“NAMES NOT FOUND WRITTEN IN THE LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE”
TEXT: Revelation 3:5; 20:12; 15 W. Max Alderman
INTRODUCTION: After reading our Text, I trust that you will agree with me that there will be nothing more horrible than to stand at the Great White Throne Judgment and find that your name has been forever blotted out of the Book of Life and then to immediately realize that you are hopelessly lost and that you will spend forever in the Lake of Fire. We are going to talk about names today… Your name is important.
I. YOU DO HAVE A NAME… Proverbs 22:1
“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.”
Webster’s Dictionary tells us that a name is: a word or phrase that constitutes the distinctive designation of a person or thing. In the Old Testament, especially, the names were given to communicate the “heart” of the parent into the life of the child. For an example, Daniel’s name means: “God is my Judge”. It was as though the parents wanted to impress upon Daniel that the supreme leader and judge is the Lord. Even in the New Testament, the name Lazarus means: “God a help”. In this case, I imagine that the mother of Lazarus could not give her son riches and perhaps very little help. As he lay at the rich man’s table and his name was called, it reminded him that God was his help, even if he were only eating crumbs from the rich man’s table.
A. Having a Name Signifies That You Have Lived… Jeremiah 1:5
Believing that life originates at conception, I also believe that the Lord knows you as an individual and knew you from the moment of conception. In an eternal sense God has always known you. The lord knew Jeremiah before he was in his mother’s womb. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
B. Having a Name Signifies That You Are Listed… Ex 32:32
The Scriptures indicate that the Lord has written a book and it seems that this book is the Book of Life. Notice how Moses refers to this book when he is dealing with the rebellion of a sinful nation and interceding on their behalf.
Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. (Exodus 32:32)
Moses was willing to have his name blotted out of the book that the Lord had written. I believe that this book is the Book of Life or literally the book of living which includes every person conceived when we understand that life begins at conception.
C. Having a Name Signifies That You Are Loved…
I am able to say that because John 3:16 is still in the Bible. As long as there is a John 3:16 in the Bible and that is forever, God will love you. You are significantly loved by the Lord. He loves you personally. You are not a “John Doe” to Him. May I say it like this, “To Him you are Somebody worth dying for”…
II. YOUR NAME IDENTIFIES YOU…
A. The Stars Are Named…
We hear of Credit card theft and in association with that, we hear of identity theft. I am so grateful that there is no identity theft with God. Just recently, I read in my devotions that the Lord named all of the stars and knows them by name. With such a staggering large number as that, it still is no issue with God. You can be assured, if He knows the stars by number and then calls them all by their names (and He does), He certainly knows who you are. “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.” Psalms 147:4
B. The Souls of Men Are Named…
I certainly do not pretend to know how God names us, but I can know that there are no unknowns with God. When He makes His book, He may name us differently than the way that we do… I certainly do not know. What if He took the Old Testament formula for naming us, as did the parents then, and then identified us by the way that we conduct ourselves? Have you not heard people say, “Why, there is Mr. Big Shot or Miss Stuck up?” The Lord may also have His names as such. He may call John, “John the liar” or “John the procrastinator”. He may have “Hypocrite Joe” or “Sam the scam artist”. Then there may be “Willy Drunkard” or “Mary Prostitute”. Then He may have “Frank the Faithful” or “Arthur Longsuffering”. I really do not know how He names us, but if He named and numbered the stars, He also can name us… He has you and I “pegged”.
III. YOUR NAME IS IN A BOOK… Revelation 20:11-15
A. The Book Is His…
We are living in the computer age. Those who are computer savvy will tell you that modern man has the capabilities of storing large bundles of information in a relative small space. I am amazed at how many large volumes of books can be put on a small electronic device that will conveniently fit on a key chain. This is only what man is capable of doing; just think what God is capable of doing. He not only records your and my names, He records everything about us. There is nothing that is hidden from Him. In Revelation 20:12, we are told that a book (singular) is opened and before that, books (plural) were opened. The books contain the life evidence of every person that lived. The book contains the names of those who lived. Notice the Text:
11 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. 12 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. 13 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. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Rev 20:11-15
B. The Book Is In Heaven…
By this book being in heaven that means that no one will tamper with it. You can neither add to nor take away from this book. You can neither buy your way into the book nor take yourself out of the book. There are many living today that thinks that their money can buy anything that they need. Not so! Jesus hung on an old rugged cross to pay the sin debt that He alone could pay. Jesus paid it all. If you are to go to heaven you must receive Him as the following verse so indicates:
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13
IV.YOUR NAME COULD BE REMOVED…Ex. 32:33; Rev. 3:5
A. For Unbelief…
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. (Ex 32:32-33)
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. (Rev 3:5)
As much as I can tell from reading the Scriptures that pertain to the names being removed, they will only be removed for the terrible sin of unbelief. There is not a more wicked sin than that of unbelief. It is unbelief that seals a person’s soul in hell forever. Belief requires that you trust the Word of God and faith comes by the Word of God, alone. It is for this reason that there has been so much tampering with the Word of God. It is for this reason that such a solemn warning is given at the very end of the Bible. 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: 19 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.
Rev 22:18-19
B. For Eternity…
It is my belief that God has recorded all that lived proving that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Even though it is not God’s will or preference for man to perish, when man refuses God’s mercy then justice must be done. At the final refusal, on the part of man, I believe that God will then blot out the unbeliever thus leaving a place where that person’s name once was. When all of the names have been blotted out, the names that are left will then constitute The Lamb’s Book of Life. If your name is blotted out, you will be cast into the eternal Lake of Fire to burn forever…
V. WILL YOUR NAME BE IN THE LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE...?
The Lamb’s Book of Life is named in a way that immediately calls attention to whose Book it is and what the book contains. In a time sequence the Lamb’s Book of Life appears after the Book of Life. The Lamb’s Book is the final addition, for it will only contain the redeemed.
A. Only Those Who Are Redeemed…
This is such an important question and the way that you answer it will determine where you spend your forever eternity. Forever is a long time. What is it that you are either doing or are involved in that will be worth spending eternity in the Lake of Fire over?
B. Only Those Who Have Repented…
You can be saved today by trusting and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ if you are willing to repent of your sins…
When one repents he turns from his sins and with a desire an attitude to turn from his sins, he turns to the Savior. Will you turn to Him today?
