401. The Cosmic Courtroom
The word of your testimony
Justification
Justification is a major aspect of the Cross. “[He] who was delivered up because of
our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 4:25, 5:1).
Here is where the word of your testimony becomes
important. The word of your
testimony is one of the three major aspects of overcoming. You will not enjoy the benefits of
being justified without it.
Life is a courtroom.
One
of the great works of the Cross of Jesus Christ was to justify us. However, we cannot fully enjoy that
justification without going through the process of a trial. In a previous chapter about the
reconciliation of evil, we talked about Jesus making a point in the parable of
the minas about the time factor for deliverance. The point was that we should expect a delay in experiencing
His deliverance. It takes time for
us to occupy, do business, and convert our junk into jewels. I submit that the time period
represents a spiritual courtroom.
I am convinced that the Scriptures show us that
overcoming difficulties in life is a series of courtroom experiences for each
and every one of us. I believe
that these courtrooms are key when it comes to overcoming, especially
overcoming curses in our lives.
Actually there is so much in the Bible about this subject that there is
not enough room in the chapter to cover it all. However, if life is a courtroom, then justification is the
greatest gift we can receive. I
believe that the reason that so many believers have failed to overcome
afflictions is because they did not understand this Biblical principle.
So many people do not pay attention to the idea of
God’s judgment. Others
misunderstand it and feel that it is only an event that will take place after
they die. This world and the
people in it are constantly experiencing judgment. Judgment from God is a two-sided coin. For the believer who has been following
the Lord to the best of his/her ability, judgment brings reward, however, for
others it brings condemnation and penalties. The same judgment can work both reward and condemnation at
the same time.
What is the purpose of this courtroom?
This
courtroom is about Satan attempting to perpetuate curses in our lives and in
the lives of those in our realm of influence. He is attempting to perpetuate our junk as junk and
suffering, while God wants to convert our junk into jewels.
I submit that the Book of Revelation is a picture
of the courtroom.
When
Jesus is reviewing each of the seven churches in Asia during John’s vision
recorded in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, the only two churches that did not
need rebuke were Philadelphia and Smyrna (Philadelphia representing the
overcomers, and Smyrna representing the overcomers who were martyrs).
To each of these churches He used the word “try” or
“tried.” The word in Greek is peirazo. This word has several
implications. One meaning implies
“assayed” which means, “qualitative or quantitative analysis of a substance,
especially of an ore or drug, to determine its components.” Another is to prove, or to be refined
by fire. Yet another means to
“try” as in a court trial. A judge
determines a person’s guilt or innocence in a court trial. The truth of that person must be manifested. Sometimes the truth is brought out by
“fire.” Gold when refined by fire
manifests its true quality. People
when refined by the fire of a court trial are shown to be not only who they
are, but also what they believe.
The lesson here is that God has done
wonderful things for us, however, we often must stand trial and live the
overcoming lifestyle in order to receive those things He wants us to have. Jesus told both of these churches, or
types of believers, that they would overcome after they were “tried.”
Often trials take a long time, Satan tries to wear us
out. Many believers never finish
this courtroom process because Satan wears them out. One is worn out by taking small punishments over a long
period of time. I have read
accounts of prisoners of war experiencing this. When we don’t see our trials ending quickly, we begin to
testify for Satan. That is just
what he wants! Actually, we should
be wearing him out. “Therefore
submit to God. Resist the devil and
he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
The parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18 also
gives us insight into this idea.
“Then
He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
saying: ‘There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard
man. Now there was a widow in that
city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but
afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet
because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming
she weary me.’ Then the Lord said,
‘Hear what the unjust judge said.
And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him,
though He bears long with them? I
tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find
faith on the earth?’” (Luke 18:1-8).
Jesus is using the unjust judge here as a
contrast. If the unjust judge will
avenge the widow, then how much more will God, the just judge, speedily avenge
His children? Also notice that the
object here is the widow, which represents our helpless position. The last statement has to do with Jesus
wanting to find us waiting for vengeance in faith. Notice, it says, “faith on the earth.”
