, work and office as the Bride of Christ. Charles developed his understanding of this revelation of Truth with Lois and continues to teach as the Spirit reveals to him Her identity and work to those who choose to follow Her all the way into the Kingdom of Righteousness and Peace.

Clive Doyle moved onto the property, with his mother, in 1999. He, as a member of the Executive Council under Benjamin and Lois Roden, and also under David Koresh, believes his calling is to carry on the teachings of these messages and as a survivor, to be a first-hand witness to the events which transpired in 1993. A chapel was built for worship in 1999 on the property by volunteers, mostly from Austin, Texas, but also others from around the country. Clive has a world-wide literature outreach.

In 1999 the members of the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Association filed a case in District Court asking that the Court recognize the will of the church members in accepting a Board of Trustees that had been submitted to them. Amo Roden counter filed trying to get the Court to accept her as trustee instead. In the year 2000 the jury's decision was that they could not decide who should hold that title and found neither party to be trustees. The judge upheld their decision.

Amo Roden left the Waco area about that time. It is alleged that in the following years she received somewhere in the vicinity of $150,000 from her mother's estate. Apparently she has laundered or squandered this huge sum of money, because in a recent suite that she has filed against the residing church members, as recent as November and December of 2004, she states that she is broke, basically a pauper, and is being currently prevented from making a living, by begging and selling her wares, on church property. She also accuses both Clive Doyle and Charles Pace of defaming her name and reputation by saying she is not a church member in good standing. Amo Drake (she remarried legally after George Roden) never was, in the eyes of the original Branch Davidians, a baptized church member. Nor do they feel she has any rights to the property as she claims. It is the prayer of this Association that the coming Court case, or better still God Himself, will soon clear this clouding of title that has been perpetrated by this impostor and others for so many years.

February 2006

Clive Doyle decided to give up his control of the property and turn it over to Charles Pace and his followers. Charles believes that he has been called to reorganize and re-establish The Branch Church and teach the Truth as it is in Christ the BRANCH and His Holy Spirit Bride. Charles desires to restore true worship once again at Mt Carmel and honor our LORD, Yehoshua The BRANCH, who was crucified afresh and His Name BRANCH brought to open shame by David Koresh and his followers. Charles has reorganized The BRANCH Church according to the By-Laws established by Victor Houteff and Benjamin Roden and has named it The BRANCH, The LORD (YHVH) Our Righteousness, according to the instructions left by them in the By-Laws.

The Sanctuary will also become an audiovisual historic museum to show the History of the Apostolic Church established on the Day of Pentecost by the Holy Spirit and covers the whole timeline from the cross to where we are presently in God's Plan for judgment and purification of His House and covers the Protestant Reformation and the all the Advent Movements to date. Hopefully, all our visitors to Mount Carmel will see the place their denominational roots fit into this timeline, but more importantly, they will recognize that Branch Davidians hold a place in the timeline that extends far beyond David Koresh. It goes all the way back to the early 1830's and the First Day Adventists of the Millerite Movement. This project was completed by the April 19 Memorial of 2006, the thirteenth anniversary of the Waco tragedy. It is at this time that we announced the grand opening to the public and dedicated our AudioVisual Historic Museum and our newly organized Church to the work of restoring true worship to Yehoshua the BRANCH and His Spirit.

The Past, The Present and The Future of Branch Davidians

Benjamin Roden, the founder of The Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Movement, purchased the Mount Carmel property in 1965. He won a long court battle with the defunct Executive Council of the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Movement, which was led by Victor Houteff’s wife after his death in 1955. The deed of the 77.8 acres was put in the name of Ben and Lois Roden and their son George, who were acting as trustees for the church association whose membership second tithes and offerings purchased and maintained the property. Ben Roden died on October 22, 1978 and his wife became the next prophet and president after meeting the requirements set forth in the by-laws of the Association.

