Rev 3:5 5/27/82, Rev 13:8 9/3/83
A. The book of life is one thing in time and something different in eternity.
1. Basically it is a registry containing the names of every member of the human race in time.
2. In eternity it is the registry of all believers.
3. When a person dies as an unbeliever, his name is removed from the book of life. Therefore, in eternity only the names of believers are in the book of life, Phil 4:3; Rev 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12,15, 21:7.
4. In eternity, this book also contains the new title of royalty for each mature believer.
B. The book of life is related to the function of GAP in Phil 4:3. “Help with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life.”
C. The unbeliever is not registered in the book of life, Rev 13:8
D. The book of life is related to the historical power of the revived Roman Empire in the Tribulation, Rev 17:8.
E. The book of life is related to the Last Judgment, Rev 20:12. Unbeliever’s names are blotted out of the book of life. Another set of books, “the book of works,” is referred to, which contain every good deed the unbeliever has ever done. Rev 29:15 says that those not in the book of life are cast into the Lake of Fire.
F. According to Rev 3:5, being in the book of life means:
1. You can’t lose your salvation.
2. The mature believer cannot lose his rewards. “I will never blot his name [royal title] out of the book of life.”
G. The book of life is the registry of all believers in eternity, Phil 4:3; Rev 13:8, 17:8, 20:12, 15, 21:27, 22:19. Royal titles are used in eternity, which indicates that there is no equality in heaven. Mature believers are listed in the heraldry of heaven forever. Lk 10:20, “Rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
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© 1989, by R. B. Thieme, Jr. All rights reserved.
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