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. This except comes from Chapter 2: A Real Book.

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When studying biblical realities we’ve never seen with the naked eye, it’s good to ask whether a writer of Scripture is expressing his divinely inspired thoughts literally or figuratively. For example, is the millennium a literal one thousand years, or simply a long stretch of time (Rev. 20:1-7)? Is “the arm of the LORD” a muscle-bound appendage of God’s, or an anthropomorphism – an expression of God in human terms (Isa. 53:1)? And is the book of life an actual scroll-and-pen publication, or a way to explain God’s unrestricted knowledge of people and events (Ps. 69:28)?

To address the last of these questions, and to better set the tone for our study of the book of life, it may help to briefly explore how Scripture uses the words “book” and “life.”

Book

There’s only one book of life. Scripture consistently calls it the book of life, meaning there are no substitutes, prequels, or sequels. But what does the word “book” mean with respect to this divine record?

The Old Testament uses the noun seper nearly two hundred times. It’s often translated “book” or “scroll.” Basically, it denotes a written document such as a legal deed (Deut. 24:1), a record of purchase (Jer. 32:11), a letter (1 Kings 21:8), or a written covenant (Exod. 24:7). 

Several significant books appear in the Old Testament. There is the book of the law, which Moses presents to the people shortly before his death (Deut. 29:21; 30:10). This book is rediscovered and read in the days of King Josiah (2 Kings 22:8), and again under the ministry of Ezra (Neh. 8:1-8). Kings recorded their personal histories in “the book of the annals of the kings of Israel” (e.g., 1 Kings 15:7; 2 Kings 14:15). 

Nahum’s record is called “the book of the vision of Nahum” (Nah. 1:1). Most relevant for our purposes is “the book of life,” from which the psalmist wants the wicked removed (Ps. 69:28). This could be the same book to which Moses refers in Exodus 32:32-33 (“the book you have written”), which connects us with the book of life in the New Testament, where two Greek words are translated “book.”

The first of these Greek terms is biblion, which appears thirty-four times, and from which we derive the word “Bible.” It means “book, scroll, or writing.” A biblion usually is made of animal hide or papyrus, and routinely is rolled up, as in a scroll. 

Biblion often refers to a scroll containing the Hebrew Scriptures (Luke 4:17, 20), but it also may refer to smaller documents such as certificates of divorce (Matt. 19:7). John refers to his Gospel as a biblion (John 20:30). And both Paul and the author of Hebrews refer to the law of Moses as a biblion (Gal. 3:10; Heb. 9:19). 

Biblion appears frequently in Revelation. John is commanded to write on a biblion what he sees (Rev. 1:11). God sits enthroned in heaven, holding a biblion (scroll) with seven seals (Rev. 5:8-9). And the biblion (book) of life features prominently in John’s visions (Rev. 13:8; 17:8; 20:12; 21:27).

A similar noun, biblos, appears ten times in the New Testament, referring five times to sections of the Old Testament (Mark 12:26; Luke 3:4; 20:42; Acts 1:20; 7:42). Matthew calls the beginning of his Gospel “the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” (Matt. 1:1). Acts 19:19 records that former practitioners of the magic arts burn their books after coming to faith in Christ in Ephesus. Lastly, biblos appears three times to depict “the book of life,” in which are written the names of the redeemed (Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 20:15).

In nearly every occurrence in the Old and New Testaments, “books,” “scrolls,” and “writings” are physical objects, although Moses’s reference to “your book” when addressing God could be a synonym for God’s impeccable memory (Exod. 32:33). So, when we think about the book of life, it makes sense to understand it as an actual written document. 

Not that our all-knowing God ever suffers a lapse of memory. The book of life is for our benefit, not his. It’s God’s concrete way of showing all people what’s in his mind as a perfect record of those who belong to him. It’s also a reminder on judgment day to those who reject him that their names are missing from the book of life.

Life

Biblical authors use several Hebrew and Greek words to describe life. In the Old Testament, the verb haya means “having life” or “to live.” It may refer to one’s own life, the life of one’s parents, or the lives of others. Haya also indicates the preservation of life. God is so holy, no one may see him “and live” (Exod. 33:20). Yet, while God may take away haya (2 Kings 5:7), he also has the power to give it (Num. 21:8; 2 Kings 8:1, 5). Further, a believing remnant of Israel will remember God “and live” (Zech. 10:9).

The Hebrew verb nepes carries a wide range of meanings. Basically, it denotes “breath,” but it also can mean “soul,” “life,” or “entire being” (Gen. 9:5).

The noun hay indicates life, or the state of living as opposed to death. For example, the psalmist is determined to praise God as long as he has “life” (Ps. 63:4). In contrast, Jonah twice complains that it would be better for him to die than to be alive (Jon. 4:3, 8). Hay also is used in various ways as an oath: “as surely as the LORD lives” (Ruth 3:13), and “as surely as I [Yahweh] live forever” (Deut. 32:40). 

Finally, in the Old Testament, the noun ruah basically means “wind” or “breath.” This indicates breath as a sign of life. Additionally, ruah can mean “spirit,” “life,” or even personality with respect to God, angels, or people (1 Sam. 16:15-16; Isa. 19:3; 31:3).

So, we see that the verbs and nouns used in the Old Testament to depict life carry a wide range of meanings, from a person’s breath to his or her entire being, and from God’s own life in the unseen realm to his power to give and take away human life.

In the New Testament, four nouns come into play.

First, anastrophe refers to one’s manner of life, or conduct. For example, Paul confesses his “former way of life in Judaism” (Gal. 1:13).

