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[00:00]
A
The Book of Enoch, the ministry of geography, history and the supernatural world of the Bible. All of it may be more connected than most people realize. But what if the exact locations in Scripture aren't just background details, but a part of the message itself? Does it even matter where Jesus walked, taught and was baptized? And could those locations shape how we understand his ministry? Why has the story of the Watchers and Mount Hermon fascinated theologians for generations? We're going to explore all of this with our special guest right now. Hello everybody and welcome to Skywatch tv. I'm Joe Arteshorn. Today we continue what was an absolutely groundbreaking discussion from last week. A brand new book from Defender Publishing. But before I reveal which one it is, the let me introduce who's here. His broadcasting career has spanned for more than 40 years. He's the best selling author of the groundbreaking books Last Clash of the Titans, the Great inception and the second coming of Saturn. Mr. Derek Gilbert. And she's a legend and pioneer of podcast radio. Christian television personality and best selling author of the Red Wing Saga, Sharon Gilbert, Ladies and gentlemen, to tell you something you may or may not be aware of my father, the first time I ever heard the word, and I'm not making this up, this was way back, what, 2005 or 6? Yeah, probably 2005. He used a word I'd never heard of before. He said the word podcast. Now guess whose names were subsequently mentioned right away. Derek and Sharon Gilbert. Before I even knew who you people were, my father was reciting you, he was learning from you, he was reading your works, he was listening to your podcasts and he called you the pioneers of podcasts. Now tell me. Cause I saw this in social media recently. You guys now have over what, 1 million plays on your.
[02:17]
B
Just on our app. Yes, our mobile app.
[02:19]
A
On your mobile app alone. Oh my God, this is nuts. This is kingdom building stuff, guys.
[02:25]
C
Yeah,
[02:28]
A
Derek is back with a brand new book from Defender Publishing that I said last week my father would be absolutely proud of. Somehow Derek has managed to take the conversation of the Nephilim, fallen angels, the Flood, and he's brought brand new illumination to it. We're gonna bring this up on the screen for you. It's entitled War of the Watchers from BAAL to Balfour. Derek, most people who have heard about the Book of Enoch are familiar with the story of the rebellious Watchers who descended to Mount Hermon and conspired to create giant offspring and corrupt human through forbidden knowledge. This is something that the great Dr. Michael Heiser spoke about. My father of Course spoke about this. Yet you bring new illumination. You write, there's another reason the Book of Enoch is so important for Christians. I want to start today with that question. What is it?
[03:19]
B
Yeah. Based on relatively recent research, I mean, we're talking within the last 10, 20 years, scholars who've been digging into the book of 1 Enoch. And I will say again for the record, 1 Enoch is not in the Bible and there are good reasons for it. There are some internal inconsistencies which you would not find in Scripture. But there are things in there that show up in the New Testament in the teachings of Paul, the writings of Peter and Jude, and in the teachings of Jesus himself. And because based on the scholarly consensus that the Book of Enoch, which was written in about five different sections between the 4th century BC and right up to the time of Jesus birth, the silent centuries, so called, between the Book of Malachi at the end of the Old Testament and the Gospel of Matthew, were not silent at all. The second section of the book of 1 Enoch, the one people are most familiar with, of course, is the first section, chapters 1 through 36, referred to as the Book of the Watchers, beginning at chapter 37 and through chapter 71 scholars call the Book of Parables or the Book of Similitudes. This was probably written in the last quarter of the first century B.C. in other words, right before the birth of John the Baptist of Jesus of Nazareth. And there are writings in there. This is a prophetic section where the writings of these were probably Essenes who wrote this? Essenes. Not at Qumran. Actually, the Qumran community was established later. It split off from the group of Essenes who lived in the north in the Galilee. And based on the style of writing and the fact that a recent, just within the last couple decades, an Essene village was located on the slopes of a mountain called Mount Arbel, which is just across the road literally from the ancient city of Magdala where Mary Magdalene was from, which is on the shore, northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It's a really striking mountain because it's like a vertical cliff face and a 90 degree peak on top. And when you look at it, you can see it from the boats on the Sea of Galilee, which you can see when you come with us to Israel in October. Information at our website.
[05:32]
A
Give the website because people are going to want to know now.
[05:34]
B
Gilberthouse.org travel and there are caves on the front side of that mountain where these Essenes, they literally had to access their homes through rope ladders.
[05:47]
C
Oh wow.
[05:48]
B
They wrote this second section, chapters 37, 71, the last section completed, even though it's not the last section in the book. And they make mention of a coming messianic figure called the Anointed One, the Chosen One and the Son of Man. Now, this is the first time that that phrase, the Son of Man, is used as a title now derives from Daniel, chapter seven, where Daniel looks to the heavens and he sees one like a Son of man next to the ancient of days. In Old Testament parlance vernacular, that means there's a human up there next to Yahweh. Ezekiel, in the Book of Ezekiel is called Son of Man by the angel who's taking him around something like 90 times or something like that. Doesn't mean that Ezekiel was the Son of man. It just means the angel saying, hey, human, come here, look at this. But in the book of 1 Enoch, chapters 37, 71, it is clear in that section that this character with a defined role, he basically, he's coming back and he's going to execute God's judgment on evil landowners and wicked kings and these rebellious angels. He's got a job, the Son of Man. And according to that book of first Enoch, in that section, he's given a name before the creation of all things, and he will sit on God's throne. In other words, they're saying this character is the second power in heaven. He is the angel of Yahweh. He is the Messiah. He is what we Christians would know as Jesus. And you know, of course, coming again, this was new stuff, because, again, this does not appear in any prior Jewish writing, in other words, the Old Testament or any other known Jewish writing from the Second Temple period before this was revealed to the Essenes living at the Sea of Galilee in the years just before the birth of Jesus. And then 30 years later, Jesus is out there saying, who do people say the Son of Man is? And his followers, they'd heard of the title. They just said, what are you talking about? No, they argued. Some say Elijah, some say Jeremiah. We're not sure. We don't know. We've heard of him, but who is he? And then he says to Peter, who do you say that I am? Peter says, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus confirms it. And it was at the base of Mount Hermon Caesarea Philippi, in front of the Grotto of Pan. And we've been there three times now. And you read that section from Matthew, chapter 16, where he says, blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, by another guy, you know, some guy on the Internet, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Petros. He's wordplay now. You are Peter. And on this rock, this 9200 foot mountain that the Canaanites believe is basically their Mount Olympus, where their gods meet, I will establish my congregation, my ecclesia. And the gates of hell, which is this really big cave right over here, will not prevail against it. You do that in front of a group and they realize, wait a minute, Jesus wasn't just using poetic language. This is a real place. Again, jaws drop. That's my reaction. The first time I ever heard that. Our good friend Dr. Jud Burton, in an interview 25 years ago, 20 years ago, heard that on a podcast while I was mowing the lawn. I was like, oh, the whole world just shifted. This was a real place. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And now we've been blessed to be there three times and you can see it with us in October.
[09:34]
A
Wink, wink. Visit the website.
[09:37]
B
It's amazing.
[09:38]
A
