Gilbert House Fellowship

TODAY WE discuss the fall of Babylon. It wasn’t just divine punishment for the hubris of King Belshazzar; this was a smackdown in the spirit realm.

Interestingly, the target of God’s wrath wasn’t Marduk, city-god of Babylon and head of the Mesopotamian pantheon, it was the moon-god, Sîn. Belshazzar’s father, Nabonidus, was the king of Babylon in 539 B.C., but he’d been living at Teima, an oasis in Arabia that was a center of the moon-god cult. Nabonidus was from Harran, another major center of moon-god worship, and his mother was a priestess in the temple of Sîn there.

Nabonidus had been pushing to replace Marduk in the top spot in the pantheon at Babylon with Sîn, and there is good historical and archaeological evidence to believe that Belshazzar’s drunken feast — with the sacred utensils that had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar from the Temple in Jerusalem in 587 or 586 B.C. — was the fall /akitu/ festival, held every year in honor of the moon-god.

It also coincided with Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, arguably the most important annual festival establish by God at Sinai — the mountain named for the moon-god.

In short, the writing on the wall was God’s judgment on Babylon, of course, but more importantly it was a clear message to the fallen entity who was worshiped as the moon-god. The night of Belshazzar’s feast was the last night of freedom for Babylon, a kingdom founded and ruled by worshipers of the moon-god.

Here is the link to the paper Derek mentioned during the study, “Belshazzar’s Feast and the Cult of the Moon God Sîn” by Al Wolters: http://bit.ly/2Djl68A

Hey, we can send these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Download our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the iTunes App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org.

Big news: Pastor Carl Gallups, messianic rabbi Zev Porat, and Justen & Wes Faull are part of the 2019 SkyWatchTV Wars of the Gods Tour of Israel!

The tour flies from New York City to Tel Aviv Sunday, May 12, 2019, and returns Thursday, May 23. If you want to extend your trip a few days to join us in Jordan, you’d return Monday, May 27, 2019. For more information, log on to www.LipkinTours.com.

Book Four of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers The Redwing Saga, Realms of Stone, is available now at Amazon!

Here are the links for Book Three of The Redwing Saga, The Blood is the Life; Book Two, Blood Rites; and Blood Lies: Book One of The Redwing Saga. Visit Sharon’s author page at Amazon.com for more.

Derek’s new book Last Clash of the Titans is shipping now! For more information, log on to www.LastClashOfTheTitans.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.

THIS WEEK’S study in the book of Daniel gives us a window into the polytheistic world of ancient Mesopotamia.

Nebuchadnezzar, the Chaldean king of Babylon, had personal encounters with Yahweh, the God of Israel. He witnessed the power of God as He saved Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. We explain why the giant golden statue was probably an image of Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, and how an archaeologist 150 years ago found what may have been the platform on which the statue stood.

We also note that chapter 4 of Daniel is the only place in the Bible where we find Watchers, angelic beings who carried out the will of God (or rebelled, as in Genesis 6:1-4). This is biblical confirmation that the Watchers were familiar to the pagans of Mesopotamia.

See:

* New Light on Nebuchadnezzar’s Madness

* Seven Years a Madman

Big news: Pastor Carl Gallups, messianic rabbi Zev Porat, and Justen & Wes Faull are part of the 2019 SkyWatchTV Wars of the Gods Tour of Israel!

The tour flies from New York City to Tel Aviv Sunday, May 12, 2019, and returns Thursday, May 23. If you want to extend your trip a few days to join us in Jordan, you’d return Monday, May 27, 2019. For more information, log on to www.LipkinTours.com.

Book Four of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers The Redwing Saga, Realms of Stone, is available now at Amazon!

Here are the links for Book Three of The Redwing Saga, The Blood is the Life; Book Two, Blood Rites; and Blood Lies: Book One of The Redwing Saga. Visit Sharon’s author page at Amazon.com for more.

Derek’s new book Last Clash of the Titans is shipping now! For more information, log on to www.LastClashOfTheTitans.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.

End times prophecy is the focus of this week’s study as we conclude the Book of Joel and begin our study of Daniel.

We explain why the third chapter of Joel confirms that the battle of Armageddon will be fought at Jerusalem, and we analyze the first dream of Nebuchadnezzar recorded in the Book of Daniel.

We also discuss some of the historic and cultural context of the time in which Daniel lived, and the way God used a pagan king to reveal some of His plans for humanity’s future.

