The cloud of witnesses in the courts of heaven

The cloud of witnesses in the courts of heaven

Robert Henderson

The cloud of witnesses in the courts of heaven is the sixth of Robert Henderson's books on the courts of heaven.  It follows on from Operating in the courts of heaven, Unlocking destinies from the courts of heaven, and Receiving healing from the courts of heaven, Prayers & declarations that open the courts of heaven, and The trading floors of heaven.  I would strongly recommend that you read them in that order, as each one builds on the teaching in the previous titles.

We are all aware that 'the great cloud of witnesses' is mentioned in Hebrews 12: 1, and it is obvious from this Scripture that this cloud is significant.  But seemingly in contrast, Leviticus 20: 6 forbids us to seek to communicate with the dead.  But then Matthew 17 records the appearance of Elijah and Elisha.  Then we realise that the saints who have gone before are of course very much alive.  In the Preface, Larry Sparks points out that:

'When the Spirit of God pulls back the veil, so to speak, and invites us into encounters with those in the heavenly dimensions, we need to know how to steward such visitations.  It's always for the purpose of propelling us further into our kingdom assignments so that the Lamb will receive the reward of His suffering.'

But how do the great cloud of witnesses do this?  This is what Robert Henderson teases out from Scripture.

'When we talk of the great cloud of witnesses, we are talking of those who have already transitioned into heaven.  They are presently in a heavenly realm with a function to still see God's will done ..... Hebrews 12: 1 comes on the heels of Hebrews 11, where the people of faith are spoken of with great admiration.  These are obviously some of those who are part of this great cloud ..... Hebrews 12 speaks of their place of influence and authority in heaven because of the lives they lived.  Their '"testimony" is the Greek "martureo".  It means a judicial witness.  When the Bible calls them the great cloud of witnesses, it is on purpose.  They literally have a judicial function in heaven.  They are not on a cloud playing a harp somewhere.  They are still functioning to see the passion of God fulfilled on earth.'

I particularly like Robert Henderson's concluding remarks:

'As we finish our thoughts on the great cloud of witnesses, I want to re-emphasise once again that it's all about Jesus.  It doesn't matter what encounter we might have, what doctrine we are excited about, or what gift or visitation we have.  If these things do not press us and push us to new levels of love and passion for Jesus, we should run from them.'

Robert Henderson has been in ministry since the mid 1980s  He travels worldwide teaching on the material in this and his other books.  He lives in Texas with his wife Mary.