God Has Problems
“Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One seated on the throne. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look inside it. Then I saw a Lamb …And He came and took the scroll from the right hand of the One seated on the throne” (Rev. 5:1-3, 6-7).
God has problems. My sin, your sin, not a problem, Jesus took care of all that at the cross. There are bigger fish to fry, bigger problems than mankind, problems that started way back in Genesis that finally come to a head in Revelation. At this time in scripture, the Church has been raptured, and Christ has His Bride in heaven (Rev. 5:9-10). This is now a whole new dispensation and God is ready to sort out the universe, to deal with the root of all problems, that which created all of the issues for mankind from the very beginning. If we think this part of scripture is about our sin, we are missing the point of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. So, what is the point? If man is not the source of God's problems, then where do God’s problems come from? The mighty angel, searching for someone to break the seals and open the scroll, he has the answer: heaven, earth, and under the earth.
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God… I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:12-15). Heaven is one of the three places God has had to put down rebellion against His authority. Lucifer is a one-time, light-bearing cherubim who decided he wanted to be God, and that old serpent, the Devil, the original rebel, is a problem and has been since he tempted Eve in the garden (Gen. 3:1, Rev. 5:3). If he had his way, he would never stop lying and deceiving. But he will not have his way. The LORD is about to deal with him once and for all.
Satan is a problem and his minions are a problem too. “He was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev. 12:9). They wanted to be gods on earth. They rebelled against God by procreating with the daughters of man (Gen. 6:1). This rebellion broke God's order and produced demon seed offspring, sullying the gene pool of mankind and spreading wickedness throughout the earth. As a result, God destroyed everything that was not on Noah’s Ark and for these particular fallen angels, He had a special place reserved (Gen. 6:13). Their rebellion sent them to hell, bound under the earth, where they remain to this day (2 Pt. 2:4, Jude 6). God has additional judgment for these fallen angels, but first, they have one more opportunity to wreak havoc on the wicked occupants of earth, courtesy of God Himself. Literally, all hell is about to break loose (Rev. 9:1-6, Jude 6).
So, we have talked about problems in heaven and under the earth but what about God’s problems on the earth? What kind of rebellion could remain for God to judge on the earth? “‘Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar” (Gen. 11:1-3). You will never see this scripture on a bumper sticker but it explains the problem God has on earth. There is a system of rebellion that man has put in place known as Babylon. This Babylonian system of rebellion started with Nimrod and the building of the Tower of Babel. Noah’s descendants were not supposed to build cities, God had commanded them to scatter throughout the earth but they disobeyed (Gen. 9:1). He had promised not to flood the earth again but even the material they used to build, waterproof brick and mortar, exhibited their mistrust and rebellion (4, 11). This system of rebellion is still in full effect and God is going to deal with it. The way man manages the world, thinking he can defy God and do things his own way, will not last. Only what you do for Christ will last. Babylon is going to fall (Rev. 18).
A rhetorical question; silence was the response. There was only One who could open the scroll. The same One who opened blind eyes and deaf ears. The One who, on the third day, opened the tomb. He can open the gates of hell and the doors of heaven. The Lamb of God. He took away the sins of the world, now, He has got to put things back in order, the way God intended them to be. Look around, the entire world is a mess and you do not know the half of it. So, what is next? How do we sort it all out? We don’t…He does.
