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Man, the title of my sermon tonight is The Lamb's Book of Life. The Lamb's Book of Life. This is probably the most famous passage that mentions The Lamb's Book of Life, but The Book of Life is brought up in various points throughout scripture. And we're going to look at all of them tonight and just look at all the evidence and try to understand the subject of The Lamb's Book of Life. I think that there are some misunderstandings out there, but if we look at all of the scriptures tonight, I think it's going to become clear to you what the truth is about The Lamb's Book of Life. So let's see, first of all, from what we can learn right here in Revelation chapter 20, beginning in verse 11, it says, And I saw a great white throne, and him that 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, 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. So the first thing that I want to point out, the obvious thing here, is that if your name's not in the Book of Life, you're damned here. The Bible says that those who are saved, apparently their name is in the Book of Life, because everyone who's not found in the Book of Life ends up being sent to the lake of fire for all eternity. And being sent to the lake of fire is definitely not temporary. It's permanent. The smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever. They have no rest day nor night. And in fact, right there in verse 10 is one of the strongest verses that proves that this punishment goes on forever, because it says, the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are. Not where they were, where they are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. What's interesting about that is that those guys were thrown in 1,000 years earlier. They were thrown in in chapter 19 before the millennium. And then after the millennium, it says that the devil is thrown in where they are. They're still there. And they shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. So the Book of Life has to do with being saved versus not being saved. Because if your name's not found in it, you're cast in the lake of fire. So if your name is found in it, then that means you're saved. That's what the Bible's teaching there in Revelation chapter 20. Now, if we back up a little bit, it says in verse 11, I saw a great white throne and him that 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, 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. So whatever these other books are, those books have to do with judging the works of an individual, right? Now, there are some different theories about what these books are. Because the Bible doesn't say what they are. It just says the books are opened, and they're judged according to their works. And then there's another book that's opened, the Book of Life. What's interesting is that the books that contain the judgments of the works, they don't have anything to do with who goes to the lake of fire. Think about that. Does it say, well, they're judged according to their works, and that's what determines who goes to the lake of fire? No, what determines who goes to the lake of fire is whose name is found in the Book of Life. If your name's not in the Book of Life, you're going to the lake of fire. So why judge people based on their works then? Why judge them on their works? Well, two reasons. Number one, for the unsaved, I believe that they're judged based on their works to determine their damnation. I don't believe that the punishment's going to be the same for everybody. Jesus said that the Pharisees would devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayer. He said, therefore, they shall receive the greater damnation. And he also talks about people being in the lowest hell. And the Bible also talks about the servant who knew not his Lord's will would be beaten with few stripes, but that the servant who knew his Lord's will and did it not, he's going to be beaten with many stripes. And the Bible talks about heaping coals of fire on people's heads, amen? So there is a difference in torment. Everyone who goes to hell is in torment. Everyone's in fire. It's a bad place that anyone who goes there, it's going to be a terrible place for them. But it's going to be worse for some people than others. I believe that's why right before they go into the lake of fire, that's where they get judged based on their works to determine their level of damnation. And for the saved, they are judged according to their works in order to determine their level of reward. Just the same when we get to heaven. It's not going to be the same for everybody. There are going to be rewards given. And Jesus said, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be. So our works do not get us into heaven. Our works do not send us to hell. But rather, our works determine our level of reward as Christians. And they determine the level of damnation for the unsafe. The most horrible, wicked people are going to be damned worse than the people who weren't as bad. You say, well, all sins equal. Well, you didn't read that in the Bible. The Bible puts all kinds of different classifications on sin and different levels of sin. So we don't understand everything about what the rewards are going to be like. We don't understand everything about what the different levels of damnation are like. But we know that God does judge people, both the saved and the unsaved, based on their works. And then when it comes to who goes to heaven and who goes to hell, it's just based on