Courts of Heaven Archives

The Court of Heaven – Enforcing the Verdict

by Praying Medic | Mar 3, 2018 | Blog, Courts of Heaven

When we learn to operate in the courts of heaven, most of us begin in the court of accusation where we receive a verdict from the Judge concerning a particular issue. One question I’m often asked is what to do if the ruling of the court does not immediately manifest here on earth?

Many people believe that once they’ve appeared in the court of heaven and received a ruling, their part in the process is over. It’s up to God to enforce heaven’s verdict. But God is not the enforcer of His will on earth.

The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
Ps 115:16

God has given us control of the affairs of earth. It’s why we endure war and suffering, despite the fact that they’re not God’s will. Jesus gave us power and authority to help us rightly govern the affairs of earth.

A verdict from the court of heaven gives us a legal ruling that reveals heaven’s will. It doesn’t guarantee that the kingdom of darkness will honor that ruling. Our appearance in the court of heaven makes us aware of God’s will. The enforcement of His will—revealed in His rulings—is our responsibility. In heaven, we’re something like attorneys. On earth, we’re more like police officers.

A friend sent me his testimony of the battles he’s had that illustrate this principle.

Enforcing Court Decisions
Years ago, I was the national sales manager for a construction products company. The product we sold required certification of code compliance because building projects have to be done according to the building code. Our product was controversial. It saved construction costs and energy. This meant that there would be some trade workers who would not be doing the same amount of work as before. Less work equals less money to be paid by the owner. In our case, it meant the project didn’t need a lot of expensive sheet metal, rooftop exhaust fans, and fire-rated chase.

At this point, politics came into play as sheet metal unions, electrical unions and so forth got involved. This meant our product would not be approved by an affected building code department because of political pressure.

In Florida, we went to court and ended up in the Florida Supreme Court. We got a favorable ruling. This ruling stated that our product met the Southern Standard Building Code which the state of Florida had adopted. Therefore, our product was deemed in compliance with all state and municipal building codes.

Yeah for the good guys! We won. All our problems with local code boards were over. Right?

Ah – No.

We had to hire a high-powered code consultant. After our product was rejected by a code department, and we informed them of the Florida Supreme Court Decision and gave them a copy of that decision, sometimes things proceeded nicely. Other times, we had to hire a lawyer and take them to court to enforce the high court’s decision.

In most cases, the building code departments knew they would lose but made us spend time and money anyway in hope that we would walk away. We did walk away sometimes because it got to be expensive. So, even with the law on our side, it was up to us to enforce a court decision in our favor. This is so much like our reason for the Prayer of Petition or as you teach: the Courts of Heaven.

For more information on the court of heaven, check out my book Defeating Your Adversary in the Court of Heaven.

Court of Heaven: “I Couldn’t Understand What They Were Saying”

by Praying Medic | Oct 27, 2017 | Blog, Courts of Heaven

This testimony was sent to me by a reader who was inspired to go to the court of heaven after reading a recent story.

I had been planning to go to a conference ever since January. I invited a woman to go with me. She is a Spirit-filled woman. Well, 2 days before we were supposed to leave, my leg began giving me problems. It’s hard to explain but just wasn’t working right. I stretched my hips and back and it was a little better but was an issue the whole trip. I had set if you will, some guidelines before we went on the trip:

No negativity.
If you want to receive, you must go expecting something good. And negativity feeds satan’s realm, so no negativity.

Well, it lasted one day of a five-day trip.

The negativity, griping and complaining was so bad, I felt slimed. I was shutting down so bad that I just got quiet. I couldn’t seem to say anything about it or I would just jump into that negativity bucket. I prayed in the Spirit and was quiet. I kept saying your emotional healing prayer so as not to get angry or frustrated.

When I returned home, I was trying to shake it off and I wasn’t doing so good, I read your post and while at work, I was able to take a minute and I went to the Courts of Heaven.

Interestingly, I was standing in the courtroom and to my right, were these ugly demons, screaming and growling and like in a movie, reaching way out into the room. I couldn’t even understand what they were saying but they kept getting louder and uglier. I turned to the Judge and cried out “I plead the Blood of Jesus.”

All of a sudden, the demons were sucked out of the Courtroom and they were gone. The Judge slammed down His gavel. I asked for a decree and He gave me a scroll of paper. Immediately, I felt better. The slimming was gone and my knee was better. I couldn’t understand a word the demons were saying, so I don’t even know what I was being accused of.

