Philippians 4:3; Revelation 13:8; 17:8
The Book of Life is God’s record of those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Those who accepted Jesus’ payment for their sins are eternally saved and cannot lose their salvation, as shown in Christ’s clear promise: “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him (God, the Father) who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).
They will have nothing to fear at the Great White Throne Judgment when the Book is brought out because their sins have been forgiven. Among the forgiven will be those who will have been Raptured.
God will not judge the world at the Great White Throne Judgment for their sins, because these have already long been paid for (past, present, and future), by Jesus’ death at the Cross of Calvary.
Rapture questions circling around “being or not being good enough to be taken up to Heaven” only lead to a dead-end because rejecting Christ and not believing He is who He says He is, is the one sin that will not be forgiven. Everything about the state and final destination of our souls hinges on this one point.
Those who believe in Him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than Light because their deeds were evil.
John 3:18,19
The Bible is clear. God will not judge the world at the Great White Throne Judgment for their sins, because these have already long been paid for (past, present, and future), by Jesus’ death at the Cross of Calvary. Instead, the world will be judged for not accepting Christ’s payment on their behalf and therefore, for not believing in Jesus.
God woos us our whole lives, but we must surrender to His gentle voice. Scripture also emphasizes that God’s judgment will be fair – there will be no partiality.
And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges Me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies Me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
Luke 12:8,9
The one who rejects Me and does not receive My word has a judge; on the last day the Word that I have spoken will serve as judge.
John 12:48
Does this give those Left Behind meaning to their “left behind-ness?”
Yes! Yes!! A thousand times: YES!!!
The Rapture is a warning that a final Judgment is coming. Without Christ’s payment, our sins condemn us (Matthew 12:36).
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.
Revelation 20:11-13
Don’t waste another second of your life! Accept Christ now, get your sin-debt wiped clean while there’s still time and get your name into that Book.
Nothing impure will ever enter it (Heaven), nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 21:27
Dear Reader, although imperative to your eternal security, God’s offer of salvation runs deeper than having your name written in the Book of Life. To God, the business of saving someone is always personal.
In ancient times when God first chose the nation of Israel (the ‘cultivated olive tree’) to be His own people, God was deeply committed:
But Zion (Jerusalem) said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”
(God) “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands . . .”
Isaiah 49:14-16
This commitment (on His part) to the nation of Israel remains to this day and will remain so for eternity.
Later with the birth of The Church, we, the saved Gentiles (non-Jews; the ‘wild olive tree’) were grafted into the cultivated olive tree, and today we share in that same commitment that God has towards Israel. Our names are also engraved on the Almighty’s hands.
For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
Romans 11:24
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
John 10:28-29
There is no Left Behind meaning to be found in the chaos and turmoil of a post-Rapture world if the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ is rejected.
There is no shelter, support or strength to be found by His hand if you choose to turn your back and go your own way.
There is no eternal security against the horrors of hell.
Change your mind. There is every possible help and hope (a confident expectation of good) for you if you turn around and call upon Him.
Times will be very tough, but God will (in His own perfect time) bring you through and out to your final destination – passed the beautiful gates of Heaven.
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
Just as if it were the voice of God Himself, the Rapture questions those who have been left behind: How long will you hold-out before you receive this good gift from God?
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED.
Romans 10:9
Hallelujah!