whether or not you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, whether your name is in the Book of Life, whether you're saved. So these other books, there are a couple theories about what those other books could be. One theory, since we don't know for sure, would be that the books contain a record of everything that you did. Now, the problem with that theory is that that's a lot of books, because the Bible says that if you were to write down everything that Jesus did, that the world itself could not contain the things that would be written. And we've all done as much as Jesus did. We just didn't do the quality that Jesus did. But we've all lived as many days and done as many things. And so that's kind of far-fetched to think that everything that we've done being written down, that would make less sense. Personally, what I think this refers to when it says the books are opened, I think it's probably opening the Bible, because the Bible is made up of 66 books, and it would make sense that those books are open in order to judge people based on their works and how they line up with his laws, how they line up with his work. So that's, you know, I don't know for sure, but that makes the most sense to me that that's what those books are. But we know that the Book of Life is distinct from that. The Book of Life doesn't have to do with your works, okay? The Book of Life is the book of who's going to heaven, who's going to be saved versus who's gonna be cast into the lake of fire. So that's pretty clear in this passage, and I think everybody understands that. But here's where the misunderstanding comes. Go to chapter 22. A lot of people have a misunderstanding where they think that the moment you get saved, your name is added to the Book of Life. Who's heard that taught before, or you've believed that in the past or thought of that? You know, most of us have either believed that or been taught that or heard that. That's a pretty common belief that the moment that you get saved, your name is written in the Book of Life. Well, here's where people become confused is when the Bible talks about people being blotted out of the Book of Life. And then they think, wait a minute, is the Bible teaching that we can lose our salvation? Well, obviously we know that we cannot lose our salvation because the Bible says that God has given to us eternal life and this life is in his Son. And the Bible says that we've been passed from death unto life. We shall not come into condemnation. We're sealed unto the day of redemption. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. You know, nothing can be laid to the charge of God's elect. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Right, we're saved. With a D on the end, it's done. So, obviously we can't lose our salvation, but here's what's interesting. If you actually study the Bible and look up every time the Book of Life is mentioned, here's what you'll find. You will find five references to people being removed or their part being removed or their name being blotted out. You'll find five references referring to people being removed or blotted out. You'll find zero references to anyone getting added. When they got saved, zero. There's no reference to anyone being added to the Book of Life. There are two references to names being written in the Book of Life. And they both say that they were written there from the foundation of the world. So that's the evidence. And we're gonna look at all the scriptures tonight. But just an overview of what we're gonna look at is that there are gonna be five references to people being blotted out or removed. And then there are gonna be two references to people's names being written there before the world began. And then you're gonna find zero references to people being added when they're saved. So this idea of when you get saved, your name is installed in the Book of Life is a misconception. The true story is that everybody's name starts out in the Book of Life. Everyone starts out in the Book of Life because there's only references to removal, okay? And the only reference to being added is before the world began. Now another viewpoint that someone could put forth is to say, well, wait a minute, Pastor Anderson. Maybe everybody's name doesn't start out in the Book of Life. Maybe it's just the people who are saved since God already knows that in advance. In his foreknowledge and wisdom, he has a book that contains the name of everyone who will get saved because he knows everything. But the problem with that theory is that you got five scriptures that deal with removal or blotting out. So God already knows everything. Why would he put somebody's name in that he's only gonna remove if the names were there from the foundation of the world unless he's putting everybody's name in and removing people when they get to a certain point? Okay, so Calvinists would sometimes say, hey, you know, their names are written before the world began. It's all foreordained. It's all preaches. Okay, then why is God using so much whiteout? Right? That wouldn't make any sense. That does not help their case at all. Okay. You say, well, when does a person get blotted out or when do they get removed? Well, it would stand to reason based on what we know of the rest of scripture that if a person dies without putting their faith in Jesus Christ, right, a person goes their whole life and they never put their faith and trust in Jesus as Savior, well, then at that point, they're doomed. I mean, they're blotted out. And we're gonna see the