Gilbert House Fellowship: Recent Episodes
Derek and Sharon Gilbert
After 200 years of idolatry, God finally allowed the northern kingdom of Israel to be destroyed and the people carried off by Assyria.
Meanwhile, the southern kingdom of Judah was being ruled the young, foolish, idolatrous King Ahaz. After being defeated in battle by the Aramean Kingdom of Damascus, Ahaz decided to worship the gods of Syria rather than turning to God for help. He also sacrificed his son to Molech in the Valley of Hinnom southwest of Jerusalem.
Then he turned to the Assyrians for help against Israel, Syria, and Edom, cutting up fixtures in the Temple to send to Assyria as tribute. Needless to say, God was not pleased.
Apparently, neither were the people of Judah. Ahaz was buried in the City of David rather than in the tombs of the kings of his forefathers.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, has been battling stage 4 bowel cancer and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Derek’s new book War of the Watchers Book One: From Baal to Balfour is now available at Amazonin paperback and as a Kindle e-book!
After several chapters of prophecies of destruction at the hands of the Assyrians, Micah concludes his book with a promise of restoration for the people of Israel.
Although there are some differences between the Masoretic text on which the old Testament of our English Bibles is based and the Septuagint, which was translated from Hebrew into Greek by about 200 BC, the overall message is the same: God will chastise His people for their behavior, but He will bless the remnant who repent and return to Him.
Who is the Assyrian?
The Bible foretells a mysterious character called “the Assyrian” who seems to have a role in the end times war against Israel. Who is he?
What’s odd is the Hebrew text of Micah 5:5–6 (and Isaiah 14:25, 31:8, and 52:4) lacks the definite article “the.” In other words, there is no "the Assyrian" in the Old Testament.
The Hebrew word Assur can referred to Assyria, its capital city, or its chief deity, who was the equivalent of the Sumerian/Babylonian god Enlil (called Ellil in Akkad), El of Canaan, Dagon of the Philistines, and Milcom of Ammon—and thus Molech, the netherworld god who demanded the sacrifice of children from his followers.
We believe the passages in Micah are an “already but not yet” prophecy, referring to the imminent conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel by Assyria, which occurred during Micah’s lifetime in 722 BC, and a future return of Assur in the end times as the Destroyer, Abaddon/Apollyon, who is released from the abyss for five months to torment those without the seal of God on their foreheads.
The Book of 1 Enoch prophesies a day when evil kings and rulers would be judged by a messianic figure called the Elect One—the Son of Man.
As we’ve mentioned previously, this section of 1 Enoch is the first Jewish text in which “the Son of Man” is used as a title—a title Jesus applied to himself 78 times.
We also discuss the differences between “angels” and cherubim, seraphim, and ophanim (Ezekiel’s wheels): and the identity of the Son of Man as one with the Lord of Spirits, God the Father—Yahweh.
The ruling elites of ancient Israel were compared to cannibals eating the flesh of those they were supposed to protect.
We continue with the prophet Micah's polemic against ancient Israel's ruling class, who apparently took advantage of the poor and downtrodden. For that reason, God told Micah to prophesy a day of judgment that would bring destruction on the rich and powerful.
Because Micah used the phrase, "in that day," we view this as an "already but not yet" prophecy—one that was fulfilled when Assyria conquered the northern Kingdom in 722 BC, and will be fulfilled again in the last days.
The prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, prophesied the coming judgment of God on the kingdoms of Israel and Judah at the hand of the Assyrians.
Our chronological reading order brings the book of Micah into the middle of our study of Isaiah. While Isaiah prophesied a day when the kingdom of Judah would declare, "God is my salvation," Micah's prophecy is a warning of God's imminent judgment for the sins of Judah and Samaria.
We see both prophecies as being of the "already but not yet" type, fulfilled in the eighth century BC, but with a future fulfillment still to come. Bear in mind when reading Isaiah 12 that the the Hebrew word translated "salvation" is Yeshua—Jesus.
A VISION of Noah's was inserted into the Book of 1 Enoch, with interesting references to Leviathan and Behemoth.
These are chaos monsters. Leviathan, described as female and from the sea, and Behemoth, male and occupying the wilderness—possibly the same one into which the Watcher Azazel was thrown as punishment for his role in corrupting humanity.
We discussed the "already but not yet" prophecies of 1 Enoch 57–59 and the end times fulfillment of the vision ascribed to Noah in chapter 60.
As a reminder, this month's study comes from the Book of Parables, the prophetic section of 1 Enoch written just before the birth of Jesus. The importance of this section of the book is in its prophecies of a coming messianic figure called the Chosen One, the Anointed One, and, most frequently, the Son of Man, a title not found in any prior Jewish writing. Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man 78 times in the New Testament.
The high regard for 1 Enoch held by Jesus, the apostles, and the early church suggests that it's worth our while to study this book for ourselves. It's not in the Bible, nor should it be, but there are teachings in the New Testament that come straight from the book of 1 Enoch.
Today Is Pentecost, fifty days after Passover. It’s the day the Holy Spirit descended on the followers of Jesus and the day Moses descended Mount Sinai with the Law.
We discussed the similarities and differences between those two events. For example, the fire on Mount Sinai and the tongues of fire over the heads of the followers of Jesus; and the 3,000 saved on Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 contrasted with the 3000 who were put to death when Moses returned from Sinai to find the Israelites engaged in debauchery around the golden calf.
We also discuss the change between the law on tablets of stone and the law written on our hearts. We bring in passages from Ezekiel 36 in which God promised to restore Israel to the land—not because the Israelites earned it, but for the sake of His Holy Name so that the world would know He is Yahweh. This was fulfilled in 1948.
Here’s the link to “The Comforter Has Come,” featuring Sharon with Sandi Patty, Steve Green, and Warren Hoffman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgOrW8DAFJ0
And here’s the video “Mount Hermon’s Upsettingly Dark Occult Connections”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQvfrTtE9XM
The arrival of the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem in the time of David is a foreshadowing of the prophesied return of our King to his earthly throne.
This week, we flash back about 250 years to study four psalms we overlooked during the life of David. These Psalms of praise would have been written just after the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem, as described in 1 Chronicles 13–16.
We also discuss the covenants between God and Abraham, Moses, and David, and the difference between the unconditional covenants made with Abraham and David and the Sinaitic covenant with Moses. Though the Israelites, and later Jews, broke faith with God, there are promises. He made that were not dependent on the faithfulness of the people of Israel.
Zechariah 12 and 14 tells us of a day when Messiah arrives in Jerusalem at the hour of Israel's greatest need. He will establish His eternal throne there:
For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: “This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. (Psalm 132:13–14, ESV)
Here are links to the books we mentioned during the study:
• Rebooting the Bible Part One by Doug Woodward
• Rebooting the Bible Part Two by Doug Woodward
• The Battle for the Bible’s Truth by Doug Van Dorn
The messianic prophecy of the one called "the Branch" is the focus of this week’s study.
We explore the “already but not yet” fulfillment of the promises of the restoration of Israel and judgment against Israel's neighbors—which May have already found partial fulfillment in the wars fought by Israel since 1948. We discuss the seven Spirits of Isaiah 11:2 and the references to those Spirits in the book of Revelation and their relationship to Jesus.
We also discussed these so-called Mandela verse, Isaiah 11:6. This is a reference to the Mandela effect, an Internet meme from a few years ago that claimed time travelers had somehow gone back into history and changed the verse to read, “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb," from, "the lion shall lie down with the lamb."
Let's be clear: Isaiah 11:6 never said the lion would lie down with the lamb. First of all, time travel is not a thing. Second, even if it was, God would never allow His Word to be changed. Anyone who suggests that this is possible is a false teacher who can safely be ignored.
Are we really afraid God is that weak?
ASSUR WAS a name that referred to Assyria, the capital city of Assyria, and the chief deity of Assyria. Knowing which was which means relying on the context in which it's used.
In Derek's book The Second Coming of Saturn, he shared research, showing that the word used by the prophet Isaiah for idols, ellilim, derives from the Akkadian name for Assur, Elllil (also known as Enlil, El, Dagon, Molech, Kronos, and Saturn, among others). These idols, then, were spirit beings—underworld spirits equivalent to the Rephaim, or malakim, as they were known at the ancient Amorite kingdoms of Ebla and Mari.
In short, we believe chapter 10 of Isaiah is a polemic against the entity called Assur, whom we believe is Shemihazah, the leader of the rebellious sons of God in chapter 6 of the book of Genesis. We will see him again in Isaiah 14 as "Lucifer."
JUDGMENT ON evil kings and fallen angels is a major theme of the section of 1 Enoch called the Book of Parables.
This week, we discuss the vision of a deep valley where “angels of punishment” prepare “instruments of Satan” for kings and mighty men who’ve rebelled against God—and a second valley where “iron chains of immeasurable weight” are “prepared for the hosts of Azazel.”
Our reading today ends with the prophecy of the final war against heathen powers. We discussed the historical background of the reference to the Parthians and Mead, and note comparisons to the prophecies of Ezekiel 39 (especially 39:11 and the reference to the Valley of the Travelers), and Zechariah 12 and 14.
THE DESTRUCTION of Israel is a theme throughout the book of Amos, but it ends with a prophecy of restoration.
The northern kingdom of Israel had engaged in idolatry since the time of Jeroboam, who split the kingdom of Solomon about 200 years before the time of Amos. For this, and for the treatment of the poor by Israel's elites, God decreed the destruction of the kingdom. This was to be fulfilled more than once – first, when Assyria destroyed the northern kingdom in 722 BC; and second, when the Romans scattered the Jews after the rebellion of Simon bar Kokhba in 136 AD.
And yet, God told Amos a day would come when the Lord would restore Israel to the land. The reference to "the booth of David" must include the southern kingdom of Judah, since that was where the descendants of David ruled. This was fulfilled in 1948.
We believe the prophet Ezekiel also saw this (Ezekiel 36:22–24). And God made it clear to Ezekiel that the restoration of Israel was not due to the righteousness of the people, but for His Name’s sake—so that the world would know that He is Yahweh.
PROPHESYING DOOM and destruction during a time of peace and prosperity does not make one popular with the ruling elites.
Amos discovered this while declaring God’s judgment on the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II (reigned 793–753 BC), the time of Israel’s greatest power. The prophet was confronted by Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, and told to flee to the southern kingdom of Judah, which prompted the Lord to tell the priest that his wife would be forced into prostitution, his children would fall by the sword, Amaziah would die in a foreign land, and Israel would be taken away into exile.
These things did come to pass in 732 BC, when Assyria conquered Israel and captured the capital city of Samaria.
We also discuss the strange reference in the Septuagint to “King Gog” or “Agag, the king” in Amos 7:1, which is quite different from the ESV rendering, “the king’s mowings” (or the NET translation, “the royal harvest”). Apparently the LXX translators didn’t know what to make of the literal Hebrew (“the mowings of the king”) but recognized the context as a prophecy of destruction.
Agag was the Amalekite king spared by Saul (and then executed by Samuel). In the book of Esther, Haman, the Persian official who plotted the genocide of the Jews (and thus a symbol of hatred toward Jews), was called “the Agagite.” Gog, a reference to Ezekiel 38–39, is the great end times enemy of God—essentially the Old Testament conception of the Antichrist.
Thus, the Septuagint translators who struggled to interpret an archaic reference simply plugged in a similar-sounding word (Gog or Agag) that preserved the context of a prophesied supernatural enemy of God and Israel.
JOHN THE BAPTIST taught a radical new idea: Forgiveness of sins came through repentance, not ritual—even for Gentiles. And this new doctrine was first introduced in the Book of 1 Enoch.
John’s teaching came from 1 Enoch 50:2–3:
He heaped evil upon the sinners; but the righteous ones shall be victorious in the name of the Lord of the Spirits. He will cause the others to see this so that they may repent and forsake the deeds of their hands. There shall not be honor unto them in the name of the Lord of the Spirits. But through his name they shall be saved, and the Lord of the Spirits shall have mercy upon them, for his mercy is considerable. (James H. Charlesworth translation)
The “righteous ones” were the Essenes. Scholars generally agree now that this section of 1 Enoch, the Book of Parables (chapters 37–71 of 1 Enoch), was written by one or more Essenes living in a community near the city of Magdala on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee in the last quarter of the 1st century BC—in other words, just before the birth of Jesus.
“The others” referred to Gentiles (and Jews who didn’t follow the Law). The idea that Gentiles could be saved was a radical departure from traditional Jewish (and Essene!) teachings, which is why priests and Levites from Jerusalem came to interrogate John.
We also find a prophecy of resurrection—including the resurrection of “the Elect (or Chosen) One.”
THE IMMINENT DESTRUCTION of the northern kingdom of Israel by Assyria was prophesied by Amos.
Israel’s failure to repent despite God’s repeated efforts to get the attention of the people is highlighted in Amos 4, and chapter 5 is a warning of the punishment to come upon Israel and God’s rejection of their feasts and sacrifices.
We also explain why the “cows of Bashan…on the mountain of Samaria” (Amos 4:1) are divine, not bovine, and why the reference to “Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god” (Almost 5:26), quoted by the apostle Stephen in Acts 7:43 (“You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan”), is not connected to the Star of David.
AMOS WASN’T a trained prophet, yet his words resonate today, highlighting the injustices and moral decay of society. It’s a stark reminder that the rich must not oppress the poor, a message as relevant now as it was then.
This week, we begin to explore the Book of Amo, focusing on its key messages and relevance today. Amos addressed social injustice and religious corruption in ancient Israel. Amos, a shepherd from Tekoa, delivered his messages during a time of relative peace and prosperity in Israel, specifically around the 8th century BC. However, this prosperity came at a cost, as the rich oppressed the poor, and religious practices deviated from true worship.
The Book of Amos begins with God’s proclamation of judgment on the neighbors of Israel and Judah: Aram, Ammon, Moab, Edom, Tyre, and Gaza (the Philistines). But His harshest words were reserved for Judah and especially the northern kingdom of Israel.
ISAIAH’S PROPHECY of a coming, Messiah included for seeing where Jesus would declare war on the fallen realm.
Chapter 9 of the book of Isaiah picks up where the prophet left off, condemning the people of Israel, for consulting the dead on behalf of the living. His prophecy that a light would shine on those dwelling in a land of deep darkness was cited by Matthew as fulfilled when Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. We connect this to Psalm 23 in the valley of the shadow of death, which in our view is the Jordan River Valley between Mount Hermon and the Sea of Galilee.
Isaiah 9 also includes the prophecy of a coming Savior who is called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). We discussed the interesting rendering of this verse in the Lexham English Septuagint, in which “Wonderful Counselor” is translated “Messenger of the Great Council.”
The second half of this chapter is devoted to God's judgment on the northern Kingdom of Israel, which was fulfilled when the Assyrians overran and conquered Samaria in 722 BC.
Here is a link to a PDF copy of the R. H. Charles translation of The Ascension of Isaiah (link opens PDF document).
ISAIAH REPEATEDLY condemned the practice of summoning spirits from the netherworld.
It’s not always apparent because translators often didn’t have an understanding of the cult of the dead that surrounded ancient Israel, and the impact it had on the Israelites. After prophesying the imminent destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel by Assyria, the prophet condemned the people of Judah for turning to mediums and necromancers to ”inquire of the dead on behalf of the living”.
Derek wrote about Isaiah 8:18–22 in The Second Coming of Saturn:
The prophet described those who looked to the spirit realm for oracles as people who were already dead: They live in darkness, and they’re “greatly distressed and hungry,” like the pagan dead of Mesopotamia who are not properly cared for by their descendants. In verse 21, Isaiah makes the connection to the dead explicit, writing that these unhappy souls will “pass through” the land. The Hebrew verb ‘ābar is based on the same root, ʿbr, from which we get ʿōberim—“Travelers,” as in the spirits of the dead who “travel” or “cross over” from the land of the dead to the world of the living; it’s the same word used by the pagan Canaanites to describe the Rephaim summoned from the underworld through rituals to the threshing-floor of El on Mount Hermon.
What Isaiah described is the punishment for those who defied God by using ritual pits to summon the spirits of the dead—they become like the unhappy dead themselves. When they realize their fate, “they will be enraged.” But in the context of the passage, with an understanding of the cult of the dead and the role of the “king” god in it, a better translation of the following sentence is this: “And they shall curse by Molek and by their ghosts.” (Elohay, the word translated “ghosts,” isn’t always a reference to God. The basic meaning is “one who lives in the spirit realm.” Context is king, and here “ghosts” or “spirits” is a more accurate reading than “God.”)
-- The Second Coming of Saturn, p. 188.
THE PROPHET ISAIAH lived through turbulent times, with kings of Judah who ranged from the good (Hezekiah, Jotham. Uzziah) to the evil (Ahaz, Manasseh, Amon).
In Isaiah 7, the prophet is sent to Ahaz by God with a word about the invasion of his land by the combined forces of Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel. This was despite the fact that Ahaz “made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering” (2 Chr. 28:3, ESV), a reference to the sacrifice of children to Molech.
God gave Ahaz a sign, an already-but-not-yet prophecy:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. (Isa. 7:14–16, ESV)
This was a promise that Judah would not be conquered by his northern neighbors, but it was also a promise that a virgin in the future (Mary) would give birth to “God with us”—the meaning of the name Immanuel.
THE ESSENES who wrote the second section of the Book of 1 Enoch, chapters 37–71 (called The Book of Parables), foresaw a coming Savior called the Son of Man.
This was a new doctrine for Jews in the 1st century AD. The Zadokite priesthood in Jerusalem believed that faithful adherence to the Law would redeem the world. The Essenes of the Upper Galilee taught that the world had been so corrupted by the rebellious Watchers that only God’s direct intervention could make things right.
1 Enoch is the first Jewish writing to put forward this doctrine, and the first to called the agent of God’s divine judgment the Anointed One, the Chosen One, and The Son of Man. And it’s clear in the text that the Son of Man is God Himself:
For this purpose he became the Chosen One; he was concealed in the presence of (the Lord of the Spirits) prior to the creation of the world, and for eternity. (1 Enoch 48:6, Charlesworth translation
Here are the Bible verses about angels Derek referred to:
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven…” (Matt. 18:10, ESV)
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (Heb. 13:2, ESV)
ISAIAH WAS commissioned as a prophet in the year King Uzziah of Judah died—and it was a mindbending sight.
One of the seraphim descended from the altar with a burning coal in a pair of tongs and touched Isaiah’s lips to absolve him of sin so that he could remain in the presence of God. We discuss the seraphim, who were probably winged, radiant beings of serpentine appearance. The word “seraphim” literally means “burning ones,” in the sense that they destroyed enemies by incinerating them, suggesting that the seraphim may have been what we’d call dragons.
Then, after hearing the Lord ask, “Who will go for us?” Isaiah responded, “Here I am! Send me”—something all of us who follow Jesus Christ do to one degree or another when we accept him as Lord.
PROPHECIES OF the coming Messiah are woven throughout the Book of Isaiah.
The one we encounter in this week’s study, chapter 4 of Isaiah, is not as well known as the prophecy of Isaiah 11:1 (“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit”), but the reference to “the Branch” (Hebrew tsemach) is also found in Jeremiah 23:5 and 33:15, and Zechariah 3:8 and 6:12.
The rest of this week’s study is a sharp contrast to the prophecy of a savior who will restore “the survivors of Israel.” Isaiah 3:1–4:1 and 5:1–30 is a prophecy of God’s judgment the people of Judah for their failure to meet His standards.
This week’s questions: How do we defend a futurist view of prophecy? Did Satan persuade the fallen Watchers (the sons of God from Genesis 6:1–4) to rebel? And what Bible commentary do we recommend?
ENOCH’S TOUR of the spirit realm continues with a view of the throne room of God.
He describes the four archangels—Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Phanuel—and their responsibilities. Interestingly, Phanuel is the archangel believed to fend off “the satans” to keep them from approaching God to “accuse them who dwell on the earth.” Apparently, there were Jews during the Second Temple period who believed that there were multiple satans (“accusers” or “adversaries”), a concept most Christians today find odd to say the least.
Our purpose in going through the Book of 1 Enoch is to better understand the theological background of the New Testament. Although there are good reasons 1 Enoch is not in the Bible, there are clear links between 1 Enoch and New Testament theology.
ISAIAH WAS a wordsmith. And the word he used translated “idols,” ʾĕlîlim, identifies the spiritual nature and origin of the idols he condemned.
Dr. Christopher B. Hays, citing the work of A. T. Clay published in 1907, identified the origin of ʾĕlîlim as the name of the Mesopotamian deity Ellil, which was the Akkadian form of the Babylonian/Sumerian god Enlil.
As Derek documented in The Second Coming of Saturn, Ellil/Enlil was the equivalent of the Canaanite father-god El, and thus “the abomination of the Ammonites,” Milcom (i.e., Molech). He was also known as Assur, chief god of the Assyrians, Dagon of the Philistines, Kronos of the Greeks, Saturn of the Romans, and probably Osiris of the Egyptians, among others.
We believe this entity is also Shemihazah, leader of the sons of God in Genesis 6, whose rebellion created the monstrous Nephilim, the spirits of which became demons upon their deaths in the Flood of Noah.
Isaiah, then, was condemning not carved blocks of wood or stone, but the demonic spirits they represented—the “gods” of the pagans whom the kingdoms of Israel and Judah continued to worship.
We’ll see as we get deeper into the Book of Isaiah that the prophet understood the nature of the entities the Israelites were interacting with. The cult of the dead was alive and well in the time of Isaiah.
THE PRIDE of a king who elevated himself above what God ordained left King Uzziah with a debilitating disease.
Uzziah, also called Azariah, ruled the kingdom of Judah 792–742 BC. He was a good king for most of his reign until pride got the better of him. He dared to offer incense in the Temple, a function reserved for the priests. As a result, he was afflicted with leprosy the rest of his life.
This week’s question: What’s the context of Joel 2:25:
I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.
THE SECOND SECTION of the Book of 1 Enoch isn’t as well known as the part that deals with the fallen Watchers, but it’s at least as important from a theological perspective.
The Book of Parables, chapters 37–71 of 1 Enoch, deals specifically with how the world will be purified from the sin introduced by the rebellious Watchers. To the author(s) of this section of 1 Enoch, which was probably written by Essenes in the Galilee between 25 BC and the end of the first century BC (in other words, just before the birth of Jesus), the world had been so corrupted by the fallen angels that only God’s direct intervention could put things right.
This week, we share the historic backdrop of the Book of Parables: The return of Jews from Babylon who found a priesthood in Jerusalem that believed the age of prophecy was over, repeated invasions by Greeks, Armenians (yes, really), Parthians, and Romans, and civil war, which only intensified a belief among the group that came to be known as Essenes that the arrival of a Savior was imminent.
When he didn’t come on schedule (sometime between 90 and 80 BC), the Essenes revised their timeline. After a period of civil war, followed by a Parthian invasion around 40 BC, Herod the Great, governor of Galilee, returned from Rome with the backing of the army of Mark Antony (yes, that one).
When Herod drove the Parthians from Judea in 37 BC after a three-year war, many Essenes apparently thought Herod was the Anointed One—the Messiah!
It didn’t take long for Herod to disabuse everyone of that notion.
That’s the back story of the Book of Parables. It was written at a time when many Jews believed Messiah’s arrival was imminent. The Book of Parables was a reminder that God’s promises would be fulfilled, and the agent of God’s imminent judgment was a figure called the Anointed One, the Chosen One, and, most frequently, the Son of Man.
This would all be nothing more than historical interest except for an important fact: Jesus applied the title “the Son of Man” to himself 78 times in the New Testament, and that title doesn’t appear in any Jewish writing prior to the Book of Parables.
This week’s question: Are there ranks of demons, some of which are more difficult than others to exorcise? We referenced the work of Restoration in Christ Ministries (rcm-usa.org). The study notes Derek mentioned by the founder of RCM, Dr. Tom Hawkins, are no longer available to download, but a study on the cosmic hierarchy is available here: https://rcm-usa.org/product/the-cosmic-hierarchy/
JONAH WAS a vindictive man who cared more about a plant than he did for the 120,000 people of Nineveh.
Reading the short Book of Jonah aloud makes it clear that the story is as much about Jonah’s desire for the destruction of Nineveh as it is about God’s mercy and desire that all people would repent and return to Him. Not only did Jonah try to run away from God, but when he finally did proclaim God’s imminent judgment on the great city (reluctantly), he was so upset that God spared the city that Jonah asked God to kill him!
This is one of those sections of the Bible that would surely have been rewritten to show Jonah in a better light if the text had been changed over the years—although we note that the time given the Ninevites to repent was changed from three days to forty between the time of the Septuagint translation (around 200 BC) and the Masoretic text on which our English Old Testament is based (about 900 AD).
This week’s question: What do we make of Jeremiah 30:6 and the description of men of Israel in such distress they’re like women in childbirth?
KING AMAZIAH of Judah is a classic example of someone whose pride got the better of him.
2 Kings 14 tells us that after Amaziah became king, he led a successful military campaign against Edom. He captured the stronghold of Sela, which was probably Petra in present-day Jordan, defeating an army of some 10,000 Edomites.
This led him to provoke a war with the northern kingdom of Israel. Despite a warning from King Jehoash to “be content with your glory, and stay at home,” Amaziah wouldn’t listen, the two kingdoms went to war, Judah was defeated, and Amaziah, like his father, fell victim to a palace coup.
The parallel chapter in 2 Chronicles 25 reveals that Amaziah brought idols representing the gods of Edom back to Jerusalem and began to worship them, and that this was the reason the king provoked a war with Israel—God used this war to humble Amaziah and those who followed him into pagan worship.
THE TEMPLE in Jerusalem fell into disrepair within a century of the death of Solomon. The king who repaired it was a good man—mostly.
Joash (or Jehoash), son of Ahaziah, reigned in Judah 835–796 BC. He was made king at age seven by the high priest Jehoiada and is credited with restoring the Temple—even pushing the priests, who seemed rather slow to make repairs even after they were ordered to do so.
However, the account in 2 Chronicles 24 records that after the death of Jehoiada, Joash fell away and returned to the pagan gods of the Canaanites. Worse, he had the son of Jehoiada, Zechariah, murdered for calling him out! As a consequence, God allowed Judah to be defeated by a relatively small army from the neighboring Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and Joash was assassinated in his bed by two of his servants.
