And The Books Were Opened 2 of 2

In the first of this two-part series we looked at the Great White Throne judgment of God, where John “saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and [the] books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.” (Rev 20:12)

While having our names in the Book of Life is the cherished hope of all who stand before the Lord, the Bible says there will be those whose names are not written in it (Rev 13:8,17:8; 20:15). Based on scripture, I believe everyone’s names start out in the Book of Life due to predestination of salvation through Christ Jesus, who died for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). However, we’re about to go into the “rest of the story” that will explain the difference between “the Book of Life” and “the books”.

Let’s look at the Old and New Testaments in regard to names being blotted out of the Lamb’s Book of Life:

Ex 32:33 “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.’”

Deut 29:20 “The LORD shall never be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will rest on him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.”

Ps 9:5 “You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.”

Ps 69:28 “May they be blotted out of the book of life and may they not be recorded with the righteous.”

Rev 3:5 “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”

• Mat 10:32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.”

• Luke 12:8 “And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God”

So, now we understand what it takes to keep our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life and what it takes to blot them out. Dan 7:10 prophesies of the Judgment Seat: “A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him; thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; the court sat, and the books were opened.”  Likewise, Rev 12:20 states that “the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to their deeds.”

Who are the “dead”? Eph 2:4-5 speaks of those who were once dead: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”.

Those who’ve rejected the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord have no forgiveness of sins (Mat 12:31; Heb 4:4-6; 9:22). They are the “dead” who will be judged according to their deeds:

2 Cor 11:13-15 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

Rev 20:13 “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.”

Through faith in Christ, we are adopted back into the family of God (Eph 1:5; Rom 8:15). He forgives our sins and remembers them no more! (Jer 31:34; Ps 103:12) Talk about blotting out! Our sinful deeds are blotted out of the “the books” and our name remains in the Lamb’s Book of Life!  Acts 3:19 states, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord."

Let’s be reminded that Eph 2:8 tells us, “by His grace we are saved through faith”. Heb 11:1 says “faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen” and Rom 10:17 says “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ”.

1 Pet 4:6: “That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead--so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit.”

Remember Heb 9:27 states, “it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment [krino: condemnation]”? Well, Rom 8:1 states, “There is therefore now no condemnation [katakrim: penalty] for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Likewise, Jesus said in John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment [krisis: decision, judgment, condemnation], but has passed out of death into life.”

Talk about predestination, 1 Thes 5:9 confirms that “God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”. Again, “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph 1:5). “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48)

See, Jesus said Luke 10:2-3 “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” The preaching of the gospel and the acceptance or rejection of it is what will separate the sheep from the goats (Mat 25:33), the wheat from the tares (Mat 13:30)…those who remain in the Book of Life and those blotted out, who will be judged according to their deeds (written in "the books").

Rom 8:29-30 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

If God wills all to be saved, as stated in 2 Peter 2:4 "...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentence", why won't ALL be saved? Did you notice in Eph 1:5 the words "according to the kind intention of His will"? See, "having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent" (Acts 17:30). God is sovereign in that He alone has the power over the body and soul. Jesus said in Mat 10:28, "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell [Geenna]."

Speaking of the Great White Throne judgment, the King will say to those on His right [sheep], ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mat 25:34). Likewise, He will say to those on His left, “Depart from Me (Mat 25:41); I never knew you." (Mat 7:22) Will He know you?