The Book of Life

Revelation 3:5.

Revelation 3:5 ESV

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.

What is the Book of Life?

It is a record of the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible Book of Life

The mundane task of bookkeeping in the ancient Near East often found a parallel in the divine realm. The idea of divine scribal activity appears several times throughout both the OT and NT and is frequently mentioned in pseudepigraphal writings

What are the most boring parts of Scripture? The genealogies. Why? Because our names are not in them.

God likes to keep records. One of his records is the Book of Life.

Exodus 32:32-33.

Exodus 32:32–33 ESV

32 But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” 33 But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.

Psalm 139:16.

Psalm 139:16 ESV

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.

Isaiah 65:6-7.

Isaiah 65:6–7 ESV

6 Behold, it is written before me: “I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their lap 7 both your iniquities and your fathers’ iniquities together, says the Lord; because they made offerings on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their lap payment for their former deeds.”

Daniel 7:9-10.

Daniel 7:9–10 ESV

9 “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. 10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.

Malachi 3:16-17.

Malachi 3:16–17 ESV

16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Jubilees 30:19-21

The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 2: Expansions of the “Old Testament” and Legends, Wisdom, and Philosophical Literature, Prayers, Psalms and Odes, Fragments of Lost Judeo-Hellenistic Works Chapter 30

19 And thus a blessing and righteousness will be written (on high) as a testimony for him in the heavenly tablets before the God of all. 20 And we will remember for a thousand generations the righteousness which a man did during his life in all of the (appointed) times of the year. And (it) will be written (on high) and it will come to him and his descendants after him. And he will be written down as a friend and a righteous one in the heavenly tablets.

A warning against breach of covenant

21 All of these words I have written for you, and I have commanded you to speak to the children of Israel that they might not commit sin or transgress the ordinances or break the covenant which was ordained for them so that they might do it and V 2, p 114 be written down as friends. 22 But if they transgress and act in all the ways of defilement, they will be recorded in the heavenly tablets as enemies. And they will be blotted out of the book of life and written in the book of those who will be destroyed and with those who will be rooted out from the land.

1 Enoch 47:3.

The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1 Chapter 47

3 In those days, I saw him—the Antecedent of Time, while he was sitting upon the throne of his glory, and the books of the living ones were open before him. And all his power in heaven above and his escorts stood before him. 4 The hearts of the holy ones are filled with joy, because the number of the righteous has been offered, the prayers of the righteous ones have been heard, and the blood of the righteous has been admitted before the Lord of the Spirits.

Revelation 13:8.

Revelation 13:8 ESV

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 20:11-15.

Revelation 20:11–15 ESV

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 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. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

How do we get in the book of life?

Revelation 3:5.

Revelation 3:5 ESV

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.

We conquer. How do we conquer?

We conquer by the blood of the Lamb.

Romans 8:37-39.

Romans 8:37–39 ESV

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If you confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you are saved, and your name is not blotted / erased from the Book of Life.

Romans 10:9.

Who has the power to erase / blot a name from the Book of Life?

Psalm 69:28 ESV

28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

Who is the Psalmist talking to?

He is talking to God.

Who is talking in Revelation 3:5?

Jesus has the power. Being erased from the Book of Life comes from a refusal to believe in the work of Christ, which has given us access to a relationship with the Creator of all.