Philippians #064 - Learn the Bible Broadcast - Philippians 4:3
Pastor Andrew B. Ray

Antioch Baptist Church
5709 North Broadway
Knoxville, TN 37918
http://www.LearntheBible.org

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Philippians #064 - Learn the Bible Broadcast
Philippians 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

3. Special notes on “the book of life” (see Philippians 4:3)
a. What we know to be true
(1) Names in the book of life appear to have been written “from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8; Revelation 17:8). Note: Though one could easily argue that the phrase “from the foundation of the world” identifies the slaying of the Lamb in Revelation 13:8, Revelation 17:8 refers to the book of life.
(2) The Bible never speaks of a name being written in the book of life within the timeframe of man’s history, only of names being blotted out. With this being said, there are a number of unscriptural songs being sung such as “He Wrote My Name,” and “A New Name in Glory.”
(3) At the Great White Throne judgment, the dead are judged out of things written in “books” not the “book of life” (see Revelation 20:12, 15; Daniel 7:10). The “book of life” is present, but is not the book from which the dead are judged.
(4) Only those that are “in the Lamb’s book of life” will enter into the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:27).
b. What we believe to be true
(1) The psalmist would not have asked for the wicked to “be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous” (Psalm 69:28) if they were not at that moment written alongside the righteous. Though it is possible this book merely contains the names of all living at any present time, the language seems to indicate more than a desire for the wicked to die. Consider also Isaiah 4:2-4 and Daniel 12:1.
(2) Men are removed or kept in the book based upon a decision.
a) Those who sin against God rejecting His forgiveness will be blotted out of God’s book (Exodus 32:32-33; see also Revelation 13:8; Revelation 17:8; Revelation 22:18-19).
b) Those who are righteous (Psalm 69:28) having overcome (Revelation 3:5) through faith (1 John 5:4) will not be blotted out of the book of life.
(3) Note: It is possible that this was the book in which the disciples had their names written (Luke 10:20). If the statement were only made in the presence of twelve apostles, one could argue that this were a reference to Revelation 21:14, but there were more disciples present. Perhaps the same thing is meant in Hebrews 12:23, where the Bible says, “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven”.