Mecca Was Not in Arabia

Gilbert House Ministries

Mecca Was Not in Arabia

October 28, 2022

WE WRAP our six-week series based on our last tour of Israel with a look at the incredible city of the Nabataean Arabs, Petra.

Petra was a cult center, a pilgrimage destination for pagans of the ancient world until the time of Muhammad in the early 7th century. That’s because Petra was the site of the original Mecca—and may have been the location of Mount Sinai, as well.

Join us in Israel! For details on our Israel Tour March 19-30, 2023, log on to www.gilberthouse.org/travel.

New Year, New Chapter

December 30, 2022

With this, our 300th episode, SciFriday goes on indefinite hiatus. We’ve had a wonderful time producing this program over the last seven years, but with a busy 2023 schedule that includes three weeks in Israel, three books, and two documentary videos to produce, something in our schedule had to give. We close out this seven-year run with a look at the Roman god of transitions, Janus, the realSt. Nicholas, and an explanation of how the early church settled on December 25 as the date for Christmas. Here’s the hard, historically documented truth: It had nothing to do with Saturn, the winter solstice, Sol Invictus, Nimrod, or Baal. In fact, the origins of Christmas were not pagan in any way, shape, or form. We may produce SciFriday specials in the future, but they will be available only through our app (http://gilberthouse.org/app) and our YouTube channel (http://youtube.com/@scifridaytv). Join us in Israel! For details on our Israel Tour March 19-30, 2023, log on to http://www.gilberthouse.org/travel.

Crowley, Rasputin, and Loch Ness

December 23, 2022

Loch Ness is best known as the home of a cryptid--the mysterious, serpentine creature called the Loch Ness Monster. We didn’t see Nessie during our visit to Scotland in 2019, but we did see a site that played an important role in the spread of occult teachings in the 20th century: Boleskine House, which overlooks Loch Ness, was the home of occultist Aleister Crowley a little over a century ago. Crowley, who called himself the Great Beast 666, was so influential that his image appears three times on the album cover for the Beatles’ 'Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.' Sharon explains why the late 19th and early 20th centuries were a transitional period for the world in terms of spirituality and the supernatural, which is why she set her series of supernatural thrillers The Redwing Saga right in the middle of this era. Watch for Crowley, Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin, and the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to appear in future entries of The Redwing Saga. Join us in Israel! For details on our Israel Tour March 19-30, 2023, log on to http://www.gilberthouse.org/travel.

The Watchers and the Ripper

December 16, 2022

Sharon’s research for The Redwing Saga, her series of supernatural thrillers, turned up a historic link between the Watchers, Mount Hermon and Jack the Ripper. Sadly, the British Museum doesn’t keep the inscription discovered by Sir Charles Warren in 1869 on display. Warren was later appointed Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, where he oversaw the unsuccessful Scotland Yard investigation into the Ripper murders of 1888. We also discuss our visits to Pendragon Castle and Glencoe, sites that figure prominently in The Redwing Saga, and you can see for yourself why the landscape of the Eden Valley and Loch Leven has so inspired Sharon’s imagination. Join us in Israel! For details on our Israel Tour March 19-30, 2023, log on to http://www.gilberthouse.org/travel.