We also discuss the death of Elisha in the northern kingdom of Israel, and why King Joash (same name, different king) failed to completely defeat the Arameans.
THE FIRST SECTION of the Book of 1 Enoch concludes with Enoch’s travels to the ends of the earth, including a visit to Eden.
We discuss the author’s description of the portals through which the stars and winds pass, noting that evil winds came from the north, the direction from which bad things always came in Jewish thought (physical and supernatural). We also note Enoch’s travels proceeded counterclockwise from east to north, west, south, and back to east, and compare that to other counterclockwise rituals from ancient times, on the summit of Mount Hermon, to the present day, at the Kaaba in Mecca.
When we return to 1 Enoch at the end of November, since we’ll be in Israel next month at this time, we’ll begin the Book of Parables, a prophetic section that influenced New Testament theology.
You can help Josh and Christina Peck with the medical and funeral expenses incurred for their 11-year-old son Nathan who went to be with the Lord on September 22, 2025:
• GiveSendGo: http://GiveSendGo.com/NathanTheBrave
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THE END of Ahab’s line came within a span of seven years.
Jehu, an Israelite military commander under Ahab’s son, King Jehoram (or Joram), was anointed king over the northern kingdom at the direction of the prophet Elisha. Jehu moved quickly to eliminate Jehoram and the rest of the sons of Ahab. We explain why Ahab didn’t literally have 70 sons (the number 70 in the ancient Near East was not a quantity; it was a symbol that represented “all of them”).
Jehoram’s nephew, King Ahaziah of Judah, was also killed by Jehu as he fled in his chariot, finally dying at the city of Megiddo.
Then Jehu went to Jezreel and found Jezebel, the queen mother, whose last act in this world was probably screaming after she was tossed out of a tower window by her eunuchs.
That left only Athaliah, mother of King Ahaziah. Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, the sister of King Jehoram of Israel. When she heard that Ahaziah was dead, she tried to kill all of her grandsons. Why? She—and really, it was the Fallen realm motivating her—tried to eliminate the line of David (her husband, King Jehoram of Judah, son of Jehoshaphat, was a descendant of David) and replace it with the line of Ahab.
Unfortunately for Athaliah, she missed one—an infant boy named Joash. Jehoiada the priest had secretly saved and raised Joash in the Temple. At the age of seven, Jehoiada brought him out, proclaimed him king, and, at his command, had Athaliah put to death, thus putting an end to the house of Ahab.
A MIRACULOUS healing led to a Syrian warrior carrying mule loads of dirt from Israel back with him to Damascus.
Why did Naaman the Syrian do that? In the ancient world, it was understood that every nation had a patron deity. For Syria, that was the storm-god Hadad, better known to us as Baal. For Israel, it was Yahweh—although Jezebel and her children tried hard to replace the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with Baal, Astarte, and the rest of the Canaanite pantheon.
When the prophet Elisha instructed Naaman to wash in the Jordan to be healed of his leprosy, Naaman was angry, expecting something more elaborate—a ritual of some kind. But after following the prophet’s instructions and being restored to full health, Naaman realized the true God was Yahweh, not Baal, and Israel was His home. So, Naaman loaded two mules with dirt and carried it back to Syria—not because it held magical properties, but because it was a reminder of the one God with the power to heal.
The concept of “holy ground” was established after the Tower of Babel, as described in Deuteronomy 32:
When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
when he divided mankind,
he fixed the borders of the peoples
according to the number of the sons of God.
But the LORD’s portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted heritage. (Deut. 32:8–9, ESV)
In other words, God allotted the people of Earth to angelic representatives who were tempted into receiving worship themselves, but He chose Israel as the conduit through which He would bring forth the Messiah to save the world from those fallen entities.
We also discuss the way God delivered the northern kingdom of Israel from a prolonged siege of Samaria by the Syrians—despite the continued apostasy of Samaria.
THE KING of Moab sacrificed his oldest son on the wall of his capital city, causing the combined armies of Israel, Judah, and Edom to withdraw from their siege. How do we process this?
Then he (King Mesha) took his oldest son who was to reign in his place and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath on Israel. And they withdrew from him and returned to their own land. (2 Kings 3:27, ESV)
On the surface, it appears the king of Moab’s sacrifice was successful. But that’s not how we read it.
The wrath against Israel was God’s anger that they didn’t trust in His promise, through the prophet Elisha, to deliver Moab into the hands of kings Jehoram of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah. God does not honor or condone human sacrifice.
We also discuss the miracles of the widow’s oil, the son of the Shunammite woman, whose birth was no less a miracle than Elisha raising him from the dead, and Elisha’s purification of poisoned stew.
JERUSALEM IS the center of the world in the Book of 1 Enoch. That echoes Ezekiel 5:5 and 38:12, where Jerusalem is “the center [literally, “navel”] of the earth.”
This is a concept probably best known from Greek religion, where the oracle of Delphi was at the site of the omphalos, the stone that was supposedly substituted for Zeus by his mother Rhea because Kronos was eating their children as soon as they were born. The omphalos represented the connection between Earth and Heaven—in other words, it was the center (or navel) of the world. Ezekiel, whose prophecies were well known to the authors of 1 Enoch, wrote that it was the city God desired for His eternal dwelling place (Psalm 132:13–14) that was the true center of all things.
The description of Jerusalem in 1 Enoch chapters 26 and 27 also includes a description of a “cursed valley,” which is a reference to the Valley of Hinnom, where children were sacrificed to Molech at the Tophet. Although we didn’t make it explicit in our discussion, this is the origin of the idea that equates the place of eternal punishment with Gehenna (Hebrew ge = “valley”; henna = "Hinnom”), found in Matthew 5:22, 29, and 30 (sometimes rendered “hell”).
Enoch was also taken to the mountain of God where he was shown the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The mountain of God is in the midst of “seven glorious mountains,” a sharp contrast to seven burning mountains described in 1 Enoch 18:13–16 and 21:3–6, which were angels being punished for transgressions.
Finally, Enoch is transported to places that seem to be Petra and Arabia—interesting, since the only other locations that can be positively identified in 1 Enoch are Jerusalem and the areas around Mount Hermon.
THE PASSING of the mantle from Elijah to Elisha was spectacular: A fiery chariot pulled by horses of fire in a whirlwind carried the elder prophet to heaven.
The whirlwind was a theophany, an appearance by God Himself. The chariot, as Sharon noted, was believed to be the vehicle that carried human spirits to the netherworld—but in this case, Elijah was carried off to heaven.
We discuss the location of the event, the plains of Moab across from Jericho, and why that has supernatural significance. For one thing, it’s where Moses was buried after his death, and it’s probably not coincidental that Moses and Elijah are the two who joined Jesus on Mount Hermon, the “Canaanite Olympus,” for the Transfiguration.
The place from which Elijah was caught up was below the ruins of Sodom, at the southern end of the Jordan River called the Valley of the Travelers by Ezekiel. “Travelers” was a term used by the Canaanites for the spirits of the Rephaim, which were venerated by the pagan neighbors of the Israelites. It’s also the Valley of Siddim, where the armies of Sodom, Gomorrah and their allies fought the kings of Mesopotamia (Genesis 14). Siddim can also be rendered shedim, which is a Hebrew word meaning “demons.”
In other words, God carried off Elijah from a place that had been notorious for demonic activity for about a thousand years by the time of Elijah and Elisha.
Psalm 83 appears to be an already-but-not-yet prophecy that may be key to understanding the end times.
Bill Salus, in his book The Psalm 83 War, wrote that Psalm 83 prophesies a future war in which Israel is attacked by its Muslim neighbors. We think Bill is correct, and further, this war may be used to deceive Jews into welcoming a false messiah—i.e., the Antichrist.
We also note the hints at a deeper supernatural meaning to the psalm—for example, the neighboring nations are not described as enemies of Israel, but as enemies of God Himself.
PSALM 82 is a courtroom scene in heaven.
This psalm is the source of the term “divine council,” a concept well known in the ancient Near East. The high god in the pantheon was believed to preside over a group of lesser gods, who were tasked with carrying out the will of the king of the pantheon. But in the religions of Babylon, Canaan, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc., the lower gods were part of a polytheistic pantheon.
This is a twisted version of God’s council. We see God’s divine assembly in action in Job 1 and 2, and especially in 1 Kings 22, where God asks the council for recommendations on how to lure King Ahab to go to war with the Syrians where he will fall in battle.
To be clear, God doesn’t need a council to carry out His will. He created one for His pleasure, because He desires family. However, just as with us humans, the spirits in the unseen realm were created with free will, and many of them chose to rebel against His authority.
What we see in Psalm 82, then, is God passing judgment on those lesser elohim, the “sons of the Most High,” for exercising their free will to “judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked”. As a result of their mismanagement of creation, which threatened the very “foundations of the earth,” God decreed that these small-G god will die like men.
We also discuss the New English Translation’s rendering of Psalm 82:1, in which Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “stands in the assembly of El,” the creator-god of the Canaanites, to pass judgment on the gods of Canaan!
Was that a prophecy of the Transfiguration of Jesus on the summit of Mount Hermon?
THE SHORT BOOK of Obadiah prophesied judgment on the nation of Edom for its role in the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BC.
However, Obadiah also prophesied a future reversal of fortunes, when, on the Day of Yahweh, the people of Israel would possess the lands of their tormentors—which includes Philistia (the Gaza Strip) and Zarephath (southern Lebanon, recently occupied by the IDF as a buffer zone against Hezbollah).
THE BOOK OF 1 ENOCH describes journeys by the patriarch to the places of punishment for fallen angels and sinful humans.
The author of 1 Enoch described rebellious angels, called “stars of heaven,” as “great mountains… burning with fire.” This is consistent with other descriptions of angels in the ancient Near East as burning mountains (for example, the “stones of fire” in Ezekiel 28:14, 16).
Enoch also describes the “mountain of the dead,” a place with four chambers holding the spirits of the departed—one for the righteous, with a fountain of water, one for sinners, and one for the godless. One chamber is reserved for “them that make suit” (in other words, arguing their cases to Heaven).
We also get the names of the seven archangels: Uriel (or Suru’el), who is in charge of the world and Tartarus; Raphael, who oversees the spirits of men; Reuel (or Raguel), who takes vengeance on “the world of the luminaries”; Michael, in charge of “the good ones of the people”; Sariel (or Saraqa’el), in charge of the spirits who sin against the spirit; Gabriel, who is in charge of paradise (Eden) and the serpents (probably the seraphim) and cherubim; and Remiel, who is in charge of “them that rise” (the resurrected?).
THE ELDEST SON of good King Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, was more like his mother-in-law, Jezebel, than his father.
After Jehoshaphat’s death, Jehoram killed his brothers and turned his kingdom toward the gods of the Amorites (i.e., Phoenicians) worshiped by Jezebel. As a result, Jezebel was afflicted with a terrible and horribly painful disease that killed him seven years later.
Jehoram’s son, Ahaziah, reigned only one year when he was killed by Jehu while visiting his uncle, Ahab’s son Joram. Upon his death, Jehoram’s wife, Ahab’s daughter Athaliah seized the throne, killed the royal family of Judah—the House of David—and reigned as queen for seven years. She appears to have been cut from the same cloth as her mother, Jezebel.
But after seven years, the high priest Jehoiada, who’d been secretly raising Ahaziah’s youngest son, Joash, declared the boy king, had Athaliah put to death, and tore down the temple of Baal in Jerusalem.
At the end of the day, all of the political machinations involving the land of Israel down to the present day are reflections of the war in the unseen realm for control of God’s mount of assembly—Zion.
AHAB OBVIOUSLY didn’t wear the pants in his family.
This week, we discuss the episode of Naboth’s vineyard. Ahab pouted because Naboth refused to sell it to the king. Jezebel solved that problem by writing an order using Ahab’s royal seal—an early example of the autopen?—falsely accusing Naboth of cursing God and Ahab (an early example of lawfare!).
For this sin, Elijah was told by God to let Ahab know that his days were numbered and that his dynasty would end with his son.
1 Kings 22 gives us an example of the divine council in action:
“Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; 20 and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ (1 Kings 22:19–22, ESV)
It goes without saying that God knew how this would play out. And He certainly didn’t need the help of this unnamed spirit to carry out His will. God created the divine council for the same reason He created you and us: He desires family.
NOTE: We will be at the Mysteries of the BibleVerse conference in Indianapolis next weekend. If you are in the area, please consider joining us, Carl Gallups, Micah Van Huss, and others for a gathering based on things your Sunday School teacher didn't talk about. Registration at MarginalMysteries.com.
And there will be a live stream! Register for streaming video at faithnettv.lightcast.com.
Here’s the link to the excellent brace Derek wears to correct drop foot.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
IT SEEMS odd to us, looking back across more than 2,800 years of history, that Elijah would run from Jezebel right after seeing what God had done on Mount Carmel.
Well, it’s easy to criticize. It’s likely none of us would have done better in Elijah’s place. We discuss how he was ministered to by the Angel of the Lord, the preincarnate Christ, while on the way to Horeb (Mount Sinai), and how God revealed Himself to Elijah in a way that was less than spectacular—especially after sending winds that tore the mountain, an earthquake, and fire.
In the same way, we often expect God to show Himself to us in earth-shattering ways and miss the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.
But while it’s easy to criticize Elijah, we have to point out that Ahab, who likewise saw the miracle on Mount Carmel and miraculous victories over the Aramean armies of Syria still failed to follow the Lord’s command—a mistake that ultimately meant the end of his kingdom.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE REBEL WATCHERS of the Book of 1 Enoch were described as “burning mountains” in a chasm so vast there was no end to the height or the depth.
These were identified by the archangel Uriel as “the angels who mingled with the women,” who will remain there until the final judgment. This is consistent with the description of the sinful angels who are “kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6).
We discuss other biblical references to angels as mountains and “stones of fire,” as in Ezekiel 28:14. The father-god of Mesopotamia, called Enlil, Dagan (Dagon), Assur, and El depending on location, was called “Great Mountain,” and his temples in Babylon and Assyria were called “House of the Mountain.” We think this is the “great mountain” in Zechariah 4:7, and the custom of calling angels burning mountains suggests that the “great mountain, burning with fire,” the second trumpet judgment of Revelation 8:8, is an angelic being, not a space rock.
The other fascinating aspect of Enoch’s journey to the west and north is that he reached these spirits after crossing the Great Sea. While that’s probably a reference to the Mediterranean, it also suggests that the burning mountains were the Watchers who rebelled and compelled God to banish them to the Abyss when He sent the Flood of Noah.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE SHOWDOWN on Mount Carmel is even more spectacular than we’ve been taught.
The story is sensational on its surface: The prophet Elijah, one of the few prophets of God still active in the northern kingdom of Israel, tells King Ahab to his face that there will be no rain until Elijah says so. Then he flees from the king and hides out for three years.
During that time, the prophet was fed by ravens at the brook Cherith somewhere east of the Jordan until the drought caused the stream to dry up. Then Elijah traveled to Phoenicia and lodged with a widow of Zarephath in the region of Sidon. Because of the famine, she was prepared to make one last meal and then starve to death with her son (or children, according to the Septuagint). Miraculously, the woman did not run out of flour or oil during the entire time Elijah stayed with her.
The account of the miracle of Elijah bringing the widow’s son back from the dead has a deeper meaning when you understand a little of the religion of the Phoenicians (who were Canaanites, which in turn is just a geographic designation for the Amorites in Canaan). The patron deity of Sidon was Eshmun, the Phoenician name for the Greek demigod Asclepius. The Greeks believed Asclepius was the half-divine son of Apollo, a healer of such skill that he was able to cure death. (This led Hades to complain to Zeus that Asclepius was disrupting the natural order of things, so Zeus killed Asclepius.)
The point is this: God, through Elijah, demonstrated that He, Yahweh, was the one God who truly has power over life and death.
Likewise, Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal has a deeper meaning. This was a literal battle between Yahweh and the Baal worshipped by Jezebel and her pagan father, Ethbaal, king of Tyre.
Ethbaal was a priest of Astarte, the Canaanite version of Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of sex and war (which explains a lot about Jezebel). The kicker is that the Baal of Tyre was probably Melqart, which was the Phoenician name for Herakles—better known to us as Hercules.
This explains some of Elijah’s taunts while Jezebel’s prophets danced, shouted, and cut themselves to summon their small-G god. It also helps us understand why Elijah had twelve vessels of water poured over the sacrifice and the wood on the altar. It didn’t just represent the twelve tribes of Israel and make the sacrifice more difficult to burn, it mocked a libation (drink offering) ritual called yarid that is documented in Jewish and Roman texts and inscriptions as late as the 3rd century AD, when Emperor Diocletian performed the yarid at Tyre for Hercules!
This also connects to Mount Hermon, where scholars Edward Lipiński and Charles Clermont-Ganneau noted, based on the site drawing by Sir Charles Warren in 1869 (when he discovered the Watcher Stone in a temple near the peak of the mountain), that the summit of Hermon is scooped out like a giant bowl—probably to receive these offerings. Lipiński wrote that this means the Watchers, led by Shemihazah, did not descend in the days of Jared, but in the days when the yarid was performed on the mountain.
So, Elijah’s actions on Mount Carmel were directed not just at Baal or Melqart/Hercules, but at the “sons of God” who long ago tried to take dominion of Earth away from the children of Adam and Eve.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE NORTHERN KINGDOM of Israel changed hands twice in a week. And more often than not, succession in Israel involved a sword.
Baasha became king through a coup against Nadab, son of Jeroboam. After a twenty-four year reign, Baasha died and his son Elah ascended to the throne. However, after two years, Elah was assassinated by Zimri, a commander of chariots, who lasted all of seven days before Omri, commander of the army, was declared king by his troops. After a battle at the capital city of Tirzah, Zimri barricaded himself inside the citadel and set it on fire.
Omri reigned over Israel for twelve years. The second half of his reign was in his new capital, Samaria, named for Shemer, the owner of the hill Omri purchased on which the city was built. After Omri’s death, his son Ahab came to power, and he was remembered by the chronicler as evil—“more than all who were before him.” Which, given the nature of the kings from Jeroboam to Omri, is saying a lot.
We also discuss the brief mention of the reconstruction of Jericho in 1 Kings 16:34, which involved foundation sacrifices. This was common among the Amorites who, even though they’d been pushed out of Canaan by Joshua 500 years earlier, still influenced the Israelites in pagan practices condemned by God.
We even see this at the end of the life of Asa, remembered as a mainly good king. However, 2 Chronicles 16:12 notes that Asa, seeking relief from a series disease in his feet, “did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians.” The Hebrew word translated “physicians” is rephaim. Now, did Asa trust doctors over God, or did he turn to the Rephaim? Veneration of the Rephaim (spirits of the Nephilim) is known from Canaanite texts, and it’s possible that Asa, like the kings of Israel, had been drawn into religious practices of the Amorites.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
MOST OF THE kings of Judah, and all of those who ruled the northern kingdom of Israel, “did evil in the sight of the LORD.”
One notable exception was Asa, king of Judah between about 910 and 873 BC, whose “heart was wholly true all his days.” He got rid of the idols erected by his father, Abijah, and banished male cult prostitutes from the land. The account of his reign in 2 Chronicles further records the religious reforms instituted by Asa, who even removed his mother (or grandmother) Maacah from her position as queen mother because she’d erected an Asherah pole.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
WHERE DO DEMONS come from? The Book of 1 Enoch answers that question.
This week, we discuss Enoch’s mission to deliver God’s reply to the petition of the rebel Watchers for mercy—not just for them, but for their monstrous offspring, the gigantic Nephilim. In short, God’s reply was “no”—the Watchers would not be allowed back into heaven because they’d given up their divine natures and defiled themselves by acting like humans.
That’s not an insult, it’s simply that the Watchers were created for the unseen realm while we are created for the natural world. That’s why Jude describes these Watchers as having left their proper domain.
Then God decreed the punishment of the giants:
And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. (1 Enoch 15:8–10, R.H. Charles translation)
Interestingly, this was the understanding of the pagan Greeks. We discuss Hesiod’s description of the origin of daimones, from which we get the word “demon,” and the link between Greek demigods like Herakles and the Rephaim of the Canaanites, which were the spirits of the Nephilim.
Question of the week: Have you seen the videos of the guy claiming to be the Mahdi and the true successor to Peter—the legitimate pope? (Yes. He’s leading a small cult, an offshoot of the Twelver sect of Shia Islam.)
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
IT DIDN’T take long for simmering tensions in Israel between north and south to erupt into civil war.
Following the death of Solomon, Jeroboam led the northern tribes in rebellion against Judah and the House of David. Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, wanted to go to war immediately but was warned by the prophet Shemaiah that it was not the will of God to do so, since the rebellion was God’s punishment for Solomon’s fall into the worship of pagan gods.
However, after just three years of peace, north and south were at war. Egypt’s pharaoh, Shishak, seeing the weakness of his northern neighbor, plundered the temple in Jerusalem. Rehoboam humbled himself before God, which saved himself and the kingdom of Judah from destruction—but it didn’t take long for Judah to fall back into pagan practices, even in the royal household.
Rehoboam was succeeded by his son, Abijam, who was followed just three years later by his son, Asa (reigned c. 910–873 BC). Asa removed the male cult prostitutes and the Asherah poles from the kingdom, and even had to remove his mother as queen mother because she’d made an image for Asherah, which probably fertility connotations (to put it politely).
It appears that even during the reign of good kings like Asa, the cult practices of the Amorites and Canaanites were a powerful snare for the people of Israel and Judah.
Question of the week: Are cemeteries the modern equivalent of ancient dolmens?
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Enoch is the only human in history, as far as we know, tasked with delivering God’s judgment to a group of rebellious angels.
This week, we discuss Enoch’s mission to the fallen Watchers. We note that he was called by loyal Watchers—which suggests that “Watcher” is a class or rank of supernatural being, some of which are still faithful to God (as in Daniel 4)—to announce God’s punishment to the rebels: No peace, no forgiveness, and they would see the destruction of their sons, the giant Nephilim.
It is interesting to note that Azazel (or Asael) was singled out in 1 Enoch 13 for the forbidden knowledge he taught humanity.
The fallen Watchers then commissioned Enoch to take a petition to God on their behalf, asking for forgiveness for themselves and the Nephilim. However, there was nothing in the petition about the children of Adam and Eve who had suffered so greatly because of the Watchers’ transgressions. God rejected the plea of the fallen Watchers, which was summarized in a document called The Book of the Words of Truth and the Reprimand of the Watchers Who Were from of Old.
We also discuss the geographic clues in this section of Enoch, which place the action in the Upper Galilee, near the ancient city of Dan and a waterfall identified by one scholar as the Ayun Stream, one of the sources of the Jordan River, near the village of Metula in the northernmost part of Israel. (We plan to take our Israel tour there in October—more details at GilbertHouse.org/travel).
Question of the week: How could Jesus be our perfect sacrifice if God “made him to be sin” (2 Cor. 5:21)?
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
YOU’D THINK that being anointed king over the northern tribes because of Solomon’s disobedience to God would have caused Jeroboam to be more careful about his theology.
We follow up last week’s study with the consequences of Jeroboam’s decision to set up altars with golden calves. Contrary to some who teach that the golden calves were idols representing God, we believe the locations—Bethel (“House of El”) and Dan, at the foot of Mount Hermon—point to the Canaanite father-god El, whose main epithet was “Bull El.” Mount Hermon was El’s “mount of assembly,” which is one of the reasons we argue that El was Shemihazah, leader of the sons of God who rebelled in Genesis 6:1–4.
Because Jeroboam drew the northern tribes back into the worship of El, who was known as Dagon to the Philistines and Milcom (Molech) to the Ammonites, God sent a prophet to decree that a future king named Josiah would desecrate Jeroboam’s altars by sacrificing the priests of the high places and burning human bones on them.
Bear in mind that Jeroboam began his reign over the northern kingdom in 930 BC and Josiah would not become king of Judah until 640 BC, 290 years later!
Question of the week: Is there a difference between the terms “Jesus Christ” and “Christ Jesus”?
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
KING LEMUEL is unknown outside of the reference in Proverbs 31. It may be an epithet of Solomon meaning “belonging to God,” or Lemuel may have been an Arab king descended from Massa, the seventh son of Ishmael.
What we can say for certain is that verses 10–31 of Proverbs 31 is a well-known section of scripture that praises the virtues of an excellent wife. We discuss the value placed on trust between a husband and wife in these verses. In the ideal marital relationship, both spouses trust each other implicitly. The virtues of a woman who embraces her role in the household should be appreciated by the rest of her family:
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” (Proverbs 31:28–29, ESV)
We also begin our study of the division of the Davidic kingdom, as prophesied by Ahijah. Solomon’s son Rehoboam, rejecting the wise counsel of the old men who’d served his father, angers the northern tribes by promising to govern more harshly than Solomon. As a result, Jeroboam led the northern tribes to rebel. He set up his capital at Shechem and set up golden calves as the “god” (or “gods”—elohim can be singular or plural, but in context is more likely singular) who brought Israel out of Egypt.
We explain why we believe the golden calves represent the Canaanite father-god El rather than Yahweh or Baal, as many Bible commentators teach.
Question of the week: Are the hooks in the jaws that draw Gog of Magog to make war on Israel in the end times (Ezekiel 38 and 39) Israel’s farmland or natural gas fields?
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE WORDS of Agur son of Jakeh include a prayer to be given just enough to get by, since too much can lead one to forget the source of one’s blessings and too little can drive the desperate to steal from others.
The identity of Agur, who is mentioned only once in the Bible, is still unknown. It may be an epithet of Solomon, but the writing style differs from the rest of Proverbs. Some scholars have speculated that Agur should be translated “the assembler,” while others have suggested that Agur and Lemuel, to whom Proverbs 31 is attributed, were Arab sages.
In any case, the chapter contains more words of wisdom, especially the warning against adding to the Word of God.
One interesting note: In verse 15, the Hebrew word translated “leech” (ʿălûqâ), is an Aramaic loanword that means “vampire.”