One of the things that you do with your new book that is so important, and it's made very obviously important by the way you framework this in the book that I think a lot of people miss when they talk about the life and times of the disciples or even the mission of Jesus Christ. They might say something like Galilee, but they don't tie together the significance of the precise locale. So in your view, how important is the geography of the very mission of Jesus? In other words, why does it matter where he got baptized, what he did, why he did it? How does that tie in?
[10:13]
B
Basically, the concept of holy ground. God declared that Israel would belong to him, and it's understood. We even see it going back into the time of Elisha the prophet, where Naaman, who was a servant of the king of Aram in Damascus, comes to Israel to get healed because BAAL wasn't able to do anything for him. And he comes to Israel and he gets healed in the Jordan river. And so he takes a couple of basket loads of earth back to Damascus with him. Because it's understood, this ground is sacred to Yahweh. And I will now become a servant of Yahweh, a follower of Yahweh. Yahweh, please forgive me when I have to go into the temple of BAAL with my master. This, I think, is echoed in the time of Jesus when he bases his ministry there at the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Again, that region as we discussed last week between Mount Hermon and the Sea of Galilee was considered the domain of the Rephaim. These demonic spirits of the giants were destroyed in the flood of Noah. Jesus based his ministry there, began casting out demons left, right and center, which we don't see in the Old Testament. Why? Basically saying, get off my land.
[11:18]
A
You argue that the consensus location for the baptismal site of Jesus is wrong.
[11:24]
B
Yeah.
[11:24]
A
And that is, you know, turning heads, I think. Go ahead.
[11:27]
B
Yeah. Even some friends of ours, credentialed archaeologists who we respect, will argue and defend this site that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which is down near Jericho on the Jordan side of the river. In fact, the Kingdom of Jordan, spending something like 300 million doll to develop it into a tourist site.
[11:43]
C
Yep. Tourism will become his income stream.
[11:46]
B
Yeah. And we don't fault them for that. Jordan's very proud actually of their, of its biblical history. And they welcome Christians to visit there because a lot happened east of the Jordan River. So I think the geography where he did what he did was essentially a declaration of war. And we see that beginning with his baptism in John, chapter one, the geographical clues are there. John is confronted by the priests and Levites from Jerusalem. Why are you doing this? What gives you the authority to do this? And then we read in verse 28, these things happen in Bethany, across the Jordan. Well, for 2,000 years, Christians have been trying to find a place called Bethany east of the Jordan River. The only one that everyone has ever heard of is on the Mount of Olives. Well, that's not east of the Jordan or across the Jordan. But in 1872, an explorer by the name of Claude Conder, working for the Palestine Exploration Fund, sent by the Crown of England, they were actually collecting intel for the British Foreign Office because the Ottoman Empire was collapsing. But they did good archaeology as well. He wrote Condor did that. The name Bethany in the Greek, in the oldest manuscripts is Bethania. He said that is probably a Hellenized or Greek version of the Latin name Botania, which is Bashan. Bashan across the Jordan, in other words, north of the Sea of Galilee. And that's confirmed because we see after John is confronted, the next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold the Lamb of God. And of course, that was the time Jesus gets baptized. John bore witness. I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. Verse 35. The next day, again, John was standing with two of his disciples. They begin to follow Jesus. One of them is Andrew, brother of Peter. He runs Home to get Peter. Now, we learn from further down that Peter, Andrew and Philip, the third disciple called, are from a town called Bethsaida. Bethsaida is two miles north of the Sea of Galilee. We also know from the Gospel of Mark that Peter and Andrew were partners with James and John in a fishing business on the Sea of Galilee. Now, the site that Jordan is developing is 90 miles away. You're going to walk 90 miles, it's going to take you a week at best. There's no way Andrew ran home to get Peter from 90 miles away, much less be in a fishing business on the Sea of Galilee. This all happened north of the Sea of Galilee. And in fact, we think we've identified the location and it just happens to be below a megalithic structure called Kherbet, which means in Arabic, Ruins of Bethsaida. It's on the bank of the Jordan river, about a mile and a half north of the Sea of Galilee. And right there, there's a stretch about three quarters of a mile long where the bank slopes down about 100ft. Gentle slope makes a perfect natural theater for a preacher to be standing down there at the river. Thousands. Because our friend Doug Van Dorn also thinks this is where Jesus fed the 5,000.
[14:52]
C
Wow.
[14:53]
B
Listening to the preacher and people getting baptized in the river down there, it's really incredible. Yeah. Our good friend Aaron Lipkin of Lipkin Tours is the one who shared this drone footage with us. But we believe that's why it took place there. And immediately from there, Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days. Wilderness? Well, Bashan is essentially a wilderness. It was in the first century A.D. there were not many settlements and villages. Haunt of the Rephaim. That would be a perfect place for Jesus and the demons to torment him for 40 days. Not the wilderness of Judea down near En Gedi, west of the Dead Sea. This all happened in enemy territory. Bashan, the literal. The place of the serpent. That's what the name means in Hebrew. Place of the serpent. And known for thousands of years by the Canaanites, the Israelites, the Amorites, all the Ites. And as the literal entrance to the netherworld.
[15:49]
C
Wow. Wow.
[15:58]
A
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we want to remind you that Skywatch TV is a viewer supported ministry. And right now, when you partner with us, your support not only helps us stay on the air, it also enables us to continue the mission through our networks and digital platforms, reach areas of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ that are unable to support us financially. Right now. Last for your donation of only $45 or more. We're not only going to send you Derek Gilbert's brand new book War of the Watchers from BAAL to Balfour, but we're also going to send you his all time best selling book, the Second Coming of the Great Conjunction and the Return of the Watchers with the exclusive 13 part companion DVD featuring Derek Gilbert as he walks you through ancient artifacts, maps and other teaching tools on the subject of the second coming of Saturn. These amazing works sold separately hold a retail value of $70. Yours now for your donation of only $45 or more, which includes free shipping to all US addresses. So again, your support helps Skywatch TV continue reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You can scan the QR code on your screen using the camera app on your phone for instant access to this special opportunity. You can also visit us at Skywatch t or call 1-844-750-4985 and ask for the Derek Gilbert War of the Watchers special offer right now. It is not an opportunity that you're going to want to miss out on.
[17:35]
C
So Derek, when did the split between the Jews and the Christians take place?
[17:40]
B
I think a lot of us assume it took place after the crucifixion, but that's not really true. For another century, Christians would still attend synagogue. We see that even in the Book of Acts, you know, Paul teaching in synagogues and going around. Christians were sort of like the oddball cousins of their Jewish brothers and sisters, but they were still welcome in the synagogue. It was in the year 132 AD when the emperor Hadrian really provoked the Jews by what he wanted to do in the temple, basically to desecrate the Temple. And a really dynamic military leader by the name of Simon Barkosova raised an army and a rabbi who's still very well respected to this day. Rabbi Akiva said that he's the Messiah and nicknamed him Simon bar Kokva, which means star. That's a reference to the prophecy of Balaam in numbers, chapter 24, that a star would rise from Jacob.
[18:34]
C
Oh wow.
[18:34]
B
