"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14;
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By Beverly McLamb
There is a book called the Book of Life, in which the names of the righteous are written. This Book was probably "created" after the fall of Adam and Eve, when they no longer continually walked in righteousness before the Face of the Almighty. After Eve and then Adam ate of the tree of the "Knowledge of Good and Evil," ETERNAL drove them out of the garden of Eden, to prevent them from eating of the "Tree of Life"!
Genesis 3:19-22 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. ETERNAL CREATOR made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And ETERNAL CREATOR said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.
There is a distinction between LIFE and DEATH. When one eats from the tree of life they will live FOREVER. The opposite would be that if one does not eat from "The Tree of Life" they will be dead for eternity. "The Tree of Life" has existed since the creation of earth. Let us now explore Scripture, to find the route we must take to that tree, the Tree of Life.
The first reference in Scripture to this Book, is in Exodus after the children of Israel sinned against ETERNAL at Mount Sinai. They were waiting for Moses to come down from the Mountain, awaiting the Words which YHWH spoke to him. They were very impatient and molded themselves an image of gold - an idol to worship. When Moses came down from the mountain, and saw these horrible deeds of Israel, he pleaded with the Almighty, and said:
Ex 32:32-33 "Yet now, if You will forgive their sin; but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.
And YHWH said to Moses, 'Whoever has sinned against Me, I blot him out of My Book.'"
Since all sin is against ETERNAL (Ps 51:4) a person who sins and does not repent, his/her name shall be blotted out of the Book of Life.
The great Psalmist King David asks the Almighty to blot out of His Book of Life the names of the unrighteous, so that their names may not be written with those of the righteous.
Ps 69:16-28 "Hear me, O ETERNAL, for Your loving kindness is good. Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. And do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in trouble; hear me speedily. Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; deliver me because of my enemies. You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor; my adversaries are all before You. Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 1 Let their table become a snare before them, and their well-being a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; and make their loins shake continually. Pour out Your indignation upon them, and let Your wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their dwelling place be desolate; let no one live in their tents. For they persecute the ones You have struck, and talk of the grief of those You have wounded. Add iniquity to their iniquity, And let them not come into Your righteousness. 28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
David knew that YHWH in HIS total righteousness is not going to reward the wicked with the righteous.
The content of the Book of Life shall be revealed with the advent of the Messiah at the time when YHWH, Himself will stand upon the Mt. of Olives (Zec 14:1-4). Daniel states in prophesying about the end-time, that those who will be delivered, are those whose names are written in the Book.
Dan 12:1 "At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of Your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time Your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book."
In Isaiah we read of the times of the end, after the establishment of the Davadic Kingdom and "The Wonderful World Tomorrow."
Isa 4:1-4 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, 'We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; Only let us be called by your name, To take away our reproach.' In that day the Branch of YHWH shall be beautiful and [splendorous]; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped. And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called [morally clean]; everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. When YHWH has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning,
These are the ones whose names are written in the Book of Life. The elect, those whose names are written in the Book of Life, are special in the eyes of our Father. We read about them in the book of Malachi:
Ecc. 12:10-14 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails--given by one Shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear CREATOR and keep His Commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man. For CREATOR will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Ezek 13:9 "My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divination's. They will not belong to the council of My people or be listed in the records of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign YHWH."
Mal 3:16-18 "Then those who feared ETERNAL talked with each other, and ETERNAL listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared ETERNAL and honored His name. 'They will be mine,' says ETERNAL of Hosts, 'in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve CREATOR and those who do not.
ETERNAL is keeping a record book. Our names will not be entered into it unless we learn to "Fear ETERNAL and keep HIS commandments" It is YHWH's set apart Commandments which are "The Tree of Life"
Deut. 30: 6 ETERNAL your CREATOR will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
Question: How and when does ETERNAL circumcise our hearts? Answer: When HE allows us to see HIS truths written down for us by Moses in HIS Torah instructions and then we fully obey wholeheartedly.
Deut. 30:10 "If you obey ETERNAL your CREATOR and keep His Commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to ETERNAL your CREATOR with all your heart and with all your soul."
WE have a choice to make. ETERNAL states He has placed before us life and death and commands us to choose life:
Deut 30:19 "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:"
Our loving CREATOR wants us to choose life and be with Him. Thus His Commandments are not out of reach that we cannot obey them to the fullest.
Deut 30:11-16 "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love ETERNAL your CREATOR, to walk in his ways, and to keep His Commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and ETERNAL your CREATOR will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
YHWH does not SUGGEST that we L-O-V-E HIM, HE has COMMANDED that we L-O-V-E HIM!!! We show HIM our love when we perform obedient acts to HIS decrees, Commands, ordinances, statutes:
Deut. 8:17 "But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,"
Deut. 8:3 "Know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man [shall] lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of YHWH.
However, our hearts have been drawn away to follow another. The greatest majority of people in Israel in Israel have failed their Test 2 and follow another god. Our hearts were drawn away to other god - namely the man from Galilee, one called jes-s.
Notice that no being even exits that can be in the same category as ETERNAL.
Deut 4:35 "To you it was shown, that you might know that YHWH Himself is CREATOR; there is none other besides Him."
The English word "none" comes from the Hebrew word "369. "'ayin" (ah'-yin) meaning to be nothing or not exist; a nonentity. Thus we see that our CREATOR is the only being on His level as a Deity or Elohim.
Deut. 8:18-20 "I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love ETERNAL your CREATOR, listen to His voice, and hold fast to HIM. For Eternal YHWH is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
May your name be forever written in "THE BOOK OF THE LIVING" and it can be if you choose Life, Love ETERNAL, Walk in His Way, and Sigh and Cry over the abominations done in Israel (Ezek 9:4).
[ "The Hope of Israel" index page ]
Footnotes
1.
This is not referring to a man from Galilee, to see who is the real Messiah please refer to our article New Proof of the Messiah.
2.
To determine if you have passed ETERNAL's Test, refer to our article The Test.
