Originally posted by joe beyser
Does the notion of being punished forever for not being christian strike anyone as odd? To me the idea says a lot more about the human mind than a loving god. This is one of the cornerstones of the christian belief systems isn't it?
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Does the notion of being punished forever for not being christian strike anyone as odd? To me the idea says a lot more about the human mind than a loving god. This is one of the cornerstones of the christian belief systems isn't it?
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What I read is that anyone whose name was not found written in
"the book of life" was cast into the lake of fire.
The book of life is also called
"the Lamb's book of life". The Lamb is the Redeemer, Jesus the Son of God.
But to be thorough and careful in our Bible reading I think you should see it as a matter of one having or not having their name written in the book of life as the deciding factor.
That may be a little different from saying "Whoever is a Christian".
Having said that I would add that it is
"the Lamb's [Christ's] book of life."
"And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose face earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened, and another scroll was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by the things which were written in the scrolls, according to their works ...
"And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire." (See Rev. 20:12-15)
This is a scene of the final judgment of mankind. It is not the only judgment. But it is the last judgment.
The dead are judged by what is written in the scolls concerning the deeds of their lives. But they are cast into the lake of fire according to whether or not their names are recorded in the book of life.
One thing is clear to me. If you do not want your name written in the Lamb's book of life just do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
Exactly how every human beings name is written in the book of life may not be fully known to us. But probably everyone reading this post has to make a decision whether they will have Jesus as their Lord and Savior or whether they will disbelieve and reject Jesus.