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4esHHgu), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3XR6KnV), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Gates-of-Hell-Audiobook/B0DCX4YNVZ)!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/3YOHZJE), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3UBG1K5), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/Destination-Earth-Audiobook/B0DDV1ZC8R?qid=1730562326)!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Note: Due to schedule conflicts, Doug Van Dorn, Dr. Judd Burton, and Timothy Alberino will join our tour in the spring of 2026.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
FOR ALL of Solomon’s vaunted wisdom, he failed in the thing that mattered most.
God had told the Israelites not to enter into marriage with foreigners. Not because of racism or any perceived superior bloodline, but because the nations around Israel followed other gods—fallen angels who’d rebelled against the Creator. Solomon disobeyed to the extreme—700 wives and 300 concubines, and they turned the king away from God.
This cost Solomon’s son kingship over all Israel and led to the Mount of Olives being referred to by the priests as the Mount of Corruption (more accurately, “Mount of the Destroyer,” which we’ll explain when we get to King Josiah in about 300 years).
We also discuss the visit to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba, whose gift of 120 talents of gold would be worth about $414 million today.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4esHHgu), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3XR6KnV), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Gates-of-Hell-Audiobook/B0DCX4YNVZ)!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/3YOHZJE), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3UBG1K5), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/Destination-Earth-Audiobook/B0DDV1ZC8R?qid=1730562326)!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Note: Due to schedule conflicts, Doug Van Dorn, Dr. Judd Burton, and Timothy Alberino will join our tour in the spring of 2026.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE NOTION that grief is better than rejoicing is counterintuitive, but the lesson is profound: Wisdom is gained through suffering.
On the surface, Ecclesiastes 7 seems terribly downbeat: “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting” (v. 2); “Sorrow is better than laughter” (v. 3); “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning” (v. 4), and so on. The point is that true wisdom is gained through adversity, not the pursuit of pleasure—a message that’s never been very popular.
At the end of the day, what matters is eternity, and keeping our eyes fixed on that means setting aside the pleasures of the moment.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4esHHgu), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3XR6KnV), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Gates-of-Hell-Audiobook/B0DCX4YNVZ)!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/3YOHZJE), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3UBG1K5), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/Destination-Earth-Audiobook/B0DDV1ZC8R?qid=1730562326)!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Note: Due to schedule conflicts, Doug Van Dorn, Dr. Judd Burton, and Timothy Alberino will join our tour in the spring of 2026.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
CHASING WEALTH for its own sake does not bring happiness.
The chapters of Ecclesiastes we read today are unified by this verse:
Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep (Eccl. 5:12, ESV).
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4esHHgu), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3XR6KnV), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Gates-of-Hell-Audiobook/B0DCX4YNVZ)!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/3YOHZJE), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3UBG1K5), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/Destination-Earth-Audiobook/B0DDV1ZC8R?qid=1730562326)!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Note: Due to schedule conflicts, Doug Van Dorn, Dr. Judd Burton, and Timothy Alberino will join our tour in the spring of 2026.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
LIFE IS SHORT and then you die. That’s the surface-level interpretation of the opening chapters of the Book of Ecclesiastes.
The book is attributed to “the Preacher,” usually identified as King Solomon. However, some scholars believe the book was written or edited by a Jewish scholar after the return from Babylon in 539 BC and attributed to Solomon since the book is in the tradition of Solomon’s wisdom.
The first four chapters of Ecclesiastes aren’t cheerful, that’s for sure. The author considers the value of work, seeking pleasure, and life itself, and concludes that “all is vanity” and “there is nothing new under the sun.”
It’s rather downbeat, but it does point to a transcendent truth: The things of this world fade away, but “whatever God does endures forever.”
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4esHHgu), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3XR6KnV), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Gates-of-Hell-Audiobook/B0DCX4YNVZ)!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/3YOHZJE), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3UBG1K5), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/Destination-Earth-Audiobook/B0DDV1ZC8R?qid=1730562326)!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Note: Due to schedule conflicts, Doug Van Dorn, Dr. Judd Burton, and Timothy Alberino will join our tour in the spring of 2026.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
The author(s) of the Book of the Watchers (chapters 1–36 of 1 Enoch) saw the punishment of the rebellious Watchers resulting from the intercession of the four archangels.
In chapter 9, Michael, Sariel (or Uriel), Raphael, and Gabriel brought the complaints of humanity to God and accused Shemihazah, Asael (Azazel), and their colleagues of creating the monstrous Nephilim and teaching humanity forbidden knowledge.
In response, chapters 10 and 11 describe God’s response: He commissioned Sariel/Uriel to go to Noah and tell him to hide himself and reveal that a global deluge was about to destroy everything on the earth. Raphael was told to bind Asael hand and foot and cast him into an opening in the wilderness of Doudael, covering him with darkness until “the day of the great judgment.”
This is similar to the punishment of the angels who “left their proper dwelling” in Jude 6, who are “kept in chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day”—confirming that Jude and Peter (2 Pt. 2:4) were referring to 1 Enoch, since this punishment is not described anywhere in the Old Testament.
Gabriel was tasked with destroying the half-breed “sons of the Watchers” by stirring up “a war of destruction” among them, which echoes the Gigantomachy of ancient Greek religion. Finally, Michael was sent to bind Shemihazah and his colleagues “for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth… until the everlasting judgment is consummated.”
Note that in the ancient Near East, “seventy” meant “all of them,” “the complete set,” not a literal number. However many generations there are until the final judgment, that’s how long the rebel Watchers will be imprisoned.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4esHHgu), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3XR6KnV), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Gates-of-Hell-Audiobook/B0DCX4YNVZ)!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/3YOHZJE), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3UBG1K5), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/Destination-Earth-Audiobook/B0DDV1ZC8R?qid=1730562326)!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Note: Due to schedule conflicts, Doug Van Dorn, Dr. Judd Burton, and Timothy Alberino will join our tour in the spring of 2026.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
ACCEPTING CORRECTION and wise counsel can be difficult, but it can save us from a world of trouble!
The value of wisdom as opposed to following one’s unrestrained appetites is again a theme in this week’s proverbs. And, as always, we find verses that are especially timely right now:
Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor, but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days. (Proverbs 28:15–16, ESV)
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4esHHgu), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3XR6KnV), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Gates-of-Hell-Audiobook/B0DCX4YNVZ)!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/3YOHZJE), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3UBG1K5), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/Destination-Earth-Audiobook/B0DDV1ZC8R?qid=1730562326)!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Note: Due to schedule conflicts, Doug Van Dorn, Dr. Judd Burton, and Timothy Alberino will join our tour in the spring of 2026.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE CONTRAST between God and kings, and between wisdom and folly, are a central theme of these proverbs of Solomon.
While God’s glory is manifest through the mysteries of His creation, it is the duty of a ruler to know and understand to rightly govern. Likewise, wisdom is exhibited through prudent behavior, hard work, and self-restraint, while fools are “like a dog that returns to his vomit.”
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4esHHgu), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3XR6KnV), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Gates-of-Hell-Audiobook/B0DCX4YNVZ)!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/3YOHZJE), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3UBG1K5), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/Destination-Earth-Audiobook/B0DDV1ZC8R?qid=1730562326)!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Note: Due to schedule conflicts, Doug Van Dorn, Dr. Judd Burton, and Timothy Alberino will join our tour in the spring of 2026.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
YOU’D THINK an appearance by God Himself would be enough to keep even a king on the straight and narrow for the rest of his life.
After completing the Temple, God revealed to Solomon the blessings and consequences for obeying His Law or turning aside to worship other gods—which, sadly, we will learn is exactly what Solomon did as an older man.
We also discuss the significance of 1 Kings 9:3, where God tells Solomon, “I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever.” We’ve discussed “Name theology” in previous episodes, and we encourage you to read Dr. Michael Heiser’s article at the Faithlife Study Bible, “The Name Theology in the Old Testament”: www.bit.ly/name-ot
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4esHHgu), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3XR6KnV), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Gates-of-Hell-Audiobook/B0DCX4YNVZ)!
Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/3YOHZJE), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3UBG1K5), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/Destination-Earth-Audiobook/B0DDV1ZC8R?qid=1730562326)!
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Note: Due to schedule conflicts, Doug Van Dorn, Dr. Judd Burton, and Timothy Alberino will join our tour in the spring of 2026.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE SINS of the “sons of God” mentioned in Genesis 6:1–4 are listed in detail in chapters 6 through 8 of the Book of 1 Enoch.
Specifically, the rebellious Watchers “defile[d] themselves” by commingling with women and taught humanity things we weren’t supposed to know—the making of weapons, sorcery, beguilement, enticement, and venerating the sun, moon, and the host of heaven.
The monstrous offspring produced by these unholy unions became an existential threat to humankind, eating the produce of human labor and, when that was gone, eating humans. Not content to contaminate the human genome, “they began to sin against the birds and beasts and creeping things and the fish, and to devour one another’s flesh. And they drank the blood.” (1 Enoch 7:3–5)
In short, the Nephilim were consummate evil. Next month, we’ll discuss the intercession of the archangels Michael, Sariel (or Uriel), Raphael, and Gabriel on behalf of humanity.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
- Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Note: Due to schedule conflicts, Doug Van Dorn, Dr. Judd Burton, and Timothy Alberino will join our tour in the spring of 2026.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
TRUSTING IN other people will usually disappoint. This week’s reading in Psalms is timely, giving that we’re less than three weeks away from electing a new president in the United States.
Americans, remember this verse:
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. Ps. 146:3 (ESV)
“A son of man” in this context refers to a human, not to the New Testament “Son of Man,” a messianic title Jesus applied to himself nearly 80 times. The point is that we need to remember, amidst all the distractions of life, that there is only One who “keeps faith forever,” and that is God.
Our questions of the week: How do we apply scripture to our lives, given the way scripture has been “desupernaturalized” since the time of Augustine 1,600 years ago; and, do our ancestors become angels when they die, watching over us in our day-to-day lives?
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Note: Due to schedule conflicts, Doug Van Dorn, Dr. Judd Burton, and Timothy Alberino will join our tour in the spring of 2026.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
SOLOMON’S prayer of dedication for the Temple includes a phrase we read often in the Psalms, “steadfast love,” which is sometimes translated “mercy,” “favor,” “loyalty,” or “lovingkindness.”
The Hebrew word chesed doesn’t have an exact English equivalent, but it appears 245 times in the Old Testament which means it’s important. 26 of those uses occur in our reading of Psalm 136, which reminded the Israelites—and us—that God’s live is for eternity.
Our question of the week: What is the difference between Israel and Judah?
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our 2025 Israel tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to security concerns, our Solidarity Mission to Israel planned for November 6–13, 2024 has been canceled.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
SOLOMON’S PRAYER of dedication is a wonderful petition to God, asking Him to listen to the prayers of His people.
Solomon notes that repentance, turning from sin, is important, and that “there is no one who does not sin” (1 Kings 8:46), a concept we see again in the New Testament (1 John 1:8).
Our question of the week: What is Behemoth?
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our 2025 Israel tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to security concerns, our Solidarity Mission to Israel planned for November 6–13, 2024 has been canceled.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE SIN OF THE WATCHERS is framed by the Book of 1 Enoch as a violation of the natural order.
Chapter 2 through chapter 5 verse 3 (3:7 in the SEV) detail all of the ways creation follows a pattern established by God. Then the author turns to the rebellious angels, charging them with faithlessness, rebellion, and speaking “proud and hard words” (or “slanderously grave and harsh words”) against God. Their sin, in other words, is not just disobedience; it’s unnatural!
It’s clear in chapter 6 that the rebellious Watchers knew that commingling with human women was wrong; their leader, Shemihazah, admitted it in so many words, afraid that he alone would be held accountable for “this great sin.” His colleagues agreed to swear by a mutual oath to proceed.
This event was remembered for millennia. Sometime around the beginning of the Christian era, a 6,000-pound limestone stela was left inside a temple on the summit of Mount Hermon, where this oath was sworn (1 Enoch 6:6 [3:5, SEV]), commemorating the event. Dr. Doug Hamp published the first new information derived from the Watcher Stone in more than a century in his book Corrupting the Image II. Here’s the link to the excerpt from Derek’s book The Second Coming of Saturn that cites Doug’s new translation.
The question is whether the Watchers came to Earth specifically to commit this sin or, as Justin Martyr wrote in his Second Apology (c. 161 AD), they were appointed to watch over humanity by God and decided to transgress after they got here. And, as L. A. Marzulli suggested in a 2022 episode of our program The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries, were they talked into this sin by Satan, who wanted Shemihazah—a powerful rival—out of the way?
Next time (October 27, 2024), we’ll discuss the consequences of the transgression of the Watchers.
Here is a link to the three-part interview from 2006 with the late Dr. Michael Heiser about Gnosticism and The Da Vinci Code.
Here’s the link to the episode of The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries with L. A. Marzulli about Satan, Shemihazah, and “the angelic suicide mission” to overthrow God (link opens YouTube video).
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:
- Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)
- Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
- Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our 2025 Israel tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to security concerns, our Solidarity Mission to Israel planned for November 6–13, 2024 has been canceled.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
SOLOMON SPENT more time building his palace than he did constructing the Temple of Yahweh.
This week, we read the details of the home Solomon built for himself, the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its size suggests it was used for multiple things, but the fact remains that it was under construction for thirteen years while the Temple was finished in seven. For further reading, here’s a good article on Solomon’s house.
We also discuss the craftsman, Hiram of Tyre, who is not to be confused with King Hiram, who supplied building material and workers for the Temple. Conflating the two is behind the story of Hiram Abiff, a key character in the rituals of Scottish Rite Freemasonry.
Derek wrote a paper on how Hiram Abiff is a blind, or a symbol, for the true object of veneration in the highest degrees of the Scottish Rite, Nimrod. Here’s the link.
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our 2025 Israel tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to security concerns, our Solidarity Mission to Israel planned for November 6–13, 2024 has been canceled.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
BECAUSE DAVID had been a man of war, the task of building the Temple in Jerusalem fell to his son, Solomon.
This week, we read the accounts of the Temple’s construction, and how Hiram, king of Tyre, provided the timber and craftsmen for the work. We also note that account in 1 Kings records that Solomon built the Temple “for the Name of Yahweh.” We briefly discuss the meaning of “the Name,” which does not refer to God’s reputation, but an embodied person—an important part of the Godhead in ancient Israel.
For more, we recommend Dr. Michael Heiser’s article at the Faithlife Study Bible, “The Name Theology in the Old Testament”: www.bit.ly/name-ot
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our 2025 Israel tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to security concerns, our Solidarity Mission to Israel planned for November 6–13, 2024 has been canceled.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store!
Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
HUMILITY WHEN an adversary falters is one of the lessons in this week’s study of Proverbs.
We continue with “sayings of the wise” before returning to more proverbs of Solomon. Themes to take away from this week’s study: Do not envy evildoers or rejoice when they’re punished; do not be lazy, because that path leads to poverty; do not curse your enemies, but bless them instead; and wisdom is to be valued above material wealth.
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We are returning to Israel November 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and the important sites in Jerusalem like the Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, and the historic locations of the Crucifixion and burial tomb of Jesus.
If you are interested, email us: info@gilberthouse.org. For the latest information, go to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Our 2025 Israel tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
HUMILITY WHEN an adversary falters is one of the lessons in this week’s study of Proverbs.
We continue with “sayings of the wise” before returning to more proverbs of Solomon. Themes to take away from this week’s study: Do not envy evildoers or rejoice when they’re punished; do not be lazy, because that path leads to poverty; do not curse your enemies, but bless them instead; and wisdom is to be valued above material wealth.
THE BOOK OF 1 ENOCH has become a source of controversy among Christians. Regardless of your view of the book, it’s undeniable that it was known to the apostles and the early church, who generally had a favorable view of it.
On the one hand, 1 Enoch is not in the Bible. There are good reasons for that; there are internal contradictions and details that are contrary to scripture. We agree with the early church, which, guided by the Holy Spirit, excluded 1 Enoch from the canon of scripture (except in the Ethiopic church).
On the other hand, 1 Enoch had a profound influence on New Testament (i.e., Christian) theology and was even quoted directly (Jude 14–15 is a quote from 1 Enoch 1:9).
So, going forward, we will read from and comment on the Book of 1 Enoch on the last Sunday of each month. This month, we introduce the book and its five sections:
- The Book of Watchers (Chapters 1–36) — completed by about 300 BC
- The Book of Parables (Chapters 37–71) — completed by about 4 BC
- The Book of Luminaries (Chapters 72–82) — completed by about 200 BC
- The Book of Dreams (Chapters 83–90) — written during Maccabean period (163–142 BC)
-
- Note: This includes the Animal Apocalypse (Chapters 85–90) +
- The Epistle of Enoch (Chapters 91–108) — between 170 BC and 100 BC
We discuss the authorship of Enoch, which can be traced to a group of Jews who returned from Babylon in the 5th century BC with a belief that the next phase of history was the construction of the temple prophesied by Ezekiel (Ezekiel chapters 40–42). They encountered resistance from the Zadokite priesthood in Jerusalem who believed that the age of prophecy had ended, and that salvation would come through their faithful adherence to the Law of Moses—keeping the feasts and performing the sacrificial rituals.
The Enochians, on the other hand, believed that the world had been so corrupted by rebellious “sons of God”—the sinful angels mentioned by Peter (2 Peter 2:4) and Jude (Jude 6–7)—that only God’s direct intervention would put things right.
That’s the premise of the Book of 1 Enoch. As we go though it, we’ll highlight the concepts that are brought forward in the New Testament.
We are reading from the Hermeneia Translation of 1 Enoch by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam. You can get a copy at Amazon (https://amzn.to/4dRPpkF), or borrow it online from the Internet Archive (https://bit.ly/1enoch).
The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. You can get volumes 1 (covers chapters 1–36) and 2 (chapters 37–71), plus the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch and a DVD interview with Dr. Heiser about the relevance of 1 Enoch today for just $35 plus shipping and handling. Go here: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch.
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SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We are returning to Israel November 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and the important sites in Jerusalem like the Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, and the historic locations of the Crucifixion and burial tomb of Jesus.
If you are interested, email us: info@gilberthouse.org. For the latest information, go to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Our 2025 Israel tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
WE CONCLUDE a section of the sayings of Solomon and move into a section of Proverbs attributed to wise men in general.
This week, the focus is on the blessings that come from listening to instruction, raising our children to love one another and fear God, avoid gluttony, drunkenness and sloth, and not envying the possessions (or spouses) of others.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We are returning to Israel November 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and the important sites in Jerusalem like the Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, and the historic locations of the Crucifixion and burial tomb of Jesus.
If you are interested, email us: info@gilberthouse.org. For the latest information, go to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Our 2025 Israel tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE SPIRITS of the giants destroyed by the Flood were venerated by the Amorites who dominated the culture around ancient Israel. The Hebrew prophets and psalmists condemned the cult of the dead, but you have to know what you’re looking for to find those scriptures.
We find one of them in Proverbs 21:
The man that wandereth out of the way of wisdom shall abide in the congregation of the dead. (KJV)
One who wanders from the way of good sense will rest in the assembly of the dead. (ESV)
The word translated “dead” is Rephaim. These were not spirits of the human dead, but those of the monstrous Nephilim who died in the Flood. Further, it was believed by the pagan Amorites (and later by the Greeks and Romans) that the spirits of those hybrids—demigods like Perseus and Heracles—would intercede for the living as long as you offered them sacrifices and worship.
This is confirmed by religious texts from the Amorite kingdom of Ugarit, where the last king of that city-state, Ammurapi III (a name that means “my fathers are Rephaim”), was inaugurated with a necromantic ritual that summoned the Rephaim, calling some of them by name, and the “council of Ditanu”—a name from which the Greeks got the name of their old gods, the Titans.
In short, the Ditanu/Titans and the Rephaim/demigod heroes of the Amorites and Greeks were the sons of God and the Nephilim from Genesis 6:1–4. Proverbs 21:6 is a warning that wanting to join the assembly of the Rephaim after death, like the Amorites, is stupid.
That echoes the additional calls for wisdom in Proverbs 21, which we’ve seen throughout the Proverbs to this point. This week, however, Proverbs 21:30 reminds us that despite the critical importance of wisdom, no human understanding can prevail against the Lord.
Here are links to the resources Derek mentioned during the study:
- Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses
- Greek Gods, Goddesses, Spirits, and Monsters
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
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• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We are returning to Israel November 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and the important sites in Jerusalem like the Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, and the historic locations of the Crucifixion and burial tomb of Jesus.
If you are interested, email us: info@gilberthouse.org. For the latest information, go to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Our 2025 Israel tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE FIRST VERSE of Proverbs 20 expresses a truth we’ve all seen at least once: Drunkenness leads to bad behavior. But there’s more to it.
In the Semitic world around ancient Israel, pagans practiced a ritual called marzeah, referenced in Amos 6:7, that was apparently intended to induce an altered state of consciousness to allow participants to communicate with the spirits of the dead—which were actually the demonic spirits of the Nephilim destroyed in the Flood.
We also discuss verses related to commerce, such as God’s disapproval of dishonest weights and measures; the value of hard work and avoiding idle gossip; and allowing the Lord to work in His own time instead of taking it upon ourselves to execute what we think is His judgment.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse
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• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We are returning to Israel November 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and the important sites in Jerusalem like the Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, and the historic locations of the Crucifixion and burial tomb of Jesus.
If you are interested, email us: info@gilberthouse.org. For the latest information, go to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Our 2025 Israel tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE DANGER OF acting without thinking is a theme that runs through this week’s study in the Book of Proverbs.
The value of wisdom and prudence is emphasized throughout Proverbs, and the foolishness of pride or trusting in one’s wealth instead of God are repeated throughout these chapters. It may seem repetitious to hear the same concepts again and again, but given that so many of us have failed to learn the lessons Solomon committed to papyrus nearly 3,000 years ago it seems the repetition is necessary to drive the points home.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We are returning to Israel November 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and the important sites in Jerusalem like the Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, and the historic locations of the Crucifixion and burial tomb of Jesus.
If you are interested, email us: info@gilberthouse.org. For the latest information, go to GilbertHouse.org/travel.
Our 2025 Israel tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
WE WOULD save ourselves a lot of trouble if we were slower to anger, slower to speak, and a more worried about pleasing God than others.
The theme of this week’s study, which echoes those since we began our dive into the Book of Proverbs, is that wisdom, patience, forgiveness, and willingness to accept advice and correction will go a long way towards making life happier and more fulfilling. And, of course, all of it is grounded in a healthy fear and respect for our Creator.
Here’s the link to Derek’s talk on what we saw and experienced during our visit to Israel in early May.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE WISDOM of a gentle reply seems especially appropriate in this day of flame wars on social media.
If there is a theme to Proverbs 15, it is that we do well to think before we speak (or post) and be open to correction.
We also discuss a verse that, taken in context with other verses in the Old Testament, suggests a link between Abaddon and Tartarus:
Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of the children of man! Proverbs 15:11 (ESV)
In short, we think Abaddon is to Sheol as Tartarus is to Hades.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
LEANING ON OUR OWN understanding is a recipe for disaster.
We continue with the theme of the importance of wisdom and willingness to receive correction, summarized in this verse:
There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death. (Prov. 14:12, ESV)
We also discuss grief and its place in the human experience. Until Christ returns, pain will be a part of our journey. It’s a consequence of our fallen world, but it also helps us grow and truly appreciate joy.
Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.
Derek’s presentations from last weekend at His Call Ministries:
- The Gates of Hell
- A Tunnel to Hell
- The Book of Enoch and the Valley of the Shadow of Death
- Gates in Space
- Summoning the Dragon (AI and the Gates of Hell)
- Solidarity With Israel
Follow us!
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• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.
THE WISDOM of receiving instruction and correction is the theme of the proverbs in this week’s study.
Warnings of the dire consequences of ignoring discipline, advice, and direction are repeated throughout these two chapters, with an emphasis on the need for parents to instruct their children—and for children to listen and follow the guidance of their fathers and mothers.
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON are a collection of short sayings organized to deal with specific topics.
This week, we read through proverbs dealing with wealth and poverty, guarding one’s speech, hard work and laziness, and pride and humility.
Follow us!
• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert
• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse
• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation
• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
WISDOM IS NOT a female deity who’s been written out of Jewish and Christian theology over the last 3,000 years.
This week, we study three more proverbs dealing with the value of wisdom and explain why “wisdom” has female pronouns in scripture. In short, it’s because all nouns are gendered in Hebrew and “wisdom” happens to be a feminine noun. That does not make personified Wisdom a female entity, much less the consort or wife of God—especially when we read the New Testament carefully and see that Luke, Paul, and the author of Hebrews explicitly linked Wisdom to Jesus.
See these articles by Dr. Michael S. Heiser:
- Personified Wisdom in the Old Testament (bit.ly/4dKjpiC)
- Jesus as Wisdom (bit.ly/4blrCIz)
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Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Coffee! We’ve partnered with Kevlar Joe’s Coffee (KevlarJoe.com) for Gilbert House blends: Amazing Grace, a mild cookies-and-cream flavored coffee; Snarling Dachshund, a medium-roast Sumatran; and Bunker Buster, a dark-roasted Colombian that’s sure to get you moving. Find them at GilbertHouse.org/store/.
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
ANOTHER WARNING of the spiritual consequences of adultery is the theme of this week’s study.
As we noted last week, there are two layers to this fatherly warning against dallying with prostitutes or the wives of other men: On the one hand, it’s a path to disgrace, ruin, and death; and on the other, ritual sex was common among the pagans around ancient Israel, and it was forbidden. So, the path to Sheol was not simply a metaphor, it was a warning of the ultimate end of those who reject this wise counsel.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Coffee! We’ve partnered with Kevlar Joe’s Coffee (KevlarJoe.com) for Gilbert House blends: Amazing Grace, a mild cookies-and-cream flavored coffee; Snarling Dachshund, a medium-roast Sumatran; and Bunker Buster, a dark-roasted Colombian that’s sure to get you moving. Find them at GilbertHouse.org/store/.
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! This is “last call” for our one-week trip to Israel May 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, an exhibition of the Nova Music Festival, and more. For details, go to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
WE RETURN to our regularly scheduled reading this week with proverbs that are paternal calls for wisdom--and a warning against communing with spirits of the dead.
