Sect-5 Appendix A – The Book of Life

(From Chapter 6 – Completing the New Creation for the Dead)

There are a couple of possible perspectives regarding the Book of Life that we can consider from the little that is written about it. Either by God’s foresight, all those who will surrender to the obedience of faith in Christ already have their names written in the Book of Life before the foundation of the world (Philippians 4:1-3; Luke 10:19-20), or it is only the saints, the firstfruits of salvation, that have their names already written into the Book of Life since they will reign with Christ in his earthly kingdom as priests to God (Revelation 20:6). These are those called by God unto Christ according to his will and purpose, though others can be added to it as they repent and believe. (The bride and those who accompany the bride; Matthew 25:1-13)

 

Let’s review what we can know with some confidence from Scripture:

• Some names are not yet written into the Book of Life; those who will worship the Beast. While some names have been written since before the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8; Revelation 17:8)
• One’s name can be removed from the book. (Revelation 3:5; Revelation 22:19 (KJV); Psalm 69:28)
• During Christ’s righteous judgment of the resurrected dead, the Book of Life is opened. Opened either to be read from or to be written to. If any repent and believe during this time of righteous judgment, it will be revealed that their name is either already written into the Book of Life or it has been added as a result of their repentance and belief. (Revelation 20:12-13)
• At one point in time, the glory of the nations will be brought into the City of God, and only those whose names are written [verb] into the Book of Life are allowed to enter it. (Revelation 21:24-27)
• It is after Christ’s righteous judgment that those whose names were not found written in the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire and die the second death. (Revelation 20:15)

 

Many are the rewards for those who respond to the call to repentance and continue in the obedience of faith in Christ (Revelation 2-3):

• To the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
• The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.
• To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.
• The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star.
• The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
• The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.
• The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

 

Thanks be to God for his faithfulness and the abundance of grace he pours out on his children.