Big news: Pastor Carl Gallups, messianic rabbi Zev Porat, and Justen & Wes Faull are part of the 2019 SkyWatchTV Wars of the Gods Tour of Israel!

The tour flies from New York City to Tel Aviv Sunday, May 12, 2019, and returns Thursday, May 23. If you want to extend your trip a few days to join us in Jordan, you’d return Monday, May 27, 2019. For more information, log on to www.LipkinTours.com.

Book Four of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers The Redwing Saga, Realms of Stone, is available now at Amazon!

Here are the links for Book Three of The Redwing Saga, The Blood is the Life; Book Two, Blood Rites; and Blood Lies: Book One of The Redwing Saga. Visit Sharon’s author page at Amazon.com for more.

Derek’s new book Last Clash of the Titans is shipping now! For more information, log on to www.LastClashOfTheTitans.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.

WE CONCLUDE our study of Ezekiel and move on to the apocalyptic prophecy of Joel this week. Here’s a hint: The soldiers of Joel’s Army are the bad guys.

We discuss Ezekiel’s prophecy of the division of the land among the twelve tribes of Israel, and then we analyze Joel’s prophecy of the coming judgment on the Day of Yahweh (the Day of the Lord) and explain why we believe Joel’s prophecy is another description of the War of Gog and Magog, which ends with the Battle of Armageddon.

Big news: Pastor Carl Gallups, messianic rabbi Zev Porat, and Justen & Wes Faull are part of the 2019 SkyWatchTV Wars of the Gods Tour of Israel!

The tour flies from New York City to Tel Aviv Sunday, May 12, 2019, and returns Thursday, May 23. If you want to extend your trip a few days to join us in Jordan, you’d return Monday, May 27, 2019. For more information, log on to www.LipkinTours.com.

Book Four of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers The Redwing Saga, Realms of Stone, is available now at Amazon!

Here are the links for Book Three of The Redwing Saga, The Blood is the Life; Book Two, Blood Rites; and Blood Lies: Book One of The Redwing Saga. Visit Sharon’s author page at Amazon.com for more.

Derek’s new book Last Clash of the Titans is shipping now! For more information, log on to www.LastClashOfTheTitans.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.

GOD PROMISED to extinguish a cult of the dead that had defiled the Temple. This is one of the surprising things we find in our study of Ezekiel this week, in which the prophet continues with his detailed instructions for a future Temple complex, the land around it, and the calendar of feasts.

In chapter 43, Ezekiel’s description of the return of the glory of God to the temple includes His condemnation of its desecration by Israel:

“Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoring and by the dead bodies of their kings at their high places…” (Ezekiel 43:7, ESV)

Dr. Daniel I. Block, in his commentary on Ezekiel, explains that “Ezekiel has in mind the veneration of the deified spirits of Israel’s royal ancestors, analogous to the cult of the dead at Ugarit.” Click here to read the relevant excerpt from The Book of Ezekiel: Chapters 25-48 by Dr. Block (link opens a PDF document).

The deified dead at Ugarit were the Rephaim, the “warriors of Baal,” who, Derek argues in his new book Last Clash of the Titans, are the “Travelers” in the army of Gog (see Ezekiel 39:11-16). The takeaway from Ezekiel 43, when considered in the context of Ezekiel 38-39, is that the worship of the dead was pervasive and long-lasting in ancient Israel, but a day is coming when God puts an end to it for all time.

Big news: Pastor Carl Gallups, messianic rabbi Zev Porat, and Justen & Wes Faull are part of the 2019 SkyWatchTV Wars of the Gods Tour of Israel!

The tour flies from New York City to Tel Aviv Sunday, May 12, 2019, and returns Thursday, May 23. If you want to extend your trip a few days to join us in Jordan, you’d return Monday, May 27, 2019. For more information, log on to www.LipkinTours.com.

Book Four of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers The Redwing Saga, Realms of Stone, is available now at Amazon!

Here are the links for Book Three of The Redwing Saga, The Blood is the Life; Book Two, Blood Rites; and Blood Lies: Book One of The Redwing Saga. Visit Sharon’s author page at Amazon.com for more.

Derek’s new book Last Clash of the Titans is shipping now! For more information, log on to www.LastClashOfTheTitans.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.

DID EZEKIEL see John the Revelator, or at least his supernatural guide? That's one of the interesting questions raised by Ezekiel's vision of a new temple in Jerusalem.

We discuss the need for the Third Temple, given that the new Jerusalem will not have temple in it (see Rev. 21:22), when this temple might be raised, and some of the differences between the temple in Ezekiel's vision and the one built by Solomon.

