Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 220
Tabernacle of Hate is fast-paced and full of action. The author provides some of the
significant historical and developmental connections within the Christian Identity movement,
including its origins, the links between CSA, its standoff with the government (which
occurred on April 19, 1985), and the bombing of the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma
City (which took place on April 19, 1995). This book will give readers insight into cultic
development at many levels – from the leaders on down to the followers. Not all groups will
become as extreme as this one did, but we can learn a great deal by paying close attention
to these outliers at the extreme end of the spectrum. To his credit, Noble has a solid and
healthy perspective on his experience. He doesn‘t shy away from his own moral
responsibility as a leader of a group that engaged in racist and illegal activities nor does he
hold back from helping us understand how such groups develop and thrive. Highly
recommended.
Reviewed by
Janja Lalich
Christian Millenarianism: From the Early Church to Waco
Stephen Hunt, ed. (2001) Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 258 pp.
Some unbelievers think that the fear of death and the end of the world is the origin of all
religion. Most believers, on the other hand, are convinced about life after death and some
divine conclusion to history. Not all, but some of the faithful, and not only Christians,
anticipate a final chapter of history, a thousand year period in which justice and peace will
prevail. They are the millennialists or chiliasts (from ―a thousand‖). Jews, Christians and
Muslims have such apocalyptic beliefs. In times of crisis and despair apocalyptic hopes may
rise to the surface.
Many Jews, Christians, and Muslims take the notion of the millenium, not literally, but as
symbolic of ultimate justice and peace. Theologians call their study of end times,
eschatology (from the Greek, eschaton, last).
In contrast to some ancient thought that saw history moving in endless cycles, the Judeo-
Christian view of history is linear, moving to some kind of denouement or conclusion.
Christian Millenarianism offers an introduction and seventeen erudite essays on
millenarianism divided into four sections:
1. Sociological Aspects
2. Historical Dimensions
3. The Global Movement
Interestingly, at the start of things back in 1976, Ellison was known for his newly formed
fellowship, for ―helping young people recover from drugs or from cults like the Children of
God‖ (p. 28). According to Noble, Ellison believed that such individuals were not only
―basically discontent with society … [but also] would be easier to mold‖ (p. 28). In 1977
some good friends who had been with the Children of God (COG) invited Noble and his wife
to visit this young community in the Ozarks. Noble was taken with the strong sense of
community, so different from his life in Dallas, and the genuineness of the hard, manual
labor done by the men there. Despite initial reservations about Ellison and some of his
preaching, Noble and his wife decided to stay. Not too many months later, the couple who
had invited them left Ellison‘s community, saying that it reminded them too much of the bad
things they associated with their earlier experience with COG. They urged Noble to leave
also, but he resisted, believing that he was choosing to obey God by choosing for Ellison.
Noble‘s commitment intensified after this ―test,‖ and Ellison drew Nobel in as a leadership
figure, an elder in the group, and as Ellison‘s confidant.

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 221
4. Syncretic and Cultist Forms.
Possible scenarios for the end of the world provide opportunities for the exploitation of
fears, utopian ideals, and radical ideology under cultic leadership. That is what makes this
book important to those concerned with destructive cultism—even though it isn‘t this work‘s
focus.
The aim of this book is not to discuss the idea of millenarianism in purely theological or
sociological terms. It is rather to examine a variety of specific movements, the ―most
vigorous expressions (of millenarianism) within the Christian faith over the last two hundred
years‖ (7). ―what is self-evidently one of the perennial and most dynamic of visions‖ (p.
11). To accomplish such an endeavor, the editor has called upon experts able to speak from
the disciplines of ―sociology, anthropology, biblical studies, church and cultural history, and
theology.‖ (p. 7)
The volume deals with millenarianism as it is found within the mainstream of Christian
tradition, in the tendency toward Christian extremism and sects, and finally as it influences
larger society. Malcolm B. Hamilton‘s first chapter helps define and distinguish the subject
from a sociological perspective:
Lately millenarian sects have attracted much attention as a consequence of
groups such as the People‘s Temple, the Branch Davidians, the Solar Temple,
Aum Shinrikyô, and Heaven‘s Gate.
The tragic loss of life resulting from the confrontation of apocalyptic groups
such as these with the wider society has puzzled and perturbed contemporary
society.
The millennial idea, however, is not only manifested in clearly definable
movements or relatively discrete and organized sectarian bodies, but runs as
a current through society, greatly varying in intensity over time, attracting
varying numbers… and with varying degrees of influence in their lives and
society in general. (pp. 34, 35)
The next essay by Martyn Percy provides information that helps explain the ―Left Behind‖
series by Tim LaHaye (though these popular novels/films are not mentioned here). The
chapter is subtitled, ―Evangelicals, The Millenium and Millenarianism.‖ ―Evangelicals‖ are
conservative Christians who take the Bible literally, or at least authoritatively. They are
similarly divided as to whether they believe the ―thousand year period‖ of Revelation 20:
2b, 4b to be a literal thousand year period or a symbolic ideal of history‘s consummation in
justice and peace. In describing Evangelicals' three biblical interpretation of the millenium
as post-millennial (Christ coming to earth after the millennium), amillennial (the millennium
seen as symbolic), and dispensational (the ―Left Behind‖ scenario), Percy unfortunately
misses historic premillennialism of which dispensationalism is only a rather modern variant.
Insightful history and details regarding the origins of dispensationalism are provided by a
later essay, Mark Patterson and Andrew Walker‘s ―Irving, Albury, and the Origins of the Pre-
tribulation Rapture‖ (p. 98).
In this volume we find historic backgrounds from ancient, medieval, and early modern
history. We learn of global movements such as the T‘Aiping Rebellion in China, ―Catholic
Apocalypticism and the Army of Mary‖ in Europe, and ―A Peruvian Messiah and the Retreat
from Apocalypse.‖
With scholarly balance, this book makes clear that not even ―extreme‖ millennial
movements are necessarily dangerous. In ―The Heavenly Millenium of Seventh-Day
Adventism,‖ Kenneth Newport declares: ―Seventh-day Adventism is without doubt one of
the more successful, even if less-known, pre-millennial movements in the world today‖ (p.