<p>3:5- see on 1 Cor. 4:9; Rev. 2:17.</p><p><em>He that overcomes shall thus be dressed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life- </em>&quot;Thus be dressed&quot; refers to the way that the Lord who spoke these words was at that very time dressed in white garments; they were to share His status, all that is true of Him is to become true of all in Him.</p><p>Blotting out of the book of life suggests that individuals were originally included in the plan for eternity, but are removed. Moses asking to be removed from that book is therefore a mark of his extreme love for Israel; willing to sacrifice his place in eternity for them. God did not accept this kind of substitutionary atonement, however. I have suggested that John wrote and spoke his gospel to appeal to his fellow Jews; and his letters were written to his converts. Revelation was perhaps also primarily intended for Jewish converts, and the initial references to the 'satan' refer to the Judaist conspiracy to ween his converts back to the synagogue. The idea of our names remaining in the book of life would have suggested to a Jewish audience that we'll all be like Moses was at the end, in essence; we'll share his finest hours. Our names will not be blotted out of the book of life, as Moses' wasn't (Ex. 32:32). For Jews, Moses was the acme of spirituality, a spiritual pinnacle they could never realistically attain to. But here they are promised that they are not mere Levites but in Christ, can share the peaks of Moses.</p><p>But there is the real possibility of names being removed from the book. This is the greatest tragedy; that a person at one point was on track for eternity, but lost that status. We must do all we can to 'watch out' for others, therefore (see on :2); and never, ever, to make anyone stumble from the way which leads to eternal life.</p><p><em>And I will confess his name before my Father and before His angels</em>- As noted on :4, we are 'names' and not numbers; in the Hebraic sense of a name reflecting the sum total of a person's character and being. Who we are as unique persons is confessed before the father; and our names, that code, if you will, which summarizes 'us', is recorded eternally in the book of life. This points up the eternal importance of personality and spiritual character; for to some degree, who we are today is who we shall eternally be. Salvation is personal. We as persons shall be saved, meaning 'we' shall be immortalized.</p>