Oh well, the Judge knew. Hallelujah!!

For more information, check out my book Defeating Your Adversary in the Court of Heaven.

Healing Breakthrough in the Courts of Heaven

by Praying Medic | Oct 19, 2017 | Blog, Courts of Heaven, Featured Court of Heaven, witchcraft

My guest blogger is Stephanie Easley, who shares a testimony of healing back pain.This article is being shared with the author’s permission. It was originally posted here.

Ever since I watched David Joseph, aka Praying Medic, on Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural, I’ve found the Lord leading me to minister and pray for healing amongst many of my chiropractic patients. This is when I first began to speak to my patients about the Lord and how He’s led me to pray for some of them. Sometimes He leads me to just pray, and other times He has me share a word with them as well. He seems to have a strategy behind all of this. At times He wants me to share a word first, then other times He wants me to share a word after He’s healed them. All of this plays out during the same visit.

A couple of months ago, the Lord sent me a 22 year-old female with severe low back pain, and severe pain radiating down her left leg. She was in tears and could barely move. It was one of the worse cases I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been doing this for 14 years. Her back was so hot, it defrosted 2 gel ice packs while she waited to see me. Our attempt to transfer her from the treatment table to the adjusting table was unsuccessful; so in order to make some progress, I figured I should pray for healing first this time. Normally, since my new patients have sought out chiropractic services, I serve in this capacity before asking them if I can pray for their healing.

I explained to her how I usually work; but since she was in so much pain, I asked if I could pray for her first. She answered, “Yes”. Since she was so emotional, I started out by praying for her emotional healing, then moved on to pray for the back and leg pain to leave. I made sure to be very detailed when I prayed for the anatomy involved. After praying for about 5-10 minutes, I asked how she felt; but unfortunately, there was absolutely no change. This is uncommon when I pray for people. Their pain usually goes away, or decreases considerably, and rather quickly I might add. When this didn’t happen, I thought, “Uh-oh, this is going to take longer than I expected.”

“For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit: to another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, in the one Spirit; and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits: to another divers kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally even as he will.”
1 Corinthians 12:8-12

I knew for a fact that she would be leaving with at least some relief, so I needed to discern what the Lord’s strategy was going to be this time. I understood that He wanted me to share a word with her as well, and it wasn’t going to take just 5 minutes either. Admittedly, I’ve had some trouble in this department lately…At times, I end up talking to an attentive patient for well over an hour, about the incredible things that most people just skim over in the Bible. This backs me up with patient care and note-taking like you can’t imagine. While writing this, I’ve just realized that Praying Medic most likely had a time limit with his patients, since they were usually being transported in the back of an ambulance. I need to remember this in the future.

I knew I was dealing with something tough, with both the patient, and the sister who brought her in. The patient continued to wail and cry every time she moved, and the sister who brought her in started to feel anxious. Then, instead of praying for relief and healing for the patient with me, the sister became increasingly agitated over the entire situation. Something definitely manifested on the sister as soon as I started praying for the patient. She clearly felt uncomfortable and became increasingly unhappy with me. She eventually lost her temper and caused a scene by yelling and carrying on, about what specifically, I really can’t remember. I continued to pray and by the grace of the Lord, was unfazed and unrattled by this distraction, however, I thought to ask my angels, in the spirit, to remove the strongholds of the enemy – the nuisance, attempting to stop me.

Within minutes of my request, the sister jumped up out of her seat and stormed outdoors, yelling expletives along with the phrase, “We didn’t go to church today!”. It was at this point, that I started to walk around the table the patient was laying on, and the Lord showed me in big, black letters, the word “WITCHCRAFT” across the entire length of the patient’s body. After I saw this, I thought, oh boy, this is all new territory for me. It was all very surreal. The Lord definitely stepped up my game on this day.

At some point, the sister came back inside, and was calm, as if nothing had ever happened. This was short-lived, however, because the same scenario played out again, except this time the exchange between the sisters escalated. Immediately following the sisters’ departure the second time, (which occurred after I asked my angels for a second hand), I knelt down beside the patient, and with all sincerity, looked into her face and finally said, “I know what will work.” I tried to just educate her on the court of accusations held in heaven, but stopped abruptly after I heard the Holy Spirit tell me, “Walk her through it.” It was at that moment I realized The Holy Spirit wanted me to walk her through an actual court case right there.