And so said, okay, he's the Messiah. And Christians are like, no. Because our Jesus said when he was going to return, he'd be in the clouds with great glory. Simon, that's not you. So Christians refused to fight for him. And then according to writings of later Christians like Justin Martyr writing about 30 years later, said that Simon had imprisoned some and mutilated others, like cutting off their thumbs and fingers and stuff. And so that led to a really nasty split between Jews and Christians. And in fact, Justin Martyr, when he wrote a letter to the Roman Senate about defending the Christian faith, made a point of saying, but we Christians are loyal subjects of the Emperor, not like those rebellious Jews. So that led to the split and Satan and his minions have exploited that spiritually since then and it has not healed to this day.
[19:24]
C
Now we are grafted into that wonderful set apart tree that is Israel and we shouldn't be fighting with them.
[19:32]
B
Exactly, yeah, yeah. I mean, if we want them to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to be reflecting the love that he showed us by grafting us in. Romans, chapter 11 is all about that.
[19:42]
A
Derek, you skip over the Middle Ages in your book and focus on the 19th century as especially important for understanding modern Zionism. Now, what happened in the 19th century that provoked the creation of political Zionism?
[19:57]
B
Yeah, the Middle Ages, there were a lot of incidents and episodes that we could have covered, but for the sake of brevity, I skipped over that because the 19th century is really where things ramped up with. I think Jew hatred is probably a better term than anti Semitism because Arabs are Semites and many of them are not Jewish. But beginning in the 19th century, when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered most of Europe, he actually emancipated. Now, this was not really because he had a soft spot in his heart for Jews. It's because he wanted them to become good Frenchmen. And so if they were emancipated and they could work in, any Jew, unlike previously where they were confined to ghettos, could only work in certain professions. Napoleon thought that if they were free to do whatever they wanted, they would become good Frenchmen and he could make them good French citizens. Well, after Waterloo in 1815, the European leaders who succeeded Bonaparte said, nah, we're not doing that. And they went back to the old ways and put the Jews back in ghettos. And that led to a lot of hard feelings because after getting a taste of freedom, obviously Jews began protesting. We want to be able to live our lives and, you know, practice our religion freely. And the rulers of the German states, the Vatican, they did not like that idea. They were wanting to put them back into the same conditions that existed before Napoleon. In Russia, there were many examples of violence and riots that took place against Jews, not just in what we think of as Russia proper today, but in Ukraine, which was part of Russia back then.
[21:39]
A
Right.
[21:39]
B
This accelerated after 1881 when Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. One of the conspirators in the plot had Jewish ancestry, but she wasn't really Jewish in any meaningful sense. I mean, if you're willing to commit murder. I mean, obviously the Old Testament has a lot to say about that. But because it made for a convenient scapegoat, suddenly there were programs that were backed by the government to drive the Jews out. In fact, one of the advisors to Alexander III said that a series of laws called the May Laws, which were supposed to be temporary and of course, like income tax, they were never temporary, were intended to make a third of the Jews convert and be baptized, a third of them to emigrate, to leave the country altogether, and a third to starve to death. That was the point of the laws. And so Jews began because they had nothing else to hold them to the land. I mean, they were losing their villages. They were being driven out. At one point, there was a pilgrim that drove literally 20,000 Jews out of Moscow. Just leave. Get out. We don't care where you go, but you can't stay here. So they began emigrating to other places. And one of the places they went to, because it was essentially desolate at that time, was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, a place called Palestine. Now, the Arabs there were not really happy about that. They began petitioning the Ottoman rulers in Constantinople, Istanbul, you know, please stop the immigration. But basically, the 19th century became so unbearable for Jews in Europe and especially in Russia, that they couldn't stay. They had to go.
[23:20]
A
One of the people that you introduce in your book, and I think this is probably going to be a bit of a reveal to a lot of viewers here at Skywatch tv, this man named Theodore Herzl. Now, you've called him a modern Moses. Why is that?
[23:35]
B
He was sort of like Moses, a reluctant leader. He didn't really want this responsibility. In fact, he was a secular. He was not a religious Jew. He was a successful playwright and journalist in Vienna and then Paris. And it was sort of thrust on him. And when you read his writings from his journal, there are some who believe that an incident called the Dreyfus Affair, that the way that that trial was conducted, where a French artillery officer was framed for espionage and sent to Devil's island, which is just as pleasant as the name would sound, that that's what inspired Herzl. But you read Herzl's writings, and that's not during the writing of a play prior to the Dreyfus Affair, he suddenly just was consumed with this idea that he had to do something for his fellow Jews. He saw what was happening to the Jews in Russia and to the fact that no matter how hard educated Jews tried to abide by the law, to be good citizens of France or the German principalities or the Vatican territories. They were still being discriminated against and driven out. And so he called together leaders of what had been a slow moving movement called Zionism. The First World Zionist Congress took place in Switzerland in 1892. I think that's right. As we've learned about Israelis, they argue with each other more than we Americans argue. And Herzl found the same to be true there. They considered different possibilities. The British Foreign Office offered land in Uganda and he said, well, maybe we can do that. And some of the members, delegates at the World Zionist Congress actually fainted when they heard this. It was a little histrionic, over the top. Herzl said the rope is at their necks and still they resist. This cost him his marriage, his family, his health. And again, being a secular Jew, not even recognizing, like In Isaiah chapter 6, when God says, who will go for us? Herzl said, here I am, Send me. And I don't even know if he realized that that's what he did or what he was doing at the time, but it consumed him. Lack of sleep, not paying attention to his health. He died young, age 45. But he is considered a hero in modern Israel. And we had the opportunity to visit his tomb on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, which is the equivalent of the Arlington National Cemetery for us Americans. And Herzl, whether he knew it or not, was the one who opened the door and led the way to what became the modern state of Israel, even though he never lived to see it. Just like Moses, he wrote a novel
[26:31]
C
called in German called Alt Neuland, means Old New Land. But when it was translated into English, the title became Tel Aviv. Oh wow.
[26:42]
B
And hence the name of the community, which was the city, by the way. A name of a community where Ezekiel had gathered with the exiles in Babylon, Tel Aviv. So again, like Moses, he never lived to see that land, but he is now buried there.
[26:58]
A
Derek, would you. One more time for those that are still curious, like what is the website? I've decided I want to go on this trip with you all to Israel and see all of this for myself. Can you give the website?
[27:08]
B
It's Gilberthouse.org travel Gilberthouse.org travel 10-11-23 and then there's an optional three day extension to go over to Jordan and see some fantastic sites there, including Petra.
[27:21]
A
Yeah, and there's always a limited number of seats. So friends, if it's something you want to see, don't hesitate. Pull the trigger right away. Get on this. How many of you can't wait to get your copy of War of the Watchers? You fascinate me. Derek and Sharon Gilbert, we love you guys. Thank you so much for this important work. I could not be prouder to have been able to publish this masterpiece. Book one of the what I assume will be two. Stay tuned for the next one. Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, we're all out of time for everybody here in studio. Everybody up here on panel, Derek, Sharon, my beautiful mother, my best friend, my beautiful wife, Katharine Donna Howell. Thank you so much for being right here at Skywatch TV again this week. I'm Joe Artis Horne. Keep your eyes on the prize, which is. Jesus Christ. We'll be back, Sam.

