The Book of Life

[AdHoc]

9 hours ago, Dennis1209 said:

@AdHoc, As I mentioned earlier, “outer darkness” does not seem to be a metaphor for Hell, and most expositor’s writings suggest it is Hell. In your introductory post, you didn’t mention “outer darkness,” but I sensed that was what you were leading up to.

Again, two questions:

·         How did you arrive at your exegesis?

·         Does any other recognized peer-reviewed scholar hold this view?

This is important to know for further research and biblical study on the subject.

This is a unique perspective I’ve never heard of before. I am not criticizing your thoughts, but after reading your second post, Catholic purgatory popped into my head for some reason.

The prominent Soteriology through the ages has been either Heaven or Hell, with no purgatory or polishing rooms. Upon death or Rapture, immediately being with the Lord Jesus forever, or separated forever.

On the surface, your argument about outer darkness has some good points. Being a simple Bible student, having never heard this viewpoint before, I’d have to do an in-depth study before I could agree or disagree with your hermeneutics. My agreements or disagreements mean little to nothing anyway. I appreciate your insight, candor and biblical views, you're extremely knowledgeable. 

Another mystery in my mind that may pertain to this subject is that we are not standing there for condemnation at the Bema Seat of Christ. Those with “saving faith,” our works will be tried by fire, and we know the rest and results. The fact that we are standing there vs. The Great White Throne proves that we are already in the Light. When the Father looks upon us, He sees His Son, our advocate, claiming that we belong to Him. Afterward, do we go directly to a dark labor camp and start polishing? It just doesn’t make sense to me.

Another question I have pondered: We will be standing before the Lord in our glorified bodies; is there a delay in that as with the five foolish bride virgins? All of us will be giving a complete account of our lives.

The Lord knows our entire lives, recorded and indisputable; we know the sin and wrong in our lives. There are no lies or sins in Heaven. In other words, we will not be lying or doing any embellishing giving the account of our lives.

At the Bema Seat of Christ, our sins have been removed as far as the east is from the west. I’ve pondered why we will be giving an account of our lives.

Revelation 21:4 (KJV) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

In my opinion, the above verse occurs at the end of the millennium before entering eternity, and I think it may also apply to believers in the “age of Grace.” If my thought is correct, it implies we will know (possibly witness) our loved ones that are missing. Perhaps it could be a time of reflection on the missed opportunities we had to share the Gospel and did not.

Weeping and gnashing of teeth I always used to think was associated with only the people in Hell, resenting it, crying, and still shaking their fists at God.

Before our tears are wiped away, will we be crying in remembrance of our loved ones in Hell? Will we grind our teeth in despair that we had the opportunity to share Jesus but didn’t? Could this be associated with outer darkness?

Interesting discussion!

 

I have guests so I'm restricted till tonight. I get back to you with a more comprehensive answer then. To your first question, my background is a mixture. After my conversion from Catholicism age 28 I spent 4 years among the Pentecostal. They were lovely saints but theology was not their strong point, so I studied the Illuminati instead. Then I found a Church in the backstreets of a major European city. In its heyday we had about 90 regulars. We met four times a week in a renovated carpenter's workshop and the basis (we had no name) was probably Watchman Nee, although Andrew Murray and the Brethren were studied. I had the opportunity to get certain books (no internet in those days) that were  long out of print from the Brethren and the fellows that surrounded them, namely G.H. Lang, G.H. Pember and Robert Govett. They acted as a kind of check against the Brethren. I studied all this for 11 years without having to take any responsibility. I gave my first message in 1992.

My job required a lot of analytical thinking, so I spent hours, and even days, running every argument to its logical end. The short thread on the Tree of Life could have been five ties longer with proofs. But the opposition to my exegesis does not come from a break in logic or wrong scriptures. It comes from what you said - traditional beliefs inherited from the Roman Church. The gospel today is simplistic with heaven and hell and nothing else. I gotta go now, but God willing - more to night.

A.