evidence for this. I'm just starting out by giving you the overview so you can know what to look for. Then it would stand to reason that that person is being removed or there are certain things a person could do before they die that could cause them to be blotted out or that their part would even be removed where their name even could be written. Their part is taken away from the book of life. That's what we're gonna look at right now in chapter 22. This is the most famous mention of removal. It says in verse 18, for I testify unto every man that heareth the words 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 let me say this, if you're experiencing the plagues written in this book, you're not saved because the plagues written in the book of Revelation are God's wrath poured out upon the unsaved even after the rapture. And not only that, but it could be referring to hell and the lake of fire. It's all things that affect the unsaved. So when he says, hey, I'm gonna add you all these plagues, that's the same as saying, you'll never be saved. And then in verse 19, it says, 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. So therefore, if a person knowingly, willfully tampers with God's word, if someone adds to God's word or removes from God's word, then the curse on that person is that they will be removed from the book of life and removed, their spot in heaven is gone, their spot in the book of life is gone. This is not a person losing their salvation. This is a person who is not saved losing their opportunity to ever get saved. So you see how just starting out with a misconception or a preconceived idea that's wrong can cause you to get confused about so many things. If you go into it with this attitude of, well, the names get added as people get saved, then this becomes confusion to you. But once you understand that everybody's name is in there from the beginning, if you die without Christ, you're removed, or if you commit certain sins, you're removed, like adding to or taking from God's word, then it makes perfect sense. You see, a saved person indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God will not knowingly add to or take from God's word. I mean, can you think of something more wicked than writing out some text and claiming this is God's word, this is a revelation from God, and you dreamed it up out of your own heart? That's pretty wicked, isn't it? Or can you imagine taking a part of scripture and not wanting to believe in it or not liking it or not accepting it and actually concealing it and then producing a Bible and saying, here's the word of God with certain parts redacted that you're purposely concealing the word of God from people? I mean, it's so wicked, it's so terrible. A saved person who is indwelled by the Spirit of God would have no motive to do something like that. They'd have no reason to do something like that. They would never commit such a thing. But the unsaved person who does such a thing has just sealed their faith. They are now what the Bible calls a reprobate. And what's funny is when you try to explain to people the so-called reprobate doctrine, that's what people kind of refer to it as when they point to sermons that I preach or other preachers preach on this, they call it the reprobate doctrine. When you try to explain to people the reprobate doctrine of Romans 1, they choke on it. But they all understand Revelation 22. So if you're ever talking to somebody that struggles with this doctrine of a reprobate, the starting point is Revelation 22. Because I always just take them to Revelation 22 and say, well, what about this? And they all have to admit that yes, once a person has removed from God's word, they can't be saved. So then right there, you've just gotten them to finally see that it's possible to lose your opportunity to get saved. Because a lot of people just say, until their dying breath, there's hope. But is there hope for this guy? What about the guy who commits the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? You know, and once you explain that to people, every single person I've ever sat down with and explained to them Revelation 22 and the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, and then I took it from there to other scriptures like Hebrew 6 and Romans 1, they all walked away believing in it. They all walked away believing in it. Why? Because it's clear. You really can't get around, you know, Mark chapter three and Revelation 22. So this is pretty clear. We see this, it makes sense. Let's back up in the book of Revelation to chapter two, Revelation chapter two. Because there's another mention in the book of the book of life in Revelation chapter three, we're gonna get the context in chapter two. So in Revelation chapters two and three, we have the messages to the seven churches. And in the messages to the seven churches, there's a certain theme that keeps coming up where he kind of repeats certain things to the churches. