Book of Life

Biblical Texts

In the Old Testament, the concept appears in the following passages:

• Exodus 32:32–33: After the golden calf incident, Moses asks that, if God will not forgive the people's sin, He "blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written." God answers that whoever has sinned against Him, "him will I blot out of my book."
• Psalms 69:28: The psalmist prays that his enemies be "blotted out of the book of the living." This is the Old Testament passage in which the expression "book of life" itself appears (rendered "book of the living" in the KJV).
• Daniel 12:1: In the time of final tribulation, "every one that shall be found written in the book" will be delivered.

In the New Testament, it appears in the following passages:

• Luke 10:20: Jesus tells His disciples, "rejoice, because your names are written in heaven."
• Philippians 4:3: Referring to the fellow workers who had helped Euodia and Syntyche, Paul writes that their names "are in the book of life."
• Revelation: In 3:5, the one who overcomes in the church at Sardis is promised that his name will not be blotted out. Revelation 13:8 and 17:8 state that the names of those who follow the beast are not written in it. According to 20:12 and 15, whoever is not found in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire, and according to 21:27, only those written in the book of life will enter the New Jerusalem.

Background

In the ancient world, cities and communities kept registers of their members. The names of those who died or lost their standing were removed from these registers, and the imagery of the book of life is commonly explained against the background of this practice. Ezra 2:62 records that those whose names could not be found in the genealogical register were excluded from the priesthood.

Meaning Across Scripture

In Exodus and Psalms, being "blotted out of the book" is often read as losing one's earthly life or being cut off from the covenant community. In Daniel, the expression is tied to eschatological deliverance, and in the New Testament it refers to the register of the people of God's kingdom who will receive eternal life. Revelation calls it "the Lamb's book of life," linking it directly to Christ as the Lamb of God.

Interpretations and Debates

• Can a name be blotted out? The Calvinist tradition regards the book of life as the list of those chosen before the foundation of the world. In keeping with the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, it holds that a name truly written there will never be erased, and it reads Revelation 3:5 as a promise intended to give assurance. The Arminian and Wesleyan traditions read the language of blotting out as a genuine warning against apostasy and cite it as one basis for the view that those who abandon the faith can fall from salvation.
• The placement of "from the foundation of the world": Because of the word order of the original text, this phrase in Revelation 13:8 can be read in two ways: as modifying the writing of the names or as modifying the slaying of the Lamb. For this reason, translations render the verse differently.
• Distinction from the books of works: Revelation 20:12 mentions the "books" recording people's works and the book of life as distinct from each other. How judgment according to works relates to salvation received by grace is an issue addressed in interpreting the Last Judgment.
• Popular embellishments: It is commonly said that angels record good and evil deeds, or that a name is newly written at the moment of conversion. Scripture, however, does not specify when or how the names are recorded.

In the Korean Church

Luke 10:20 and Revelation 21:27 are frequently cited in sermons on assurance of salvation and in classes for new members. The phrase "one's name is written in the book of life" is used almost as an idiom meaning that one has been saved.