The Bible's Greatest Mysteries

The Writing on the Wall (Part 2)

November 8, 2024 • Daniel 5

GOD DELIVERED a message of doom to the regent of Babylon, Belshazzar. And He did it in a way everyone in Babylon would understand. We continue our analysis of Daniel 5 and the writing on the wall, an episode so famous that it’s become a catchphrase for something so obvious that it can’t be missed. Last week, we explained how God’s divine intervention of Belshazzar’s drunken feast was not only directed at the rulers of Babylon, but at the moon-god Sîn, who was the patron deity of Babylon’s last king, Nabonidus. This week, we explore another aspect of the supernatural handwriting on the wall of Belshazzar’s palace. One of the two most important deities in Babylon in the 6th century BC was Nabû, the patron deity of scribes. Most people in Babylonia were illiterate, so when one needed to draw up a contract, make out a will, or even write a letter, a scribe was hired. Scribes were a special class, essential to the government, temples, merchants, and financiers. In short, Nabû was the god of lawyers, bankers, and priests—more or less the people who still run the world today. So, when a hand materialized and began to write on the wall, Belshazzar and his nobles may have thought it was one of their chief gods appearing before their eyes. In truth, it was Yahweh, the Creator, using Nabû’s best-known characteristic to tell Belshazzar that his gods—Nabû, Marduk, Ishtar, and Sîn—had failed him. And is it possible that the fall of Babylon in 539 BC is a template for the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset?

The Writing on the Wall (Part 1)

November 1, 2024 • Daniel 5

THERE IS MORE to the story of the supernatural writing on the wall of the king of Babylon’s palace than you’ve been told. This week, we begin examining one of the most mysterious and spectacular events of the Old Testament—the message from God to the regent of Babylon, Belshazzar. According to ancient records, Babylon was captured by Cyrus II, king of the Medes and Persians, in 539 BC on the eve of the 17th of Tashritu on the Babylonian calendar. Belshazzar’s father, King Nabonidus, had ruled Babylon for about seventeen years. Unlike Nebuchadnezzar, who died in 562 BC, Nabonidus was not Chaldean. He was an Assyrian from the northern Mesopotamian city of Harran who’d seized the throne in 556 BC. More important, Nabonidus was a devotee of the moon-god Sîn. Historical records suggest that he wanted to elevate Sîn to the top spot in the Babylonian pantheon, replacing the chief god Marduk and overturning about 600 years of religious tradition. The drunken feast held by Belshazzar described in chapter 5 of the Book of Daniel is usually described as evidence of the decadence of Babylon, and that the kingdom’s fall to the Medes and Persians was a just reward for the sinful ways of the Chaldeans. It certainly was that—but it was much more. The army of Cyrus had defeated Nabonidus at the Battle of Opis, about sixty miles from Babylon, about two weeks before Belshazzar’s feast. The regent must have known that Cyrus was outside the walls of the city. The timing of the feast coincided with an annual festival in honor of the moon-god held in Nabonidus’s home city of Harran, where his mother was a priestess of Sîn. The 17th of Tashritu falls during the Hunter’s Moon or Harvest Moon, two of the brightest full moons of the year. So, it’s possible that Belshazzar and his nobles weren’t recklessly partying while the Persians were at the gates of Babylon—they may have been trying to summon the protection of the moon-god when he was at full power. But Belshazzar made a fatal mistake. He “commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father [meaning his predecessor on the throne of Babylon] had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.” (Dan. 5:2, ESV) The real significance of the writing on the wall is this: the 17th of Tashritu is 17 Tishri on the Hebrew calendar. That’s second day of the most important feast of Yahweh, Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles. And during this time sacred to God, Belshazzar ordered that vessels sacred to Yahweh be used in a ritual meal for the moon-god, Sîn. Boom. Babylon fell that very night.

Technology Fulfilling Prophecy

October 25, 2024 • Carl Gallups

Proof that we live in the most prophetic time since the first coming of Jesus may be something in your hand or pocket right now. Pastor Carl Gallups, best-selling author of Eyes to See and The Yeshua Protocol, explains how the explosion in human knowledge and our ability to travel was foreseen by a prophet in the heart of the Babylonian empire more than 2,500 years ago.

David’s Vision of the Crucifixion

October 18, 2024 • Carl Gallups

David described the Crucifixion is startling detail a thousand years before it happened—and saw spirits at the foot of the cross from the land believed to be the entrance to the netherworld. Carl Gallups , author of The Yeshua Protocol and Eyes to See, joins us to explain the connections between David’s messianic prophecy in Psalm 22, which Jesus quoted from the cross, the “forbidden chapters” of Isaiah (52 and 53), and the future revelation of the Messiah to the House of David in Zechariah 12. Carl also reveals the symbolic meaning of the Paleo-Hebrew letters in Jesus’ name and how they’re quoted in a messianic prophecy in Isaiah 52:10. Finally, we discuss modern technology and how things we take for granted, like live-streamed video, may fulfill prophecies written two thousand years ago.

The Crucifixion Encoded in Genesis 1:1!