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. But he also gives this message to each church about overcoming, okay? Now in order to understand what it means to overcome, let's compare scripture with scripture. Keep your finger in Revelation 22, I mean Revelation two, two. Go back to 1 John five. So you got a finger in Revelation two, go back to 1 John five. Now keep in mind, the same human author used to pen Revelation is the same human author used to pen 1 John. And a lot of times when you're studying the Bible, you'll find certain themes that will go through John's books, or certain themes that'll go through Paul's epistles, or the books written by Luke or Peter. So it makes sense that the context for Revelation two and three would be found in 1 John five, another teaching from the Apostle John. You see, the word overcome is not a word that's used a lot in the Bible. It's not a word that there's a ton of emphasis on or scripture on. So we need to understand what does he mean by to him that overcometh, I'll do this, that or the other. Well, let's get a definition here in 1 John five. The Bible says in verse four, for whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. So if we wanna know who it is that overcomes, who is it? It's the one who's born of God. It's a saved person, right? It says whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. Let me ask this, is there anyone who's born of God who doesn't overcome the world? No, because the Bible says whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. Okay, let me ask you this. What is being overcome? You say, well, but they gotta overcome this, that or the other. Okay, but here's the thing. Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. You know what that means? Everything. I mean, when the Bible says God so loved the world, what does that mean? All the people in the world. So when it says here, whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, then they've overcome all the obstacles toward getting saved. Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the son of God? And what that's basically saying is that that's the only one that we could say that about. The only person that we could say that they've overcome the world is only the person who believes that Jesus is the son of God. So everybody see that there in verses four and five? So now we know what it means to be an overcomer. Go to Revelation 2, and let's see if that definition fits with what we read in Revelation 2. And we're gonna look at each of the seven churches here. Let's start with Ephesus. It says in verse seven, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto 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. Now, if overcoming means to be saved, doesn't it make perfect sense that the person who overcomes gets to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Why? Because they're going to heaven. And because eating of the tree of life gives you eternal life. Because in Adam and Eve's case, he cast them out of the garden, lest they should eat of the tree of life and live forever. So obviously the saved person, the one who overcomes through believing in Christ, they have the ability to eat of the tree of life and live forever in the midst of the paradise of God or heaven, right? So that makes sense. Go to verse 11. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that overcometh shall not be heard of the second death. So there we go again. If you're saved, if you believe in Christ, you're not going to hell. You're not going to be heard of that second death of the lake of fire. Look at verse 17. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh, will I give to eat of the hidden manna and will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. That means that all of us as saved Christians, even if you're the worst Christian in the room tonight or the best Christian in the room tonight, you get to eat of that hidden manna when you get to heaven. The manna that was fed to the children of Israel for 40 years in the desert, we will get to eat that same food because the Bible says of that food that man did eat angel's food. So that food is up in heaven, that hidden manna, meaning it's hidden because we can't see it. We don't know what it's like. The children of Israel ate it. We're going to eat it someday. So we can figure out what they were complaining about when they got sick of eating it. So we're going to have a better attitude about that stuff when we get there. So we love that stuff. So anyway, we're going to eat that hidden manna. Isn't that, that's a blessing, right? And not only that, we will receive a white stone. And in that stone, a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that received it. So basically we're going to get our own code name when we get to heaven, all right? So we're going to get a white stone and in that stone, there's going to be a new name. So it's not going to say Steven Anderson. It's not going to say your name. It's going to have a new name that only you know. It's just a name that's given you by God. Nobody else gets to know it except you. I wonder what it's going to be. You know, is it going to be, is it going to be descriptive? Is it going to be like what the Indians would give you? You know, running bear or something? You know, who knows? Is it going to be flattering? Is it going to be about your achievements? Is it going to be descriptive of you? We have no clue, but you know it's just something interesting when you get to heaven while you're chowing down on your manna you can check out your new name, you know but you're not going to know what my name is. I'm not going to know what your name is but it'll just be something between you and the Lord. Now look at verse 26. It says, and he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end. Now look, this promise is not for everyone who overcomes because this is adding another criteria. Does everybody see that? To get this blessing, you have to overcome and keep his works unto the end versus the guy who just overcame by believing in Christ. But that doesn't mean he did the works all the way to the bitter end. But this guy, it says he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end. To him will I give power over the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron as the vessels of a potter that shall they be broken to shivers even as I received of my father and I will give him the morning star. So in order to receive this particular blessing of ruling and reigning and having great authority ruling over the nations with Christ, I mean, you've got to be an overcomer but you've also got to keep his works unto the end. So you got to work a little harder to earn this prize. Go if you would to chapter three, verse five. 