U. S by Uriah Smith

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 26, 1874

U. S

By Uriah Smith

Queries.

PLEASE explain that part of Rev. 17:8, which reads, “Whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.” Some are confused over it, thinking it teaches that those who are to be saved all had their names in the book of life from the foundation of the world.

ANSWER. Rev. 13:8 speaks of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. But he was not slain in reality till over 4000 years from that time. In the purpose of God only was he slain from the foundation of the world. So with those who are to be saved. God has purposed that all who will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ shall have their names in the Lamb’s book of life and be saved. And their names were in there in God’s purpose from the beginning just as the Lamb was slain from the beginning. This is our view of it. But so far as any difficulty is concerned, we would be willing to grant that the individual names of all who would be saved were actually written there from the beginning. This would only prove that God, looking forward, saw how many and who would believe in Christ, and so put their names in the book. But God’s foreknowledge does not interfere with man’s free agency. The fact that God foresees what course our free will will lead us to take does not cause us to act any the less from our own free choice and will in the matter.

QUESTION. Is there anything in the original to show that Adam and Eve ever partook of the tree of life? W. C.

ANSWER. We think not.

E. L. LANE: See article against joining any secret organizations, the Grangers not excepted, in REVIEW of Dec. 17, 1872. Also see notes on this subject in Nos. 9 and 15 of the present volume.