Chapter 59 The Book of Life
The “book of life” occurs eight times in the Bible of which seven are in Revelation. God gave Paul insight into the existence of the book of life, seen in:
Phil 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
Paul mentions people who were labouring for God, characterised by having their names written in the book of life. Interesting concepts come from texts that mention the book of life in Revelation. The first I want to look at is that the Lamb – Christ – was slain from the foundation of the Earth:
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
It says here that Christ was slain, crucified from the foundation of the World. Before the Earth was created, God in His omniscience, knew that man would fall. God also made a way out of sin before man even existed. The Father and the Son planned that the Son would offer Himself to be incarnated, and then sacrificed to pay the penalty for sin and open up a door for man to be recreated and restored. It was a done deal before creation, therefore the Son of God, the Lamb, was slain from the foundation of the World.
A second verse that refers to the time before creation is:
Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
This verse indicates there are people on Earth whose names are not in the Book of Life, written before the foundation of the Earth. This verse seems to underscore the doctrine of predestination. Some people are predestined to damnation. God does not predestine anyone, but has given everyone on Earth choice. Most choose against Him. With His perfect omniscience, He knows the final choice of every person on Earth. We all still have perfect free choice. He simply just knows what our choice will be. This concept confirms the fact that God does not need an Investigative Judgement when He has known our final choice since before creation (previous chapter). This verse indicates that the names of the saved are written in the Book of Life before the World was created.
Rev 3:5 indicates that names may be removed from the Book of Life:
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
This verse seems to contradict the fact that God has a perfect foreknowledge and that the Book of Life was complete before creation. However, what this verse accentuates is that we have choice in our destination. If we do not overcome the hardships of life, and especially those at the end of time, we can have our names removed from the Book of Life. We have to overcome daily by the blood of the Lamb – not in our own strength. Clothing with white raiment is an indication of favourable sealing at death or at the Close of Probation.
After the Millenium, the executive judgement will take place. Judgement is already made at first deaths and Closings of Probation, but after the Millenium the executive judgement is put into motion, and the verdicts are already written in books, including the Book of Life:
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Other books contain the deeds of everyone, good deeds and evil deeds. Unforgiven evil deeds lead to a person’s name not being in the Book of Life. Those whose names are not in the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire.
Rev 21:27 confirms that those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will not enter into the New Jerusalem, i.e. eternal life.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
The last reference to the Book of Life in Revelation goes along with Rev 3:5 having to do with the removal of our names from the Book of Life. Here the fateful crime is removing things from the book of Revelation. At the loss of our eternal destiny, we may not alter anything in the book of Revelation. If we remove something, our names will be removed from the Book of Life. If we add something, the plagues of Revelation will be added to us (Rev 22:18):
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
We learn quite a lot about the Book of Life from Revelation. The Book of Life features elsewhere in Revelation without it being named as such. The scroll of Rev 4-6 and 8, sealed with 7 Seals, is the Book of Life. How do we know that? If we follow the drama that unfolds in Rev 4 and 5 we come to see this. Revelation 4 gives an elaborate description of the throne room of God the Father in all His Glory. We see four beasts, 24 elders and the seven spirits of God. The focus moves to a specific object in chapter 5 – a scroll with 7 Seals. The whole universe is searched, and no one is found worthy of opening the seals of the book. John weeps. The contents of this book is very important, so much so that if it cannot be opened there is no salvation for any human. Then someone worthy is found: The Lamb that was slain. Why is the Lamb worthy? Because He is the Son of God and was slain. It has taken a member of the Godhead to pay our sin-debt. Without the death of Christ, none of us would be saved. There would be no judgement and all of us would be condemned. Because He has died in our place, everyone has a chance at salvation. Some accept this free gift, and others reject it. That is why the Seals elaborate on how people accept or reject salvation.