Contrary to some who seen in these chapters a female deity named Wisdom, perhaps even the consort of Yahweh, the mundane explanation is simply that the word chokhmah (“wisdom”) is a feminine noun. Grammatical gender has nothing to do with biological gender. So, attempts to see in Proverbs a feminine spirit named Wisdom are misguided—an example of eisegesis, reading a desired, predetermined meaning into the text, rather than exegesis, drawing the intended meaning from the text.
We also dig deep into Proverbs 2:18:
[F]or her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed;
We find in the passage what may be a reference to the cult of the dead that surrounded the Israelites. First, the word translated “departed” is rephaim, the spirits of the Nephilim destroyed in the Flood. This is confirmed by the Greek Septuagint, translated about 200 years before the birth of Jesus, which translates rephaim as “giants.”
Further, the Septuagint uses axonas for the word translated “paths,” where three verses earlier the words triboi and trochiai are rendered “paths.” The Brenton translation of the Septuagint renders Prov. 2:18 this way:
For she has fixed her house near death, and guided her wheels near Hades with the giants.
We explain why this is relevant: On the Golan Heights, ancient Bashan, there are literally hundreds of funerary monuments that feature concentric rings of stone around a central tumulus or cairn. The largest is Gilgal Refaim (“Wheel of Giants”), which we visited last March, but there are three others nearly as large that are practically unknown. Gilgal Refaim appears to have been built as a cult site for ritual circumambulation around a sacred central core in which a priest or shaman would descend to make contact with spirits of the netherworld.
In short, Proverbs 2 appears to be a warning against participating in rites that were clearly still taking place in the time of Saul, David, and Solomon (see 1 Samuel 28, Saul’s visit to the medium of En-dor). In fact, based on the writings of the prophets, communing with spirits of the netherworld continued in Israel for at least another three or four hundred years, down to the time of Jeremiah and the Babylonian captivity.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Coffee! We’ve partnered with Kevlar Joe’s Coffee (KevlarJoe.com) for Gilbert House blends: Amazing Grace, a mild cookies-and-cream flavored coffee; Snarling Dachshund, a medium-roast Sumatran; and Bunker Buster, a dark-roasted Colombian that’s sure to get you moving. Find them at GilbertHouse.org/store/.
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We’re planning a one-week trip to Israel May 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and more. For details, go to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
IRAN ATTACKED ISRAEL late last night, the first time the Islamic Republic has struck at Israel directly. The sight of missiles over the Temple Mount is startling, evoking images of the end times.
We discuss the events of the last 24 hours and what may come in the days ahead, and we look at prophecies from Jeremiah and Zechariah about the role of Jerusalem and the Jewish people—no, God is not done with Israel yet—in the end times.
The title of this week’s study comes from the Septuagint translation of Zechariah 12:2, which reads in the ESV: Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples.
In other words, at some point in the future, Israel’s neighbors will be so overcome with hatred that they will behave irrationally, as though they are drunk. What we have seen since October 7, 2023, is just prelude.
Here is a link to the online books by 19th century author and clergyman H. Clay Trumbull, author of The Threshold Covenant, The Blood Covenant, and The Covenant of Salt. All three books, along with his other works, are available to read online for free here: bit.ly/hclaytrumbull
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Coffee! We’ve partnered with Kevlar Joe’s Coffee (KevlarJoe.com) for Gilbert House blends: Amazing Grace, a mild cookies-and-cream flavored coffee; Snarling Dachshund, a medium-roast Sumatran; and Bunker Buster, a dark-roasted Colombian that’s sure to get you moving. Find them at GilbertHouse.org/store/.
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We’re planning a one-week trip to Israel May 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and more. For details, go to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
IT’S APPARENT why the Song of Solomon is not often preached in church.
It is a beautiful and poetic description of the love and desire felt by a husband and wife, but the euphemisms that describe physical intimacy between Solomon can raise awkward questions from children in the congregation! But if you have been blessed with a loving marital relationship, you know.
We also begin the proverbs of Solomon this week. Chapter 1 emphasizes the importance of wisdom, which begins with the fear of (or reverence toward) God. We also explain why the personification of Wisdom in Proverbs 1, and later in Proverbs 8, does not mean that there is a feminine aspect to the godhead, nor does it mean that God has a “wife.”
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Coffee! We’ve partnered with Kevlar Joe’s Coffee (KevlarJoe.com) for Gilbert House blends: Amazing Grace, a mild cookies-and-cream flavored coffee; Snarling Dachshund, a medium-roast Sumatran; and Bunker Buster, a dark-roasted Colombian that’s sure to get you moving. Find them at GilbertHouse.org/store/.
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We’re planning a one-week trip to Israel May 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and more. For details, go to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
THE SONG OF SOLOMON has layers of meaning. On the surface, it’s a beautiful depiction of the intimate relationship between a husband and wife. At a deeper level, it’s a picture of the mutual love between Christ and his church.
We discuss the first five chapters and note the bride’s description of herself as “very dark, but lovely,” which is not based on racial characteristics but implies one whose skin is darkened by the sun—a laborer, one of lower social status than her husband. Nonetheless, the husband, who may be Solomon, is clearly in love with his bride.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Coffee! We’ve partnered with Kevlar Joe’s Coffee (KevlarJoe.com) for Gilbert House blends: Amazing Grace, a mild cookies-and-cream flavored coffee; Snarling Dachshund, a medium-roast Sumatran; and Bunker Buster, a dark-roasted Colombian that’s sure to get you moving. Find them at GilbertHouse.org/store/.
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We’re planning a one-week trip to Israel May 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and more. For details, go to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Timothy Alberino, Dr. Judd Burton, and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
SOLOMON’S PRAYER for wisdom pleased God, who honored Solomon’s wish and granted him more besides.
2 Chronicles picks up the story of Solomon from the beginning of his reign around 971 BC. At this time, the tabernacle of Moses was still at Gibeon, a city in the territory of Benjamin just north of Jerusalem, although the ark of the covenant was in Jerusalem.
The wealth of Solomon is legendary. It’s possible that the political situation in the eastern Mediterranean after the Bronze Age Collapse around 1200–1175 BC left a power vacuum that was filled by the kingdom of David and Solomon, but the hand of God was in all of the events. We detour briefly into the history of the era and how such seemingly unconnected events like the Trojan War (c. 1200 BC) may have created some of the political entities, like Kue (probably Mycenaean Greeks) mentioned in 2 Chr. 1:16, with which David and Solomon had dealings.
We also discuss Psalm 72, a prayer for the new king, and note the interesting connection made by the Jewish scholars who translated the Septuagint between “oppression” and usury (Ps. 72:14), the practice of lending money with an unreasonably high rate of interest. It sounds like present day credit cards!
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Coffee! We’ve partnered with Kevlar Joe’s Coffee (KevlarJoe.com) for Gilbert House blends: Amazing Grace, a mild cookies-and-cream flavored coffee; Snarling Dachshund, a medium-roast Sumatran; and Bunker Buster, a dark-roasted Colombian that’s sure to get you moving. Find them at GilbertHouse.org/store/.
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We’re planning a one-week trip to Israel May 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and more. For details, go to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Dr. Judd Burton and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
SOLOMON BEGAN his reign with a prayer for wisdom, a prayer that was answered by God in a dream.
We discuss some of the interesting differences in the Septuagint and the Masoretic Hebrew text, which is the basis for our English language Old Testament translations. It appears the Masoretes made minor changes to make David and Solomon appear even more powerful and wise than in the older Hebrew text that was translated into the Greek Septuagint.
We talk about a concept we’ve discussed before, “the Name.” This is a term used often in the Old Testament, but it’s not well understood. Jews today use the phrase ha-shem (“the name”) to avoid saying Yahweh, but since YHWH appears some 7,000 times in the Old Testament, that clearly wasn’t a problem for the Hebrew prophets.
Nor is the Name of Yahweh His reputation; it’s another aspect of the personhood of God, often described as dwelling with the Angel of Yahweh, who is Yahweh in human form. A more accurate translation of 2 Samuel 6:1–2, acknowledging the lack of a preposition (the word “by”) in the original Hebrew, the Ark of the Covenant is “is called the Name of Yahweh of hosts.” In short, “the Name” isn’t a phrase, it’s a Being.
Here’s a link to Dr. Michael Heiser’s article, “The Name Theology of the Old Testament.”
PLEASE NOTE that our audio sounds different this week because we took in a new rescue puppy Friday night! We recorded this week’s study in our dining room with wireless mics because we don't trust little Glory around all the expensive lights just yet.
Also, you’ll hear the sound of dogs wrestling towards the end of this week’s study. Our apologies for the distractions!
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Coffee! We’ve partnered with Kevlar Joe’s Coffee (KevlarJoe.com) for Gilbert House blends: Amazing Grace, a mild cookies-and-cream flavored coffee; Snarling Dachshund, a medium-roast Sumatran; and Bunker Buster, a dark-roasted Colombian that’s sure to get you moving. Find them at GilbertHouse.org/store/.
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We’re planning a one-week trip to Israel May 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and more. For details, go to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Dr. Judd Burton and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
WE OFTEN WISH that God would show us the road we’ll travel for the rest of our lives. That’s not the sense of His promise in Psalm 119:105.
The Hebrew word translated “lamp,” ner, is a small clay lamp with a single wick. In other words, it illuminates enough of the path to see that our next step or two is safe, but after that we have to trust that He’s leading us where we need to go.
The overall theme of Psalm 119 is that those who follow God’s directions will ultimately be blessed, even though present circumstances may not be pleasant.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Coffee! We’ve partnered with Kevlar Joe’s Coffee (KevlarJoe.com) for Gilbert House blends: Amazing Grace, a mild cookies-and-cream flavored coffee; Snarling Dachshund, a medium-roast Sumatran; and Bunker Buster, a dark-roasted Colombian that’s sure to get you moving. Find them at GilbertHouse.org/store/.
SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! We’re planning a one-week trip to Israel May 6–13, 2024 to bear witness to what’s happened there since the war with Hamas began. We plan to visit Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sderot, the site of the Nova Music Festival, and more. For details, go to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
NEW DATES FOR OUR NEXT TOUR OF ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Dr. Judd Burton and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
PSALM 119 is sometimes called the Mount Everest of psalms.
Not only is it long, its length is due to its unique construction: It’s an extended alphabet acrostic divided into 22 stanzas, one for each of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Further, each of the eight verses in every stanza begins with that Hebrew letter. For example, the eight verses of the first stanza all begin with alef, the verses of the second stanza with bet, and so on.
The overarching theme of the psalm is a contrast between following the ways of Yahweh and the way of wickedness, with elements of a lament as the author, possibly David, cries out for God’s help in the face of persecution.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
Coffee! We’ve partnered with Kevlar Joe’s Coffee (KevlarJoe.com) for Gilbert House blends: Amazing Grace, a mild cookies-and-cream flavored coffee; Snarling Dachshund, a medium-roast Sumatran; and Bunker Buster, a dark-roasted Colombian that’s sure to get you moving. Find them at GilbertHouse.org/store/.
NOTE: New dates for our 2024 tour of Israel! Our tour features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land November 3–12 2024, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
It’s tempting, when looking at the state of the world, to conclude that God has abandoned us to the wolves—evildoers who think nothing of enriching themselves at the expense of everyone else.
The psalms in this week’s study are a reminder that God has not forsaken us, and that those who trust in Him will ultimately be rewarded while for those who do not things will not end well.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
NOTE: New dates for our 2024 tour of Israel! Our tour features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land November 3–12 2024, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
The succession of Solomon to the throne of David wasn’t secure even through the final days of the old king’s life.
Like his brother Absalom before him, Adonijah declared himself king over Israel before the death of David. The difference is that Adonijah’s insurrection took place after David publicly named Solomon his heir and successor.
We discuss the political machinations of Adonijah and why Solomon had him killed for asking to have David’s concubine Abishag for a wife. In a nutshell, Adonijah’s request was a not-very-subtle play to show Israel that he, not Solomon, was the true king by demonstrating that he’d inherited the old king’s harem.
Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
NOTE: New dates for our 2024 tour of Israel! Our tour features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land November 3–12 2024, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING is at the heart of this week’s collection of psalms.
From the awesome power of God and His mastery over the sea to His protection during times of distress, our God’s chesed, translated “steadfast love,” “loyal love,” “lovingkindness,” “mercy,” and other English words that don’t fully convey the concept, will never end.
Our Build Barn Better project is nearly complete! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
NOTE: New dates for our 2024 tour of Israel! Our tour features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land November 3–12 2024, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
THE AMOUNT of precious metal used in the construction of the Temple is astonishing. The gold and silver donated by King David and the leading men of Israel would be valued today at roughly $20 billion!
David alone contributed about $7.5 billion worth of gold and silver. The point of this week’s study, however, is not that one can buy God’s favor, but that whatever we have is His, to be used at His discretion and for His purposes.
Our Build Barn Better project is nearly complete! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. We’re now producing programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
NOTE: New dates for our 2024 tour of Israel! Our tour features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land November 3–12 2024, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
DAVID PREPARED the way for his son, Solomon, to take the throne and build the Temple. As we’ll see in the months ahead, our best laid plans don’t guarantee a smooth, trouble-free life.
This week, we read through the divisions of priests, the organization of the military, and David’s farewell address to Israel. It may surprise some, like us, who thought that Solomon designed the Temple. The reading today makes it clear that it was David, guided by God, who was the architect.
Our Build Barn Better project is nearly complete! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, along with a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. Wall paneling is going up and we’re beginning to produce programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
NOTE: New dates for our 2024 tour of Israel! Our tour features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land November 1–10, 2024 (dates pending confirmation with Lipkin Tours), with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
DAVID EXPERIENCED more during his life than a Hollywood action movie character. It’s remarkable that despite his accomplishments, David recognized that his success was entirely due to God.
This week, we study a half-dozen psalms written toward the end of David’s life that explore the king’s relationship to his Creator from birth to “the eternity of the eternity.”
Our Build Barn Better project is nearly complete! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, along with a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. Wall paneling is going up and we’re beginning to produce programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
NOTE: New dates for our 2024 tour of Israel! Our tour features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land November 1–10, 2024 (dates pending confirmation with Lipkin Tours), with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
IMAGINE AN ORCHESTRA of 4,000 musicians playing hymns of thanksgiving and praise! That’s what David envisioned when he organized service for the temple that would be built.
This week, we read through the detailed description of the plans made by David for temple service. It may seem like a boring section of scripture, but it illustrates the central role of God in the lives of His people—at least for a while. As with people throughout history, and we include ourselves here, distractions, ambition, and the things of this world occupy our attention and take His place at the center of our lives.
Our Build Barn Better project is nearly complete! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, along with a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. Wall paneling is going up and we’re beginning to produce programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
——————
NOTE: New dates for our 2024 tour of Israel! Our tour features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land November 1–10, 2024 (dates pending confirmation with Lipkin Tours), with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
——————
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
——————
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
DAVID SAW into the throne room of God—a vision used by Jesus himself to reveal his divinity.
Psalm 110:1 reads:
[Yahweh] says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
Jesus used this verse to teach that “my Lord” (Hebrew adoni) was not David, since David was the author of the Psalm (see Matt. 22:44, Mark 12:36, Luke 20:42, and Acts 2:34). The conclusion is that the Lord to whom David referred was the Second Power in heaven—Jesus, the Messiah. (The verse is also quoted in 1 Cor. 15:25 and Hebrews 1:13.)
We also discuss “the order of Melchizedek,” which the author of Hebrews used to demonstrate the primacy of the priesthood of Jesus, our high priest before the throne of God, to the earthly Aaronic priesthood, and that Jesus was distinct and superior to the angels. See Hebrews 4:14–5:10 and 6:13–8:13.
Our Build Barn Better project is nearly complete! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, along with a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. Wall paneling is going up and we’re beginning to produce programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
——————
Join us in Israel! Our 2024 tour of Israel features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land March 31–April 9, 2024, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
——————
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
——————
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
A PLAGUE that spread through the kingdom of David led to the consecration of a 35-acre piece of ground that is fought over to this day.
This week, we discuss the sin of David in ordering a census of his kingdom. If God “incited” David, why was the census a sin? And why is there is a difference between 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles, which names Satan (or “an adversary”) as the one who incited David to order a census?
It’s possible that this was a test of David’s faith to see whether he trusted in God or in his army for security. The account in 1 Chronicles may refer to a human adversary such as a political opponent or an enemy nation rather than Satan, since this is the only place in the Old Testament where the word saitan is not preceded by the definite article (“the satan”).
What is clear is that God allowed this test and David failed, resulting in a plague that claimed at least 70,000 lives (probably more, since the text reads “70,000 men”). God stopped the Angel of YHWH, which is the preincarnate Christ, before Jerusalem was destroyed. That prompted David to buy the threshing floor of Araunah and build an altar to the Lord. That became the spot on which Solomon built the Temple, a place now occupied by the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount.
Interestingly, below the Dome of the Rock—and thus below Solomon’s Temple—is a partly natural, partly man-made cave called the Well of Souls by Muslims. During the Crusader period, it was called the Holy of Holies. It may have been used before David’s capture of the Jebusite city in necromantic rituals. See Derek’s articles on this site and its possible use in these excerpts from his book The Second Coming of Saturn:
• The Well of Souls
• Ritual Pits and Rephaim
• Threshing Floors and Portals
Our Build Barn Better project is nearly complete! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, along with a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. Wall paneling is going up and we’re beginning to produce programs out there. Thank you for your support! If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
——————
Join us in Israel! Our 2024 tour of Israel features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land March 31–April 9, 2024, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
——————
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
——————
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
ONE OF THE JOYS of Bible study is discovering layers of meaning that you’d missed on your first reading.
This week, we run into another instance of the English phrase “worthless idols” (Ps. 97:7b). We think the context indicates that the Hebrew word elîlîm refers to supernatural beings (angels, if you like), not carvings of wood and stone. This is emphasized by the exhortation to the unseen realm in the sentence that follows: “Worship Him, all you gods!”
We submit that David, who wrote Psalm 97, knew full well that lifeless sculptures are not capable of worship. Those small-G gods are real. David’s point, which we read in Psalm 97:9, is that YHWH is “exalted far above all gods.”
As we mentioned in our study of 1 Chronicles 16 (GHF #369), elîlîm is derived from the name of the Mesopotamian father-god, Enlil, which was rendered “Ellil” in Akkadian. The elîlîm, then, were not the “imaginary friends” of Israel’s pagan neighbors, but small-E elohim who had followed Enlil (AKA El, Dagon, Molech, Kronos, Saturn, and Shemihazah, among other names) into rebellion against their Creator.
Our Build Barn Better project is making progress! Our 1,200 square pole barn now has HVAC, along with a new floor, windows, ceiling fans, upgraded electric service, and insulation. Next, we’ll put up wall paneling and install an insulated door, and then we’ll move our studios, book/DVD warehouse, and shipping office out of our home. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
——————
Join us in Israel! Our 2024 tour of Israel features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land March 31–April 9, 2024, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
——————
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
- Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
- These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
——————
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
DAVID WAS not perfect, but he recognized his failures. More importantly, he acknowledged that God was the source of his salvation—his yeshua.
This week, we study four psalms dated to the last part of David’s life. This followed the rebellion and death of his son, Absalom, his near-death at the hands of one of the Philistine “sons of the Rapha,” and his decision to eliminate the male heirs of the House of Saul (except for Mephibosheth) to repay the blood-guilt due the people of Gideon.
We take a long look at Psalm 42, which is well known for its beautiful, poetic language:
Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me. (Psalm 42:7, ESV)
That verse is more supernatural than is obvious on the surface. In context, it’s a cry from behind enemy lines—the Upper Galilee, near Mount Hermon, or the area that we believe was the literal Valley of the Shadow of Death.
If you can send a get-well card to young Finn Walden, who suffered a serious fall out of a tree a few days ago, the address is:
Finn Walden
14065 Road 37
Mancos, CO 81328
If you are able to help Jamie and Virginia Walden defray Finn's medical expenses, you can do that here: www.calicobuffalobasecamp.com/support.
Our Build Barn Better project is making progress! Our 1,200 square pole barn has a new floor, windows, upgraded electric service, and insulation. Ceiling fans went up this week, and HVAC will be installed this coming week. After that, we’ll move our studios, book/DVD warehouse, and shipping office out of our home. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
——————
Join us in Israel! Our 2024 tour of Israel features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land March 31–April 9, 2024, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
——————
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
——————
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
THIS WEEK’S STUDY is a song of deliverance that follows the account of David’s final victory over the Philistine “sons of the Rapha.”
2 Samuel 22 is nearly identical to Psalm 18, which we studied immediately after the account of Saul’s death in battle with the Philistines. In this psalm, David expresses his gratitude to God for His salvation (which in Hebrew is yeshua), deliverance, and faithfulness.
We look at the deeper supernatural implications of this chapter, especially verses 5–16, which seem to mock language used by the pagans to describe their gods—especially the storm-god Baal, who Jesus later identified as Satan (Matt. 12:22–26; Mark 3:22–23; Rev. 2:13).
We also engage in speculation about the strategy and tactics of Satan. Did he deceive other divine rebels into rejecting the authority of God, knowing that they’d be punished—thus eliminating his rivals? Honestly, we don’t know the answer to that, but it makes sense. In the natural realm, members of a political party may be united against their opposition while fighting with one another for power.
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Our Build Barn Better project is making progress! Our 1,200 square pole barn has a new floor and new wiring. Insulation, lights, and HVAC will follow. After that, we’ll move our studios, book/DVD warehouse, and shipping office out of our home. If you are so led, you can help out by clicking here.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech!
The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials!
——————
Join us in Israel! Our 2024 tour of Israel features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land March 31–April 9, 2024, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
——————
Subscribe to our new YouTube channels!
Unraveling Revelation: www.YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation
These weekly studies and Derek’s podcast: www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse
——————
Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org. For the complete Gilbert House Fellowship archive, go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship.
THIS WEEK’S STUDY is a song of deliverance that follows the account of David’s final victory over the Philistine “sons of the Rapha.”
2 Samuel 22 is nearly identical to Psalm 18, which we studied immediately after the account of Saul’s death in battle with the Philistines. In this psalm, David expresses his gratitude to God for His salvation (which in Hebrew is yeshua), deliverance, and faithfulness.
We look at the deeper supernatural implications of this chapter, especially verses 5–16, which seem to mock language used by the pagans to describe their gods—especially the storm-god Baal, who Jesus later identified as Satan (Matt. 12:22–26; Mark 3:22–23; Rev. 2:13).
We also engage in speculation about the strategy and tactics of Satan. Did he deceive other divine rebels into rejecting the authority of God, knowing that they’d be punished—thus eliminating his rivals? Honestly, we don’t know the answer to that, but it makes sense. In the natural realm, members of a political party may be united against their opposition while fighting with one another for power.
THE BELIEF that the Philistines were giants (or had giants among them) with six fingers and toes on their hands and feet comes from 2 Samuel 21. That’s not necessarily what those verses mean.
As we discussed in our study of 1 Samuel 17, the oldest Hebrew sources, the Dead Sea scrolls and the first-century historian Josephus, record that Goliath of Gath was four cubits (not six) and a span, or about 6’9”. That’s still big, but not as big as he’s usually depicted.
In 2 Samuel 21, the Hebrew phrase translated “descendants of the giant(s),” yelide ha-rapha, doesn’t mean that the Philistines defeated by David and his men were literal genetic descendants of the Rephaim/Nephilim. According to scholar Conrad L’Heureux, the word yelide more accurately means “one who is born into the group by adoption, initiation, or consecration;” in other words, a member of an elite warrior cult whose patron was “the rapha”—a word that is the singular form of Rephaim.
Who was “the rapha”? We can’t say for sure. The Canaanites venerated a deity called Rapiu, the “king of eternity,” who ruled at Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of King Og of Bashan, a land that was believed to be the entrance to the netherworld. While Rapiu is the singular form of rapiuma (the Canaanite form of Rephaim), we don’t have an explicit link between Rapiu and “the rapha.”
All that said, it is possible that this warrior cult engaged in rituals that enhanced its members epigenetically. After all, they were able to wield 12-pound spears with shafts “like a weaver’s beam.”
One of the clues is in the name of the Philistine warrior Ishbi-benob. That name should be rendered Ishbi ben ob, or “Ishbi, son of the medium.” The Hebrew word ôb, usually translated “medium,” means “owner of a necromantic ritual pit,” and it’s related to the Sumerian abzu, from which we get the word “abyss.”
In short, the Philistine “giants” were demon-worshipping, and possibly demon-possessed, warriors, similar to Viking berserkers.
We also note that the verse mentioning the six-fingered Philistine, 2 Sam. 21:20, doesn’t necessarily mean that this was a trait of the Nephilim. This (and its parallel, 1 Chr. 20:6) is the only verse that mentions polydactyly in the Bible. Since the giants of Noah’s day were destroyed in the Flood, this may not be a genetic trait of the Nephilim at all.
To be clear, we’re open to the idea of a post-Flood incursion of giant divine-human hybrids. But such an incursion is not explicit in the Bible and it can’t be proved archaeologically—at least, not yet.
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THE POLITICS of David’s day was just brutal and bloody as it is today.
Following the rebellion of Absalom, the people of Israel conclude that their best option is to welcome David home as king. For his part, David tried to win the loyalty of his relatives in the tribe of Judah by replacing one of his nephews, Joab, as commander of the army with another nephew, Amasa—who, we failed to mention, had led Absalom's troops into battle against the army of David!
These moves had two consequences: First, the murder of Amasa by Joab in a bloody encounter at Gibeon; and second, another conflict between Judah and the northern tribes, which led to the rebellion of Sheba the son of Bichri.
Sheba’s rebellion ended when Joab and a small force pursued him to the northernmost city in Israel, Abel Beth Maacah, where a wise woman convinced the town that the best way to respond to Joab’s siege was to deliver the severed head of Sheba—finally bringing to an end the civil war triggered by Absalom.
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THE POLITICS of David’s day was just brutal and bloody as it is today.
Following the rebellion of Absalom, the people of Israel conclude that their best option is to welcome David home as king. For his part, David tried to win the loyalty of his relatives in the tribe of Judah by replacing one of his nephews, Joab, as commander of the army with another nephew, Amasa—who, we failed to mention, had led Absalom's troops into battle against the army of David!
