The Book of Life As Taught in the Bible

•By: Elder Don Ellis

Section 1: Exodus 32:33, Romans 9:3, Revelations 3:5, Revelations 5:9

This book of life as taught in the bible must be understood as being signified. It is not as a book we are reading from the King James Version. I feel it is speaking of God's great power to remember and not to forget. We, as finite people, realize the fallacy of depending on our memory, so we write our transactions in a book and have them become legal. The term used in Malachi 3:16 is: "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it. and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name." It is evident that this is not speaking of the election of grace from before the foundation of the world. It is to encourage us that God is not unmindful to forget our labor of love and to know that our labors in hard desolate times are not in vain in the Lord.

In Exodus 32:33. a great sin has been committed. Israel has made a golden calf and has worshiped it saying, "These be thy gods. 0 Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. " Now God is wroth at his covenant people and promises to blot their name out of the book of life. This is not speaking of them ceasing to be in the election of God before the foundation of the world; these are the people that God has

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chosen to dwell in the land of Canaan. This land is to be possessed by their obedience to God. Israel is the elect of God (Isaiah 45:4). This election is according to the purpose of God to have an elect people in a covenant only sense~ In Revelation 5:9 is states that the lamb 11 redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ... " Being blotted out of the book of life is not speaking of the people redeemed by the blood of Christ. There is no conflict between Exodus 32:33 and Revelation 5:9.

The life spoken of in Exodus 32:33 is the life Moses refers to in Deuteronomy 3: 19 and 30:20. In this, we can choose life or choose death. or the chi ldren of Israel this life refers to the land of Canaan. In this scripture, Moses is making intercession with God and says that if He (God) is going to blot out the Israelites from this covenant land, then Moses does not want to go there alone, he wi ll just stay with his people. God hears Moses pleading and grants them this much pardon: an angel will go before them and they will be plagued for their sin yet they will be brought into the covenant land. As the law was added because of sin, it did not disannul the Promised Land. Moses does not want to be blotted out of the book of life but is willing to lay down his life for his brethren. He is a pure type of Jesus, our intercessor.

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Section 2: Romans 9:3

As Moses was pleading with God in Exodus 32:33 because his people had committed such a great sin at Mt. Sinai, he desired for God to blot his name out of the book of life. In the previous section, the life he has in mind is the beautiful land of Canaan. Even so the apostle Paul in Romans 9:2-3 is saying, "That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsman according to the flesh ..." These his people have received such rich blessings from God down through the centuries such as adoption, glory, the covenants and the giving of the law which enabled them to please God.

Now, after Christ is come according to promise, the prophet who was to come and bring in a new covenant, new and greater blessings, Paul finds them in stubborn unbelief just as Moses did in Exodus 32:33. Not all of them though are in unbelief as in Romans 9:6, "Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel..." Jacob, who is Israel, had his name changed because of his act of believing, so the name of Israel really means believing God. So it is today, a born again child of God can be an unbeliever. Paul's great love and concern about his brethren turns back in Acts 22: 19-20, "And I said, Lord, they know that I

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imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him." This was Paul's desire to continue laboring with them, the same as Moses at the mount. In Moses' time, God gave them a measure of pardon. Even so it is today. Paul writes that the Jews are to suffer further unbelief: Romans 11 :8, "(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day." However, they do receive a measure of pardon in that they are still in God's covenant as it is written in Romans 11 :29, "For the gifts and • calling of God are without repentance." Like Moses, Paul did not truly want to be accursed from Christ, but realizing he was a bond slave to Christ, he obeys God. This is shown in Acts 22:21, "And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles." Paul shows his great concern for his unbelieving brethren all through his preaching, but also is obedient to his master, Christ. This life he is preaching is the life in the new covenant. As the Old Covenant was the ministration of death (2 Corinthians 3:7), the New Covenant is the ministration of righteousness (2 Corinthians 3:9). Paul is not taking, nor can he take away their eternal salvation that was given by election from before the foundation of the world, but what is

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being taken away is the unbeliever's life and happiness in the New Covenant and Paul is now turning to the believing Gentiles. Acts 13:48, "And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained [or assigned] to eternal life believed." Acts 15:17, 'That the residue [or remnant] of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things."

