PSALM 82 is a courtroom scene in heaven. This psalm is the source of the term “divine council,” a concept well known in the ancient Near East. The high god in the pantheon was believed to preside over a group of lesser gods, who were tasked with carrying out the will of the king of the pantheon. But in the religions of Babylon, Canaan, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc., the lower gods were part of a polytheistic pantheon. This is a twisted version of God’s council. We see God’s divine assembly in action in Job 1 and 2, and especially in 1 Kings 22, where God asks the council for recommendations on how to lure King Ahab to go to war with the Syrians where he will fall in battle. To be clear, God doesn’t need a council to carry out His will. He created one for His pleasure, because He desires family. However, just as with us humans, the spirits in the unseen realm were created with free will, and many of them chose to rebel against His authority. What we see in Psalm 82, then, is God passing judgment on those lesser elohim, the “sons of the Most High,” for exercising their free will to “judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked”. As a result of their mismanagement of creation, which threatened the very “foundations of the earth,” God decreed that these small-G god will die like men. We also discuss the New English Translation’s rendering of Psalm 82:1, in which Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “stands in the assembly of El,” the creator-god of the Canaanites, to pass judgment on the gods of Canaan! Was that a prophecy of the Transfiguration of Jesus on the summit of Mount Hermon? Here’s the link to the paper by Dr. Michael Heiser explaining Jesus’ quotation of Psalm 82:6 in John 10:34 (link opens a PDF document) 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 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) Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF) The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch . Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch Follow us! X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation Substack: GilbertHouse.substack.com Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel . Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate . Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech! The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/ . Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site! Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store ! Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store . Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org .
