The Branch Davidians are an offshoot of the Seventh-day Adventists. 17 August 1959 was a significant date in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It marked the birth of Vernon Wayne Howell — later to change his name to David Koresh.
Like so many religions, splits had appeared in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 1930 a group of Adventists set up a reform group known as the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists. Most of these members had been disfellowshipped from the Church because of their beliefs. In particular they believed in the End Time and that biblical prophecies were already coming true in preparation for the second coming of Jesus. See Box 1 for more on the beliefs of the Davidians. When the founder of this movement, Victor Houteff, died in 1955 a further split took place. The Church was based at Waco in Texas, USA. Houteff’s followers could not agree over who had the true spirit of prophecy to lead the movement.
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