Do y’all remember way back in elementary school, whenever the teacher had to leave the room for some reason? She’d assign someone to come up to her desk and keep watch over the class, lest they do something they weren’t supposed to - like talking or laughing or throwing spitballs. If anyone started such nonsense, the person sitting up front would write down their names on a sheet of paper, and when the teacher got back, woe be unto them who had transgressed in her absence!
We called this "taking names," and it was common practice when I was a kid. We all hoped to be the one taking names, because not only did it break the tedium of sitting in a classroom all day, it also served to give us a tiny bit of authority - albeit a very short-lived authority. As soon as the teacher came back, our day in the sun was over. All we could hope for was that the teacher would be especially hard on those whose names we had written down, because likely as not, the names we "took" were probably the names of the people we didn’t particularly like anyway.
I don’t know if teachers do this anymore, but for those of us who experienced it, the term "taking names" still holds special connotations. We use it in our everyday language, and it has become a natural part of our vocabulary.
Of course, we all hoped fervently that our name wouldn’t be taken, because it usually meant punishment of some sort. We also hoped that if our name were taken, we could get back at the person who took it. At the very least, we knew that someday we’d be the one taking names, and the person who took ours could count on being on our list.
This practice might well have been the foundation for our desire to avoid being on any list of any kind. Most of the time, when you’re on somebody’s list, it’s not good. Everybody has a list, and this list has a special name that shall remain unspoken from this pulpit. If you’re on this list, it means that the person has something against you and is looking for an opportunity to even the score.
There’s another list, whose names rhymes with this one, and it’s called a hit list. If you’re on somebody’s hit list, that means you’ve been marked for death. It’s a term we commonly think of as being linked to mob activity.
There are good lists, too. Being on the Dean’s List is very good. It means that you’ve excelled at your studies and made the best grades.
Being on a short list means you’ve made the first cut and are a step or two closer to getting the job or promotion that you want.
We’ve all been on a waiting list at some point in our lives. These lists can be good or bad. If we’re on a waiting list for a new car, it’s a good thing. We spend the time thinking about the beautiful new toy we’re going to have shortly. But if we’re on the waiting list for an organ transplant, we’ spend the days in agony, wondering if we’re going to live long enough to make it to the top of the list.
Well, I think I’ve made my point. There are all kinds of lists - some good, some bad. Some lists you want to be on. Other lists you want to avoid at all costs. It all depends.
In today’s scripture, there’s another list mentioned. This list is so large that it has to be kept in a book. Daniel 12, verse 1 reads, "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found written in the book - will be delivered." This must be a really great list. Evidently a time is going to come when the whole earth is in distress. There’s going to be suffering everywhere, and everyone is going to have to go through a living hell. Everyone, that is, except those people whose names are written on this list.
The Book of Daniel is one of the apocalyptic books of the Bible. It contains visions of the future, like the Book of Revelation, only Daniel is not made up solely of visions. The first part of the book tells about Daniel’s life.
While Ezekiel was ministering to the captives in Babylon, Daniel was drafted as a counselor to King Nebuchadnezzar. With God’s help, Daniel interpreted two of the king’s dreams, Daniel’s three friends were rescued from certain death in the fiery furnace, and Daniel himself was rescued from a lion’s den. His life is a picture of the triumph of faith.
Daniel’s visions start at chapter 7. He had many dreams and visions he didn’t understand. He dreamed of four beasts, which represented four kingdoms of the world, and of a ram and goat, which depicted two of those kingdoms in greater detail. Daniel’s visions reveal that the Messiah will be the ruler of a spiritual kingdom that will overpower and overshadow all other earthly kingdoms.
The vision that embodies today’s scripture is a vision of the end times. Great suffering is in store for God’s people throughout the years ahead. This time of suffering is going to be unlike anything the people have endured before, worse than any suffering that has ever taken place. The only ones who have a prayer of escaping this torment are the ones whose names are listed in the book. They will be delivered from this terrible time of trial.
A lot of people want to know when this time will come. Some ask what kind of distress is Daniel talking about. My question is - how do I get on this list?
There are several references in the Bible to a book. Psalm 69 is a cry of distress generally attributed to David. He asks God to rescue him from his enemies, and at verse 28, he prays, "May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous." In the Old Testament, the book of life is God’s list of those who are in right relationship to him and who remain faithful.
At Isaiah chapter 4, the prophet predicts the Branch of the Lord, which will consist of all the people who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. These people will be protected by God’s loving grace and be set apart when the Messiah comes.
