The Eternal Decree: The Book of Life and the New Man

[Anthony Pritchard]

The Eternal Decree: The Book of Life and the New Man​

Part three of a three part series: Overcoming - the identity of the believer, Blotting Out - the destiny of the name, The Eternal Decree - the origin of the plan.


From the foundation of the world, the Lamb was slain. Scripture does not present this as poetic flourish but as eternal fact. Revelation 13:8 declares, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Christ’s sacrifice was not a reaction to human failure; it was the eternal provision of God, established before time began. Redemption is not an improvisation, it is the outworking of a plan God set in place long before man ever sinned.

Isaiah affirms this divine foresight when he records the Lord saying, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10). God’s omniscience is not passive awareness but perfect knowledge of all things from eternity. Yet His foreknowledge is not fore‑willing; knowing all things is not the same as causing all things. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world not because God predestined some to believe and others to perish, but because God, foreseeing man’s fall, prepared a salvation sufficient for all and offered to all, “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1Timothy 2:4).

The stage of history is not the unfolding of arbitrary selection, but the revelation of God’s eternal remedy for a race He knew would need redemption.

The New Man: Born of God, Not of Adam

Scripture draws a sharp and uncompromising distinction between the old man born of Adam and the new man born of God. John writes, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9). This is not a license to sin but a declaration of spiritual identity. The new man is not an improved version of the old; he is a new creation, generated by incorruptible seed and untouched by Adam’s corruption.

This truth forms the backbone of eternal security. The new birth is not moral reform, it is resurrection. Paul writes, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). The new man is not merely forgiven; he is reborn, sealed, and sanctified. What is born of God cannot return to death, for death comes by sin, and the new man cannot sin.

Overcoming: The Prerequisite of Eternal Life

Revelation 3:5 presents both a promise and a warning: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Only the overcomer retains his name in the Book of Life. But Scripture does not leave us to guess who the overcomer is.

John answers plainly: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4–5). The overcomer is not the morally superior but the spiritually reborn. To believe on Christ is to be born of God; to be born of God is to overcome. Salvation is not earned, it is received. And once received, it cannot be revoked.

The Book of Life: Written from Conception

If only the overcomer’s name remains, then whose names are blotted out? The biblical logic is both simple and beautiful: every soul conceived begins with their name written in the Book of Life. This aligns perfectly with God’s stated desire “for all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

God’s heart is not selective but sacrificial. Peter writes, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise… but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The blotting out is not God’s desire, it is man’s rejection. The Book of Life begins full; it is diminished only by unbelief.

Triply Sealed

Salvation rests on three unshakable pillars.

First, the name of the overcomer cannot be blotted out. Christ promises, “I will not blot out his name out of the book of life” (Revelation 3:5). The statement is future, emphatic, and unconditional.

Second, the new man cannot sin. John writes, “He cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9). Death comes by sin, and the new man cannot sin; therefore, he cannot die. Paul affirms, “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). What is hidden in Christ cannot be lost.

Third, the believer is sealed by the Spirit. “In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession” (Ephesians 1:13–14). The Spirit is not a temporary visitor; He is the down payment of eternity.

Death Defined: Separation, Not Cessation

Scripture defines death not as annihilation but as separation. James writes, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). Physical death is the separation of spirit from body. Spiritual death is the separation of spirit from God. But the new man, born of God, is never separated. Paul asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:35). The answer is thunderous in its simplicity: nothing and no one.

The new man cannot die, for he cannot sin; and he cannot be separated from the God who begat him.

Quod Deus genuit, non perit - What God has begotten cannot perish

~Tony

© A.K. Pritchard 1979 - Free to use with proper attribution.

 

[Van]

1) From the foundation of the world refers to after or since the creation of human kind, the "world."

2) Yes, the Lamb was slain after the creation and fall of humanity, about 2000 years ago.

3) You cited a mistranslation of Revelation 13:8. Compare with Revelation 17:8 and chose a consistent translation of both verses.

4) The only "foresight" supported in scripture is God decides what He will cause to occur, then declares His intention, then causes what was declared to occur.

5) Exhaustive determinism is false doctrine, as scripture says some things happen by chance. The opportunity for salvation is real, the claim we were saved or damned before creation is false doctrine.

6) "Sin" has two components, the act and the consequence. An act that would be sinful if done by an unsaved person, is not counted as sin if done by a saved person. But we are still commanded to strive to avoid those "acts" and become more like Christ, such that we will be better servants.

7) Yes, those who have been spiritually born anew are the "overcomers."

8) No ones name started out in the Lamb's book of life, their names are written into the book when they are born anew. Once in the Lamb's book of life, Christ has promised to never blot it out.