These moves had two consequences: First, the murder of Amasa by Joab in a bloody encounter at Gibeon; and second, another conflict between Judah and the northern tribes, which led to the rebellion of Sheba the son of Bichri.
Sheba’s rebellion ended when Joab and a small force pursued him to the northernmost city in Israel, Abel Beth Maacah, where a wise woman convinced the town that the best way to respond to Joab’s siege was to deliver the severed head of Sheba—finally bringing to an end the civil war triggered by Absalom.
DAVID’S CAPACITY for self-examination is remarkable. Many powerful people throughout history found it difficult, if not impossible, to admit flaws and learn from mistakes.
However, David also understood the influence of spirits in the unseen realm on human activity, condemning the elim (“gods”) who administer affairs on Earth unjustly.
We also discuss “the proud” in Psalm 40:4. The Hebrew word rehabim may be a reference to the “helpers of Rahab” mentioned in Job 9:13, demonic minions of Leviathan—forces of chaos at work in the world even today.
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ONE OF THE hardest things you can do is give thanks to God in the middle of trouble.
This week, we read a collection of psalms composed by David while he was running from his son Absalom, who’d raised an army and was marching on Jerusalem. Remarkably, in the midst of David’s heartbreak, realizing that either he or his son would die in the battle to come and reflecting on his failures as a father, he was still able to give thanks and put his trust in the Lord.
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DAVID WAS NOT a good father. That’s obvious from the way his own children treated each other—and him.
Sometimes, kids turn out badly despite their parents’ best efforts, but David seems to have been unable to discipline his sons. Amnon, his eldest, raped his half-sister, Tamar, and was murdered by David’s second son, Absalom. After a few years in exile, he returned to Jerusalem and began plotting to overthrow David, who, as we read last week, fled Jerusalem to spare the city the devastation of war.
This week, we read that Absalom, on the advice of David’s former counselor Ahitophel, “went in” to David’s concubines—a crass but very blunt message to Israel that the old man was powerless to stop Absalom from taking over.
But God foiled the plans of Absalom, Ahitophel, and the unseen principalities and powers that schemed to hijack the House of David. In a battle that probably took place east of the Jordan River, Absalom was undone by his pride and his long, flowing hair. And tragically, even though Absalom’s rebellion led to a civil war that claimed the lives of 20,000 men, David grieved more for Absalom than for those who had risked and lost their lives in David’s defense.
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TALK ABOUT ingratitude: David’s son Absalom, who’d fled to his grandfather’s kingdom of Geshur, returned to Jerusalem after a two-year exile and apparently began scheming to remove David from the throne as soon as he came home.
We discuss the ploy by Absalom’s cousin, David’s nephew Joab, to return the king’s oldest surviving son to Jerusalem, and how Absalom forced Joab to meet with him and arrange his reconciliation with David. Once Absalom had regained David’s trust, he set about undermining his father’s authority, winning over the hearts of Israel through shrewd political campaigning in the gate of the city.
David, upon (finally!) realizing that he was in mortal danger, abandoned Jerusalem—not from fear, but to spare the city and its people from the destruction of a siege. We also talk about David’s flight from the city. His route, across the Kidron Valley toward the Jordan River, foreshadowed the path of Jesus from Jerusalem to the Crucifixion on the summit of the Mount of Olives.
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THE PSALMS this week follow our chronological reading order, meaning they were written by David after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan for conspiring to kill Uriah the Hittite so that David could take his wife, Bathsheba.
We discuss the repentant heart of David that comes through in these psalms—acknowledging his guilt and pleading with God to wipe away his sin, transgression, and iniquity.
Then we return to 2 Samuel for a preview of the turbulent period of David’s life that followed when his oldest sons began plotting to succeed David on the throne. His eldest, Amnon, sinned by raping his half-sister, Tamar; in turn, Tamar’s brother, Absalom, took revenge by plotting Amnon’s murder two years later.
In both cases, David didn’t help matters. For one thing, he didn’t punish Amnon for raping his half-sister—David’s own daughter! That was compounded by his failure to punish Absalom for the murder of Amnon.
For his part, based on what he eventually did, it’s not clear that Absalom was avenging his sister’s assault by killing his half-brother or using her humiliation to justify eliminating an obstacle between himself and the throne of David.
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THE PSALMS this week follow our chronological reading order, meaning they were written by David after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan for conspiring to kill Uriah the Hittite so that David could take his wife, Bathsheba.
We discuss the repentant heart of David that comes through in these psalms—acknowledging his guilt and pleading with God to wipe away his sin, transgression, and iniquity.
Then we return to 2 Samuel for a preview of the turbulent period of David’s life that followed when his oldest sons began plotting to succeed David on the throne. His eldest, Amnon, sinned by raping his half-sister, Tamar; in turn, Tamar’s brother, Absalom, took revenge by plotting Amnon’s murder two years later.
In both cases, David didn’t help matters. For one thing, he didn’t punish Amnon for raping his half-sister—David’s own daughter! That was compounded by his failure to punish Absalom for the murder of Amnon.
For his part, based on what he eventually did, it’s not clear that Absalom was avenging his sister’s assault by killing his half-brother or using her humiliation to justify eliminating an obstacle between himself and the throne of David.
DAVID’S PLOY to take the wife of Uriah the Hittite is another story that shows that the Bible has not been cleaned up to make the humans used by God look more, well, saintly.
Bathsheba, whose name probably derives from Hurrian meaning “lady of Hebat,” the chief female deity of the Hurrian pantheon, was impregnated by David while her husband, Uriah the Hittite, fought with the army in Ammon. After trying unsuccessfully to avoid responsibility for his child by convincing Uriah to be with Bathsheba while on leave from the army, David plotted with his nephew Joab, who commanded the army, to leave Uriah unprotected in battle so he’d be killed.
This despicable ploy was transparent enough to Joab and anyone else with eyes to see, but it was obviously not hidden from God. This led to an epic confrontation between David and the prophet Nathan, who came to David with a story about a wealthy man stealing a lamb from a poor man. David declared that the wealthy man deserved to die—to which Nathan replied, “You are the man!”
We discuss David’s response to the decree that his child would die, and that rebellion would arise within David’s house. We also note that the entire incident with Bathsheba is missing from 1 Chronicles, possibly because the writer of the account compiled after the Babylonian captivity found the story just too distasteful to connect to David.
And we talk about the Philistine giants in 1 Chronicles 20, a preview of a deeper discussion we’ll have when we read the parallel account in 2 Samuel 21 (in about six weeks, if we keep to our posted schedule). Basically, the Hebrew phrase translated “descendants of the giants” does not mean what the English words imply. Goliath and the other Philistine “giants” were big, yes (although the Septuagint translation and the first-century Jewish historian Josephus write that Goliath was 6’9”, not 9’9”), but more importantly, they were members of a warrior cult.
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THE TONE of this week’s psalms seems odd given the military victories of David that we studied last week.
This is why we use a chronological reading order: We see in this week’s readings that David, despite his success on the battlefield, really grappled with the opposition he faced from enemies both from without and within his kingdom. But despite his occasional cries of despair, David always returned to give the Lord thanks and praise.
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DAVID’S KINGDOM faced a strong test from his neighbors to the east and north as a coalition of Ammonites and Arameans tried to take down the new Israelite kingdom.
We discuss the nearly identical accounts in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles and the wonderful attitude of David’s nephew and general Joab: “Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.”
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DAVID’S KINGDOM expanded outward in all directions, possibly reaching as far as the Euphrates in northern Syria.
This week, we read the records of David’s wars against the Arameans of Damascus and Zobah to the north, the small kingdoms east of the Jordan (Ammon, Moab, and Edom), and the Amalekites in the south.
We discuss the historical context of David’s reign and the recent discovery of an Iron Age kingdom in southern Turkey and northern Syria, known from inscriptions as Palistin (and probably related to the Philistines who settled between Israel and Egypt), whose best-known king, Taita, may be the Toi/Tou mentioned in 2 Sam. 8 and 1 Chr. 18.
We also discuss David’s kindness to Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, something that would have been unusual in a time when preserving the life of a male descendant of the former king, Saul, would have been unusual.
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DAVID’S KINGDOM expanded outward in all directions, possibly reaching as far as the Euphrates in northern Syria.
This week, we read the records of David’s wars against the Arameans of Damascus and Zobah to the north, the small kingdoms east of the Jordan (Ammon, Moab, and Edom), and the Amalekites in the south.
We discuss the historical context of David’s reign and the recent discovery of an Iron Age kingdom in southern Turkey and northern Syria, known from inscriptions as Palistin (and probably related to the Philistines who settled between Israel and Egypt), whose best-known king, Taita, may be the Toi/Tou mentioned in 2 Sam. 8 and 1 Chr. 18.
We also discuss David’s kindness to Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, something that would have been unusual in a time when preserving the life of a male descendant of the former king, Saul, would have been unusual.
A SUPERNATURAL worldview was perfectly natural to King David. It’s clear from his psalms that he had a better understanding of the unseen realm.
After recapitulating the prayer of David from last week’s reading of 2 Samuel 7, we discuss references in his psalms that point to spiritual beings, such as “heavenly beings,” the bene elim (literally, “sons of God”) of Psalm 29:1. For all of his faults, David knew Who is above all other elohim.
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DAVID WAS not a perfect man by any measure, but if we draw anything from this week’s study it should be his example of humility when he realized that he’d become a little too full of himself.
The narrative is another account of bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, which we previously studied in 1 Chronicles 13–16. Afterward, David proposed building a temple to God, but the Lord appeared to Nathan and directed the prophet to tell David that it was not for him to build the House of Yahweh—and to remind David just who was responsible for elevating him to the throne.
David’s prayer in 2 Samuel 7:18–29 is a wonderful example of a man who realizes the source of his blessings and expresses his heartfelt, sincere gratitude for the blessings bestowed by God.
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Join us in Israel! Our 2024 tour of Israel features special guest Timothy Alberino! We will tour the Holy Land March 31–April 9, 2024, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to www.GilbertsInIsrael.com.
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DAVID WAS not a perfect man by any measure, but if we draw anything from this week’s study it should be his example of humility when he realized that he’d become a little too full of himself.
The narrative is another account of bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, which we previously studied in 1 Chronicles 13–16. Afterward, David proposed building a temple to God, but the Lord appeared to Nathan and directed the prophet to tell David that it was not for him to build the House of Yahweh—and to remind David just who was responsible for elevating him to the throne.
David’s prayer in 2 Samuel 7:18–29 is a wonderful example of a man who realizes the source of the good things in his life and expresses his heartfelt, sincere gratitude for the blessings bestowed by God.
DAVID KNEW that God had a divine council comprised of supernatural beings. We see more confirmation of that in this week’s study.
Psalm 89 mentions the “holy ones” (Hebrew qedoshim) and “heavenly beings” (bene elim, literally “sons of God”) who are in his assembly. The psalmist goes on to praise God for His power in mastering the sea (Ps. 89:9–10). In Hebrew, that’s yam, the Canaanite name for the chaos-dragon of the sea—their version of Leviathan. Given the reference to Rahab in verse 10, this is more than just picturesque language describing God as more powerful than the ocean; the psalmist is referring to the chaoskampf, the conflict between God and Chaos (Leviathan).
We also discuss the references to “the north and the south… Tabor and Hermon” in Psalm 89:12. The mountains mentioned were sites of cult worship in the ancient world, so we think the compass points north (tsaphon) and south (yamin) have spiritual significance as well. Zaphon was the mountain of Baal in what is today southern Turkey. “South” may be a scribal gloss (change) at some point in history, because the Septuagint translation renders verse 12:
You created the north and the west [or, “the north wind and seas”]…
Psalm 82:12a (Lexham English Septuagint)
The point being that west, the direction of the Great Sea, the Mediterranean, was the direction associated with death. Thus, “the north and the [west]”, in a pairing with two cult centers (especially since one of them is Mount Hermon, a sort of Canaanite Mount Olympus), is a polemic against spiritual evil (north, the direction of Baal’s palace) and death (west).
In Psalm 96 we find another song of praise for God, comparing Him and His power against that of “all gods” (Hebrew elohim) which are “worthless idols” (ĕlîlim; Ps. 96:5). We’ve encountered that word before, which some scholars connect to the chief god of Mesopotamia, Enlil, whose name was spelled Ellil in Akkadian. The ĕlîlim, then, were demons—the spirits of the Nephilim destroyed in the Flood. The Septuagint translators certainly connect the ideas, translating the verse this way:
For all the gods of the peoples are demons…
Psalm 96:5a (LES), emphasis added
For a deeper dive into the ĕlîlim and Enlil, see our previous study on 1 Chronicles 16 here.
And you can read the chapter of The Second Coming of Saturn where Derek cites the research into “Isaiah’s ‘Worthless Idols’” here.
If you’re coming with us to Israel, we can’t wait to share the adventure with you! Here’s a link to some helpful tips to prepare from Lipkin Tours.
Help us Build Barn Better! This is our project to convert our 1,200 square foot shop building from a place to park our yard tractor into usable studio and warehouse space. In 2023, we plan to fix the holes in the walls, replace windows, insulate the building, install an HVAC system, and move our studios and book/DVD warehouse and shipping office out of our home. If you are so led, you can donate by clicking here.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
THERE IS MORE spiritual warfare in the psalms than we realize!
This week, we study three of David’s psalms that have more going on under the hood than is obvious at first read. Psalm 24 praises God for founding the earth “upon the seas and… the rivers.” In Canaanite religion, Baal became king of the gods after a battle with Yam (“Sea”), the embodiment of chaos (i.e., Leviathan), who is often called “Prince Yam [Sea] and Judge Nahar [River]” in Canaanite religious texts. So, David’s psalm is more than poetic language; it’s a rebuke of the pagan belief that Baal was the one who subdued primordial chaos.
Psalm 47 is a song of triumph, encouraging all people to rejoice that God is King of all the earth, but Psalm 68 is, in our view, a prophecy of a future battle between God and the forces of darkness at a place known in the ancient world as the entrance to the netherworld, Bashan.
It begins with the declaration that “God shall arise, His enemies shall be scattered; and all those who hate him shall flee before Him!” Verses 4 through 10 use storm-god language to praise God, again rebuking the pagans around ancient Israel for ascribing to Baal the characteristics of Yahweh.
And then we get to Psalm 68:15–23, a prophecy of a future conflict at the “mountain of Bashan,” Mount Hermon.
The text of Ps. 68:15 is translated, “O mountain of God,” but the Hebrew, har elohim, can also mean “mountain of the gods.” That’s the better translation in this context. Why? Because the mountain of God is Zion—the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Verse 16 makes clear that Mount Hermon, the “many-peaked mountain” of Bashan, looks “with hatred” at “the mount that God desired for His abode” (Zion).
Verse 18, which Paul quotes in Ephesians 4:8, describes a military assault by God on Mount Hermon, after which He “ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train”.
David praises God for delivering His followers from death. The Hebrew word maveth is a cognate for the name of the Canaanite death-god, Mot, who is the equivalent of the Greek deity Thanatos—the rider on the pale horse in Revelation 6.
Finally, verse 22 describes God’s victory over chaos:
The Lord said,
“I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea…”
However, scholar Nicolas Wyatt argues that this difficult passage is better translated:
From Bashan I shall bring back,
I shall bring back, from the depths, Sea [i.e., Yam, the Canaanite equivalent of Leviathan, or Chaos]
In other words, David prophesied God’s final assault on Mount Hermon and the land of Bashan, which in his day was believed to be the literal entrance to the netherworld (Sheol/Hades), where the Lord will finally destroy Death and Chaos.
In so doing, David presents a prophecy similar to the one recorded a thousand years later by John in Revelation 20:13–14 and 21:1:
And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire… Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and he first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
If you’re coming with us to Israel, we can’t wait to share the adventure with you! Here’s a link to some helpful tips to prepare from Lipkin Tours.
Help us to Build Barn Better! This is our project to convert our 1,200 square foot shop building from a place to park our yard tractor into usable studio and warehouse space. In 2023, we plan to fix the holes in the walls, replace windows, insulate the building, install an HVAC system, and move our studios and book/DVD warehouse and shipping office out of our home. If you are so led, you can donate by clicking here.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
TRAVEL WITH US TO TÜRKIYE! Join us and our special guests Dr. Judd Burton and Dr. Aaron Judkins as we visit the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Tour dates are October 17–November 3, 2023. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
THERE IS MORE spiritual warfare in the psalms than we realize!
This week, we study three of David’s psalms that have more going on under the hood than is obvious at first read. Psalm 24 praises God for founding the earth “upon the seas and… the rivers.” In Canaanite religion, Baal became king of the gods after a battle with Yam (“Sea”), the embodiment of chaos (i.e., Leviathan), who is often called “Prince Yam [Sea] and Judge Nahar [River]” in Canaanite religious texts. So, David’s psalm is more than poetic language; it’s a rebuke of the pagan belief that Baal was the one who subdued primordial chaos.
Psalm 47 is a song of triumph, encouraging all people to rejoice that God is King of all the earth, but Psalm 68 is, in our view, a prophecy of a future battle between God and the forces of darkness at a place known in the ancient world as the entrance to the netherworld, Bashan.
It begins with the declaration that “God shall arise, His enemies shall be scattered; and all those who hate him shall flee before Him!” Verses 4 through 10 use storm-god language to praise God, again rebuking the pagans around ancient Israel for ascribing to Baal the characteristics of Yahweh.
And then we get to Psalm 68:15–23, a prophecy of a future conflict at the “mountain of Bashan,” Mount Hermon.
The text of Ps. 68:15 is translated, “O mountain of God,” but the Hebrew, har elohim, can also mean “mountain of the gods.” That’s the better translation in this context. Why? Because the mountain of God is Zion—the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Verse 16 makes clear that Mount Hermon, the “many-peaked mountain” of Bashan, looks “with hatred” at “the mount that God desired for His abode” (Zion).
Verse 18, which Paul quotes in Ephesians 4:8, describes a military assault by God on Mount Hermon, after which He “ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train”.
David praises God for delivering His followers from death. The Hebrew word maveth is a cognate for the name of the Canaanite death-god, Mot, who is the equivalent of the Greek deity Thanatos—the rider on the pale horse in Revelation 6.
Finally, verse 22 describes God’s victory over chaos:
The Lord said,
“I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea…”
However, scholar Nicolas Wyatt argues that this difficult passage is better translated:
From Bashan I shall bring back,
I shall bring back, from the depths, Sea [i.e., Yam, the Canaanite equivalent of Leviathan, or Chaos]
In other words, David prophesied God’s final assault on Mount Hermon and the land of Bashan, which in his day was believed to be the literal entrance to the netherworld (Sheol/Hades), where the Lord will finally destroy Death and Chaos.
In so doing, David presents a prophecy similar to the one recorded a thousand years later by John in Revelation 20:13–14 and 21:1:
And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire… Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and he first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
If you’re coming with us to Israel, we can’t wait to share the adventure with you! Here’s a link to some helpful tips to prepare from Lipkin Tours.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID are often prophetic. We know this. But we often overlook just how supernatural they are.
This week, we focus on two of the most profound and stunning psalms in the Bible. Psalm 22 begins with a line quoted by Jesus on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
It’s widely acknowledged by Bible scholars that the 22nd Psalm is a prophecy of the Crucifixion written more than 600 years before the Persians invented that horrific method of execution. However, verses 12 and 13 are usually misinterpreted. They read:
Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion. (Psalm 22:12–13, ESV)
Bible commentaries usually explain these verses as a reference to the well-fed livestock of ancient Bashan. That’s not what the passage means.
Bashan was a terrible place to raise cattle, which would have starved on the poor pastureland available on that rocky, volcanic soil. Goats and sheep thrived in Bashan, but the ancient kingdom of Og was not then, and is not now, a place that would support a thriving cattle operation.
The point is that the “bulls of Bashan” were not bovine, they were divine (We’re borrowing a phrase from Dr. Robert D. Miller II, whose paper “Baals of Bashan” is the source of this information). These were dark spirits from the land known from the time of Abraham down to Jesus’ day as the entrance to the netherworld—an evil place with a name, Bashan, that literally means “place of the serpent.”
Then we move to the 23rd Psalm, one that many of us have memorized. We suggest that the valley of the shadow of death is a literal place—the Huleh Valley, which separates Bashan from the Upper Galilee. The valley is ringed with more than 5,000 dolmens, megalithic monuments to the dead that resemble giant stone tables (which is what dolmen means in the Brittonic language).
We base this analysis on the gospel of Matthew, where he writes:
Now when [Jesus] heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:12–16, ESV)
Matthew quoted from Isaiah 9:1–2, the beginning of the messianic prophecy that includes the lines, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given”. The Way of the Sea is the Roman road, the Via Maris, that ran from Egypt through Judea, north through Galilee alongside the west shore of the Sea of Galilee, north through the Huleh Valley, and then “beyond the Jordan” (i.e., east) toward Damascus.
In other words, Jesus’ move from Nazareth to Capernaum, on the north end of the Sea of Galilee, fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy of a light dawning on those living “in the region and shadow of death”.
This makes this verse all the more powerful:
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies
you anoint me head with oil;
my cup overflows. (Psalm 23:5, ESV)
In the context of the pagan rituals for the dead, especially in the region of ancient Bashan, this verse is a celebration of Christ’s victory over the fallen spirits who have rebelled against their Creator—and who want to take us to destruction with them.
If you’re coming with us to Israel, we can’t wait to share the adventure with you! Here’s a link to some helpful tips to prepare from Lipkin Tours.
Support the continuing ministry of our friend Dr. Michael Heiser, Miqlat, at www.miqlat.org.
Help us to Build Barn Better! This is our project to convert our 1,200 square foot shop building from a place to park our yard tractor into usable studio and warehouse space. In 2023, we plan to fix the holes in the walls, replace windows, insulate the building, install an HVAC system, and move our studios and book/DVD warehouse and shipping office out of our home. If you are so led, you can donate by clicking here.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
TRAVEL WITH US TO TÜRKIYE! Join us and our special guests Dr. Judd Burton and Dr. Aaron Judkins as we visit the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Tour dates are October 17–November 3, 2023. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
READING THE HEADLINES each day can cause anxiety, depression, and frustration at the plots and schemes of those who apparently feel qualified, if not entitled, to tell the rest of us how we should live.
When the news is getting to you, remember these words:
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them in His fury, saying, “As for Me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” (Psalm 2:3–4, ESV)
We discuss David’s song of thanksgiving and note a reference that’s packed with supernatural meaning: The “worthless idols” of 1 Chr. 16:26 (Hebrew ĕlîlim) may well refer to the spirits loyal to Enlil (also known as El, Dagon, and Molech), who we believe was the Watcher chief Shemihazah, leader of the Genesis 6 rebellion. Here’s a link to a short chapter from Derek’s book The Second Coming of Saturn on “Isaiah’s Worthless Idols” (link opens PDF document).
If you’re coming with us to Israel, we can’t wait to share the adventure with you! Here’s a link to some helpful tips to prepare from Lipkin Tours.
Support the continuing ministry of our friend Dr. Michael Heiser, Miqlat, at www.miqlat.org.
TRAVEL WITH US TO TÜRKIYE! Join us and our special guests Dr. Judd Burton and Dr. Aaron Judkins as we visit the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Tour dates are October 17–November 3, 2023. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Help us to Build Barn Better! This is our project to convert our 1,200 square foot shop building from a place to park our yard tractor into usable studio and warehouse space. In 2023, we plan to fix the holes in the walls, replace windows, insulate the building, install an HVAC system, and move our studios and book/DVD warehouse and shipping office out of our home. If you are so led, you can donate by clicking here.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
READING THE HEADLINES each day can cause anxiety, depression, and frustration at the plots and schemes of those who apparently feel qualified, if not entitled, to tell the rest of us how we should live.
When the news is getting to you, remember these words:
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them in His fury, saying, “As for Me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” (Psalm 2:3–4, ESV)
We discuss David’s song of thanksgiving and note a reference that’s packed with supernatural meaning: The “worthless idols” of 1 Chr. 16:26 (Hebrew ĕlîlim) may well refer to the spirits loyal to Enlil (also known as El, Dagon, and Molech), who we believe was the Watcher chief Shemihazah, leader of the Genesis 6 rebellion. Here’s a link to a short chapter from Derek’s book The Second Coming of Saturn on “Isaiah’s Worthless Idols” (link opens PDF document).
If you’re coming with us to Israel, we can’t wait to share the adventure with you! Here’s a link to some helpful tips to prepare from Lipkin Tours.
Support the continuing ministry of our friend Dr. Michael Heiser, Miqlat, at www.miqlat.org.
GOD IS enthroned above the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant. Failure to treat the ark with proper respect, according to the Law, cost a teamster his life.
This week, we discuss the move of the ark to Jerusalem and a section of scripture in 1 Chronicles 13 that’s difficult for many to accept. Why was Uzzah killed by God for putting his hand on the ark to steady it? The answer: The ark was supposed to be treated with reverence, carried by Levites with poles made specifically for that purpose (Exodus 25:12–14; Numbers 4:5–6, 15). Instead, it had been loaded onto an oxcart, like cargo in an Iron Age U-haul van.
We also discuss an interesting section of a psalm of joy and thankfulness that is more supernatural than it first appears. Psalm 107:3 refers to the people gathered “from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.” However, “north” is the Hebrew word tsaphon, a reference to “cosmic” north—the mountain sacred to the king of the Canaanite pantheon, Baal.
And “south” is yam, usually translated “west” or “sea.” This is the only place in the Bible where yam is rendered “south,” because of its opposition to tsaphon. Yam is the name of the Canaanite chaos-dragon, equivalent to Leviathan, and often used to represent the abyss—the bottomless pit, or Tartarus.
What is meant in Psalm 107:3 is that God has gathered his people from “cosmic” north, the realm of the pagan gods (fallen angels), and “cosmic” south, chaos and eternal destruction in the abyss.
Support the continuing ministry of our friend Dr. Michael Heiser, Miqlat, at www.miqlat.org.
