Gilbert House Fellowship

AGAIN WE find it impossible to get through more than a few chapters of the incredible Book of Hebrews. These chapters systematically make the case for the superiority of Jesus and the new covenant in his blood to the old covenant under the Law given to Moses.

It isn't expressed any more clearly in scripture than this:

Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.

Hebrews 7:11-12 (ESV)

We discuss the Order of Melchizedek and the significance of the change in the priesthood from the tribe of Levi to the tribe of Judah, the difference between the earthly temple and the Most Holy Place in heaven, and the necessity of the shedding of blood for redemption.

Join us in Dallas March 31-April 2 for the Hear the Watchmen conference, God's Great Gathering! Click here for information and to register. Save $20 with the promo code SKYWATCH!

THE MOST famous confrontation between a prophet of the Lord and prophets of a fallen lesser elohim is at the center of today's study. Of course we're referring to the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.

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.

Yes, God destroyed 400 prophets of Hercules on Mount Carmel. Click here to see Derek's presentation on this confrontation, YHWH vs. Hercules.

We also discussed the miracles God performed for Elijah, keeping him alive and away from Jezebel during the three-year drought in Israel, and the multiple chances God gave Ahab, by leading Israel to two miraculous victories over much larger Aramean armies. So Ahab had no excuse for continuing to serve foreign gods, a choice that ultimately led to the destruction of Ahab's entire family.

Join us in Dallas March 31-April 2 for the Hear the Watchmen conference, God's Great Gathering! Click here for information and to register. Save $20 with the promo code SKYWATCH!

Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date.

THE SUPREMACY of Jesus is the theme of the Book of Hebrews. This week, we discuss his mission to restore humanity to the divine council, which will culminate in a wonderful scene on the mount of assembly:

"I will tell of your name to my brothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise."

Hebrews 2:12 (ESV)

We also begin a discussion that will continue next week on why believers in Jesus are no longer bound by the Law.

Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son.

Hebrews 3:5-6a (ESV)

Join us in Dallas March 31-April 2 for the Hear the Watchmen conference, God's Great Gathering! Click here for information and to register. Save $20 with the promo code SKYWATCH!

Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date.

THE TALE of two kingdoms continues in our Old Testament study this week. We get the stories of the northern kings of Israel Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri, and the southern kings of Judah Abijah, Asa, and Jehoshaphat.

We discuss the conflicts between Israel and Judah, and the miraculous victory of Judah over a huge force led by Zerah the Ethiopian. (Scholars Peter van der Veen and Peter James make a case for one Userḫau, Egypt's "Overseer of the Northern Foreign Lands" during the reign of Ramesses IV, as Zerah.)

And scholars for hundreds of years have believed there is a simple solution to the question about when Baasha died (how could he attack Judah in the 36th year of Asa's reign when he died in the 26th. The conclusion is that the attack came in the 36th year of Asa's kingdom, Judah, which would have been the 16th year of Asa's reign. (The Hebrew word for "reign" and "kingdom" are the same.)

Join us in Dallas March 31-April 2 for the Hear the Watchmen conference, God's Great Gathering! Click here for information and to register. Save $20 with the promo code SKYWATCH! Register at www.HearTheWatchmen.com.

NOTE: This weekend only, through 9:00 PM Eastern Time (UTC -5), get a special promo code to save more than $40 for the Heart the Watchmen Conference by watching the latest episode of SciFriday! Click here to watch the program on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRpCuDTuuec

ENDURANCE THROUGH suffering. That's the overarching message of the epistle of 1 Peter. But there's a lot more in there that we had forgotten.

In his letter to the "exiles" — which probably meant the Jewish converts outside Israel, but could also mean we Christians living in a world surrounded by the Enemy and their agents — Peter exhorts women to subject themselves to their husbands, and for husbands to honor our wives so that our "prayers may not be hindered."

Whoa. Failing to honor our wives hinders our prayers? Yep.

Peter also calls Christians to "put aside all malice," reminding us that "if you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed". Jesus didn't even curse those who nailed him to the cross, so where do we get off blasting others on Facebook because they called us a name?

In a section that is especially timely, on a weekend that saw hundreds of thousands of people march in Chicago and Washington, D.C. to protest the inauguration of President Trump, Peter called on Christians to "be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him" (1 Peter 3:13-14a).