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. And this is the key that I wanted to point out here is that believing on Christ does not get your name added to the book of life. It causes your name not to be blotted out of the book of life and those are two different things. It doesn't say it's added, it says it's not blotted out. So what's the implication here? That if you don't overcome, that if you don't believe on Christ, your name will be blotted out. Does everybody see that? Look at verse 12, him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall go no more out and I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God and I will write upon him my new name. And again, if the overcomer is everyone who believes in Christ, then that would mean that everyone who believes in Christ has a part in that new Jerusalem, which would mean that every person who believes in Christ is going to be a member of the bride of Christ. So the Baptist bride-ers are proven false once again, where they claim that only the bride of Christ is an elite group of Baptists who go to these churches that have like five people in them and don't do any soul winning. So you actually make it into the new Jerusalem just by virtue of believing on Christ, right? Just like you, that's how you escape the second death. That's how you avoid getting your name blotted out of the book of life. That's how you get the tree of life. That's how you get all these things. Verse number 21, the final blessing here, it says to him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne even as I also overcame and I'm set down with my father in his throne. And by the way, here's a brief word from our sponsor. Okay, the modalists, the oneness, they were making a big deal about the throne. And it's like, well, how many thrones are there? Instead of just believing clear scripture that teaches the Trinity, a mountain of clear scripture and not like what's his name's mountain of literature, but actually we actually went through verse after verse after verse where each of those verses alone proved the Trinity. Where Jesus said, if I bear witness of myself, my record's not true. The father bears record and I bear record as well. Two distinct persons, two witnesses, and I'm not gonna repreach all my sermons on the Trinity but they wanna throw all this clear teaching out the window, but how many thrones are there? And I could never for the life of me even figure out what they were talking about. I even asked these guys to explain, I'm like, what is your thing with the throne? But the throne, the throne, how many thrones? How many thrones? And it was just vain jangling to me. But I think it's because I knew this verse and they didn't. I think it's because I knew chapter five and they didn't where he goes and the lamb takes the book out of the hand of him that sits on the throne and so forth. But this verse just demolishes their foolish throne argument about how, well, there's only one throne, so therefore the father is the son and the son is the father and there's no Trinity wrong because the Bible says that that throne is big enough for Jesus to sit with the father in that throne. So it doesn't matter whether there's one throne or not. Well, apparently it seats two because it says right here, to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my father in his throne. Now, not only that, but that sounds like two thrones. Because there's my throne and then there's his throne. That's two thrones. There's only ever one throne, brother. Come join our oneness cult. No, there's two thrones right there and each throne fits multiple people because his throne fits him and Jesus and then Jesus' throne fits you and him. That's a big throne. So you gotta be careful when anybody's basing a key doctrine like who God is, right? You know, the Trinity, the father, the son, the Holy Ghost, when they're basing it on some weird logic about the number of thrones instead of having a clear scripture. To point to. You know, they wanna just go round and round about thrones. Well, this verse, right, it just puts the whole throne argument to bed. And you know, if you wanna come and talk to me about the thrones, I'm not interested because Revelation 3.21 already settled it. There's no room to even talk about thrones anymore after you read this verse because it's just a case closed. Because you're sitting there, well, one throne, yeah, but they're both in it. Two people, him and me. So anyway, I don't wanna beat that into the ground but sometimes I want to. Go if you would to Revelation chapter 13. Revelation chapter 13 verse seven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them and power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations. This is Revelation 13 seven. Verse eight, all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb, slain from the foundation of the world. Now in this