When all the Seals are removed, the content of the scroll is revealed. What does it reveal? It reveals the names of those that have accepted God’s salvation – the Book of Life. Before creation God knew that the incarnation of His Son, and His propitiatory death would be a success. Likewise He knew the names of all the humans that would accept the sacrifice of His Son before creation. When the seventh Seal is broken, the scroll reveals the names. We saw that all the Trumpets are part of the seventh Seal, and the last Trumpet is the Close of Probation. When Probation Closes, the Book of Life is opened and the names of the saved are revealed.
When the Lamb appears before the throne of God, all heaven and all nature erupt in jubilation – the four living creatures, the 24 elders, the angelic host, and by implication the 144 000. They first fall down before the Lamb, and at the end of chapter 5 they fall down and worship the Father as well.
How are the 144 000 implied? Rev 5:9, 10 reads as follows:
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
This obviously cannot refer to angels. My understanding of who the 24 elders are, which I will write about in the future, is that they are the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve apostles. These were not redeemed from every kindred, tongue, people and nation. It cannot refer to all the saved, because all the saved cannot be kings and priests. This is the role of the 144 000 on the New Earth, so by implication, even if they are not mentioned as such, the “us” in verse 9 refers to the 144 000.
Ask God to make you worthy to either be one of those that fall down before the Lamb and the Father when Probation Closes, or be part of the great multitude that will worship God and the Lamb in heaven after the Second Advent. It is not worth being weighed in the balance and found wanting.
The “book of life” occurs eight times in the Bible of which seven are in Revelation. God gave Paul insight into the existence of the book of life, seen in:
Phil 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
Paul mentions people who were labouring for God, characterised by having their names written in the book of life. Interesting concepts come from texts that mention the book of life in Revelation. The first I want to look at is that the Lamb – Christ – was slain from the foundation of the Earth:
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
It says here that Christ was slain, crucified from the foundation of the World. Before the Earth was created, God in His omniscience, knew that man would fall. God also made a way out of sin before man even existed. The Father and the Son planned that the Son would offer Himself to be incarnated, and then sacrificed to pay the penalty for sin and open up a door for man to be recreated and restored. It was a done deal before creation, therefore the Son of God, the Lamb, was slain from the foundation of the World.
A second verse that refers to the time before creation is:
Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
This verse indicates there are people on Earth whose names are not in the Book of Life, written before the foundation of the Earth. This verse seems to underscore the doctrine of predestination. Some people are predestined to damnation. God does not predestine anyone, but has given everyone on Earth choice. Most choose against Him. With His perfect omniscience, He knows the final choice of every person on Earth. We all still have perfect free choice. He simply just knows what our choice will be. This concept confirms the fact that God does not need an Investigative Judgement when He has known our final choice since before creation (previous chapter). This verse indicates that the names of the saved are written in the Book of Life before the World was created.
Rev 3:5 indicates that names may be removed from the Book of Life:
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
This verse seems to contradict the fact that God has a perfect foreknowledge and that the Book of Life was complete before creation. However, what this verse accentuates is that we have choice in our destination. If we do not overcome the hardships of life, and especially those at the end of time, we can have our names removed from the Book of Life. We have to overcome daily by the blood of the Lamb – not in our own strength. Clothing with white raiment is an indication of favourable sealing at death or at the Close of Probation.
After the Millenium, the executive judgement will take place. Judgement is already made at first deaths and Closings of Probation, but after the Millenium the executive judgement is put into motion, and the verdicts are already written in books, including the Book of Life:
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Other books contain the deeds of everyone, good deeds and evil deeds. Unforgiven evil deeds lead to a person’s name not being in the Book of Life. Those whose names are not in the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire.