9) Yes, once a lost sinner is transferred into Christ's spiritual body, they undergo the washing of regeneration, whereby they are spiritually born anew, with all their sin burden - what God held against them - removed, and any future sinful act eternally forgiven. Thus, having been made "firm in Christ" they are then sealed in Christ with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit forever and ever.

10) Yes to be "spiritually dead" is to be "spiritually separated" from God, existing in the realm of darkness and unable to enter the kingdom of His marvelous light.

 

[Anthony Pritchard]

From the foundation of the world refers to after or since the creation of human kind, the "world."

It says from the foundation of the "world", not mankind.

Revelation 13:8 is not a mistranslation. The verse plainly reads “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” The subject of the clause is the Lamb, not the names. Nothing in the Greek grammar requires “from the foundation of the world” to modify “written,” and Revelation 17:8 cannot be used to override the wording of 13:8 because 17:8 has a completely different sentence structure and does not mention the Lamb at all.

Revelation 13:8 presents the eternal provision of the Lamb, the redemptive plan established before man ever sinned, while Revelation 17:8 addresses the destiny of those who reject that provision.

Calling 13:8 a “mistranslation” is simply incorrect.

The issue is not translation but theology. Scripture repeatedly affirms the eternal counsel of God: - the Lamb “foreordained before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20) - God “declaring the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10) - the determinate counsel behind the cross (Acts 2:23)

The historical slaying occurred at Calvary; the provision itself is eternal. That is why Revelation speaks of the Lamb slain “from the foundation of the world.” It is the eternal remedy God prepared before man ever sinned.

So no, Revelation 13:8 is not mistranslated. It simply presents the eternal aspect of redemption that Revelation 17:8 does not address.

 

[Alan Dale Gross]

The Book of Life: Written from Conception

If only the overcomer’s name remains, then whose names are blotted out?

Those who subsequently Passed On, as the result of their "dead" works and those "that are ready to die" and "works not Perfect", after God Told them to "hold fast, and repent" or He would "Come unto them" "as a theif in the night", to those who had defiled "their garments" and were not "worthy", and God Found those who did not "overcometh, the same shall" not "be clothed in white raiment; and as He's Warned "I Will"..."blot out his name out of the Book of Life, at the cost of their lives.

The biblical logic is both simple and beautiful: every soul conceived begins with their name written in the Book of Life.

Before we get simple and beautiful at the Biblical logic, we need to assure ourselves of what "the Book of Life" is that is being referred to here. With God's Immutability and Sovereignty in mind, a Book that calls itself "the Book of Life" which also contains entries which can be and are Removed, it may be more logical to consider that the Book of Life" may very well be referring to our mortal lives given to us at conception.

For that "life" to be "blotted out" would then simply mean that an individual's "life" is said to be in danger of being lost, for the very reasons stated in that Message to the Church in Sardis, in Revelation 3:1-6;

God Says here that some of those at Sardis were already 'dead', as as to their being unable for God to have Use of them.
I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
1; "And unto the Angel of the church in Sardis write;
These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars;
I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

God Found things there that were not Perfect and He was Giving them a Warning to "strengthen the things which remain".
"Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works Perfect before God.
2; "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die:
for I have not found thy works Perfect before God.

God tells them "hold fast, and repent", and "If therefore thou shalt not watch,
I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee", when He would Require their Life at His Hand.
3; "Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

We can know that by reading verse 4 that there were also "a few names even in Sardis" which have defiled their garments
and were not worthy.
4; "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

God was taking about those who were in danger of losing their lives but said to the "He that overcometh", "I Will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life", meaning that this was a case of "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye Repent, ye shall all likewise Perish.."
5; "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I Will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life, but I Will Confess his name before My Father, and before His Angels.

Then we see the Word of God we just read being Equated to Hearing the Holy Spirit Speak about these grave matters.
6; "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

 

[Alan Dale Gross]

This aligns perfectly with God’s stated desire “for all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

If the previous suppositions were granted, for which there is no reason, in checking back over them in a different light.

1 Timothy 2:4​

“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the Truth.”​

“Who will have all men to be saved,.…"

“The salvation which God Wills that all men should enjoy,

is 1.) not a mere possibility of salvation,​

or 2.) a mere putting them into a salvable state;​

or .3) an offer of salvation to them;​

or 4.) a proposal of sufficient means of it to all in His Word;

“but the salvation which God Wills that all men should enjoy

is a Real, Certain, and Actual salvation,

which He has Determined they shall have;

and is sure from His Own Appointment,

from the Provision of Christ as a Savior for them,

from the Covenant of Grace,

in which everything is Secured necessary for their salvation,

and from the Mission of Christ to Effect it,

and from the salvation of God being Effected by Him:

“wherefore the Will of God, that all men should be saved, is not a conditional will, or what depends on the will of man, or on anything to be performed by him, for then none might be saved;

“and if any should be saved, it would be of him that willeth, contrary to the express words of Scripture;

“but the Will of God, that all men should be saved is an Absolute and Unconditional Will respecting their salvation, and which Infallibly Secures it:

“nor is it such a will as is distinguishable into antecedent and consequent;

with the former of which it is said,

“God Wills the salvation of all men, as they are his creatures, and the work of his hands”;

and with the latter He Wills, or does not Will it, according to their future conduct and behavior; both are null and void.