Obediently, I asked her to picture herself standing in front of God in His courtroom, and to ask Him what the enemy is accusing her of in relation to her back. I told her that whatever she heard, whatever she remembered, to confess to it and to ask for forgiveness. I repeated this again. Then I told her to ask God that she be found not guilty, and for Him to make His judgment known to the enemy. Because of Jesus, we are always found not guilty, and the purpose of His judgment is to contain the enemy. She was fully open to this and seemed to be following along. After everything we all went through by this point, I’m sure she would have done just about anything. This was a brief engagement, and the patient did all of this in her head. Then after a few moments, I saw the look on her face change. The persistent anguish and torment that disabled her, visibly loosened its grip. Then it was finished!

“For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down,”
Revelation 12:10

After three, tearful long hours of going nowhere, within 5 minutes of standing in the mobile court of accusations, I was finally able to move her into the position I needed to adjust her spine on both sides. Within 15 minutes of her court case, Hallelujah! the patient’s pain was about a 1-2 out of 10! The air definitely felt lighter, which prompted smiles to form on all of our faces. It was as if the weight of the heavy fog lifted and the big, beautiful sun finally burst through to bless us. Then I heard in the spirit, “Ding, dong, the witch is dead.” I thought, how funny. The Holy Spirit can definitely be funny. Ultimately, I won’t lie, this was a very draining and exhaustive learning experience, but in hindsight was all well worth it. Praise Jesus, it worked!

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55:7

In the spirit, this was a fierce battle riddled with an outcome of uncertainty, and not knowing exactly what I was dealing with was intimidating. Although it ended on a positive note, I still couldn’t get over the feeling that there was still something dark that needed to be dealt with. The entire experience weighed heavily on my heart for several days afterward. This caused me to wonder what God was preparing me for. After seeking His direction further, He told me that this was all part of my training, and urged me to seek further guidance from those experienced with defeating this type of enemy.

“For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
Psalm 24:10

Then the Lord showed me something that made me laugh. He took me back to the point when the sister was causing a scene. He showed me, in the spirit, two angels lifting her up by the underarms, and jerking her up out of her seat, then promptly walking her right out the front door. I’m not sure what occurred outside after that, but seeing that Spirit-led intervention sure was funny!

“He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.”
Psalm 91:11

(Authors Note: I want to mention that I haven’t always known I could see or hear in the spirit. It wasn’t until I learned how to recognize this gift that I realized what I was seeing or hearing at times was actually happening in the spirit. My senses were definitely heightened after I started seeking a closer relationship with Jesus, followed by reading, Seeing In The Spirit Made Simple, by Praying Medic, as well as participating in the Engaging God Program taught by Mike Parsons, and Spirit Academy courses taught by Reeni Mederos. I’ve also come to believe that God has given this ability to everyone. We all have the ability to hear God. We just need to learn how to recognize and cultivate this gift, and it all starts by asking God to remove the painful emotions attached to our soul. These painful emotions are what blocks our spirit from seeing and hearing Him.)

“I ask God to sheild my patient and her sister with His protective covering and with the knowledge of their authority through Christ Jesus. I ask that He release His blessings and fill them with His Light and Glory.” ~Stephanie Easley

For more information, check out my book Defeating Your Adversary in the Court of Heaven.

My Abortion Goes Before the Court of Heaven

by Praying Medic | Oct 12, 2017 | Abortion, Blog, Courts of Heaven, Featured Court of Heaven

This testimony of an appearance in the court of heaven about an abortion was shared with me on Facebook. I asked the woman if she would allow me to share it publicly and she agreed if she could remain anonymous. This event happened on August 16, 2017.

After I read the book by Praying Medic, Defeating Your Adversary in the Court of Heaven, I decided to go to the Court of Heaven. It was my first time. I followed the instructions that were outlined in the book.

As I asked for the Court to be convened, I could vaguely see God the Judge in front of me. To my right stood Jesus. To my left in front of me was the accuser. When I asked for the accusation to be heard, I saw several little beings by the accuser. I knew /sensed the accusation was about an abortion I had when I was 17 years old (I’m presently 52).

