THE BOOK OF LIFE

 

THE BOOK OF LIFE

 "And whosoever was not found written in the book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" Revelation 20:15

   The question is, what is this Book of Life, why is it so special from other books in heaven, to the extent that anyone whose name is not found there, shall be thrown into the lake of fire?

The Spirit of God will give the answer as we continue in this message.

 *Revelation 20:12  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.* *Revelation 20:12* 

  From this Bible portion, we can see that there are many books before God Almighty in heaven Each book bears different titles according to different categories of humanity's work and activities in all over the world. We can also see that not only human Adult their works are recorded into those books, little children's works are recorded into those books too.

My personal imagined tittles for those books according to different humanity's works are as follows:

1. Books of humanity total population in the whole world.

2. Books of good works

3. Books of evil works

4. Book of death

5. Book of Life

1. Book of humanity total population in the whole: This book contains the names of every human being in the whole world both saints, sinners, whites, blacks, little children, adults, men and women.

2. Book of good works: These are the books where names of those that do one good work or the other are written irrespective of the religion you practices, Christian, Muslim, Hinduism, Eckankar etc.

For instance:

A. Rich man  awarded scholarship to poor people's children

B. He or she feed the poor

C. You poor person that share your gari with your neighbour

D. You give your biro to someone that doesn't have 

E. You as young person render helping hands to an old person carrying load.

Any type of good work you do no matter how small or big, it is written in those books of good works.

F. You church attenders, you see that pastoring work you are doing, singing in the church, cleaning the church, usher work, evangelism are written in the books of good works.

G. You that pays your tithes and offerings regularly, you pledge for any donations and you redeemed it faithfully, they are all recorded in the books of good works.

H. You that keep to time in wherever you go, office , church, school, you never go late, they are all recorded in the books of good works.

I. You that keep to your words in whatever you do, they are written down in the books of good works..

3. Books of Evil  or bad works: These are the books that bears the records of all the sinners that have not repented.

Such as:

a. Fornication

b. Adultery

c. Stealing

d. Witches and wizards

e. Lying of any colour

f.  Armed robbery

g. Ritualist

h. Quarrelling

i. Fighting

j. Keeping malice

k. Gossiping

l. Back bitting

m. Child Abuse

Any type of evil thing as little as it may be, they are recorded in those books of evil work.

4. Book of death: This is the book that contains those that are doomed.

5. BOOK OF LIFE: This is the book that I personally call THE BOOK OF JESUS CHRIST because that is  the only book containing the names of those that has being redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ and still stands in Holiness and Righteousness till the end.

The Book of Life is the book of Jesus Christ because *JESUS* is the *ONLY LIFE.* 

" *In Him was *LIFE* ; *and the life was the light* *of men." John 1: 4.** 

The Book of Life is the book of Jesus Christ because JESUS is the only way by which we can escape hell fire and get to see God.

 *"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the **LIFE* , *no man cometh unto the father, but by me."* *John 14:6* 

* 

The Book of Life is the book of the Lord Jesus Christ because it is only through Him you can know God the Father.

 *"If ye had known me, ye should have known my father also, and from henceforth ye know Him and have seen Him" John 14:7* 

At this point, we are getting the answer to the question; WHY IS THE BOOK OF LIFE SPECIAL FROM EVERY OTHER BOOKS IN HEAVEN.

THE SUPERIORITY OF THE BOOK OF LIFE OVER EVERY OTHER BOOKS IN HEAVEN.

THE BOOK OF LIFE AND THE UNBELIEVERS

 *" 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 whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:12 &15* 

From  this portion, we see that the dead were judged from other books according to their work. This implies that a person's name can be found in the book of good works irrespective of the the religion he or she practiced while on Earth but if his or her name is not found written in the book of Life, that person can never enters the Kingdom of God the creator but thrown into Hell. 

If a person's name is found in the book of Good work but the religion he or she practiced did not believe Jesus Christ as the son of God, Jesus Christ died for humanity, Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the whole world, their names cannot be found in the book of Life, because the word of God says:

 *" Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,* *Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."John 3:3* 

Every human being needs  to be born again. Why and how?

 *Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?* 

 *Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.* 

 *That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.John 3:4-6*

According to this portion, an already born child cannot enter back into his mother's womb to be born again, even if it is possible, that is not the rebirth that Jesus talked about.

For a person to be born again, the Spirit of God has to pass into his or her spirit through the blood of Jesus Christ to remove every carnal and flesh work from the person's spirit so that the Glory of God that departed from humanity when Adam and Eve Ate that forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden can be restored to that person.

  Right from that time they committed that sin, every human being born through the union of a man and a woman is a sinner because all of us inherited that sin nature.

 *" For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23* 

For this reason, God himself sent his Spirit into a virgin call Mary and was born as flesh i.e God himself came to the world in human form to die and she'd his blood  as a sacrifice for humanity. He was named JESUS meaning Saviour and he is also called EMMANUEL meaning God has come to stay with man.

 *Matthew 1:18-21, 23  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise* : *When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was* **found with child of the Holy Ghost.* 

 *Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to* *make her a publick* *example, was minded to put her away privily.** 

 *But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord* *appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph,* *thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife:* *for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.* 

 *And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he* *shall save his people from their sins.* 

 *Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they* *shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.*

That is how God himself came to the Earth in human form as Jesus Christ to die and shed his blood so that any human being that repent and confesses his sins the blood will Wash all those sins and be forgiven, and the name is written into  the *BOOK OF LIFE* by that, the person is born again into the glory of God. He or she can then relate to God as a child with the father  

So, if with all your good character, your believe is that Jesus didn't die for you, and you refuse his BLOOD to pass through your heart, YOUR NAME CAN NEVER ENTER THE BOOK OF LIFE and God have nothing to do with such person.

