-THE TRANSITIONAL JEWS-

Before we study the doctrine of Names written in the Lamb's Book of Life, let's first consider the "transitional Jews" of the Bible. As we do we'll note that the doctrines of the "transitional Jew" and the "names written in the Book of Life" are tied together. Let's look first at a passage from the Book of Hebrews that refers to the New Testament Church. Note as we read that the writer of Hebrews is not addressing the Hebrews that have been "born-again" into the new Church, but those that have "come unto" the Church.

(Heb. 12:18-24)
18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) [Verses 18-21 look back to Israel's time of transition from the Age of Promise to the Age of the Law which was given to Moses.]
22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, [The N. T. Church is the antitype of these O. T. expressions.] and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn [i.e, two names for the N. T. Church], which are written in heaven , and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. [The blood sacrifices from the time of Abel outside the Garden of Eden up to the Cross all pointed forward to the shed blood of Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God.]

Those familiar with the Old Testament will instantly recognize that this passage from Hebrews is referring back to Moses and the generation of Israelites who made the exodus from Egypt "unto" Mt. Sinai where God gave the law to Moses. That is, it is referring back to the generation that was required to make the transition from the Age of Promise to the Age of the Law which is why we've labeled them "the first transitional Jews." The writer of Hebrews made this reference because he was dealing with a unique but somewhat similar group which had "come unto" the Cross of Calvary and were required to make the transition from the Age of the Law to the Age of Grace. This similarity explains why the writer of Hebrews referred to those of Moses' day when addressing those going through the birth pangs of our age. Unfortunately, their being "transitional Jews" was not the only thing the two groups had in common, for like those who crossed the Red Sea with Moses, very few of the Jews coming into the Grace Age were willing to actually accept the covenant that came with the new age — indicating that their hearts were far from God and that, in truth, they had not actually accepted the covenant that had already been in effect.

There is another passage of Scripture dealing with a group of "transitional Jews," and we find it in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus had just sent out seventy of his disciples on a missionary trip and they had returned all aglow because they had found the devils to be subject to them when they ministered in Jesus' name. Remember as you read that the earth was still under the covenant of the Law.

Luke10:18-20
...I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

We should note that as per the words of Jesus, the transitional Jews who were truly following Him during His ministry already had their names written in the Book because they were among the faithful of the seed of Abraham. Nonetheless, they had to make the transition from the "old" to the "new." Consequently, their names were rewritten / modified in the Book of Life as "permanent" recipients of God's grace when they were born again in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost, the birth day of the new Church. (By the way, in spite of the Day of Pentecost, it seemed that many of the born-again Jews in the new church had trouble in their minds converting from the burdensome law of Moses to the liberty of the new law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, Peter being no exception [Gal. 2 cf. Acts 11:1-18].)

NAMES WRITTEN
IN THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE

Now, let's zero in on the matter of names being written in the Lamb's Book of Life. As we consider this doctrine, we need to understand that:

• there are those whose names have been written in the Lamb's Book of Life on a "permanent, eternal basis"

• there are those whose names have never been written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and

• there are those whose names are written in the Book of Life on a "conditional" basis.

-The New Testament Christians-

Let's look first those whose names have been written in the Lamb's Book of Life on a "permanent, eternal basis" — i.e., the New Testament Church, the recipient of God's gift of eternal life. We've already read in Hebrews 12:23 where the Church of the firstborn (i.e., the N. T. Church) is "written in Heaven," a term that seems to be synonymous with being "written in the Lamb's Book of Life." But there is another verse of Scripture that deals with the names of the New Testament believers being written in the Book of Life; and it is directed to all who believe in Christ, Jew and Gentile alike. It is found in Paul’s epistle to the Philippians.

(Php. 4:1a-3b, 4)
Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord...and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are written in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, rejoice.

Because the born-again believer is given eternal life the moment he or she is born into the family of God — and because of the nature of eternal life, we can eliminate those in the true Church from the list of possible names that can be stricken from the Lamb’s Book of Life.

-The Gentiles-

Second, there are those whose names have never been written in the Book of Life: i.e., the Gentiles. For our age, the Bible has two classifications for the Gentiles.

1. Those outside the church who have not accepted Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior which includes most of the human race. As we've said, these are known as "Gentiles" which means "those without a covenant with God."

2. Those inside the church who have not accepted Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. The Bible labels these as "tares" or "hypocrites."

-The Seed of Abraham-

Thirdly, let's consider those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life on a "conditional" basis: These are the seed of Abraham, the father of the Hebrews, and their names are written in the Book because of God's promise to Abraham concerning his posterity, but with conditions — the first condition being that the names of his posterity to be recorded is limited to the bloodline of  Isaac.