To give a brief background, I have wholeheartedly repented for this sin. I broke covenants with death and murder. Broke curses, etc. Forgave every person involved. As far as I knew, I dealt with this in a spiritual sense 100%.

I sat there and waited for the Holy Spirit to guide and help me. I thought to myself, I only aborted 1 baby, not all of those. My recollection was about 6 little beings there. And then I sensed/ heard from the Lord, I don’t remember how He communicated to me, but He revealed to me that I had not just killed that baby, I killed the offspring. The other lives that would’ve come through my baby’s life.

I wept so hard!
I saw this!
I saw them!

It was so horrible to realize the gravity of aborting my baby. I cried in deep repentance and asked for forgiveness. I stated my only defense was the blood of Jesus!

Then, the most amazing thing happened. I could feel the mercy of Jesus. Right there in the midst of discovering the gravity of my sin (not one life but many) I was forgiven. It was a profound moment of experiencing the mercy and forgiveness of God. I was declared not guilty and Court ended.

I’ve never heard anyone teach on this in what I call “Freedom” ministry. It was a revelation to me. It is imperative for anyone that has had an abortion to not only repent for the life they ended, but also for the offspring that would have come through that life.

Thank You, Jesus for Your revelation and amazing grace!

It is not our intent to cause shame or humiliation to anyone who has had an abortion. Our only intent is to let you know that God is compassionate toward you and He would like you to be free of any accusations that the enemy has brought against you.

For more information, check out my book Defeating Your Adversary in the Court of Heaven.

I Accidentally Downloaded Your Book… Best Mistake I Ever Made

by Praying Medic | Aug 19, 2017 | Blog, Courts of Heaven, Defeating Your Adversary in the Court of Heaven, Featured Court of Heaven

This is a testimony from a reader who accidentally downloaded my book Defeating Your Adversary in the Court of Heaven.

I HAVE to tell you what your book meant to me.

I wanted to download your book on economic collapse, and was quite annoyed because for some reason I downloaded “Defeating Your Adversary in the Court of Heaven.”

As I read through the first few pages, I raised an eyebrow but decided to finish the book.

I know Job very well as his story resonates with mine. The sickness, (I have 98% hearing loss, my child was diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus), loss of family (my family was torn apart after I discovered my husband was leading a double life), and loss of property (I have lost everything and all my financial resources were wiped out, except the house I live in, and had to resign from my job after a nervous breakdown), Job suffered stands as a poignant reminder of what the enemy can do to us if we fail to respond to his accusations.

When reading about the court procedure, my reaction was that surely we are innocent if we are not aware of the accusations. And how on earth would we be informed?

It was when I read “Sometimes we’ll sense an accusation being brought against us in the Mobile Court by feeling as though we’re being accused,” that I nearly fell off the chair.

When I awoke this morning, there was the feeling of an overwhelming force or presence. Immediately I started thinking how God does not hear my prayers and will not help me because I am “rubbish,” of course He will not help me because He doesn’t love me enough. My life is such a mess that He doesn’t even want to look at me. Why do I even bother? My life is meaningless, I struggle to readjust, face it, it’s too late, it’s over. But it was as if someone was standing next to the bed, screaming silently at me (if that is possible), accusing me. But there is no other way of explaining it.

I might add that I decided a few days ago that I should rather stop talking to God, because if He wants to help me, He will. And obviously, He doesn’t. He just doesn’t love me the way He loves others. And I know from experience that someone either loves you or they don’t.

I decided then to go to court. A door opened and it looked like the high court that I attended for the divorce. I walked to the front and entered the little cubicle where you are questioned. No one was on the bench. However, I knew the Judge was seated behind the wall and could see and hear everything. Jesus was standing where the advocate was standing during the divorce proceedings. I asked for the accuser to be present.

The door opened, and a black creature with the body of a man entered. I couldn’t believe it. It was the same creature/man that appeared in my bedroom thirty two years ago. At the time I was laying in bed when he appeared. While looking at me, my head turned to the side and into the pillow. I could not breathe and could do nothing about it as I could not move or scream. In my thoughts, I cried out to Jesus, and immediately he was gone and I was released.

I am not sure if it is worth mentioning, but at the time I just recovered from cancer.