“but the Will of God concerning man's salvation is entirely One, Invariable, Unalterable, and Unchangeable:

“nor is it merely His Will of approbation or complacency, which expresses only what would be grateful and well pleasing, should it be, and which is not always fulfilled;

“but the salvation of God is His Ordaining, Purposing, and Determining Will, which is never resisted, so as to be frustrated, but is always Accomplished:

“the Will of God, the Sovereign and Unfrustratable Will of God, has the Governing Sway and Influence in the salvation of men;

Salvation rises from the Will of God, the Sovereign and Un-frustratable Will of God, and is According to God’s Ordaining, Purposing, and Determining Will;

“and all who are saved God Wills they should be saved;

“nor are any saved, but whom He Wills they should be saved:

“hence by all men, whom God would have saved, cannot be meant every individual of mankind, since it is not His Will that all men, in this large sense, should be saved, unless there are Two Contrary Wills in God;

“because there are some who were before Ordained by Him unto Condemnation,

and are Vessels of Wrath fitted for Destruction;

“and it is God’s Will concerning some, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned;

“nor is it a fact that all are saved, as they would be, if it was His Will they should;

because who hath resisted His Will?

“but there is a world of ungodly men that Will be Condemned, and who Will go into Everlasting Punishment:

“rather therefore ‘all sorts of men’, which is Biblically agreeably to the use of the phrase in 1 Timothy 2:1 are here intended = kings and peasants, rich and poor, bond and free, male and female, young and old, greater and lesser sinners;

“and therefore all are to be prayed for, even ‘all sorts of men’, as just Listed by God in the adjoining verses, because God Will have ‘all men’, as in the sense of ‘all sorts of men’ (simply for the sake of clarification making clear what these verses in context are specifically referring to), saved;

“and particularly ‘the Gentiles’ may be Designed in God’s Heart, who are sometimes called ‘the world’, ‘the whole world’, and ‘every creature’; whom God would have saved, as well as the Jews, and therefore Heathens, and Heathen Magistrates, were to be prayed for as well as Jewish ones.”
​

 

[Alan Dale Gross]

​

God’s heart is not selective but sacrificial.

Jesus said in John 13:18; "I Speak not of you all: I Know whom I have Chosen:",

John 17:2; "As Thou hast Given Him Power over all flesh,
that He should Give Eternal Life to as many as Thou hast Given Him,

6; "I have Manifested thy Name unto the men which Thou Gavest Me out of the World:
Thine they were, and Thou Gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy Word..."

9; "I Pray for them: I Pray not for the World, but for them which Thou hast Given Me; for they are Thine.

10; "And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I Am Glorified in them.

11; "And now I Am no more in the World, but these are in the World, and I Come to Thee.
Holy Father, Keep through Thine Own Name those whom Thou hast Given Me,
that they may be one, as We are.

12; "While I was with them in the World, I Kept them in Thy Name:
those that Thou Gavest Me I have Kept, and none of them is lost..."

on through John 17,

then, of course, the clear teaching in Romans 9 remains in the Record about just how Selective God is and When;

11; "(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil,
that the Purpose of God According to Election might Stand, not of works, but of Him that Calleth"

The Selection of those of God's children He would Chose to Call and save was According to God's Eternal Love and Mercy by His Foreknowledge and Predestination;

28; "And we know that all things Work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the Called according to His Purpose.

29; "For whom He did Foreknow, He also did Predestinate to be Conformed to the Image of His Son,
that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren.

30; "Moreover whom He did Predestinate, them He also Called:
and whom He Called, them He also Justified: and whom He Justified, them He also Glorified."

That's God's Eternal Plan of Salvation Revealed to us
about how He Selects and Will have Mercy on whom He Will have Mercy, in Romans 9.

14; "What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

15; "Because He saith to Moses, I Will have Mercy on whom I Will have Mercy,
and I Will have Compassion on whom I Will have Compassion.

16; "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that Sheweth Mercy."

Peter writes, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise… but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

In your careful reading of II Peter 3:1, I'd like to show you where this is spoken to saved individuals;
"This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you;
in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:"

He wants them to remember and be mindful of what they have learned and not be like those
"scoffers, walking after their own lusts", for example;
2; "That ye may be mindful of the Words which were Spoken before by the Holy Prophets,
and of the Commandment of us the Apostles of the Lord and Savior":

Then, God would Allow them to live out their lives, because;

9; "The Lord is not slack concerning His Promise, as some men count slackness;"

then notice exactly who it is that God is being Longsuffering toward:
"but is Longsuffering to us-ward",

The Bible says there that God is Longsuffering toward "us-ward", who are those in attendance being spoken to and they were said to have "pure minds" telling us they were saved.

