Your eternal security—your guarantee of entering the New Earth and God’s Holy City—depends on whether your name is written in the Book of Life. If your name is there, it surpasses everything else on this earth.
This is why Jesus told the 70 disciples not to rejoice over demons being subject to them, but instead to rejoice because their names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life:
Luke 10:20 – “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Your entire life is meaningless unless your name is written in the Book of Life.
Judgment and the Books
Revelation 20:12–13, 15 – “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books… Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Two types of records will be opened on judgment day:
- The Book of Life (for the saved)
- The Books (for the unsaved)
Those whose names are in the Book of Life will not be judged by their works because they are already justified by faith in Christ. When God looks at them, He sees Christ’s righteousness, not their past sins. They are not saved by their works but by grace through faith.
John 5:24 – “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”
The Books (Plural): Judgment by Works
All who are not in Christ will be judged according to their works. These are the “books” mentioned in Revelation. Each unbeliever has their own book, recording everything they have done.
Ephesians 2:8–9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast.”
Even if someone did good works, they won’t be enough to save them. Salvation is a gift from God—received through faith, not earned.
Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 4:4–5 – “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”
Faith, Not Balance of Good and Evil
Don’t think God will weigh your good deeds against your bad deeds. That’s not how salvation works.
John 6:28–29 – “Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’”
If you are not in Christ, you are spiritually dead, no matter how morally good you think you are.
Predestined Before Time
Those whose names are written in the Book of Life were chosen before the foundation of the world.
Ephesians 1:4–5 – “Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ…”
2 Timothy 1:9 – “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.”
Will the Saved Experience God’s Wrath?
Some believe the saved will be raptured before God’s final wrath is poured out. But the Bible suggests that deliverance will come during the tribulation, especially for those whose names are written in the book:
Daniel 12:1 – “At that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.”
Only Those in the Book Will Enter God’s Holy City
Revelation 21:2, 27 –
“I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God…”
“Nothing impure will ever enter it… only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”
The Book of Life and the Mark of the Beast
Anyone who worships the beast or takes the mark (666) was never written in the Book of Life:
Revelation 13:8 – “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.”
Your name in the Book of Life protects you from deception and damnation. You will not worship the beast or take his mark, because your destiny was written before time began.
What It Means to Have Your Name in the Book of Life
- You were predestined for salvation.
- You have eternal life.
- You will not face God’s wrath.
- You will enter God’s Holy City.
- You will not take the mark of the beast.
Revelation 3:5 – “He who overcomes will be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the Book of Life…”
Revelation 17:8 – “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…”
Your Life Follows What Is Written
Ephesians 1:4 – “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.”
If your name is in the Book of Life, you will live the life that God has written about you. You will live a holy and blameless life, not by force, but by divine design.
It’s not how you live that determines what is written.
It’s what is written that determines how you will live.
Just as God commanded the waters to gather in Genesis, and it was so, so will His will be fulfilled in your life:
Genesis 1:9 – “And God said, ‘Let the waters… be gathered together…’ and it was so.”