Rev 21:27 confirms that those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will not enter into the New Jerusalem, i.e. eternal life.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
The last reference to the Book of Life in Revelation goes along with Rev 3:5 having to do with the removal of our names from the Book of Life. Here the fateful crime is removing things from the book of Revelation. At the loss of our eternal destiny, we may not alter anything in the book of Revelation. If we remove something, our names will be removed from the Book of Life. If we add something, the plagues of Revelation will be added to us (Rev 22:18):
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
We learn quite a lot about the Book of Life from Revelation. The Book of Life features elsewhere in Revelation without it being named as such. The scroll of Rev 4-6 and 8, sealed with 7 Seals, is the Book of Life. How do we know that? If we follow the drama that unfolds in Rev 4 and 5 we come to see this. Revelation 4 gives an elaborate description of the throne room of God the Father in all His Glory. We see four beasts, 24 elders and the seven spirits of God. The focus moves to a specific object in chapter 5 – a scroll with 7 Seals. The whole universe is searched, and no one is found worthy of opening the seals of the book. John weeps. The contents of this book is very important, so much so that if it cannot be opened there is no salvation for any human. Then someone worthy is found: The Lamb that was slain. Why is the Lamb worthy? Because He is the Son of God and was slain. It has taken a member of the Godhead to pay our sin-debt. Without the death of Christ, none of us would be saved. There would be no judgement and all of us would be condemned. Because He has died in our place, everyone has a chance at salvation. Some accept this free gift, and others reject it. That is why the Seals elaborate on how people accept or reject salvation.
When all the Seals are removed, the content of the scroll is revealed. What does it reveal? It reveals the names of those that have accepted God’s salvation – the Book of Life. Before creation God knew that the incarnation of His Son, and His propitiatory death would be a success. Likewise He knew the names of all the humans that would accept the sacrifice of His Son before creation. When the seventh Seal is broken, the scroll reveals the names. We saw that all the Trumpets are part of the seventh Seal, and the last Trumpet is the Close of Probation. When Probation Closes, the Book of Life is opened and the names of the saved are revealed.
When the Lamb appears before the throne of God, all heaven and all nature erupt in jubilation – the four living creatures, the 24 elders, the angelic host, and by implication the 144 000. They first fall down before the Lamb, and at the end of chapter 5 they fall down and worship the Father as well.
How are the 144 000 implied? Rev 5:9, 10 reads as follows:
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
This obviously cannot refer to angels. My understanding of who the 24 elders are, which I will write about in the future, is that they are the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve apostles. These were not redeemed from every kindred, tongue, people and nation. It cannot refer to all the saved, because all the saved cannot be kings and priests. This is the role of the 144 000 on the New Earth, so by implication, even if they are not mentioned as such, the “us” in verse 9 refers to the 144 000.
Ask God to make you worthy to either be one of those that fall down before the Lamb and the Father when Probation Closes, or be part of the great multitude that will worship God and the Lamb in heaven after the Second Advent. It is not worth being weighed in the balance and found wanting.
Chapter 59 The Book of Life
The “book of life” occurs eight times in the Bible of which seven are in Revelation. God gave Paul insight into the existence of the book of life, seen in:
Phil 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
Paul mentions people who were labouring for God, characterised by having their names written in the book of life. Interesting concepts come from texts that mention the book of life in Revelation. The first I want to look at is that the Lamb – Christ – was slain from the foundation of the Earth:
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
It says here that Christ was slain, crucified from the foundation of the World. Before the Earth was created, God in His omniscience, knew that man would fall. God also made a way out of sin before man even existed. The Father and the Son planned that the Son would offer Himself to be incarnated, and then sacrificed to pay the penalty for sin and open up a door for man to be recreated and restored. It was a done deal before creation, therefore the Son of God, the Lamb, was slain from the foundation of the World.
A second verse that refers to the time before creation is:
Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
This verse indicates there are people on Earth whose names are not in the Book of Life, written before the foundation of the Earth. This verse seems to underscore the doctrine of predestination. Some people are predestined to damnation. God does not predestine anyone, but has given everyone on Earth choice. Most choose against Him. With His perfect omniscience, He knows the final choice of every person on Earth. We all still have perfect free choice. He simply just knows what our choice will be. This concept confirms the fact that God does not need an Investigative Judgement when He has known our final choice since before creation (previous chapter). This verse indicates that the names of the saved are written in the Book of Life before the World was created.
