The concept of “The Book of Life” is found only in Judaism and Christianity. Such terminology begs certain questions right at the start, “Since God is omniscient—and He knows all things past, present, and future, and no detail, from the macrocosm to the microcosm, escapes His notice—why would He need a book in which to record the names of His people? Could this concept just be poetical and metaphorical, a symbolic way God comparing a celestial reality to an earthly object to make it more understandable? Or is it literal?” Only God knows for sure.
The “Book of Life” is mentioned sixteen times in the Bible. It is first cited in Exodus 32. Moses had been in Mount Sinai, communing with God and receiving the tablets of stone bearing Yahweh’s handwritten inscription of the Ten Commandments. But while Moses was away from the camp, the children of Israel, just forty days after hearing God’s audible voice of God speaking this code of morality from fiery Mount Sinai, brazenly broke the first two—creating an idol (a golden calf) and dancing around it in a demonic frenzy of false worship. God was minded toward destroying them all and raising up a new nation from Moses’ seed. But this great prophet of Israel pled in intercession:
“Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.” (Exodus 32:31-32)
After such a self-sacrificing prayer, God actually changed His mind, pouring out mercy on Israel instead of judgment. However, God did add, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book” (Exodus 32:33).
The Goal—Not Being “Blotted Out”
So apparently, the goal is not getting your name written in “The Book of Life” but making sure it is never “blotted out.” The first mention of “The Book of Life” in the book of Revelation conveys this truth, in a message to the church at Sardis from the resurrected Christ:
“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels” (Revelation 3:5)
Does this mean that every living person in this world starts out being included in that heavenly registry, but those who rebel against truth are eventually erased? It seems so.
David even prayed that His enemies, those who fought against His God-inspired leadership, would have their names blotted out of “the book of the living” (Psalms 69:28). (This is the same as “The Book of Life”; the Hebrew word chay—pronounced khah-ee’—translated “living” in this verse is also translated “life” other places in the Old Testament.)
So, the old Gospel hymn by C. Austin Miles didn’t get it exactly right. You may have never heard it, but millions of Christians in the past century have sung the following two lines:
There’s a new name written down in glory,
And it’s mine, oh yes, it’s mine.
The idea proposed in the lyrics of the entire song was this: that as soon as a person gets saved (born again), his or her name is then “written down” in God’s heavenly ledger. But that’s just not so according to the passages we just covered.
Overcoming? What? How?
By the way—reverting back to Revelation 3:5—what must we overcome to keep from being blotted out of God’s book? The list is pretty long—the lower nature, the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, separation from God, worldliness, satanic plots, and the curse of death that hover over this realm. Seeing all that’s stacked against us could make the task of “overcoming” appear impossibly daunting—however, the Scripture declares that we have “weapons” of warfare that are “mighty through God”—like the Word of God, the indwelling Spirit of God, the blood of Jesus, the name of Jesus, and the wisdom that only He imparts (2 Corinthians 10:4 KJV). These are superior weapons the enemy of our souls has no match for in his arsenal. And the outcome? Success, always, but only if we believe—because along with these weapons we must also “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). What a valuable outcome is forecast for those who win! The Lord Jesus Christ confessing our names before His Father and before the holy angels. Can you imagine the intensity of such a glorious moment?
Even if we falter on our journey, God’s mercy and grace are greater. He understands the pressures we all face, having gone through affliction and temptation Himself during the incarnation (Hebrews 4:15 says the Son of God “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin”).
Psalms 56:8 says it beautifully:
You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book? (Psalms 56:8).
God is certainly aware of all our times of falling short (our “wanderings”), but He is also fully aware of every “tear” we shed as a result—tears of repentance, tears of remorse, tears of depression, tears of longing for righteousness, perfection, and intimacy with God. According to this sacred passage, they are written in His book. Every single tear! How overwhelming is that! The God who would be attentive to such detail must love us with an indescribably deep love—which leads me to the next passage.
A Predestined Plan
David mentioned this notable book in his poetical masterpiece, Psalm 139, when he confessed to God:
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. (Psalms 139:16).
This moves us to the next level of deciphering this mystery. Evidently, “The Book of Life” contains, not only names of God’s chosen, but a detailed prophetic forecast of the potential, the purpose, the destiny, and even the life-span of every person in covenant with God—(and possibly, every human being). The steps of good men and good women are “ordered of the Lord” (Psalms 37:23). However, it is up to us to pray that we will be sensitive to God’s will and then, have the grace to boldly walk in it.
