“And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire“
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
The word “found” indicates that God makes a careful search of accounts of the Book of Life. After this careful search, He consigns anyone not in this book to the lake of fire.
Anyone not found to have received Christ as his or her personal Savior and thus not written in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire forever. The moment we receive Christ as our Savior, God writes our name in the Book of Life. No one can erase our name out of that Book.
God puts everyone into a roll book of physical life. When people die, He removes them from that book. God opens another book, the Book of Life, only to show that no one standing at the Great White Throne Judgment has his or her name in it. Rejection of Christ places them at this judgment.
It is not the absence of good works for which God casts a person into the Lake of Fire. It is the absence of the “name” that sends a person into the lake of fire. God will write no one’s names into the Book of Life on that day.
The Great White Throne is not a trial. There is no determination to be made at this judgment. All the facts are already in. God accumulated all the evidence. He will ask only one question – “Have you believed in Jesus’ death on the cross as adequate to take away your sins?” Either our name is already in the Book or Life or it is not. The Great White Throne judgment is simply a proclamation of those who have not believed in Jesus’ death as the only way of salvation.
Principle:
The reality of eternal damnation should motivate us to share Christ with our friends.
Application:
Understanding of the lake of fire is crucial for effective motivation for witnessing. God does not condemn people based on their sins but because they reject Christ as their Savior.
The lake of fire takes place after the Millennium. Only the unsaved will stand at the Great White Throne Judgment. The purpose of this judgment is not to determine who is a believer. Rather, this judgment is against those who stand on their own works instead of the work of Christ on the cross. The result of this judgment is eternal separation from God.
Grant,
Reading your commentary on these 2 verses, they don’t seem to match, for Rev 3:5, you say there are 2 books, the Book of Life (physical life) and the Lamb’s Book of Life (for believers), when we die, we are blotted out of the Book of Life… But in Rev 20:15 you say believer’s are never and can never be blotted out of the Book of Life…
Can you explain the differences here…. Thanks Trent
Rev 3:5
“Does the idea of blotting out a name from the Book of Life imply loss of salvation? There is the Book of Life and then there is the Lamb’s Book of Life. These are different books. The Book of Life is the book of physical life. The Lamb’s Book of Life is the book of eternal life. When we are born the first time, God places our names in the Book of Life. When we are born the second time, God places us in the book of eternal life, a register and roll of all who shall inherit eternal life. When we die, God blots us out of the Book of Life. God never blots our names out of the Lamb’s Book of life. ”
Rev 20:15
“Anyone not found to have received Christ as his or her personal Savior and thus not written in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire forever. The moment we receive Christ as our Savior, God writes our name in the Book of Life. No one can erase our name out of that Book.
God puts everyone into a roll book of physical life. When people die, He removes them from that book. God opens another book, the Book of Life, only to show that no one standing at the Great White Throne Judgment has his or her name in it. Rejection of Christ places them at this judgment.”
Trent, thanks for your comment. Some times John does not use the phrase “Lamb’s book of life” while referring to the Lamb’s book of life. I believe this is a case and there are a number of other times where the Lamb’s book of life is indicated.
Charles Smith wrote a good article on the “Book of Life” in the Bible not agreeing with my position: Charles R. Smith=Examination of the passages in the OT and the NT speaking of “the book of life” and related phrases reveals that early in the OT the “book” was related to recipients of conditioncovenantstal blessings. However, by the end of the OT period, there was the beginning of a change of significance pointing to the “book” as a list of the recipients of the unconditional blessing of eternal life. This significance dominates the NT use of the phrase.
Grace Seminary. (1985; 2002). Vol. 6: Grace Theological Journal Volume 6 (219). Grace Seminary.