Rev 3:5 indicates that names may be removed from the Book of Life:
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
This verse seems to contradict the fact that God has a perfect foreknowledge and that the Book of Life was complete before creation. However, what this verse accentuates is that we have choice in our destination. If we do not overcome the hardships of life, and especially those at the end of time, we can have our names removed from the Book of Life. We have to overcome daily by the blood of the Lamb – not in our own strength. Clothing with white raiment is an indication of favourable sealing at death or at the Close of Probation.
After the Millenium, the executive judgement will take place. Judgement is already made at first deaths and Closings of Probation, but after the Millenium the executive judgement is put into motion, and the verdicts are already written in books, including the Book of Life:
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Other books contain the deeds of everyone, good deeds and evil deeds. Unforgiven evil deeds lead to a person’s name not being in the Book of Life. Those whose names are not in the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire.
Rev 21:27 confirms that those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will not enter into the New Jerusalem, i.e. eternal life.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
The last reference to the Book of Life in Revelation goes along with Rev 3:5 having to do with the removal of our names from the Book of Life. Here the fateful crime is removing things from the book of Revelation. At the loss of our eternal destiny, we may not alter anything in the book of Revelation. If we remove something, our names will be removed from the Book of Life. If we add something, the plagues of Revelation will be added to us (Rev 22:18):
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
We learn quite a lot about the Book of Life from Revelation. The Book of Life features elsewhere in Revelation without it being named as such. The scroll of Rev 4-6 and 8, sealed with 7 Seals, is the Book of Life. How do we know that? If we follow the drama that unfolds in Rev 4 and 5 we come to see this. Revelation 4 gives an elaborate description of the throne room of God the Father in all His Glory. We see four beasts, 24 elders and the seven spirits of God. The focus moves to a specific object in chapter 5 – a scroll with 7 Seals. The whole universe is searched, and no one is found worthy of opening the seals of the book. John weeps. The contents of this book is very important, so much so that if it cannot be opened there is no salvation for any human. Then someone worthy is found: The Lamb that was slain. Why is the Lamb worthy? Because He is the Son of God and was slain. It has taken a member of the Godhead to pay our sin-debt. Without the death of Christ, none of us would be saved. There would be no judgement and all of us would be condemned. Because He has died in our place, everyone has a chance at salvation. Some accept this free gift, and others reject it. That is why the Seals elaborate on how people accept or reject salvation.
When all the Seals are removed, the content of the scroll is revealed. What does it reveal? It reveals the names of those that have accepted God’s salvation – the Book of Life. Before creation God knew that the incarnation of His Son, and His propitiatory death would be a success. Likewise He knew the names of all the humans that would accept the sacrifice of His Son before creation. When the seventh Seal is broken, the scroll reveals the names. We saw that all the Trumpets are part of the seventh Seal, and the last Trumpet is the Close of Probation. When Probation Closes, the Book of Life is opened and the names of the saved are revealed.
When the Lamb appears before the throne of God, all heaven and all nature erupt in jubilation – the four living creatures, the 24 elders, the angelic host, and by implication the 144 000. They first fall down before the Lamb, and at the end of chapter 5 they fall down and worship the Father as well.
How are the 144 000 implied? Rev 5:9, 10 reads as follows:
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
This obviously cannot refer to angels. My understanding of who the 24 elders are, which I will write about in the future, is that they are the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve apostles. These were not redeemed from every kindred, tongue, people and nation. It cannot refer to all the saved, because all the saved cannot be kings and priests. This is the role of the 144 000 on the New Earth, so by implication, even if they are not mentioned as such, the “us” in verse 9 refers to the 144 000.
Ask God to make you worthy to either be one of those that fall down before the Lamb and the Father when Probation Closes, or be part of the great multitude that will worship God and the Lamb in heaven after the Second Advent. It is not worth being weighed in the balance and found wanting.
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