scripture, if we understand the book of life, it makes a huge difference how we interpret this scripture. Because if you're one of these that believes that people's names are added the moment that they get saved, well, then when you read this verse, you're gonna walk away saying that every unsaved person is worshiping the Antichrist, wouldn't you? Does everybody get what I just said? So if you think that people are added when they get saved, then you'd read this verse and say, well, everybody on the earth is gonna worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb. You're gonna walk away saying, well, that means that everybody in the world who's not saved is gonna worship him. But if you understand that unsaved people's names could be in the book of life as long as they haven't become a reprobate, now all of a sudden there are unsaved people who don't worship the beast. Does everybody get that? I'm trying not to be too complicated here. But there are gonna be people on this earth who are not saved, who still refuse the mark of the beast. Every single, now, the majority is going to be for the Antichrist and worshiping the Antichrist, but not everyone is going to receive the mark of the beast. And in fact, because the mark of the beast is only implemented for a short time, because those days are cut short by the second coming of Christ, it doesn't get fully implemented, okay? Now, that actually makes way more sense anyway, and here's why. Because of the fact that when you get to Revelation chapter 16 and God starts pouring out his wrath in the vials, the first vial is a plague that only falls upon those men which have received the mark of the beast. Everybody who received the mark of the beast gets all these sores all over their body. They're probably gonna think it's some kind of a reaction to the ink that was used or the microchip or whatever it is, the chip implant. We're having a reaction to it, you know? But they're gonna get sores all over their body. And that's specific. Well, if everybody's got the mark of the beast, then it would just say, hey, everybody's getting sores. But there are actually gonna be a lot of people who don't get those sores. And there are gonna be a lot of people who survive the wrath of God because even when God talks about wiping out a third of the earth's population, there's still two thirds left. So a lot of people are gonna survive God's wrath, even unsaved people, and go on into the millennium. And so it makes sense though that the people who take the mark of the beast though, they're all getting wiped out. But some of the other people are still going to survive. So the Bible says that all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb, slain from the foundation of the world. We can also read that another way by thinking about the fact that if you worship the beast and receive his mark, your name's no longer in the book of life at that point. I think that that meaning is also in this verse because it says they're gonna worship him whose names are not written in the book of life, meaning that the people who worship him, their name's not in it. Because the moment that a person receives the mark of the beast, they can never be saved. Because the Bible says that everyone who takes that mark of the beast will go to hell. So therefore, once they take that mark, their fate is sealed at that point, okay? So that's another proof of the reprobate doctrine in scripture as well. And most people understand that even though they bristle at Romans 1, they understand that concept, that once you get the mark of the beast, you're done. Okay. So that jives right there, that yeah, they get the mark of the beast, their name's removed, their name's blotted out, just like as if they had tampered with God's word or blasphemed the Holy Ghost, okay? Go to chapter 17. Revelation chapter 17. So at the end of Revelation 13, eight, it says that Jesus is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. In Revelation 17, eight, it says, 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, wonder means they're gonna be amazed or marvel at it. 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. So what I wanna point out in that verse is that these names were written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, not from the moment that they got saved, but from the foundation of the world. Now, in this case, it's peoples whose names who were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. And I wanna make sure that you don't misunderstand the grammar here because the grammar could be a little tricky here, okay? So I wanna make sure you don't walk away with the wrong idea. This is not saying that their names had never been in the book of life. You could read it that way, but that's a wrong interpretation because the Bible is clear about people being removed. What this is saying is that the names were not written there, meaning that they weren't in the book at that time written down, okay? So written can either be a verb form of, they are written as in they're being written right now, or if I said it is written, there's none righteous, no, not one. I'm not saying that it's being written right now. I'm just saying that that text is in print. That is something that is written down in our Bibles. It's written in the word of God. So what the Bible is saying here is that the names of the people who are worshiping the Antichrist were not written in the book of life, meaning that they're not found written in the book of life. And then the from the