David Koresh’s Seven Seals Teaching
By James Trimm
Originally Published in the Watchman Expositor
Vol. 11, No. 4, 1994
“…the special issue of the Watchman Expositor that Watchman Fellowship published on Waco contains some of the most accurate analysis of the biblical teachings of the Branch Davidians that has ever appeared in print.”
(Why Waco; James D. Tabor & Eugene V. Gallagher; 1995; p. 153)
“The best published explanation of Koresh’s view of the Seven Seals is James Trimm, ‘David Koresh’s Seven Seals Teaching,’ Watchman Expositor Vol. 11 (1994) pp. 7-8.
(Why Waco; James D. Tabor & Eugene V. Gallagher; 1995; p. 229 n.2)”
[The purpose of this article was only to document the beliefs of the Branch Davidians and was originally part of a three part series including a rebuttal to Branch Davidian Theology.]
David Koresh taught that there had been various gospels throughout time (Seven Seals Manuscript, p. 6, Koresh). He also taught that the Spirit or Mind of God had been offered to man at various times in various ways. One of thes was the giving of prophets which comprise the Old Testament (Livingstone Fagan Interview, 7-24-93, pp. 17-18). (This is seen as being pictured in Ezekiel 2:9-3:7).
When God’s offering of the Spirit was rejected, another expression of the Thought or Spirit was given in the flesh as Jesus Christ (Ibid., p. 10). Jesus is seen making this offer in Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 where the keys are seen as “binding or loosing” the seven seals. Koresh taught that when Jesus Christ was rejected another plan of salvation due to man’s ignorance was enacted when Christ said “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34) (Ibid., pp. 15, 17-19). After making this statement, that Spirit which Jesus Christ offered was commended into the hands of the Father (Luke 23:46) (Ibid., p. 8).
Based on 1 Peter 1:3-5, David Koresh taught, that in the last days another new plan of salvation would be revealed (Seven Seals Manuscript, p. 6).
Since the Spirit, or Mind of God which was offered to man had been commended to the hands of the Father, then it must be asked, what is in the Fathers hands? In Revelation 5:1 the Father has a book sealed with seven seals in his right hand, so this must be that same Mind of God (Fagan Interview, pp. 8, 10). Koresh believed that it was significant that Christ/the Lamb in the Heavenly Sanctuary was able to do something at the right hand of the throne because of his having been slain (Revelation 5; Hebrews 8 and 9). In Revelation 5 he is opening the seals, and in Hebrews 8 and 9 he is becoming mediator of the New Covenant, thus the New Covenant, Koresh taught, is a newly revealed plan of salvation as the Mind of God is offered to man through the Seven Seals (Seven Seals Manuscript, p. 6).
According to Koresh, when the Lamb comes he comes with his “reward” (Revelation 22:12) not our reward. This reward is the Lamb’s reward – what the Lamb was worthy of for having been slain. It is the only reward the Lamb receives in Revelation and is, according to Koresh, the Seven Sealed book (based on Revelation 5).
Koresh further supports these claims with Isaiah 40:10 and and 62:11 (Fagan Interview, pp. 9; 30; Second KRLD announcement; 58 min. message). Now according to Koresh, based on Revelation 10:7, his seventh angels message is the contents of this sealed book (see Revelation 10 inclusive) (30 second KRLD announcement; “Divided We Stand – Divided We Fall,” by David Koresh). And since only the Lamb can open these seals (Revelation 5) and it is the Lamb who brings his reward (Revelation 22:12) Koresh must be the Lamb (Fagan Interview, pp. 11, 22).
The First Seal
The first seal (Revelation 6:1-2) according to Koresh, is The Marriage of the Lamb. Koresh said the key to this seal is Psalm 45 and is the same event as Revelation 19. Koresh taught that this seal depicts the marriage of the Lamb to the Holy Spirit (“Eden to Eden,” Seven Seals Manuscript). He derived this concept from the teachings of his predecessors.
Lois Roden taught that the woman in Revelation 12:1 was Eve and that she was created in the image of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the woman of Revelation 12:1 also represents the Holy Spirit (By His Spirit… “Behold Thy Mother,” p. 6). She further identified the Holy Spirit as the “bride” of Revelation 19 (Ibid., pp. 7-8).
Victor Houteff, founder of the Davidians Seventh-Day Adventist Association, taught that the man on the white horse in Revelation 6:2 was Adam (Tract 15, pp. 39-41). Now Christ is the second Adam. This individual is then wedded to Eve (Revelation 19:7-11).
The Marriage of the Lamb, then, is revealing that Koresh is obtaining unity with the Godhead. Those with him in Revelation 19:14 are also on white horses and also dressed in marriage garments. So, they must be about to obtain unity with the Godhead too. Thus the first seal, the marriage of the Lamb, reveals that those who believe that David Koresh is the Christ and accept the Seven Seals will obtain unity with the Godhead.
