If we really want to get results from the courts of heaven, we need to know how to operate within these courts. Lawyers go to school for years to learn how to operate within our judicial systems. They learn to speak the language of the courts. Just as they must know how to address the court, present cases and breeze, so we too must learn how to present things before heaven’s court. One of the greatest mysteries to this process is understanding the books were scrolls that are in heaven.
Daniel 7:10 tells us that there are books are scrolls in heaven the must be open before the court of heaven goes into session. What’s the courts of heaven are seated the books are opened and the court appears to come to session.
Daniel 7:10 – a fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. 1000 thousands ministered to him; 10,000×10,000 stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
From this Scripture, we can clearly see that an understanding of the books is foundational to court activity that allows gods kingdom purposes to be done. But what are these books and what is written in them?
Types of books
Psalm 139:16 tells us that each person has a book in heaven.
Psalm 139:16 – your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in your book they are all written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.
God wrote down in a book to destiny in kingdom purpose for each of our lives. God saw us in our fleshly form in years, before we ever existed. He saw our days. Not just a number them, but he saw the activities in them and what we would accomplish in our life. Our individual book is a written record of all that God plan for us in the kingdom impact he has destined for a lives. Every person ever born has a book written about them. The battle is to get what is in the book to manifest on the earth.
Even Jesus had a book. Hebrews 10:5 – seven tells us that Jesus had a volume of the book that he came into the earth to fulfill.
Hebrews 10:5 – therefore, when he came into the world, he said: sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure. Then I said, the hold, I have come – in the volume of the book it is written of me to do your will, O God.
There is a book in heaven that chronicled what kingdom purpose Jesus would fulfill near. Jesus came with a passion and a commitment to complete what had been written in the books of heaven about him. This is interesting because John 1:14 says that Jesus is the Word made flesh.
John 1:14 – and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth.
In other words, Jesus was the word sent out of heaven to be born in the flesh. His physical birth allowed what was written in the book of heaven to be made manifest in the flesh. He then spent the next 30 years and a half years of his life if filling what had been written in his book.
Anything God – ordained his first written in a book or scroll in heaven. It must be sent out of heaven and burst into the earth realm before it can become flesh. This is what happened to Jesus, but also to us and anything else that is ever born into the earth realm. So it could be said that before we came into the earth, we were a word written in a scroll. When we were born into the earth, we began the process of living out our kingdom purpose as it was written in heaven in our book. This is why Ephesians 2:10 says that we are his workmanship.
Ephesians 2:10 – for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
The word workmanship in the Greek means a poll we are God’s poem that was written down in heaven that is now entered earth. We are a poem with a point. Our lives carry a message that is creative and life-giving. Notice that this poem was written down in the works we are to do were planned beforehand. We were a scroll in heaven with poetic power that has now entered the earth to cause the writings of heaven to become flesh.
There are not just books about individuals. There are also books about churches, apostolic networks, businesses, ministries, cities, states, regions and nations. Heaven is full of books. Anything that is purposed of the Lord will begin as a book in heaven. The apostle John while in heaven was given a book that would he was commanded to eat. This book was about nations. Revelation 10:8 – 11 shows an angel with a little book that had the destinies of nations in it.
Revelation 10:8 – then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth. So I went to the angel and said to him, give me the little book. And he said to me, taking immediate; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth. Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. And he said to me, you must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and Kings.
John was instructed to take the book and eat it. This book was from heaven and was about the future and kingdom purpose of nations. We know this because the result of John eating the book was the ability to prophesied the peoples, nations, tongues and Kings. Was going to become the job of the apostle John to prophesy out of the books what God had said about these nations. When John would prophesy from the books, it allowed court sessions to begin. Revelation 19:10 tells us the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Revelation 19:10 – and I felt his feet to worship him. But he said to me, see that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The word testimony means to give judicial witness. Jesus, from his position as our high priest and mediator, is testifying in our behalf in the courts. Notice that this testimony becomes a spirit of prophecy in our mouths. When we prophesy, we are not just speaking to the earthly realm, but we are in fact picking up in discerning the present testimony of Jesus in the courts of heaven.