Summary6 min read

Podcast Summary: SkyWatchTV – "Biblical Bashan In Bible Prophecy?"

Date: August 9, 2026
Host: Joe Ardis Horn
Guests: Derek Gilbert (Author, scholar), Sharon Gilbert (Author, broadcaster)

Overview & Main Theme

This episode delves deep into the biblical and prophetic significance of Bashan, a region with rich supernatural and geographical context in Scripture, and its role in interpreting biblical events, notably the ministry of Jesus. The discussion centers around Derek Gilbert’s new book "War of the Watchers: From BAAL to Balfour," which explores how ancient supernatural conflicts—especially around Mount Hermon and Bashan—intersect with biblical prophecy, geography, and the origins of modern Israel. Together with co-guest Sharon Gilbert, the team examines how physical locations in the Bible are more than historical curiosities; they are central to understanding God’s narrative and prophetic unfolding from ancient times to modern geopolitical realities.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Supernatural Geography of the Bible

Opening Connections ([00:00]):
- Joe Ardis Horn introduces the connections between geography, history, and the supernatural in biblical texts.
- Emphasizes that locations in Scripture aren’t arbitrary, but carry theological and prophetic resonance.
Derek Gilbert’s Book Introduction ([02:28]):
- Derek’s new book brings fresh insight into the Nephilim, Watchers, the Flood, and spiritual warfare.
- Focuses on how the Book of Enoch, though not canonical, influenced New Testament language—especially around the "Son of Man"—and messianic expectation among first-century Jews.

2. The Book of Enoch and the "Son of Man"

Historical Context of 1 Enoch ([03:19]):
- Written in parts over centuries, especially influential just before Jesus’ ministry.
- The "Book of Parables" section (ch. 37-71), likely written by Essenes (Jewish sect), introduces a unique messianic figure: the Son of Man—an explicit foretelling of a divine agent of judgment.
  
  Derek Gilbert: "In that section, he's given a name before the creation of all things, and he will sit on God's throne... They're saying this character is the second power in heaven. He is the angel of Yahweh. He is the Messiah." ([07:22])
- The concept of the "Son of Man" is thus not a generic phrase but is rooted specifically in the supernatural worldview of this Jewish community on the eve of Christ’s appearance.

3. The Significance of Geography in Jesus' Ministry

Galilee, Bashan, and Mount Hermon ([09:38]):
- Jesus’ activities—his baptism, ministry, and confrontations with evil—occurred in territory considered by ancient Jews as “enemy ground” (Bashan: “Place of the Serpent”; haunt of Rephaim, or spirits of giants).
- Geography as spiritual statement: Jesus ministered precisely in contested spaces to declare sovereignty over realms associated with demonic influence.
  
  Derek Gilbert: "That region…between Mount Hermon and the Sea of Galilee was considered the domain of the Rephaim…Jesus based his ministry there…basically saying, get off my land." ([10:45])
Disputing the Baptismal Site ([11:18]):
- Challenges UNESCO’s location for Jesus’ baptism (near Jericho); argues original event was north of the Sea of Galilee, in ancient Bashan (Botania/Bethania), based on textual and archaeological data.
  
  Derek Gilbert: "Bethania…is probably a Hellenized or Greek version of the Latin name Botania, which is Bashan. Bashan across the Jordan…north of the Sea of Galilee." ([12:00])
- Jesus’ baptism, wilderness temptation, and key miracles (e.g., feeding the 5,000) all took place on spiritually charged territory, reinforcing the theme of divine conflict and reclamation.
  
  Derek Gilbert: "This all happened in enemy territory. Bashan…the literal ‘place of the serpent.’" ([15:06])

4. Biblical Prophecy & The Watchers

Mount Hermon ([07:00] & [08:50]):
- The story of the Watchers (fallen angels) descending on Mount Hermon is central for understanding why Jesus’ declaration of his messiahship at Caesarea Philippi is set there.
  