The first references to God's blotting out names from the Book of Life is found in a conversation between God and Moses which took place just after Israel's miraculous delivery through the Red Sea at the time of Israel's transition from the Age of Promise to the Age of the Law. The conversation came about because the children of Israel were turning to idolatry by making themselves a golden calf to worship even as Moses was in the cloud of glory on Mount Sinai getting the Ten Commandments and other instructions from God. God had sent Moses down the mountain to deal with the rebellious Israelites. Let's pick up on the conversation that took place the next day.

(Ex. 32:31-33)
And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. 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.

In the second reference to the incident, found in Deuteronomy 9:13-14, Moses gave us more insight into the mind of God on the day of that fateful transgression.

(Deuteronomy 9:13-14)
Furthermore the Lord spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.

Apparently God had already told Moses of a book in which He had written the names of all the descendants of Abraham through Isaac as per His promises to Abraham; for we see from these two passages that God was not only ready to blot their names from His book, but He was also ready to destroy this ungrateful crowd and erase their names from the memory of mankind. From the context of the account, we can ascertain that Moses didn’t really want his name stricken from this book, but that this was just the most ardent way of interceding for his kin that he could imagine at the time. But be that as it may, in spite of Moses’ intercession, God did not totally relent and spare his kinsmen; for we’re told that except for two faithful warriors, Joshua and Caleb, none of those Israelites in the rebellion got to go into the land promised to Abraham’s seed. Instead, they died while wandering and grumbling in the wilderness; and the blessing was passed on to their children. (When read in its context, the two references to this event do not suggest that God got angry and sent all of the stiff-necked people of Israel to hell; rather, they demonstrate that if there were one to intercede in their behalf, that He would hear. In this, Moses serves as a type of Christ Jesus Who is now at the right hand of God the Father interceding for all the Grace Age sinners who have been saved by Grace!) Doctrinally, God’s statement in this conversation agrees with the one he made to Ezekiel concerning the grumbling generation of the Ezekiel’s time. "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die (Eze. 18:4). In the remainder of this chapter of Ezekiel, God went on to explain through the prophet that neither righteousness nor unrighteousness are passed on from father to child, but that each individual of each generation must stand on his or her own merits before their Maker. He even went on to specify that under the law, those who began their lives living for God, but ended their lives in sin would die in sin and their blood would be on their own hands. Likewise, those who began their lives in sin, but changed their minds and were living for God before they died would be accepted of God. Consequently, the final state of each of the grumbling children of Israel in the wilderness was determined on an individual basis by each individual. If they truly repented, undoubtedly they were accepted by God. If they remained stiff-necked and rebellious, then God dealt with them accordingly.

The second mentioning of Hebrew names being blotted from this "book" is found in the Messianic Psalms. (The Messianic Psalms are those Psalms wherein the writer goes forward in time in the Spirit and gives graphic descriptions of those things that would happen to Israel’s Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ — especially those things having to do with His visitation and His death on the cross.)

(Ps. 109:1-3; 13-14)
Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause...
Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.

(Ps. 69:21-28)
They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shame.
Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.
Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.
For they persecute him whom thou has smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou has wounded.
Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness.
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

In these Messianic Psalms, Jesus is not only speaking of those Jews who would have Him crucified, but of their posterity as well. Their posterity, of course, has been the Jews of the dispersion; i.e., those Jews who have continually rejected their Messiah and resisted the Holy Spirit and who have been dispersed throughout the world for the past some 2,000 years of the Grace Age / Church Age. As was predicted, they have often found themselves at the mercy of people who have not always been given to mercy.

Not all references to the Hebrew names in the Book of Life are negative. The next mentioning of the Hebrew children in the Book of Life is found in the book of Daniel and it is positive and prophetic in nature.

(Dan 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.

This verse speaks of the generation of Abraham’s descendants that will go through the awful time of Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 30:7). This will be the end-time generation that will go through the horrors of the great tribulation, horrors that will be so catastrophic that God Himself will have to intervene or no flesh will be saved (Mt. 24:22). This will be the final generation of Abraham’s seed to experience the dispersion; and as we read in Matthew 24:9-13 (the Gospel written with the Jew in mind), all of Abraham’s seed who endure (remain faithful) to the end of this dispersion shall be saved.

Also, as we can see from the book of Revelation, not only will the faithful Israelites of this generation be saved, but they shall be saved in a special way. John tells us in Revelation that God shall give them two wings of a great eagle with which to fly into the wilderness where He personally shall nourish them (Rev. 12:13-16). (This will be the remnant at the end of our age, the generation of Abraham’s seed that finally gets to possess all of the promise land. They should not be confused with the 144,000 of Revelation chapter 7 which shall be sealed at the end of the Kingdom Age and kept by God Himself during that day of wrath.) For a thorough study of how Israel fits into God's plans at the end time, see the authors’ on-line book THE CLOCK OF THE AGES-A Study of Matthew 24 & 25 and their STUDY OF REVELATION.

