TheologicalQuestion:
Questions
and Answers
Doesn't Revelation 22:19 say Christians can lose their part "out of the book of life", and therefore lose there salvation?
Answer:
The King James Version renders it "God shall take away his part out of the book of life." But this is a misleading rendering of the verse as it implies that someone was once 'in' the book but now "out." The greek word for "out" is apo which means "Seperation." Strongs says this:
575 apo apo' a primary particle; "off," i.e. away (from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literal or figurative):--(X here-)after, ago, at, because of, before, by (the space of), for(-th), from, in, (out) of, off, (up-)on(-ce), since, with. In composition (as a prefix) it usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal, etc.The NASB, NIV, NKJV, ASV, and NEB, omit the word entirely. But I believe the word "seperate" (apo) is important as it implies that you can be separate from something without ever having been a part of it. For instance, I can be seperate from the Mormon Church and never have been a part of (or in) the Church.So what is being said is that God will 'take away and separate his part out of the book of life and the holy city' that is if you "take away from the word of this prophecy." Also notice that it says the "holy city," does this mean that some were allready in the holy city and now "out" of the holy city? Or seperate?
It is also important to remember that in exegeting Rev. 22:19 it should be interpreted in light of the more clear Scriptures that say we will be preserved by God (John 10:28-29; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 1, 24, etc). Preservation/Perseverance of the Saints is clearly laid out in Inspired Scripture.
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