  Derek Gilbert: "On this rock…I will establish my congregation…and the gates of hell, which is this really big cave right over here, will not prevail against it. You do that in front of a group and they realize…Jesus wasn’t just using poetic language. This is a real place." ([08:30])

5. Jewish-Christian Divergence & Spiritual Conflict

The Jewish-Christian Split ([17:35]):
- The full separation didn’t take place until the Bar Kokhba revolt (132 AD), with Christians refusing to follow Bar Kokhba as Messiah, leading to spiritual and communal rift.
- Ongoing implications: spiritual conflict and opportunities for reconciliation.
  
  Sharon Gilbert: "Now we are grafted into that wonderful set apart tree that is Israel and we shouldn’t be fighting with them." ([19:23])

6. From Prophecy to Modern Zionism

Why Focus on 19th Century Events? ([19:42]):
- Modern Zionism’s emergence is tied not just to biblical prophecy but the harsh realities and pogroms faced by Jews in Europe and Russia.
- Napoleon’s emancipation was temporary; post-1815 restoration of ghettos prompted Jewish protests and migration, ultimately catalyzing the drive to reclaim Palestine.
  
  Derek Gilbert: "Beginning in the 19th century…Jews began emigrating…because it was essentially desolate at that time…a place called Palestine." ([22:04])
Theodore Herzl: The Modern Moses ([23:20]):
- Herzl, a secular Jew, was moved by the plight of Jews in Europe and against his personal inclination, led the Zionist movement, acting out a prophetic role akin to Moses—opening the door to Israel’s rebirth though not living to see it.
  
  Derek Gilbert: "He was sort of like Moses, a reluctant leader. He didn’t really want this responsibility...Lack of sleep, not paying attention to his health. He died young, age 45." ([24:05])
- He founded the World Zionist Congress; ultimately, his vision led to the creation of Tel Aviv, symbolically fulfilling ancient-biblical hopes.
  
  Sharon Gilbert: "'Alt Neuland', means Old New Land…when translated into English, the title became Tel Aviv." ([26:31])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the Spiritual Importance of Place:
- "Jesus wasn’t just using poetic language. This is a real place."
  — Derek Gilbert ([08:30])
On the ‘Son of Man’ in Prophecy:
- "He’s given a name before the creation of all things…and he will sit on God's throne. In other words…he is the Messiah."
  — Derek Gilbert ([07:22])
On Modern Zionism:
- "The rope is at their necks and still they resist…this cost [Herzl] his marriage, his family, his health…"
  — Derek Gilbert ([25:30])
On the Jewish-Christian Split:
- "If we want them to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to be reflecting the love that he showed us by grafting us in. Romans, chapter 11 is all about that."
  — Derek Gilbert ([19:31])

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment Description | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------------------|-----------| | Introduction to the Watchers & Book of Enoch | 00:00-03:19| | Enoch’s “Son of Man” & Essene context | 03:19-07:22| | Jesus at Mount Hermon & Petra significance | 07:22-09:38| | Geography as spiritual warfare: Bashan and Jesus’ ministry | 09:38-11:18| | Disputing baptism site: Bethania/Botania (Bashan) | 11:18-15:49| | Commercial Break (skipped) | 15:49-17:35| | Jewish-Christian split & Bar Kokhba revolt | 17:35-19:42| | The rise of modern Zionism: 19th century anti-Semitism | 19:42-23:20| | Theodore Herzl and Zionist Congress | 23:20-26:41| | Endnotes & call to action | 26:57-end |

Conclusion

This episode presents a compelling fusion of biblical geography, supernatural worldview, and modern prophetic interpretation. Derek Gilbert’s scholarship highlights how places like Bashan and Mount Hermon are not simply backdrops to biblical events, but keys to understanding the ongoing cosmic conflict—and how Jesus’ ministry dramatically confronted ancient powers on their own “turf.” Linking these biblical threads to the rise of modern Israel and the ongoing implications for Jews and Christians, the hosts stress both thoughtful research and respectful engagement. The episode concludes with an invitation to deepen understanding—whether through travel to these sites or study of Derek and Sharon Gilbert’s works—affirming that prophecy continues to unfold in real locations with real people.

Find more: gilberthouse.org/travel ([27:08])
Suggested reading:

"War of the Watchers: From BAAL to Balfour" – Derek Gilbert
"The Second Coming of Saturn" – Derek Gilbert
"The Redwing Saga" – Sharon Gilbert

