A brother asked me this last week if I knew everything there was to know about the courts of heaven. I told him I didn’t. In true Sherlockian form, ‘the game is (now) afoot.’
I learned a great deal about the real ‘courts of heaven’ from the Word of God as it was presented in these six articles, beginning with this one, and this brief vidcast.
Remnant radio also did a number of vidcasts and I really liked this particular one:
At 35 minutes, Ken Fish does a great job of defining ‘Biblical interpretation.’ Read it in its “most clear and plain meaning, first.”
The “Courts of Heaven” teachings of Robert Henderson, Ron Horner, David Herzog, and Ian Clayton, (all I’ve seen, so far) are not this.
More to come.
One of my favorite teachers and pastors, Constance Pack, compared knowing the Word to being a bank employee who is trained to know real currency so well that when counterfeit currency comes along, they know it, too. By knowing the Word you’ll be aware of counterfeits.
“Such men are not true apostles but are workers who lie. They change themselves to look like apostles of Christ. This does not surprise us. Even Satan changes himself to look like an angel of light. So it does not surprise us if Satan’s servants also make themselves look like servants who work for what is right. But in the end they will be punished for what they do.” – 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
Jesus called Peter ‘satan’ when he attempted to stop Jesus from redeeming us His Way. This ‘courts of heaven’ stuff is not the Way.
“Then Jesus said to Peter, ‘Follow me!” – John 21:19
Please note, Peter’s way failed him as all humanly contrived ways do. Following his own way, he denied Jesus three times. Jesus called him back with love, not method.
Peter was redeemed.
Please stick to the ‘clear and plain’ Word of God.
Follow Jesus.
…
Here is a compilation of this gentleman, John Fenn’s, explanation of the real ‘courts of heaven’, which began with that same reminder to know the real Word of God very well. One of the key points of this perspective, “To transpose an ancient oriental king’s court into a modern judicial system of criminal courts, is grave error. It not only ignores, but negates all that Jesus has done for us.“ is my reason for sharing it with you.:
by CWOWI
Hi all,
They say Federal agents being trained to spot counterfeit money first study every aspect of real money. When they know the real very, very, well, they can easily spot the counterfeit.
That’s how I am approaching this study on the ‘courts of heaven’ teaching. For the first half I will focus primarily on the true, so that by the time I get to describing the elements of the ‘courts of heaven’ teaching, you’ll already know in your spirit and mind it is counterfeit.
What are the basics of the ‘courts of heaven’ teaching?
The ‘courts of heaven’ depict prayer as working within a modern criminal justice system of the West/Europe. The premise is the Father is the judge, Jesus is our attorney, Satan is the prosecutor, and we are to bring our cases before the ‘courts of heaven’ for a proper judgement. It is a formula based system of prayer for laying out a legal case, like a criminal court today.
It says Satan has access to the Father, before whom each case is heard. It further states some believers who have died act as a council of heaven. (More on these later in the series)
Related book subjects by the founder of the ‘courts of heaven’ appeal to every fear or desire a person may have. They include; ‘operating in the courts of heaven’, ‘foundations for breaking generational curses’, ‘prayers and declarations that open the courts of heaven’, ‘heavenly witnesses; partnering with the council of heaven for personal breakthrough’, ‘issuing divine restraining orders’, ‘receiving healing from the courts of heaven’, ‘unlocking destinies from the courts of heaven’, ‘the trading floors of heaven (unlocking wealth)’, and so on.
Understand this about the grace of our Father and our Lord.
The Father and our Lord will do what can be done to help innocent and well meaning believers who are desperately searching for answers, but are caught up in this error. An answered prayer through a formula such as this is not an endorsement on the teaching, it is instead a reflection of the grace of the Father helping one of His children in a time of need.
In the same way a pastor who is having a secret affair may pray for someone and they are healed, the Lord healed for the person’s sake, not because of, nor as an endorsement of the pastor.
The Bible is an oriental book.
The Father is an oriental king.
Jesus is oriental.
This is key to understanding the first use of ‘court’ in the Bible.
Far East and Middle East are the East – the Orient. The courts of kings are oriental courts, not a 21st century democracy-based court system. For classification in study, Europe and the Americas are ‘occidental’, while Israel and the Middle East are ‘oriental.’