We are agreeing with an echoing the testimony of Jesus. This grants heaven the right testimony to render verdicts in our behalf in the kingdom purposes of God even in nations.
Where do the books come from?
These books that are in heaven came into being from the counsel of the Lord. Jeremiah 23:18 says that there was a counsel of the Lord.
Jeremiah 23:18 – for who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and is perceived and heard his word?? His word and heard it?
This word counsel in Hebrew is sod. It means a company of persons in session, to consult, or a secret. It comes from the Hebrew word yasad which means to sit down together, to settle in consult. Clearly God has councils that are held in heaven for the purpose of planning future kingdom events. Genesis 1:26 says that the Godhead had a counsel about the creating and forming of man.
Genesis 1:26 – then God said, let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
Notice that God said let us. In other words there was discussion in the Council of heaven concerning the formation of man in the image and likeness of God. From this counsel, books were written about the destiny of earth, man and God’s creation. What was written in these books from the counsel of the Lord is what we are seeking to birth into a flesh demonstration.
In two Timothy 1:9 Paul is exhorting Timothy to fulfill what was planned before time began.
Two Timothy 1:9 – who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
Notice that purpose and grace were given the Paul and Timothy before time began. This is really interesting. How can something be given to something that doesn’t yet exist. Purpose is what is written in the books of heaven about them and grace was the empowerment to bring it into the realities of the earth realm. This was given to them before time began or in the counsel of the Lord.
The Hebrew people believe that before we were on earth we were with God in heaven. We were spirit beings with God and a part of the Council of heaven. They believe that as a part of this counsel, we agreed to the plan the God needed us to fulfill. We accepted the assignment to be born in the time we were born and fulfill what we had committed to. Once we accepted this as a part of the counsel of the Lord, it was written in a scroll or book and we have now come to earth to be the word of that scroll made flesh. I tend to lean toward this idea based on three things. First of all, this is compatible to what Jesus as our forerunner said in John 13:3.
John 13:3 – Jesus, knowing that the father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God.
Jesus came as a spirit and entered the body that was prepared for him. He then fulfilled what was written in the books about him and returned to heaven. If Jesus is the forerunner in all things, then it would be consistent with the pattern to assume this is true of us as well. Jesus came as God into the earth. We came as human spirits into the earth. But we potentially were all spirits in the presence of the Lord first.
The second thing that has me leaning towards this something that happened while was ministering in a certain city. A prophet friend of mine was in attendance and as I spoke of this concept, he suddenly waved to get my attention and wanted to say something. This was abnormal, but acknowledged him and let them share. As he spoke he said that during worship before I got up to speak he kept hearing, back to the future, back to the future. He said that he didn’t say anything because it didn’t make sense to him until I began to speak. He then realized that God was confirming what I was going to say, even before I said it. When we live our lives out here in the earth realm we are actually producing in time what was preordained in the councils of the Lord eons ago. This is quite fascinating and should grant to us a deep sense of purpose.
Not everyone lives out what was established in the councils of the Lord and then written in the books. We don’t have to, but it is our job to discover and fulfill what is there and bring it to earth in natural forms. This is what we will be judged on in the hereafter. Our judgment will not be so much about this sinner that sin. Our judgment will be based on how closely we lived our lives to what is written in the books of heaven. Not to live our lives out in agreement with the books of heaven is the waste our time here. We may get to spend eternity in heaven, but we will not have fulfilled his kingdom agenda for life and times here on earth.
The third thing that allows me to lean towards this understanding is a very personal life situation. Mary and I have six children. They are all grown now. Well let’s just say they are all of legal age and are all over 20 years old. That would be more truthful. When we had four children and the youngest, hope, was five, Mary was especially happy because hope was about to start kindergarten. This would mean that for the first time in many years she would be able to have several hours a day when kids were not at home. We were approaching that wonderful time when this would happen. I will never forget Mary and I going on a trip to a borrowed condo on a golf course. We had ditched the kids somewhere in were going to get some time alone for the first time in a long time. There were several other couples that were on this trip. The condo that we were in didn’t have enough bedrooms therefore Mary and I were sleeping on a mattress on the floor. I remember waking up the first morning in lying besides Mary. She looked at me and said, I need to tell you something. I thought in this wonderful moment of peace and quiet, when it was just the two of us, as she was going to tell me how wonderful I was now much you love me love your life together. She then blurted out the words I’ve heard before, I’m pregnant. I don’t know what I said, but it was probably something like, you’re kidding, right?
