In an attempt to support the doctrine of eternal security, Ed Decker wrote the following:
The Bible tells us that the names of the redeemed were written in the book of life “from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 17:8). If that is true, then nothing we could do as Christians could impact the name being written, since it was done even before the world was made. (Ed Decker, Decker’s Complete Handbook on Mormonism [Eugene, Oreg.: Harvest House Publishers, 1995], 105-6)
There are many problems with Decker’s comments.
Firstly, the Bible itself does affirm that a true believer, not merely someone who feigned belief but was a false convert (cf. 1 John 2:19) can lose their salvation. To see the exegesis of some of the pertinent texts, see:
Secondly, with respect to the book of life mentioned in the New Testament, names contained therein are said to be erased, and that one’s name remaining in book is contingent upon their continued faithfulness, thus refuting Decker’s eisegesis-driven reading of Rev 17:8:
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. (Rev 3:5)
Compare the above with the following from the Old Testament:
Yet now, if thou wilt not forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book (Exo 32:32-33)
And it come to pass,when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst. The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven. (Deut 29:19-20)
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. (Psa 69:28)
And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: (Isa 4:3)
Interestingly, one of the most abused texts by Evangelical critics of the LDS Church against "Mormonism" refutes Decker on this point:
If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person's share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (Rev 22:19 | NRSV)
Such also accords with other texts in the book of Revelation, including the following:
Rev 2:5
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
In this verse, Jesus commands one to repent, but such repentance is not presented in rather superficial terms; instead, Christ commands one to “do” (ποιεω) the “first works” or else the church of Ephesus’ “candlestick” will be removed.
The NET Bible's note on this verse captures the meaning of this verse both soundly and succinctly:
The repeated mention of repenting at the end of the verse suggests that the intervening material ("do the deeds you did at first") specifies how the repentance is to be demonstrated.
This verse refutes the heresy in some (not all) Protestant circles, antinomianism, where repentance is either optional or where the call to repentance is seen as a “work” and perverts the true gospel of “free grace.” Furthermore, this verse is important as one will often hear from Evangelicals and others that the Latter-day Saint view of repentance is unbiblical, and yet this one verse captures the essence of what Latter-day Saint theology states about repentance—it is not merely confessing that one is repentant, but also incorporates our actions where necessary, such as repartition (cf. Alma 24:11).
Rev 2:20-21
Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess to each and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented not. (Emphasis added)
In verse 21, Jesus says that he gave Jezebel, the false prophetess, a space of time (χρονος) to repent, and His giving her this time is presented as a purpose clause in the Greek (a ινα-clause). However, this notwithstanding, and Christ’s obvious desire for her to repent, she did not.
Even Decker’s
fellow Protestants disagree with his claim that this verse supports eternal
security. Mounce, in his critically acclaimed commentary on the book of
Revelation wrote the following about Rev 17:8:
Those that dwell upon the earth stand in awe when they
behold the beast. They are those whose names have not been written in the book
of life (cf. Ps 69:27; Isa 4:3; Rev 3:5) from the foundation of the world. John
is not teaching a form of determinism (according to 3:5 names may be blotted
out of the book of life), but emphasizing the great distinction that exists
between the followers of the Lamb and those who give their allegiance to the
beast. (Robert H. Mounce, The Book of
Revelation [The New International Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Eerdmans, 1977], 313)
It should be obvious that Rev 17:8 does not support eternal security; to argue, as Decker does, requires one to ignore (1) the overwhelming biblical evidence showing that true believers can lose their salvation; (2) similar warnings in the book of Revelation itself and (3) the explicit witness of the Bible that one's name can be erased from the book of life. Again, we see that it is not Evangelical Protestantism but The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that is truly reflective of "biblical Christianity."
