Book of Life, Book of Remembrance
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September 13, 2009 |
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 "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life." Revelation 20:12
Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name. Malachi 3:16
The book of life is bright white in color and is surrounded by a blue light. In it, are the names of those who received salvation.
The book of remembrance gives off a golden light, and recorded in it are all the memorable events that give great glory to God which should be remembered for eternity.
There are many different kinds of books in this world: history books, technical books, novels, books of poetry, biographies and autobiographies. There are many different kinds of books in the heavenly kingdom, too. The Book of Life and the Book of Remembrance are the two most significant of these books. The reason being, these books are a record of people's salvation, and the rewards they receive in heaven.
1. The Book of Life
As recorded in the book of Revelation chapter 20 verse 15, the book of life will become the main piece of evidence during the Judgment of the Almighty God.
The Book of Life has a bright-white cover surrounded by a bluish light. In the Book of Life is recorded the names of those who have received salvation. It records the time, day, month and year in which each individual accepted Jesus Christ, was born by the Spirit, and became a child of God.
However, it is possible for a person's name to be erased from the Book of Life, even after it is recorded there. This is because if that person once accepted Christ, but later returns to the way of death, he comes to have nothing to do with salvation,
Psalm 69:28 talks about just this kind of case, "May they be blotted out of the Book of Life and may they not be recorded with the righteous." Revelation 3:5 also says, "… and I will not erase his name from the Book of Life."
Therefore we must live according to the word of God and never let our names be erased or blotted out of the Book of Life.
2. The Book of Remembrance
The Book of Remembrance records in detail when, where, how, and in what condition a person fulfilled God's work; how this event came to be, and what the outcome was.
When an event is carried out by one individual, it is recorded under his or her name, and when it's carried out by a group, it is recorded under the name of the group's leader.
The details of the event are clearly recorded, and some of the most important parts can be replayed so vividly as if in real life, just like a video record, supporting the writings in the book.
When seen with spiritual eyes, the Book of Remembrance captures everything in such detail that the book is very thick, and it gives off a golden color, with very elegant patterns on its cover.
Just by looking at its cover, we can see that it is a very valuable book.
God rewards greatly, those individuals who are recorded in this book.
This is because these individuals accomplished things that greatly glorified God and their deeds are worthy of being remembered throughout history; just as people in this world write biographies or build monuments to commemorate great persons or meaningful events. Now then, can the names of those people who end up in Paradise, the lowest level in the kingdom of heaven be written in the Book of Remembrance?
Malachi 3:16 says, "Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name."
Here, 'those who fear the LORD" signifies people who keep away from evil. This therefore means that we have to be at least in the fourth level of faith, which is the level where one does not have any evil in their hearts.
Therefore, those that end up in Paradise, or the first, or second kingdom of Heaven cannot be recorded in the Book of Remembrance.
3. Other Books in Heaven
In the heavenly kingdom there are many other books in addition to the Book of Life and the Book of Remembrance. For example, there are books that are sorted and recorded by categories of the history of human cultivation. There are also books that keep a record of all the people used by God in a given time period. There are also books that record all the things that Jesus did during his lifetime here on earth, and there is also the biography of the life of Abraham.
When we go to the heavenly kingdom, we will have the opportunity to gain spiritual knowledge. Sometimes those who are in New Jerusalem will teach those who are in the 3rd kingdom of heaven, the 2nd kingdom of heaven, the 1st kingdom of heaven, and Paradise. So there are special textbooks for this purpose. But this doesn't mean we can only learn through books in heaven. There will be many different resources for learning spiritual things, including vivid video materials.
There are some books that are as special as the Book of Remembrance. One of these is the book that records all the names of those who overcame persecutions and trials for the Lord's sake with thanksgiving. There is also another book that records the trials that some of the people faced before entering into New Jerusalem. They are those who are among the 24 elders or higher in the spiritual rank. In the case of men, they are Elijah, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, and the 24 elders. In the case of women, those who have faith equivalent to the faith of the 24 elders are written in this book. This book records information about each person in detail, and the kinds of trials they endured to become perfect in faith.
The Book of Remembrance mostly records the superior achievements of people, whereas these books focus on the trials that people faced and overcame.
4. The Authority to Read Books in Heaven
In the heavenly kingdom, there are some books that we can freely read, while there are other books that only authorized persons can read. And there are books we can see only when it is opened by the Triune God.
One of them is this Book of Remembrance.
We can read it only when God allows it.
God the Father will choose a special day to show a part of this book.
On one particular day, He may begin with the cover and flip through, displaying all the pages. And on another day, He may take an excerpt from a part of this book to explain something.
When God the Father opens this book and explains about a part of its contents, everyone will listen with joy. Then we will all praise God the Father and give Him glory. This is just one of the joyful things that we will get to enjoy in the heavenly life.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in the kingdom of heaven, angels are writing about you every day. And a special part of your journal may be quoted in other books in heaven, according to the subject matter. Therefore, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will live a life of giving glory to God the Father in all ways, whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do on this earth.
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