[Dennis1209]

3 hours ago, AdHoc said:

I have guests so I'm restricted till tonight. I get back to you with a more comprehensive answer then. To your first question, my background is a mixture. After my conversion from Catholicism age 28 I spent 4 years among the Pentecostal. They were lovely saints but theology was not their strong point, so I studied the Illuminati instead. Then I found a Church in the backstreets of a major European city. In its heyday we had about 90 regulars. We met four times a week in a renovated carpenter's workshop and the basis (we had no name) was probably Watchman Nee, although Andrew Murray and the Brethren were studied. I had the opportunity to get certain books (no internet in those days) that were  long out of print from the Brethren and the fellows that surrounded them, namely G.H. Lang, G.H. Pember and Robert Govett. They acted as a kind of check against the Brethren. I studied all this for 11 years without having to take any responsibility. I gave my first message in 1992.

My job required a lot of analytical thinking, so I spent hours, and even days, running every argument to its logical end. The short thread on the Tree of Life could have been five ties longer with proofs. But the opposition to my exegesis does not come from a break in logic or wrong scriptures. It comes from what you said - traditional beliefs inherited from the Roman Church. The gospel today is simplistic with heaven and hell and nothing else. I gotta go now, but God willing - more to night.

A.

Good morning,

Sometimes I have difficulty staying on topic and flip-flop around; it’s not intentional. Like you, I like to look at all the sides and opinions on a biblical subject, and sometimes that gives me pause to examine my bibliology and what and why I believe the way I do. The few biblical topics not open for amending my views are soteriology and the Trinity, my core beliefs.

I have a non-denominational background from a Bible-believing Gospel preaching independent church. Right or wrong our heritage, be it Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jew, or Christian, what our parents-friends believe and what we are exposed to initially sets the stage for what we study and think.  

Not to change the original OP, I was raised with the young earth view. I don’t want to argue or debate which is correct; fortunately, it is not a Salvation issue. No matter which views one holds, we are still brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus.

You mentioned G.H. Pember; I have one of his books, “Earth’s Earliest Ages.” Reading the book inspired me to do a detailed study of his old earth stance and the pros and cons of his arguments. I was studying Scofield and others with the same hermeneutics, different Hebrew lexicon word meanings for ex nihilo vs. material mold, refashioning, etc.

Long story short, after studying to find holes in his expository, I could not find any substantial flaws. I’m no longer dogmatic with my old vs. new view; I am now like a politician, a skunk lying on the double yellow lines in the middle of the road, compromised and unwilling to take a stand for either side of the road.

[Alive]

3 hours ago, AdHoc said:

I have guests so I'm restricted till tonight. I get back to you with a more comprehensive answer then. To your first question, my background is a mixture. After my conversion from Catholicism age 28 I spent 4 years among the Pentecostal. They were lovely saints but theology was not their strong point, so I studied the Illuminati instead. Then I found a Church in the backstreets of a major European city. In its heyday we had about 90 regulars. We met four times a week in a renovated carpenter's workshop and the basis (we had no name) was probably Watchman Nee, although Andrew Murray and the Brethren were studied. I had the opportunity to get certain books (no internet in those days) that were  long out of print from the Brethren and the fellows that surrounded them, namely G.H. Lang, G.H. Pember and Robert Govett. They acted as a kind of check against the Brethren. I studied all this for 11 years without having to take any responsibility. I gave my first message in 1992.

My job required a lot of analytical thinking, so I spent hours, and even days, running every argument to its logical end. The short thread on the Tree of Life could have been five ties longer with proofs. But the opposition to my exegesis does not come from a break in logic or wrong scriptures. It comes from what you said - traditional beliefs inherited from the Roman Church. The gospel today is simplistic with heaven and hell and nothing else. I gotta go now, but God willing - more to night.

A.

Within a few weeks of the Lord opening my eyes, He led me to read Watchman Nee and I think all of his material compiled by Angus including the one he actually wrote. He was my mentor and nearly 50 years later, I still literally, thank the Lord for that foundation. later came Murray, Sparks, Guyon, Lawrence and Kennedy. I started out in the Jesus Freak street/park One Way preaching and after a couple years to a Pentecostal church where I ended up pastoring a congregation. Some years later, I left and got involved in decades of the house church  environment. It seems we have walked some familiar territory.

'Salvation is Relocation' in my signature--pretty much sums up my passion. Written in very simple terms for any reading.

