Benjamin Purnell

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Benjamin Franklin Purnell (* 1861 in Kentucky , † December 16, 1927 in St. Joseph , Michigan ) was an American traveling preacher and founder of the House of David sect.

Life

Benjamin Franklin Purnell was born in 1861, one of ten children of the Purnell family in Kentucky.

Since his parents were too poor to support him, he was raised by his eldest brother and his wife. The only book in which he is said to have read over and over again until he was 14 was the Bible, so that he was able to freely quote from it. Even if he remained uneducated in school, he developed into a very charismatic and gifted man. Early on he had the idea that man could return to the condition of the Garden of Eden and live forever. He underpinned this structure of ideas with various Bible passages and began to travel through the southern states at the age of 16 as an uneducated traveling preacher. He also worked as a broom-maker and always carried the necessary equipment with him.

On August 3, 1880, Benjamin Purnell married Mary Stollard (* November 13, 1862, † August 19, 1953) in Aberdeen (Ohio), with whom he had two children Coy (* 1881, † 1924) and Hettie (* 1887, † 1903) should get. Although Benjamin Purnell was already married at this point, he did not divorce his first and separated wife.

The Purnells lived in Richmond (Indiana) and belonged to the church of the self-proclaimed prophet James Rowland White (James Jezreel * 1851, † 1885), which emerged from the Christian Israelite Church founded by John Wroe (* 1782, † 1863) in 1822 and according to whose teaching the seven angels of Revelation chapter 10 verse 7 were understood as seven earthly messengers of God, the first of which was the English enthusiast Joanna Southcott (* 1750, † 1814). The task of the ambassadors is to gather together the ten lost tribes of Israel . James Jezreel saw himself as the sixth ambassador and prophet. At the time of the seventh ambassador, paradise on earth would arise, in which the 144,000 elect (Revelation 7: 4) live for 1000 years. The followers of James Jezreel were called Jezreelites.

When the Purnells moved to Detroit, Michigan , they followed a certain Michael Mill, who ran a God House congregation of the Jezreelites and was considered the seventh ambassador. However, Michael Mill was imprisoned in 1892 for having sex with a minor, which lost the hopes of his followers. According to Benjamin Purnell's statements, he claims to have received a divine vision on March 12, 1895, in which it was revealed to him that he was the seventh messenger of God. From then on he traveled with his family on a horse-drawn cart and spread his new teaching, which he called the " House of David ". He saw himself as the son of David and revelator of the mysteries of God and taught that whoever accepted his teaching and prescribed way of life would live forever. The way of life he proclaimed included u. a. not to cut one's beard and hair and not to eat meat. In 1902 the Purnells settled in Fostoria, Ohio , where they founded the Israelite House of David community . Here they met the wealthy farmer couple Silas and Cora Mooney, who made it possible for them to have their new book " The Star of Bethlehem: The living roll of life " printed in large numbers. Purnell's sermons created a growing following around him, so that they could soon purchase their own church building.

His daughter Hettie died in the explosion of the local fireworks factory on February 17, 1903. Benjamin Purnell was giving a sermon at the time and did not want to stop or interrupt it to identify the body of his dead daughter. He also refused a funeral for his daughter, referring to Matthew 8:22 that the dead should bury their dead. This irritated the residents of Fostoria so much that they forcibly asked him and his family to leave the place. However, the Mooneys remained loyal to them and continued to support the Purnells, who traveled north-west to meet the brothers Albert and Louis Baushke. Albert and Louis Baushke attended a Christian Israelite Church in Grand Rapids which believed in John Wroe as the sixth ambassador. The two brothers owned the Baushke Carriage Works on West Main Street in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and were therefore very wealthy. They accepted the doctrine of the Purnells and proclaimed Benjamin Purnell the seventh ambassador and prophet in front of their congregation in Grand Rapids. With their financial support, the Purnells were able to finance the purchase of approximately 250 acres of land along Britain Avenue in Benton Harbor in 1903 and to build the House of David on it. In this they wanted to prepare for the second coming of Christ together with their followers, understood as the 144,000 elect from Revelation chapter 7 verse 4. The property was not far from the amusement park and resort "Eastman Springs", which the upscale Chicago society frequented, which the Purnells acquired in 1908 and renamed "Eden Springs Park".

In order to further spread his teaching, Benjamin Purnell sent so-called House-of-David ambassadors who traveled through the country. He himself traveled with his wife to Melbourne (Australia) in 1904 , where they won 85 followers of the Christian Israelite Church for themselves, who followed them to Benton Harbor in 1905.

Benjamin and Mary Purnell published various theological and prophetic writings in the following years, including "The Little Book: Addressed to the Twelve Tribes of Israel Scattered Abroad", "The Seven Books of Wisdom" and "The Key of the House of David: Book of Wisdom for the Ingathering and Restoration of Israel ".

