Gilbert House Fellowship

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 Isr

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 lyi

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 stag

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

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 Cana

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 reconstructio

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!

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

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 kingd

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 th

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

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

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 He

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

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

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 E

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 paper

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 referr

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 paperba

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 (http