Over the last couple months we’ve studied about the events that led up to a great religious awakening that occurred in the early 1840s when Jesus was expected to come back to this earth, and also the great disappointment that followed when He didn’t come back, and how this was all foretold centuries earlier in the prophecies of Daniel 8:14 and  Revelation 10:6 with the cleansing of the sanctuary and the announcement of the end of prophetic time.

By the way: and this is given as a side note for those of you who may be confused about a certain alleged time prophecy. We’re told in The Great Controversy, page 351 that the 2300-day time prophecy of Daniel 8:14, as taught by William Miller, is the longest and last time prophecy in the Bible, and in Early Writings, page 233 Ellen White indicates that William Miller had the truth upon this subject. And so, this truth debunks two false theories being promoted today. Firstly, that the 2520-time prophecy that’s believed to be embedded in Leviticus 26, and which has been given great emphasis by some, is not the longest time prophecy, in fact, it’s not a time prophecy at all. And secondly, the other false teaching that’s debunked by a correct understanding of Daniel 8:14 is that we cannot set any future dates for the coming of the Lord as many have done in the past and continue to do today. So, if either one of these two false teachings should come your way, you can dismiss them as being given by false prophets. That’s right, they are false prophets, no matter how sincere they pretend to be. And if you would like more information about the 2520, go to my website at gospel-workers.com and scroll down the sermons page till you see the sermon titled “A Time Prophecy That’s Not a Time prophecy.”

Last time we also discussed the investigative judgment that began when the time prophecy of Daniel 8:14 ended on October 22, 1844, and how Jesus moved from the holy to the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary at that time, where the investigative judgment has been ongoing ever since. And one of the more important points we covered was that when an individual comes to Jesus with confession of sin and true repentance, those sins, through the shed blood of Christ, are transferred from us to the heavenly sanctuary where they must then be blotted out, and that blotting out won’t occur until those sins are removed and placed upon the head of Satan, who is represented by the scapegoat, and that has not yet happened. And so, yes, it’s important to have our sins forgiven, but it’s equally important, and perhaps more so, to have them blotted out, because if not, then those sins come back upon us and we’ll have to suffer the wages for those sins, which will end in eternal death.

We spent a little time also talking about the fact that when Jesus didn’t come back to earth when expected, that didn’t mean that something important didn’t happen, because it did. In reality He came to the Ancient of days in heaven at the termination of Daniel’s time prophecy, which Daniel 7:13 mentions. We went over this last time, so we won’t take time to do it again. You can read it yourself to refresh your memory.

And so, that brings us to the subject at hand today, which speaks of books being opened and what all that represents. Notice what it says in Daniel 7:9, 10, “I beheld till the thrones were cast down (or set in place), and the Ancient of days did sit (God the Father), whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set (or the court began to be in session), and the books were opened.”  And so, what are these books, plural, and what might be written in them?

In the typical service, and when I say typical, I mean the service that took place here on earth during Old Testament times. During those services, only those who had come before God with confession and repentance, and whose sins, through the blood of the sin offering, were transferred to the sanctuary, had a part in the service of the Day of Atonement. So, when we talk about the great day of final atonement and the investigative judgment that’s in progress today in heaven, the only cases considered are those who profess to be Christians, or we could say, those who accepted the sacrifice of Jesus represented as the Lamb that was slain. The judgment of the wicked, or those who reject the sacrifice of Jesus, is a distinct and separate work and takes place at a later period, and we’ll talk about that in a few minutes.

Notice what it says in 1 Peter 4:17, “For the time is come that Judgment must begin (where?) at the house of God (or with those who have become members of the church of Christ, that’s what 1 Timothy 3:5 tells us the house of God is): and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel?” Good question. I’ll tell you what happens to those that obey not the gospel, it’s very simple, they will be eternally lost! They will suffer for their sins and then they’ll go to sleep after the resurrection of damnation spoken of in John 5:29 and Revelation 20:6 and they will never wake up! This is very sad, but true. That’s why it’s so important that the gospel be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, as Jesus said, before human probation closes. You see, there is no need to investigate the lives of those whose names didn’t get registered in the Lambs book of life, because they’re already judged unworthy to enter heaven. If people refuse Christ, there is no other remedy for the sins they’ve committed, because Act 4:12 says, “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” The word “must” leaves no room for some other way or by some other name. Because they refused the mercy offered when they rejected the only remedy for sin by accepting the shed blood of Christ in their behalf, they are judged as unfit to dwell among the redeemed and the angels who have never fallen. There has already been war in heaven over sin, and it will never be waged again, that’s why worthiness or unworthiness must be determined before Jesus comes, and that’s what the investigative judgment is all about.