TRAVEL WITH US TO TÜRKIYE! Join us and our special guests Dr. Judd Burton and Dr. Aaron Judkins as we visit the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Tour dates are October 17–November 3, 2023. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Help us to Build Barn Better! This is our project to convert our 1,200 square foot shop building from a place to park our yard tractor into usable studio and warehouse space. In 2023, we plan to fix the holes in the walls, replace windows, insulate the building, install an HVAC system, and move our studios and book/DVD warehouse and shipping office out of our home. If you are so led, you can donate by clicking here.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
DAVID ASCENDS to the throne in Jerusalem, and we recount the history of Israel, including some startling examples of warfare in the unseen realm, in the psalms accompanying our study this week.
First, we discuss the Jebusites and the city of Jebus, which apparently was the area around the stronghold of Zion, which is the City of David—the area just south of the Temple Mount. “Jebus” means “threshing floor,” from a verb meaning “to tread down,” as in treading out the grain. In the ancient world, as Sharon wrote in Veneration, threshing floors were believed to be portals to the spirit realm.
This is an interesting connection to the Hurrian people, relevant because Araunah, owner of the threshing floor on Mount Moriah, is not a name but a title that means “lord” or “king.” The Hurrians believed that gods of the underworld, including spirits of the dead, had to be summoned from the underworld in an underground pit called the abi, from which the Hebrews got the word ôb (“medium”). It just happens that there is a cave directly below the Foundation Stone on the Temple Mount called the Holy of Holies by the Crusaders and the Well of Souls by Muslims.
We also discuss the cryptic reference to the “Ariels of Moab,” although the ESV renders it “heroes of Moab” (1 Chr. 11:22). In the King James, ariel is translated “lion-like,” based on the Hebrew ari (“lion”). So, ariels are literally “lions of God,” although “lions of El” is more likely, given that they were from Moab, where Yahweh was not normally worshiped.
What are those ariels? We don’t know. There’s an entry for ariel in the Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, and it doesn’t give a conclusive answer. We can only guess, but based on the Septuagint, which was translated into Greek from an older Hebrew manuscript by about 200 BC, the best reading might be, “[Benaiah] struck the two sons of Ariel of Moab.”
In other words, as disappointing as it may seem, it’s likely there were no “lion-like men of Moab,” just two warriors from Moab whose father’s name was Ariel.
After a celebratory psalm, Psalm 133, we read the important Psalm 106. This is where we find one of only three mentions of demons in the Old Testament. It’s a translation of the word shedim, a type of territorial spirit depicted in the ancient Near East as winged bulls—like the giant statues of protective spirits found outside the palace of the kings of Assyria now on display at museums around the world.
We also dig into Psalm 106:28–29, a passage that explains why God sent a plague against the Israelites while they camped at Shittim. The worship of Baal-Peor (“lord of the opening to the underworld”) involved eating sacrifices offered to the dead. We’ve recently learned that scholars since the 1940s believe that it’s possible Shittim was not the Jordan valley across from Jericho, but might have been the 80-acre site on the hill called Tall el-Hammam—ancient Sodom.
In other words, the tabernacle may have been directly over the site of the destroyed temple in Sodom.
TRAVEL WITH US TO TÜRKIYE! Join us and our special guests Dr. Judd Burton and Dr. Aaron Judkins as we visit the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Tour dates are October 17–November 3, 2023. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Help us to Build Barn Better! This is our project to convert our 1,200 square foot shop building from a place to park our yard tractor into usable studio and warehouse space. In 2023, we plan to fix the holes in the walls, replace windows, insulate the building, install an HVAC system, and move our studios and book/DVD warehouse and shipping office out of our home. If you are so led, you can donate by clicking here.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
DAVID’S FRAME OF MIND was apparently much better by the time he wrote these psalms, which are dated to about the time he was anointed king over all Israel.
That took place at Hebron, but shortly thereafter he marched against the Jebusite city of Jerusalem and made that his capital city.
We discuss the Jebusites, why we believe they were Hurrians (Horites), and why that’s relevant to our understanding of the supernatural battle for control of God’s har moʿed (“mount of assembly”).
We also note differences between the Septuagint and Masoretic accounts in 2 Samuel 5: the Septuagint makes no mention of a water shaft into the City of David, and the Valley of Rephaim southwest of Jerusalem, where David fought two battles against the Philistines, was translated into the Greek Septuagint as “Valley of Titans.”
Help us to Build Barn Better! This is our project to convert our 1,200 square foot shop building from a place to park our yard tractor into usable studio and warehouse space. In 2023, we plan to fix the holes in the walls, replace windows, insulate the building, install an HVAC system, and move our studios and book/DVD warehouse and shipping office out of our home. If you are so led, you can donate by clicking here.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, the Temple Mount, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
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Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
Genealogy was important in ancient Israel. It was how the Israelites kept track of the heads of the tribes and who was eligible for service in the Temple.
It also debunks the idea that the tribes of the northern kingdom were “lost” after the Assyrian invasion of 722 BC.
This week, we study the records of six of the tribes, the family of Saul, and the genealogy of the returned exiles. Then we move to Psalm 102, titled, “A Prayer of One Afflicted, When he is Faint and Pours Out His Complaint Before the Lord.”
That seems appropriate this week, as we learned that our good friend and mentor, Dr. Michael Heiser, is in the late stage of an aggressive pancreatic cancer. He is home, in hospice care, and at peace. You can read Mike’s open letter about his condition at Mike’s Facebook page.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, the Temple Mount, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
Genealogy was important in ancient Israel. It was how the Israelites kept track of the heads of the tribes and who was eligible for service in the Temple.
It also debunks the idea that the tribes of the northern kingdom were “lost” after the Assyrian invasion of 722 BC.
This week, we study the records of six of the tribes, the family of Saul, and the genealogy of the returned exiles. Then we move to Psalm 102, titled, “A Prayer of One Afflicted, When he is Faint and Pours Out His Complaint Before the Lord.”
That seems appropriate this week, as we learned that our good friend and mentor, Dr. Michael Heiser, is in the late stage of an aggressive pancreatic cancer. He is home, in hospice care, and at peace. You can read Mike’s open letter about his condition at Mike’s Facebook page.
Our ancestors 3,000 years ago dealt with the same pressures and problems we face today.
This week, after reading the Chronicler’s list of the descendants of Levi, we study four psalms that illustrate the frustration of God that His people do not listen; the despair that comes from feeling separated from God like the demonic spirits of the Rephaim (Ps. 88:10: “departed” = rephaim); and the joy that results from acknowledging the sovereignty of God and praising His mighty works.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, the Temple Mount, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
Our ancestors 3,000 years ago dealt with the same pressures and problems we face today.
This week, after reading the Chronicler’s list of the descendants of Levi, we study four psalms that illustrate the frustration of God that His people do not listen; the despair that comes from feeling separated from God like the demonic spirits of the Rephaim (Ps. 88:10: “departed” = rephaim); and the joy that results from acknowledging the sovereignty of God and praising His mighty works.
Remembering where we came from is the theme of this week’s study, three psalms of Asaph, a contemporary of David, that lament the trials of the faithful in contrast to the apparent success of the wicked.
Although the unrighteous appear to prosper, Asaph remembers that envy of the arrogant is a stumbling block, and that we must remember the mighty works of God in saving not just his people, but each of us—and that a day is coming when He will “receive [us] to glory.”
We also discuss some aspects of these psalms that aren’t obvious unless you’re reading with the Divine Council in mind; for example, Psalm 78:47–50, which describe several of the plagues of Egypt during the Exodus, that mention entities known to the pagan Canaanites: Barad (“hail”), Resheph (“thunderbolts”), and Deber (“plague”).
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, the Temple Mount, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
GENEALOGY WAS important to the Israelites. It was the basis for determining who was eligible to serve in the Temple and who was worthy to sit on the throne.
This week, we study the descendants of David, emphasizing his role as the progenitor of the kings of Judah, and then the tribes of Judah, Simeon, Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh that lived east of the Jordan River.
In the middle of the list of the Judahites, we find an anecdote about Jabez, two verses that were made famous by the David Wilkerson book, The Prayer of Jabez. We discuss the prayer itself and how it’s been misapplied by some.
As with the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer of Jabez is not a formula that obligates God to respond in the way we want. That’s dangerously close to “magic.” Rather, it’s a template—an example of how we should pray, not a script of what we should say.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, the Temple Mount, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE SONS OF KORAH were responsible for baking and gatekeeping in the Temple. They were also singers, and this week’s readings appears to be songs of lament and hymns of praise and joy.
Psalm 43 is interesting in that it was probably part of the 42nd psalm originally, which appears to put the psalmist in the north of Israel—specifically in the region of Mount Hermon, which, spiritually speaking, was the heart of enemy territory.
Taken together, this collection of psalms contrasts the troubles we endure in this life at the hands of the wicked, who foolishly “trust in their wealth” when “no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life” (Ps. 49:6–7) with the joy that awaits in Zion, the “dwelling place” of God.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, the Temple Mount, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
GENEALOGY IS IMPORTANT in the Bible. It not only establishes Jesus as the descendant of David, and thus the rightful king, it also shows that he was fully human during his time on Earth.
This week, we discuss the genealogies at the beginning of the chronicles, which scholars believe were written sometime after the Jews returned from Babylon beginning in 538 BC.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, the Temple Mount, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
GENEALOGY IS IMPORTANT in the Bible. It not only establishes Jesus as the descendant of David, and thus the rightful king, it also shows that he was fully human during his time on Earth.
This week, we discuss the genealogies at the beginning of the chronicles, which scholars believe were written sometime after the Jews returned from Babylon beginning in 538 BC.
THE PSALMS are filled with supernatural meaning that we often miss because we don’t have the worldview of the authors.
This week, we dig into three psalms of David that appear, on first reading, related to his ascension to the kingship over all the tribes of Israel. They are that, but on a deeper level, we find references to the the unseen realm and those spirits who rejected God’s authority.
For example, the “saints/holy people in the land” of Psalm 16:3 are, in our view, rebellious angels. The Hebrew word translated “saints” or “holy people,” qedoshim (literally “holy ones”), is used elsewhere in scripture of the Watchers (Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 4) and the heavenly beings of the divine assembly (Psalm 89:5–7; Job 15:15).
The “excellent/noble ones” (Heb. addirim) are known from pagan texts from the time of the Judges, linked to the Rephaim and threshing floors, which were considered portals to the spirit realm in the ancient world. And “land” (Heb. eretz) means “underworld” as well as “the land” or “earth.”
In short, understood in the cultural and religious context of David’s day, Psalm 16:3–4 is a condemnation of the small-G “gods” of the pagans around ancient Israel.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, the Temple Mount, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE PSALMS we study this week are especially timely, coming as they do after a contentious midterm election in the United States.
At the end of the day, regardless of how the vote turned out, God is still on His throne, and He, for one, was not surprised by the results.
We also discuss a psalm not usually interpreted as messianic. Psalm 8 includes several verses quoted by the author of Hebrews:
What is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet… (Psalm 8:4–6, ESV)
These verses are quoted in Hebrews 2:6–8, where it’s clear that “the son of man” refers to Jesus, the Messiah. Most Bible teachers don’t see it that way, for some reason.
We dig deeper into the title “Son of Man” and how it emerged as a messianic title during the first century BC in the Book of Parables, chapters 37–71 of the Book of 1 Enoch. That was written by an Essene living near the Sea of Galilee before the end of the reign of Herod the Great—in other words, before the birth of Jesus.
Even though we only see the term used in a messianic context in Psalm 8:4 and Daniel 7:13 (where it’s a description—“one like a son of man”—not a title), the Book of Parables uses it 17 times of the messianic figure who is prophesied to execute judgment on the the wicked, both human and divine, and Jesus applied it to himself more than 80 times in the New Testament.
Significantly, “the son of man” does not appear in any Jewish literature from the first centuries BC or AD other than the Book of 1 Enoch and the New Testament.
For more details on the Essenes, the parables of Enoch, and their influence on the New Testament, we recommend the research of Dr. John Ben-Daniel.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, the Temple Mount, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE PSALMS we study this week are especially timely, coming as they do after a contentious midterm election in the United States. At the end of the day, regardless of how the vote turned out, God is still on His throne, and He, for one, was not surprised by the results.
We also discuss a psalm not usually interpreted as messianic. Psalm 8 includes several verses quoted by the author of Hebrews:
What is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet… (Psalm 8:4–6, ESV)
These verses are quoted in Hebrews 2:6–8, where it’s clear that “the son of man” refers to Jesus, the Messiah. Most Bible teachers don’t see it that way, for some reason.
We dig deeper into the title “Son of Man” and how it emerged as a messianic title during the first century BC in the Book of Parables, chapters 37–71 of the Book of 1 Enoch. That was written by an Essene living near the Sea of Galilee before the end of the reign of Herod the Great—in other words, before the birth of Jesus.
Even though we only see the term used in a messianic context in Psalm 8:4 and Daniel 7:13 (where it’s a description—“one like a son of man”—not a title), the Book of Parables uses it 17 times of the messianic figure who is prophesied to execute judgment on the the wicked, both human and divine, and Jesus applied it to himself more than 80 times in the New Testament.
Significantly, “the son of man” does not appear in any Jewish literature from the first centuries BC or AD other than the Book of 1 Enoch and the New Testament.
For more details on the Essenes, the parables of Enoch, and their influence on the New Testament, we recommend the research of Dr. John Ben-Daniel.
THE DEATH OF SAUL and his three eldest sons triggered a power struggle among the tribes of Israel, as you’d expect anytime humans and politics are involved.
The chapters we study this week summarize the 7-1/2 years that David ruled as king over Judah from the city of Hebron. During that time, the two youngest sons of Saul, Ish-bosheth and Mephiboseth, ruled the northern tribes from Mahanaim, east of the Jordan River. We dig into the conflict between David and the sons of Saul, and a few details that seem inconsistent in the biblical account.
Specifically, If Ish-bosheth was 40 years old when he began to reign, why wasn’t he with the army when his father and older brothers were killed by the Philistines? David and Ish-bosheth’s older brother, Jonathan, were presumably about the same age, and David was just 23 when he became king of Judah, so how could Ish-bosheth be 40 at the time of Saul’s death? (Answer: “40” in the ancient Near East represented an age of maturity, not his chronological age. Since the age of military service in Israel was 20, it’s probably that Ish-bosheth was in his teens when Abner, head of Saul’s army, made him king over the northern tribes.)
Then we wrestle with the missing Mephibosheth. There were two male descendants of Saul with that name—his youngest son, who apparently succeeded Ish-bosheth after two years, and the young son of David’s friend Jonathan, who was five years old at the time of Saul and Jonathan’s deaths.
It appears the Jewish scribes who preserved the Masoretic text, on which our English Old Testaments are based, thought it was too confusing to have two Mephibosheths in the story. So, the account of Abner’s defection to David from the House of Saul in 2 Samuel 3 and 4 was changed so that Mephibosheth was replaced in the narrative by Ish-bosheth.
Of course, that raises the confusion of how Ish-bosheth could become king at the same time as David, reigned for two years (2 Sam. 2:10), and be killed seven years into David’s reign (2 Sam. 4). Answer: The Septuagint translation records that it was Ish-bosheth’s younger brother, Mephibosheth, who was killed after Abner abandoned his cause. Ish-bosheth presumably died five years earlier, possibly during the civil war between Judah and the other tribes of Israel.
Bottom line: After seven years of rule at Hebron, and war with the sons of Saul, David was in position to finally become king over all Israel.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, the Temple Mount, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE DEATH OF SAUL and his three eldest sons triggered a power struggle among the tribes of Israel, as you’d expect anytime humans and politics are involved.
The chapters we study this week summarize the 7-1/2 years that David ruled as king over Judah from the city of Hebron. During that time, the two youngest sons of Saul, Ish-bosheth and Mephiboseth, ruled the northern tribes from Mahanaim, east of the Jordan River. We dig into the conflict between David and the sons of Saul, and a few details that seem inconsistent in the biblical account.
Specifically, If Ish-bosheth was 40 years old when he began to reign, why wasn’t he with the army when his father and older brothers were killed by the Philistines? David and Ish-bosheth’s older brother, Jonathan, were presumably about the same age, and David was just 23 when he became king of Judah, so how could Ish-bosheth be 40 at the time of Saul’s death? (Answer: “40” in the ancient Near East represented an age of maturity, not his chronological age. Since the age of military service in Israel was 20, it’s probably that Ish-bosheth was in his teens when Abner, head of Saul’s army, made him king over the northern tribes.)
Then we wrestle with the missing Mephibosheth. There were two male descendants of Saul with that name—his youngest son, who apparently succeeded Ish-bosheth after two years, and the young son of David’s friend Jonathan, who was five years old at the time of Saul and Jonathan’s deaths. It appears the Jewish scribes who preserved the Masoretic text on which our English Old Testaments are based thought it was too confusing to have two Mephibosheths in the story, so the account of Abner’s defection to David from the House of Saul in 2 Samuel 3 and 4 was changed so that Mephibosheth was replaced by Ish-bosheth.
Of course, that raises the confusion of how Ish-bosheth became king at the same time as David, reigned for two years (2 Sam. 2:10), and was killed seven years into David’s reign (2 Sam. 4). Answer: The Septuagint translation records that it was Ish-bosheth’s younger brother, Mephibosheth, who was killed after Abner abandoned his cause, so Ish-bosheth presumably died five years earlier, possibly during the civil war between Judah and the other tribes of Israel.
Bottom line: After seven years of rule at Hebron, and war with the sons of Saul, David was in position to finally become king over all Israel.
GOD IS our protector through the trials of life. That comes through in the psalms we read this week, all part of the group titled Songs of Ascents.
These come from the period of David’s life between the death of Saul and his acceptance as king over all Israel. They are a reminder that while we will endure trials in this life, God offers us His steadfast love, forgiveness, and redemption.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, the Temple Mount, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID give us a window into his heart and mind during the ups and downs of his life. This week, we discuss a psalm written shortly after the death of Saul in battle against the Philistines.
We also look at a pair of psalms described as “songs of ascent,” two of fifteen so titled. Not surprisingly, we discover more supernatural depth and prophetic significance than we noticed our first time through the Old Testament.
Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
SAUL’S VISIT to the medium of En-dor is one of the more controversial chapters in the Bible. Does it prove that ghosts are real?
We discuss the recent research that shows why the Hebrew word ôb, usually translated into English as “medium,” more accurately means “owner of a ritual pit.” This is a concept that can be traced back through the archaeological record to the ancient Hurrians (the biblical Horites), who originated on the Ararat Plain—the valley below the mountains where Noah’s ark came to rest.
Here’s the excerpt from Derek’s book The Second Coming of Saturn that deals with 1 Samuel 28, the ôb, mediums, and necromancers: “Ritual Pits and Rephaim.”
Here’s a link to the article about the significance of the sacrifice of seventy bulls during the Feast of Tabernacles, “The Seventy Bulls Sacrificed at Sukkot (Num 29:12-34) in Light of a Ritual Text from Emar.”
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
DAVID’S PSALMS are a window into his heart and mind, and those written while he was on the run from Saul are instructive, teaching us that even in our darkest hours, God has not forsaken us.
We discuss these psalms, composed while hiding in the dry, dusty wilderness of Judah—possibly the site of the later fortress of Masada, or even further southeast, in the desert of Edom near modern-day Petra. Even then, driven from his home and family by an unjust king, David trusted in God for his ultimate salvation.
We note the verse where David asks God:
Say to my soul, “I am your yeshua!” (Psalm 35:3)
And we speculate that Psalm 17 may have a hidden reference to the practice of child sacrifice and the spirits that demand it.
Here’s the link to the online text of The Star of Bethlehem: The Star That Astonished the World by Dr. E. L. Martin, who used historical and astronomical data to pin down the date of Jesus’ birth to September 11, 3 B.C. The relevant information is summarized in chapter 5.
The Wikipedia entry on the mausoleum of Pozo Moro has pictures of the Phoenician inscription we described that depicts reptilian entities eating what looks like human infants.
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
ABIGAIL IS a wonderful example of wisdom and diplomacy, who acted contrary to her husband’s wishes—but in his best interests.
Nabal—certainly not his name, since it means “fool”—insulted the messengers sent by David to ask for some supplies after protecting Nabal’s flocks and shepherds in the wilderness. Abigail wisely put together a caravan of gifts for David and his men, which stopped David from slaughtering everyone in Nabal’s household.
When Abigail told her husband what had happened, Nabal suffered a heart attack (or a stroke) and died ten days later. David sent to Abigail and made her his third wife (after Saul’s daughter Michal and Ahinoam of Jezreel).
Meanwhile, Saul continued to hunt for David, who spares the king’s life a second time. Not being stupid, David decided to take his followers and his new wives to the Philistines. This time, Achish, the king of Gath, took David in. This put David in an awkward position: On the one hand, Saul wouldn’t chase him into Philistine territory. On the other, David had to show loyalty to Achish without raiding and killing his fellow Israelites.
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
WE GET insight into the mind of David this week as we read a collection of psalms probably written while he was hiding from Saul.
We discuss similarities in the words of David and Job. Although their circumstances were different—David being persecuted by a man while Job was being tested by “the satan”—their hope in God in the midst of their trials is very much alike.
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
DAVID’S FLIGHT from Saul led both men to take desperate action: David sought refuge among Israel’s mortal enemies, first the Philistines and then the Moabites, while Saul ordered the slaughter of the priests of the tabernacle because they unknowingly helped David escape.
The difference between the two men is highlighted by the incident in a cave at Ein Gedi, a site on the west side of the Dead Sea. David had the opportunity to kill Saul while the king relieved himself, unaware that David and his men were hiding at the back of the cave. Instead of taking the king by surprise, David cut off a corner of the king’s robe as proof that Saul had been in David’s power, but he had forbidden his men from lifting a hand against the Lord’s anointed.
As we’ll see in the weeks ahead, Saul’s gratitude to David for sparing his life didn’t last very long.
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site!
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
SAUL’S INSECURITIES were his downfall, the hole in his spiritual armor that led him to try to murder David rather than accept God’s will.
We discuss the plot to assassinate David and his first wife Michal’s scheme to buy time for David to escape, and how the account of 1 Samuel 19 shows the influence of the pagan Amorite culture, with its veneration of the ancestral dead, on ancient Israel.
Our schedule this week also takes us into the Psalms, as our chronological reading order begins interspersing the psalms of David into the account of his life. This approach will help us gain a deeper insight into the heart and mind of the man God called the apple of His eye.
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
The story of David and Goliath is one of the best-known in the Bible. The contrast between the faith of David (in God), Saul (in his armor), and Goliath (in himself) is just one of the lessons to draw from the account.
One of the interesting aspects of David’s battle with Goliath is the way the Masoretic Hebrew text, on which our English Old Testament translations are based, includes a big chunk of 1 Samuel 17 that is not in the older Hebrew texts translated into the Greek Septuagint 200-300 years before the birth of Jesus. 1 Samuel 17:12–31 and 55–58 are not in the Septuagint. It doesn’t change the meaning of the text, but the verses were apparently added by the Masoretes to enhance the stature of David as the founder of the bloodline that would produce the promised Messiah.
We also discuss Saul’s fall from favor as he disobeys God’s command to devote the Amalekites to destruction and then blames his failure on his fear of the people.
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
SAUL WAS a flawed man—indecisive, rash, and lacking in faith.
Although Saul led Israel to victory over its enemies, mainly the Philistines and the trans-Jordanian kingdoms of Edom, Moab, and Ammon, his insecurity and poor judgment led to God’s decree that the kingship would be stripped from his family and given to another.
We discuss Saul’s foolish decision to offer sacrifices rather than waiting for the prophet Samuel, placing himself above God’s priest and showing that he was unfit to lead God’s people.
Then we discuss a key battle in which Saul’s son Jonathan led a covert raid that God used to instill panic in the Philistines. Saul foolishly laid an oath on his soldiers: “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.”
Fighting is hard work, and because of his vow the Israelite forces were too weak to press their victory over the Philistines. This is another example that the characteristics we humans too often use to choose our leaders—he was tall and handsome!—are not the ones God values.
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study.
JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
SciFriday is back! Every episode is at www.SciFriday.tv and www.youtube.com/scifridaytv!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
The story of Saul is a record of the transformation of Israel from a theocracy to a kingdom.
The sons of the prophet Samuel followed in the footsteps of the sons of the former high priest, Eli, pursuing wealth and taking bribes. (Interestingly, they set up shop in Beersheba, located in the Negev in southern Israel. We need to do more study into the significance of Beersheba to figure out why they went there instead of staying in the region of Benjamin and Ephraim like their father.)
Oppression by the Ammonite king Nahash, and the bad behavior of Samuel’s sons, prompted the Israelites to demand a king. In a classic example of being careful of what you wish for, God consented. And then He called a man based on the characteristics we humans often use to choose our leaders: Saul was tall and handsome.
As we’ll see in the weeks ahead, that’s not good criteria for picking a national leader!
We also point out more hidden references to the Holy Spirit and the Messiah in the Old Testament. While the doctrine of the Trinity is not spelled out by the name in the Bible, we see all three members—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—throughout the scriptures if we pay attention.
For more on the Jewish belief in two powers in heaven, a teaching that was not heretical until the second century AD, visit www.TwoPowersInHeaven.com.
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/ .
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
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JOIN US IN ISRAEL! The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023. This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
NOTE: NEW DATES FOR OUR TOUR OF TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. Due to the political situation in Eastern Europe, we’ve moved the tour to October, 2023. Dates will be finalized by January. More information is available at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
The ark of the covenant was not to be misused. God made that very clear to both Israel and its mortal enemies in the days of Samuel, Saul, and David, the Philistines.
The ark had been moved from Shechem to Shiloh at some point during the time of the Judges. As we discussed last week, the Samaritans believe to this day that Eli, the high priest who raised Samuel, was the one who moved the center of Israelite worship sometime around 1200 BC.
Whether that’s true or not, the tabernacle was in Shiloh by the time of Eli, and his death coincided with the capture of the ark by the Philistines. It had been brought to the battlefield by the Israelites in hope that it would guarantee a military victory.
The Bible does not record that the Israelites prayed or sacrificed to God before the battle, and we learned last week that Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, “did not know the Lord.” So, the ark was used by the Israelites as a sort of cosmic good luck charm and not as any sign of their faith in God. And it didn’t work, as Israel was routed and Eli’s sons were killed.