Notice in verse one, it says that we are to pray
continually. Our witness should be
the Word of God anointed by the Holy Spirit, spoken against our accuser,
Satan. Our job is to continue to
speak the Word of testimony until the trial is over. It really is not our business how long this trial lasts, or
exactly how the results will play out in our lives. That is not our business. God has a sovereign plan!
Here is the cast of characters in this courtroom.
In
this courtroom we will see that Satan is the accuser, we, or those we are
standing for, are the accused, the Father is the judge and Jesus and the Holy
Spirit are our advocates or lawyers.
We play another role in this courtroom in that we are also
witnesses.
What
is a witness?
“But
you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall
be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Too many believers just look at their “trials” in life
as a difficult time that they are going through. They are going through a difficult time. Court trials are not fun.
Jesus said this to His disciples when they were asking
Him about coming back to set up His Kingdom. He made it clear that the job of His disciples was and is to
be witnesses, and in being witnesses, His Kingdom would come. He also emphasized that we need the
power of the Holy Spirit to do this job.
I believe that Jesus was referring to the type of witness we are talking
about.
The word witness in Greek is defined as martur, meaning “one who bears
witness by his death, in a legal sense, one who is a spectator of anything,
e.g. of a contest.” I do not think
that this is limited to our traditional definition of martyr. Jesus said that we must, in a spiritual
sense, take up our cross. We die
daily when we live for Jesus. We
are killed continually when we testify to the truth. We need to be prepared to give up our physical life if
needed, but often it is more difficult to stay alive then it is to die. This is called a living sacrifice.
What
are we to witness to?
We
should only witness to the truth of God’s Word. Actually, we are not the real witnesses. We are only mouthpieces for the real
and true witness, the Holy Spirit.
He is the only one who was an eye witness to the resurrection of
Jesus. He is the only one who can
prove that Jesus was raised from the dead and that we are justified. The Holy Spirit empowers us to speak
the truth of the Word of God, and we become the witnesses. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can
help you obtain a not guilty verdict.
When going through a trial, it is vitally important to press into God’s
presence until such time when you hear Him speak a Word directly to you. It is called a rhema or revelation knowledge.
Then it is up to you to prove that you really
believe. You are called upon to
believe. How? By speaking the Word that God has given
to you about your situation as a witness.
This is usually difficult and takes discipline.
Usually the trial you are in will be difficult on your
emotions. Circumstances may not
line up with God’s promise. You
will be tempted to say the wrong thing.
You will be tempted to give up and feel that God does not care. Here is where you can prove what you
really believe. Stand on the Word!
The word of our testimony as used in Revelation 12:11,
I believe, represents testifying what the Word says that the blood of Jesus did
for us. It is testifying to
Satan’s defeat and the finished work of the Cross. It is speaking God’s promises and reading your Bible
aloud!
A very powerful way to pray as a witness is to pray in
tongues for long periods of time.
If you do not pray this way, ask God to give you this gift and to
baptize you into the Holy Spirit.
I can testify that many strong deliverances have come into my life by
praying in tongues.
Satan
cannot employ witnesses who are not human.
God
cannot employ witnesses who are not human. We are the only people authorized to speak words of
testimony on this earth. Satan
attempts to get us to speak as his witness. We are tempted to say, “My children are rebellious. I am poor. I wish I could just die. This old car of mine will never make it another mile.” Or others may become witnesses for us like
Job’s friends did. They may tell
us how bad we look. They may tell
us that so and so was trusting God but their house was foreclosed. They may tell us, “You never know what
God will do, sometimes He helps and sometimes He does not.”
While it is true that we do not know how God will
orchestrate our trial, and while we do not deny the facts of difficult
circumstances, what we do is exalt His Word as the witness, establishing the
truth, standing on the truth until such time as God judges the case in His
timing and in His wisdom. God is a
fair judge inasmuch as He allows both sides to make their case. Often that takes time.
Jesus said, “But I say to you that for every idle word
men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be
justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).
You must speak the word of your testimony, the Word of
God, out of your mouth consistently.
