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8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
All who dwell on the earth will worship him
We have covered this first phrase in the past, so I will not take time to unpack it fully here again. This label or category shows up repeatedly in this chapter as it identifies not merely those who live on this planet, but all who choose to get their identity from how this world defines value and identity based on performance, compliance and relative worth measured against others. This is in contrast to the identifier, those who dwell in heaven, for both have to do with where one's focus is and the source they rely on to define their identity more than merely the location of their physical body.
Worship is our priority to who will define our sense of value and reason for life. Our god is who we trust or fear, and by presenting ourselves to serve their agenda, either from fear, respect or admiration, we idolize them which authorizes them to be our master. We have no choice about being mastered by one supernatural force or the other, just as a mirror has no choice as to whether it reflects or not. We worship because that's what humans do naturally just as a mirror reflects because that is it design and purpose. We do have a choice however, who is authorized to shape our thinking, living and perceptions of reality. This is the seat of true authority as God designed it to be, authority invested within each of us which is our freedom to choose for ourselves who will receive that authority to rule over us, in us and access our will and resources and allegiance.
As they heard these things, he went on and told a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the Kingdom of God would be revealed immediately. He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. He called ten servants of his, and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, 'Conduct business until I come.'
But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, 'We don't want this man to reign over us.' "It happened when he had come back again, having received the kingdom, that he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by conducting business.
Another came, saying, 'Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief, for I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You take up that which you didn't lay down, and reap that which you didn't sow.' "He said to him, 'Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I didn't lay down, and reaping that which I didn't sow(?). Then why didn't you deposit my money in the bank, and at my coming, I might have earned interest on it?' (Luke 19:11-15, 20-23)
This parable highlights the reality that if we reject the noble man, the Lamb of God as the one we choose to serve, emulate, admire and imitate, we will hate Him and deny His ownership of all we have. This means we worship and admire the power of the beast and are conformed to the likeness of the dragon whose authority and character defines the beast and all its accomplices. We may do this purely out of fear or from desire for power ourselves. Either way, we align with the principles of this world which hates the light and the Source and Reflection of the light of love.
This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn't come to the light, lest his works would be exposed. (John 3:19-20)
Loving darkness means worshiping the dragon, the beast or any other entity sharing the same agenda. Loving their agenda and living either in fear or admiration of their way of controlling the world inevitable results in hatred and resistance to what heaven and the Lamb represents. There is no middle ground, for each must choose which system will define and motivate us.
Later in this chapter the issue of a mark emerges and where it is located. What we will see is there are two ways to receive the mark. Whether one chooses to embrace the theology/philosophy of this world's power as their source of identity, or whether they merely comply to its demands out of fear of losing advantages offered by these powers, both involve submission to the authority of the beast and the dragon, whether out of willing choice or from fear of losing rights and privileges.
This helps us understand why this war is all over worship, worship at a personal level of intensity yet also more expansive than we might realize. When we cling to a narrow, artificial segregation of the spiritual life from our secular life as largely unrelated to each other, our ideas about worship remain very shallow. Worship involves our hearts priorities, which in turn directs our will in the choices that over time produces permanent character.
Worship then is all about who we allow to define us, who we believe has the kind of power we want to save us from discomfort, suffering, loss and death. What we do in overt worship activities is only a small part of actual worship. Conflating worship with religious activities blinds us to actual worship. Many worship feelings they get during worship services without realizing they are not really worshiping God in heaven but whatever makes them feel good. This is one of the most successful schemes of the enemy keeping us blinded to the real issues involved in this war over worship.
We must keep in mind the context from the previous verse we studied. It is saints who are targeted by the beast, because the saints – those who follow the Lamb rather than allowing fear and intimidation to control them – present a serious threat to a successful takeover of the world. True saints embrace the principles of the kingdom of heaven which is governed by the Law of Liberty, not methods of force and fear. Freedom of choice is a mortal threat to the powers of darkness, for truth, love and freedom expose the fraud and weakness of the foundations of Satan's kingdom and will not be tolerated to remain. The very presence of people on earth who continue to maintain loyalty to the kingdom of love, kindness and freedom for all, induces judgment that undermines the effectiveness of Satan's attempts to unify the whole world under the principles of coercion and fear.
This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn't come to the light, lest his works would be exposed. (John 3:19-20)
It is this deep-seated animosity against the light of love expressed in truth and freedom that compels the beast to war against saints coming to the light to be transformed in it. They refuse to worship of the beast or the dragon because the principles of this world are foreign to the principles of heaven found in agape love. This must be our context to properly perceive what is being described here and how it relates to us. What we see here is the contrast between those living as dwelling in heaven, or merely existing on earth, trying to survive under the intimidation and compulsion of worldly powers bent on achieving absolute control over every human being.
everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world
There are several things we need to identify here.