 *John 3:16-19  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten* *Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.* 

 *For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.* 

 *He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already,* *because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.* 

 *And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.* 

So for as many human being that reject JÉSUS CHRIST as their Saviour, your name *CAN NEVER ENTER THE BOOK OF LIFE,* all your good works are just self righteousness before God as long as you refuse to do it through *JESUS CHRIST* you are on your way to no other place but *HELL FIRE* 

if you turn back to CHRIST now, he will accept you and register your name in the *BOOK OF LIFE.* 

THE BLOOD OF JESUS MAKES THE BOOK OF LIFE SUPERIOR OVER EVERY OTHER BOOKS IN HEAVEN.

THE BOOK LIFE AND UNREPENTANT BELIEVERS

You that claim to believe in Jesus Christ, and you claim to be Christian, you claim to love Jesus, you attend church services regularly, even engaged in one activities or the other in the church. But you are still committing sin, and you have never repent and ask for forgiveness, you never care to genuinely seek the Lord and make sure you are born again.

My brother, my sister, even though you love your neighbor, do every charity work, in heaven your name is the books of the good work you have done, but when the book life is opened, your name will not be found there because you have not allowed the blood of Jesus Christ to wash your sins and Jesus says:

 *John 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.* 

And the Bible also says:

 *1 John 1:5-7  This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that* *God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.* 

 *If we say that we have fellowship with him, and* *walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:* 

 *But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with* *another, and the BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON CLEANSETH US FROM ALL SIN.* 

From Bible portions, we cannot continue in sin and be claiming we are Christians just because we attend church regular or because you are pastor,  The Book of Life only contains the names of those that have  repented, confessed, foresake their sins and has been washed away with the blood of Jesus Christ and they continue to purify themselves from any iniquity, those are the born again people.

The word of God says:

 *1 John 2:3-6  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.* 

 *He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in* **him* .

 *But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is* the *love of God perfected:* *hereby know we that we* *are in him.** 

 *He that saith he abideth** *in him ought himself also so to walk* , *even as he walked.*

 THE SUPERIORITY OF THE BOOK OF LIFE OVER EVERY OTHER BOOKS IN HEAVEN IS THAT IT CONTAINS ONLY THE NAMES OF HOLY AND RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE IN CHRIST.

THE BOOK OF LIFE AND THE BACKSLIDING CHRISTIAN

For you that at one time you turned away from your sinful life and you were forgiven and your name was written into the book of Life, but suddenly you are distracted and you turn back to the vomit you left. You have turned again to the worldly things you pull off when you accepted Christ, you are now rushing after the things of the world again, and some Satan is deceiving you that it doesn't really matter, now, hear the word of the Lord:

 *1 John 2:12-17  I write unto you, little children,* *because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.* 

 *I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.* *I write unto you, young men, because ye have* *overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children,* *because ye have known the Father.* 

 *I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.* *I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you,* *and ye have overcome the wicked one.* 

 *Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.* *If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.* 

 *For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,* **is not of the Father, but is of the world.* 

 *And the world passeth away, and the lust** *thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.* 

Here, Apostle John was not writing to the unbelievers but he was writing to the believers that has being saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, He warned them not to turn back to love the world and every pleasures in the world.

He warned them seriously that despite that they have known God and have been forgiven their sins, if they turn to love the world, they will become the enemy of God because all that is in the world are lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life are not of God. Please children of God hold tight onto your salvation to the end, for if you turn back to the world again, your name will fade away from the BOOK OF LIFE, because it is only those that stands till the end that their names are retained in the BOOK OF LIFE, and you may find it difficult to come back to the fold again. Here the word of God:

 *Hebrews 6:4-8  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened,* *and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,* 

 *And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,* 

 *If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance;* *seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.* 

 *For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs* *meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:* 

 *But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing;* **whose end is to be burned* 

So, Christians strive to retain your names in the book of Life till we enter the kingdom of God.

For the Lord Jesus Christ said: *Matthew 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.*

*SUMMARY*

1. THE BOOK OF LIFE IS A BOOK WHERE THE NAMES OF  THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN.

2. NAMES OF GOOD PEOPLE THAT NEVER CARE TO ACCEPT CHRIST CAN NEVER BE WRITTEN THERE BECAUSE IT IS ONLY THE BLOOD OF JESUS THAT WRITE IT THERE.

3. IF YOU PRACTICE ANY RELIGION HERE ON EARTH  THAT REJECT THE SONSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST TO GOD, YOUR NAME CANNOT BE WRITTEN THERE, BECAUSE IT IS ONLY THROUGH JÉSUS CHRIST YOUR NAME CAN ENTER THE BOOK OF LIFE.

4. IF YOU ARE PRACTICING CHRISTIANITY NOW, AND NEVER CARE TO REPENT AND BE FORGIVEN YOUR SINS THROUGH THE BLOOD OF JESUS, YOUR NAME CAN NEVER BE IN THE BOOK OF LIFE.

IF YOU HAD BEEN BORN AGAIN BEFORE WITH YOUR NAME WILL WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE AND YOU BACKSLIDE YOUR NAME WILL FADE AWAY, IF YOU NEVER COME BACK AGAIN, YOUR NAME WILL BE REMOVED, BUT IF YOUR REPENT, IT WILL BE RESTORED.

CONCLUSION: LET THE WHOLE HUMAN BEING IN THE WHOLE WORLD TURN TO JESUS CHRIST SO THAT YOUR NAMES CAN BE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE FOR THAT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN ESCAPE THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD. 

REMEMBER!!!

AND WHOSOEVER WAS NOT FOUND WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE WAS CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE. REVELATION 20:15.

MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON US ALL IN JESUS NAME