The books of record in heaven where the names and deeds of all people are registered, will determine the decisions of the judgment. That’s why Daniel 7:10 says, “The judgment was set, and the books were opened.” And the apostle John in Revelation 20:12 describes the same scene. Notice what it says there, “And I saw the dead (or those who have died), 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.” Wouldn’t it be kind of silly to do all this judging and investigating if people go directly to heaven or hell when they die? But no, they remain in the grave awaiting one of two resurrections.

So, the book of life only contains the names of those who have, at some point in their lives, accepted the shed blood of Christ in their behalf. In Luke 10:20 Jesus told His disciples, “Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” And the apostle Paul, in Philippians 4:3 speaking to his fellow gospel workers says, their “names are in the book of life.” And notice also what Daniel 12:1 says. Looking down to “a time of trouble, such as never was,” he declares that God’s “people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book.” And again Revelation 21:27 says the only ones that shall enter the city of God are those whose names “are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” And so, this is well documented in the Scriptures; we’re not just picking this out of thin air. But that’s not all, Malachi 3:16 says, there’s “a book of remembrance” that records the good deeds of “them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name.” That means our words of faith, and our acts of love and kindness are registered in heaven. Nehemiah 13:14 refers to this same thing when he says: “Remember me, O my God, . . . and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God.”

So, in the book of God’s remembrance every deed of righteousness is there recorded with every temptation resisted, every trial overcome, every word of pity expressed, every act of sacrifice, every suffering and sorrow endured for Christ’s sake. And in Psalm 56:8 David says, “Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?”

But the good stuff isn’t all that’s recorded. Jeremiah 2:22 and 17:3 gives indication that there is also a book of death where every wicked deed and word is written. Ecclesiastes 12:14 says, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” And in Matthew 12:36, 37 Jesus said “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

You know, many people think the bad things they do can be kept secret, and that may be true when it comes to other human beings in this life, but we need to realize that the secret purposes and motives of the heart are also faithfully recorded in God’s books. 1 Corinthians 4:5 says, for God “will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.” And Isaiah 65:6, 7 says, our iniquities, and the iniquities of our fathers together, are written before the Lord.

Notice, The Great Controversy, page 482 says, “Every man’s work passes in review before God and is registered for faithfulness or unfaithfulness. Opposite each name in the books of heaven is entered with terrible exactness every wrong word, every selfish act, every unfulfilled duty, and every secret sin, with every artful dissembling. Heaven-sent warnings or reproofs neglected, wasted moments, unimproved opportunities, the influence exerted for good or for evil, with its far-reaching results, all are chronicled by the recording angel.”

Friends, the only way we are ever going to have all our bad deeds expunged from the books of record is to accept the grace and forgiveness that’s freely offered through the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross of Calvary and learn how to have victory over temptation through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we realize all that’s involved, and the seriousness of it, and the fact that in and of ourselves we have no power of our own to live for God, it’s then that we realize our need of a Saviour.

And guess what the standard in the judgment will be? The ten-commandment law of God is the standard by which the characters and the lives of every person will be tested in the judgment. Why do I say that? I say that because there has to be a standard of some kind for people to be judged by, otherwise there couldn’t be a judgment. And Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14 tells us what that standard is. The wise man says, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into (what) judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

Well, someone says, that was the rule in Old Testament times, but during New Testament times we’re saved by grace. But if that were true, wouldn’t that be unfair to people who lived before Christ sacrificed His life? No friend, the New Testament says the same as the Old. The difference between the Old and the New is that during Old Testament times people looked for Christ to come, and in the New Testament Christ has come. There are not two different ways to be saved, one through obedience in the Old Testament and by grace in the New. Judgment is the same in both Testaments, and the Ten Commandment are the standard in both. In the New Testament James 2:12 says, “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” And in the previous verses he makes it clear that the “law of liberty” is the Ten Commandment law, and it’s called the “law of liberty” because those who keep it are set free from sin. And let’s not forget what it says in 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.” So, no commandment-keeping, no entrance into the City of God.