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Transcript41 lines

[00:00]
A
The Book of Enoch, the ministry of geography, history and the supernatural world of the Bible. All of it may be more connected than most people realize. But what if the exact locations in Scripture aren't just background details, but a part of the message itself? Does it even matter where Jesus walked, taught and was baptized? And could those locations shape how we understand his ministry? Why has the story of the Watchers and Mount Hermon fascinated theologians for generations? We're going to explore all of this with our special guest right now. Hello everybody and welcome to Skywatch tv. I'm Joe Arteshorn. Today we continue what was an absolutely groundbreaking discussion from last week. A brand new book from Defender Publishing. But before I reveal which one it is, the let me introduce who's here. His broadcasting career has spanned for more than 40 years. He's the best selling author of the groundbreaking books Last Clash of the Titans, the Great inception and the second coming of Saturn. Mr. Derek Gilbert. And she's a legend and pioneer of podcast radio. Christian television personality and best selling author of the Red Wing Saga, Sharon Gilbert, Ladies and gentlemen, to tell you something you may or may not be aware of my father, the first time I ever heard the word, and I'm not making this up, this was way back, what, 2005 or 6? Yeah, probably 2005. He used a word I'd never heard of before. He said the word podcast. Now guess whose names were subsequently mentioned right away. Derek and Sharon Gilbert. Before I even knew who you people were, my father was reciting you, he was learning from you, he was reading your works, he was listening to your podcasts and he called you the pioneers of podcasts. Now tell me. Cause I saw this in social media recently. You guys now have over what, 1 million plays on your.
[02:17]
B
Just on our app. Yes, our mobile app.
[02:19]
A
On your mobile app alone. Oh my God, this is nuts. This is kingdom building stuff, guys.
[02:25]
C
Yeah,
[02:28]
A
Derek is back with a brand new book from Defender Publishing that I said last week my father would be absolutely proud of. Somehow Derek has managed to take the conversation of the Nephilim, fallen angels, the Flood, and he's brought brand new illumination to it. We're gonna bring this up on the screen for you. It's entitled War of the Watchers from BAAL to Balfour. Derek, most people who have heard about the Book of Enoch are familiar with the story of the rebellious Watchers who descended to Mount Hermon and conspired to create giant offspring and corrupt human through forbidden knowledge. This is something that the great Dr. Michael Heiser spoke about. My father of Course spoke about this. Yet you bring new illumination. You write, there's another reason the Book of Enoch is so important for Christians. I want to start today with that question. What is it?
[03:19]
B
Yeah. Based on relatively recent research, I mean, we're talking within the last 10, 20 years, scholars who've been digging into the book of 1 Enoch. And I will say again for the record, 1 Enoch is not in the Bible and there are good reasons for it. There are some internal inconsistencies which you would not find in Scripture. But there are things in there that show up in the New Testament in the teachings of Paul, the writings of Peter and Jude, and in the teachings of Jesus himself. And because based on the scholarly consensus that the Book of Enoch, which was written in about five different sections between the 4th century BC and right up to the time of Jesus birth, the silent centuries, so called, between the Book of Malachi at the end of the Old Testament and the Gospel of Matthew, were not silent at all. The second section of the book of 1 Enoch, the one people are most familiar with, of course, is the first section, chapters 1 through 36, referred to as the Book of the Watchers, beginning at chapter 37 and through chapter 71 scholars call the Book of Parables or the Book of Similitudes. This was probably written in the last quarter of the first century B.C. in other words, right before the birth of John the Baptist of Jesus of Nazareth. And there are writings in there. This is a prophetic section where the writings of these were probably Essenes who wrote this? Essenes. Not at Qumran. Actually, the Qumran community was established later. It split off from the group of Essenes who lived in the north in the Galilee. And based on the style of writing and the fact that a recent, just within the last couple decades, an Essene village was located on the slopes of a mountain called Mount Arbel, which is just across the road literally from the ancient city of Magdala where Mary Magdalene was from, which is on the shore, northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It's a really striking mountain because it's like a vertical cliff face and a 90 degree peak on top. And when you look at it, you can see it from the boats on the Sea of Galilee, which you can see when you come with us to Israel in October. Information at our website.
[05:32]
A
Give the website because people are going to want to know now.
[05:34]
B
Gilberthouse.org travel and there are caves on the front side of that mountain where these Essenes, they literally had to access their homes through rope ladders.
[05:47]
C
Oh wow.
[05:48]
B
They wrote this second section, chapters 37, 71, the last section completed, even though it's not the last section in the book. And they make mention of a coming messianic figure called the Anointed One, the Chosen One and the Son of Man. Now, this is the first time that that phrase, the Son of Man, is used as a title now derives from Daniel, chapter seven, where Daniel looks to the heavens and he sees one like a Son of man next to the ancient of days. In Old Testament parlance vernacular, that means there's a human up there next to Yahweh. Ezekiel, in the Book of Ezekiel is called Son of Man by the angel who's taking him around something like 90 times or something like that. Doesn't mean that Ezekiel was the Son of man. It just means the angel saying, hey, human, come here, look at this. But in the book of 1 Enoch, chapters 37, 71, it is clear in that section that this character with a defined role, he basically, he's coming back and he's going to execute God's judgment on evil landowners and wicked kings and these rebellious angels. He's got a job, the Son of Man. And according to that book of first Enoch, in that section, he's given a name before the creation of all things, and he will sit on God's throne. In other words, they're saying this character is the second power in heaven. He is the angel of Yahweh. He is the Messiah. He is what we Christians would know as Jesus. And you know, of course, coming again, this was new stuff, because, again, this does not appear in any prior Jewish writing, in other words, the Old Testament or any other known Jewish writing from the Second Temple period before this was revealed to the Essenes living at the Sea of Galilee in the years just before the birth of Jesus. And then 30 years later, Jesus is out there saying, who do people say the Son of Man is? And his followers, they'd heard of the title. They just said, what are you talking about? No, they argued. Some say Elijah, some say Jeremiah. We're not sure. We don't know. We've heard of him, but who is he? And then he says to Peter, who do you say that I am? Peter says, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus confirms it. And it was at the base of Mount Hermon Caesarea Philippi, in front of the Grotto of Pan. And we've been there three times now. And you read that section from Matthew, chapter 16, where he says, blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, by another guy, you know, some guy on the Internet, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Petros. He's wordplay now. You are Peter. And on this rock, this 9200 foot mountain that the Canaanites believe is basically their Mount Olympus, where their gods meet, I will establish my congregation, my ecclesia. And the gates of hell, which is this really big cave right over here, will not prevail against it. You do that in front of a group and they realize, wait a minute, Jesus wasn't just using poetic language. This is a real place. Again, jaws drop. That's my reaction. The first time I ever heard that. Our good friend Dr. Jud Burton, in an interview 25 years ago, 20 years ago, heard that on a podcast while I was mowing the lawn. I was like, oh, the whole world just shifted. This was a real place. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And now we've been blessed to be there three times and you can see it with us in October.
[09:34]
A
Wink, wink. Visit the website.
[09:37]
B
It's amazing.
[09:38]
A