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise, be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” Psalm 100: 4-5
An oriental court as mentioned in Psalm 100 above, refers to the area around a king’s throne. You come through the gates and enter the courts of the throne. The word ‘court’ in Hebrew means ‘enclosure’, referring to the area around a throne or palace. In the OT inner courts and outer courts are mentioned. It does not mean a modern court system, but the area around a throne.
Oriental customs: Abraham to the gospels and beyond
These include bowing either at the waist or kneeling on the ground in respect to someone in authority. In the west we shake hands. In the orient they bow at least at the waist. In Genesis 18:2 Abraham bowed before the Lord as He and 2 angels materialized so the Lord could allow Abraham to intercede for his nephew Lot and the people of Sodom. The 2 angels later went ahead in chapter 19 to rescue Lot and his family.
In Matthew 2:11 the wise men fell down in worship before baby Jesus. In Acts 10:25 the Roman Cornelius ‘fell down at his feet’ before Peter and ‘worshipped him.’ Indeed, Philippians 2:10 says every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This is all oriental.
Consider the oriental way of transporting a king.
Many of us have seen movies, books, art, or historical depictions from China, Japan, India and so on where emperors and important officials are seated on a chair platform. Usually the chair platform has curtains or veil, and is carried on poles on the shoulders of attendants.
This is exactly how the Ark of the Covenant was carried by the priests, as commanded by God. We can see this in I Chronicles 15, where the rings on the sides of the ark had poles placed through them, and then Levites lifted the Ark and carried it on their shoulders.
I mentioned this passage
Because it explains why Uzzah died when he steadied the ox cart in II Samuel 6: 6-8. David had improperly and ignorantly brought the Ark on an ox cart. After Uzzah died, David did his homework and found God’s instructions. He then had the Levites carry the Ark properly. The rings on the sides of the Ark had wood poles placed through them, and Levites used those poles to carry the Ark on their shoulders. See Exodus 25: 12-15, 27. Exodus 27: 6-8.
The way Israel transported the Ark of the Covenant is a type of the heavenly. Ezekiel experienced the Father on His throne flying towards him in Ezekiel 1. He describes the burning cherubs carrying the throne platform on their shoulders, taking Him wherever He wished. (Ezekirl 1: 15-28)
Those who have direct access to an oriental court (throne) include the family and children of the king, friends, elders or advisors, and spiritual leaders.
If you have read the book of Daniel you understand Daniel had just such a position in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. We see Esther and her husband the king, and Joseph (and his brothers) in the royal court of Pharaoh. In Israel and Judah we see the prophet Samuel before King Saul. We see Isaiah ministering to King Hezekiah and Jeremiah ministering to King Zedekiah, and so on. Prophet, priest, and king ruled and advised Israel throughout its history.
Yes, the Bible is an oriental book, and the Father’s throne is part of an oriental court.
We are family, so we have access, and no one may accuse us before our Father the King. A royal (oriental and occidental) court is an extension of a king’s household. Those allowed and welcomed before the king include the king’s family and nobility, as well as spiritual leaders. It also includes attendants who are not royal.
We will pick it up with children of oriental kings next week.
Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
by CWOWI
Hi all,
I ended last week talking about how in an oriental court, the King’s family has direct access. They are the nobles, and the only ones who hold such favor. I also mentioned family is exempt from accusation and prosecution.
Consider this in the ancient practice of killing all members of a royal family when a violent overthrow has occurred. All the family, from king to youngest child, are considered the equal, so all were killed. In II Samuel 4:4 this is described as Saul’s family fled from the new King David for fear of being killed. Mephibosheth’s nanny fell as she ran with him, crippling him. David instead, showed him great favor. The king and children are considered one. (II Samuel 9: 6-11)
Therefore….The Father’s court in The Revelation 4
When John is in heaven he sees the Father on His throne, surrounded by 24 elders and attending cherubs. He sees in chapter 5 the Lord, once slain but now alive forevermore. This is an oriental, royal court. People are around the throne rejoicing that Jesus has made us….