Big news: Pastor Carl Gallups, messianic rabbi Zev Porat, and Justen & Wes Faull are part of the 2019 SkyWatchTV Wars of the Gods Tour of Israel!

The tour flies from New York City to Tel Aviv Sunday, May 12, 2019, and returns Thursday, May 23. If you want to extend your trip a few days to join us in Jordan, you'd return Monday, May 27, 2019. For more information, log on to www.LipkinTours.com.

Book Four of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers The Redwing Saga, Realms of Stone, is available now at Amazon!

Here are the links for Book Three of The Redwing Saga, The Blood is the Life; Book Two, Blood Rites; and Blood Lies: Book One of The Redwing Saga. Visit Sharon’s author page at Amazon.com for more.

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 INVASION of Israel led by Gog of Magog is the war to end all wars. This week, we back up to Ezekiel 39:1 and discuss the entire chapter to explain why this war ends with the Battle of Armageddon.

We also dig deeper into the description of the hordes of Magog to show why the “fat beasts of Bashan” are the old gods, the Watchers (i.e., the Titans of Greek mythology), and their demigod progeny, the spirits of the “mighty men who were of old,” the Nephilim.

Derek also offers his reasons for suggesting that the Antichrist may be the spirit of chaos, Leviathan.

Click https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/45173 to download a copy of the paper Derek mentioned, “Baals of Bashan” by Dr. Robert D. Miller II, who uses archaeology and climatology to show why the phrase “Bulls of Bashan refers not to the bovine but to the divine,” because Iron Age Bashan was a terrible place to raise cattle.

Special offer! Save $20 off registration or 20% off video streaming for the Hear the Watchmen conference on Long Island August 9-12! Use promo code GILBERT20 when you sign up at www.HearTheWatchmen.com.

Dates for our 2019 trip to Israel are confirmed! The SkyWatchTV Wars of the Gods Tour flies from New York City to Tel Aviv Sunday, May 12, 2019, and returns Thursday, May 23. If you want to extend your trip a few days to join us in Jordan, you’d return Monday, May 27, 2019.

For more information, log on to www.LipkinTours.com.

Book Four of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers The Redwing Saga, Realms of Stone, is available now at Amazon!

Here are the links for Book Three of The Redwing Saga, The Blood is the Life; Book Two, Blood Rites; and Blood Lies: Book One of The Redwing Saga. Visit Sharon’s author page at Amazon.com for more.

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 CONTINUE our study of the war of Gog and Magog. To reiterate, Gog will not be a Russian leader.

We explain why we should be looking at supernatural north, not a compass point. Ezekiel, like Isaiah, recognized that the great enemy of God would come from yarkete tsaphon, Mount Zaphon — the mountain on which the pagan neighbors of ancient Israel believed the palace of Baal was located.

We also discuss imagery that could apply to the pagan plague-god Resheph (better known as Apollo), the role of the Rephaim in the army of Gog, and the significance of God referring to Himself as the Holy One in Israel.

Special offer! Save $20 off registration or 20% off video streaming for the Hear the Watchmen conference on Long Island August 9-12! Use promo code GILBERT20 when you sign up at www.HearTheWatchmen.com.

Dates for our 2019 trip to Israel are confirmed! The SkyWatchTV Wars of the Gods Tour flies from New York City to Tel Aviv Sunday, May 12, 2019, and returns Thursday, May 23. If you want to extend your trip a few days to join us in Jordan, you’d return Monday, May 27, 2019.

For more information, log on to www.LipkinTours.com.

Book Four of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers The Redwing Saga, Realms of Stone, is available now at Amazon!

Here are the links for Book Three of The Redwing Saga, The Blood is the Life; Book Two, Blood Rites; and Blood Lies: Book One of The Redwing Saga. Visit Sharon’s author page at Amazon.com for more.

Derek’s latest book The Day the Earth Stands Still: Unmasking the Old Gods Behind UFOs, ETs, and the Official Disclosure Movement, co-authored with Josh Peck, is available now in paperback and as a Kindle e-book! See www.OfficialDisclosure.com for more info.

Derek’s book The Great Inception: Satan’s PSYOPs from Eden to Armageddon is now an e-book for the Kindle and Nook! For free samples, click here for articles from the book, or click here for a series of short (5-10 minute) videos based on the book.

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 MYSTERY of the identities of Gog and his minions has been the subject of debate for more than 2,500 years. We tackle it in this week’s Bible study.