One is the issue of polarization, how this happens and the timing of when and why.
Another issue is the meaning of the word name and how it fits into this context.
A third is the issue of how, why and who writes names in or out the Book of Life.
And what does the foundation of the world mean.
The issue of polarization is involved both here and in prophecies of Daniel as well as elsewhere. It is found in the parables Jesus taught about wheat and weeds allowed to mature together. This principle is important to avoid confusion over why things dramatically change when the harvest comes. Time must be given for plants to mature without undo interference, for using force to separate them when it is not obvious what kind of plant is involved only reinforces accusations against God which would then perpetuate the problems throughout eternity.
God's wisdom indicates that evil must be allowed enough time to fully expose itself rather than resorting to force to attempt to stop it. Every insinuation about God being in any way complicit in the outcome of death caused by sin must be neutralized. This issue has to be settled in order to end the war effectively and permanently, yet this view is least popular with those craving a God who uses force rather than the God whose heart is reflected by the meek and willingly weak Lamb. We choose what kind of power we believe will effectively resolve the problem of evil.
Because God's strategy is the only way evil can be effectively purged from the universe, it is allowed to continue until every character is fully developed to the point where it is unmistakeable which side each person has chosen that defines them and shapes their character. This means there is a point in time after which there is no possibility of reversal, not because God arbitrarily blocks it but rooted in God's original design for character development itself.
There are various ways to describe this solidification of character. It is locking, sealing, settling or hardening of the heart until a permanent set condition is reached so that the mindset permanently defines one to the point they lose any desire to choose otherwise. This is never a decision made by God to determine what destiny others will experience. Rather it is the outcome of the principle of freedom itself in operation. Without freedom to choose whom we will serve and have our choices actually make a difference in the outcome of our lives, freedom is merely a sham.
Agape love requires freedom in order for it to even exist and thrive. God is agape love, and while love is stronger than evil, death and fear, this kind of love includes giving everyone else the option to choose not to love but to be destroyed by evil. Evil builds up internal resistance to love until finally one chooses eternal death rather than continuing to experience the torment that resistance to love inevitably produces in all who reject God's mercy.
...he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death. (Proverbs 8:36)
If God were to compel people to remain in their condition of utter misery and torment induced by exposure to those filled with His passionate love, such action would violate their freedom to choose and would vindicate Satan's insistence that God must admit that Satan's methods are necessary to retain effective control. But this would involve God denying people's freedom to choose death rather than life eternal. Any violation of anyone's freedom on the part of God would undermine all the principles of creation and lead to the collapse of the entire cosmos.
This is why God's 'law' is impossible to change, not because God is stubborn or inflexible in His supposed demands for perfect compliance to His rules, but because God's laws are descriptions of the entire matrix of principles defining how reality functions and interacts in perfect harmony providing external expressions of God's heart of love.
Let's look at more passages relating to the Book of Life.
The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present. (Revelation 17:8)
Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14-15)
He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (Revelation 3:5)
There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Revelation 21:27)
Moses returned to Yahweh, and said, "Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made themselves gods of gold. Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin--and if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written." Yahweh said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book." (Exodus 32:31-33)
Let their habitation be desolate. Let no one dwell in their tents. For they persecute him whom you have wounded. They tell of the sorrow of those whom you have hurt. Charge them with crime upon crime. Don't let them come into your righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous. (Psalms 69:25-28)
At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the expanse; and those who turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:1-3)
Nevertheless, don't rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:20)
In the spiritual realm, a name is not merely the word used as a label to address a person. It involves the disposition and character. This involves the element of choices over time that form character, for character is what develops by making moral choices that form habits that eventually become a permanent way of reacting to situations. This brings us back to the issue of identity and what we believe about who we are and who we identify with. Those who dwell on the earth define themselves by the standards of measure the world uses involving relative value and the rules of commerce thinking based on balance scales. This shapes their character into an artificial mold until they can never be able fit in or appreciate the intense atmosphere of heaven's selfless love.
Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. (Romans 12:2 J.B. Phillips)
Despite the fact that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ redeemed all of mankind and gave every person an entirely new identity different from the one inherited after the fall of Adam, each person is given freedom to reject that gift and to cling to the false identities defined for them by the world. These are founded on what others think about us or or even our own feelings and emotions. If we continue to do this until it becomes permanently our habitual way of thinking and relating, God is required by love to respect our choices, for this involves the principle of freedom.
God is not the the business of imposing legal sentences against those defying His laws and spurning His truth, grace and mercy. Heaven's kind of judgment is simply allowing the natural outworking of the principle of cause and effect. When we cling to lies until they permanently set our character in the image/mold of this world, there is no longer anything God can do to salvage our condition and its final effects.