I tried to tell a few people of this incident, but everyone looked at me as if I just landed a spaceship. They immediately had logical explanations – dreaming, imagination, effects of the cancer medication etc. But believe me, if someone or something is trying to choke the life out of you, you will know the difference between dreaming and reality.

I then asked for the accusations to be read. Seven, SEVEN, were read. I hung my head in shame as I nodded every time an accusation was read. And then something strange happened. When I lifted my head again, my stepdad who died in 1999, was standing between Jesus and the accuser. He looked at me and I knew he was not allowed to speak.

I asked that the accusations against him be read. Five were read, one being Freemasonry.

I then proceeded to confess and ask for mercy through the blood of Jesus for me and my stepdad.

Jesus left the courtroom through a door next to the bench. He came back later through the same door. He proceeded back to His place while smiling at me. I could see a very big golden gavel which was banged. A very large hand signed a scroll for me, and one for my step-dad. Both scrolls were given to me.

I then requested for my book to be opened as this was a major point of discussion between me and God the past few weeks. A very large book, bound in leather with golden edged pages were opened approximately in the middle. The pages were blank. I looked up to where I knew the Judge would be, and even though I couldn’t see Him, I smiled and thanked Him. I then left the court smiling and feeling as light as a feather.

I opened my eyes and went to the kitchen to make me some tea. I then noticed that the feeling as if there was a heavy dark net surrounding me the past few weeks, was gone. GONE! It feels as if I am floating.

All this is very new to me, but I would like to thank you most sincerely for opening this door and showing me more about the Kingdom of God and the realm of our adversary. Downloading this book was the best mistake I ever made.

I do not have the answers yet, but after this, I decided that I do NOT have “hopeless hope,” as I called it. And loss, heartbreak, depression and devastation might not be God’s plan for my life.

Kind regards

M.R.
Gauteng, South Africa

To learn more about the book Defeating Your Adversary in the Court of Heaven, click on the link or on the image below.

The Courts of Heaven: Answering the Critics

by Praying Medic | Jan 12, 2017 | Blog, Courts of Heaven, Featured Court of Heaven

There’s been growing interest among believers in learning how to operate in the courts of heaven. Along with growing interest, there’s been growing criticism. In this message, I provide an explanation of what the courts and councils of heaven are and respond to the objections of critics.

I use the terms courts and councils because some of the venues are like courtrooms, where legal proceedings are transacted. Other venues are less formal. The proceedings there are more like council meetings. The courts and councils of heaven are places where spiritual beings carry out the governmental affairs of heaven and to some degree, the affairs of earth. In all of them, Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are the central figures

Are the Courts of Heaven Biblical?

Critics have objected that the courts of heaven is a concept not found in the Bible. Let’s take a look at the third chapter of Zechariah:

Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Joshua. And the Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.” Joshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel. So the angel said to the others standing there, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And turning to Joshua he said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.”
Zech 3:1-4

This is the biblical model upon which my teaching on the courts of heaven is based. The court most people appear in is the court of accusation, where there is a defendant and an accuser. The Lord is the Judge, who hears the accusation and proclaims the defendant not guilty. The Bible doesn’t assign a name to this place but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to call it a court. On earth, we generally face our accusers in court.

Heavenly Councils

Another venue found in the Bible is a heavenly council, where the Lord discusses His plans. In the twenty-second chapter of first Kings, we find the story of Ahab and his plan to attack Ramoth-Gilead. The prophet Micaiah was given a glimpse of a heavenly council as they discussed the fate of Ahab:

I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’
1 Kgs 22:19-22

There is no judge in this scene. No defendant and no accuser. Rather than a courtroom proceeding, it seems to be a council meeting. The Lord heard the council of an evil spirit, whose plan was put into operation.

The Effects of Sin

The court that is familiar to most critics is the court of accusation which provides a venue of arbitration between humans and evil spirits. Critics have objected that the doctrine of the courts of heaven views our relationship with God from an old covenant perspective; where the blood of Jesus has not yet freed us from the power of sin.