After Ben Roden's death, George Roden contested his mother's legitimacy to the leadership, on the grounds that she was a woman, and that she was teaching an uninspired message about the Holy Spirit being the feminine member of the Godhead or Family - Father, Mother, and Son. George's claim to be leader was fraudulent according to the by-laws, since only an inspired messenger, appointed and anointed by God is able to assume the position of president and leader of the church, and only after the congregation has studied and accepted his or her teachings as Present Truth, thus, verifying their legitimacy to the office. Everyone but George agreed that he did not have an inspired message, which unfitted him as leader of the Church.

Vernon Howell came to Mount Carmel during this controversy and managed to entice Lois and her Executive Council to follow his interpretation of latter day prophecies found in the Branch writings and the Bible. George became even more irate with the situation when this 23-year-old "medium" had persuaded his 62-year-old mother that they were to be married and bear a prophet child to lead the church. Vernon soon dropped Lois and married 14-year-old Rachel Jones, announcing that Lois' faith in God was too weak causing her to miscarry the child he had "promised." Vernon was now able to take full control of the congregation at Mt. Carmel, since he had undermined Lois' integrity before the Executive Council and many of her followers.

This began a series of events that caused the Branch Movement to be fragmented. At the Passover Feast of 1984, Charles Pace confronted Vernon and his followers with a three-hour study that exposed to all present Vernon's motives which paralleled those of Lucifer in heaven when he rebelled and attempted to usurp the the position of the Creator Son. Charles pointed out that the Bride of Christ, His Helpmate came forth from His side in heaven as Eve did from Adam and that She took Lucifer's place as the Spirit of Prophecy or the Mouth Piece (Prophet) of the Godhead, the Royal Family. Vernon claimed to be the Lamb of Revelation 5:6, a position which NO MAN or a created being could possibly fill since the Scripture says, that "Lamb has seven eyes (perfect vision), seven horns (complete authority) and is the seven spirits of God sent into the earth (the Other Comforter, the Spirit sent in His Name to lead us into all truth)." (See The Revelation of Jesus Christ on this site). Lois recognized her delusion and openly repented of her sin and continued to teach her message with the help of Charles Pace and others. Vernon realizing he was found out, took his following from Mount Carmel and eventually went to Palestine, Texas, away from Charles Pace and Lois Roden's influence.

George again began to bully his mother and her helpers, claiming that if he had of been recognized as the messiah and leader, none of this would have happened to her or the movement. After running off all of Lois Roden's supporters, George was able to take over Mount Carmel by force, naming it Rodenville. This maniacal bid for power caused him to become even more deluded into believing he was the messiah, declaring that his devotees pray in his name.

During his short reign as "king of Rodenville" George practiced polygamy with Amo Paul Bishop, who according to her private interpretation, bore him the "prophet child," supposedly, fulfilling the prophecy by which Vernon debauched Lois. This is Amo's only claim to fame and supposedly to the property at Mount Carmel. George was not legally or spiritually divorced from Carmen, his legal wife of many years and mother of his five children. In order to save face, Amo fashioned herself as the next leader of the church by taking on the name Roden and fabricating the doctrine of polygamy, as one of the church's teachings to justify her lawlessness. I suppose, if it was good enough for Vernon, then, it was good enough for her and George. Due to a lack of spiritual and financial support, George allowed Mount Carmel to become a hovel. The buildings were all in disrepair and unlivable. By deluding himself in believing he was the messiah, he compromised his trusteeship among the membership of the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists, compelling many to follow Vernon, who, at that time, was the lesser of the two evils, consequently, accepting him as the God appointed leader and trustee of the Davidian Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists.

Vernon had many supporters when he returned to Mount Carmel to displace George. After his decisive victory against George, Vernon was molded into the "idol shepherd" by his followers. Vernon not only took over the church property, but through his cunningly devised fables convinced his followers that everything they owned belonged to him, even their wives and their daughters. David Koresh's reign ended on that fatal day of April 19, 1993, when the Lord judged His house (1 Peter 4:17) - The Davidian Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Church - and found her leadership wanting and thus, cleansed these wicked ones from among His flock, according to the slaughter of Ezekiel chapter 9.

