The concept of the Book of Life is found in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. It is first mentioned in Exodus 32:32-33, where Moses asks God to blot his name out of the book God has written if He will not forgive the people for their sin of worshipping the golden calf. God responds that whoever has sinned against Him, He will blot out of His book. The psalmists also make reference to this book recording the names of the righteous (Psalm 69:28) and the living (Psalm 139:16).
In the New Testament, the Book of Life is mentioned specifically in Philippians 4:3, Hebrews 12:23, and Revelation 3:5; 20:12,15; 21:27. Revelation refers to it most often and associates it with the final judgment. Revelation 3:5 promises that the one who conquers through faith in Christ will not have his name erased from the Book of Life. And Revelation 20:12-15 describes the final judgment when the dead are judged according to what is written in the books, including the Book of Life. Those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are granted access to eternal life with God, while those whose names are not written are thrown into the lake of fire.
So what does all this mean regarding whether or not a person’s name can be erased from the Book of Life? Based on Scripture, the answer seems to be both yes and no.
On one hand, God seems to imply that names can and will be erased from the Book of Life. Exodus 32:33 states plainly that God will blot out of His book those who sin against Him. And Revelation 3:5 and 20:15 warn of names being blotted out or erased from the Book of Life. So there is a sense in which remaining in the Book of Life is conditional upon our faith and obedience.
However, on the other hand, there are also verses which suggest God has sovereignly chosen and known His people since before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5; Romans 8:29-30). 2 Timothy 2:19 declares, “The Lord knows those who are His,” which implies He knows and has recorded the names of His people eternally. And Revelation 13:8 and 17:8 distinguish between those whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world and those whose names are written there. This passage suggests God has already determined the contents of the Book of Life in eternity past.
How do we reconcile these seeming contradictions? Theologians have proposed a couple of explanations that make sense of the biblical data:
1. For those who seem to have their name erased, it demonstrates they never truly belonged to Christ in the first place. 1 John 2:19 states, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us.” This view understands the verses about blotting out as evidence of false or superficial faith, not a loss of salvation for genuine believers.
2. The book being referred to is the “Book of the Living,” not the permanent “Lamb’s Book of Life.” The Book of the Living contains the names of all the living, but the Lamb’s Book of Life contains only the elect (Revelation 21:27). Names can be blotted from the Book of the Living as people die, but they are never removed from the Lamb’s Book.
3. God speaks of blotting names out anthropomorphically to motivate faithfulness and repentance. He desires to provoke us to cling to Him all the more passionately.
4. From our limited human perspective, it appears names can be erased. But from God’s eternal perspective, He has always known the definitive contents of the Book and will not change. Similar to how Scripture sometimes speaks of God “relenting” from judgment when He does not actually change His mind (Exodus 32:14).
So in summary, can someone’s name be erased from the Book of Life? Hypothetically, yes, the warnings in Scripture imply it is possible. But for the true children of God who have been sovereignly chosen by Him, He will graciously preserve them in faith and obedience through the end. Their names have been eternally written in the Lamb’s Book of Life before the foundation of the world. While the unregenerate who apostatize demonstrate they never belonged to Christ in the first place. Their names may be “blotted out” from a temporal book that never reflected the eternal reality.
This difficult theological question has been debated for centuries. But all Christians can agree on the importance of persevering in holiness through relying on Christ’s righteousness. The doctrine of the Book of Life should motivate us to cling to Christ daily, rest in our eternal security, and “make our calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10).
Relevant Bible Verses:
Exodus 32:32-33 – But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.
Psalm 69:28 – Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
Psalm 139:16 – Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Philippians 4:3 – Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Hebrews 12:23 – and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
Revelation 3:5 – The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
Revelation 13:8 – and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
Revelation 17:8 – The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.
Revelation 20:12 – And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
Revelation 20:15 – And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:27 – But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
2 Timothy 2:19 – But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
Ephesians 1:4-5 – even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
Romans 8:29-30 – For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