“(Jesus)…has made us kings and priests to God His Father…” Revelation 1:6
“And has made us unto our God kings and priests…” Revelation 5: 10
“The Spirit bearing witness with our spirit we are the children of God (Father).” Romans 8: 16
“And if children, then heirs, heirs of God (Father) and joint-heirs with Christ.” Romans 8: 17
“(Father) having predetermined to adopt us as children to Himself by Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1: 5
This is why we are around the throne of the Father; We are His children, and have been given the ‘jobs’ of being priests and kings to rule with Him. As a result…
“In Him is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principalities and powers.” Colossians 2: 9-10
“But God (Father), who is rich and mercy and great love for us, even when we were dead in our sins made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved), and has raised us up and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. So that in the ages to come, He (Father) may continue to show forth the riches of His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2: 4-7
By virtue of the work of Jesus Christ, we are now part of the royal court. We are His royal children. We are priests. We are kings. We are His family. We are complete. We have direct and unfettered access to the court of the Father. We are part of the court. We come boldly to the throne merely by saying ‘Father’, and just like that we have His attention.
That we are His children, royal children, ministers of His life, means no one may bring accusation against us. It has already been decided. It’s done. When Jesus became the risen Man, Lord of all created things, that work also cleared heaven of any possibility of Satan being able to accuse us.
God the Father has settled it. It’s too late to bring accusation against us for we have been born again, sealed by His Holy Spirit, and our citizenship and family are heaven. We are now washed*, now sanctified (set apart for God) now justified in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit of God the Father. *I Corinthians 6: 11 .
Justified does not mean the record has been wiped clean.
No, that is acquitted. Many Christians have the idea we have been acquitted, but that is not what the Bible says. It says we have been justified.
Justified* does not mean the record has been wiped clean, it means there was never any record against you in the first place. The King now stands for you and has declared it so. It means no accusation may be brought because God has no record of any wrong-doing. This is why Jesus states in The Revelation 3: 5 He will confess us before the Father and His angels. Not acquitted, justified, with the Lord affirming it so before the Father. *Justified: Romans 3: 24, 28; 5:1, 9; 8:30. Galatians 3: 24
All things are new and all those new things are of God*. There is no old. There is only the new in Christ. Jesus took the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, nailing it to His cross**, and all those things died right there on the cross with Him. Only resurrection life exists. Jesus’ death put His will into effect, and He rose from the dead to become the Executor of His own Will. *II Corinthians 5: 17; **Colossians 2: 13-15, (Hebrews 9: 16-24 – Executor/Will)
Because we are justified by the Father, no being may bring accusation against us.
“What do we say to these things? If God (Father) is for us, who can be against us? He who didn’t spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not along with the Son, freely give us all things? Who shall lay a charge (accuse) against God’s elect? It is God (Father) who justified us. Who is it that condemns us? It is Christ who died (for us), and rose again, who is even now at the right hand of God and lives to make intercession for us.”
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
“Who shall lay a charge (accuse) against God (Father’s) elect?”
“It is God (Father) who justifies us.”
“Who is it that condemns us? It is Christ who died and rose again..” Romans 8: 31-34:
To transpose an ancient oriental king’s court into a modern judicial system of criminal courts, is grave error. It not only ignores, but negates all that Jesus has done for us.
Renew your thinking to New Testament realities. The courts of heaven, where the King lives and His royal children are seated, is a place for His children “…to find mercy and grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4: 14
The ‘courts of heaven’ teaching has turned our Father’s throne
from a place of security as our home,
into a place of uncertainty, confusion and fear.
Does any aspect of the courts of heaven teaching sound like Jesus in the gospels?
Do we see this teaching throughout the last 2000 years of Christianity? No to both.
The authors of the New Testament wrote about our citizenship in heaven, what Jesus has done for us, about our authority and right-standing before God. There is no teaching about how to argue your case in the court of heaven. We have already been justified by our Father.
Satan has been disarmed, and that’s where we pick it up next week. Until then, Blessings,
John Fenn
by CWOWI
Hi all,
We’ve established we are THE family of the King, and have direct access to the throne.
Before I go further, I want to remind the reader that the terms
‘courts of heaven’ or
‘court of heaven’
is never used in the Bible.
The term is the invention of man which removes the heart and emotions of a person’s prayer in exchange for a mechanical legal process where everything must be done in order, or prayers won’t be answered and the devil will have an open door into your life.
However, being the King’s children we have been assigned to govern the kingdom as priests and kings. Positionally we are seated in the heavenlies with our Lord and Father. In these capacities the NT says we will ‘rule with Him 1,000 years’ in the next age. (I Corinthians 6: 2-3; II Timothy 2: 12; The Revelation 5:10, 20: 4, 6; 22:5)
Jesus cleared heaven of Satan’s influence
Look at Ephesians 1: 19-20, speaking of the Father’s actions towards Jesus and us: “And to the exceeding greatness of His (Father’s) power directed to us who believe, according to the working of that power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.”
