Weekly Devotional 7-8-24 An Irrefutable Record
Scripture testifies that Jesus Christ will ride forth on a white horse from heaven, with righteousness, and take back the earth from the influence and rule of Satan. Satan will be bound and held for judgment until after a thousand years has been completed. At the end of the one thousand years Satan will be loosed for a short period of time, and his activities will prove that what is about to happen to him is just. He will be cast into the lake of fire and be there for eternity (Revelation 19-20:10). After that sentence has been carried out, books will be opened that are either a blessing or a sentence of judgment. Many names will appear in the Book of Life, but those whose names are not recorded in that book have had their activities recorded in another set of books. They will be judged according to that record.
We read from Revelation 20:11-15 “11Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
The record of these books is irrefutable. Those whose names have been recorded in the Book of Life will not have an established record in the other books. Their names will not even appear in those books. They will have been judged righteous because of their having trusted God for their salvation. God said through Paul his messenger, “blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin” (Romans 4:8). The question becomes, why will the Lord not impute the charge of sin to them? The answer is because they have trusted in Jesus Christ, God’s only provision for the forgiveness and blotting out of their sin (Romans 8:1-4).
The next question is which book is my name recorded in, which book is your name recorded in? For me, that question is answered in Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus, He said, “18He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). And John the apostle in that same chapter said, “36He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
God has forgiven those who believe Him and trust in His provision. He has written their names in the Book of Life and will never erase them. However, those who do not believe God and trust in His provision will themselves be held accountable. Their works have been recorded in the other set of books and they will be judged according to their works. “And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books” (Revelation 20:12b).
The record of their works is irrefutable as is the record of those who have trusted in the finished work of Jesus Christ on their behalf. Their names have been recorded in the Book of Life. Both records will stand.
Steve
Stevelampman.com / Transforming Power; The Work of God On Behalf Of Man