Vision of the book. And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written within and without, sealed with seven seals. Only the Lamb of God was worthy to remove the seals from this mysterious book. And when He took them off, various things happened on earth. The book of historical destinies of peoples and people - isn't it that mysterious book?

Unwritten and written in the book of life. When before the end of time a beast with seven heads and ten horns appears, the holy Apostle John saw, then all those who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life (Rev. 13:8). This mysterious book, therefore, is the book of the Lamb, that is, the book of Christ.

And again He goes on to say: "And those who dwell on the earth shall be amazed, whose names are not inscribed in the book of life from the beginning of the world, seeing that the beast was, and is not, and shall appear" (Rev. 17:8).

The vision of the Last Judgment, as seen by St. John, agrees with the vision of the prophet Daniel: "And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged according to what was written in the books, according to their works (Rev. 20:12).

After the completion of the Judgment of God, a new heaven and a new earth, and a heavenly Jerusalem appeared to John, a city full of the radiance of the glory of the Lord. No unclean man shall enter this city; none but the angels and the righteous of God. For it is said: "And no unclean thing shall enter into it, nor shall any one be given over to abomination and falsehood, but only those which are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Rev. 21:27).

In conclusion, St. John warns anyone who dares to add anything to his visions or take anything away from them, and says: "And if anyone takes anything from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away from him a part in the book of life" (Rev. 22:19).

Up to now we have cited the testimonies of the prophets and apostles about the invisible book of life. And now let us cite the testimony of the Most High and All-True, the testimony of the Lord Himself, for Whom the prophets and apostles were only servants, working for the salvation of man.

When the Lord, having chosen seventy apostles, except for the first twelve, sent them to the people to preach the Good News, to heal the sick, to deliver people from evil spirits, they acted according to the command and fulfilled their task with great pleasure for themselves, for when they returned, they joyfully said: Lord! and the demons obey us in Thy name. Thus spoke the apostles, believing that this is the greatest gift that God can give to people - to overcome and cast out demons. But Jesus does not want their minds to dwell on this gift of dominion over the spirits of evil. He wants His disciples and followers to think about the positive - about the main goal of life, about the Kingdom of Heaven, which is God's gift, above all gifts. Therefore he answered them: "However, rejoice not that the spirits obey you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20).

Again, then, this invisible book and this mysterious recording of names, moreover, according to the testimony of Him Who descended from heaven and Who knows the mysteries of heaven better than the angels themselves.

Thus it is said of the invisible book in the Holy Scriptures. But in the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church there are many testimonies about this book, revealed to the spirit of grace-filled people. And even in our time there are people – some of whom we know personally – who were dead and revived, and who saw the Book of Names of Men in the heavenly light before the Elder (see my book "Immanuel", part one).

After all the known evidence, it is clear that this book is not something symbolic, but just a real one. We cannot doubt the existence of this book. For if there is a heavenly city, the heavenly Jerusalem, with gates, streets, courts, and thrones, and if there are lamps and censers in heaven, why should there not be a book? The book of life, or the book of fate? This book is not for God: even without any book, the omniscient God knows everything; He knows everything and remembers everything. A book means remembrance in heaven of everything that happens on earth: it is for people who do not have remembrance of God. The existence of this as yet invisible book cannot be doubted, even if it is presented in a highly immaterial, spiritual sense: on this occasion nothing disturbs my soul.

But, O Theodoulos, another question opens up before us in connection with this wonderful book. This is a question that some philosophers and theologians have mistakenly called the question of man's free will. And why not the question of free thought? And the question of free feeling and free willing? Why is only the will taken into account? I think it is best to say: the question of human freedom in general. In the West, this issue was much more debated than in the East. Fate and the free will of man in the East do not fight one against the other, but are peacefully united. The invisible book of the living is not some kind of fate that prevails over angels and people - and over gods, as the polytheistic Greeks and Indians fabulously said - but God's providential plan for the salvation of people, for it is said that God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. The same is said in Christ's parable about the lost hundredth sheep, which the owner is carefully looking for in order to save. And it is also said about the Word of God, about the Logos: the true Light, Which enlightens every person who comes into the world. And if God desires salvation for all men, and if by His light He enlightens every man whom He sends into the world, then it is clear that all men are originally written in the book of life, but the names of some or many are blotted out of this book because of their sin against God or against their neighbors, and are inscribed again after they have repented and returned to the right path.

According to Eastern concepts, man is both free and unfree: he is free to decide whether to follow God or Satan, to the right or to the left. As long as he chooses and hesitates, he acts on his own, according to his free will and reason. And as soon as he decides, he is no longer free. And this lack of freedom, which a person has once decided on, is not always permanent, unchanging: one is demonodulia, and the other is theodulia; one is to serve Satan, the other is to serve the Heavenly Father. It is one thing to be in bitter slavery to a tyrant, another to be in sweet obedience to the Parent. One is slavery, and the other is sonship. One is darkness, and the other is light. One is gnashing of teeth, and the other is chanting and joyful rejoicing.

Let's take the Apostle Peter as an example. How much he, following his will and reason, wavered here and there, until at last he completely cleaved to the Lord! Significant are the words spoken to him at the end by the resurrected Lord: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou didst gird thyself and went whithersoever thou wouldst; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you up, and lead you whither you will not. Freedom and non-freedom; Peter chose a sweet and blessed lack of freedom within the boundaries of God's will. And Peter's name was written in the book of the living.