But no! It was absolutely true. There when our plans down the drain at least five more years of kids at home before this one would get into school. The truth is that Micah and his brother Mark, the sixth one(yes, we even had another one after this), have been great blessings in our lives. But the event I want to tell you about happened when Micah, this fifth one that we were not expecting, was 10 years old.
One night Mary had a dream. In the dream she was told that Micah was supposed to have been born to another couple named Mike and Carol(not the Brady Bunch). Carol had been killed in a car wreck and therefore what God intended to do through them could not occur. Mica couldn’t be born into the earth. The problem was that God needed Micah born so he could fulfill his kingdom purpose for God’s will to be done in years. God chose Mary and I to have Micah instead of the other couple, because MicahI had to be born. Isn’t that wild? Yet I believe it with every fiber of my being.
It was for Dana in the councils of heaven; a book was written as a result of this counsel about an Formica and God chose us as a second option to get Micah into the earth. When we received this understanding about Micah’s birth, I jokingly said, God must have been scraping the bottom of the barrel on this one tab to entrust Micah to us! Actually, I’m quite honored that the Lord would entrust one that he needed in the earth to us. His grace is sufficient for us to impact Micah in the way that is necessary for him to fulfill his book from heaven.
All of us are a product of the Council of the Lord. The Lord thought about each one of us and wrote a book about our lives out of that counsel. Each of us has been birthed into the air so that his word can be made flesh and what was written in our scrolls can be fulfilled. When this is done, kingdom influence comes to the earth and kingdom cultures look like heaven are revealed.
Manifesting the books
To really understand the counsel of the Lord in the books of heaven we must look at Romans 8:29 – 30. This passage unveils a five-step process of how to identify and birthed the intentions of God into the earth.
Romans 8:29 – for whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he predestined, these he also called; whom he called, these he also justified; in whom he justified, these he also glorified.
In this Scripture, Paul lists the five steps – forenew, predestined, called, justified and glorified. To operate in the courts of heaven and get what is in heaven into the earth, we must understand the stages.
For knowledge speaks of that which occurred in the counsel of the Lord. In this Council decisions were made about destinies in the earth. This includes individuals, cities, states, businesses and all the way up to nations. There were conclusions that were arrived at concerning what part of God’s kingdom agenda each would fulfill. From the counsel of the Lord, there was a foreknowing of us. This all occurred before time began. Once these decisions were made, they were then written down in a book. Once they were written in a book in heaven, it became a predestined thing. This is the next stage that Paul spoke of.
From the counsel of the Lord(for knowledge), God then wrote the book the decisions made that would be our kingdom reason for existence on the planet. Anything that has a kingdom purpose has a book in heaven about it. The books of heaven contain the kingdom purposes of God. I like to say that if there is in a book about it in heaven, don’t waste your time on it. We should only involve ourselves in that which is important to heaven. If it is important heaven, there is a book about it.
Being predestined has nothing to do with us not having a choice or a will. In fact we can have a predestined plan for our lives enough to fill it. Each person born into the earth arrived with a predestined plan concerning their life. They have a book in heaven about them. We can either choose to discover what is in the books about us or disregarded and go our own way. It is each one’s individual responsibility to discover what was predestined about them and written in the books of heaven.
Remember that Paul told Timothy and two Timothy 1:9 that purpose and grace were given to them before time began. This means that when we find our purpose we will also discover grace that has been apportioned to us for that purpose. This is the chief way we know we have discovered purpose. We realize that in this activity and life ambition there is grace. In other words, you enjoy it, you are good at it, you have success in doing it and others are influenced by your doing of it. It is much like Eric liddel in the movie chariots of fire where he chose to honor God by not running on the Sabbath. He said, when I run, I feel the pleasure of God. This statement reveals that he had discovered, for this season of his life, the purpose for which he was graced. The two stages of for knowledge and predestination all occurred before time began. They happened in the eternal realm of God and outside the time realm.