[AdHoc]

29 minutes ago, Dennis1209 said:

Good morning,

Sometimes I have difficulty staying on topic and flip-flop around; it’s not intentional. Like you, I like to look at all the sides and opinions on a biblical subject, and sometimes that gives me pause to examine my bibliology and what and why I believe the way I do. The few biblical topics not open for amending my views are soteriology and the Trinity, my core beliefs.

I have a non-denominational background from a Bible-believing Gospel preaching independent church. Right or wrong our heritage, be it Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jew, or Christian, what our parents-friends believe and what we are exposed to initially sets the stage for what we study and think.  

Not to change the original OP, I was raised with the young earth view. I don’t want to argue or debate which is correct; fortunately, it is not a Salvation issue. No matter which views one holds, we are still brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus.

You mentioned G.H. Pember; I have one of his books, “Earth’s Earliest Ages.” Reading the book inspired me to do a detailed study of his old earth stance and the pros and cons of his arguments. I was studying Scofield and others with the same hermeneutics, different Hebrew lexicon word meanings for ex nihilo vs. material mold, refashioning, etc.

Long story short, after studying to find holes in his expository, I could not find any substantial flaws. I’m no longer dogmatic with my old vs. new view; I am now like a politician, a skunk lying on the double yellow lines in the middle of the road, compromised and unwilling to take a stand for either side of the road.

Back for 5 minutes.

Getting to the bottom of a matter in the world requires plain study. If we can't do this, like actually walking and doing test on Pluto, we have to admit the lack of evidence. In the bible, we have the added input of the Holy Spirit. If the evidence is missing, and you have that empty felling (intuition) then we can't maintain that position. One might admit SOME evidence but one should be honest enough to admit the matter inconclusive. Let's take Paradise.

Our Lord promises the thief that before sundown they will be together in paradise. Matt.12:40 tells us that our Lord would spend three days in the heart of the earth and Ephesians 4:8-10 says He "descended FIRST". When He met Mary after His resurrection, He said that He had not YET ascended to His Father. This unequivocally puts Paradise in Hades under the earth. But now we turn to 2nd Corinthians 12:1-4 and the venerable King James has Paul "caught UP to Paradise". We do a word study of "harpazo" and find out that while MOVEMENT is indicated by the Greek, DIRECTION isn't. "Harpazo" is correctly translated "caught AWAY" in Acts.8:39. Movement is given but Philip was translated horizontally. The end of the matter is that Paradise is in Hades and NOTHING HAS CHANGED. There is not a single scripture that puts paradise anywhere else? What am I to do? Must I follow the unfounded theory that Christ moved Paradise to heaven? Well, I'd be caught for not following facts only. In Acts 2:27-34 David is found in Hades 50 days after Christ's resurrection and 10 days after His ascension.

I now have to take the blows for holding an unpopular doctrine. Christians love going to heaven like they love Christmas. But I am constrained to say that neither paradise in heaven, nor Christmas, is Biblical. Riding the yellow line is not a bad idea when you are first studying a matter. Be ready to change if new evidence comes along. But once the matter is solved with unassailable logic and facts, we have to abide in in even if it means trouble.

This does not mean that we are not capable of mistakes. But when they are pointed out, the best thing is to admit it immediately. It's like a T-junction. You gotta go left of right. You choose and later find out that you were wrong. the Bible does not let you suddenly swap roads. You have to come all the way back to the T-junction, unraveling the web you wove as you go. You can't hold half the story. The missing half will follow you like a shadow and nail you someday.

When you read my stuff, ask yourself if the immediate sentence is correct. Then see if all the sentences, taken alone, are correct. Then, ask yourself have I presented the sentences in the correct order. If I have done this too, then like a maths theorem, there is a good chance I'm correct overall. But if it is obscure - file it for another day. And if a clear mistake is discovered, bin it.

[AdHoc]

44 minutes ago, Alive said:

Within a few weeks of the Lord opening my eyes, He led me to read Watchman Nee and I think all of his material compiled by Angus including the one he actually wrote. He was my mentor and nearly 50 years later, I still literally, thank the Lord for that foundation. later came Murray, Sparks, Guyon, Lawrence and Kennedy. I started out in the Jesus Freak street/park One Way preaching and after a couple years to a Pentecostal church where I ended up pastoring a congregation. Some years later, I left and got involved in decades of the house church  environment. It seems we have walked some familiar territory.

