The Other Books at the Judgment

By Pia Thompson

 “…books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.” Rev. 20:12

Books are timeless. They are portable, personal, public and permanent. With many copies of the same book, they are a reliable record of an event. They existed before electricity, and can exist when the power is off.  They are the bookends of history. They were around at the beginning of the world, and will be opened at the end of the world. They don’t require a password to access them, or any special training to operate.

Creation was recorded in them, the genealogies and the early history of man, and all the works of God in history. Gen. 5:1 refers to the first book written as the Book of Generations, which recorded creation and the fall. Throughout Scripture, there are references to the Chronicles of the Kings.

The Bible contains sixty six books, yet it is one Book. It has one theme. It was written over many centuries by forty authors in several languages. It has many stories or narratives, yet they are all part of the meta-narrative, the grand story of how God redeemed sinful humanity to become the Bride of Christ. All of history is His Story. These things were “written for our learning”.

God has been keeping records. Names, deeds, and words, are all recorded in books. On that awesome Last Day, the Bible says, “And 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.”  Rev. 20:12

The main book seems to be the Book of Life, which is a list of names. “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev.20:15

But what are these other books mentioned in Rev. 20:12?

Malachi 3:16 says, “Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who  fear the LORD and who meditate on His name.”

This is to contrast the conversation and conduct of believers with the preceding words of murmuring and complaining by unbelievers. They said it was useless to serve God. But our delight as believers is to talk about our Saviour. The amazing thing is that He takes notice of it, approves, and records it in our favour. This is a Book of Remembrance.

Psalm 56:8 says, “You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?”  Here we see that God is aware of our sorrows and in a sense saves our tears; none falls to the ground without His notice. He records our grief in a book. He knows. He cares. I find this to be so poignant a picture of our loving and compassionate God. I call this a Book of Sorrows.

When Job was in the midst of his suffering, he lamented, “Oh that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!” Job. 19:23 Job wanted a permanent record of his words. This would give some meaning to his suffering. He got his wish. Someone has taken note. His words were recorded.  I call this a Book of Suffering.

Jesus warns that a record is kept of our idle words, and we will be held to account for them. “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matt. 12:36,37 Our words have eternal significance. The Bible often condemns sins such as insults, gossip and lies as severely as adultery and murder. 1 Tim. 1:10, Rev. 21:8

I don’t know about you, but I find that to be a sobering thought. Like Job, when he is rebuked by God, says, “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth.” Job 40:4 Or Isaiah, when He has a vision of God on His throne, and he is aware of being a “man of unclean lips”.

We tend to downplay those sins as somehow less heinous than adultery or murder, but God takes them very seriously. Whether there’s another book for our idle words or not, the idea is that there is a record. Ultimately, every facet of every life is “stored” in the mind of God. He doesn’t forget. The information doesn’t need a backup.

While judgment is a fearful thing, it is also comforting to know that in that Great Day all injustices will be made right, that God has seen our suffering and sorrow, our fellowship and deeds. He inscribed our name in His Book of Life even before we trusted in Christ. Perhaps the tears He wipes from our eyes in Heaven will be after He has reviewed our lives. When it’s all over, we are secure in Heaven because of Christ, and the efficacy of His blood to cover all of our sin.

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Rev. 21:4

First Published in the June 2014 issue of Barnabas magazine.

Why Do Christians Love the Cross?

As Christians, we love the Cross. To us, it is a symbol of our redemption. For it was on a cross that Jesus died for our sins. He purchased us. He paid the price we owed. He absorbed the wrath of God in His own person. If not for the work of Christ on the cross, we would have no hope of Heaven. That’s why we sing about the wonder of the cross.

 

Over the centuries, the offence of the cross has diminished. People see it as jewellery, no more significant than a star or a peace sign. But what if we wore a hangman's noose on a chain around our necks? Or an electric chair? What if we sang songs about the wonder of those things? “Oh, the wonder of the noose!” See how absurd and wrong it seems to say that!

