Is it possible that a cult narrative never completly cracks, there will still be believers.

Then what cracks a cult, mass exodus of adepts, disconection from reality and thus economical sustainability, the mental stalling, etc, but mostly their leaders going postal and becoming self-destructive by antagonising the greater groups external to the cult at some point the preasure from the external becomes higher and the degradation of the internal structure will make the cult collapde but a kernel might remain.

Is this a plausible dynamic of cults? Is it possible for the Branch-Covidian to take longer than predicted to wake up...