'Salvation is Relocation' in my signature--pretty much sums up my passion. Written in very simple terms for any reading.

Thanks for the testimony. Most interesting. I was very impressed with Watchman Nee. He showed a spirit that I had seldom found among Christians. He was broad and generous with others, while strict with himself. He did not let the Brethren bully him and paid the price for maintain open fellowship with brother Sparks. He was teachable, but unbending when he was convinced. In the early days I collected everything with his name on it. I have 63 of his books (although I am aware that many were transcripts of verbal messages). We all travel a road and I've found that disciples of Nee all profited from studying his writings. Darby and Kelly were brilliant, but like Govett, they wrote for educated men. Nee wrote for the common man and made it very practical.

I think that a Christian student of the Bible should be balanced. the Brethren and counterparts recovered the grand doctrines that we should at least consider. Andrew Murray and Guyon brought us to the inner life - the spiritual worship and experience of our Savior. Nee balanced these with the practical Church life - the escape from the Clergy-Laity regime and the return to the freedom to testify in the meetings.

While we venerate only our Lord Jesus, we thank him for brothers like Nee and Murray and Pember.

Go well bro.

[Alive]

1 minute ago, AdHoc said:

Thanks for the testimony. Most interesting. I was very impressed with Watchman Nee. He showed a spirit that I had seldom found among Christians. He was broad and generous with others, while strict with himself. He did not let the Brethren bully him and paid the price for maintain open fellowship with brother Sparks. He was teachable, but unbending when he was convinced. In the early days I collected everything with his name on it. I have 63 of his books (although I am aware that many were transcripts of verbal messages). We all travel a road and I've found that disciples of Nee all profited from studying his writings. Darby and Kelly were brilliant, but like Govett, they wrote for educated men. Nee wrote for the common man and made it very practical.

I think that a Christian student of the Bible should be balanced. the Brethren and counterparts recovered the grand doctrines that we should at least consider. Andrew Murray and Guyon brought us to the inner life - the spiritual worship and experience of our Savior. Nee balanced these with the practical Church life - the escape from the Clergy-Laity regime and the return to the freedom to testify in the meetings.

While we venerate only our Lord Jesus, we thank him for brothers like Nee and Murray and Pember.

Go well bro.

If you haven't may I suggest John Kennedy's 'Torch of the Testimony'. He did a bang up job of covering the history of that thread of believers running through history; desiring to live simply with Christ only as Head and guided by scripture. I have found it to be a marvelous testimony to the Lord's faithfulness and His sons faithfulness under difficult circumstances.

[DPMartin]

On 7/30/2022 at 2:57 PM, AdHoc said:

The Book of Life presents the orthodox Christian with problems. The first, is it presence at the Great White Throne judgment. According to Daniel 12:1-2, Israel will be resurrected just after the Great Tribulation. According to 1st Corinthians 15:23, 1st Thessalonians 4 and Revelation 20, the Christian is resurrected when the Lord Returns. The Great White Throne judgment is reserved for “the rest of the dead”. That is, there is not a single Israelite nor Christian at the White Throne. Why then the Book of Life at an assize where no one has eternal life?..................................................

 

 

There is no problem at all

 

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 

Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 

Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 

 

Note there is more than one book, also according to James, faith isn’t the real faith without works, which are orthodox or fundamentalist understandings.

 

also:

 

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 

1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 

1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 

1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 

1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 

By the same fire that removed anything not of God is the same fire that saves the born again soul because as Paul mentions in Hebrews and Moses also wrote:

 

Heb_12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

 

Hence its not the works that saves you it’s the fire that proves the works, though the works at this time are evidence of what faith one has.

Edited August 1, 2022 by DPMartin

[AdHoc]

14 hours ago, Dennis1209 said:

The prominent Soteriology through the ages has been either Heaven or Hell, with no purgatory or polishing rooms. Upon death or Rapture, immediately being with the Lord Jesus forever, or separated forever.

