Written from the Foundation of the World (Part 2)

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 4: Written from the Foundation of the World.

In the previous post, we explored the meaning of the Greek word translated “foundation.” Now, as we continue to discover when the book of life was written, we examine one of several Greek words rendered “world.”

Kosmos

Four different Greek words are translated “world” in the New Testament, but Jesus and the New Testament writers only use one word, kosmos, when employing the phrase, “the foundation of the world.”

Kosmos means “that which is ordered or arranged.” It’s where we get the English term “cosmetics.” It’s related to a verb that means “to set in order,” or “to adorn, decorate.” As William Mounce explains, “In classical Greek and the LXX [Septuagint, or the Greek translation of the Old Testament], kosmos communicated the idea of order and adornment, and from this it developed into the basic term for the cosmos or the universe.”

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Written from the Foundation of the World (Part 1)

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 4: Written from the Foundation of the World.

Two key statements in the book of Revelation tell us the book of life was written “from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8; 17:8). What does that mean? Is John saying the  book of life was written before the creation of the cosmos, or perhaps as part of God’s ex nihilo work of calling everything into existence? Was it written some time after creation, perhaps associated with the Fall? Or is there another explanation?

In this post, and posts to follow, we begin to address this thorny question by exploring the words “foundation” and “world,” and distinguishing between the use of “before” and “from” in relation to the biblical phrase, “the foundation of the world.” Later, we unpack Revelation 13:8 and 17:8. Then, we consider God’s saving work in eternity past – that is, outside of time – through foreknowledge, election, and predestination, for these terms relate to the book of life. 

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Why Is It the Lamb’s Book?

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 3: the Lamb’s Book.

Why is the book of life also called the Lamb’s book? When we think of Jesus as the Lamb of God, and we see Scripture identify the book of life as belonging to the Lamb, we should note that lambs play a key role in redemption.

The Passover lamb is the means by which obedient Israelites are spared the wrath of the angel of death, who comes to claim the firstborn in Egypt (Exod. 11 – 13). This lamb must be young, spotless, and precious. Brought into the house for several days to be examined, he becomes a familiar and beloved member of the family who must then die, and whose blood, sprinkled on the doorposts, is a sign to the destroyer to pass over the house.

Other Old Testament passages depict the Passover lamb as a type of Christ. Isaiah 53, for example, tells us of the coming Messiah being led like a lamb to the slaughter:

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was taken away because of oppression and judgment, and who considered his fate? For he was cut off from the land of the living; he was struck because of my people’s rebellion. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully (Isa. 53:7-9).

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Unreformed and Undeterred

This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon. 

After Satan’s release from the abyss, which John depicts in Revelation 20:7, the evil one proves himself unreformed and undeterred. He immediately returns to his life of crime, setting out to deceive the nations once again and gather them for battle against Christ and his followers. As soldiers of this newly formed axis of evil surround the encampment of the saints, fire from heaven consumes them (Rev. 20:7-9). 

Then, we read: “The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10).

In this verse, John describes Satan’s ultimate destination as “the lake of fire and sulfur.” In Matthew 25:41, Jesus calls it “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Jesus and the New Testament writers also describe this place as “outer darkness,” “eternal punishment,” and “the second death” (e.g., Matt. 22:13; 25:46; Rev. 21:8). But there’s an even more descriptive term for this place: gehenna, or hell. 

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The Lamb’s Book (Part 3)

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 3: the Lamb’s Book.

In John’s stunning view of New Jerusalem, he reminds us, “Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev. 21:27). 

This verse focuses more on what and who are excluded from New Jerusalem than it does on what and who are welcomed into the city. John’s description of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 – 22 is comprehensive in terms of its outward appearance and inward features. But what lies outside the city invites our immediate attention. John writes that nothing unclean will ever enter New Jerusalem. 

So, what does John mean by “unclean”? The Greek word is koinos, which means “common, ordinary, shared by all.” The Jews understood it to mean “unhallowed, profane, or ritually unclean.” Just as the filth of Old Jerusalem was carried outside the city walls and burned, nothing defiled is allowed into the heavenly city. Interestingly, Jesus is crucified and buried outside the city walls as one cursed or condemned (Heb. 13:11-14). Yet, it’s through his sacrifice on the cross, at the base of a hill beyond the city’s gates, that entrance into New Jerusalem is opened to all who trust in him.

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