Sin and how it’s dealt with in the courts has nothing to do with our relationship with God. The issue being addressed is the opportunity it provides for evil spirits to attack us. The apostle Paul, writing after the death and resurrection of Jesus, teaching a new covenant reality wrote:

Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.
Eph 4:26-27

Paul taught that being angry creates an opportunity for the devil. If we choose to sin, it doesn’t make us less righteous in God’s eyes, but it does make us a target for demonic attack. The apostle John, again, teaching a new covenant reality, prescribed the remedy:

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.
1 Jn 2:1

The word “advocate” in this verse can be translated, attorney. John taught that when we sin, we should let Jesus, our attorney, plead our case before the Father. And that is exactly what we do in the court of accusation. Demons can torment us until we face them in court and have the Judge pass sentence on them and clear us of the accusation.

Satan Can’t Appear in Heaven

Critics have noted that the Bible says Satan was cast down and thus, he cannot possibly be found in a heavenly court. This objection might seem valid, but we need to do a little more digging.

There is no debate that all the angels—both the ones who are loyal to God and the ones who rebelled against Him—resided in the heavenly realms. After their rebellion, the fallen angels were confined to some other realm. Some believe that they were removed from the heavenly realms completely and confined to earth. Those who hold this view cite passages like:

I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Lk 10:18

and

The accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
Rev 12:10

Satan and his minions have without question, been removed from their former estate, but have they been confined to earth?

The apostle Paul, again writing to believers who lived after the resurrection, about a new covenant reality, taught that the evils spirits who oppose us, still reside in the heavenly realms:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Eph 6:12

We must resolve the apparent contradiction that evil spirits were cast down from heaven but still reside there. The problem comes as a result of viewing heaven as a single realm without subdivisions. Heaven, in fact, has a multiplicity of realms, each of which is reserved for different types of spiritual beings. We see the multiple realms of heaven spoken of in passages like this one from first Kings:

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!
1 Kgs 8:27

This passage mentions two realms: heaven and a higher one; the heaven of heavens. What is the heaven of heavens?

What is a king of kings?

He is like other kings but has a higher level of authority. He rules over other kings.

The heaven of heavens is a higher realm of heaven that serves as the dwelling place of God and other spirits, but which is off-limits to Satan and his angels. When we understand that there are multiple realms of heaven, the apparent contradiction is resolved. Satan was cast down from heaven, but not to earth. He is confined to a lower realm of heaven; the one where the court of accusation is located.

Satan is Defeated

Critics have observed that Satan and his minions have been defeated and rendered powerless and that there is no need for us to obtain victory in a heavenly court.

Satan surely has been defeated and rendered powerless. But this objection fails to recognize the fact that there are two realms we must reckon with: the realm of time and the realm of eternity.

Healing is an example of how a reality in eternity doesn’t immediately manifest in the realm of time. God decided in eternity to provide healing for sickness and disease. Despite the victory that Jesus provided for our healing, we are not instantly healed when be believe. Healing must be enforced through prayer, the release of power, or the removal of evil spirits. Does our action against evil spirits mean that Christ’s victory was powerless? Of course not. It simply means that His victory in eternity requires our participation in the realm of time in order for it to manifest.

Appearing in the court of heaven isn’t an admission that Jesus hasn’t defeated the powers of darkness. It simply recognizes that all which He’s done for us in eternity has not yet fully manifested in the realm of time. We don’t plead our case hoping for victory. We go there knowing victory is assured, but that it still needs to be enforced against evil spirits.

Believers Are Defendants in a Legal System

A final criticism of the courts of heaven is that it views us as little more than defendants in a legal system. Where is our sonship, critics ask? What about our kingship? Our place of ruling and reigning with Christ?

If you’ve only read about the court of accusation, as is true of most critics, your concern is understandable. It does seem like a place of powerlessness. There isn’t much glory there. Not much to be excited about. But the court of accusation is not a place we want to visit often. It’s only a starting point. It’s in the other courts and councils where we grow into sonship and kingship. These are the places where we’ve been seated with Christ in the heavens.

But critics don’t mention the other courts and councils. And that’s a shame, because the very things they want to experience are happening in them.

In the court of war, we learn the strategies of heaven. In the court of kings, we learn to make decrees that establish heaven’s rule. We receive angelic help in the court of angels. In the divine council, the Lord meets with angels and saints to decide the affairs of heaven and earth. There are many other courts and councils in heaven. In time, and with experience, we’ll gain access to all of them. As we explore them and meet with the Lord in person, we’re transformed into sons and kings who fully reflect the glorious image of God.

If you’re interested in learning more about the courts of heaven, you might check out my book Defeating Your Adversary in the Court of Heaven.