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On the Vessels of Mercy Facebook Group in the Discussion Board section called Topics of Interest, one of our readers asked the following question:

“The Book of Life in Rev. 3:5, 13:8, 17:8. And the Book of the Living in Psalms 69:28. Are these two different books? If the Book of Life is written before the foundation of the world then I would assume that means it is complete. So can someone’s name be blotted out as found in Psalms if these are the same books?”

In order to answer this question it is necessary to look at the Scriptures mentioned above, along with a few others that pertain to this topic:

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. (Philippians 4:3)

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 3:5)

And all who dwell on earth will worship [the beast], 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 13:8)

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 17:8)

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 20:12)

And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)

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. (Revelation 21:27)

Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous. (Psalm 69:28)

Clarification
I think it is necessary and appropriate to begin by saying that whenever you see the Bible talking about being blotted out of the book of life it is never talking about a believer losing their salvation. Scripture teaches very clearly that saving faith is created by God, given by God, and kept by God. Genuine believers are eventually perfected in Christ, and not one of them is lost. (For more on Eternal Security click here)

Because we know that these verses are not talking about the loss of salvation, we have 2 questions we must answer:

1. Is the book of life found in the New Testament the same as the book of the living found in the Old Testament?
2. If so, what does the Bible really mean when it speaks of God blotting names out of this book?

Is the book of life (NT) and the book of the living (OT) the same book?
Not all scholars agree on the answer to this question. We know that the book of life found in the New Testament is a record of God’s predetermined choice of who He will save, recorded before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8; 17:8). Typically there is no disagreement on the identity of the New Testament book of life.

The disagreement lies in the identity of the Old Testament book of the living. Some scholars will argue that these are two seperate books: The book of life being a record of those appointed to eternal life; the book of the living being a record of the living in this present world. Others believe that these are the same book; the book of life as an eternal record of God’s sovereign election for salvation. I believe that these are, in fact, the same book of life.

What Does it Mean to Have One’s Name Blotted Out of the Book of Life?
Before we tackle this question let’s review some of the facts:

* We know that the book of life is a record of God’s sovereign election of individuals for salvation (Revelation 20:15; 21:27).
* We know that individual names, representing individual people, were recorded in the book of life from before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8; 17:8).

Because the book of life is the record of God’s sovereign election of individuals for salvation which was written before the foundation of the world, we know that no one can literally be blotted out or removed from the book. How do we know this? The answer is found in the book of Romans:

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 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. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)

In this passage we see that ALL those whom God foreknew and predestined (sovereign election) are justified and glorified (salvation, which cannot be lost). In other words, every single person whose name is written in the book of life will be saved. Their name cannot be literally blotted out.

What then, does Psalm 69:28 mean when David says, “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living”? Because of their Israelite ethnicity, David’s enemies boastfully counted themselves as being among the people of God. And even though the majority of people regarded them as such, they would one day be unmasked and the people would remove their names from the register of God’s people.

I believe the true meaning of this phrase is found in the next clause of the verse, “let them not be enrolled among the righteous.” In his commentary on the book of Psalms, The Treasury of David, Charles H. Spurgeon sums up the meaning of this passage wonderfully:

This clause ["let them not be enrolled among the righteous."] is parallel with the former ["Let them be blotted out of the book of the living"], and shows that the inner meaning of being blotted out from the book of life is to have it made evident that the name was never written there at all. Man in his imperfect copy of God’s book of life will have to make many emendations, both of insertion and erasure; but, as before the Lord, the record is for ever fixed and unalterable. Beware, O man, of despising Christ and his people, lest thy soul should never partake in the righteousness of God, without which men are condemned already.

By His Grace – For His Glory
Brandon