Lesson 11
The Book of Life
1. If we are saved eternally, where must our names be registered?
Revelation 21:27: “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.”
Daniel 12:1: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”
2. Who is the Lamb?
John 1:29, 36: “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world…. And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God.”
Revelation 13:8: “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (the beast), whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
3. How do we get our names written in the “Book of Life”?
1 John 5:12: “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
John 3:16: “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.”
4. Once we accept Jesus as our Saviour, can our names be removed from the “Book of Life”?
Exodus 32:32-33: “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.”
Revelation 22:19: “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.”
[Further Study]
Psalms 69:28 “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.”
5. If my name is retained in the “Book of Life”, must I be an overcomer?
Revelation 2:7, 11, 17: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. . . . He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. . . . To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”
Revelation 3:5: “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.”
[Further Study]
Revelation 21:7 “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”
6. What is our condition if we accept Jesus as our Saviour and then reject Him?
2 Peter 2:20-21: “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.”
7. What did the apostle Paul say regarding his own relationship with Christ?
1 Corinthians 9:27: “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
8. Can our relationship to others save us?
Ezekiel 18:20: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”
[Further Study]
Ezekiel 18:21-24 “But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.”
9. What happens when we sin willfully?
Hebrews 10:26-27: “For if we sin willfully 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.”
When the Bible says “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,” it simply means we are no longer covered with the righteousness of Christ. We must confess and repent if we would have the favor of God once again. God longs to restore us to Himself, and with that restoration comes power to live God’s love by obeying His commandments.
10. Can anyone who has experienced the new birth ever lose that life-changing experience?
1 Samuel 10:9-10: “And it was so, that when he (Saul) had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.”
1 Chronicles 10:13-14: “So Saul died for his transgressions which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; and enquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.”
11. According to David is there danger that the Holy Spirit can be withdrawn?
Psalms 51:11: “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy Spirit from me.”
12. As Christians is there a possibility that we could ever depart from the Lord?
Hebrews 3:12: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
13. Does the Lord remain with us if we forsake Him?
2 Chronicles 15:2: “. . . The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.”
[Further Study]
Proverbs 28:18 “Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.”
14. What happens to those whose names have never been written or whose names have been blotted out of the “Book of Life”?
Revelation 20:15: “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
15. What will be the reward of those who obey God’s commandments through the power that is available through the indwelling Christ?
Revelation 22:14: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
16. If our names have been entered into the “Book of Life”, what will we be able to do?
Luke 10:20: “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”
“All who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against their names in the books of heaven; as they have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ, and their characters are found to be in harmony with the law of God, their sins will be blotted out, and they themselves will be accounted worthy of etenal life. The Lord declares, by the prophet Isaiah: ‘I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for My own sake, and will not remember thy sins.’ Isaiah 43:25.
“The deepest interest manifested among men in the decisions of earthly tribunals but faintiy represent the interest evinced in the heavenly courts when the names entered in the book of life come up in review before the Judge of all the earth. The divine intercessor presents the plea that all who have overcome through faith in His blood be forgiven their transgressions, that they be restored to their Eden home, and crowned as joint heirs with Himself to ‘the first dominion’. Micah 4:8. Satan in his efforts to deceive and tempt our race had thought to frustrate the divine plan in man’s creation; but Christ now asks that this plan be carried into effect as if man had never fallen. He asks for His people not only pardon and justification, full and complete, but a share in His glory and a seat upon His throne.” The Great Controversy, page 483-484.