Did you catch that? The same power the Father used to raise Jesus from the dead is THE power now working in your life, my life, every believer’s life. That release of power at the resurrection flows undiminished and unaltered to each person when they decide for Christ. It is THAT power that caused your spirit to be recreated. It is THAT resurrection power at work in your life today.
It is all in the same flow, same power, having lost nothing since that Sunday morning long ago.
Verses 21-23 continue: v20…
“At His (Father’s) own right hand in the heavenly places, (v21) far above all rule and authority, power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come, (v22) and has put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over the church, which is His own body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.”
Notice Jesus is above all and we are in Him. The same power working in Him that raised Him from the dead, is the power working in us every single day of our lives. We are truly one with Him and He one with us. He is the Head, we are the body.
That He has been placed above all power and dominion, rulers and authority, confirms the fact Satan no longer has access to heaven.
Satan cannot enter heaven: New Testament realities
One of the main teachings of ‘the courts of heaven’ is that Satan has direct access to heaven.
One of the verses used is Luke 10: 17-20, where Jesus said; “I saw Satan like lightning falling from heaven.”
If pulled from the context a person might think Jesus is saying AT THAT MOMENT He saw Satan fall from heaven. But that would contradict the fact Satan was already fallen and in the Garden of Eden to tempt Adam and Eve. It would contradict the fact Satan had tempted Jesus in the wilderness before the start of His ministry.
So the idea AT THAT MOMENT Satan fell, must be rejected.
The context tells the story. The disciples came back absolutely thrilled, giddy like little children, that even demons are subject to them through the use of His name. Jesus calms them down telling them: “I saw Satan falling from heaven…So don’t rejoice you have authority over demons, but that your name is written in heaven.”
In other words – Calm down guys, don’t focus on the peripheral, I was an eyewitness to his fall, so focus on heaven not on the authority I just gave you.
Satan not allowed in heaven? But he is called the accuser of our brethren
Correct. But context is everything. Look at this informational passage in The Revelation 12: 9-11: “…Satan, and his angels were cast out (of heaven) with him, and thrown down to the earth…the accuser of our brethren has been cast down (out) who accused them before God day and night.”
He was cast out of heaven and down to earth so his accusations against us are here on earth, not in heaven before our Father. His accusations come to us individually, to us directly, accusing us. He can no longer accuse us before God our Father, so he accuses us here, on earth, 1 to 1, bringing condemnation directly to us.
His accusations are no longer before God, Jesus closed the door to that, for it is the Father who has justified us through Jesus Christ, and we are seated as one with Christ in the heavenly places.
Satan is not accusing you before the Father.
He is accusing you directly to your face. To your ears. To your imagination. To your thoughts. Peter wrote in I Peter 5:8:
“Be diligent, for your adversary the devil, walks about like a roaring lion seeking those he could devour.”
Peter didn’t write that Satan is in heaven walking around, but here on earth walking around.
Spiritualizes one’s own sin
A main point of the ‘courts of heaven’ teaching is that your family’s generational sin allows Satan access to heaven to accuse you before God. The ‘curse of the generations’ teaching allows a person to blame their long dead relative for their current condition.
It spiritualizes sin and conditions in life, shifting blame to dead relatives rather than forcing a person to take responsibility for the decisions they’ve made. The ‘courts of heaven’ error teaches in essence we must go before the Father and the devil to make our case this is not fair.
More on ‘the curse of the generations’ error and what the Bible really says next week…until then, blessings,
John Fenn
by CWOWI
Hi all,
Last week I shared how Satan was thrown out of heaven and down to earth. He no longer accuses us before our Father in heaven because he is no longer in heaven. He does not have dual citizenship.
Having been thrown down to earth, Satan walks the earth ‘seeking whom he may devour’. From tempting Adam and Eve, to Jesus’ temptations, to our own, …
Satan is confined to the earth.
Any accusations or temptations are from demons here on earth. I can’t be strong enough on that point for those influenced by the COH error. Their whole teaching rests on the idea Satan has equal access to the Father that we do. That is a slap in the face to what Jesus did. One has only to read the first chapter of Ephesians to refute that error.
Satan is no longer in heaven, he is on the earth.
