A biblical expression referring to the list of those who would enjoy God's salvation, justification, and approval, i.e., the roster of the righteous. Though the specific expression appears only 8x in the Bible, the idea of such a book is broader than these occurrences.
The specific expression appears in the OT only in Psm 69:28, a 'psalm of David.' Here the psalmist pours out his sorrow and troubles before God in complaint about the injustices and scorn he had suffered at the hands of his enemies, and asks God to deal with the wickedness of his enemies accordingly, including that they "be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous." The parallelism provides the clear clue as to what is meant, 'not listed with the righteous' being synonymous with 'blotted out of the book of life.'
Moses, however, appears to be the first to speak of such an idea. Interceding on behalf of his generation who had sinned against God with the idol of the golden calf at Mount Sinai, Moses asks God to "please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written" (Exo 32:32), to which God then replies, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book" (v33). The idea of the book as listing those who find God's approval is plainly lucid here. Less so, but nonetheless clear, is Daniel's use in 12:1 where he prophesies a time when "Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered."
U. Becker argues that these "books are always an expression of the sovereign will and work of God in history. There are no books of fate" (NIDNTT, 1:243). Salvation and approval in the sight of God are, therefore, matters shaped by human decision, not just the foreordained purposes of God. The book of life is, therefore, not a blueprint of salvation listing the predestined but a record of those who lived right and can expect to find God's approval on the great day of reckoning.
The expression first appears in the NT in Paul's letter to the Philippians. As he comes to the close of his letter, he appeals to Euodias and Syntyche—two rather fellow Christians who seemed to have difficulty getting along—to work out their differences and live in harmony, but also to the other Christians in the church ('you, loyal yokefellow') "to help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life" (4:3). By NT times, therefore, the book of life' was already a widely accepted and understood expression for the list of the righteous who will enjoy God's salvation, justification and approval.
The remaining six occurrences of the expression are found in the book of Revelation:
3:5 : He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.
13:8 : All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
17:8 : The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.
20:12 : And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
20:15 : If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
21:27 : Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
These references add nothing new regarding the meaning of the expression. 20:12 suggests, however that, though 'book of life' will be decisive, it is not the only book that will be opened and assayed for the purposes of the final reckoning. What specific roles these other books play, however, is unclear, though intriguing.
It is sometimes asked, "Can a person be blotted out of the book of life?" Since by definition those who are listed in the book of life are those already approved for salvation, the logical answer must be no. The idea of being blotted out from the book of life occurs only in the hypothetical options Moses and the psalmist raised to emphasize the weight of their appeals to God. God's refusal to countenance Moses' proposal indicates that God would not contradict His own righteousness by doing such a thing, a principle reaffirmed by the promise of Jesus to John in Rev 3:5.
Further Reading & Resources:
Charles R. Smith, "The book of life," Grace Theological Journal 6.2 (1985): 219-230.
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