Is YOUR NAME written in the LAMB’s ‘BOOK OF LIFE’?
December 31
Bible Reading: Revelation Chapters 19-22
Is YOUR NAME written in the LAMB’s ‘BOOK OF LIFE’?
"Then I saw a great white throne and
Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And
there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great,
standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which
is the Book of Life. And the dead
were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the
books. And anyone not found written in
the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." (Rev 20:11-12,
15)
In this
passage, Apostle John viewed another terrifying scene in his vision. The “great white throne” is God’s throne in
heaven. John saw earth and heaven flee from God’s presence, which indicates
that we have come to the end of God’s dealings with this earth. The dead ones standing
before this throne are the unsaved of all
ages who are now resurrected and judged. They come from all classes and
groups of humanity. The “books”
contain a record of their deeds. The “book of life” contains the names of God’s elect.
This
judgment closes the millennial period and opens the age to come in God’s
eternal kingdom. It is the greatest of all judgments because it encompasses all
the wicked from the beginning of man’s history. Jesus Christ is the one sitting
on the great white throne, fulfilling John 5:22. Those who are judged are lost
because they refused God’s salvation in Christ by grace through faith. Their doom is the second and final death!
God will
condemn those raised to face this judgment because of their works, including
failure to believe in Jesus Christ (see John 6:29). Only God’s elect, those
whose names are written in the Book of Life, will escape the lake of fire. The
rejection of the eternal gospel results in eternal condemnation (14:6, 7). An
eternal separation is now made between those who have “life” and those who have “death”
(Dan. 12:2; John 5:29).
Let us
understand that this judgment involves only the lost and follows the second
resurrection, which is the resurrection to condemnation. Sinners who rejected
Christ will face Him and hear Him say, “Depart
from Me!” (Matt. 7:23; 25:41). This solemn scene ought to move us to ask
ourselves this question: “Is my name
written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?” If we have accepted Jesus Christ as
our Lord and Savior, and we are living in obedience to His commandments, we
will not have to face the “great white
throne” judgment. We should also pray
for the lost people around us and witness
to them so that they will not have to face this final judgment as well.
