Revelation
3:5. “He that overcometh, the same shall
be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot his name out of the book of
life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before His angels.”
(For
referents see also Revelation 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; 22:19 and
Philippians 4:3.)
This
Book of Life is more fully called "The Book of Life of the Lamb," or
"The Lamb's Book of Life." It is mentioned in the above referents in
the New Testament. Is there Old
Testament precedence for this Book? Yes.
There
are many references to book(s) in the Old Testament. There were "Books of Generations"
or "History." for example Genesis 2:4; Numbers 1:2, 3, 17-46,
etc. There were books, lost to us now,
of prophets, such as those of Jashar, Joshua 10;13 and 2Samuel 1:18; of Nathan,
Ahijah and Iddo, 2 Chronicles 9:29.
It
is clear from Exodus 32:32-33 that Moses believed that God had a Book in which
the names of His people were recorded:
Yet now, if thou
wilt forgive their sin –; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book
which thou hast written. 33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned
against me, him will I blot out of my book.
There is the
"Book of Remembrance" spoken of by Malachi:
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, (Malachi 3:16).
These
latter two books contain the names of those who do not sin and those who fear
the Lord. It is a book kept in heaven by the Lord Himself. It is this book that
continues into the New Testament and is called "The Lamb's Book of
Life."
In
the Old Testament to remember was "to record." There is a suggestion in the word zâkâr that
it means "to mark." The word also means “a man,” or “male persons,”
especially in connection with circumcision. It appears that the young male
child was recorded in the genealogies at the same time he was marked by
circumcision. This ceremony enrolled him
in the earthly Book of Remembrance, or, that is, the official genealogical
records kept by the priests.
However,
it was possible to be "blotted out" of this book, and even in some
cases to reverse the marks of physical circumcision. The result of this blotting out in the
earthly realm was that one was considered to no longer exist. He was ostracized from the community,
excommunicated. He was considered to be forgotten,
not remembered. The writer of 2 Esdras
mentions this blotting out. Of the desolate house of Israel that has been
rejected by God Almighty he says:
Let them be scattered among the nations, let their
names be blotted out from the earth, because they have despised my covenant, (2
Esdras* 2:7).
In the Book of
Enoch,** we again find the Book of Life mentioned:
Another book which Enoch wrote for his son
Methuselah and for those who will come after him, and keep the law in the last
days. 2. Ye who have done good shall wait for those days till an end is made of
those who work evil, and an end of the might of the transgressors. 3. And wait
ye indeed till sin has passed away, for their names shall be blotted out of the
book of life and out of the holy books, and their seed shall be destroyed for
ever, and their spirits shall be slain, and they shall cry and make lamentation
in a place that is a chaotic wilderness, and in the fire shall they burn; for
there is no earth there.**
In
the New Testament Christ is the "minister
of circumcision," Romans 15:8, which enrolls us in the "Lamb's Book of Life," the genealogy
of God's children.
Colossians
2:11-12: "[Christ] In whom ye are
circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ."
The
entire New Testament may be summarized as the "Generations of Jesus Christ," (see Matthew 1:1), for it is the
record not only of Jesus’ forefathers but also of His descendants, those who
through Him make up the Chosen People of God, the tribe of Priests and Kings.
It
records the closing out of all the fleshly tribes because of sin and
unbelief. But God's Kingdom is not
defeated nor depleted but alive and well in a more glorious form than
ever. No promise has failed; all is
fulfilled in spite of the total loss of the carnal identity. That all of this
is true depended entirely upon the identity of Christ as the True Prophet,
Priest, and King. His identity was proven by His resurrection from the dead.
*The
Book of 2 Esdras is not sacred Scripture but is an ancient book known
and respected in the New Testament era. This quotation is from The Oxford
Annotated Apocrypha, Expanded Edition, Revised Standard Version, Bruce M.
Metzger, Editor, New York, University Press, 1957, page 25.
**
Quoted from Charles, R.H. Enoch, CVIII, p. 108. “An Appendix to the Book
of Enoch,” p. 153. Although not a part of the sacred Scriptures, The Book of
Enoch was also one read and honored by the New Testament saints. It is quoted
in the New Testament Book of Jude, verses 14 and 15.
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