THE
APOCALYPTIC
REFERENCES TO THE
BOOK OF LIFE

The remaining Scriptures we need to look at having to do with the Book of Life are found in the Book of Revelation. Because some say that the truths of Revelation are too hard to understand, they just leave these verses be; while others twist them beyond recognition. But obviously, neither stance is Scriptural. True, no prophecy is of private interpretation [II Pet. 1:20-21], but it is also true that all things of the kingdom are given to the Church [Luke 12:31-32]. This would, of course, include the understanding of prophecies, and especially the understanding of those prophecies that effect the Church. Nevertheless, the Bible is clear that this understanding belongs only to the Spirit of God and to those to whom He imparts that understanding.

The understanding of prophecy, like so many things pertaining to God’s grace, is a gift of God. But also like so many of God’s gifts, the understanding of prophecy has conditions that must be met. That is, the reader must seek, and he must do so believing that God wants His Church to be aware of what is coming down the pike. In addition, the reader should understand that the prophetic Word is time released and that God will deliver it to the Church only when it is needed. To insure that it would remained sealed until that time, the prophetic Word has been presented in a mystery; and for what it’s worth, it is this author’s opinion that the time is upon us and that God is ready to impart understanding of prophecy to the Body.

One of the keys for unlocking the mysteries of prophecy is an understanding of the ages / dispensations of the Bible.   From this point on, we will utilize the understanding of the ages / dispensations of the Bible, noting differences in the covenants of the ages as we do. With this in mind, let’s continue looking at those passages that have to do with the Lamb's Book of Life.

(Rev. 13:8)
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [speaking of the beast], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

(Rev. 17:8)
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

These two passages show the beast being on the scene, and from this we can determine the times of the events on the Biblical time line, as well as who it will be during these times who will not have their names written in the Book of Life. (Follow me now.) This is because we are told in the Scriptures of only two times that Satan will rule on this world through his human puppet, the beast; i.e., at the end of our age and again at the end of the Kingdom Age. We can also determine that the greater number of people who will worship this beast during these times will be Gentiles (those without a covenant with God); for we’re told nothing about their names being removed from the book. (This makes sense since their names had never been written in it.) And we should also note that the Bible is not speaking of an animal (except in behavior) when it speaks of this "beast"; for in the prophecy of Scripture, worldly political characters are characterized as beasts. The major ones are ascribed the likeness of certain vicious or mean animals; e.g., leopards, he goats, bears, etc. But apparently there is no beast of the wild who can typify the evil beast of Revelation. He is simply identified as the beast, and he is presented as the ungodly, end-time political figure who will rule the world in Satan’s stead for around 3 1/2 years at the end of our age (the Grace Age). He will be replaced by a similar beast for a similar period at the end of the Kingdom Age. (See illustration #1 which depicts the last four of the seven ages determined upon the earth as well as the times of the beasts.)

(According to Revelation chapter 13, at the end of his first 3 1/2 year reign, the beast and Satan — who is also known as the dragon and the serpent — will be defeated, bound, and cast into hell by the returning Christ and His glorified Church. Christ will then set up His kingdom on the earth from which He will reign on the earth for a thousand years. However, at the end of our Lord’s millennial reign, Satan will be released; at which time, he will again be given the power to install another beast [another world power] and again deceive ungodly men and repeat his futile efforts against the Christ. But this will be his final attempt; for this defeat will bring to an end his limited rule, the time of sin, and the reign of fallen men on the earth [Rev. 20:1-3 cf. Rev. 13:11-18].)

But let’s return now to our problem of determining just who these are in Rev. 13:8 and Rev. 17:8 whose names are not / were not written in the Book of Life. (Remember, these two passages are not talking about names being removed from the book, but about names not being written in the book.) When read in their context, both of these verses speak of those at the end of our age who will not "know" Christ and who will therefore be deceived or be forced into worshipping Satan’s henchman, the beast. Because the True Church will have just been raptured and because the faithful among the Hebrews will be in their place in the wilderness nourished by God, we can safely say that these verses are not speaking about either set of the spiritual virgins. This leaves only two possible categories of people: the great body of unbelieving Gentiles who will have been sent a strong delusion that they should believe a lie, (II Thes. 2:11-12), and the hypocritical religious: i.e., the tares in the church who will be left when the born-again believers go up and whatever hypocrites that may be left in Israel — these will be those whose names will not be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life at the end of our age.

In Revelation chapter 20 there is also a prophetic passage that mentions the Book of Life. This passage has to do with the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of time; i.e., the end of the Kingdom Age (see illustration 1 above).

