Entering into the Courts of Heaven
Everything in the spirit realm is about legalities. God has given mankind freedom of choice and therefore He can do nothing unless we give him the legal right. The devil, also, can do nothing unless it is legally allowed. We, as people of the Earth, grant the legal permission for either the devil to work or God to work. Matthew 16:18-19 tells us that we as the Church or Ecclesia of God have been given the right to bind and loose.
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19)
The word Ecclesia is the word translated “church” from the Greek. This word means the judicial, legislative and governmental people of God. It speaks of a people that have been granted legal positions on Earth and before the Lord. We have been given the right and authority to get things legally in place so that God’s will can come into the Earth realm.The words “bind” and “loose” are actually legal terms at their root. The word “bind” speaks of getting a binding contract into place, while the word “loose” speaks of dissolving an existing contract. Jesus was saying that the Ecclesia has a judicial responsibility to establish binding contracts with Heaven that allow God the legal right to invade and impact the planet. The Ecclesia also has the job of legally dissolving contracts with the devil that allow him to operate in the Earth. When we learn to get legal things in place, we can then see the devil expelled and God’s will established. This is our job individually and corporately.This happened in Peter’s life. Jesus went into the courts of Heaven on behalf of Peter and secured the destiny written in the books of Heaven for him. Luke 22:31-32 tells us that Satan desired to have Peter.
And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Luke 22:31-32)
The words “asked for” in the Greek actually says, “demanded for trial.” Satan came and demanded that Peter be put on trial in the courts of Heaven. Satan had developed evidence against Peter to try and thwart what was written in the books of Heaven about him. Remember that when the court is seated, the books are opened (Daniel 7:10). The devil understood something of what was in Peter’s book. He understood the significant purpose Peter was to play in the Kingdom of God. He knew that Peter was destined by Heaven to have a radical and dramatic effect.
If the devil didn’t stop him, Peter would do massive damage to his empire and establish the Kingdom of God. Satan, therefore, had to have a scheme to stop Peter if he could. His plan was to bring him to court and put him on trial. The reason for this was to disqualify Peter legally from what was written in his book. If Satan could disqualify Peter through accusation in court, he could stop the agenda of God for the Earth.We must realize that Satan is an accuser. Revelation 12:10-11 shows that Satan is accusing us day and night.
Then I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." (Revelation 12:10-11)
Satan is before the throne of God seeking to present evidence in the courts as to why we are disqualified from what is in our books. He wants to stop us, at any cost, from stepping into the destinies written about us in our books. It is our job to answer these accusations and silence them so that God has the legal right to grant us what is written in our books. When this occurs we fulfill our life’s destiny and God’s Kingdom purposes are done.
The only way the devil can stop us from fulfilling what is in the books is through accusation. This was the tactic he used against Peter.This is also the tactic that he used against Job (Job 1:6-12). When Satan comes before the Throne of God regarding Job, the Lord asked him where he had been. His response was, “From going to and fro on the Earth and walking back and forth on it”. The Lord then says to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job?” in other words, “Have you gathered any evidence against Him”? The Lord knew that Satan’s walking back and forth was a searching out of people who had Kingdom destinies.
Now Satan is walking about on the Earth during Job’s days. But when we get to 1 Peter 5:8 we see why he is walking.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
Satan is walking about to seek whom he may devour. Remember, Satan can only devour when he has a legal reason. His walking about is for the purpose of gathering evidence so he can accuse and be granted legal rights to destroy. The devil can do nothing unless he finds a legal place he can exploit through his walking about.This is exactly what he had done with Peter. He targeted Peter because of the tremendous things in his book. He had gathered evidence against Peter to disqualify him from what was in his book. He had presented it to Heaven and demanded a court date concerning Peter. But Jesus said, “I have prayed for you.” Through the prayers of Jesus, Peter was not disqualified; he was qualified for his destiny.In other words what He did for Peter we can also do. Just like Jesus went into the courts of Heaven and secured Peter’s destiny, we too can go into the courts of Heaven and secure our destinies that are in the books. We can secure the destinies of others that are joined to us as well. The main thing is that we should not disqualify ourselves from the power and authority we have in Heaven and its court system.