The biblical authors speak about more than one heavenly record!2 In describing the final judgment, Daniel and John write that God refers to several documents.3
The most important record in which a person can be listed is the Book of Life. It costs him nothing to be included, that fee having already been paid by the savior. There will be some investment to maintain it, although for a relatively brief period, the duration of a person's sojourn in this life. The return, however, is for a far, far longer period, because the Book of Life contains God's certification of that person's eternal life.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
Dan 7: 10c The court was seated, and the books were opened.
Rev. 20:12a And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.The volume that appears most often in scripture is the Book of Life (8x), which is a list of all God has delivered from death.4 It does not include the name of every human being,5 only of the righteous, those God redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (note the association in two verses below). The unrighteous do not become part of this ledger, as John repeatedly makes clear in his Revelation.
Rev 13:8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
Rev 20:15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Rev 21:27 Nothing impure will ever enter [the New Jerusalem], nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.In the very beginning, God, according to His foreknowledge, listed people in the book who would eventually accept His offer of salvation. John refers to those "written in the book of life from the creation of the world" (Rev 17:8b). Nevertheless, just as God has written names into this book, so He can delete names from it.6 Moses, for example, was willing to give up his place in the book if God would spare sinful Israel. God declines, stating that He will remove only those who have forsaken Him.
Exod 32:32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written." 33 The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.David asks God to delete the names of fellow Israelites who have persecuted him.
Ps 69:28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.David does not record God's response. Nevertheless, only those who persevere in their devotion to God remain in the book. Again, John writes...
Rev 3:5 He who overcomes will...be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.Just as God honors a person's choice to be in the Book of Life, so He honors a person's choice not to be in the book or even to be removed from it. In any case, elimination is the result of a conscious decision on man's part, not an accident of fate.
The most important record in which a person can be listed is the Book of Life. It costs him nothing to be included, that fee having already been paid by the savior. There will be some investment to maintain it, although for a relatively brief period, the duration of a person's sojourn in this life. The return, however, is for a far, far longer period, because the Book of Life contains God's certification of that person's eternal life.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
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Jim Skaggs