Yes. The Gizrah could easily be mistaken for a shot at purgatory. My answer is quite simple. All God's  dealings with Christians are to (i) transform him into the image and likeness of Christ, and (ii) prepare him for stewardship, or, the faithful and diligent managing of Christ's affairs. Destruction is never on God's mind when it comes to Christians. He has set the Work of Jesus as all-encompassing for forgiveness, and so, with a valid propitiation  at and, God may exert all His energies in transforming the believer. This is contrary to the unbeliever. Here, God seeks righteous retribution and there is no thought of restoration or recovery. Now consider this passage in 2nd Peter 1:2-11;

2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

In God's dealing with us He has two goals - "LIFE" and "GODLINESS" (v.3). And the Christian is also faced with two things that could slip away - "CALLING" and "ELECTION" (v.10). As to LIFE, we have the whole gospel of John. God wants us to HAVE his LIFE and have it abundantly. And the goal of this Goodly Life is GODLINESS - a display of God's character before the creature ending in a Kingdom that has, as its whole superstructure, God's character. We start off as enemies of God and the flesh is the mortal enemy of the human spirit. Then we are "GIVEN all things that pertain to Godliness" but we must cooperate and "ADD to our faith ... ." God's purpose is not happy people running up and down golden streets in heaven. God's purpose is men with His Life to rule like He would.

And for this purpose, man must go through a process. The goal is the kingdom and the kingdom starts when our Lord has crushed Gentile military power at Armageddon. So the TIME-FRAME for this transforming work for the Christian is from the day of conversion till the day of his death, or rapture. Supposing he is slack and slovenly and only makes it to the halfway point, what shall God do? He cannot destroy the slovenly Christian because His honor is at stake. Romans 8:29 says that He - God has predestined this Christian, NOT TO SALVATION, but to be conformed to the image of Christ. Is God's council vain? Or is He well capable of achieving what He set out to do? He is "ALL-Mighty" so the Christian will end up in the image of Christ. But the Christian, exercising his free-will caused God a DELAY.

So God sets a reward for diligence, and a loss for sloth. A soldier in boot camp is treated the same. The Christian has the first thousand years of Christ's everlasting Kingdom as a reward, OR ... he has 1,000 years to complete the "polishing" into the image of Christ. The foolish Virgins must still buy oil, but they forfeit the Wedding Feast. The unforgiving servant must stay in jail till all is paid. Its not purgatory, its a very refined way that a refined God uses to gain His purpose WITHOUT infringing on free will. And the Christian ends up where God wants him but with rewrd for diligence or loss for sloth.

[Marathoner]

Excellent, @AdHoc. You have covered matters I have considered and taken in --- judgement, works (our garment), and the outer darkness --- but have also delved into things I have yet to ponder. Your narrative regarding losing our inheritance is more robust than what I encountered in the past, though my brother's understanding was adequate just the same. The end result of faithlessness is separation from the house of the Lord, and that is horrible to contemplate.

I can't say that I have anything meaningful to contribute at this time, so I will continue to check this topic and read. Well done, brother. 

[missmuffet]

On 7/30/2022 at 2:57 PM, AdHoc said:

The Book of Life presents the orthodox Christian with problems. The first, is it presence at the Great White Throne judgment. According to Daniel 12:1-2, Israel will be resurrected just after the Great Tribulation. According to 1st Corinthians 15:23, 1st Thessalonians 4 and Revelation 20, the Christian is resurrected when the Lord Returns. The Great White Throne judgment is reserved for “the rest of the dead”. That is, there is not a single Israelite nor Christian at the White Throne. Why then the Book of Life at an assize where no one has eternal life?

The next problem is the judgment of (i) “ALL nations” who are alive at the coming of the Lord. In this assize the Sheep and the Goats are (ii) CONTRASTED with “the least of the Lord’s brethren”, and (iii) designated Sheep and Goats based on WORKS. This gives a threefold testimony that the Sheep and the Goats are unbelievers. (i) They are called "the Nations", (ii) they helped or persecuted Christians and Israelites and (iii) did this without knowing their connection to Jesus. They had no idea of Christians when the did what they did. But, based on what they DID, that is, WORKS, we have unbelievers , “… going away into everlasting punishment” AND unbelievers: “going into life eternal”. How can this be if salvation is by faith???