He doesn’t have dual citizenship.
Curse of the generations teaching
I mentioned the COH emphasis on the curse of the generations allows a person to blame long-dead relatives for their current life. It spiritualizes real issues of one’s thoughts, imaginations, and poor choices, focusing their efforts to change their life by finding some spiritual key. This is in direct conflict with scripture which teaches taking personal responsibility and working hard to rearrange our lives for godliness.
Formulas like the courts of heaven seem to offer a simple solution to complex issues, but it is deception. The Ephesians, who you will remember from Acts 19, burned their occult books in the streets, never had their past addressed in Paul’s letter to them. Chapter 4 was very direct: Stop sinning, put on Christ, work it out, walk with Him and love one another as Christ taught.
Where the ‘curse of the generations’ teaching came from; what the Bible says.
In Exodus 20:5 the Lord has been talking about making no idols, saying:
“You will not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the father upon the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.”
Then in Exodus 34: 7 we see a private talk between Moses and the Lord when Moses was up on the mountain in glory, talking face to face with Him (v5-6). Here the Lord repeats 20:5, though not stated in full, but as a summary.
However, Deuteronomy 5:9 is to the children born in the wilderness of those who came out of Egypt and died in the 40 years of wandering. Their children are about to enter the Promised Land, so the Lord states it in full:
“You will not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the father upon the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.”
Notice the Lord is very specific.
The remembrance of iniquities is to the families of those who hate Him. It is NOT for the Israelites. It is NOT for those who believe and walk with the God of Israel.
This was spoken to Moses and Israel around 1400 BC. By the time of Ezekiel in 591-573 BC, the nation had been taken captive by and carried to Babylon. This happened because they and their fathers and their father’s fathers had fallen away from the Lord. They were experiencing the consequences of their own sins, and the sins of their forefathers.
Does God hold the children of sinners accountable for previous generation’s sins?
Ezekiel 18 answers this with an emphatic NO. The most famous line from that chapter is: “The soul that sins shall die.”
In Ezekiel 18: 1-9 the Lord says
an unrighteous father will not cause
a righteous son to suffer his father’s sins.
Ezekiel 18: 19-22:
“The soul that sins shall die. The son will not bear the iniquity of the father, nor will the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous will be upon him, and the unrighteousness of the unrighteous will be upon him.”
This destroys all the teaching of a curse of the generations. God does not visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children. A righteous child among them, that child will not be responsible for the sins of previous generations.
BUT…the teaching goes, the devil is the one bringing the curse.
If God does not hold a son guilty for the sins of his father, then the devil has no right to attack.
We are in New Testament times. We have Christ Himself in us. Our spirit has been recreated by the Holy Spirit. If we are committing the same sins our ancestors did, it is our fault, not theirs. Environmentally a person may have been raised in a dysfunctional family, but if they continue in that dysfunction it is on them.
What IS in the Bible is the acknowledgements of familiar spirits. (Leviticus 19:31, 20:6) These are demons who become ‘familiar’ to a family. They influence a family and their influence CAN use up multiple generations, one after the other, setting up generations of sin through the years.
Once you realize there is no ‘curse of the generations’ to battle,
you can stand on your own two feet with Christ in you, and stop sinning.
Once a person stops blaming others as the reason their own life is a mess, they can start to walk with the Lord in wholeness. It is a journey, a tough one, but it can and must be done.
Next week I’ll share about my own ‘breaking of the curse of the generations’, and wrestling with spirits in the heavenlies.
Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
by CWOWI
Hi all,
This is a summary of the Courts of Heaven teaching (COH):
- There is a modern western style criminal justice court system in heaven.
- Satan has access to heaven’s court acting as prosecutor, from which he accuses us.
- Your current sins and generational sins from dead relatives give Satan legal right to prosecute.
- There are secret scrolls that have to be opened in COH for court to start.
- These courts are secret, and require secret knowledge to discover how to function in them.
- There are clouds of witnesses, dead Christians in heaven, who will speak on your behalf.
- If we function in COH we grant Father God the ability to ‘fulfill his fatherly passion’.
I’ve already shown the oriental court…
…the Bible talks about is not the same court system COH teaches. Does an oriental king hear cases and make judgments, yes. But it isn’t procedural like a western court system. No.
As I’ve shown, the judgment has already been made on our behalf.
“Who shall lay any charge against God’s elect? It is God doing the justifying. Who condemns us?” Romans 8: 33.