The Second Seal
The key to the second seal (Revelation 6:3-4) is found in Zechariah 1:8-11 and 6:1-8 and is also depicted in such places as Ezekiel 9 and Revelation 7 and Revelation 19. In this seal, God makes war with man and kills all who do not have the seal (those who have rejected Koresh’s message) (Revelation 7 and Ezekiel 9).
The Third Seal
The key to this seal is Hosea 3; 12:7. In this seal there is a merchant offering something. That something, according to Koresh, has to do with paying for a marriage (Hosea 3). This deal has a very high price which does not seem fair to the ways of man, thus the merchant has “deceitful scales” (Hosea 12:7) and appears to be charging an outrageous price (Revelation 6:5-6). This is also the topic of the parable of the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:45-46). What is offered is the first Seal (the marriage of the Lamb). The alternative is the second Seal. This merchant offers the Seven Seals, but one must be willing to pay a very high price. The price is one’s self, which leads into the fourth seal, Death (Revelation 6:7-8).
The Fourth Seal
The fourth seal (Revelation 6:7-8) is Death, and the grave follows after it. The language of this seal given in Revelation 6:8 refers back to Ezekiel 5:12, 17. This section of Ezekiel (Chapters 4 and 5) describes the seige on Jerusalem by Babylon. To the Branch Davidians, Jerusalem here refers to Mt. Carmel, and Babylon refers to the world. To the Branch Davidians, this siege is the one which began on 28 February 1993 at Mt. Carmel and lasted 51 days. Brad Branch, one of the Branch Davidians who exited Mt. Carmel, said that in his final, private, Bible study Koresh claimed the Mt. Carmel standoff was also the siege described in Zechariah 14:2. Koresh said those like Branch who left were those who “shall go into captivity” (Zechariah 14:2). Koresh also told Branch that the “chariots” that “come with flaming torches” in Nahum 2:3-4 were the tanks outside.
The Branch Davidians see these events as a microcosm of a final battle between the kingdoms of men and the Kingdom of God. They expect literal Jerusalem to be attacked in a similar battle shortly before the coming of God and the return of the Lamb (Koresh).
The Fifth Seal
The fifth seal (Revelation 6:9-11) reveals the souls under the altar. These are those who died under the fourth seal. They are wearing white robes. Their numbers are being added to and will have a specific number when completed (v. 11). It is apparent that they are the 144,000 (Revelation 7 and 14) and are the ones who are at the marriage of the Lamb in Revelation 19. The 144,000 are called the “first fruits” (Revelation 14:4). They are divided into two parts, the initial group of Seal four, and those added to them. The Branch Davidians call the initial group the “wave sheaf.” This is because there are two first fruits offerings in the feasts of Israel. The first is the “wave shear” made during Passover. The second is the “wave loaf” made during Pentecost.
To the Branch Davidians the fifth seal is a waiting period of 3 1/2 years from the death of the fourth seal (19 April 1993) to the judgement of the sixth seal. A major key to this seal is Psalm 74 obtained in an interview with Livingstone Faga in March of 1993 (before the fire of April 19th). In Psalm 74 individuals are, like those in Revelation 6:9-11, asking how long God will wait before making judgement . In Psalm 74 we are told that the sanctuary and meeting places of God had been burned to the ground (v. 7-8) that their “signs” (the Branch Davidian banner) were no longer seen, and that their prophet (Koresh) is no longer with them (v. 9). But judgement will come from the right hand of God (v. 11) and God will take vengeance. This hand, of course, contains the Seven Sealed book (Revelation 5:1). Thus, by October 1996, the Davidians foresee the Second Coming of Koresh and the final judgement of the world.
The Sixth Seal
The sixth seal (Revelation 6:12-7:17) involves cosmic disturbances associated with the return of the Lamb, and the coming of the day of Judgement . There are several Keys to this seal, Joel 2; Isaiah 13; Habakkuk. 3; Ecclesiastes 12 & Psalm 139 (Compare also Matthew 24:29-31). According to Koresh, the sun would be darkened because it would be eclipsed by the Merkabah (mobile throne pictured in Ezekiel 1).
The Seventh Seal
The seventh seal (Revelation 8:1) is the “new song” which the 144,000 have learned (Rv. 14:3) from the messianic figure in Psalm 40 (Ps. 40:3) and is identified with the song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32) and relates to the Kingdom to come. Koresh told his followers that they would not fully understand this seal until his return. Katherine Matson (who had been Lois Roden’s secretary) says that the seventh seal brings us full circle back to the first, so that if one receives the first seal, he is part of the 144,000.
Related:
A Rebuttal of Branch Davidian Theology
Branch Davidian Theology: A Doctrine onto Death