The third problem is that John 3:14-16 clearly states that eternal life is to be had ONLY by faith, not works. Yet in EVERY mention of the Book of Life, it is attached to WORKS. In Exodus 32:33 an Israelite is in or out of the Book because of SIN. In Psalm 69:28 David asks that Israelite - his brethren who persecuted him - be blotted out of the Book of the Living. In Daniel 12:1-3 the ”wise” of Daniel’s people are in the book. In Malachi 3:15 those who feared the Lord and spoke of His name were in the Book. And so it goes on in the New Testament. The Book of Life is always attached to WORKS.

What shall we say then?

The answer is found in Genesis 1:26-28 where God sets forth the duties of man. Man was (i) to be in the image and likeness of God, and (ii) man was the subdue and rule the earth and its immediate environs of sky and sea. For man to be in the image and likeness of God , man had to possess the LIFE and NATURE of God. And if man possessed the LIFE and NATURE of God, the resulting ruling would be administered according to that life. That is, a man with God’s life would be righteous. A man with God’s life would set others’ interests before his. A man with God’s life would judge justly. A man with God’s life would be a ruler, or king, just like God. The domain that he ruled over would experience the rule of eternal life - not because the subject had eternal life, but because the ruler had it.

And so, when we study all the references to eternal LIFE, we find two sets of scriptures. One set of scriptures tells of men HAVING (intrinsically) the life and nature of God, e.g. John 3:15, 5:39, 6:54, 10:28, 17:2-3,  Act 13:48, Rom.6:23, 1st Jn.5:11 etc. The other set of scriptures like Mark 10:17, 30, Lk.10:25, 18:18, 1st Tim.6:12, 17 etc., speak of ENTERING or INHERITING eternal life. The solution to the seeming anomaly is found by comparing the Lord’s words in Matthew 16:24-28 and Matthew 19:16-30.

In Matthew 16 the price for following Jesus is the death of the soul. That is, a life of such self-denial that it is bitter. The example we have is Jesus Himself. He only did the father’s will and this ended in Him face the bitter end when, sweating blood, He cried from His deepest being; “my soul is sorrowful UNTO DEATH”. The soul does not cease feeling like the body at death. It just suffers more. But the reward for losing the soul-life in this age is to gain it in untold JOY in the next age. This concept is expanded in Chapter 19.

A rich man asks how he may HAVE eternal life. Our Lord’s answer may seem strange at first. He tells the rich man how to ENTER eternal LIFE. Why did our Lord not tell the rich man how to HAVE LIFE? The reason was that he already had it. If only God is good (and the Jews know it), and the  rich man had called Jesus both "Master" and “good”. He had confessed and admitted that Jesus was God. That is what he BELIEVED! Once a man HAS eternal life, the issue at hand is now NOT HAVING LIFE, but how to subsequently ENTER or INHERIT eternal life. And what did our Lord use INTERCHANGEABLY with entering eternal life? He used the MILLENNIAL KINGDOM. In verse 17 our Lord says what is needed to ENTER LIFE, but in verse 23 he speaks of ENTERING the KINGDOM. To ENTER or INHERIT Life is the enjoyment of Christ's Kingdom ruling the earth!

To HAVE LIFE the rich man must believe and confess Who Jesus is. But to ENTER LIFE he must (i) keep the Law (WORKS) and (ii) part with his worldly fortune (WORKS). Man is made to be LIKE God and for this he must have a new birth where the divine life and nature of God are imparted to him. He is then written in the Book of Life (Phil.4:3). A person born of the Holy Spirit is ROYALTY. He will INHERIT. In order to inherit he must undergo a rigorous training. He is destined to manage God’s things. The training is brutal. The price for inheriting co-kingship with Jesus is the “soul-life”. Ason of a king is destined to rule. For this he must be trained and he must prove loyalty, and good stewardship. He may refuse this, but what are the consequences? He will be DISOWNED - not from being a son of God (because a son is son and cannot be “unbirthed”) but disowned from his INHERITANCE. That is what a “bastard” is. Every man has a father. You cannot biologically exist if you don’t have a father. A “bastard” is a son whose father DISOWNED him - NOT on his birth certificate, but in his WILL (Testament).

