“Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.” (Malachi 3:16 ESV)
“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.” (Revelation 20:12 ESV)
God writes books.
Did you know that?
I know, please don’t roll your eyes and say, “Of course, He does, silly. Didn’t He inspire every author of the Hebrew and New Covenant scriptures?” The correct answer is, “Yes, He did.” But He also wrote some other books besides the sixty-six books in our Bible. He revealed the existence of those books within the pages of the One Book. Let me show you.
The first one is a doozy and by far the most important. It’s called the Book of Life. Bible-literate Christians have already read about this book.
The Book of Life
The Book of Life is first mentioned in Exodus 32:32-33. In these verses, Moses pleads with the Lord to forgive the Israelites for their Golden Calf idolatry. In true intercessory fashion, Moses offers his life for the lives of the guilty nation.
“Now if you would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book you have written” (Exodus 32:32). What book is that? The reveal comes next. “The Lord replied to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against me I will erase from my book’” (Exodus 32:33, italics author).
Since sin separates people from God, then “being erased from God’s book” implies that the book that Moses and God refer to is a record of those who have a forgiven, secure, peaceful, living relationship with God. Hence, the book here is God’s Book of Life.
We get further clarity about God’s Book of Life when we turn to Malachi. “Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. ‘They shall be mine,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous (those who fear the Lord) and the wicked (those who don’t), between one who serves God and one who does not serve him’” (Malachi 3:16-18, italics author).
As a side note, I find a fascinating parallel when Malachi 3:16 and John 3:16 are placed together. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him (Malachi’s ‘those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name’) should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Remarkable, huh? I just thought I’d throw that out there. No charge.
There you have it. The Book of Life records those who are righteous. Not being written within its divine pages or being erased from its pages is reserved for God’s enemies. King David wrote of the wicked, “Let them be erased from the book of life and not be recorded with the righteous” (Psalm 69:28). Most of us don’t get the impact of what David expressed. Even though it sounds like a mild curse from a greatly irritated man, David’s request is the epitome of praying for someone’s eternal and permanent destruction.
Therefore, to be erased from God’s Book of Life is no me gusta.
Now that we know being erased from God’s Book of Life is bad, really bad, another question follows. “How do our names get placed among the righteous names inscribed therein?” For that, we move to the New Covenant scriptures. As is true with other divine revelations, what was introduced in elemental form in the Hebrew scriptures comes into focus with Jesus’ saving work.
In Revelation 3:1-6, Jesus levels a strong rebuke against His people in Sardis. They claim to be alive but are dead. In other words, they claim to have a living and active relationship with Jesus, but they’re kidding themselves. Their mouths are writing checks their lives can’t cash. “Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God” (Revelation 3:2). Even though the Sardis Christians wear the “garments of salvation,” they are dreadfully soiled by selfish, unrepentant lives, a result of “Coasting Christianity.”
But not every Christian in Sardis is coasting. “Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy” (Revelation 3:4). Jesus declares that these precious dedicated believers are laser-focused on living their lives His way and it shows, especially to their Him. For them, Jesus gives the highest commendation. “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels” (Revelation 3:5, italics author).
So, in the Hebrew scriptures, we see that the Lord has a Book of Life, and it’s for those who trust Him and faithfully live His way. In the New Covenant scripture about Sardis, we see it applies specifically to those who trust His way of salvation through Jesus. Under the previous Old Covenant revelation and now under the New Covenant revelation, salvation comes to those who trust God’s way to eternal life with Him.
Trust is the pen that inscribes us into the Book of Life, Jesus’ pierced hand guides the pen, and His crimson blood is the fluid that inks our name for eternity.
It’s that inscription that makes the singular mark distinguishing the eternally saved or separated. “I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books … And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:12, 15, italics author).
“Wait. What?” you may exclaim. “Not so fast. The first verse mentions books, plural. Did God write other books besides the Bible and the Book of Life?” Yes, you are correct, dear reader. Those other books record every work that every person has done in their life, which we’ll look at in a moment. While works done on the Lord’s behalf are a blessing to Him, please note that it’s only by being inscribed in the Book of Life (aka the Lamb’s Book of Life, Revelation 21:27) that a person moves forward into eternity with God.