You must speak the Word against Satan and his demons until you
overcome. Meditate in and
repeatedly speak the Word that God has given you to stand on. Angels hearken to the Word, demons flee
at the Word. The Word applies the
blood of Jesus over your “doorpost.”
The
Holy Spirit is called the Comforter,
Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strength, Standby (John 14:26, Amplified
Bible). The word comforter in Greek means and is translated paraklesis. It
means “advocate (in a courtroom sense), combining encouragement with
alleviation of grief. It suggests
the capacity of giving aid. It was
used in a court of justice to denote a legal assistant, a counselor, and
advocate, one who pleads the case of another.” When looking up the definition of advocate, one is referred
back to comforter. An advocate is
a courtroom lawyer. Jesus is our
advocate, however, He did say that the Comforter would come and take His
place. So our witness is the
combination of the Word and the Holy Spirit.
The judicial system in America is one of the best in
the world, but it is not based upon justice, it is based upon who can win the
case, even if the guilty one is set free, or the not guilty one is jailed. Both sides are not vying for justice,
they are competing to win at any cost.
This is the way Satan works.
As a matter of fact, our judicial systems are systems of the world, and
Satan is the Prince of the World.
However, God judges righteously.
“…He (Christ) left his case in the hands of God, who always judges
fairly. He personally carried away
our sins in his own body on the cross so we can be dead to sin and live for
what is right. You have been
healed by his wounds” (1 Peter 2:23-24, New Living Bible).
Our acquittal and our justification are not based
upon our good works.
Notice
Romans chapter 5 says that we are justified by faith. This is also affirmed in verse 5:15-16, which says, “But the free gift is
not like the offense. For if by
the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the
grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not
like that which came through the one
who sinned. For the judgment which came
from one offense resulted in
condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in
justification.”
We need to face the truth while we are in
our court trials. We are most
likely guilty of something. We
have not been perfect with our children, our businesses, our spouses, or in
just living life.
This is where justification by faith comes
in. Because Jesus took our guilt,
sin, and judgment, we are set free, not by what we have done or by how we have
performed, but by faith in what He gave us as a free gift.
One of Satan’s greatest weapons is to
falsely accuse us.
Nobody
likes to be falsely accused. It is
one of the most painful experiences.
During your time in the cosmic courtroom, you will be falsely
accused. However, Jesus bore this
for you as well. He was falsely
accused during His trials, and His response was remarkable. Mark 14:60-61a says, “And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus,
saying, ‘Do You answer nothing?
What is it these men testify
against You?’ But He kept silent
and answered nothing…”
If you respond to defend yourself, you
cannot accept being justified by faith!
It
is painful but powerful to remain silent when you are falsely accused. This is an exercise in taking up your
cross, and it will crucify your flesh.
Our redemption was based upon Jesus being falsely accused, perhaps
someone else’s redemption is waiting for us to follow Jesus into this crucible. You might save someone’s life!
When you humble yourself, God’s grace kicks in.
Looking
further into Romans chapter 5, take a look at verse 5:20, which says, “Moreover the law entered that the offense might
abound. But where sin abounded,
grace abounded much more.” The
first word “abounded” is not the same Greek word as the second word
“abounded.” The second word is
exceedingly stronger. One way to
paraphrase would be to say, “Where sin struck in a great way, much greater
grace was waiting there in advance to give you the victory.”
God revealed to Daniel this idea about the Cosmic
Courtroom in end times.
Beginning
at Daniel 7:1 through 7:8 Daniel saw, in the form of various beasts, the
historic and spiritual kingdoms which had and which would rule the earth. First, he saw the Babylonian Empire as
the lion, which was toppled by the Media-Persian Empire represented as the
bear. Then, he saw the Grecian
Empire, Alexander the Great, represented by a leopard. They were all actual historic empires,
however, they also had invisible spiritual foundations.
The fourth beast was very powerful and was quite
different. It had iron teeth and devoured ruthlessly. In my opinion, this represented two
kingdoms, the actual Roman Empire and the spiritual empire of Satan in the last
days, that is after the resurrection of Christ.