The Book of Remembrance
A wonderful, additional insight surfaces in the last book of the Old Testament:
Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name. “They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “on the day that I make them My jewels.” (Malachi 3:16-17)
To “fear the Lord” is to be awestruck with His highness, His holiness, His magnitude, His majesty, His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience—and melting before Him in worshipful devotion. Those with such an elevated mindset are captivated by “the beauty of the Lord” (Psalms 27:4, 90:17). As a result, God’s greatness seems to work its way into almost every conversation—and that’s something God carefully places in His “book of remembrance.” Is that book the same as “The Book of Life”? Probably. And what are the benefits—God said He would make such individuals His “jewels.”
Gems like sapphires, opals, emeralds, and rubies are formed in the intense heat of the magma under the surface of the earth. Spiritually speaking, that’s how God’s jewels are formed too—in the intense heat of trials, tribulations, persecutions, and deep disappointments. But through it all, we talk about Him. He hears and He remembers. All the details are written in His book.
More Revelation from the Book of Revelation
The Book of Life is mentioned more times in Revelation than any other book in the Bible. We’ve already examined the first occurrence. The next two concern the world’s reaction to the “Beast”—another term for the Antichrist, the man of sin, the son of perdition: the charismatic global leader who will fill the role of a false messiah in the last days (Revelation 11:7, 1 John 2:18, 2 Thessalonians 2:3). Read the two following verses carefully:
All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. (Revelation 17:8)
In these verses, we discover two primary things happened “from the foundation of the world.” The crucifixion of the Son of God was pre-planned (before humanity even needed a Redeemer) and our names were written in “The Book of Life”—before the beginning of time. There are also two complementary truths.
First, the only protection from the deception that will dupe the masses in the final years of this planet will be inclusion in God’s book. Everyone else will be deceived into worshiping the one who will claim to be God on earth, sitting enshrined in the rebuilt temple of God in Jerusalem. But God’s chosen ones will be begotten of the Word of truth and filled with the Spirit of truth and through these inward influences, God will lead them and guide them into all truth (see James 1:18, John 16:13). They will not be deceived (see Matthew 24:24).
Daniel verified God’s special care for His people in the last days, mentioning the oversight of Michael—the archangel who leads the angel armies of heaven:
“At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book.” (Daniel 12:1, See Revelation 12:1-10)
Delivered—what does that mean? Will God supernaturally deliver us from life-threatening situations during the persecution of the last days? Yes, in many cases I believe He will. But the greatest “deliverance” will take place in the resurrection of the dead and the translation of living believers on the “last day” of the age (John 6:39-40). The next two verses in the twelfth chapter of Daniel verify that:
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:2-3)
You should read Revelation 13:8 and 17:8 again—very carefully. Revelation 13:8 says the Lamb of God was “slain from the foundation of the world” (so God planned the redemption of mankind before it even needed redemption). And 17:8 indicates that those included in “The Book of Life” have had their names recorded in God’s list “from the foundation of the world.” That makes it sound like the Creator has an elect people predestined from the beginning to know Him and serve Him. Does it mean that? Are just the names of the elect in “The Book of Life” or is everyone’s name initially in the book (as we concluded previously)? The answer to these questions is very much a part of the mystery surrounding this theme—something we all need to pray about.
Let me close this article by simply quoting the final passages that mention “The Book of Life.”
The Final Passages on “The Book of Life”
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. (Revelation 20:12)
This verse shows that there is more than one book! Now that introduces new information altogether. Possibly, each individual has a book just on his or her life.
The seriousness of the matter is revealed in this verse:
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)
Then John described the holy city, New Jerusalem, the capital city of a New Creation—which is also recognized as being “the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (a bridal city where all the inhabitants of the city are married to the Lamb of God eternally):
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Revelation 21:27)
So being included is essential. The final warning concerns the book of Revelation itself:
And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:19)
What a mysterious and intriguing subject to be found in God’s Word. Though we may not fully understand the details, we can certainly rejoice with unspeakable joy that we are included. No wonder, after Paul talked about his fellow laborers “whose names are in the book of life,” he wrote the next two sentences:
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:3-4)
Yes, This is the Source of Greatest Joy
When Jesus sent out His seventy disciples to preach the kingdom of God with signs and wonders, they came back thrilled over the manifestation of God’s power, declaring, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name” (Luke 10:17). Jesus responded:
“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven . . . Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:18-20).
So, according to the Lord of all—there is no greater joy than being included in this holy roster.
Excellent! Thank you