For the record, the books described in the New Covenant are not a post-Jesus innovation by the Divine Author. About five hundred years before Jesus appeared, our Heavenly Father had already revealed that Judgment Day would be initiated by Him opening multiple books. “A river of fire was flowing, coming out from his presence. Thousands upon thousands served him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was convened, and the books were opened” (Daniel 7:10). The additional books in the New Covenant record are the same ones revealed in the Hebrew scriptures alongside the Lord’s Book of Life.
As I write this, I find it curious that God chooses to record whether we’re in a relationship with Him or not, as well as make a catalog of our life’s works. What, like He can’t keep all that info in His infinite mind? Of course, He can. I believe the record is for everyone else to see, so there are no doubts and no objections, just like evidence presented in a courtroom, a day of judgment, which is precisely what Daniel 7 and Revelation 4-5 and 20 are describing.
The Books of Works
Once our Book of Life question has been settled, those of us who are saved move to the next set of books – the record of the works we’ve done for the Lord over our lifetimes. To learn more about those books, we turn the page and read Paul, who describes what’s called the Judgment Seat of Christ, also known as the Bema judgment.
“The judgment seat of Christ involves a time in the future when believers will give an account of themselves to Christ. This is the plain teaching of Scripture: ‘We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad’ (2 Corinthians 5:10). The warning is to Christians, not unbelievers. As Jesus taught in His parable, the king is going to return, at which time he will require an account from his servants (Luke 19:11–26).
It will be a time of examination and a time of reward. Jesus will inspect our works. What did we do with the resources God gave us? How faithful were we? Were we yielded to the Spirit, seeking to honor Christ and further His work in the world? If so, we will have reward (see Matthew 10:41–42). Did we neglect our opportunities to serve the Lord? If so, we will suffer loss of reward.” (gotquestions.org/judgment-seat-Christ.html)
So why is the Judgment Seat of Jesus referred to as a Bema Judgment? “In the Greek, a single word is used for ‘judgment seat’ in Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10—the word is bema. A bema was a raised platform on which judges sat to view athletic games. Their job was to make sure contestants followed the rules and to present awards to the victors (see 1 Corinthians 9:24–27). The bema was never a place to reprimand the athletes or to punish them in any way. It was a place of testing and reward. In the same way, the bema of Christ will not be a place of condemnation or censure.” (Ibid., italics author)
There you have it. The books that God Himself has written are the Lamb’s Book of Life (Malachi’s Book of Remembrance), the Books of our Life’s Works, and the Book He’s written through His servants, the Bible. However, to be accurate, God did scribe part of our Bible by His own hand. “When he finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God” (Deuteronomy 31:9). Those direct words were transcribed by Moses into his inspired compilation of the Torah (Deuteronomy 31:24).
What about the part of the Lord’s book that He has written explicitly about you? That’s right. God has already penned the story of your life. How do we know that? King David wrote, “Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began” (Psalm 139:16).
Think about how amazing that is. Within the Lord’s Grand Volume of Humanity, the chapter of your life has your birth as the introduction, your life as the narrative, and your death as the ending. Our loving Heavenly Father knows not just every single page but also…
Every. Single. Letter.
Even the spaces between each letter.
And while all our days are already written and planned in His book, we get to fulfill every word and illustrate it as we turn each page. (Somehow, I think my section is in crayon.) All told it’s a cooperative work, one in which the Lord is pleased to join us, much like a parent sitting with their child at the kitchen table.
Most importantly, how will your epilogue read? Hopefully, like the following.
This book is dedicated to my Savior Jesus, the Lamb of God, in whose Book of Life I am written. He alone made this entire chapter possible. I am eternally grateful.
Not the End.
To be continued.
Forever.
Shining the Light of God’s Truth on the Road Ahead
Pastor Jay Christianson
The Truth Barista, Frothy Thoughts