Three books of the Living

I believe there are at minimum three distinctly different books of the living in the Bible.

1. The book of PHYSICAL living. This book is distinguished from the rest by the phrase "from under the heavens" - Deut. 9:14; 25:19; 29:20; 2 Kngs 14:27

2. The book of SPIRITUAL living - Philip. 4:3; Rev. 13:8; 17:8; Lk. 10:20 - these cannot be blotted out

3. The book of CITY living - Rev. 3:4-5; 22:19 - these names can be blotted out.

W.M. Ramsay the famous Christian Archeologists who explored many of the ancient cities in Palestine said:

"As in all Greek and Roman cities of that time there was kept a list of citizens, according to their class or tribe or deme, in which new citizens were entered and from which degraded citizens were expunged, so the writer of this letter figuratively mentions the Book of life" - W.M. Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches. Baker Book House, 1963, p. 385

Interestingly, all citizens in a given city were responsible for taking turns doing civil duty. When a citizen was hindered from performing their civil duty they would write "idios" beside their name in the book of the living citizens in that city. If a citizen wrote "idios" to many times they were expunged from their city and blotted out of the book of the living or book of names of the citizens of that city. The Greek term "idios" originately meant "ones own" or "doing my own thing." However, eventually it came to mean one who is turned in on himself and thus an "idiot."

Many of the saved are expunged from the book of the living in the New Jerusalem and live on the outside of the city upon the new earth and constitute "the saved nations" living outside the city, not in hell, but upon the new earth (Rev. 21:24). They have access to the city but do not dwell there because of their "idios" turned in on their own things rather than serving God in the way of the Lord. They have their part of the tree of life, which are the leaves (Rev. 22:3) while those who are overcomers have right to "eat" of the tree of life (Rev. 2:7). The significance in this tree of life distinction is revealing. When Adam was in the garden, while he obeyed the Lord he had the right to "eat" of any tree in the garden. However, when he sinned, he chose the "LEAVES" to cover his shame. He was expelled from the garden to live outside the garden, but he found salvation OUTSIDE the garden. Likewise, those that compose "the saved nations" have right to the "leaves" signifying the cause for their being expunged from the city registrar and having to live OUTSIDE the city but nevertheless are still "saved."

The difference between the "saved" living in the city and outside the city on the new earth is the difference now of those saved serving God through his acceptable way of service - the N.T. churches and outside that acceptable way of service. Either way, all are still "saved" and all are in the new heaven and earth and all have access to the city and to the tree of life, but those expunged from the city to live outside is due to "idios" serving God their own way instead of his way and nothing to do with salvation.