And for those who remain faithful, the result will be amazing! Those who were beheaded for their testimony to Jesus will be resurrected first, and they will have the honour of reigning with Jesus for a thousand years, while Satan is in the pit. A nice little incentive for the reader of Revelation to keep giving their testimony to Jesus, even if threatened.
And for those whose names ARE written in the book of life – the reward is eternal life, in a new cosmos free of evil. AND, once death has completed its function, Death itself will be thrown into the lake of fire. As Dr. Paul Tripp states in our Griefshare video series, “those who overcome will witness Death's funeral.” I hope the sandwiches afterwards are good, because it will be the last funeral, ever.
With rewards this amazing for faithfulness, and punishments this severe for the opposite, all that is left is to ask the question, “how can we be sure our names are written in the book of life?” The extremely SHORT answer, is that we CAN'T be SURE, because it isn't our book. But the longer answer is that we can take Jesus at his word – that he died on the cross to reconcile us to God, that he sealed us with the Holy Spirit in our baptisms, that he accepts us as his bride the church, that he inspires us to testify in the face of adversity. We have the great hope that our names are INDEED written in the book of life, as a result of what our Saviour has done, and is doing in our lives.
Gracious God, salvation and glory and power to you, for your judgments are true and just. Prepare us for the marriage of the Lamb with the opportunity for righteous deeds, done through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, in his name we pray, amen.