JANUARY 12TH, 1943

JANUARY 12TH, 1943

MY DEAR SISTER IN THE LORD, — I gladly send you a few lines in answer to your letter of January 8th, 1943. I am thankful to know of some who have been converted, and are coming on to the meetings at — . May they be greatly helped, and led on in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ! No doubt they will need building up in grace, and this will be a happy service for you and others.

The paragraph on pages 48 and 49 of the “Outline of Revelation” simply calls attention to certain statements of Scripture ^[p. 317] with reference to the book of life. We may be quite sure that all that Scripture says is true and very profitable for us, and if there is anything we do not understand we can pray about it, and also get help from others.

The first time the book of life is mentioned in Scripture, indeed, the only time in the Old Testament (Exodus 32: 32, 33 refers to it simply as God’s book) is in Psalm 69: 28, which speaks prophetically of those who hated Christ without a cause, and who would destroy Him, being His enemies wrongfully (verse 4), and who persecuted Him (verse 26). It is said of them, “Let them be blotted out of the book of life”. To understand this we must remember that the Jews and their leaders were in a place of great privilege as having the oracles of God, the promises, the service of God, and even having Christ amongst them. They were in the book of life as having great divine privilege, in contrast with the dark heathen world; Christ owned them as “his own”, John 1: 11. But by their wicked rejection of Christ they forfeited all right to the privilege which God had conferred upon them, and they were blotted out of the book of life. Many today are in a place of light and privilege, but if they neglect the great salvation, and perhaps even persecute Christ in His people, it will come true, if they do not repent, that they will be blotted out.

The first mention of the book of life in the New Testament is in Philippians 4: 3, where we read of certain fellow-labourers of Paul — “whose names are in the book of life”. They were not at all the kind of persons to be blotted out.

Then in Revelation 3: 5 the promise, “I will not blot his name out of the book of life”, is given to the overcomer in Sardis. If we watch, and do not defile our garments, there is no fear of our names being blotted out.

It will be noticed that the above scriptures have a certain reference to our place as in responsibility here. They raise the question as to whether we are really in the list of the living, or have we merely, like those in Sardis, a name to live? But the simplest believer who knows the Saviour’s love, and who knows that his sins have been washed away by the blood of Christ, is entitled to know that he is one of Christ’s sheep and that he will never perish. But he also knows that he cannot keep himself, and that his security lies in keeping near the Shepherd; he does not, and dare not, trust himself.

^[p. 318] But in the closing chapters of the Bible the book of life is spoken of in a different way. It is called “the book of life of the slain Lamb”, and we learn that the names written in it were written “from the founding of the world”, Revelation 13: 8; 17: 8. The book of life in these scriptures has clearly to do with God’s purpose as made sure on the ground of redemption. Nothing in that connection depends on man’s responsibility. It is purely of God’s sovereign love and mercy that names are written in the book of life of the slain Lamb. There can be no thought of blotting out in that connection. Those written in that book are God’s elect, and will be surely kept by His power through faith. None of the names written in that book will ever be blotted out.

If we take Scripture simply as it stands we shall not get into any difficulty. We shall see that the book of life is sometimes viewed as containing the names of those who have a place of privilege and responsibility in relation to God, such as Israel had in Old Testament times, and such as the Lord’s bondmen have now. This may be illustrated by the fact that the name of Judas is on the list of the twelve apostles, Matthew 10: 2 - 4. He was numbered amongst the apostles, but he was never converted or saved, and by transgression he fell, and his name was blotted out.

I trust these few words may serve to clear up any difficulty. With love in the Lord,.

Yours affectionately in Him,

January 12th, 1943.