Rev. (20:12-15)
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.
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.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Once more, those in this passage whose names will not be found written in the Lamb's Book of Life can only be the Gentiles and the religious hypocrites.

The next passage from Revelation that we’ll look at having to do with the Book of Life is undoubtedly the hardest one to understand for although it sounds like it is written about Israel under the law, it is in one of the messages to the seven churches of Revelation. For this reason, it is the least understood in the Church; and therefore, it is the one most often misinterpreted.

(Rev. 3:5-6)
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.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

These two verses come from a lengthy passage that spans the second and third chapters of Revelation. The two chapters are comprised of messages from Christ to seven churches in Asia. There are many things about the messages to these seven churches that have always been a mystery to believers. For beginners, unlike John’s Gospel, these messages are not historical per se; and even though there is some doctrine in the messages, when they are approached strictly for their doctrinal value, the prophetic language in them becomes clutter that blocks our view. Although I see value in the warnings and / or encouragement to the particular seven churches of antiquity — messages that can profit the churches of any generation — when viewed in their context, the messages to the seven churches are part of the introduction to the greatest of all the prophetic books of the Bible. Consequently, rather than trying to deal with them only as history and doctrine, I have applied those techniques and keys that the Church has been given for the understanding of prophecy.

For example, instead of seeing the seven churches as merely seven churches or even as the representatives of seven types of churches, I’ve chosen to also apply the number seven as it is often applied in prophecy; i.e., to represent the seven ages of prophecy. By so doing, I no longer see the prophetic language in the seven messages as useless clutter; rather, it becomes very meaningful. Instead, I see interwoven in each of the messages to the seven churches prophetic language belonging to the seven ages as well as the undoing of the seven curses that mankind brought upon himself by failing to keep his part in the covenants associated with each of the seven ages.

For example, the message to the first church (Rev. 2:1-7) has many applications to the first dispensation of time, the Age of Innocence. For instance, it refers back to when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree, when they not only broke their part of the covenant, but when they also left their first love. Consequently, their only recourse was to repent and to do the first works; i.e., believe God instead of the devil. Prophetically, the behavior of Adam and Eve in the Garden aligns with verses 4 and 5 of Revelation 2: "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place except thou repent." As per God’s Word, Adam and Eve lost their place in the Garden. And as for the church at Ephesus, God’s word was equally sure; for they eventually not only lost their candlestick (their church), but the city itself fell to ruins which were unearthed in the 1800’s (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1974). The real clincher that the message to the first church speaks to the Age of Innocence, however, is the final word to the church at Ephesus. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to 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" (Rev. 2:7). If we’ll go to the account of the fall of man in Genesis chapter 3, we’ll see that one of the consequences of Adam’s transgression was the loss of access to the tree of life that was in the Garden of Eden. That tree is now in the paradise of God; and in the life to come, it will once again be accessible to Adam and Eve and to as many of their posterity as have chosen to believe and receive the salvation that God has provided in His Only Begotten Son. (For a thorough study of the prophetic applications of the messages to the seven churches, see chapters two and three of our study notes on Revelation.

Because it is not our purpose here to teach concerning the seven churches, but to expound upon those people whose names can be erased from the Lamb’s book of Life, let’s go back now to verse 5 of our excerpt from the message to the fifth church, the church in Sardis.

(Rev. 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.

The prophetic counterparts to the people of the church in Sardis are the people who will have lived under the fifth dispensation: i.e., the Age of the Law. The majority of the expressions in the word to the church in Sardis has always been associated with Israel under the law. And we know that those of the Age of the Law who reverenced God and were faithful in their walk did not have their names blotted from the Lamb’s Book of Life as per the Messianic Psalms quoted earlier.

There is one other passage in Revelation concerning the Lamb’s Book of Life, and it carries a warning flag.  The next passage in Revelation referring to the Lamb's Book of Life deals with the mishandling of Prophecy, and it seems to be directed at those who handle the Word of Life.

(Rev. 22:17-19)
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
For I testify unto every man that heareth the word of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
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.

This is the last mentioning of the Book of Life in the Bible; and because of its placement and its language, it probably deals with those living at the end of the Kingdom Age. If this be the case, then those at that time will doubtless be given its interpretation. To this author the warning underscores the importance of remaining faithful to the Lord’s command to study the Word so that both our lives and our doctrine / teaching might be approved of God. True, we are commanded to be instant with the Word — in season and out of season — but verses such as these insert a word of caution to the conscientious servant and underscores Peters admonition that "if any man speak, let him speak as the oracles [with the words and mind] of God" (I Pet. 4:11). Of course to speak thusly, we must give ourselves to the studying of the Word; and we must do so with an open mind to the Holy Spirit so that He can correct any errors of doctrine that we have picked up in our sojourning down here.