One of the things that you do with your new book that is so important, and it's made very obviously important by the way you framework this in the book that I think a lot of people miss when they talk about the life and times of the disciples or even the mission of Jesus Christ. They might say something like Galilee, but they don't tie together the significance of the precise locale. So in your view, how important is the geography of the very mission of Jesus? In other words, why does it matter where he got baptized, what he did, why he did it? How does that tie in?
[10:13]
B
Basically, the concept of holy ground. God declared that Israel would belong to him, and it's understood. We even see it going back into the time of Elisha the prophet, where Naaman, who was a servant of the king of Aram in Damascus, comes to Israel to get healed because BAAL wasn't able to do anything for him. And he comes to Israel and he gets healed in the Jordan river. And so he takes a couple of basket loads of earth back to Damascus with him. Because it's understood, this ground is sacred to Yahweh. And I will now become a servant of Yahweh, a follower of Yahweh. Yahweh, please forgive me when I have to go into the temple of BAAL with my master. This, I think, is echoed in the time of Jesus when he bases his ministry there at the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Again, that region as we discussed last week between Mount Hermon and the Sea of Galilee was considered the domain of the Rephaim. These demonic spirits of the giants were destroyed in the flood of Noah. Jesus based his ministry there, began casting out demons left, right and center, which we don't see in the Old Testament. Why? Basically saying, get off my land.
[11:18]
A
You argue that the consensus location for the baptismal site of Jesus is wrong.
[11:24]
B
Yeah.
[11:24]
A
And that is, you know, turning heads, I think. Go ahead.
[11:27]
B
Yeah. Even some friends of ours, credentialed archaeologists who we respect, will argue and defend this site that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which is down near Jericho on the Jordan side of the river. In fact, the Kingdom of Jordan, spending something like 300 million doll to develop it into a tourist site.
[11:43]
C
Yep. Tourism will become his income stream.
[11:46]
B
Yeah. And we don't fault them for that. Jordan's very proud actually of their, of its biblical history. And they welcome Christians to visit there because a lot happened east of the Jordan River. So I think the geography where he did what he did was essentially a declaration of war. And we see that beginning with his baptism in John, chapter one, the geographical clues are there. John is confronted by the priests and Levites from Jerusalem. Why are you doing this? What gives you the authority to do this? And then we read in verse 28, these things happen in Bethany, across the Jordan. Well, for 2,000 years, Christians have been trying to find a place called Bethany east of the Jordan River. The only one that everyone has ever heard of is on the Mount of Olives. Well, that's not east of the Jordan or across the Jordan. But in 1872, an explorer by the name of Claude Conder, working for the Palestine Exploration Fund, sent by the Crown of England, they were actually collecting intel for the British Foreign Office because the Ottoman Empire was collapsing. But they did good archaeology as well. He wrote Condor did that. The name Bethany in the Greek, in the oldest manuscripts is Bethania. He said that is probably a Hellenized or Greek version of the Latin name Botania, which is Bashan. Bashan across the Jordan, in other words, north of the Sea of Galilee. And that's confirmed because we see after John is confronted, the next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold the Lamb of God. And of course, that was the time Jesus gets baptized. John bore witness. I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. Verse 35. The next day, again, John was standing with two of his disciples. They begin to follow Jesus. One of them is Andrew, brother of Peter. He runs Home to get Peter. Now, we learn from further down that Peter, Andrew and Philip, the third disciple called, are from a town called Bethsaida. Bethsaida is two miles north of the Sea of Galilee. We also know from the Gospel of Mark that Peter and Andrew were partners with James and John in a fishing business on the Sea of Galilee. Now, the site that Jordan is developing is 90 miles away. You're going to walk 90 miles, it's going to take you a week at best. There's no way Andrew ran home to get Peter from 90 miles away, much less be in a fishing business on the Sea of Galilee. This all happened north of the Sea of Galilee. And in fact, we think we've identified the location and it just happens to be below a megalithic structure called Kherbet, which means in Arabic, Ruins of Bethsaida. It's on the bank of the Jordan river, about a mile and a half north of the Sea of Galilee. And right there, there's a stretch about three quarters of a mile long where the bank slopes down about 100ft. Gentle slope makes a perfect natural theater for a preacher to be standing down there at the river. Thousands. Because our friend Doug Van Dorn also thinks this is where Jesus fed the 5,000.
[14:52]
C
Wow.
[14:53]
B
Listening to the preacher and people getting baptized in the river down there, it's really incredible. Yeah. Our good friend Aaron Lipkin of Lipkin Tours is the one who shared this drone footage with us. But we believe that's why it took place there. And immediately from there, Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days. Wilderness? Well, Bashan is essentially a wilderness. It was in the first century A.D. there were not many settlements and villages. Haunt of the Rephaim. That would be a perfect place for Jesus and the demons to torment him for 40 days. Not the wilderness of Judea down near En Gedi, west of the Dead Sea. This all happened in enemy territory. Bashan, the literal. The place of the serpent. That's what the name means in Hebrew. Place of the serpent. And known for thousands of years by the Canaanites, the Israelites, the Amorites, all the Ites. And as the literal entrance to the netherworld.
[15:49]
C
Wow. Wow.
[15:58]
A
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we want to remind you that Skywatch TV is a viewer supported ministry. And right now, when you partner with us, your support not only helps us stay on the air, it also enables us to continue the mission through our networks and digital platforms, reach areas of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ that are unable to support us financially. Right now. Last for your donation of only $45 or more. We're not only going to send you Derek Gilbert's brand new book War of the Watchers from BAAL to Balfour, but we're also going to send you his all time best selling book, the Second Coming of the Great Conjunction and the Return of the Watchers with the exclusive 13 part companion DVD featuring Derek Gilbert as he walks you through ancient artifacts, maps and other teaching tools on the subject of the second coming of Saturn. These amazing works sold separately hold a retail value of $70. Yours now for your donation of only $45 or more, which includes free shipping to all US addresses. So again, your support helps Skywatch TV continue reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You can scan the QR code on your screen using the camera app on your phone for instant access to this special opportunity. You can also visit us at Skywatch t or call 1-844-750-4985 and ask for the Derek Gilbert War of the Watchers special offer right now. It is not an opportunity that you're going to want to miss out on.
[17:35]
C
So Derek, when did the split between the Jews and the Christians take place?
[17:40]
B
I think a lot of us assume it took place after the crucifixion, but that's not really true. For another century, Christians would still attend synagogue. We see that even in the Book of Acts, you know, Paul teaching in synagogues and going around. Christians were sort of like the oddball cousins of their Jewish brothers and sisters, but they were still welcome in the synagogue. It was in the year 132 AD when the emperor Hadrian really provoked the Jews by what he wanted to do in the temple, basically to desecrate the Temple. And a really dynamic military leader by the name of Simon Barkosova raised an army and a rabbi who's still very well respected to this day. Rabbi Akiva said that he's the Messiah and nicknamed him Simon bar Kokva, which means star. That's a reference to the prophecy of Balaam in numbers, chapter 24, that a star would rise from Jacob.
[18:34]
C
Oh wow.
[18:34]
B