Now just to be clear, we are not saved by our obedience to the law, but, if the law is written in our hearts, as it says in the Old Testament in Jeremiah 31:33 and repeated in the New Testament in Hebrews 10:16, will it not be carried out in the life? Of course it will, and that’s how faith and works go together. They are like the two ores of a rowboat, if you just pull on one you won’t go anywhere, you’ll just go in circles, and remember what James 2:17 says, “faith without works is dead, being alone.” I believe it was John Calvin who said, “faith without works is a faith that does not work.” And that’s true. This idea that a person can have a saving faith in Christ and continue in sin is not sustained anywhere in the Scriptures, and those who think otherwise are fooled by a false hope.

Now, since the investigative judgment has been going forward since 1844, that means that those being judged will not be present in person at their trial. And since judgment begins at the house of God, or with those who at some point in their lives professed Christ, then it follows that the first ones to be judged will be those who first died believing in the sacrifice of Christ, which would be Adam and Eve and their immediate offspring who believed. Does that make sense? And the distinct possibility exists that it’s quite possible that judgment has already reached the cases of the living. We don’t know that for sure, but it will have to start with the living at some point, because there will be those living when Jesus comes that have not died. And if judgment has already begun with the living, and we aren’t going to know when our name will come up in review before God, how serious should we be to be character ready at all times?

Remember when we talked about the marriage supper of the Lamb, and how it takes place while we are still here on earth. Well, it’s the same as the investigative judgment. And so, during the time between 1844 till Jesus says “it is finished,” is when the bride, or the church, is made up, and it’s being made up as I speak.

Let me just share a few promises with you about this. According to 1 John 2:1, Jesus is our advocate, or our defense attorney to plead His shed blood in our behalf before the Ancient of days. John says, “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” That’s what Jesus is doing in the heavenly sanctuary for us right now, but the thing is, He won’t be our advocate much longer. Soon He’s going to say, “it’s done”, and then it will be too late for those who have put it off, and put it off, like Governor Felix did. There’s never going to be a more convenient season than today friends, so let’s make our calling and election sure while we still have the opportunity, what do you say?

Hebrews 9:24 says, “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, (human hands) which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us”, praise God! And Hebrews 7:25 says, “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

The Great Controversy, page 483 puts it this way, “As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have believed on Jesus come in review before God. (You see, the only ones that come up in the judgment are those “who have believed on Jesus.”) Beginning with those who first lived upon the earth, our Advocate presents the cases of each successive generation, and closes with the living. Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. Names are accepted, names rejected. When any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good deeds will be erased from the book of God’s remembrance. The Lord declared to Moses: ‘Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book.’ Exodus 32:33. And says the prophet Ezekiel: ‘When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, … all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned.’ Ezekiel 18:24.

“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 eternal life. The Lord declares, by the prophet Isaiah: ‘I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.’ Isaiah 43:25. Said Jesus: ‘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.’ ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.’ Revelation 3:5; Matthew 10:32, 33.”

You know, if you are following the news at all, you have seen how closely former President Trump is being investigated for the crimes he has allegedly committed. And remember, in this country, at least so far, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Hatred for him is so great from the opposing party that they are leaving no stone unturned in order to put him in jail and keep him from becoming President again at the next election, and whether you think he’s guilty or not is beside the point. When you think about how tenaciously they are going after him, and how the Republicans are now going after President Biden and his son, it but faintly represents the interest in the heavenly court when every name that has been entered in the book of life comes up in review before the Judge of all the earth. Not because God hates us, but because He will not allow sin to rise a second time and jeopardize all heaven like what took place when Satan and his angels were cast out so long ago. That’s what the investigation judgment is all about and what it’s for. And as I already said, not only does God know every word we have ever uttered and every action we have ever done, but He reads the heart; the motives, and knows every secret sin we have ever committed. And friends, that’s why we need a Saviour, because let’s face it, we have all been guilty of every type of sin imaginable, and even the thought of sin that was never carried out will be noticed and held against us, why? Because we would have done it if the opportunity had presented itself without us getting caught, and that’s the same as doing it. Remember when Jesus said, if you hate someone you’re guilty of murder, and if a man lusts after a woman it’s the same as committing adultery with her? We need a new heart, that’s the only way we will ever gain the victory over these kind of thought sins.

