When I was 22 I met a man called Yisrayl Hawkins who said his coming had been prophesied in the Book of Isaiah. Yisrayl (born Bill) lived with his many disciples and several wives in a compound carved out of the red dirt scrub near Abilene, Texas. His cult was called the House of
Yahweh, and as a sign of their commitment, his 400 followers had all changed their names to Hawkins.
Yisrayl was a narcissist, as most cult leaders are, and this made him tremendously boring.
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