Gilbert House Fellowship

GOD INSPIRED the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel to use the image of Israel as an unfaithful wife. He called Hosea to take it a step farther, directing the prophet to actually marry an adulterous woman to serve as an image of Israel's unfaithfulness to God. Continue reading →

HEZEKIAH WAS a better king than any since David, and better than all those who followed. He repaired and restored the Temple, reinstituted the worship of Yahweh, and tore down the high places devoted to Baal and Astarte (not just in Judah, but in Israel, too). Continue reading →

ISAIAH PROPHESIED the fall of Babylon before it had risen. At the time of the prophesies we read this week, Assyria was still the dominant power in the ancient Near East, but the phrase, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon," was revealed to … Continue reading →

THE FUTURES of Damascus, Moab, Egypt, and a mysterious foreign superpower -- possibly the USA -- are the meat of our Old Testament study this week. Continue reading →

WE REACH the end of the New Testament this week. The Revelation of John concludes with final judgments against Satan, the Beast, Death, Hades, and all whose names are not written in the Book of Life. We also discuss the thousand-year imprisonment of Satan, whether the war led by Gog of Magog in Revelation 20 is the same one prophesied by Ezekiel, and speculate on the shape of the new Jerusalem --...

ALREADY BUT not yet. That's a phrase we use often when discussing Bible prophecy, and it's appropriate again this week. We discuss the destruction of the northern kingdom, Israel, by the Assyrians as punishment for abandoning the LORD. Then we look at two chapters of the fascinating Book of Isaiah. Continue reading →

FALLEN, FALLEN is Babylon the Great! Who or what is Babylon the Great? After 2,000 years that's still a mystery. We discuss the seven plagues and the seven bowls of God's wrath, the mark of the Beast, the spirit behind the Great Prostitute, and the nature of the terrifying seven-headed, ten-horned Beast. Click here  for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and  click he...

GOD'S JUDGMENT on Israel and Judah was not going to be pleasant, but it was not to last forever. This week, we read prophecies of Isaiah and Micah on the coming destruction of the northern kingdom by Assyria and the southern kingdom by Babylon. Continue reading →

TIMES WILL be hard during the seven-year period called the Great Tribulation. You don't want to be here for it. This week, we discuss the two witnesses, the dragon and the rumble in the parking lot of heaven, and the beast that emerges from the sea in Revelation 13. The identity of the Beast has been the subject of speculation for two millennia, so we're not going to solve it here. The takeaway fr...

HE HADN'T intended to be a prophet, but that's the work to which the Lord called him. Amos, a contemporary of Isaiah, was a shepherd from south of Jerusalem in the kingdom of Judah. However, he devoted most of the nine chapters of his book to warning the northern kingdom of Israel about its imminent doom -- a judgment decreed by God. Continue reading →

GOD'S JUDGMENT on an unrepentant world is the focus of this week's New Testament study. John was shown terrifying imagery of disasters so catastrophic that the earth is literally shaken to its core. But take heart -- the church of Jesus Christ is not appointed to wrath, so if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you won't be here for it. We discuss the first six trumpet judgments, speculate on...

PROPHESYING DURING a time just before a calamity has to be one of the worst jobs ever. Isaiah was called to be a prophet during a visit to the throne room of God, but his orders were to make sure the people of Judah didn't listen to God. Continue reading →

THE FIRST six seals are opened in our study of Revelation this week. Bearing in mind that the meaning of these seals has been debated for 2,000 years, we offer our best understanding of the images and prophecies recorded by John the Revelator. We discuss the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, speculating that the first rider, often interpreted as the spirit of Antichrist (although some incorrectly b...

PRIDE AND repentance are the themes of this week's Old Testament study. Continue reading →

NOW WE get to the prophetic stuff! The Book of Revelation was written by John, either in the mid-60s A.D. or around 95 A.D. Most scholars believe it was the later date, during the reign of Domitian, although some believe it was thirty years earlier, during the reign of Nero. Either way, Revelation is a deep and fascinating prophecy given to John by Jesus himself. This week, we discuss the introduc...

IRON AGE history is a bloody business, and the history of the kings of Israel and Judah is no different. This week's Old Testament study looks at transfers of power -- somewhat less than peaceful -- in the generation following Ahab and Jehoshaphat. Continue reading →

THE EARLY church had to deal with a number of heretical teachings. The idea that Jesus was not fully God and fully man was one of them. The apostle John addressed this in his first epistle. In his gentle style, John counseled believers to love one another, to recognize false teachings, and to test the spirits, because not everything that manifests from the supernatural realm is from God. Click her...

THE CONCEPTS of holy ground and cosmic geography are behind most of the stories in today's Old Testament study. As we saw in the life of Elijah, God often did things to teach a lesson and/or send a message. In this case, it was the clear message that Israel belongs to Him. Continue reading →

SPIRITUAL WARFARE and the sin of the Watchers are the focus of this week's New Testament study. Peter and Jude were in accord with the letters we read this week, and there is a lot of meat in these four short chapters. Both apostles warned their readers of false prophets who had wormed their way into the church, spreading false doctrine, encouraging the pursuit of physical pleasure, and "blasphemi...

THE DIVINE COUNCIL in action and prophecy is the focus of this week's Old Testament study. Psalm 82 depicts a courtroom scene in the divine council with Yahweh declaring judgment on the lesser gods who "judge unjustly and show partiality … Continue reading →

FAITH AND perseverance are at the heart of today's New Testament study. We conclude the remarkable Book of Hebrews with a discussion of the Old Testament patriarchs who were accounted righteous because of their faith even though they never saw the fulfillment of the promises of God. The command to show hospitality to strangers is also examined in light of recent political developments. Then we mov...

GOD HAS a council that carries out His commands, and this week we get one of the few glimpses into its workings recorded in the Bible. It's the story of Ahab's demise in battle against the Syrians at Ramoth-Gilead, where the king of Israel is enticed by lying spirits to go to his doom. Continue reading →

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 unde...

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. Continue reading →

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...