REVELATION 4-6
SEGMENT II
page 2
Segment II
The Secret Contents of the Book of
Life
Bible Writers
Mention the Book of Life
Several Bible writers
knew that the Book of Life existed.
Notice this conversation between
Moses and God: “But now, please
forgive their sin [of Israel] –
but if not, then blot me out of the
book you have written.” The Lord
replied to Moses, “Whosoever has
sinned against me I will blot out of
my book.” (Exodus 32:32,33)
Moses knew that God had written the
history of life in the Book of Life
and he begged God to forgive Israel
or blot his name out of the book that
had been written! God responded to
Moses saying that whoever has sinned
against Him would be blotted out.
This response has led some Christians
to conclude that the Book of Life is
a dynamic recording, that is, names
are added and removed as necessary.
This is not the case for two reasons.
First, the Book of Life was written
and sealed before the creation of the
world. (Revelation17:8) Second, the
eternal destiny of people is not
decided until they stand before the
judgment bar of Christ! (2
Corinthians 5:10) Therefore,
God’s response to Moses is an
assurance that the wicked have
been blotted out of His book.
Moses knew that the book had been
written – that is, the book
had been completed! Therefore,
God’s response to Moses must be
understood within this context. God
said, “When I wrote the Book
of Life, I blotted out the names
of those who would sin against
me.” Notice how this conforms
with a statement taken from
Revelation concerning the appearing
of the Antichrist during the Great
Tribulation: “…The
inhabitants of the Earth whose names
have not been written in the Book of
Life from the creation of the world
will be astonished when they see the
beast…” (Revelation 17:8)
Did you notice when the Book of Life
was written in verse 8? Did you also
notice whose names were left out of
the Book of Life at the time it was
written? God already knows who will
worship the beast and who will not;
God knows everything. But (and this
is an emphatic “but”), even
though God foreknows what we will do,
the choice has to be ours! This is
freedom. Because God gives us the
power of choice, the responsibility
for our actions rests on our heads.
If we were mere robots, we would have
no moral obligation or
responsibility. However, in a
universe of unfettered freedom,
people who have the power of choice
also bear responsibility and
accountability for their choices.
King David knew about
the Book of Life. He wrote, “May
they [the wicked] be blotted out of
the book of life and not be listed
with the righteous.” (Psalm
69:28, insertion mine) King David
also knew that his entire life record
was written in the Book of Life long
before he was born. He wrote,
“Your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were
written in your book before one of
them came to be.” (Psalm 139:16)
Jesus alluded to the Book of Life
when He said to His disciples,
“However, do not rejoice that
the spirits submit to you, but
rejoice that your names are written
in heaven.” (Luke 10:20) Paul
also mentions the Book of Life by
name: “Yes, and I ask you, loyal
yokefellow, help these women who have
contended at my side in the cause of
the gospel, along with Clement and
the rest of my fellow workers, whose
names are in the Book of Life.”
(Philippians 4:3)
The Seven Seals
Now that we know
something about the purpose and
contents of the Book of Life, and we
know why it was sealed, we naturally
want to know about the seven seals
that protect the sensitive data
inside the book. The seven seals on
the Book of Life are associated with
seven revelations about Jesus. When
the Father wrote the Book of Life, He
foreknew the rise of sin and He
foreknew that Jesus would die for
sinners. This is why John says that
Jesus is “the Lamb that was
slain from the foundation of the
world.” (Revelation 13:8) The
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit agreed
from the beginning that Jesus would
undertake the task of resolving the
sin problem for man. (Psalm 2; John
3:16) They also agreed that Jesus
would be the divine agent who would
resolve the sin problem for the
Godhead as well. In order to resolve
for both God and man, Jesus had to be
worthy by angels and men! This is why
the angelic host and the twenty-four
elders from Earth were summoned to
the great convocation described in
Revelation 4 and 5 and Daniel 7:9.
(The twenty- four elders were people
taken from Earth and are serving as
members of a jury.)
When the
solution for sin was presented before
the innumerable congregation (the
Book of Life contains the solution to
the sin problem), everyone present
agreed that Jesus alone was worthy to
receive the book sealed with seven
seals. (Revelation 5) Because
the angels and elders have the power
of choice, this was not a rubber
stamp approval. Jesus was found
worthy to redeem man on the basis of
His accomplishments, that is, His
perfect life and shed blood.
(Revelation 5:9) He was also
found worthy to exonerate the Godhead
of all charges of misconduct on the
basis of His perfect submission to
the Father’s will. (John 6:38;
Hebrews 5:7-10) These points are
mentioned because no one other than
Jesus can solve the sin problem for
God and man. The unique
qualifications of Jesus permit Him to
resolve the sin problem in seven
campaigns. As each seal is broken
open on the Book of Life, a new
campaign begins on Earth. Actually,
this is why the book of Revelation is
called, “The Revelation of Jesus
Christ.” The book of Revelation
explains an incredible series of
campaigns that sweep away the mystery
and reveal all that Jesus really is!
Jesus is more than an angel. Jesus is
more than a man. Jesus is fully God!
Seven Revelations
about Jesus
Jesus received the
Book of Life in 1798 and He broke the
first seal at that time. This date
will be closely examined in the next
section. As each subsequent seal is
broken, a new revelation about Jesus
is disseminated throughout Heaven and
Earth. This process grows in glory
and intensity until everyone sees a
full disclosure of the Creator. At
the end of the thousand years, every
being who has received life from
Jesus will be present. At the present
time, three seals have been broken
open and the fourth is next. The
seven seals contain seven progressive
revelations about Jesus:
Seal 1: The salvation
of Jesus
Seal 2: The teaching
of Jesus
Seal 3: The judgment
bar of Jesus
Seal 4: The authority
of Jesus
Seal 5: The faith of
Jesus
Seal 6: The glory of
Jesus
Seal 7: The deity of
Jesus
The question could be
asked, why are there seven
revelations of Jesus? Seven is a
perfect number – God’s
signature showing completion. The
Father has predetermined a complete
revelation of Jesus because the
Father wants the universe to
understand something about the
operation of the Godhead. Jesus has
the power, prerogatives and rights of
the Father and He is due the same
honor and worship! (Colossians
1:16-19; John 5:23) Because Jesus is
the Word of God (John 1:1; Revelation
19:13), Jesus is the spokesperson for
the Godhead. Jesus is a member of the
Godhead who lives among His creation
as one of us, so that He might speak
to us and reveal the will and ways of
the Father to us. Because Jesus
humbled Himself to come, live, and
die as a man, the Father, at just the
right time, stepped aside and exalted
Jesus above the highest heavens! In
this continuing process, the universe
will learn that Jesus is coeternal
and coequal with the Father. Then, at
the end of the thousand years, after
receiving the highest honor that can
be bestowed, Jesus will give His
position back to the Father so that
He may live among His created beings.
Paul describes this incredible scene
writing, “The last enemy to be
destroyed is death. For he [the
Father] has put everything under his [Jesus’]
feet.” Now when it says that
‘everything’ has been put
under him, it is clear that this does
not include God himself, who put
everything under Christ. When he has
done this [destroyed death], then the
Son himself will be made subject to
him who put everything under him, so
that God may be all in all.” (1
Corinthians 15:26-28, insertions
mine)
Think about this
for a moment. After Jesus received
all the glory, praise and accolades
that can be given, He does not remain
there, eternally basking in the glory
and fame. Rather, He chooses, once
again, to be subject to the Father so
that He can live among His creation.
What a Creator! What a God! What
love! What a stunning revelation
about the humility and meekness of
the Godhead! “Like Father –
like Son!”