However, the Philistines didn’t enjoy their victory. A plague of “tumors” broke out, which was, based on a better understanding of Philistine culture and religion thanks to recent archaeological finds, probably even more painful than scripture suggests.
We briefly discuss the history of the Philistines and evidence connecting them to the early Greeks and the Amorites, links that explain the various names attached to their creator-god Dagon, also known as Saturn, Kronos, Baal-Hammon, El, Molech, Enlil, and Kumarbi—in our view, all of them identities worn by the leader of the rebellious “sons of God” from Genesis 6, the Watcher chief Shemihazah.
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/ .
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JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 3, 2022. Complete details on cost, the itinerary, and registration are available now at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
The rise of the monarchy in Israel begins with the story of Samuel.
We dive deeply into the prayer of Samuel’s mother, Hannah, and unpack its spiritual and prophetic implications. 2 Samuel 2:1 sets the tone for her prayer:
My heart exults in the LORD;
my horn is exalted in the LORD.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in your salvation.
Key to understanding that verse is knowing that “salvation” is the Hebrew word yeshua—Jesus!
We also discuss the references to spiritual warfare embedded in her prayer, Hannah’s humility and faithfulness, which contrasts with the sins of the sons of Eli.
We also discuss the historic significance of Eli. Samaritans, who consider themselves descendants of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh and the preservers of the true Law given to Moses, believe Eli illegally took a group of Israelites from Shechem to Shiloh. There, he built a second tabernacle and set himself up as high priest
Now, if that was true it would be in the Bible, which never hides bad behavior of the patriarchs or apostles. It’s what the Samaritans believe, however, and it’s at the root of the schism between Jews and Samaritans that continues to this day.
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. During the month of May, save 20% with promo code MAY20!
JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 3, 2022. Complete details on cost, the itinerary, and registration are available now at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
GOD IS our redeemer, a theme woven throughout the Old Testament. This is illustrated most clearly in the Book of Ruth.
This week, we finish the Book of Judges with the story of how the other tribes of Israel prevented the extinction of Benjamin after the sordid affair of the Levite’s concubine (Judges 19–20). Then we move on to Ruth, which relates the story of the great-grandparents of David.
Ruth was a Moabite woman who married a man from Bethlehem, one of the sons of Naomi and Elimelech, when they’d traveled to Moab during a famine in Israel. Elimelech died, leaving Naomi with her sons and daughters-in-law, but after ten years in Moab, Naomi’s sons died as well.
Ruth’s redemption by Naomi’s kinsman, Boaz, is a picture of our redemption by God through His sacrifice. We discuss the significance of the actions of Boaz in the context of Christ’s victory over death at the cross and the significance of the Bible recording a Moabite—a Gentile—in the line of David and Jesus. (And the mother of Boaz was Rahab, the Canaanite woman who hid the Israelite spies from the king of Jericho!)
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. During the month of May, save 20% with promo code MAY20!
JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 3, 2022. Complete details on cost, the itinerary, and registration are available now at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
SODOM AND GOMORRAH come to mind when reading the last three chapters of the Book of Judges.
The disturbing events recorded in the final chapters of Judges describe a time “when there was no king in Israel.” A Levite from the hill country of Ephraim had traveled to Bethlehem to bring home his wayward concubine, probably a secondary wife. On their return journey north, they stop for the night at Gibeah, a town in the territory of Benjamin about four miles north of Jerusalem. That’s where things take a horrifying turn.
The men of the city, like the men of Sodom in the days of Abraham and Lot, demand that the owner of the home where the Levite and his concubine are staying, demand that the Levite come out so that they may “know” him—a euphemism for “have sex with.” The homeowner offers his virgin daughter instead, as Lot did with his daughters to the men of Sodom. The men of Gibeah refuse—so the Levite essentially pushes his concubine outside where she is raped so violently that she dies.
The Levite brings her body home, cuts her into twelve pieces and sends them to the tribes of Israel, a shocking bit of propaganda that moves the people to gather at Mizpah, about three miles from Gibeah, and prepare for war.
We discuss the fact that the Levite, who should have known better (he’s a Levite, after all!), never appealed to God for help. Nor did the people of Israel consult God before deciding to go to war with the tribe of Benjamin—who, for their part, refused to give up the guilty men of Gibeah, preferring to fight even though they were outnumbered nearly 20-to-1!
We also look at Hosea chapter 9, which references the incident at Gibeah as part of a longer polemic against Ephraim, meaning the northern tribes. Hosea wrote in the 8th century BC, just before the Assyrian conquest of Samaria, a time when the northern tribes had followed the apostasy of Jeroboam, the rebel who led the northern tribes to declare independence from Solomon’s son Rehoboam. Jeroboam set up the golden calves at Bethel and Dan, worship of the Canaanite creator-god El that was specifically condemned by Hosea (Hos. 8:5–6).
We believe the actions of the men of Gibeah and Sodom are linked to the worship of El and Baal-Peor, which Derek argues in his new book The Second Coming of Saturn are one and the same. It’s connected to the cult of the dead, a practice that was a snare to the Israelites from the time they entered Canaan (see Hosea 9:15; Gilgal was the Israelite camp near Jericho).
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. During the month of May, save 20% with promo code MAY20!
JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 3, 2022. Complete details on cost, the itinerary, and registration are available now at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
SAMSON WAS the stereotypical alpha male. Ruled by his passions, Samson fell into the hands of Israel’s enemies, the Philistines—but God used even Samson’s failings to save His people from their enemies.
We discuss Samson’s flaws, such as his pride and rather flexible approach toward keeping his vow as a Nazirite. It’s clear that Samson either wasn’t the smartest guy in Israel, or he put so much trust in his own strength that he did foolish things.
Then we move on to the story of the tribe of Dan’s relocation from its original land allotment west of Judah to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon. The Danites, unable to push the Philistines out of their territory, seized the area around the ancient city of Laish and settled there.
This story is connected to that of an ambitious Levite priest who left the territory of Judah and settled with a wealthy Ephraimite named Micah, who had fallen into the pagan practices of Israel’s Amorite neighbors. We revisit the practice of ancestor veneration and the monthly kispum ritual, which involved the household idols called teraphim, through which pagans in the ancient Near East believed they provided food and drink for their dead ancestors.
Judges 17 and 18 show the fulfillment of Moses’ prophecy over Dan in Deuteronomy 33:22: “Dan is a lion’s cub that leaps from Bashan.” Mount Hermon and the area around the city of Dan were part of Og’s kingdom, Bashan, but at the time of the prophecy, the Israelites were still camping on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River.
The account also shows that Dan was the first of the tribes of Israel to fall back into pagan worship. By taking the Levite, Jonathan (a descendant of Moses!), as their tribal priest, they violated the Law, since the approved priesthood served at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. This may be the reason early Christian theologians such as Irenaeus believed the Antichrist would come from the tribe of Dan.
Here’s the link for information about Jamie Walden and the Calico Buffalo Base Camp. The first gathering will be August 4–7, 2022 at the camp, located just outside Durango, Colorado. Jamie’s website is OmegaDynamics.org. You can help support the Waldens and their work to rebuild the camp by clicking here.
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. During the month of May, save 20% with promo code MAY20!
JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 3, 2022. Complete details on cost, the itinerary, and registration are available now at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
JUDGES 11 describes an event in Israel’s history that is difficult to reconcile with a loving God.
Jephthah, the son of man of the tribe of Manasseh by a prostitute, is called upon by the people of Gilead to lead them into battle against the kingdom of Ammon, which had invaded their territory. Jephthah, described as “a mighty warrior,” vowed to God that he would sacrifice as a burnt offering “whatever [or “whoever”] comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return.” (Judges 11:30–31).
This illustrates the foolishness of swearing a rash vow to God. It is also evidence that the Bible has not been edited over the centuries, for surely an event like this would have been deleted to remove any hint that Jephthah’s vow and subsequent sacrifice was acceptable to God.
However, not all scholars believe that Jephthah’s daughter became a burnt offering. The Septuagint translation suggests that she was instead dedicated to God through a vow of chastity. In that time, being childless was normally considered a mark of shame. For more on this, see “Did Jephthah Kill His Daughter?” by Solomon Landers at Biblical Archaeology Society Online (link: https://www.baslibrary.org/bible-review/7/4/15) and “Daughter of Jephthah: Bible” by Karla Bombach at the Jewish Women’s Archive (link: https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/daughter-of-jephthah-bible).
It appears the real sacrifice was the end of Jephthah’s patrimony, since his daughter was his only child. By dedicating her to God, the bloodline of Jephthah came to an end.
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday , Unraveling Revelation , and A View from the Bunker . The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/ .
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. During the month of May, save 20% with promo code MAY20!
JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 3, 2022. Complete details on cost, the itinerary, and registration are available now at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE SHORT reign of Gideon’s son Abimelech lasted just three years, with a sad end to what was the first attempt to create a ruling dynasty over Israel. And the heart of the conspiracy was a city sacred to one of the most powerful and popular of the fallen angels.
Abimelech’s fratricide, killing his half-brothers to become king over Israel, reveals that Gideon, despite saying, “The Lord will rule over you,” did in fact rule as a king. (And Abimelech’s name, which means “my father, the king,” is another clue!) We discuss the work of the spirit realm in sowing discord between Abimelech and his co-conspirators from the city of Shechem.
We also discuss the spiritual significance of Shechem, the identity of Baal-Berith (Derek identifies it in his book The Second Coming of Saturn as the Hurrian god Mitra, another identity worn by El, Kronos, Saturn, etc.), and some of the biblical events that took place there. In short, it’s not a coincidence that God directed Moses and Joshua to set up an altar overlooking the city!
If you’re curious about our tour of Turkey this fall, you might want to watch our interview with Doug Hershey, author of Israel Rising and the founder of Ezra Adventures:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf1RcLfKpnU
Get our new app! It’s free and connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs, SciFriday, Unraveling Revelation, and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/.
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. During the month of April, save 10% with promo code APRIL10!
JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 3, 2022. Complete details on cost, the itinerary, and registration are available now at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE STORY of Gideon is not just an example of faith in the face of overwhelming odds; it’s also another example of the Trinity in the Old Testament.
Gideon was from the weakest clan in the tribe of Manasseh, and described himself as “the least in [his] father’s house.” Yet, the angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Christ, assured Gideon that he would “save Israel from the hand of Midian.”
Gideon’s reluctance is understandable; the hordes of Midianites and Amalekites were so numerous that “both they and their camels could not be counted.” He tested God twice, and God confirmed that it was indeed He who had called Gideon to this mission.
In Judges 6:34, we read that “the Spirit of the Lord clothed [or “took control of”] Gideon,” giving us the third member of the Trinity in the story of Gideon.
Sadly, Gideon, like all of us, wasn’t perfect. Although he declined the offer of the Israelites to rule over them, which is understandable given that he and his 300 beat an army of 120,000, he made a gold ephod for himself, a garment reserved for the high priest, and named one of his many sons Abimelech—which means “my father is king.”
By the way, the value of Gideon’s ephod in today’s market is over $1.3 million. No wonder “it became a snare to Gideon and his family”!
Please subscribe and share our YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse!
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. During the month of April, save 10% with promo code APRIL10!
JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 3, 2022. Complete details on cost, the itinerary, and registration are available now at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
Follow our weekly studies of Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv, or at www.youtube.com/unravelingrevelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
ON THE surface, the song of Deborah and Barak in Judges 5 is a celebration of a miraculous military victory over a superior enemy. It is that, but it’s much more.
When we dig into the Hebrew and consider the cult of the dead from the surrounding Amorite culture, Judges 5 tells of a supernatural battle between Yahweh and His forces against the small-g gods of the Canaanites. The mentions in Judges 5:13 to “the noble” (Hebrew addirim) and “the mighty” (gibborim; also v. 23) are references to the demonic spirits of the Rephaim (i.e., the Nephilim) worshiped by the pagan neighbors of ancient Israel.
We find more evidence in verse 20:
From heaven the stars fought,
from their courses they fought against Sisera.
Stars (kokabim) in the Old Testament often refer to the sons of God, as in Job 38:7–8, the supernatural beings we usually (but inaccurately) call angels.
We also discuss the strange curse on the inhabitants of Meroz, which some have interpreted, because of verse 20, as a biblical reference to extraterrestrials. Simply put, it’s not.
Here’s the link to Dr. Mike Heiser’s article “The Torah’s Teaching on Aliens,” which he jokingly wrote might as well have been a blank page.
Check out our new online store! www.GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. During the month of April, save 10% with promo code APRIL10!
JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 3, 2022. Complete details on cost, the itinerary, and registration are available now at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. Catch all of our studies on Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv.
And subscribe to our new YouTube channels for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries and Unraveling Revelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
STRONG WOMEN rose to the occasion when Israel fell under the oppressive hand of Jabin, the Canaanite king of Hazor.
This week, we discuss the victory of Deborah and Barak, which was sealed by the decisive act of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite. We discuss Barak’s reluctance to lead Israel’s troops against the iron chariots of Sisera, Jabin’s general, explain why Sisera was probably the leader of a mercenary band from Sardinia, and how archaeologists have confirmed the Bible’s account of Hazor’s destruction under Joshua, shortly after 1406 BC, and again in the time of the Judges around 1234 BC.
Here’s the link to the paper by Dr. Douglas Petrovich, “The Dating of Hazor’s Destruction in Joshua 11,” which corroborates the biblical account (link opens PDF document).
We also discuss the brief accounts of the judges Othniel (nephew of Joshua’s colleague Caleb), Shamgar (who may have been a Hurrian mercenary), and Ehud, the left-handed warrior who freed Israel from the oppression of Eglon, king of Moab.
Save $20 on the Eyes to See Conference! The Gilberts will be in Dallas March 17–20, 2022, with L. A. Marzulli, Pastor Paul Begley, and other great speakers. Use promo code GILBERT20 for $20 off registration at www.HearTheWatchmen.com.
JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 3, 2022. Complete details on cost, the itinerary, and registration are available now at www.SkyWatchinTurkey.com.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. Catch all of our studies on Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv.
And subscribe to our new YouTube channels for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries and Unraveling Revelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
IT DIDN’T take long for Israel to forget God. Within thirty years of arriving in Canaan, God was compelled to tell the Israelites that because of their disobedience, He would not drive out the people before them.
This is a pattern that repeats throughout the Book of Judges. We discuss the failure of Israel to obey God’s command to push the Canaanites, Amorites, and Perizzites (Philistines) out of the land, the apparent contradiction over the destruction of Jerusalem by the tribe of Judah and the fact that the Jebusites still controlled it nearly 400 years later in the time of David, and why Jerusalem was important despite being smaller than other cities of the region at the time.
Join us for a weekend retreat! March 4-6, 2022, we’ll be at at the beautiful Finley River Ranch in Sparta, Missouri, teaching Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning on prophecy, politics, and the end times. Lunch Saturday and Sunday is included.
Sparta is about halfway between Springfield and Branson in the Missouri Ozarks. For information and registration, log on to www.HisCallMinistries.com.
Save $20 on the Eyes to See Conference! The Gilberts will be in Dallas March 17–20, 2022, with L. A. Marzulli, Pastor Paul Begley, and other great speakers. Use promo code GILBERT20 for $20 off registration at www.HearTheWatchmen.com.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 3, 2022. More details are forthcoming soon.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. Catch all of our studies on Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv.
And subscribe to our new channels at YouTube for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries and Unraveling Revelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Giants, Gods and Dragons is available in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE PEOPLE of Israel are finally dispatched to their homes after the allocation of the land and establishing the cities of refuge, sanctuaries for those who inadvertently commit what we today would call manslaughter.
Before they go, however, Joshua binds them with another oath, demanding that they choose who they will serve, “whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the [Euphrates] River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Of course, as we’ll see next week when we start the Book of Judges, it didn’t take long for the people to forget their promise.
Join us for a weekend retreat! March 4-6, 2022, we’ll be at at the beautiful Finley River Ranch in Sparta, Missouri, teaching Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning on prophecy, politics, and the end times. Lunch Saturday and Sunday is included.
Sparta is about halfway between Springfield and Branson in the Missouri Ozarks. For information and registration, log on to www.HisCallMinistries.com.
Save $20 on the Eyes to See Conference! The Gilberts will be in Dallas March 17–20, 2022, with L. A. Marzulli, Pastor Paul Begley, and other great speakers. Use promo code GILBERT20 for $20 off registration at www.HearTheWatchmen.com.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 2, 2022. More details are forthcoming soon.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. Catch all of our studies on Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv.
And subscribe to our new channels at YouTube for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries and Unraveling Revelation!
Derek’s new book! The Second Coming of Saturn is available in paperback and Kindle. You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Giants, Gods and Dragons is available in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE DIVISION of the land continues in this week’s study as we read through the boundaries of the lands allotted to the seven tribes who had not yet claimed their inheritance.
We note the influence of the pagan Amorites on the people of Canaan, with cities devoted to pagan gods like Dagon, Shemesh (sun-god), Horon (an underworld deity), and Anat (war-goddess). This is significant. The pagan Canaanites were not completely driven out of the land, which created spiritual problems for Israel for centuries to come.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL: The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com.
JOIN US IN TURKEY! We’re planning a tour of the churches of Revelation, Göbekli Tepe, Abraham’s home town Harran, the “Gates of Hell,” Mount Nemrut, and more. The dates are October 19-November 2, 2022. More details are forthcoming soon.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. Catch all of our studies on Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv.
And subscribe to our new channels at YouTube for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries and Unraveling Revelation!
Derek’s new book The Second Coming of Saturn is available now! You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Our book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE SECOND HALF of the Book of Joshua begins with a list of kings defeated by Moses and Joshua. Interestingly, our Bibles list 31 kings while the Septuagint, translated into Greek by Jewish religious scholars about 200 years before the birth of Jesus, only names 29.
Then we begin describing the allotment of the land to the tribes of Israel, a process that will take us through the month of February. This week, we list the the territories given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh east of the Jordan, and the land in Canaan allotted to the tribe of Judah, which included the region of Hebron, a stronghold of the Anakim, requested by Caleb.
Here are links to our previous studies where we talked about the seer Balaam son of Beor: Numbers 22–23, which includes our discussion of the famous Deir Alla inscription, and Numbers 24, which features the famous messianic prophecy of the star that comes from Jacob.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL : The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com .
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. Catch all of our studies on Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv.
And subscribe to our new channels at YouTube for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries and Unraveling Revelation!
Derek’s new book The Second Coming of Saturn is available now! You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Our book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE CONQUEST of Canaan was a war to drive the Anakim out of the hill country of Judah and Israel.
This week, we discuss Joshua’s two campaigns in Canaan, against coalitions of Amorites, Perizzites (Philistines), Hittites, Hivites (Mycenaean Greeks), and Jebusites (probably Hurrians). We explain how the deception of the Gibeonites was perceived by the Amorite kings in the south as a divide-and-conquer maneuver by Israel, and why the Anakim were a warrior elite who venerated the Rephaim (spirits of the Nephilim; i.e., demons).
Here is an excerpt from our book Veneration at All-Pro Pastors explaining our views on the Nephilim, Rephaim, and Anakim, and why we believe Anakim ”was a title roughly meaning ‘lords’ or ‘rulers,’ and the ‘sons of Anak’ [Num. 13:21] were a warrior elite who ruled the hill country of Judah and Israel.”
Here is the Chuck Missler article we mentioned where he proposed that Joshua’s Long Day was the result of a near pass of Earth by the planet Mars. Besides the defeat of the Amorite kings, Chuck suggested that other significant events, like the flattening of Sodom and Gomorrah and the destruction of the Assyrian army outside the walls of Jerusalem, were also the result of a Mars flyby. Fascinating reading!
Chuck pointed out that Jonathan Swift, in his novel Gulliver’s Travels, apparently knew about the two moons of Mars (including their sizes, periods, and orbits) 151 years before they were discovered! According to Chuck, “it is assumed that Swift simply embroidered his colorful parody drawing upon an ancient legend of some sort, probably not realizing that it was, apparently, an actual eye-witness account long prior to the development of telescopic optics.”
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL : The Gilberts will be in the Holy Land March 19-30, 2023 . This is a tour like no other! See Joshua’s altar, Gilgal Refaim, and more. For information and to reserve your place, log on to www.SkyWatchInIsrael.com .
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. Catch all of our studies on Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv.
And subscribe to our new channels at YouTube for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries and Unraveling Revelation!
Derek’s new book The Second Coming of Saturn is available now! You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Our book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE DESTRUCTION of Jericho was not just a military victory. It was another statement of God’s superiority over the gods of the Amorites, whose land was about to be given to the Israelites.
This week, we discuss the conquest of Jericho and Ai. We explain why God’s command to march around the city may have been a reversal of an ancient ritual known in Mesopotamia a thousand years before the Exodus. Sharon compares this to a pagan myth from ancient Persia, and then we explain the significance of the location of the altar on Mount Ebal, overlooking the city of Shechem.
For more on the archaeology of ancient Jericho, see this article at the Christian Publishing House Blog, and this one at The Archaeologist.
We also note the reference to “native born” Israelites in Josh. 8:33. Who were they, assuming that all of the Israelites who entered Canaan (except Joshua and Caleb) had been born during the wilderness wanderings?
Aaron Lipkin recently shared new research with us on The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries showing that the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were already in Canaan when the rest of Israel arrived. These, then, were the native born Israelites who joined their cousins from Egypt. You can watch that program here:
https://youtu.be/p63gymjw8a4?t=707
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. Catch all of our studies on Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv.
And subscribe to our new channels at YouTube for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries and Unraveling Revelation!
Derek’s new book The Second Coming of Saturn is available now! You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Our book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE CROSSING of the Jordan River by the Israelites was more than preparation for the conquest of Canaan. It represented God breaching the veil between the spirit realm and the land of the living.
We discuss the mission of the two spies sent by Joshua and more examples of the “third day” in the Bible. It was on the third day after the spies visited the inn run by Rahab that the Israelites crossed the Jordan, and it was the third day after the circumcision of the men of Israel that the assault on Jericho began (which we’ll discuss next week).
We also explain why the Jordan River crossing was significant: We found during our research for our book Veneration that the Jordan was believed to be a boundary between the realm of the living and the land of the dead. Hence, the mountains of Moab east of the Dead Sea were called the “mountains of Abarim” (Num. 33:47), which, according to the 1899 Encyclopaedia Biblica, means mountains of “Those-on-the-other-side.”
Other definitions are similar: “regions beyond,” “going across a space or a dividing line,” or “crossing over.” But until recently, when scholars recognized the existence of a cult of the dead among the ancient Canaanites, these definitions were assumed to refer to geography—the other side of the Jordan River.
In fact, scholars now recognize that the equivalent term was used by the neighbors of the ancient Israelites to refer to spirits that “cross over” from the spirit realm into the land of the living. This was used to describe the spirits of the Rephaim, who were summoned to a ritual feast in their honor to the threshing-floor, sanctuary, or tabernacle of El—the summit of Mount Hermon—where “the blessing of the name of El” would revivify (resurrect) “the heroes” after their arrival at dawn of the third day.
Interestingly, abarim, translated into English as “travelers,” appears in Ezekiel 39:11 as a reference to the soldiers of Gog of Magog, and was used by Ezekiel to describe the valley “east of the [Dead] sea”—in other words, the very place from which the Israelites crossed the Jordan to begin the conquest of Canaan.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. Catch all of our studies on Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv.
And subscribe to our new channels at YouTube for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries and Unraveling Revelation!
Derek’s new book The Second Coming of Saturn is available now! You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Our book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
PSALM 91 is often called the Soldiers’ Psalm, but the warfare it describes is spiritual rather than physical.
The “terror,” “pestilence,” and “destruction” referenced in Psalm 91 were evil entities named Pachad, Deber, and Qeteb who were well-known to the ancient Canaanites. We also note that the “adder” of verse 13 is nachash, the “serpent” of Genesis 3, and “the serpent” of Psalm 91 is a tannin—a dragon!
We also note God’s promise to deliver those who hold fast to Him in love, and we explain why verse 16 is a promise of the coming Messiah.
Then we move to the first chapter of Joshua, an exhortation of the Israelites to “be strong and courageous” as they prepared for the conquest of Canaan. Notice Joshua 1:3, God’s promise that “every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you.” And we discuss the importance of verse 11, and why Joshua’s command to his officers to prepare the people “for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan” is a reversal of a pagan ritual intended to resurrect “those who cross over”—the Rephaim—at dawn of the third day.
For the significance of the footprint structures discovered by the late Israeli archaeologist Adam Zertal, we encourage you to watch this recent episode of our TV program, The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCx_nw3QY8A
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. Catch all of our studies on Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv.
And subscribe to our new channels at YouTube for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries and Unraveling Revelation!
Derek’s new book The Second Coming of Saturn is available now! You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
Our book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
MOSES’ FINAL blessing on Israel was in the form of prophecies over the tribes, along with a reminder that when God led the people from Sinai, He was accompanied by “ten thousands of holy ones.”
“Holy ones” is a term used elsewhere in the Old Testament, always in reference to angelic beings. Yahweh’s “march from the south” is a theme also noted in Habakkuk 3:3–7 and Judges 5:4–5. The references to Edom in those passages hint that Mount Sinai is located farther north than most people think.
We also discuss the prophecy over the tribe of Dan (“a lion’s cub that leaps from Bashan”), the absence of Simeon from the tribes blessed by Moses, and the odd reference in Jude to the dispute between Michael and Satan over the body of Moses.
Derek’s new book The Second Coming of Saturn is available now! You can buy it at the SkyWatchTV store, Amazon, or any major bookstore.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. Catch all of our studies on Bible prophecy at www.UnravelingRevelation.tv.
And subscribe to our new channels at YouTube for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries and Unraveling Revelation!
Our book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
MOSES’ LAST message was a warning—not just to the Israelites, but to the lesser elohim who had rebelled against the authority of God.
We discuss Moses’ warning to the people against disobeying the commandments of God, the commissioning of Joshua, and the Song of Moses, which lays out the consequences of following other gods.
