(Concerning your
name being
listed
in
Heaven)
First,
there is a common misconception,
that one must be a Christian in order to have one's name written in the
Book of Life in Heaven. However, the
seventy disciples of Jesus had their names there before the death,
burial, and resurrection of Jesus, even
before they had the rebirth experience. Jesus told his
disciples, "Notwithstanding
in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather
rejoice, because your names are written in heaven"
(Luke 10:20). The Book of Life is seen in the Old Testament as well as
in the New Testament. Moses said, "Yet
now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray
thee,
out of thy book which thou hast written" (Exodus
32:32).
In fact, the book was written before the foundation of the
world.
"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" (Revelation 17:8).
Second,
we see
that Jesus (in one sense) was crucified before the earth was created.
John
records, "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" (Revelation
13:8).
His death paved the way for people's name to be written in the book.
Third,
we can
note that Jesus died for everyone. John records, "For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"
(John
3:16). Again, note Jesus died for the whole world, not just a
few
select people. The Word says concerning Jesus, "And
he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also
for
the sins of the whole world" (I John 2:2).
Therefore, potentially
every person could have his name recorded there.
Fourth,
it is
also God's will that everyone be saved. "The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness;
but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish,
but
that all should come to repentance" (II Peter
3:9).
Paul expresses this truth when he said, "Who
will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth"
(I Timothy 2:4). The fact that God desires all to
be saved
may also indicate the every name was recorded in the Book of Life.
Fifth,
the problem
is that we find that some names will not be there at the end. God's
Word
says, "And whosoever was not found
written in the
book
of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation
20:15).
Again, John says, "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" (Revelation
13:8).
Sixth,
we can
conclude that some names will be blotted out of the Book of
Life.
"And the LORD said unto Moses,
Whosoever hath sinned
against me, him will I blot out of my book" (Exodus
32:33).
David words were, "Let them be
blotted out of the
book of the living, and not be written with the righteous"
(Psalm
69:28). God's Word warns us, "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"
(Revelation 22:19).
Seventh,
we need
to understand how one's name may be removed from
the book.
Jesus said, "Wherefore I say unto
you, All manner
of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy
against
the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men" (Matthew
12:31).
Here we must understand what the work of the Holy Spirit is in the
world.
Jesus said, "And when he is come, he
will reprove
the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment: Of
sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness,
because I
go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince
of this world is judged" (John 16:8-11). This is
the work
of the Holy Spirit through the body of Christ to the
world.
Jesus said, "I said therefore unto
you, that ye shall
die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he,
ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24). Here
Jesus is declaring
that he is the I AM. Note that "he" is not
in the original
text. Therefore, if someone does not accept Jesus as the "I
AM" his
name will be blotted out.
The Bible also calls this the sin unto death. "If
any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall
ask,
and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a
sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for
it. All
unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death"
(I John
5:16-17). If someone hears the gospel but rejects it, his
name will
be blotted out. "For
if we sin wilfully
after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth
no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for
of
judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries"
(Hebrews 10:26-27).
Eight,
the ultimate
consequence for having one's name blotted out is to be eternally
separated
from the love of God in Heaven. "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" (Revelation 21:27).
Furthermore, he will
experience the wrath of God in the lake of fire. God's Word says, "And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake
of fire" (Revelation 20:15).
Ninth,
there
is GOOD NEWS for
the Believers.
Their names will NOT be blotted out. Again the Word of God says, "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" (Revelation
3:5).
Who then are the overcomers? "For whatsoever
is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that
overcometh
the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the
world, but
he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? " (I John
5:4-5).
But don't we have to live up to a certain standard to keep our name
there?
NO! NO! NO! Jesus already
did that for us.
What one must do is to make a faith
commitment to Jesus as his Lord and
Saviour. Paul wrote, "That
if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved"
(Romans
10:9). When an individual does this, God initiates the rebirth
in him. See: Find
Life, Purpose, Joy! When one does this, his fate is sealed
because he is given an earnest of the Holy Spirit.
Paul said
it was God, "Who hath also sealed
us, and given the
earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (II Corinthians
1:22).
"In whom ye also trusted, after that
ye heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye
believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the
earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession,
unto the praise of his glory" (Ephesians
1:13-14).
Again, Paul writes, "And grieve not
the holy Spirit
of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption"
(Ephesians
4:30). This seal
is a stamp of
approval! Furthermore, we are made to be righteous
in Christ.
"For he hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew
no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him"
(II
Corinthians 5:21).
Conclusions
in Summary
If you are reading
this article, you can rejoice that
Jesus has died for you and that your name is currently recorded in the
Book of Life in Heaven. If you have already committed your
life to
Jesus as your Lord, you can take a deep breath and rejoice because your
name is permanently there. If you have yet to commit your
life to
Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, today is the day to make the decision
to
have your name kept in the Book of Life. Please don't wait,
but give
your life to Jesus as your Lord right now.
Please
pray the following prayer:
Dear God:
1. I
understand that you are a perfectly righteous God
and that you demand perfection.
2. I confess
to you that I have not and can not live up
to your standards (in actions, words,attitudes,
and thoughts).
3.
I am convicted that the consequence for my wrong (sin) is spiritual
death that leads to the second
death (the lake of fire).
4. However, I
believe that
Jesus, your Son, was perfect,
but died for my imperfection on the cross
and was raised from the dead on the third day.
5. Therefore, by
faith, I
commit my life to Jesus, allowing
Him to become my Lord and Saviour. Amen
.
If
you have Just prayed
and given your life to him,
I would like to hear from
you. "Contacts"
For
some additonal counseling
information see "WPC
Scroll"