And so said, okay, he's the Messiah. And Christians are like, no. Because our Jesus said when he was going to return, he'd be in the clouds with great glory. Simon, that's not you. So Christians refused to fight for him. And then according to writings of later Christians like Justin Martyr writing about 30 years later, said that Simon had imprisoned some and mutilated others, like cutting off their thumbs and fingers and stuff. And so that led to a really nasty split between Jews and Christians. And in fact, Justin Martyr, when he wrote a letter to the Roman Senate about defending the Christian faith, made a point of saying, but we Christians are loyal subjects of the Emperor, not like those rebellious Jews. So that led to the split and Satan and his minions have exploited that spiritually since then and it has not healed to this day.
[19:24]
C
Now we are grafted into that wonderful set apart tree that is Israel and we shouldn't be fighting with them.
[19:32]
B
Exactly, yeah, yeah. I mean, if we want them to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to be reflecting the love that he showed us by grafting us in. Romans, chapter 11 is all about that.
[19:42]
A
Derek, you skip over the Middle Ages in your book and focus on the 19th century as especially important for understanding modern Zionism. Now, what happened in the 19th century that provoked the creation of political Zionism?
[19:57]
B
Yeah, the Middle Ages, there were a lot of incidents and episodes that we could have covered, but for the sake of brevity, I skipped over that because the 19th century is really where things ramped up with. I think Jew hatred is probably a better term than anti Semitism because Arabs are Semites and many of them are not Jewish. But beginning in the 19th century, when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered most of Europe, he actually emancipated. Now, this was not really because he had a soft spot in his heart for Jews. It's because he wanted them to become good Frenchmen. And so if they were emancipated and they could work in, any Jew, unlike previously where they were confined to ghettos, could only work in certain professions. Napoleon thought that if they were free to do whatever they wanted, they would become good Frenchmen and he could make them good French citizens. Well, after Waterloo in 1815, the European leaders who succeeded Bonaparte said, nah, we're not doing that. And they went back to the old ways and put the Jews back in ghettos. And that led to a lot of hard feelings because after getting a taste of freedom, obviously Jews began protesting. We want to be able to live our lives and, you know, practice our religion freely. And the rulers of the German states, the Vatican, they did not like that idea. They were wanting to put them back into the same conditions that existed before Napoleon. In Russia, there were many examples of violence and riots that took place against Jews, not just in what we think of as Russia proper today, but in Ukraine, which was part of Russia back then.
[21:39]
A
Right.
[21:39]
B
This accelerated after 1881 when Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. One of the conspirators in the plot had Jewish ancestry, but she wasn't really Jewish in any meaningful sense. I mean, if you're willing to commit murder. I mean, obviously the Old Testament has a lot to say about that. But because it made for a convenient scapegoat, suddenly there were programs that were backed by the government to drive the Jews out. In fact, one of the advisors to Alexander III said that a series of laws called the May Laws, which were supposed to be temporary and of course, like income tax, they were never temporary, were intended to make a third of the Jews convert and be baptized, a third of them to emigrate, to leave the country altogether, and a third to starve to death. That was the point of the laws. And so Jews began because they had nothing else to hold them to the land. I mean, they were losing their villages. They were being driven out. At one point, there was a pilgrim that drove literally 20,000 Jews out of Moscow. Just leave. Get out. We don't care where you go, but you can't stay here. So they began emigrating to other places. And one of the places they went to, because it was essentially desolate at that time, was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, a place called Palestine. Now, the Arabs there were not really happy about that. They began petitioning the Ottoman rulers in Constantinople, Istanbul, you know, please stop the immigration. But basically, the 19th century became so unbearable for Jews in Europe and especially in Russia, that they couldn't stay. They had to go.
[23:20]
A
One of the people that you introduce in your book, and I think this is probably going to be a bit of a reveal to a lot of viewers here at Skywatch tv, this man named Theodore Herzl. Now, you've called him a modern Moses. Why is that?
[23:35]
B
He was sort of like Moses, a reluctant leader. He didn't really want this responsibility. In fact, he was a secular. He was not a religious Jew. He was a successful playwright and journalist in Vienna and then Paris. And it was sort of thrust on him. And when you read his writings from his journal, there are some who believe that an incident called the Dreyfus Affair, that the way that that trial was conducted, where a French artillery officer was framed for espionage and sent to Devil's island, which is just as pleasant as the name would sound, that that's what inspired Herzl. But you read Herzl's writings, and that's not during the writing of a play prior to the Dreyfus Affair, he suddenly just was consumed with this idea that he had to do something for his fellow Jews. He saw what was happening to the Jews in Russia and to the fact that no matter how hard educated Jews tried to abide by the law, to be good citizens of France or the German principalities or the Vatican territories. They were still being discriminated against and driven out. And so he called together leaders of what had been a slow moving movement called Zionism. The First World Zionist Congress took place in Switzerland in 1892. I think that's right. As we've learned about Israelis, they argue with each other more than we Americans argue. And Herzl found the same to be true there. They considered different possibilities. The British Foreign Office offered land in Uganda and he said, well, maybe we can do that. And some of the members, delegates at the World Zionist Congress actually fainted when they heard this. It was a little histrionic, over the top. Herzl said the rope is at their necks and still they resist. This cost him his marriage, his family, his health. And again, being a secular Jew, not even recognizing, like In Isaiah chapter 6, when God says, who will go for us? Herzl said, here I am, Send me. And I don't even know if he realized that that's what he did or what he was doing at the time, but it consumed him. Lack of sleep, not paying attention to his health. He died young, age 45. But he is considered a hero in modern Israel. And we had the opportunity to visit his tomb on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, which is the equivalent of the Arlington National Cemetery for us Americans. And Herzl, whether he knew it or not, was the one who opened the door and led the way to what became the modern state of Israel, even though he never lived to see it. Just like Moses, he wrote a novel
[26:31]
C
called in German called Alt Neuland, means Old New Land. But when it was translated into English, the title became Tel Aviv. Oh wow.
[26:42]
B
And hence the name of the community, which was the city, by the way. A name of a community where Ezekiel had gathered with the exiles in Babylon, Tel Aviv. So again, like Moses, he never lived to see that land, but he is now buried there.
[26:58]
A
Derek, would you. One more time for those that are still curious, like what is the website? I've decided I want to go on this trip with you all to Israel and see all of this for myself. Can you give the website?
[27:08]
B
It's Gilberthouse.org travel Gilberthouse.org travel 10-11-23 and then there's an optional three day extension to go over to Jordan and see some fantastic sites there, including Petra.
[27:21]
A
Yeah, and there's always a limited number of seats. So friends, if it's something you want to see, don't hesitate. Pull the trigger right away. Get on this. How many of you can't wait to get your copy of War of the Watchers? You fascinate me. Derek and Sharon Gilbert, we love you guys. Thank you so much for this important work. I could not be prouder to have been able to publish this masterpiece. Book one of the what I assume will be two. Stay tuned for the next one. Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, we're all out of time for everybody here in studio. Everybody up here on panel, Derek, Sharon, my beautiful mother, my best friend, my beautiful wife, Katharine Donna Howell. Thank you so much for being right here at Skywatch TV again this week. I'm Joe Artis Horne. Keep your eyes on the prize, which is. Jesus Christ. We'll be back, Sam.