The community grew and in 1916 already had 1,000 members. Thanks to the amusement park open to the public and the seemingly paradisiacal conditions within the municipality, this gained great fame. Benjamin Purnell became a millionaire and began to appear very extravagant, which is why newspaper journalists referred to him as "King Ben". In 1923 he was accused of owning a harem and, in addition to religious fraud and promoting forced labor, he was also accused of raping underage girls, which led to his hiding for four years and hiding in his Diamond House mansion . The State of Michigan opened a lawsuit in 1924 (People vs. Purnell). Benjamin Purnell was arrested on November 16, 1926 as part of a police raid, but he was released and the charges against him dropped. The ongoing civil lawsuit was settled by the State Supreme Court in 1929.

Benjamin Purnell died of tuberculosis on December 16, 1927 in St. Joseph, Michigan . Since his followers had believed in a resurrection, his death was not announced until three days later.

Teaching

Benjamin Purnell taught that before the return of Christ there would be seven messengers who were to be equated with the seven angels of Revelation. He had taken over the teaching of James Rowland White (James Jezreel * 1851, † 1885), as he had already explained in his work " Extracts from the Flying Roll ".

The seven ambassadors:

1. Joanna Southcott (* 1750, † 1814)

2. Richard Brothers (* 1757, † 1824)

3. George Turner († 1821)

4. William Shaw († 1822)

5. John Wroe (* 1782, † 1863)

6. James Jezreel (* 1851, † 1885)

7. Benjamin Franklin Purnell (* 1861, † 1927)

literature

  • Clare E. Adkin, Brother Benjamin: A History of the Israelite House of David , Andrews University Press, 1990
  • Philip Jenkins, Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History , Oxford University Press, New York, NY 2000
  • George Thomas Kurian and Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States , Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland 2016
  • Kenneth GC Newport and Crawford Gribben, Expecting the End: Millennialism in Social and Historical Context , Baylor University Press, Waco, Texas 2006
  • Jane Shaw and Philip Lockley, The History of a Modern Millennial Movement: The Southcottians , IB Tauris & Co. Ltd, London 2017
  • Christopher Siriano, The House of David, Images of Amerika , Arcadia Publishing 2007
  • Elaine Cotsirilos Thomopoulos, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor , Images of America, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina 2003
  • Elaine Cotsirilos Thomopoulos, Legendary Locals of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor , Legendary Locals, Charleston, South Carolina 2017
  • Stuart A. Wright, Armageddon in Waco: Critical Perspectives on the Branch Davidian Conflict , University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1995

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ George Thomas Kurian and Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States , Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland 2016, pages 1142-1143
  2. ↑ Christopher Siriano, The House of David , Images of Amerika, Arcadia Publishing 2007, 7
  3. ↑ Christopher Siriano (2007), p. 7
  4. ^ George Thomas Kurian and Mark A. Lamport (2016), p. 1142
  5. ↑ Kenneth GC Newport and Crawford Gribben, Expecting the End: Millennialism in Social and Historical Context , Baylor University Press, Waco, Texas 2006, pp. 214-216 + 224-226
  6. ↑ Elaine Cotsirilos Thomopoulos, Legendary Locals of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor , Legendary Locals, Charleston, South Carolina 2017, p. 62
  7. ^ George Thomas Kurian and Mark A. Lamport (2016), p. 1142
  8. ^ George Thomas Kurian and Mark A. Lamport (2016), p. 1142
  9. ^ Stuart A. Wright, Armageddon in Waco: Critical Perspectives on the Branch Davidian Conflict , University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1995, p. 10
  10. ↑ Christopher Siriano (2007), p. 8
  11. ^ George Thomas Kurian and Mark A. Lamport (2016), p. 1143
  12. ↑ Elaine Cotsirilos Thomopoulos (2017), pp. 61–62
  13. ↑ Stuart A. Wright (1995), pp. 7 + 10
  14. ^ Stuart A. Wright (1995), p. 7
  15. ↑ Christopher Siriano (2007), p. 9
  16. ^ George Thomas Kurian and Mark A. Lamport (2016), p. 1143
  17. ↑ Christopher Siriano (2007), p. 66
  18. ↑ Christopher Siriano (2007), p. 79
  19. ↑ Elaine Cotsirilos Thomopoulos, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor , Images of America, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina 2003
  20. ↑ Elaine Cotsirilos Thomopoulos (2017), page 62
  21. ↑ Christopher Siriano (2007), p. 7
  22. ↑ Philip Jenkins, Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History , Oxford University Press, New York, NY 2000, pp. 3 + 131
  23. ↑ Elaine Cotsirilos Thomopoulos (2017), page 62
  24. ↑ Elaine Cotsirilos Thomopoulos (2017), pp. 61–62
  25. ↑ Elaine Cotsirilos Thomopoulos (2017), page 61
  26. ^ Daily Times , Longmont, Issue 34, Number 6, December 19, 1927
  27. ↑ Kenneth GC Newport and Crawford Gribben (2006), pp. 214-216 + 224-226
personal data
SURNAME Purnell, Benjamin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Purnell, Benjamin Franklin (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American traveling preacher and founder of the House of David sect
DATE OF BIRTH 1861
PLACE OF BIRTH Kentucky , United States
DATE OF DEATH December 16, 1927
Place of death St. Joseph (Michigan) , United States