foundation of the world refers to when those names would have been written. So I know that sounds complicated, but that's what it says, folks. So it says that their 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. Go if you would to some other scriptures now. So that's the book of Revelation for you. So let's look at the book of life in other parts of the Bible. So we've gone through everything in Revelation and it all jives, it all makes sense. Let's look at some other scriptures and see if they make sense as well. Let's go all the way back to Exodus. Exodus chapter 32. Exodus chapter 32. This is the first mention in the Bible of the book of life that I could find. Exodus chapter number 32. So far, everything we looked at tonight was just looking at all the mentions in the book of Revelation, which is what most of the mentions are found. But look at Exodus 32 verse 31. It says, 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 has written. And the Lord said unto Moses, whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Now, you could make the case that this book that's being referred to is not the book of life because it doesn't explicitly say this is the book of life or the Lamb's book of life. But if it is the book of life, which I believe that it is, if it is the book of life, then what this would be saying is that people are being blotted out of the book of life because of their sins, which again would strengthen the fact that names come out, but they don't go in. They're in from the foundation of the world. This is just another verse about them being removed. So if you would flip over to Luke chapter number 10, Luke chapter number 10, and then we're gonna look at Hebrews 12. Luke 10, Hebrews 12. While you're turning to Luke 10 and Hebrews 12, I'm gonna read for you some other verses. Philippians 4, verse 3 says, and I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers, whose names are in the book of life. So he mentions that these laborers that work with them, that their names are in the book of life. Psalm 69 says in verse 27, add iniquity unto their iniquity. This is David praying curses upon the wicked in precatory Psalm. Add iniquity under their iniquity, and let them not come into thy righteous. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. But I am poor and sorrowful, let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. So again, there's a contrast between the wicked being blotted out, and salvation keeping you in. Did I return to Luke 10? Look down at verse 17, and the 70 returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, 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. And then go to Hebrews chapter 12. Rejoice that your name is written in heaven, he says. Hebrews chapter 12, you wanna be in that book of life, amen? You're not in there, you're doomed and damned forever. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 22 says, but you're come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel. So it says in verse 23, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven. So the general assembly of all believers, all that have been washed in the blood, all that are saved, their names are written in heaven. They're in that book of life. So that's every reference that I could find. If there's something that I missed, let me know. But those are all of the references to the book of life in the Bible, or references that could possibly be referring to the book of life, like in the case of Exodus chapter 32. And when you walk away from it, again, you have no evidence of anybody ever being added when they get saved. You only have people being removed. Now, one of the other reasons why that makes so much sense is that a little baby that dies, the Bible teaches they go to heaven. You know, there are actually four different scriptures that you could point to that would indicate that those who die in the womb as a miscarriage, or those who die as a little baby or a small child would go straight to heaven regardless. That makes sense because of the fact that they're in innocence, they are not to an age of accountability where they understand sin and the law and that they've done wrong before God. And so it makes sense that if every name starts out in the book of life, that if that one year old baby passes away into eternity, that its name is already in the book of life, it's already good to go. Why? Because Jesus already has made provision for that. And the fact that obviously it would not be just for God to damn a little baby or a little child to hell that has no concept of right or wrong. It's not like they've gone out and committed a sin yet. What sin could they possibly commit? And how would they have any understanding of that? So God's not just gonna damn them without even giving them a chance to even live their life and make a decision about these things, okay? And then again, I'm not gonna take the time, that's another sermon, but there are four different scriptures that I would point to that clearly teach that, 2 Samuel, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Job, you'll find those things. So it makes sense that if everybody's name starts out in the book of life, it's just if God gives you life, because it's also called the book of the living. So God creates life, God creates every human being and creates that living soul that at that point, there's a birth certificate, as it were, in heaven, the fact that their name is registered in the book of life. Now, if that person has eternal life, it makes sense that