This final kingdom is interesting.
Daniel
had another dream about these kingdoms in chapter 2 wherein he described this
fourth kingdom as having feet and toes made of both clay and iron, being partly
strong and partly brittle. He saw
this kingdom as being divided.
Remember, Jesus said that a kingdom divided couldn’t stand.
It started with the Roman Empire. However, the spiritual foundation of
this fourth kingdom was destroyed at the Cross. That is why it is depicted as both iron and clay. It’s natural manifestation was and is
like iron, but the truth about its spiritual foundation is that it is as clay.
In chapter 7 the Kingdom of God destroyed this fourth
and final kingdom through the courtroom process which you and I are supposed to
be a part of. In Daniel chapter 2,
Satan’s kingdom, the fourth and final one, is shown to be divided or weakened
by clay mixed with iron. It is
destroyed by God’s Kingdom this time depicted as the Rock or the Stone that was
cut out of the mountain not made with human hands. It was divine; it is Jesus the Rock.
God ordained that these empires destroy one
another. Each time, one empire
became weaker; it was destroyed by another evil empire. The final kingdom was historical
Rome. However, there is a
transition here. The spiritual
power holding up the final kingdom is destroyed by God’s Kingdom. Jesus came during the Roman Empire. His Kingdom was established during it,
and we partake in its final destruction.
Jesus destroyed Satan’s kingdom, but we must take His victory and make
it real in this world. We are
responsible for working with Him for the final destruction.
In Daniel chapter 2, Satan’s kingdom is shown as
destroyed by the Kingdom of God.
In chapter Daniel chapter 7, the Scripture goes into more detail into
how that destruction takes place.
What is so interesting is just as God describes all of
these empires in Daniel 7:1-8, in verse 9 He showed Daniel a courtroom. Why? I believe because this is how the final kingdom is finally
destroyed. Jesus took them all
down at the Cross, but our overcoming in the Cosmic Courtroom brings them down
finally.
One thing to keep in mind on a personal level. When our circumstances look like the
iron toes, something we cannot handle, and enemy that is too strong for us,
just remember the spiritual foundation of that kingdom is made from clay. The Cross of Jesus and His resurrection
did this. If we stand, we will prevail,
and the enemy with clay feet will fall!
Daniel saw this final kingdom, this horrible beast
defeated in a courtroom!
If
you don’t remember anything in this chapter remember this; Satan’s work against
you is finally brought to an end in a Cosmic Courtroom setting, and if you are
ignorant of how this works, you may not overcome!
God showed Daniel about the final beast.
“Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was
different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of
bronze, which
devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; and the ten
horns that were on its
head, and the other horn
which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a
mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.
I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and
prevailing against them” (Daniel 7:19-21). Notice the “pompous words.” These are words from Satanically influenced people and/or
spirits that accuse you falsely.
“Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be
a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole
earth, trample it and break it in pieces.
The ten horns are
ten kings who shall
arise from this kingdom. And
another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall
persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and
law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time
and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:23-25).
Things always look bad at first.
The
prosecutor, Satan, accuses you.
The evidence comes in. It
does not look good. He begins to
wear you out. You check out his
record and discover that he has worn out many before he focused on you. You feel fear!
You hear the verdict in the lower court,
“guilty.” Perhaps you did not
handle things just right and you do have some guilt. Maybe you were without guilt but the prosecutor was just
skilled. Maybe the doctor’s report
acts like a conviction against you. Job has been in this courtroom and we have
a first hand report on how it worked out for him. He appealed to the Supreme Court. You decide to try one more appeal, maybe, just maybe you can
overcome the impending sentences and doom.
You walk into the Supreme Court and you glance over
and see Satan at the prosecutor’s bench.
He is staring at you with evil so thick that you can feel it in your
bones. You see his intelligence
and his stacks of papers of evidence.
He is smiling at you. You
try not to look at him, but you catch him smirking at you with one eyebrow
raised in wicked self-confidence.
Then the participants in the courtroom
all gasp at what they see.