October 11, 2024 • Carl Gallups

IT’S SOMETHING no rabbi would ever have done, and it almost certainly never occurred to Moses, either. Pastor Carl Gallups (http://carlgallups.com), author of The Yeshua Protocol and Eyes to See, explains how the hidden imagery of the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet embeds a picture of the three crosses on Calvary, representing Jesus and the two men crucified on either side of him, in the very first verse of the Bible.

The Alpha and Omega - in Genesis 1:1!

October 4, 2024 • Carl Gallups

JESUS CALLED HIMSELF “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” That title is encoded right in the middle of the first verse of the Bible. Pastor Carl Gallups (http://carlgallups.com/) joins us to share a remarkable discovery he included in his book The Yeshua Protocol: Not only are the alpha and omega (Hebrew aleph and tau) embedded in the center of Genesis 1:1, the meaning of the characters in the ancient Paleo-Hebraic script is stunning.

The Divine Council

April 8, 2022 • Dr. Michael Heiser

One of the most fascinating chapters in the Bible is Psalm 82, which reads like a courtroom scene in heaven. Dr. Michael Heiser, author of A Companion to the Book of Enoch, Vols. 1 & 2, identifies the “gods” whose deaths are decreed by God, explains the divine council concept and what it does, and why Jesus wasn’t talking about humans when he quoted Psalm 82:6 in John 10:34. Then the Gilberts explain why Psalm 82 can also be read as God invading a meeting of fallen angels—an “infernal council”—and how the psalm may have been a prophecy of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mount Hermon.

Mountain of the Gods

April 1, 2022 • Dr. Michael Heiser

Mount Hermon in northern Israel was known throughout the ancient Near East as the abode of the gods. Why? What made it so special? Dr. Michael Heiser, author of A Companion to the Book of Enoch, Vols. 1 & 2, describes the importance of Hermon as a sacred site from ancient times through the Christian era, and shares the biblical evidence that God Himself understood the significance of that mountain to the fallen realm.

Why We Baptize

March 25, 2022 • Dr. Michael Heiser

Baptism is a declaration of victory over the “sons of God” who rebelled before the Flood. Dr. Michael Heiser, author of A Companion to the Book of Enoch, Vols. 1 & 2, explains why Peter connected the practice of baptism to Jesus’ descent to the netherworld and the rebellious elohim who commingled with women and produced the monstrous giants of the pre-Flood world.

Giants in the Bible

March 18, 2022 • Dr. Michael Heiser

If it’s in the Bible and it’s weird, it’s important. So says Bible scholar Dr. Michael Heiser, who joins us this week to tackle a giant question: Were the giants of the Old Testament real? If so, how did the Hebrew prophets and the early church understand those weird passages of scripture?

Watchers, Demons, and Small-g ‘Gods’

March 11, 2022

Who or what are the “powers and principalities” Paul warned us about? Are they angels or demons? Who are the “Watchers,” and are they good or bad? This week, we answer more viewer questions about the unseen realm.

Lucifer, Satan, and Saturn

March 4, 2022

Who were the Watchers? What’s the difference between a cherub and a nachash? Is Lucifer another name for Satan? Join us this week as we answer some viewer questions about the denizens of the spirit realm.

Proof of Joseph in Egypt!

February 25, 2022 • Dr. Douglas Petrovich

Inscriptions from Egyptian sites prove that Joseph did what the Bible claims. What’s more, there are texts that mention his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Dr. Doug Petrovich, author of the jaw-dropping new book Origins of the Hebrews: New Evidence of Israelites in Egypt from Joseph to the Exodus, explains how he deciphered the Egyptian names for Joseph and his sons. Then he discusses some of his earlier archaeological research at Hazor and a site in ancient Syria with a temple very similar to the one built by Solomon. Finally, he offers some advice to Christian students who love history and archaeology.

Egypt’s History CONFIRMS the Bible!

February 18, 2022 • Dr. Douglas Petrovich

Scholars have known for a long time that northern Egypt was ruled by “Asiatics” called the Hyksos for about a hundred years during the Old Testament period. What was the relationship between these rulers and the Hebrews? Dr. Doug Petrovich returns for another fascinating discussion based on his new book Origins of the Hebrews: New Evidence of Israelites in Egypt from Joseph to the Exodus. He shares the latest research on the origins of the Hyksos, why they treated the Israelites well, and then he identifies the 18th Dynasty pharaoh who “knew not Joseph.”

New Evidence of Jacob, Joseph, and Moses in Egypt

February 11, 2022 • Dr. Douglas Petrovich

Proof of the patriarchs Jacob, Joseph, and Moses has been staring experts in the face for years, but it’s been misunderstood—until now. We continue our discussion with Dr. Doug Petrovich about new book Origins of the Hebrews: New Evidence of Israelites in Egypt from Joseph to the Exodus. This week, Doug explains why texts that mention Joseph and his sons have been overlooked, and how the story of Moses being drawn from the river by the daughter of Pharaoh may solve one of Egypt’s most puzzling historical mysteries.

Gilbert House Ministries

Exploring Mysteries in the Word of God!