Gilbert House Fellowship

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

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),

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, a

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 g

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 - Sta

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/

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. Dou

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

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 H

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

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 BCThe Book of Parables (Chapters 37–71) — completed by about 4 BCThe Book of Luminaries (Chapters 72–82

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. Here's a link to an online text of the Book of 1 Enoch, translated by R. H. Charles and published in 1917. We'll begin a study of 1 Enoch next week, which we'll release on the last Sunday of each month. 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 witnes

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

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/g

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

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!