As our divine lawyer and Intercessor, Jesus presents the plea to His Father that all who have overcome through faith in His blood be forgiven their sins and be restored to their Eden home to become joint heirs with Himself in the kingdom He’s gone to prepare for those who love Him. Think of it, Christ is asking that this plan be carried into effect as if we had never fallen, that we had never sinned, asking for His people not only pardon and justification full and complete, but to share in His glory and to be seated with Him upon His throne. Hard to comprehend, but it’s true, praise God!

But let’s not forget something else that’s going on at the same time, because while Jesus is pleading for us in the heavenly courts, Satan is accusing us before God as those who have transgressed His law. He points to the record of our lives, to our defects of character, to our unlikeness to Christ, and because of this he claims that we belong to him. And you know what? Jesus doesn’t excuse our sins, He doesn’t have to, He just opens the books and shows our great adversary our confession and repentance on the various points we’re being accused of and claims for us forgiveness. Isn’t that great?

Lifting His wounded hands before the Father and the holy angels He says, “I know them by name, I have graven them upon the palms of My hands.” And then He looks Satan square in the eye and quotes what the Holy Spirit inspired Zechariah to write so many years ago in Zechariah 3:2, “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen (Jack, or Cindy, or whatever your name happens to be) the Lord that hath chosen (them) rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” And our names are retained in the Lambs book of life. Then Jesus quotes what He said in Revelation 3:4, “They shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy.” Again, I say, praise the Lord! We are worthy, not because of any righteousness of our own, because we don’t have any, but because the One who is holy lives within and has created within us a new heart with new desires, and new inclinations to obey from a heart of love.

When we have that kind of heart, then we will realize the complete fulfillment of the new-covenant promise of Jeremiah 31:34, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” This is the final result of the investigative judgment, and the blotting out of sins is to be accomplished for all those whose names are found written in the book of life just before Jesus comes back to the earth to deliver His people, and I want to be one of them, how about you?

Now, since the dead are to be judged out of the things written in the books, their sins can’t be blotted out until after the judgment has investigated those sins, does that make sense? In Acts 3:19, 20 the apostle Peter says the sins of believers will be blotted out “when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ.” This time of refreshing has to do with the latter rain of the Holy Spirit and the loud cry of the third and fourth angel’s messages, but that’ll have to be a subject for another time.

So, when the investigative judgment closes, Christ will soon be on His way, and Revelation 22:12 says His reward is with Him to give to every man according as his work shall be, and how could He do that if people are sent to heaven or hell at death? This false teaching has become worldwide. This lie has been promoted by so many preachers for so long that people believe it has to be true, but it’s not true, and if people would just study for themselves, they would see that. The seventh day Sabbath is in this same category, and just a brief study in the Scriptures would dispel the error that Sunday is now the special day of worship, when God has given no such instruction anywhere in His word. Sunday worship is all about tradition, but Jesus said, “in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” And that’s just what Sunday sacredness is, a commandment of men that will one day soon be enforced on pain of death. It doesn’t seem so now, but the Scriptures can’t be broken. Prophecy declares it so, and it will happen when the time is right.

In the earthly sanctuary service, according to God’s word, when the high priest finished making an atonement for Israel, he came out of the sanctuary and blessed the congregation. And remember, what took place on earth in type, takes place in heaven in reality. At the close of Christ’s work as our mediator, He comes out of the most holy place and will bless His waiting people with immortality, which means that no one has an immortal soul now, that’s something that’s given when Jesus comes, according to 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. And besides, 1 Timothy 6:16 says God is the only one who has immortality, and He doesn’t give it to the wicked, just to the righteous. And so, no one is going to burn forever and ever without end, because if they did that would be immortality in hell fire, wouldn’t it? But that is something that a fair and loving God will not do, because it doesn’t make sense to punish people for all eternity when they’ve only lived a few years on this earth. By comparison that just doesn’t make sense. If that were true, I’d be the first one to call God a tyrant, because that’s what He would be to be so unjust. But He’s not.

Alright, moving on. Just as the earthly priest, after removing the sins from the sanctuary, confessed them upon the head of the scapegoat, so Christ will place all the sins of the repentant upon Satan, the originator and instigator of sin. And then what happens? Notice what it says in Leviticus 16:22, “And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat (or the scape goat. The goat for the Lord was sacrificed remember), and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities (where?) unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.”