God was not Willing that any of His saved children "Perish" in death, but to Repent of their sins and to escape Judgment.

"not willing that any should Perish, but that all should Come to Repentance."

This "Perishing" is 'to die' and the "Repentance" regards those already saved.

To say that God is not Willing that anyone of Mankind "Perish" and go to Hell from these verses is not possible and with all the other misconceptions concerning this teaching would boarder on holding an Atheistic stance.

There is no God Who's Will is Thwarted in any manner at any Time and in the Ways He has Revealed about His Will.

The blotting out is not God’s desire, it is man’s rejection.

The botting out of the lives of those who have committed the sin unto death is Bible.

Professing a god who has desires they do not, or can not, Fulfill is Atheistic. There is no Capital-'G' God like that.

The Book of Life begins full; it is diminished only by unbelief.

Those who have been Given Mortal life are all in the Book of Life to begin with and then death comes upon some who are then "blotted out of the Book of Life" and die, physically.

Spiritual death is the separation of spirit from God.

God is Spirit and in their lost State a person's soul is in the State of Spiritual Death,
as you've said, from Ephesians 2:1; "And you hath He Quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;"

and it is God Who Must Come to that Spritually Dead soul, who's vital Mortal spirit of physical life is separated from God, as we see there that it is God Who then Must Quicken that dead soul to Give them the New Birth, since they Must Be Born Again, from where they are Hopelessly bound under the presence, power, and penalty of their sins.

 

[Anthony Pritchard]

​

In your careful reading of II Peter 3:1, I'd like to show you where this is spoken to saved individuals;
"This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you;
in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:"

He wants them to remember and be mindful of what they have learned and not be like those
"scoffers, walking after their own lusts", for example;
2; "That ye may be mindful of the Words which were Spoken before by the Holy Prophets,
and of the Commandment of us the Apostles of the Lord and Savior":

Then, God would Allow them to live out their lives, because;

9; "The Lord is not slack concerning His Promise, as some men count slackness;"

then notice exactly who it is that God is being Longsuffering toward:
"but is Longsuffering to us-ward",

The Bible says there that God is Longsuffering toward "us-ward", who are those in attendance being spoken to and they were said to have "pure minds" telling us they were saved.

God was not Willing that any of His saved children "Perish" in death, but to Repent of their sins and to escape Judgment.

"not willing that any should Perish, but that all should Come to Repentance."

This "Perishing" is 'to die' and the "Repentance" regards those already saved.

To say that God is not Willing that anyone of Mankind "Perish" and go to Hell from these verses is not possible and with all the other misconceptions concerning this teaching would boarder on holding an Atheistic stance.

There is no God Who's Will is Thwarted in any manner at any Time and in the Ways He has Revealed about His Will.



The botting out of the lives of those who have committed the sin unto death is Bible.

Professing a god who has desires they do not, or can not, Fulfill is Atheistic. There is no Capital-'G' God like that.

Those who have been Given Mortal life are all in the Book of Life to begin with and then death comes upon some who are then "blotted out of the Book of Life" and die, physically.


God is Spirit and in their lost State a person's soul is in the State of Spiritual Death,
as you've said, from Ephesians 2:1; "And you hath He Quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;"

and it is God Who Must Come to that Spritually Dead soul, who's vital Mortal spirit of physical life is separated from God, as we see there that it is God Who then Must Quicken that dead soul to Give them the New Birth, since they Must Be Born Again, from where they are Hopelessly bound under the presence, power, and penalty of their sins.

You’re not interacting with my argument, you’re replacing it with your system. I’m dealing with the text; you’re redefining every term to fit a predetermined framework.

The Book of Life is not a registry of mortal existence. Scripture uses it consistently as the record of those who belong to God (Ex. 32:32–33; Phil. 4:3; Rev. 20:12,15). Blotting out is not “premature physical death”; it is exclusion from eternal life. Your reinterpretation collapses the moment you compare Scripture with Scripture.

Likewise, 1 Tim 2:4 and 2 Pet 3:9 do not become “all sorts of men” and “only the saved” simply because your system requires it. Paul and Peter wrote universal language, and you are narrowing it after the fact. That is not exegesis; it is theological retrofitting.

Calling God’s stated desire “atheistic” because it doesn’t fit your categories is not argumentation. It’s a warning sign that the system is driving the interpretation rather than the text.

If you want to engage my actual point, that the Book of Life begins full, that blotting out is unbelief, and that God’s desire is genuinely universal, then address the passages themselves rather than redefining every term to preserve a system.