The next stage is the called stage. This is the stage where we begin to get glimpses of what we were made for. We began to discover what is written in the books of heaven about us. This is the biggest question that people have. What is written in my book? What is the predestined plan of God for my life? Psalm 40:6 – eight gives us some understanding.
Psalm 40:6 – sacrifice and offering you did not desire; my ears you have open. Burnt offerings and sin offering you did not require. Then I said, will hold, I called; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I do like to do your will, O my God, and your law is within my heart.
These verses are actually Jesus prophesying over himself before he came into the planet. This verses later picked up and repeated with some minor changes in Hebrews 10:5 – seven. This is Jesus saying that he has a book in heaven that he is coming to flesh out in the earth. Remember that this is our job. We are to flesh out in the earth what is written in the books of heaven. Again, John 1:14 says that Jesus was the word made flesh. In other words, what was written about him in heaven in the books, he has come to bring to reality in the earth.
Notice that Jesus said that in the scroll or volume of the book it was written of him. He had come to do the will of the father contained in that book. But then he makes a very powerful statement. In connection to for filling what is in the his book, he says, and your lies within my heart. So whatever is written in your book in heaven is also written in your heart. If you want to discover what is in your book, look in your heart. What are your interests, desires, aspirations, longings and passions? These are clues to what is in your book in heaven. Many times our lives become so cluttered and busy that we need the Holy Spirit to come and unveil for us what is in our hearts. When we discover the passion of our heart, we will begin to discover what is written in our books in heaven. We’ll start to have glimpses of what our kingdom purposes are.
The next stage is the being justified. Justified has legal implications. The word means to be rendered just or innocent. In other words there are no accusations that can stick. Remember that the devil is the accuser of their brethren who accuses us before God day and night – Revelation 12:10. The justified stages where we have been into the courtroom of heaven in every accusation a double is using against us is silenced.
Accusations are what the devil uses to keep us from what is written in the books of heaven about us. This is why so many people are frustrated today. They have a intuitive awareness that they were created for something more than they have become. They sense that something is resisting them from stepping into all they were made for. That which is resisting them is the accusation of the accuser against them in the courts of heaven. The accuser is presenting evidence to God the judge of all as to why he cannot legally grant to you what is written in your book. Satan knows that if we get what is in our book, then we will do massive damage to his devilish empire in the earth. He uses accusations against us to stop us from stepping into all that Heaven has ordained.
He did this to Peter. We will see this clearly as we talk about it in later chapters. Suffice it to say that if we want what is in our books fleshed out in the earth, the accusations of Satan must be answered. Once this is done then God as judge of all is free to fulfill his father’s passion towards us and grant what is in the book so heaven’s will concerning us can be done.
The fifth and final stage mentioned is being glorified. Being glorified is not talking about going to heaven. It is speaking about us fully stepping into all that is written in the books of heaven about us. We begin to live the dream. We live the dream that God had about us before time began. This has been called the convergence point. It is where everything we have gone through, good or bad, works together to propel us into our ultimate destiny.
We see this in the life of Joseph where he was in his father’s house, but then sold into slavery by jealous brothers. He ended up ruling over the household of Potiphar. Then he was cast in the prison unjustly, after which he was promoted from this most unlikely place to Prime Minister of Egypt. He became the preserver of life the Godhead destined him to be as it was written in the books of heaven. All these things work together and converged together to prepare and get Joseph to is appointed place. He then, from his glorified position, had the kingdom impact that was predestined by God that he was to have. The reaching of the convergence point of our lives can be costly and expensive but worth it. Not only do we find the ultimate satisfaction that we were built for, but God gets his kingdom purpose fulfilled through us.
The most critical stage of this process for individuals all the way to nations, is being justified. Once we maneuver our ways through the courts of heaven and get legal things arranged, God can freely then grant to us the passion of his heart.
In the next chapter will talk about the court activity of heaven that allows what is written in the books of heaven to come into the earth realm. There is great contention regarding this, but when we know how to function in the courts we grant God the legal rights for the word to be made flesh.