And just as the scapegoat who bore the sins of Israel was sent away “unto a land not inhabited,” so Satan, bearing the guilt of all the sins which he has caused God’s people to commit, will for a thousand years be confined to the earth, which will then be desolate and without inhabitant, and he will at last suffer the full penalty of sin in the fire that destroys all the wicked.

Let’s take a look at it in Jerimiah 4:23-26, because it tells us the condition of the earth during this time. “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was (what) a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.” That’s what the earth is going to look like after the seven last plagues fall.

This is where the devil and his angels will spend 1,000 years and think about what they’ve done, and the punishment that awaits them while the ransomed of the Lord are in heaven taking a look at those books. Why? Because, if any of your loved ones are not there, don’t you think you will want to know why? Sure you will, and after looking at those books of record, you will know exactly why that loved one could not be allowed into a perfect heaven, and it will be because they did not allow the Holy Spirit to help them form a character after the character of Christ when opportunity was available. That will be a sad day, but afterward we have the promise that God will wipe away all tears from our eyes.

If you have questions about this 1,000-year period, read Revelation chapter 20. It’s very clear that there are two resurrections separated by 1,000 years, and verse 15 says, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

And so, it’s imperative that we understand that all sins that have not been repented of and forsaken and all temptation not overcome through the power of the Holy Spirit, will not be pardoned and blotted out of the books of record, but will stand to witness against us in the day of account. If we have committed our evil deeds in the light of day or in the darkness of night, it doesn’t matter, they are not hidden from the all-seeing eye of God.

The holy angels have witnessed every sin and registered it in the unerring records, that’s one of their jobs. Sin might be concealed from your parents, your wife, your children, and your friends, but they are laid bare before the God of heaven. There’s an exact record of every unjust account and every unfair dealing, and God makes no mistakes in His estimation of character. Other people might be deceived by a corrupt heart, but God reads the inner life, and this is a solemn thought, is it not?

We cannot, we dare not allow anything to interfere with our duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God, that’s why the sanctuary and the investigative judgment must be clearly understood. We all need a knowledge for ourselves of the position and work of our great High Priest, otherwise it will be impossible for us to exercise the faith that’s essential at this time, or to occupy the position that God designs that we should fill. We all have a soul to save or to lose friends, and each of us has a case pending at the bar of God, and we’re all going to have to meet it. How important then, that we consider the solemn reality that the judgment is sitting today and the books are already being examined.

For the past 2,000 years the sanctuary in heaven has been the very center of Christ’s work in our behalf and concerns every person who has ever lived upon this planet. The whole plan of salvation is laid out before us in the sanctuary, bringing us down to the very close of time concerning and the contest between righteousness and sin. And when you think about it, the intercession of Christ in our behalf in the sanctuary above is just as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By Christ’s death His work in our behalf began, and after His resurrection He ascended to complete it in heaven, and everything I see indicates that it will be completed very soon now.

In Proverbs 28:13 it says, “He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” And I say praise the Lord! And right now you might be thinking that there’s no hope for you to be victorious in the battle with self and sin, but friends, Jesus pleads in our behalf His wounded hands and His bruised body, and declares to all who choose to follow Him: “My grace is sufficient for thee.” He says, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Let’s not regard our defects of character as incurable, because God will give faith and grace to overcome, that’s His promise to those who have faith to believe what He says.

As we are now living in the great and final day of atonement, think about the typical service during Old Testament times for a minute. While the high priest was making atonement for Israel, they were all required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation before the Lord lest they be cut off from among the people. And in like manner, all who would have their names retained in the book of life should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance.

This means that it’s time for deep searching of heart, friends. There’s a warfare going on inside of us to subdue the evil tendencies that strive for the mastery. Every person from every nation will pass in judgment before God, and even though there have been billions and billions of people born into this world from creation till now, He will examine the case of each individual with as close and searching scrutiny as if there were not another being upon the earth, and when our name comes up in review before God, we must be found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

Will your name be retained in the book of life, or will it be blotted out? The choice is yours, and it’s a choice that no one else can make for you. The same appeal that God gave to Israel of old in Ezekiel 18:31 applies to us today as well as to them when He pleaded with them to, “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” And Galatians 3:29 says, “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” And so, we are spiritual Israel today, and God pleads with us to cast away our sins and receive that new heart and that new spirit, and if we do, we can take His promise of forgiveness and life eternal to the bank and cash it friends, for the One who promised it is true and faithful.

And the Books Were Opened