“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)
Where Is Your Name Written?
Names identify who a person is, their character, their story, and their historical significance. Jezebel immediately brings to mind images of immorality. Adolf Hitler is a name infamous for one of the worst atrocities in human history. George Washington is a name associated with nobility as the leader of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States. Abraham Lincoln is a name synonymous with noble character. The greatest name of all is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. No other name under heaven can bring salvation except the name of Jesus.
Jesus sent out seventy men to preach the kingdom of God. They went out two by two as lambs among wolves to proclaim the kingdom, heal the sick, and prepare the way for the gospel of Jesus Christ. When the seventy returned, they rejoiced with great joy, declaring that even the demons were subject to them in the name of Christ. What a great victory over Satan’s forces! They had been given authority to overcome the devil’s minions. This was certainly cause for great celebration, but the seventy had missed the greatest message of their mission.
Jesus commended them for their work and acknowledged that Satan had been defeated through their efforts. The thirty-five groups had taken the power of God’s message into a world darkened by sin and returned victorious. But Jesus tempered their joy with the eternal knowledge of what mattered most. Their work was glorious. Their victory over Satan was cause for great rejoicing. Yet the one thing that mattered most was that these seventy men could know their names were written in heaven.
There are many victories over Satan that cause the heart to rejoice and shout praises to God. Sharing the gospel with the world is a monumental task of global proportions, and there is much work to be done. What Jesus reminds His devoted servants is that nothing is more important than knowing where salvation is found. Paul rejoiced with the saints in Philippi because their names were written in the Book of Life. Jesus promised the faithful Christians in Sardis that their names would remain in the Book of Life and that He would confess their names before the Father and His angels.
John closes the book of Revelation with the imagery of the dead, both small and great, standing before God as the books are opened and they are judged according to their works. Among those books is the Book of Life. Anyone whose name is not found written in the Book of Life is cast into the lake of fire. Only those whose names are written in the Book of Life will receive eternal life. Revelation also warns against adding to or taking away from God’s word and declares the consequences of such actions. The difference between eternal life and everlasting destruction is where a person’s name is found.
Jesus rejoiced with the seventy because their names were written in heaven. Having a name inscribed in marble for man’s glory is fleeting. Men seek the glory of this world and desire to be remembered throughout history, not realizing that within a few generations their names will be forgotten. Exalting a name in this life brings no lasting glory. If a person’s name is not written in heaven, everything else is lost. The Book of Life contains the names of the saved. Life is not measured by how men remember a name but by whether God has written that name in the Book of Life. The eternal question will always be: Is your name written in heaven?
