Week Five | Blessed By Sharing in the Resurrection of Jesus

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Blessed Online Biblical Study
Reading Assignment – Chapters 9 & 10
Listen to the Audio version | Reading Time: 4 minutes

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Ever since I was little I have always had a passion for books, and not just for reading them, but for collecting them and learning from them.  For me, books have always served as an opportunity to escape from the world around me.  

Reading books has provided a means for my imagination to take me to different, unbelievable worlds and fill my mind with countless adventures.  There hasn’t been a book I have not been willing to read.  So, when I came across the books mentioned in Revelation 20, I was surprised at my initial feelings of hesitation and fear. 

The Books and the Book

For many people, including myself, the books mentioned in Revelations 20 can cause confusion, fear, and concern.  Some of you may be wondering, what are these books exactly?  How do they apply to me? Let’s start by looking at what it says in Revelation.

“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.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Revelation 20:11-15, NIV

So, to clarify, “the books”  contain records of the life of every person who has ever lived.  Within “the books” each person’s deeds can be found.  “No one will be able to stand before God solely on the basis of the record of his or her deeds.  What is written in the books will condemn them” Nancy Guthrie, Blessed, pg. 217.  

The book, on the other hand, is very different.  “Elsewhere (Rev. 13:8;21:27), this book is called “The Lamb’s book of life,” meaning that it is a list of all whose sins have been covered by the blood of the Lamb. The book is a record of the names of all those God calls his own” (pg 217).   This book is a list of all of those who know and love God.  

On Judgement Day, what happens if our name is in the book of life? What does that mean for our book of records?  What is written in this book will confirm our connection to God and prove how blessed we are. 

“What is written there will confirm that they are connected to Christ in a saving, transforming way.  If you are in Christ, the books will show how you threw yourself in his mercy and welcomed his forgiveness, how your appetites and affections changes as his Holy Spirit was at work in you, and it became evident in how you lived your life.  The books will provide an accounting of all the things God’s grace in your life has empowered you to do and become because of your connectedness to Jesus.”

Nancy Guthrie, Blessed, pg. 218

Sharing in the Resurrection of Jesus

As followers of Jesus, we have immeasurable blessings, but one of those blessings specifically is that we do not need to be frightened or worried about these books mentioned in Revelation 20.  Though we all have sinned, and continue to sin daily, these sins have been eternally covered by the blood of the Lamb.   

We can rest in the assurance and blessing of sharing in the resurrection of Jesus.  

Looking back at my initial hesitation towards the books mentioned in Revelation, I have come to understand that my passion for books has and never will change.  Furthermore, what I have realized is that there is no other book I have read or will ever pick up that can offer the hope that the books in heaven can offer. 

TODAY WE LEARNED:
1. Revelation 20 mentions two books.
2. The books are a record of the life of everyone who has ever lived.
3. The book of life is a list of all those whose sins have been redeemed through the sacrifice of the Lamb.
4. We can rest in the assurance and blessing of sharing in the resurrection of Jesus. 

ANSWER THIS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW:
What was your initial reaction to reading about the books in Revelation 20? 
How did those feelings change after digging deeper into their purpose and meaning?