• The most common use of the idea of “the courts of our God” in the Bible has in mind the courts of the tabernacle or temple.

• The courts of the tabernacle were made after the pattern of the courts of heaven – the throne room or area of God’s heavenly throne.

• By the work of Jesus, the veil has been torn in two – God’s courts are open wide to all who will approach by faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

A question from Eric…

I would like Pastor David’s take on THE COURTS OF HEAVEN, as related to HEALING by Praying and Confessing UNREPENTED SIN.

The concept of the COURTS OF HEAVEN is new to me, but some pastors that mention it seemed to be linked to Prosperity Gospel. (God the Judge, rather than God the Father).

Answer

The idea of “courts of heaven” is tied to a few concepts.

First, the courts of the tabernacle and the courts of the temple.

Psalm 64:5

Blessed is the man You choose,
And cause to approach You,
That he may dwell in Your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Of Your holy temple.

Psalm 84:2

My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the LORD;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Psalm 84:10

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psalm 92:13

Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.

So, the most common use of the idea of “the courts of our God” in the Bible has in mind the courts of the tabernacle or temple.

But the Bible tells us that the tabernacle/temple is a model of a heavenly reality.

Hebrews 8:5 puts it like this:

…who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “SEE THAT YOU MAKE ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.”

The courts of the tabernacle were made after the pattern of the courts of heaven – the throne room or area of God’s heavenly throne.

Yet, the good news is that by the work of Jesus Christ and the new covenant, He instituted by His blood, the courts of heaven are open wide to the believer.

Hebrews 10:19-22

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

The way Eric phrased his question makes me wonder if he has been told that the “courts of heaven” are something like a court of law where defendants are tried before a judge, guilt or innocence is determined, and sentences are handed out.

That’s really not the sense of “the courts of heaven” – we have access to God, to come into His presence, into His courts, through prayer, worship, waiting upon Him.

There are, or will be, judgments made in heaven. Believers will face the judgment seat of Christ, where what they have done and how they have lived (or not lived) for the Lord will be judged. Everyone else will face the great white throne judgment and be sentenced to eternity in the lake of fire. Those are judgments, and they happen before the throne of God, but that isn’t the association with the phrase “the courts of heaven.”

I don’t really know what association that prosperity gospel preachers might have with the concept of the courts of heaven, but what the Bible tells us is wonderful enough.

By the work of Jesus, the veil has been torn in two – God’s courts are open wide to all who will approach by faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.