the name would stay where? In the book of life, in the book of the living, because the Bible says, whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. And we know that the baby or the little child who physically dies continues to live on in heaven. The soul goes to heaven. So it makes sense that their name just remains in the book of life. But the person who dies without Jesus Christ, they go to hell, it certainly wouldn't make any sense for their name to be found in a book called the book of life or the book of the living, because they're dead. So once you understand that the book of life is people that are alive, and that they're removed because they are doomed. Doomed. So literally a reprobate person, a person whose name has been blotted out, a person whose part has been removed. I mean, they're like a dead man walking. I mean, they are as good as dead. Even though they're physically alive right now, they might as well be dead, because no matter what they do, no matter what they say, no matter what happens, they're dead. So therefore, in God's mind, they're already as good as dead. Because he knows the end from the beginning, and he dwells outside of time. For him, a day is like a thousand years. Doesn't mean anything to him. So therefore, what we need to understand about this is that people do not have necessarily until their dying breath to get saved. Now, a lot of people do get saved with their dying breath. Look at the thief on the cross, for example. But that's not guaranteed to every person. So we need to get to people with the gospel before it's eternally too late. And that's either when they die, or when they reject Christ for the last time, and where God gives them over to a reprobate mind. Once they cross that line with God, and we're not always gonna know where that line is. Sometimes it's obvious when people have crossed that line. When we see men lusting after other men, like it says in Romans 1, or women burning in lust toward other women. Then Romans 1 tells us that those people have crossed that line. You know, when we see things like that, when we see people putting out false Bibles where they've edited it, and added, and taken away with their new living translation of the Watchtower Society, or someone like Joseph Smith with the Book of Mormon, where they're adding to scripture, or somebody like Mohammed pulls out the Quran, or whatever. You know, obviously sometimes we can look at it and say, that's a clear Revelation 22, or that's a clear blasphemy of the Holy Ghost, or whatever. But a lot of people, we don't know if they've crossed that line or not. So obviously, we just give the Gospel to everybody, because we don't know whether they've gone over that line or not. And here's the thing, if people have gone over that line, and we attempt to give the Gospel to them, usually they're gonna just shut us down anyway, because they hate God, they don't even wanna retain God in their knowledge. So when we knock on that door, they're gonna blow us off anyway. Now, a lot of the people that blow us off are not in that situation, but we don't know. So we go out and we preach the Gospel, and we've got to get to people before it's too late. We gotta get to them before it's too late. And if you're out there tonight, and you're not saved, it will eventually be too late for you. And if there's a clock that's ticking on when it's too late for you, when you walk into the door of Faithful Word Baptist Church, that clock speeds up. Seriously. I mean, there's a clock ticking where when this clock hits zero, you're out of chances. You know, when you walk in here, and you're hearing a clear presentation of the Gospel, when somebody opens the Bible and goes through the Romans road with you, or when you're hearing all kinds of biblical preaching and all kinds of appeals to be saved, and when it's being explained to you that salvation is not of works, lest any man should boast, and that all you have to do is just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved, put your faith in His death, His burial, and His resurrection. Boy, you better jump on that deal. You better receive that free gift, because eventually it's not gonna be offered anymore. So you better take it while you can. If you're not saved, don't harden your heart, because if you harden it and harden it, eventually God will harden it for you, like He did to Pharaoh. And for those of us that are already saved, the message is we gotta get to people before it's too late. While their name is still in that Book of Life, while they're still in the Book of the Living, we've gotta reach them with the Gospel. Before God says, that's it, they're blotted out. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for the fact that our names are written in heaven. Lord, you've given us life. You created us in our mother's womb. We were not an accident. We were not some product of a scientific process, but rather, we are fearfully and wonderfully made and formed and fashioned in our mother's womb, Lord. And we thank you for creating each and every one of us and giving us life and writing us in your book, Lord. And Lord, thank you for the fact that now that we've believed in Christ, we'll always be in that book. Our name is written in there and it's permanent, Lord. But for those whose name is in danger, Lord, we pray that they would receive the Gospel before it's too late and help us to work hard to get the Gospel to as many of those people as we possibly can, Lord, and compel them to be saved. And in Jesus' name, we pray, amen.