5. Who Owns the Earth?
REVELATION 5:1-7
I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne [in the right hand of God] a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals (Revelation 5:1).
The word book in the King James Version is better translated as "scroll" from the Greek.
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the scroll, neither to look thereon.
And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the scroll, neither to look thereon (Revelation 5:2-4).
The Father is sitting upon the throne. In His right hand there is a scroll.
It has writing on the inside and on the outside and is sealed with seven seals.
An angel proclaims with a strong voice, "Who is worthy to take this scroll and to break the seals?" Because no one is found worthy in heaven or earth to take it, John begins to sob convulsively.
What is the scroll? What are the seals? What is their significance?
This scroll must be the title deed of the earth.
When God created the earth He gave it to man, who was in the Garden of Eden. God said, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth" (Genesis 1:28).
He placed man in Eden to dress the garden and to keep it. God gave man one restriction: don't eat of the tree in the midst of the garden, the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
God said, "The day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17).
We don't know how long man dwelt in the Garden. But one day Satan came, tempted Eve, and she ate. She gave to Adam and he ate. They forfeited their right to the earth to Satan who had deceived and tempted them.
Know ye not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Romans 6:16).
By yielding themselves to the suggestion of Satan (eating of the forbidden fruit), they acted doubly.
It was a disobedience to God which took them out of
fellowship with God, but it was also an obedience to Satan which brought them into submission to Satan.
At that point man forfeited the right to the earth.
The title deed of the earth was passed over to Satan, and the world became Satan's.
Jesus came to redeem the world back to God - to buy the "field."
The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he hath, and buys that field (Matthew 13:44).
The "treasure" in the field is the church.
Jesus died to purchase the earth. It was God's to begin with. God created it, but He gave it to man. Man, in turn, forfeited it to Satan, and Satan has been the ruler of the world ever since.
When Jesus came, Satan took Him up to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the earth.
Satan said, "All these things will I give you [for they are mine and I can give them to whomever I will], if you will fall down and worship me" (Matthew 4:9).
Satan claimed as his own the kingdoms of the world and the power to give them over to Jesus Christ - if Jesus would only bow and worship him.
Jesus did not dispute Satan's claim. It was a valid claim. The kingdoms of the world belonged to Satan.
Don't blame God for the starvation in the world today.
Don't blame God for deformed babies.
Don't blame God for wars and crimes.
These have come as the result of man's rebellion against God.
You don't see God's order in the world today.
You see Satan's order. He's the prince of the world.
Jesus, in referring to Satan, said to His disciples, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me" (John 14:30).
Paul called Satan "the god of this world."
We see the world under Satan's control. "The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not" (II Corinthians 4:4).
Thank God that He chose us in His love and opened our eyes to His truth so we might come into His kingdom!
Jesus came to redeem the world back to God. He paid the price of redemption when He died for us upon the cross. We are redeemed not with corruptible things such as silver and gold from the former life but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ (I Peter 1:18-19).
Jesus bought the world, but He has not yet taken possession of it.
God has placed all things in subjection under Him, but we do not yet see all things in subjection to Him (I Peter 1:18-19).
Though Jesus purchased the world, He has not yet taken the title deed to it and claimed that which He has purchased. He's going to do that very soon.
A very interesting Jewish law is encountered here - the law of the forfeiture of property. If you as a Jew lost your property by forfeit, it remained with the new owner for a period of years.
In the appointed year you had the right to purchase your property back as long as you could fulfill the requirements that were written
in the scroll which was sealed.
Under Jewish law, if you yourself couldn't redeem your property, a relative or near of kin could step in and redeem it.
This way the property remained in the family. If your relative did redeem it, he would be known as the goel (in Hebrew) or "kinsman redeemer."
Now, if in the seventh year no one was able to redeem the property, then it would remain under the new ownership.
You never totally lost ownership until this redemption period was over and you or the kinsman redeemer were unable to fulfill the requirements of redemption.
On the other hand, if you could redeem it, you would call for the elders of the city to meet with you before the city gates.
You would bring out the scroll that had all the requirements upon it and you would break the seal.
You'd open the scroll and show your ability to pay the price, proving that you had the right to redeem it.
You could actually purchase the property back for yourself in that year of redemption.
Likewise, if you were sold into slavehood, you would remain
a slave for six years, but the seventh year you would be set free.
This was the Jewish law of redemption - being set free.
This law is significant because man was sold into the slavery of sin about six thousand years ago.
The right of redemption will soon be up.
Satan has possessed this place for about six thousand years, and we're about to enter the seventh thousand-year era very soon.
This will be the millennial reign of Christ as God redeems that which He purchased through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Man through the years has been trying to figure out exactly when the six thousand years will come to an end.
We cannot know for sure, but we know we're getting close. "No man knows the day or the hour" (Matthew 24:36).
In the heavenly scene of Revelation 5 this "scroll" is the title deed of the earth.
The time has come, the six thousand years have expired, and the angel proclaimed with a strong voice, "Who is worthy to take the scroll? Who can purchase the world back from Satan?" No man was found worthy.
No man can redeem himself, much less the world.
John said that when no one was found worthy, he began to sob convulsively. Why?
Because it meant that the world would go on forever in Satan's power and control.
Such a thing was unthinkable in the mind of John.
We see the world today and the tragic results of man's submission to Satan's authority - the sicknesses, the sorrows, and the sufferings.
To think that we would have to go on forever in this condition would indeed be a sad thing.
But "one of the elders said, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof" (Revelation 5:5).
John turned and "in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne" (Revelation 5:7).
John sees the Lion of the tribe of Judah take the book to loose the seals.
However, John saw Him not as a lion; he saw Jesus as a lamb that had been slain.
Evidently, the marks of the crucifixion are still upon Christ when He is in heaven in glory.
We know that after His resurrection Jesus had the marks of the cross in His hands and feet.
It is possible that He still had the marks of the buffeting upon
His face, because the disciples didn't recognize Him. Mary didn't recognize Him in the garden; she thought He was the gardener.
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus didn't recognize Him.
His face may have been disfigured.
It may be so even in heaven, for John sees Him as a lamb that had been slain.
Isaiah, prophetically looking forward, said, "Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?" (Isaiah 53:1).
Isaiah speaks of seeing Christ and the shock we'll have at seeing Him. "There's no beauty in Him that we should desire Him" (Isaiah 53:2).
It's very possible that, when we first see Christ, He'll still be bearing the marks of His suffering.
Isaiah said that as many as looked at Him were astonished because His face was so marred (Isaiah 52:14).
Jesus could not be recognized as a man because of the beating that He took.
It's a heavy thought to think that Jesus might still be bearing these marks for our sins.
We may see them as a reminder of God's love for us, and our hearts will go out to Jesus because He suffered so much for us. We shall ultimately see Him in His glory when He returns with His church to reign over the earth.
Isaiah also speaks about the astonishment of seeing Satan.
They shall be astonished who look upon Lucifer, saying, "Is this the one who created all that trouble on the earth and gave me such a bad time?" (Isaiah 14:10-19).
I think we'll be astonished when we see Satan because of his intense beauty - one of the most beautiful beings created by God.