I’ve shown how Satan was cast out of heaven…
…who once accused us before God. But now he is on the earth, walking around as a roaring lion, accusing us here on earth – everyone of us has heard those accusations, and they are right here, on this earth. Not in heaven.
I’ve shared how there is no generational curse we must renounce, rebuke, repent of to be free. The soul that sins shall die. The soul that believes on Jesus is born again.
Individual responsibility.
There are streams of the faith that make God our adversary.
If only we prayed enough He would send revival. If I fasted enough I could convince Him of my sincerity, or of my urgent need. There is another stream that is devil oriented. They feel if they don’t do everything perfect the devil will have an open door into their lives. OR, he has an open door and they must find the way to close it.
From what I’ve seen in my life and others, and patterned in scripture, is that 99.9% of deliverances happen when a person decides to live right, and the demon leaves because there is no longer any place for them. Once a person realizes they have Christ in them AND the authority to use the name of Jesus against the demons, AND they are secure in their authority and place in the heavenlies in Christ, they decided to live for God and not sin.
It is game over for demons.
Our will is stronger than any demon, or God for that matter
Christians can sometimes get so caught up in ‘spiritual warfare’ mentality they forget our will is stronger than any devil or God. Neither God nor the devil can make us do anything.
Every year millions of people all over the world, who don’t know the Lord, quit destructive habits, overcome fears, and find their personal victories – just by their will. But there is big business in the Christian world marketing formulas which lead a person to believe they are weak, are continual victims of demons, and if they just find that one spiritual key, blessings will be unlocked and their life will run smoothly.
Satan tempts us that’s true, and God works from within to empower and strengthen. But neither can make us do anything.
In John 8: 11 Jesus told the woman caught in adultery:
“Go and sin no more.” It meant break it off with the man she was caught in bed with. Jesus knew it was difficult emotionally for her. It didn’t change his command. Maybe the man provided money or her own home, but she had to end the relationship. What Jesus commanded was difficult, and would mean emotional pain for her, but she had to do it to walk in righteousness.
That’s tough love. No rebuking the spirit of lust or adultery here. Simply: “Go and sin no more.” And certainly Jesus knew how difficult it would be for her. But He didn’t spiritualize it. Just, stop sinning.
The COH teaches we must take back our authority through a heavenly court room with Satan as the prosecutor fighting to retain his will in our lives, while ‘witnesses in heaven’ – dead Christians – testify on your behalf. And if you do everything just right, you may win your case and your troubles will be over. Jesus said just do it. Just live right. Just decide for righteousness and walk it out.
Who do we wrestle with?
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against rulers and authorities and world-rulers of darkness in the spirit realm and forces of evil in the heavenlies.” Ephesians 6: 12
We do wrestle, but not in a heavenly court patterned after modern western court systems. This verse is the middle of Paul’s teaching in v10-17. It is about being strong in the Lord and the power of His might, putting on the armor of God. He states that with all these things we will be able to ‘stand against the wiles of the devil.’
We are to put on the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the shoes of the gospel, the sword of the Spirit. It says this is the ‘armor of God’.
If we were to say, “This is William’s jacket”
we understand William owns the jacket.
So when Paul writes we are to put on God’s armor,
whose armor is it?
Isaiah 59:16-18, in a prophecy about the Messiah, tells us this was Jesus’ armor:
“And He saw there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore His arm brought deliverance (Hebrew), and His righteousness sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and salvation as His helmet, the garments of vengeance for His clothing, and zeal as His coat. According to their actions, He will repay…”
In our wrestling, we are wearing Jesus’ armor that has already been tried in battle and found victorious. He faced temptations in the 3 areas (spirit, soul, body) and won. His friend insisted He not go to the cross. He rebuked that temptation. We wrestle from a position of having already won. Christ is in us. It is HIS armor. We have the authority to use His name. We are clothed with Jesus’ armor so we can stand against the methods of Satan, and having done all to stand, stand.
Why does it say we wrestle against spirits in the heavenlies? That’s for next week.
Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
by CWOWI
Hi all,
Closing out this series on the error of the courts of heaven (COH) teaching, we find we wrestle against spiritual rulers in darkness, and ourselves. None of which happens in heaven.
COH says Satan has access to heaven. Ephesians 1: 20-23 and Revelation 12: 8-10 prove he was thrown out, defeated, and only accuses us here on the earth, NOT before our Father.