Malachi chapter 3, verses 16 through 18 reads, "Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. ‘They will be mine,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.’" In other words, God is going to remember those who remain faithful to him, and who love, fear, honor, and respect him.
The book is also mentioned in the New Testament, where it usually indicates those people who will receive eternal life. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he instructs his readers at chapter 4, verse 3, "Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life." These would be the people who are marked for salvation through their faith in Christ.
The Book of Revelation contains several references to a book. At chapter 3, verse 5, Jesus says, "He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels." To be dressed in white means to be set apart for God and made pure. Christ promises future honor and eternal life to those who stand firm in their faith. The names of all believers are listed in the book of life, and this book symbolizes God’s knowledge of who belongs to him. All who do belong to God are guaranteed a listing in the book and are introduced to the hosts of heaven as belonging to Christ.
In case you’re wondering about the people who aren’t in the book, John speaks of them at Revelation 13, verse 8, where he writes, "All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast - all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world." So if our names don’t make it into the book, it seems as though we’re going to end up worshiping a beast. That right there is good enough reason for me to want to be on God’s list.
At chapter 17, verse 8, we can read more about this beast. John writes, "The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come." This phrase, "was, now is not, and will come," means that the beast was alive, died, and then came back to life. The beast’s resurrection symbolizes the persistence of evil. This resurgence of evil power will convince many to join forces with the beast, but those who choose the side of evil, those whose names are not in the book, will condemn themselves to the devil’s fate - eternal torment.
Revelation 20, verse 12, tells what will happen when the time of judgment comes. "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books." These books represent God’s judgment, and in them are recorded every deed ever committed by anyone, good or bad. We’re not saved by deeds, but deeds are seen as clear evidence of a person’s actual relationship with God. The book of life contains the names of those who have put their trust in Christ to save them.
And at verse 15, we’re told what happens to people whose names aren’t in the book. "If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." The lake of fire is the ultimate destination of everything wicked - Satan, the beast, the false prophets, the demons, death, Hades, and all those whose names are not recorded in the book of life because they didn’t place their faith in Jesus Christ. John’s vision doesn’t permit any gray areas in God’s judgment. If by faith we haven’t identified with Christ, confessing him as Lord, there will be not hope, no second chance, no other appeal.
And finally, Revelation speaks of the new Jerusalem, God’s future home for his people. This new city will be a place of purity and durability, and will last forever. But not everybody will be allowed into the new Jerusalem because, as we can read at chapter 21, verse 27, "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life." We won’t get in because of our background, our personality, or good behavior. Eternal life is available to us only because of what Jesus, the Lamb, has done. We have to trust in him to secure our citizenship in his new creation.
This book that we’ve been talking about is called by different names - the Book of Remembrance; the Book of Life; or the Lamb’s Book of Life. Some people think there are three different books. Whether it’s three books or one doesn’t matter. What matters is that we get our names into this book, onto this list, as quickly as possible, because we sure don’t want to die without being on God’s list.
Some of the scriptures I’ve read to you tell us what to do to get on the list. We have to remain faithful to God, and love, fear, honor, and respect him. We can become marked for salvation through our faith in Christ. We can stand firm in our faith and know that we belong to God. We can put our trust in Christ to save us and secure our place in the new Jerusalem.
But if we read just a couple of verses farther in today’s scripture, we’ll see something else we have to do to get our names in the book. Daniel 12, verse 3 tells us that "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever."
We talked about wisdom and being wise in our Sunday School class last week. I believe that we decided that being wise means automatically knowing what God wants done. In order to do this, we have to know God intimately. We have to be close enough to him to be able to do his will instinctively. When we get this kind of wisdom, we’re on our way to being on God’s list.
But more importantly than just having wisdom, we have to be able to use that wisdom for God’s purpose. God isn’t going to give us wisdom like that just to have us waste it or use it for our own purposes. Wisdom is to be used to lead people to God. We’re supposed to use our gift of wisdom to further God’s kingdom here on earth, and to bring as many people as possible to salvation through Jesus Christ. That’s how we get on God’s list.
So what does it mean to be on God’s list? It means everlasting life. Eternal life in the new Jerusalem. Eternity spent in the throne room with God. Can you picture it? Can you imaging the wondrous joy that will be ours, if we can just get our names on that list?
As you might have suspected, I have a hymn in mind that speaks of the joy that can be ours, if our names are on the list. I’d like for us to sing it now. It’s number 303, and I know it as When the Roll is Called up Yonder. Let’s sing all three verses.