Then we see how offensive the cross was to the people of the first century. It was an instrument of torture and execution, a place reserved for the worst criminals. It was, to modern sensibilities, cruel and unusual punishment. It was not the quick death of a lethal injection, a guillotine or even a firing squad.

Why do Christians love to talk about the death of this One? In the hymn, O Sacred Head, it says, "Yet though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine."  

We see it through eyes of faith. If Christ had not suffered there, the Just for the unjust, we would have to pay for our own sins. It is, in one symbol, or one word, an image of what Christ accomplished for us. His victory is our victory. That's why we glory in the Cross!

Theology: The Study of God

Read Psalm 19 and Romans 1:18-32

Theology has been called the queen of sciences because there is no greater topic to study than God Himself. But unlike other sciences, in theology, we sit under our Subject, waiting to learn what He will reveal about Himself; for it is by revelation that we know anything at all about God. We can’t put Him under a microscope; such a God wouldn’t be worthy of worship.
How do we know anything at all about God? First, He has revealed Himself in creation. We see that in Psalm 19. We see His power and goodness, His design and providence. Throughout the world, no matter the language, the book of creation shouts that God exists, but men willingly suppress this knowledge.
Knowing that God is Creator leaves us without excuse that He exists, but it doesn’t tell us how to get right with this God. For that we need another book; the Bible; the written Word of God. It’s here that we hear the bad news that man sinned, and we hear from story after story the tragic effects of that fall. We also see God’s mercy, forgiveness and love demonstrated throughout history again and again.
We see the arrival of the Person of the Son of God, the promised Deliverer. This is the good news. Gospel means ‘good news’. We read about His perfect life and the defeat of sin on the cross of Calvary.
In the letters, or epistles, we learn the implications of the life of Christ on the life of the believer. Finally, we get a glimpse of things to come, when we are finally free from sin forever. Christ came to deliver us from the penalty of sin, the Holy Spirit was sent to save us from the power of sin, and when we get to Heaven, we’ll be free from the presence of sin. Done, done and done!
That’s why it’s worthwhile to study theology. In studying our great Subject, we learn to know Him personally, as He reveals more and more of Himself. He is a truly inexhaustible subject, and we’ll be forever learning new things about Him throughout eternity. It’s like the gospel is a multi-faceted diamond. Every way you look at it, you see something you haven’t seen before, and it is amazing!
If I were a castaway on a deserted island and could have only one book, I would choose the Bible. If you take any other book, it’s always the same; but the Bible is alive. It keeps revealing more new things about God every time we read it.
Life is short, and even if we were to study God’s Word our whole life, we could only conclude that there is still so much to know that we don’t even know how much we don’t know.
“And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” John 21:25

Death Bed Conversions

I've been thinking about death bed conversions, lately...probably because that's what I would love to see for my sister's fiance who has terminal brain cancer.

I've personally heard of two cases of death bed conversions. While that's not many, if it's your relative, that's the one that matters.

The only instance of a death bed conversion in Scripture is the thief on the cross. While not literally on a bed, it was still done a few hours before his death and with a knowledge that he'd soon be facing the Judge of the earth in his guilty state.

"One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, 'Are you not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!'
But the other answered, and rebuking him said, 'Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.'
And he was saying, 'Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!'
And He said to him, 'Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.'"
Luke 23:39-43

What does this teach us?
One: No one is beyond hope. Even a condemned criminal with no redeeming qualities inherits eternal life simply by believing in Christ.
Two: We are not saved by baptism or works. They follow salvation, but do not merit it. This man had no opportunity to get down from his cross and do good works or be baptized. Again, he was saved by faith in Christ.
Three: There is no such place as purgatory. If anyone would have needed to go there, it would have been he. Jesus didn't say, "After you've suffered and paid for your sins a while, you can join me in Heaven." He said, "Today, you'll be with me in Paradise." An immediate reward for his faith.
Four: There is no soul sleep until the resurrection, but we are "absent from the body, present with the Lord." It happens 'today', when we die.
Five: Heaven means to be in the presence of God. He would be with Jesus.