COH says there is a modern western style court system in heaven to which Satan has access and prosecutes, and departed believers in heaven take the stand to testify for you. We’ve shown an oriental court is not a 21st century western court system. God’s court includes His children, against whom no one may accuse or lay a charge. Romans 8: 31-34.
COH says the sins of your dead ancestors is the reason your life is messed up, but you can clear your name in the COH. Ezekiel 18 and the whole of the NT letters state nothing about past generations aiding sin in our lives, rather, we are responsible for our lives, no one else.
We stand individually before the judgement seat of Christ, and will not be able to blame granny nor the devil. We can’t say ‘granny opened that door in 1883’ to explain why you didn’t grow up and obey the Word. We will be 1 on 1 before Jesus to give account of our lives.
Satan has no power over us. Satan uses fear and lies to get us to give him our authority, then he uses our authority against us. That includes getting us into formulas, making us think we are weak and that we must be afraid of him, and focused on our own feelings of inadequacy.
Paul speaks of wrestling in Ephesians 6: 10-12:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes (Gk: methods). For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
In the city of Ephesus in Acts 19: 23-41 a riot happened after so many believers publicly burned their occult books, and the sales of idols sharply declined. The city was divided, with verse 32 stating they were all confused and many didn’t even know what it was all about.
To those believers Paul wrote that we wrestle with rulers in the heavenlies, which in judaism means in the spirit realm. Not heaven, but the spirit realm.
While some have made doctrine over the practice of ‘pulling down demonic rulers’ over a city, we don’t see that in Acts or in any letter of the NT. No one prayed to bring down strongholds over Ephesus or Corinth before evangelizing there nor while meeting in the (home) churches.
Cities and nations are changed one person at a time when they believe on Jesus.
We do get a glimpse of Satan’s forces he places in charge of a nation in Daniel 10: 13, 20. Remember, Satan only copies and perverts the true. So in these passages we see a ‘prince of Persia’ fighting against the angel Michael, who we are told in 12:1 is the angel in charge of Israel. Gabriel tells Daniel he will join Michael to fight against the spirit over Persia, and when they are done, the prince of Greece will arise. And more then 200 years later Persia was defeated and Alexander the Great of Greece conquered them.
We wrestle in prayer against the methods of the devil. Not in heaven, but here on earth, in prayer; We pray for people, we pray for rulers and all in authority, we pray for boldness, we pray that we may live quiet, peaceful, and godly lives – but these wrestlings have nothing to do with us going before the Father in a court trial to seek a favorable judgement from our Father.
Paul wrote in II Corinthians 10: 3-6
Our wrestling is mostly about our thoughts and emotions:
“…we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”
It is a wrestling here on earth, with ourselves and with the methods of Satan in the spirit realm. Thoughts, emotions, brought into captivity within ourselves, forcing our old thinking out, and bringing in new thinking aligned with God’s thinking. If you want your life transformed, there is no other way presented in scripture than renewing the mind – then your life will be transformed. Romans 12: 1-3
What thoughts? What emotions?
Paul wrote in II Corinthians 2: 10-11: “I…forgive all…lest Satan should get an advantage over us, for we are not ignorant of his devices.” Here he states that unforgiveness can open a person up to the ‘devices’ of Satan, giving him an advantage over them.
In II Timothy 2: 23-26 Paul writes of those arguing and in strife, who are therefore snared by the devil and “taken captive by him as his will”.
Those are the forces, these are the thoughts and emotions we wrestle with, the demonic forces that entice and try us. We also wrestle with ourselves and are commanded throughout the gospels and letters to lay aside sin and walk in righteousness.
If Satan had authority to approach God to accuse us in times past, he no longer does. He used to ‘accuse us before our God day and night’, but was thrown out of heaven. Jesus is now far above all powers and rulers in the spirit realm, closing the door to the enemy. The Father says He has justified us, no one may bring a charge against His children. We are residents of the kingdom of heaven, and have direct access as members of the Court to come boldly to our Father’s throne.
It is a place of safety, of rest, a place to find mercy and grace to help in time of need.
Don’t turn it into a western court system formula – “Come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace in a time of need.” (Hebrews 4: 16)
Other thoughts next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
Foundations
of Faith
The basic doctrines of the Christian faith are the subject of this completely online Bible study course.