Deuteronomy 32 makes it clear that these small-G “gods” are real and that not all of them are faithful. We explain why Deuteronomy 32:8 should read “sons of God” and not “sons of Israel” and share some background of the “demons” (Hebrew shedim) in Deut. 32:17.
Interestingly, Deut. 32:24 suggests that two entities known as deities in ancient Canaan may have been agents of God’s judgment for disobedience—Qeteb (“pestilence”) and Resheph (“plague”), who was later known to the Greeks and Romans as Apollo.
For more on the “sons of God” in Deut. 32:8, see Dr. Mike Heiser’s article “‘Sons of God’ or ‘Sons of Israel’ in Deuteronomy 32:8?”
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. And subscribe to the new YouTube channel for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries!
Our book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
GOD’S COVENANT with Israel was conditional, with blessings for obedience to His commandments and curses for disobedience.
Disobedience can be summarized as serving other elohim. The promises of harsh punishment for worshiping other gods may seem extreme to us, but the consequences of following those entities are actually worse than the awful things that God warned would befall Israel if the people failed to heed His warning—because those consequences are eternal.
Here’s the link to the article Derek mentioned at the end of the study: Scientist calculates precise date of final Aliyah of Jews to Israel based on Tribal borders
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. And subscribe to the new YouTube channel for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries!
Our book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS to the Israelites were surprisingly progressive for the time, prohibiting His people from engaging in predatory lending practices and providing for the poor, widows, and orphans (without a government agency to collect and redistribute wealth!).
We discuss God’s command that oxen not be muzzled while they’re treading out grain and its interesting connection to the war of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39. And we talk about God’s command to build an altar on Mount Ebal, overlooking Shechem, when the Israelites came into the land. We’ll have more on the significance of Shechem when we get to the Book of Joshua.
We also explain why Deut. 26:14 includes a command not to take any of the firstfruits and tithes of the produce of the land as offerings to the dead. It’s another clue that the pagan cult of the dead (i.e., the Rephaim/Nephilim) was a powerful influence on the ancient Canaanites.
Take advantage of Aaron Lipkin’s online seminars about the altar of Joshua at www.AltarofJoshua.com.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv. And subscribe to the new YouTube channel for The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries!
Our book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
HALLOWEEN CELEBRATES death and the dead. Today, we set aside our schedule of scripture to discuss the spirits and how they’ve convinced humanity that engaging in practices forbidden by God is not only harmless, but profitable and fun.
We discuss Santa Muerte’s rise to prominence in Mexico, California’s schools embracing Aztec death cults as “ethnic studies,” and the symbolic and spiritual links between ancient Mesopotamia and the present day.
Here’s the link to Derek’s interviews with Tony Kail about Santa Muerte and Mexico’s “narco-cults.” You can find Tony’s book Santa Muerte: Mexico’s Mysterious Saint of Death in paperback and Kindle at Amazon.com.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE PUNISHMENT God ordered for a number of sins, ranging from sexual relations before marriage (for women) to rebelling against one’s parents (for sons), seems harsh by today’s standards.
We discuss the cultural and spiritual contexts for a number of things declared sin by God. Many of these things make no sense to us today because we don’t understand the world of the prophets and apostles or how these behaviors were connected to pagan religions of the day.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE PEOPLE in Canaan engaged in what God called “abominable practices”: First, burning a child as an offering to Molech, followed by divination, reading omens, augury, sorcery, enchantment, consulting mediums, necromancy, and inquiring of the dead.
Derek argues in his forthcoming that these seven acts, which all involve contacting the spirit realm to gain influence or information, are connected to the worship of Molech, which was another name for the creator-god of the Canaanites El—also known as Dagon, Enlil, Kronos, and Saturn.
We believe this Watcher-class elohim is Shemihazah, leader of the rebels on Mount Hermon in the days of Jared, and is “the Destroyer” (Abaddon, or Apollyon), the king of those in the bottomless pit (Revelation 9).
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
GOD NEVER intended for us to be in perpetual debt. Our modern banking system is a reversal of God’s will and the fulfillment of prophecy—the work of the rider on the black horse (Rev. 6:5–6).
Financial servitude is not how God intended us to live. In our modern age of seven-year auto loans, twenty-year student loans, thirty-year mortgages, and perpetual credit card debt, the concept is almost unimaginable.
We also discuss the three main feasts required of Israel by God: Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Booths (or Tabernacles, called Sukkot in Hebrew), and how the Feast of Booths connects to the Transfiguration, Mount Hermon, and the seventy “sons of El” who are probably the lesser elohim judged by God in Psalm 82.
Here is the link to the Institute of Biblical Anthropology, with courses taught by Dr. Judd Burton: www.tioba.org.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv.
The special offer for the first six books of The Redwing Saga is almost gone! Get books one through six of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers along with our first book Veneration, our documentary Wars of the Gods Volume 2: Search for the Rephaim, and the groundbreaking book by W. O. E. Oesterley, Immortality and the Unseen World for just $100.
Click here to see the offer at the SkyWatchTV Store.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE PUNISHMENT for an Israelite who led people to worship other gods was harsh: Death by stoning.
We explain why God was so insistent that His people followed His commands, especially the first commandment about not worshiping other gods—because those gods are real entities bent on destroying what God created and called good, including humankind.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteriesis on the air! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv.
The special offer for the first six books of The Redwing Saga is almost gone! Get books one through six of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers along with our first book Veneration, our documentary Wars of the Gods Volume 2: Search for the Rephaim, and the groundbreaking book by W. O. E. Oesterley, Immortality and the Unseen World for just $100.
Click here to see the offer at the SkyWatchTV Store.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
OUR GOD is “God of gods and Lord of lords.” This isn’t just hyperbole; it means that Yahweh is supreme among the denizens of the spirit realm.
This week, we discuss Moses’ admonitions to the Israelites before they crossed the Jordan to dispossess the nations of Canaan, why Moses singled out the Anakim, and his warning to remember that God didn’t choose the Israelites as His inheritance because of their righteousness.
Here’s the link to the peer-reviewed paper we mentioned during the study, “A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea.” The paper details the scientific evidence supporting the claim that Tall el-Hammam was ancient Sodom.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries launches next week! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv!
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
HEAR, O ISRAEL: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
This week, we discuss the Shema, the affirmation of loyalty to God that represents the greatest commandment of Christianity and Judaism. We explain why “the Lord is one” more accurately means that God is unique in substance. A better sense of the verse is, “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone,” or, “The Lord is our God, the Lord is unique.”
We also discuss the importance of figuratively committing the Word of God to our hearts and minds, a principle reflected in God’s command to Israel to bind them to their hands and foreheads with the tefillin, a practice that will be twisted by the Antichrist someday with the Mark of the Beast.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries launches the first week of October! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv!
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
GOD ALLOTTED other gods to the rest of the world, but kept Israel for Himself.
This week, we discuss another important verse for understanding the nature of the world:
And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. Deuteronomy 4:19 (ESV)
In context, this verse tells us that God delegated responsibility for other nations to lesser elohim, but reserved Israel for “His own inheritance” (Deut. 4:20).
We also discuss God’s prohibition on idolatry and why it’s more than just carving images; what God meant when He described Himself as “jealous”; and Moses’ recapitulation of the Ten Commandments.
The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries launches the first week of October! For more information, log on to www.BiblesGreatestMysteries.tv!
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE BIBLE is not a history book, but the history recorded in the Bible is accurate.
This week, we take a deep dive into Deuteronomy 3, in which Moses retells the history of the Israelites from the conquest of Og of Bashan through their encampment on the plains of Moab opposite Beth-Peor.
We follow a number of rabbit trails, including a discussion of new research, brought to our attention by Aaron Lipkin, that suggests that the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were already in Canaan when the other ten tribes began the conquest.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE REPHAIM were remembered by Israel as giants, or at least as people who venerated the giants of the pre-Flood world. That’s why God marked them for destruction before Israel entered the Promised Land.
This week, we discuss the history of the Israelites as told by Moses while the people camped in the Arabah, before they began their campaign to take Canaan from the Amorites.
Moses reminded the Israelites that their fear of the Anakim had caused them to rebel against God, which led to forty years of wandering in the wilderness. We give our reasons for believing that this was in the vicinity of Petra in Jordan. Moses also noted that God used the Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites to eliminate the Rephaim, and those allied with them like the Horites (Hurrians) and Amorites, from the Transjordan.
Then we discuss Og of Bashan and why the location of his kingdom was considered the literal entrance to the netherworld. We bring in some Jewish traditions about Og, and later texts from Amorite and Phoenician sources that portray Og as a semi-mythical underworld entity connected to the deities Rapiu (“King of Eternity”) and Malik (Molech).
The special offer for the first six books of The Redwing Saga is almost gone! Get books one through six of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers along with our first book Veneration, our documentary Wars of the Gods Volume 2: Search for the Rephaim, and the groundbreaking book by W. O. E. Oesterley, Immortality and the Unseen World for just $100.
Click here to see the offer at the SkyWatchTV Store.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE BOUNDARIES of the land of Israel are a lot bigger than what’s on our maps today.
This week, we discuss God’s command to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan, but the boundaries of the land promised by God to Moses extended well into what is now Syria.
We also talk about the cities of refuge and rules for female heirs, which were more progressive than many today might expect.
The special offer for the first six books of The Redwing Saga is almost gone! Get books one through six of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers along with our first book Veneration, our documentary Wars of the Gods Volume 2: Search for the Rephaim, and the groundbreaking book by W. O. E. Oesterley, Immortality and the Unseen World for just $100.
Click here to see the offer at the SkyWatchTV Store.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE THREE most important things when considering real estate are location, location, and location.
This week, we discuss the request of the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh to remain east of the Jordan in Gilead and Bashan. Then we recount the stations of the Exodus and explain why certain locations, especially Oboth and Iye-Abarim, were so important.
Finally, we run down a rabbit trail connecting the supernatural nature of those locations to research for Derek’s forthcoming book, The Second Coming of Saturn, recent work by Dr. Judd Burton tracing the origins of Eurasian words for “king” or “ruler” to the Ararat Plain, and the widespread practice of summoning spirits from the netherworld in and around ancient Canaan.
Cancel the cancellers! Subscribe to the new SkyWatchTV channel at Rumble: www.rumble.com/skywatchtv.
The special offer for the first six books of The Redwing Saga is almost gone! Get books one through six of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers along with our first book Veneration, our documentary Wars of the Gods Volume 2: Search for the Rephaim, and the groundbreaking book by W. O. E. Oesterley, Immortality and the Unseen World for just $100.
Click here to see the offer at the SkyWatchTV Store.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek’s novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
GOD ORDERED the Israelites to take revenge on the people of Midian. This is hard to understand, since Moses was married to a Midianite woman—until you consider the context of the spiritual war being waged around the Israelites.
We take a brief look at the Midianites and their identification by scholars with the Shasu, a nomadic people known from Egyptian texts. The Shasu were formerly known, in the time of Abraham, as Shutu, These are the “sons of Sheth” mentioned in the messianic prophecy of Balaam son of Beor (Numbers 24:17), who was one of the victims of Israel’s attack on the Midianites.
The Shutu were called Suteans in Mesopotamia, but prior to Abraham, they were called the Tidanu—an Amorite tribe that contributed to the downfall of the last Sumerian kingdom and from whom the Greeks took the name of their “old gods,” the Titans.
So, there was a lot more going on with the Midianites than competition for land and resources in the Transjordan. This is linked to the heresy of Baal-Peor (see our study on Numbers 24), the god called El by the Canaanites, Dagon by the Amorites and Philistines, and later, Kronos by the Greeks, and Saturn by the Romans. Derek argues in his forthcoming book The Second Coming of Saturn that these names are just alternate identities worn by the chief of the rebellious Watchers, the sons of God from Genesis 6, Shemihazah.
We also discuss briefly the significance of an inscription from the time of Pharaoh Amenhotep III (reigned c. 1408–1372 BC) that mentions “Yahweh of the land of the Shasu.” Considering that his grandfather, Amenhotep II (1455–1418 BC) was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, it’s logical to find Amenhotep III associating Yahweh with the Shasu (i.e., Midian), the land to which Moses fled.
Cancel the cancellers! Subscribe to the new SkyWatchTV channel at Rumble: www.rumble.com/skywatchtv.
The special offer for the first six books of The Redwing Saga is almost gone! Get books one through six of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers along with our first book Veneration, our documentary Wars of the Gods Volume 2: Search for the Rephaim, and the groundbreaking book by W. O. E. Oesterley, Immortality and the Unseen World for just $100.
Click here to see the offer at the SkyWatchTV Store.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE NUMBER of bulls sacrificed during the annual Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is unparalleled in any other feast given to Moses by God.
This week, we discuss the religious calendar the Israelites were to follow when they entered the promised land, and why the sacrifice of 70 bulls over the seven days of Sukkot was so significant. It wasn’t about slaughtering a lot of beef; it was a message directed specifically at the gods of the pagan nations—the fallen angels who had rebelled against God’s authority.
Here’s a link to the fascinating paper by Dr. Noga Ayali-Darshan that Derek mentioned during the study, “The Seventy Bulls Sacrificed at Sukkot in Light of a Ritual Text from Emar.”
Cancel the cancellers! Subscribe to the new SkyWatchTV channel at Rumble: www.rumble.com/skywatchtv.
The special offer for the first six books of The Redwing Saga is almost gone! Get books one through six of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers along with our first book Veneration, our documentary Wars of the Gods Volume 2: Search for the Rephaim, and the groundbreaking book by W. O. E. Oesterley, Immortality and the Unseen World for just $100.
Click here to see the offer at the SkyWatchTV Store.
NEW DATES FOR THE SKYWATCH TV TOUR OF ISRAEL! We will lead our next tour through the Holy Land March 20 - April 4, 2022, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
BALAAM WAS unable to curse Israel, but the people were lured into worshiping a god called Baal-Peor—with disastrous consequences.
In His anger, God sent a plague that killed 24,000 Israelites. It was only stopped when Aaron’s grandson, Phinehas, speared a young Israelite man and Midianite woman engaged in what was probably a fertility rite.
We explain why this conflict was more than meets the eye, especially from our modern perspective. The Baal of Peor, a name that means something like “lord of the gates of hell,” was connected to veneration of the Rephaim, demonic spirits of the Nephilim called “Travelers” by the pagans in the Levant. This is reflected in the names of a station of the Exodus, Iye-Abarim (“ruins of the Travelers”), which was in the vicinity of Mount Nebo—which itself was called “this mountain of Abarim [Travelers]” (Num. 27:12).
We also explain why we believe Baal-Peor was a title given to the creator-god of the Canaanites, El, who we believe is to be identified as Shemihazah, chief of the Watchers who came to earth and commingled with human woman—the story briefly described in Genesis 6:1–4 (see also 2 Peter 2:4–10 and Jude 6–7).
In short, the episode recorded in Numbers 25 (with further explanation in Psalm 106:28–29) is spiritual warfare against the spirits of the Nephilim and the chief of the rebellious “sons of God” who created them.
Subscribe to the new SkyWatchTV channel at Rumble: www.rumble.com/skywatchtv.
The special offer for the first six books of The Redwing Saga is almost gone! Get books one through six of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers along with our first book Veneration, our documentary Wars of the Gods Volume 2: Search for the Rephaim, and the groundbreaking book by W. O. E. Oesterley, Immortality and the Unseen World for just $100.
Click here to see the offer at the SkyWatchTV Store.
Join us in Israel! We will lead another tour through the Holy Land October 3–18, 2021, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
A PAGAN seer 3,400 years ago prophesied not just the coming Messiah, but His ultimate victory over the Watchers and their demonic offspring, the Nephilim.
This week, we discuss Balaam’s third and fourth oracles over Israel, which includes the messianic prophecy of Numbers 24:17–19. We explain why his oracle refers to the coming of Jesus and his return at the end of the age.
Subscribe to the new SkyWatchTV channel at Rumble: www.rumble.com/skywatchtv
The special offer for the first six books of The Redwing Saga is almost gone! Get books one through six of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers along with our first book Veneration, our documentary Wars of the Gods Volume 2: Search for the Rephaim, and the groundbreaking book by W. O. E. Oesterley, Immortality and the Unseen World for just $100.
Click here to see the offer at the SkyWatchTV Store.
Join us in Israel! We will lead another tour through the Holy Land October 3–18, 2021, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
A DONKEY displayed more discernment and wisdom than a man whose fame as a seer and prophet was renowned in the Jordan River valley for centuries.
This week, we begin the story of Balaam son of Beor, hired by the Balak, the king of Moab, to curse Israel. We discuss God’s warning to Balaam, the identity of the Angel of YHWH, Balak’s changes of venue as he tried to find a more effective place for Balaam to cast his curse, and the Deir Alla inscription, which is solid evidence from outside the Bible that Balaam was a real person.
To watch our episode of Unraveling Revelation about Balaam’s prophecy of the death of the gods, a preview of our next study on Numbers 24, click here.
Join us in Israel! We will lead another tour through the Holy Land October 3–18, 2021, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
ANOTHER SQUABBLE over water points to the location of Mount Sinai being farther north than many think.
This week, we fast forward about 39 years to the fortieth year of the Israelites’ wanderings and discuss the second time Moses brought forth water from the rock called Meribah, which means “quarreling.” This site is also mentioned in Exodus 17:1–7:
“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” — Exodus 17:6
The difference between this event and the one we discuss this week is that Moses was told to strike the rock in Exodus, whereas in Numbers 20 he’s instructed to “tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water.” Instead, Moses strikes the rock twice with his staff, an act of disobedience that compels God to bar him from entering the Promised Land “b]ecause you broke faith with Me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin” (Dt 32:51), which is more evidence supporting the connection between Meribah, Kadesh, and Horeb/Sinai.
Note that Horeb is an alternate name for Sinai, which means Meribah must have been at Mount Sinai. The important point is that Numbers 20:1 places Meribah at or near Kadesh (i.e., Kadesh-Barnea), which means Sinai and Kadesh were in the same vicinity. Also, the reference to the Wilderness of Sin in Exodus 17 identifies it as the same place called the Wilderness of Zin in Numbers 20. (It’s also called the Wilderness of Sinai in Numbers 33:17.)
We believe Kadesh and Sinai are to be found at or near Petra in Jordan rather than the sites agreed upon by most researchers, who place Kadesh-Barnea in the Negev and Sinai either in the Sinai Peninsula or at Jebel al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia, both of which are too far south. Not only did the territory of Edom not extend beyond the northern shore of the Gulf of Aqaba, Jebel al-Lawz is too distant to allow for the Israelites to travel from Horeb to Kadesh-Barnea in eleven days (Deut. 1:1) at an estimated rate of five miles per day (allowing for children, the elderly, not to mention flocks and herds of livestock that needed to be fed and watered along the way).
We also discuss the strange incident with the "fiery serpents" (Hebrew seraphim nachashim) and explain why these were probably not venomous snakes, but supernatural entities of serpentine appearance.
Then we talk about the deaths of Moses’ siblings Miriam and Aaron, and we see God’s hand at work in directing the Israelites northward, around the territory of Edom, to do battle with the Amorite kings Sihon of Heshbon and Og of Bashan. We will deal with those battles in more depth in upcoming studies in the Book of Deuteronomy.
Join us in Israel! We will lead another tour through the Holy Land October 3–18, 2021, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
WE HUMANS are blinded by sight. That is, our natural senses often prevent us from seeing what’s really going on around us in the spirit realm.
This week, we discuss the rebellion of Korah and Dathan, who accused Moses of taking Israel from a land flowing with milk and honey (Egypt) to die in the wilderness. The actions of the rebels, who’d seen God part the Red Sea, provide manna and water, and other assorted miracles over the previous thirteen months, make no sense without the whisperings and proddings of spirits.
Then we discuss one of the stranger sections of scripture, a description of a purification ritual in Numbers 19, the rite of the red heifer, and its connection to the movement in Israel to build the Third Temple--another example of trying to achieve victory over the spirit realm through our actions in the natural world. We explain why, if it ever takes place, this ritual will probably be performed on the Mount of Olives.
Join us in Israel! We will lead another tour through the Holy Land October 3–18, 2021, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
ACTIONS HAVE consequences. In the case of Israel, the decision to rebel against Moses after the “bad [or ‘evil’] report” of the spies sent into Canaan led to forty years of wandering in the wilderness.
We discuss the intercession of Moses for the people when God declared that He would “strike them with the pestilence,” and the possibility that “Pestilence,” the Canaanite pestilence-god Deber, was an angel sent to acarry out His judgment.
The reaction of the Israelites to God’s alternate punishment, which was to keep Israel from entering Canaan until everyone over the age of 20 (except Joshua and Caleb), was about what you’d expect: They decided to go ahead and attack the Amalekites and Canaanites anyway, and were badly defeated in battle.
We also look at God’s reiteration of certain sacrificial laws, including sacrifices for unintentional sin, and a death penalty for a man caught gathering wood on the Sabbath.
Then we skip to Psalm 90, a psalm of Moses that appears to have been written about this time, with special attention to his prayer for wisdom and cry for the Lord’s return.
Some striking differences were noted in this week’s reading between the Masoretic Hebrew text, the basis for our modern English Old Testament translations, and the Septuagint, which was translated around 300 BC by Jewish scholars working with older Hebrew texts. Specifically, we noticed references to other aspects of the personhood of Yahweh (such as His Name, Right Hand, Spirit, and Glory) that are missing from our English Bibles, apparently because the Masoretes, Jewish scholars who completed their Hebrew Old Testament text by the 10th century AD, de-emphasized the “Second Power in Heaven” in scripture after Christians identified that figure as Jesus Christ.
Join us in Israel! We will lead another tour through the Holy Land October 3–18, 2021, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
IT’S EASY to criticize the Hebrews of Moses’ day for their lack of faith. After all, hadn’t they seen the plagues that compelled Egypt to let them go, the parting of the Red Sea, and the manna that miraculously appeared six days a week?
We’re not in their shoes. When we take a good, hard look at ourselves, we see that we’re not all that different.
This week, we discuss that complaints of the Israelites that provoked God into sending so much quail to eat that it became “loathsome” to them, followed by “a very great plague.”
Then we look at the mission of the twelve spies sent to reconnoiter the land of Canaan. We explain why the “descendants of Anak” at Hebron were probably not literal demigods but worshipers of the demonic Rephaim (spirits of the Nephilim destroyed in the Flood), why Anakim, contrary to what you may have heard, does not mean “long-necks,” and then Sharon surprises Derek with an important connection between Anak and “king” that will be in his next book.
Join us in Israel! We will lead another tour through the Holy Land October 3–18, 2021, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
WE’D LIKE to say that we planned to read about Israel’s first Passover celebration after leaving Egypt on this Passover weekend, but we didn’t. God’s scheduling is clearly much better than ours.
We discuss the importance of the Passover and the reason the Israelites waited more than a month to decamp and begin moving from Sinai, the connection between Sinai and Paran, and the significance of the silver trumpets God directed Moses to create to summon and warn the tribes of Israel.
We also share a few of the reasons we believe Sinai was in the vicinity of Petra in Jordan rather than further south in Arabia—and why we believe it was the site of the original Kaaba.
Join us in Israel! We will lead another tour through the Holy Land October 3–18, 2021, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
THE NAZIRITES were men and women set apart for God by a vow so serious that not only were they forbidden to drink wine, they couldn’t even eat grapes or raisins.
We discuss the Nazirite vow, the priestly blessing, and the first consecration of the Tabernacle before Moses and the Israelites began their journey from Sinai toward the Promised Land.
Derek is one of the speakers for the Discerning Minds Virtual Conference March 26-28, 2021. Find out more and sign up at HearTheWatchmen.com.
Join us in Israel! We will lead another tour through the Holy Land October 3–18, 2021, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
GOD CLAIMED for Himself the tribe of Levi in lieu of the firstborn sons of all Israel. We discuss the duties of the clans of the Levites—the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites—and why it was imperative that only the high priest entered the Holiest Place.
We also discuss rules concerning unclean people, confession of and restitution for sins, and a test for adultery that seems odd, if not unfair, by the standards of today.
Derek is one of the speakers for the Discerning Minds Virtual Conference March 26-28, 2021. Find out more and sign up at HearTheWatchmen.com.
Join us in Israel! We will lead another tour through the Holy Land in 2021. Note: The dates have been changed due to travel restrictions because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The new tour dates are October 3–18, 2021, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
ISRAEL PREPARES for war: This week, we study the arrangement of the tribes around the tabernacle and their order as they organize for the march to Canaan.
We discuss traditions regarding the banners under which the tribes marched and compare that to the prophecies of Jacob over his sons in Genesis 49.
Join us in Israel! We will lead another tour through the Holy Land in 2021. Note: The dates have been changed due to travel restrictions because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The new tour dates are October 3–18, 2021, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
GOD MADE His promises to Israel contingent upon following His statutes and commandments. The blessings He promised for obedience were wonderful—harvests in abundance, peace and safety in the land—but the punishments for rebellion were severe.
We’re in the middle of a long war for control of God’s creation, Earth, and those He charged with serving as His imagers—God’s moral agents—on it. His instruction to the Israelites and Mount Sinai was intended to show them just how serious is this conflict.
We also discuss the Hebrew word translated "idols" and its origin with a fallen angel/false god who dared to call himself "god of gods," the presence of other "destroying angels" among the curses Israel would suffer for disobedience, and the connection between God's warning and the prophecy of 70 weeks in chapter 9 of the Book of Daniel.
You can download The Coming Prince by Sir Robert Anderson in PDF, EPUB (Apple Books), or MOBI (Kindle) format by clicking here.
Join us in Israel! We will lead another tour through the Holy Land in 2021. Note: The dates have been changed due to travel restrictions because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The new tour dates are October 3–18, 2021, with an optional three-day extension to Jordan, with visits to Mount Nebo, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
For more information, log on to www.SkyWatchinIsrael.com.
Our new book Giants, Gods and Dragons is available now in Kindle and paperback! Get it as part of a great package with more than 27 hours of our video teachings at the SkyWatchTV Store, or by itself at Amazon.com.
And Derek's novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons are available now in paperback and Kindle! See the official trailers and learn more at the website for Rose Avenue Fiction.
Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.
Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.