Heavenly Courts - do they really exist?

Soon after I was baptized with the Holy Spirit years ago, I found myself sitting with my Bible in my hands, wondering: what to do now?  How do I go about reading the Bible – I mean, before this incredible event in my life I had read lesson plans from this book or that magazine; I had attended seminars on how to interpret Scripture; the church had structured reading essays we could follow; there were numerous Daily Devotions to be found; and many topic-specific reading plans, too many to actually count.

And while these all have a place and purpose, I knew that the Holy Spirit was prompting me to do something on my own.  Something completely different for me.  So with great trepidation, because I had not really before known that I could actually personally hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, I decided to read a Psalm (starting with Ps 1 and following their order), a portion from the Old Testament (I started reading from Gen 1 and kept reading in the order of the books) and a portion from the New Testament (I chose whatever book I felt the Spirit indicated and read a chapter a day until the end).  And this has roughly been my “reading plan” throughout the last couple of years. 

Now because the portions I am reading are not selected by me according to some topic, or chosen because they are related, I really sit up and take notice when Holy Spirit lines up all three in some way!  This happened again just recently.  From my three reading portions these verses stood out:

Ps 82:1 “God stands in the assembly [of the representatives] of God; in the midst of the magistrates or judges He gives judgment [as] among the gods. Verse 6:  I said, You are gods [since you judge on My behalf, as My representatives]; indeed all of you are children of the Most High.” 

2 Chron 18:18 “[Micaiah] said, Therefore hear the word of the Lord:  I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing at His right hand and His left. Verse 19: And the Lord said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said this thing, and another that.”

2 Cor 12:2  “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows – was caught up to the third heaven.  Verse 4:  Was caught up in paradise, and he heard utterances beyond the power of man to put into words, which man is not permitted to utter.”

And in my heart the Spirit connected these verses to convince me, in His own special way (which is rhema word, and has nothing to do with theological debates) that yes, there are Heavenly Courts and yes, people may enter there and co-work with God.

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