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Section 3: Psalm 56:8, 69:28, 139:16

Psalms 56:8--13,"Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. In God willi praise his word: in the Lord will i praise his word. In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. Thy vows are upon me, 0 God: I will render praises unto thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?"

These beautiful scriptures are a great • consolation to a church member that feels very low in spirit and feels to have enemies both in his carnal self and also enemies around him. This is a great struggle to be like Christ and imitate Him in His commandments, to bear this patiently knowing in yourself this you must do to have His fellowship. In verse 8, David mentions his wanderings that God knows about. These wanderings inside our heart and mind go from love, understanding, patience, and forbearance, and then frustration sets in and turns to imagination, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy and hatred which bring on loss of fellowship with your friend Christ, causing sorrow, great loss and loneliness. Hence, we weep, feel lost, heavily burdened and unspiritual. This is where we need

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to remember that Jesus loves us and is mindful of our tears. Are not they written in the great book of His promises? God never slumbers or sleeps. Isaiah 57: 15 "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the' heart of the contrite ones." Isaiah 66:2, "For all those things hath mine hand made, and .those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." God looks to this person to worship Him and obey Him whether in happy times or sad times. This man should always think of God's promises that his tears are kept in a book. If a child cries tears of disappointment and heartbreak, just take a bottle and put it up to his eyes and tell him you want to keep them to remember his sorrows of childhood and he will immediately stop crying and smile. When experiencing our spiritual . tears, heartbreak, disappointment, being despised, cast out of fellowship, being insulted or spoken evil of, just remember all this is written in His book. Shall we not say book of life? Amen

In Psalm 69:21-28, David is speaking of an experience that is also a prophesy of the sufferings of Christ as He lived here on earth as a sin bearer for His elect people. Ought they not know and understand the example He set, that

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we might walk in His steps? Verse 26 reads, "For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded." When we suffer these things in our own life, let us commit the keeping of our souls' "life" in well doing, knowing that God will blot their name out of the book of life. Deuteronomy 32:4, "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." Amen

In Psalm 139:16, David is speaking of God's great foreknowledge in seeing the great house of David, who is a type of Christ. The substance of th is great body of people is unperfect, or incomplete, yet in the mind of God, all these people will be and are His. And although they don't exist yet, they will exist because they are written in this book or mind of God. " ... which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them." As God chose a people in Christ before the foundation of the world, when as yet there was none of them, them He elected, or chose, he also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His son. Them that He predestinated, He also called, and whom He called, He also justified by the blood of Christ, and them that He justified, He also glorified, or raised from the dead. This is the continuance of the unperfect to the point that he could say that they are complete in Christ.

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Section 4: Revelations 3:5

The last book in the Bible is written unto seven churches of Asia. One of which is the church in Sardis. This church had a name that it lived; at least people around must have felt it was a lively, spiritual church. God, who knows the hearts of men, saw that it was dead. There were a few members who were spiritual, obedient, and evidently loved God. To those that were lifeless, or with a don't-care attitude, god called for their repentance and they were ordered to overcome this fault. It would be difficult to overcome, but the great promise would be that their name would not be blotted out of the book of life. This life is to be found in the kingdom of God, or the New Covenant Church. This life is mentioned in Acts 5:20 when the apostles were commanded to preach to the people this way of life. The life in the New Covenant of God is the Holy Ghost. Life in the Old Covenant was rich crops, weather, and wombs were opened for healthy children. God prospered them and gave them victories in battles against enemies. Life in the New Covenant is the words of Christ dwelling in us richly by faith. Romans 8:35, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" Verse 37, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors [those who overcome] through him that loved us." We get our eternal life through

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His shed blood. The life we are speaking of is faith in His blood. What a shame it is to believe in His shed blood for/the redemption from sin and eternal life through Christ's resurrection, and then walk in a dead, listless, worldly way, being mindful of earthly things, being enemies of His cross. As Galatians 5:25 states, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. JJ If we overcome through faith in Christ and do not faint or become weary, we will not be blotted out of the book of life.

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The Book of Life As Taught in the Bible

By: Elder Don Ellis

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