A being enters the Courtroom! Just before you are getting ready to cave in, just before
you feel that you cannot stand any longer, just when you have given up all hope
in your fleshly resources for making a defense you decide to enter into
praise. You are praising the Lord
for his character, His reputation, His reliability, and His faithfulness (this
is called “The New Song”). Just
then the Father, the Supreme Court Judge, steps into the courtroom!
All of the sudden, a voice sweeps the room and says, “All rise for the
judge.”
Daniel 7:9-10 (Amplified Bible) says, “I kept looking
until thrones were placed [for the assessors with the Judge], and the Ancient
of Days [God the eternal Father] took His seat, Whose garment was white as snow
and the hair of His head like pure wool.
His throne was like the fiery flame; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire came forth from before
Him; a thousand thousands ministered to Him and ten thousand times ten thousand
(one hundred million) (some courtroom) rose up and stood before Him: the Judge
was seated [the court was in session] and the books were opened.”
“I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of
Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they
brought Him near before Him” (Daniel 7:13).
Imagine with me that something like this takes place. The Holy Spirit comes over to you, puts
His arm around your back and says, “My friend, leave this one to Me. I have been here before, and I know the
judge personally.”
The Holy Spirit comes before the Ancient of Days. He asks Him to look out the
window. The Ancient of Days
commands the curtain and the window to be thrown open. He has a bittersweet look as His head
turns and He sees outside the city.
He sees Golgotha. Behold,
He sees a Lamb slain on a Cross.
He turns to you and to me and He says, “You are not guilty, you are acquitted and justified! He says to the demon, “You go to the
pit!”
“But the court shall be seated, and they
shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of
the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions
shall serve and obey Him” (Daniel 7:26-27).
“Until the Ancient of Days came, and a
judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints
to possess the kingdom” (Daniel 7:22).
This is a paradox because in order to be considered
not guilty, you must plead guilty so that the judge may have mercy. You are justified by faith, not by
works.
“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect [when
it is] God Who justifies [that is, Who puts us in right relations to
Himself? Who shall come forward
and accuse or impeach those whom God has chosen? Will God, Who acquits us?]” (Romans 8:33, Amplified Bible).
The end of the matter in Daniels dream in
chapter 2 is similar and parallel.
“And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which
shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
forever. Inasmuch as you saw that
the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in
pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold – the great God
has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its
interpretation is sure” (Daniel 2:44-45).
Daniel’s prophetic dreams tell us that
overcoming is painful and takes a long time to prevail against the workers of
darkness. They tell us that
overcoming takes place in a Cosmic Courtroom. The final chapters of Daniel confirm this. The Book of Revelation is a parallel
prophetic vision.
What is the end result?
Next time you find yourself in a trial, a suffering, know for sure that it
is a trial, but the
judge is God the Father, your Advocate is Jesus and your accuser is Satan
himself. Look behind the
circumstances that always lie.
Look to the Word.
The curse is broken, and vengeance is taken. Jesus’ mission statement in Isaiah 61,
states that the many things that Jesus wishes to do for us come after the “Day
of vengeance.” I believe you will
see a multitude of results after overcoming.
As bad as the trial has been, you will feel glad for
having participated (in a bittersweet way). Next, you have broken the curse(s) from your life, and your
family line. Also, because the
curse is broken, the demon(s) who had attached themselves to the curse are
heading for an early retirement in the pit.
In addition, you have entered new realms of operating
in the Kingdom of God here on earth.
You life has been purified, and you have a much more intimate fellowship
experience with the Lord. Finally,
you are now the minister of comfort, an advocate for others who are going
through similar circumstances. You
are one of the saints riding with Jesus on white horses in Revelation chapter
19 coming to the aid of others.
How long do you need to stand on the Word and speak
the word of your testimony? Until
you win!
“And
they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until
You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation
6:10). “And
since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I
believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak” (2
Corinthians 4:13).
Always
remember that when things look really bad, you are in a “trial”, a real but invisible trial in the Cosmic
Courtroom. Your job is to live out
the overcoming process and God’s plan for your life will prevail.