But before a summary, we must examine the path of an Israelite and a member of the Nations (Gentiles) into this Book. It is apparent from Revelation Chapter 20 that God keeps written records. This is not because of memory loss or shortage of capacity. It is for us who have problems with out memories. Now an Israelite will be restored to his Land (Ezek.37). Because Israel forfeits the Kingdom (Matt.21:43), the Israelite is returned to his Land as a SUBJECT of the Kingdom of Israel. But because Emmanuel will life in Jerusalem, and be arrayed with great pomp and glory, the privilege of the Israelite is to serve Emmanuel (Lk.1:74). Thus, the blessing and fame of an Israelite is whether he may serve Christ while living is safety and prosperity. For this he is written into the Book of Life (Dan.12:1-3).

The Nations (or the unbelievers) have no connection to God or eternal life. But after Armageddon they will become SUBJECTS of Christ's Kingdom. Our Lord will, together with overcoming Christians, rule the Nations with a rod of iron. The Book of Life in their case decides who is blessed to live under the benign rule of Christ's Kingdom, or who will be cast into the Lake of Fire. Isaiah 66:24 is the deciding factor. Anybody who went against God in their lifetime - those who opposed God, who struck blows at Him, His Name and His plans - will not be written into the Book of Life. the Book of Life decides which of the unbeliever gets to live under Christ's rule and who gets to the Lake of Fire. And so is the Promise and Covenant made with Abraham fulfilled. All Families (not all men) will be blessed by a Seed coming fro Abraham. Example; aborted babies, infants who die at birth and children have no works against God. They will be written into the Book of Life and enjoy Christ's blessed rule though they do NOT have eternal life.

The Book of LIFE Pertaining to the Christian
And so it is that a Christian is written in the Book of Life but must cooperate with the rigorous training by denying himself and doing God’s will. If he doesn’t, and he does not respond to God’s chastisement, he will forfeit the Kingdom and be removed from Christ’s presence for the Millennium. The Book of Life is not full of those who HAVE LIFE. It is full of those Christians who are entitled to enter the Kingdom as co-kings with Christ. In Matthew 20:1-4, in the context of the Kingdom (v.1), our Lord Jesus said that not many Christians will make it (v.14). This is doubly apparent when we see the seven letters to the seven Churches. Apostasy is rife in the Church and only “OVERCOMERS” will reign. The sobering fact is, many Christians will be blotted out of the Book of Life.

The Book of LIFE Pertaining to Israel.
Returning to Daniel 12:1-3, we see the same thing, except that the REWARD is different. The Jew who is alive during the last years of this age will be preserved during the Great Tribulation (v.1). All circumcised Israelites who ever lived will be returned to their Land (Ezekiel 37). But they forfeit the Kingdom (Matt.21:43). So they return to Canaan as SUBJECTS - some to fame and some to disgrace. The highest award will be that the approved Israelite will be allowed to “serve” the King and His kingdom (Lk.1:74). The rulers of Restored Israel will be (i) Christ - King of the Jews, (ii) David (Jer.30:9), and (iii) the Twelve Apostles (Matt.19:28) - all of them Christians.

The Book of LIFE Pertaining to the Nations
At both judgments, that at the end of the Great Tribulation (Matt.25:31-46), and that in Revelation 20, the Nations are judged on their works. Isaiah 66:24 decides who goes to the Lake of Fire. Christ, in sole possession of every man's history, will judge. Only He knows all things and only He gets to judge. Those whose works are judged to have attacked God in any way, will go to the Lake of Fire. Those who led a normal life and did not attack God or His plans in any way, are written into the Book of Life. They enter the kingdom as SUBJECTS. They are ruled by the Overcoming Christians (Lk.19:17-19) with a rod of iron. Those not transcribed into the Book of Life go to the Lake of Fire. The Book of Life is NOT that they had LIFE, but that they may ENJOY and be blessed by the benign and equitous rule of Christ and His co-kings.

 

The post is too long. 

A true born again Christian can not be blotted out of the book of life. 

Edited August 1, 2022 by missmuffet