The overall lesson from this is that faith alone in Christ alone is the only means of securing a place in Heaven, safe with Jesus and protected from the wrath of God.

Why is there only one example of a death bed conversion in Scripture?
There is only one, so we do not presume to have time, and yet there is one, so that we do not despair.
While there is life, there is hope.
Oh Lord, do it again!

Forbidden Fruit

Read Genesis 1:9,16,17 and 3:6,22-24 and Rev. 22:2,14.

The forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden, spoken of in the Scriptures, was not an apple. Sorry to burst your bubble. You may have seen artist's pictures of red fruit, learned about Adam's apple, (supposedly stuck in every man's throat) and heard lyrics like, "Eve tempted Adam with an apple", and may even have heard it from Sunday school teachers, but it's not true. How do we know? Go to the Scriptures.

First of all, Adam and Eve could eat of every tree in the Garden, except one. It wasn't the apple tree. It was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was one of two unique trees in the Garden of Eden, and it was the only one of its kind, and located only in Eden, which is now hidden from us.

Further, once they ate of it, were judged by God and banished from Eden forever, its fruit was never eaten again, unlike the apple tree.

Also, the fruit is not decribed for us, except to say that it was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise.

Notice that the Tree of Life, also another unique tree in the midst of the garden, was not forbidden to Adam and Eve. Ever wonder why they didn't eat from that one, instead? We'll never know.

But at least we know that in the New Jerusalem we will have access to the Tree of Life, forbidden to our first parents because of their disobedience.

The Questions of God

I've long been intrigued by the idea of God asking a question.

When we ask a question, it's often to get information. What's the temperature today? What time will you be home? Who's going with you? Where do you think you're going, dressed like that? Okay, that last one was more of a statement, but you get the idea.

But when God asks a question, it's never to get information. The reason is obvious: He knows all things.
So why does He ask anything?

Let's take a look at the questions of God in the first few chapters of Genesis.

"Then the LORD God called to the man and said to him, 'Where are you?'" Genesis 3:9
"And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" Genesis 3:11
"Then the LORD God said to the woman,'What is this you have done?'" Genesis 3:13a

Why did He ask this? Didn't He know where Adam was hiding, and why? Of course. He asks to see if Adam will admit his wrongdoing, much as a parent does when they catch their child doing something wrong. We see what they've done, i.e. broken a vase or hurt their sibling, and yet we ask, "What have you done?"

That's the idea behind His questions. They are all asked to see if Adam and Eve will confess. I also think there's some sadness and disappointment behind the question, like when you see your child do something they shouldn't have done, especially after you've told them of the consequences if they did it. "Didn't I tell you not to bounce on the bed or you'd hurt yourself?"

A similar idea is found in Genesis chapter four, when God confronts Cain. He gives him a chance to make things right. He has not yet killed his brother. God asks him why he's sad and angry. He can still do the right thing and come to God with a pleasing sacrifice in the way God prescribed, instead of trying to come with his own best efforts. He gives Cain both a second chance and a warning, as parents often do.

"Then the LORD said to Cain,'Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?" If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.'" Genesis 4:6,7

God tells him sin wants to control him, but he must control it. The same word is used when God curses Eve. He says "Yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." Genesis 4:16b It's not talking about sexual desire, because that isn't a curse, but a blessing. It's talking about her desire to control in the marriage relationship, as she just did by making the decision to take the fruit without consulting her husband. Now he will rule over her, and the battle of the sexes, which began in the garden, has been in effect in every relationship since, with power struggles within marriage. But I digress.

The next time God talks to Abel, he has already killed his brother. God comes to him and asks a question He already knows the answer to,

"Where is Abel your brother?" Genesis 4:9
"He said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground." Genesis 4:10

So from even these few examples, we see that God is asking questions, not to obtain information from us, His creatures, but to interact with us, to fix our relationship with Him, or to judge us and remind us that we are indeed the creature and He the Creator.