Please note that the emperor in power when Peter wrote that line was Nero, who is infamous for burning Christians alive. You may not like the president, or your governor, or your mayor, but subject yourself to their authority anyway. "Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God."

The apostle also makes a reference to the episode of Genesis 6:4 in his letter, where the sons of God took women and produced through those unions the monstrous Nephilim. Jesus preached "to the spirits in prison" — the Watchers who were thrust down into Tartarus (2 Peter 2:4).

Join us in Dallas March 31-April 2 for the Hear the Watchmen conference, God's Great Gathering! Click here for information and to register. Save $20 with the promo code SKYWATCH! Register at www.HearTheWatchmen.com.

NOTE: This weekend only, through 9:00 PM Eastern Time (UTC -5), get a special promo code to save more than $40 for the Heart the Watchmen Conference by watching the latest episode of SciFriday! Click here to watch the program on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRpCuDTuuec

THE DIVISION of the kingdom of Israel is the focus of our Old Testament study this week. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, gets some bad advice from his young friends, not just rejecting the request of the northern tribes for tax relief, but doing so with a rather crude euphemism.

That didn't work out well. And it didn't go well for the people of the new kingdoms of Israel or Judah. Jeroboam quickly led the northern kingdom into apostasy, setting up high places to worship golden calves at Bethel and Dan and appointing priests who were not from the tribe of Levi to offer sacrifices to these pagan idols.

Meanwhile, we're told that Rehoboam and the people of Judah only followed God for three years. Because they quickly began following the example of Solomon, worshipping the foreign gods the late king introduced to the land because of his hundreds of wives, God allowed the Egyptian king Shishak to take the fortified cities of Judah and sack the Temple. Sadly, this is a pattern we will see repeated throughout the history of the divided kingdom.

Join us in Dallas March 31-April 2 for the Hear the Watchmen conference, God's Great Gathering! Click here for information and to register. Save $20 with the promo code SKYWATCH!

CHURCH LEADERSHIP and proper behavior for Christians is the focus of Paul's letters that we study this week. Timothy had been left in charge of the church Ephesus, while Titus had been left on the island of Crete to shepherd the new church there.

Both Timothy and Titus faced challenges; Timothy was a young man charged with guiding older men and women, while Titus worked in a place notorious for its lack of moral integrity ("to Cretanize" was a term in the ancient world that meant to lie).

Paul also encouraged both men to avoid vain discussions, myths, and endless genealogies, "which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith." Our mission is to show "love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."

Join us in Dallas March 31-April 2 for the Hear the Watchmen conference, God's Great Gathering! Click here for information and to register. Save $20 with the promo code SKYWATCH!

ENTANGLEMENTS WITH cares of the world, whether it's business, politics, or personal relationships, can distract us from what we're called to do by God.

This week, we see the fall of Solomon, whose wives draw him into the worship of pagan gods like Ashtereth (Astarte; i.e., Ishtar), Chemosh, and Molech. For his apostasy, God took the northern tribes away from Solomon's descendants, leaving the House of David as rulers of only Judah and Benajmin.

We also discuss the visit of the queen of Sheba and two chapters of Proverbs, including the famous section of Proverbs 31 that describes the ideal wife.

NOTE: Derek erroneously named Joash as the king who returned the Ark of the Testimony to the Temple. It was actually King Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:1-6).

Join us in Dallas March 31-April 2 for the Hear the Watchmen conference, God's Great Gathering! Click here for information and to register. Save $20 with the promo code SKYWATCH!

OUR STUDY in the New Testament this week focuses on military formations and tactics, although it might not seem that way at first. We cover Ephesians 5 and 6, with a lot of time on the passages that instruct husbands and wives on their relationships to one another and a description of the whole armor of God — and why those verses describe a holding action and not an attack on the Enemy.

Note that in the "full armor of God" passages (Ephesians 6:11-20) Paul uses the word "stand" four times. That's stand, not attack. We are called to hold our ground and protect the weak and injured until Christ returns at the head of a heavenly army. We are not called to conquer the world in his name, a false teaching that has led the Church astray for centuries.

ANOTHER BOOK of wisdom attributed to Solomon is our Old Testament study this week. The collected sayings of "the Preacher" (or "the Collector"), widely believed to be Solomon, are generally gloomy, but only in that they remind us of the folly of pursuing material things apart from God.

The book concludes with a summary of Solomon's long pursuit of wisdom — a three sentence summary of the meaning of life:

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (ESV)