In a nutshell, we arrive at these conclusions:

* When he named Persia, Cush, and Put along with a coalition of smaller nations from the north, Ezekiel was actually prophesying that the entire world will come against Israel in the end times.

* Gomer, Meshech, Tubal, and Beth-Togarmah were nations in what is now Turkey.

* While Sharon believes the Hebrew word rosh is a proper name in this context (Derek does not), Russia is not in view here at all.

* The phrase “uttermost parts of the north” (Hebrew yarkǝtê ṣāpôn) points to Mount Zaphon, a mountain in Turkey sacred to the storm-god who was called Baal (Hadad) by the Canaanites, Zeus by the Greeks, and Tarhunz or Teshub by the other nations mentioned by Ezekiel.

* Since Isaiah identifies that mountain as the mount of assembly of the divine rebel from Eden (Isaiah 14:13), we identify Gog as Satan, who apparently manifested to the ancient world as a storm-god.

* The prophecy of Ezekiel was directed at the spirits behind the end-times enemy of God and Israel: Satan (Gog), Leviathan (Antichrist), and the Rephaim (the hordes of Gog).

We’re sure we don’t have all the answers to this puzzle, but it’s fascinating trying to identify the pieces!

Special offer! Save more than $200 on a package for two at the Hear the Watchmen conference on Long Island August 9-12!

Get two nights at the Hyatt Regency, two tickets to the conference, plus two tickets to Saturday’s Lunch with the Speakers. This is a $720 value for just $495!

Click here to take advantage of the discount, but act quickly! This offer ends Wednesday, July 18, 2018 at Midnight PST!

Book Four of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers The Redwing Saga, Realms of Stone, is available now at Amazon!

Here are the links for Book Three of The Redwing Saga, The Blood is the Life; Book Two, Blood Rites; and Blood Lies: Book One of The Redwing Saga. Visit Sharon’s author page at Amazon.com for more.

Derek’s latest book The Day the Earth Stands Still: Unmasking the Old Gods Behind UFOs, ETs, and the Official Disclosure Movement, co-authored with Josh Peck, is available now in paperback and as a Kindle e-book! See www.OfficialDisclosure.com for more info.

Derek’s book The Great Inception: Satan’s PSYOPs from Eden to Armageddon is now an e-book for the Kindle and Nook! For free samples, click here for articles from the book, or click here for a series of short (5-10 minute) videos based on the book.

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.

EZEKIEL’S FAMOUS vision of the valley of dry bones has a deeper secondary meaning — a message for a supernatural audience that had conned Israel’s pagan neighbors into believing their ancestors were divine and could return to the land of the living.

God’s message, here and elsewhere (for example, the raising of Lazarus), was not just that He would restore Israel to the land, but that a resurrection for the faithful was coming. We discuss the implications of the dry bones in the context of other Old Testament passages that refer to the Rephaim, the divinized dead of the pagan Canaanites/Amorites. For example:

* Isaiah 26:13-19 (but compare the different translations of verse 19 in the ESV, KJV, and especially the Septuagint, which renders the last line, “the land of the ungodly [rapha, or Rephaim] shall perish.”)

* Job 26:5-6 (read “Rephaim” for “dead”)

* Isaiah 14:9-10 (read “Rephaim” for “shades”)

There is more going on here than is revealed by a surface level reading, and it sets up the next two chapters of Ezekiel — his prophecy of the war of Gog of Magog.

Dates for our 2019 trip to Israel are confirmed! The SkyWatchTV Wars of the Gods Tour flies from New York City to Tel Aviv Sunday, May 12, 2019, and returns Thursday, May 23. If you want to extend your trip a few days to join us in Jordan, you’d return Monday, May 27, 2019. More details coming soon!

Book Four of Sharon’s series of supernatural thrillers The Redwing Saga, Realms of Stone, is available now at Amazon!

Here are the links for Book Three of The Redwing Saga, The Blood is the Life; Book Two, Blood Rites; and Blood Lies: Book One of The Redwing Saga. Visit Sharon’s author page at Amazon.com for more.

Derek’s latest book The Day the Earth Stands Still: Unmasking the Old Gods Behind UFOs, ETs, and the Official Disclosure Movement, co-authored with Josh Peck, is available now in paperback and as a Kindle e-book! See www.OfficialDisclosure.com for more info.

Derek’s book The Great Inception: Satan’s PSYOPs from Eden to Armageddon is now an e-book for the Kindle and Nook! For free samples, click here for articles from the book, or click here for a series of short (5-10 minute) videos based on the book.

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.