This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon.

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Section I: What Is the Book of Life?

The phrase “book of life” appears in only eight passages of Scripture. Other references help tease out a biblically faithful understanding of this divine record. The Lord calls it “my book” (Exod. 32:33). David acknowledges God’s ownership of it, rejoicing that his own days were written in “your book” (Ps. 139.16). The prophet Malachi writes of a “book of remembrance” (Mal. 3:16), while the writer of Hebrews describes those whose names have been “written in heaven” (Heb. 12:23). 

But what, exactly, is the book of life? This section lays the groundwork for an exploration of Old and New Testament passages that seek to answer this vital question. We begin with an explanation that the book of life is the registry of the redeemed.

God’s Registry of the Redeemed

The book of life is God’s registry of the redeemed. It’s the official roster of citizens in the kingdom of God, the final checklist of those who inhabit the new heavens and new earth. One theological resource calls the book of life “the balance book of God.”

But it’s not quite that simple. Like other biblical realities, the book of life is revealed progressively across the pages of Scripture. That is, each reference to the book of life adds to the previous one until we come to a more complete understanding of God’s purpose in keeping such a record. 

This concept derives from the ancient custom of keeping genealogical records (Neh. 7:5, 64; 12:22-23) and enrolling citizens for various purposes (Jer. 22:30; Ezek. 13:9).

In the Old Testament, some references to the book of life may simply mean a registry of living people, although the book seems to hold a special meaning as the inventory of all whom God claims as his own. In that regard, the Old Testament emphasis of the book of life is on divine reward and punishment in the here and now. For example, King David pleads with Yahweh to deal harshly with his adversaries. He writes, “Let them be erased from the book of life and not be recorded with the righteous” (Ps. 69:28).  

In another reference, the prophet Isaiah, who longs for the days of Zion’s future glory, pens these words:

On that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel’s survivors. Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem will be called holy – all Jerusalem written in the book of life – when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodguilt from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning (Isa. 4:2-4).

Temporal blessings and curses for the Israelites seem to spring from their response to God’s covenant with his people, forged in the fires of Mount Sinai. After the Israelites break the first two commandments by worshiping a false god and making an image of it in the form of a golden calf, Moses pleads with Yahweh, “Now if you would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book you have written” (Exod. 32:32). The Lord replies, “Whoever has sinned against me I will erase from my book” (v. 33).

Some forty years later, after the rebellious Israelites have died in the wilderness, Moses addresses the next generation with the same covenant promise of blessings and curses. For the one who rejects Yahweh’s covenant, “The LORD will not be willing to forgive him. Instead, his anger and jealousy will burn against that person, and every curse written in this scroll will descend on him. The LORD will blot out his name under heaven” (Deut. 29:20).

Much later, Malachi struggles against the moral decline of his fellow countrymen. Arrogant people seem justified in their haughtiness, and the wicked prosper. So, Malachi’s reference to “a book of remembrance” states his confidence that God would in due time bring about a reversal of fortune:

At that time those who feared the LORD spoke to one another. The LORD took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance was written before him for those who feared the LORD and had high regard for his name. “They will be mine,” says the LORD of Armies, “my own possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him” (Mal. 3:16-18).

These Old Testament passages preview what we learn in more detail from Jesus and the New Testament writers – that in addition to the openly rebellious, there are some who claim to be followers of the Lord yet are imposters. So, we see several references to people whose names are erased from, or blotted out of, the book of life. True followers of Yahweh may rest assured of their place in his book, while false professors of the faith expose themselves as counterfeits and find their names are missing.

The life to come

While the Old Testament book of life seems to focus primarily on temporal blessings and curses, Daniel sees visions of a future time when the book of life is opened, foreshadowing what the New Testament reveals more fully: rewards and punishments in the life to come. 

Daniel’s stunning vision of the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man shows us a heavenly courtroom setting in which books – perhaps including the book of life – play a key role:

As I kept watching,

thrones were set in place,

and the Ancient of Days took his seat.

His clothing was white like snow,

and the hair of his head like whitest wool.

His throne was flaming fire;

its wheels were blazing fire.

A river of fire was flowing,

coming out from his presence.

Thousands upon thousands served him;

ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

The court was convened,

and the books were opened (Dan. 7:9-10, emphasis added).

In another prophetic vision, pointing to future resurrection and judgment, Daniel records:

At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress such as never has occurred since nations came into being until that time. But at that time all your people who are found written in the book will escape. Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to disgrace and eternal contempt (Dan. 12:1-2, emphasis added).

The New Testament expands on this connection between the book of life and future resurrection and judgment. As Thomas Davis notes, “The New Testament transforms this balance book into an eternal ledger of heavenly citizenship.”

In the ancient world, citizenship was not necessarily a birthright. Rather, citizens had to be enrolled, and thus they carefully protected that honor for fear of having their names blotted out. Their rights as citizens were only as secure as their reputation in the community. So, in Scripture, we see an analogy between earthly and heavenly citizenship. 

In Luke’s account of the seventy-two who are sent out to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom, Jesus assures the returning disciples that their names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20), a divine work in which they should rejoice. In his letter to the church at Sardis, Jesus assures believers who conquer that they will be dressed in white robes, and he will never erase their names from the book of life (Rev. 3:5). And at the last judgment, those whose names are not written in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). 

In these cases, we see that the book of life means more than a record of those who are alive; it places a strong emphasis on the necessity to be registered as citizens of God’s eternal kingdom. 

Next: Apocalyptic and Other Writings