Registered in Heaven

Registered in Heaven (Heb. 12:23)

The Bible alludes to a written record-keeping system in heaven (like an archive) that contains a variety of information about people on earth. One of the references to this arrangement appears in Heb. 12:23 – “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect.”

This verse describes people who are “registered in heaven.” The word “registered” is a more technical form of the word “written” that means “enrolled” or “written down onto a census list.” This word identifies the people on the heavenly list as bona fide members of the group, which in this case is a future celebration and entrance into God’s eternal, heavenly kingdom. As such, it appears to be a more specific description of what Jesus (to Jewish believers/co-laborers) and Paul (to Gentile and Jewish believers/co-laborers) alluded to in Luke 10:20 – “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” and Phil. 4:3 – “And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.”

This verse refers to a gathering of all believers from all time, whether Old Testament or New Testament, living or dead, Jewish or Gentile. David Allen observes: “This reference harks back to Heb. 2:12 where the author quoted Ps 21:23: ‘I will declare your name to my brothers, in the midst of the assembly [ekklēsia] I will sing praises to you.’ The reference to the word “spirits” as in “spirits of just men made perfect” probably refers to the spirit apart from the body awaiting the final resurrection. That they have been “made perfect” means they have died and reached the state of having been perfected by Christ’s atonement (by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross).

The important question now is this: is your name registered in heaven as a citizen of God’s kingdom? Or are you an alien and foreigner to God’s kingdom? Do you know that dual citizenship is not an option in God’s kingdom? Have you renounced the world and taken on the citizenship of the kingdom of heaven?

The Good News of the Gospel is that today is the day of salvation, it’s still the day of grace, the door of salvation is still open, there’s still room at the cross to be washed of your sins, the fountain that was opened in Emmanuel’s veins is still available to all. The scriptures make it clear that if you truly repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, your name will be registered in heaven and will not be blotted out as you follow Him faithfully.

Make the right decision today, get registered in heaven!

Source: https://www.shepherdthoughts.com/baptistchurchny/the-books-in-heaven