The Branch Church was divided into three main divisions, all making claim to the property. There were those who were following Vernon as the messiah, those following George as the messiah (Amo et al), and those following Christ The BRANCH, The True Messiah, as originally taught by Ben and Lois Roden. Lois Roden founded the Living Waters Branch Church after her husband died in 1978. Before his death, Ben Roden endorsed his wife's teaching and her leading the congregation. Before Lois died in 1986, she endorsed the teachings of Charles Pace and ordained him as a minister to lead the congregation. Charles founded The Living Waters Branch of Righteousness, after Lois died in November of 1986. He was instrumental in exposing the falsehoods taught by Vernon Howell who became David Koresh to bring judgment on the leaders of The Davidian Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Church. Christ the Word in the Branch Message was crucified afresh by His own professed followers, who followed man (both George and Vernon) instead of God. Both George and Vernon did not heed the message of judgment and purification brought by Charles because they believed that they and only they had the right to interpret the Scriptures, but they were privately interpreting the Scriptures to their own damnation and demise.

It is believed that the Lord has judged and purified this church and has chosen and anointed Charles Pace to take on the title "the Joshua of today, the man whose name is Branch," making him the highest official in the Church. According to the Association's by-laws, only an inspired messenger, appointed and anointed by God is able to assume the position of president and leader of the church. The congregation must study and accept his or her teachings as the Present Truth Message, verifying their legitimacy to the office. The LORD has restored to us the Truth as it is in Christ The Branch and the Holy Spirit through Charles Pace and his anointed meassage about The 2 Branches - both the Son and the Daughter, Bride and Groom, the Second Adam and the Second Eve.

Charles Pace has returned to Mount Carmel to rebuild a purified church and community, and to restore the true worship of our Creators and Redeemers - the true Messiahs - Jesus of Nazareth and His Holy Spirit - The Branch He and The Branch She, the LORDS of our righteousness. Charles has founded the Stone Church of Daniel 2, and named Her, The BRANCH, The LORD (YHVH) Our Righteousness (Jeremiah 33:15, 16).

We hope that New Mount Carmel will be the beginning of the Kingdom of Peace and Righteousness in the earth, and that it might be a house of prayer for all people. We pray that all will grasp the spiritual lesson our LORD, The WORD, has taught us by taking upon Himself the curse of our own ideas and uninspired or private interpretations.

We desire that all those that acted out their God-given part in this object lesson to the church and the world, will come together in the Spirit of Truth and brotherly love, so that together, we might tell the whole story (HIS-tory) of our experience and the spiritual lessons we have learned from it. All have sinned and have come short of the Glory of God. All have a piece of the fabric of truth, and, if we allow the Holy Spirit to cut away the ragged edges of each piece, and sew them together with the cords of truth and love, a coat of many colors, fashioned by heaven's Seamstress, will be worn by the Body of Christ's followers. As we believers come together at His cross, and look upon the Brazen Serpent, may we praise His Holy Name -- The BRANCH - and be healed of our sin and unbelief.

The property at New Mount Carmel was purchased and cared for over the years, since 1960, by the tithes and offerings of The Branch and Davidian Church membership. Since the tithe belongs to God, then the property ultimately belongs to Him. His New Name, The BRANCH, meaning Son or Daughter, has been placed there and now bears the curse of His professed followers, as He was brought to open shame before the whole world, by it's leadership. The Lord says that HE will vindicate His Name before all the nations, not for our sake, but for His Name's sake. Therefore, let us all come together in unity and in truth, putting away our selfish designs and desires that His Name - The BRANCH - may be made beautiful and glorious in the whole earth! His Spirit of love and truth will be poured out on all flesh and all will be given a second chance to repent of their sin and uncleanness against their Creators. So it is written, and so it shall be done!

The New Mount Carmel Church Passover 2010