and sorcerers, and idolaters, and

abomination, or maketh a lie: but

all liars, shall have their part in

they which are written in the

the lake which burneth with fire

Lamb's book of life'.

and brimstone: which is the

second death'.

Someone who was timid, who had flinched under the dreadful persecution

of the time of the Beast and False Prophet, this one who fell and against

which sin Paul even warned Timothy (2 Tim. 1:7), he has his part in the lake

of fire, whereas any one that defiled was excluded from the heavenly

Jerusalem.  Yet this, while it sounds odd enough, will be seen more strange,

for in one verse the abominable and 'All' liars are destined for the lake of

fire, while in the corresponding verse Anything that worketh abomination, or

maketh a lie is excluded from the Heavenly Jerusalem!  Surely, if the

Scriptures are inspired, this means that the reference to the lake of fire,

the reference to the second death, the reference to the book of life and the

reference to the entry into the heavenly city are to be read together.  This

lake of fire is said to have been 'prepared' for the Devil and his angels

(Matt. 25:41), in contrast with the kingdom that had been 'prepared' for

those who received the Lord's commendation (25:34), the 'Bride' also is

prepared for her husband (Rev. 21:2).

In each case they are exceptional, and cannot be spread wider than the

contexts will allow.  This dreadful lake of fire had not been 'prepared' for

any other than the Devil and his angels, but if anyone yielded to the

pressure or the temptation of the last days so as to ally himself with the

Devil and his emissaries, he could be 'hurt' of the second death, he would

find that the fire that destroyed the enemy, would also burn up his fleshly

'works', and he could 'suffer loss' even the loss of the Heavenly city, yet

'he himself could be saved so as by fire'.

Closely connected with all this is the question, to what does the book

of life refer, does it speak of the redeemed or of a special company from

among the redeemed?  Let us see.  For our present study, we shall attempt no

distinction between the Greek words biblion a little book, and biblos a book.

The first reference is found in Philippians 4:3 where it relates to service.

Had the book of life appeared in Ephesians and Colossians, we might have

thought that it was tantamount to the choice of the believer before the

foundation of the world, but Philippians is the epistle of service, it opens

with a reference to bishops and deacons, it urges the believer to 'work out'

his salvation; it holds out a 'prize' and even tells us that the apostle, who

was sure of his salvation and hope, was not at the time as sure of the Prize

as he was at the end of his course (Phil. 3:11,14 and 2 Tim. 4:7,8).  Earlier

in Philippians, Epaphroditus 'was nigh unto death, not regarding his life' in

service to the Lord, and Paul himself had taken the view of life 'Christ

shall be magnified in my body, whether by Life or by Death'.  It is therefore

fitting that those who thus lost their lives for Christ's sake should find

them in the book of life, the book of the martyred saints who in their

several spheres will 'reign' with Christ.  This passage in Philippians is the

only reference in the New Testament to the book of life except those found in

the book of the Revelation.  Now the Revelation traces the career of the

overcomer, throughout the great tribulation to the throne, and it is this

book that contains all the other references to the book of life:

'I will not blot out his name out of the book of life' (Rev. 3:5).