Second, bios describes life in general, or the material possessions that accompany life. In one example of both meanings captured in bios, a poor widow offers two copper coins in the temple. Jesus remarks that she “has put in everything she had ​— ​all she had to live on” (Mark 12:44).

Third, zoe appears most often, 135 times. Sometimes, zoe refers to our present existence (Luke 16:25; Acts 8:33) and sometimes to everlasting life (Matt. 7:14; 19:16; Mark 10:30). John places a strong emphasis on everlasting life that may be experienced in the here and now through faith in Jesus. He records these words of Christ: “Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life (zoe) and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life (zoe)” (John 5:24).

Jesus sets the requirements for eternal life in this simple statement that’s packed with meaning. A person who hears the good news and believes it possesses eternal life, which by its very definition cannot be lost or revoked. The new believer has been made spiritually alive (regenerated), declared righteous (justified), set apart as belonging to God (sealed, sanctified, and adopted into the Father’s family), and guaranteed future resurrection and perfection (glorification). 

“Life,” in this case, refers both to a quality of life and a quantity of life. It’s life without end, extending into eternity future. And it’s a fully satisfying life now because it’s attached to the life of Christ, who promised that as long as he lives, we live, too (John 14:19).

In fact, John writes his Gospel for the purpose of inviting us to embrace eternal life: “But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). 

Paul agrees with John that eternal life may be enjoyed now (Rom. 6:4; 8:6, 10). Yet, John and Paul clearly see this life experienced in fullness in the future – specifically in our glorification (2 Cor. 5:4). In the new heavens and new earth, when we live with Christ in a glorified state, we may eat freely from the tree of life and drink the water of life (Rev. 22:2, 14, 17).

Jesus is the source and giver of life, the creator and sustainer of everything visible and invisible (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3). He is the “bread of life” (John 6:35, 48); “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6); “the author of life” (Acts 3:15); and the very life of believers (Col. 3:4). He has the power of an “indestructible life” (Heb. 7:16). He has the words of eternal life (John 6:68). And he has the exclusive authority to grant eternal life (John 17:2). 

Fourth, there’s the Greek noun psyche. This word is similar to the Hebrew nepes, which is translated “life,” “breath,” or “soul.” Psyche describes the whole person. For example, Peter uses psyche to refer to the “persons” rescued from the flood in the days of Noah (1 Pet. 3:20). And in Revelation 18:13, “human lives” are among the cargo that merchants once traded with Babylon. 

Like the Hebrew nepes, the psyche is both the source of life in a person and the seat of the mind or will. When Eutychus falls three stories to his death, Paul gathers the young man in his arms and says, “Don’t be alarmed, because he’s alive” (psyche autos en autos eimi – “his life is in him;” Acts 20:10). In his letter to the Romans, Paul exhorts “everyone” (pasa psyche) to “submit to the governing authorities” (Rom. 13:1).

With respect to the mind and will, Paul and Barnabas encounter unbelieving Jews in Iconium, who “stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds (psyche) against the brothers” (Acts 14:2). In Jesus’s parable of the fool who hoards his wealth, the man decides, “Then I’ll say to myself (psyche ego), ‘You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself’” (Luke 12:19). But Jesus warns, “You fool! This very night your life (psyche sy) is demanded of you” (Luke 12:20).

Finally, Jesus exhorts all of us with this dire warning: “Anyone who finds his life (psyche autos) will lose it, and anyone who loses his life (psyche autos) because of me will find it” (Matt. 10:39). William Mounce comments in his expository dictionary:

Here is the cost of what it means to follow Jesus Christ. We may either pursue our own psyche, and in so doing lose the true life that only comes from Jesus Christ. Or by choosing to follow Jesus and subjecting all needs and desires of the psyche to the lordship of the crucified one, our psyche finds fulfillment in communion with its Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer.

Written there, or excluded

If the book of life is God’s written record of the redeemed, which he opens to us on judgment day, is it an actual, physical book? And what kind of life do the redeemed possess?

Because the Bible normally employs the Hebrew and Greek words for “book” in a literal way, we may conclude that the book of life is a real book. Since we can’t read God’s mind, or fully understand his thoughts and ways (Isa. 55:8-9), he opens to us the book of life so we may see, with our own resurrected eyes, our names written in or excluded from the book. 

While other books may record our thoughts, words, and deeds, and thus be used to determine rewards for the righteous and punishments for the wicked, the book of life is written to show us the best work ever done: the redemptive work of Jesus. It is his book, the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 13:8; 21:27). 

Our inclusion in the book of life is grounded in the loving foreknowledge of God, and in his determination to finish the work of redemption that begins in us when we trust in his Son (Phil. 1:6). Our names are written in the blood of the Lamb, who bore our sins on the cross and satisfied the wrath of God for us. Our everlasting life is secured in the resurrection of the Lamb, whom the Father raised from the dead for our justification (Rom. 4:25). And it’s confirmed in our glorification as Christ finishes the work of redemption by fully conforming us to his image (Phil. 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2). 

Those recorded in the book of life don’t merely possess physical existence, for that’s a gift of God to all humans. We don’t simply retain body and soul, mind and will, breath and personhood. What distinguishes those whose names are in the book of life from those whose names are excluded is that the redeemed possess zoen aionion(“eternal life”), which comes only to those who trust in Jesus and thus pass from death to life (John 5:24). 

The book of life, then, is God’s written record of the redeemed – those who possess his gift of eternal life, secured in the covenant of redemption in eternity past by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This life – in quality and quantity – is accomplished in time and space in the Incarnation of Christ, his sinless life, sacrificial and substitutionary death on the cross, and physical resurrection from the dead. It’s mediated by King Jesus, who sits enthroned today at the Father’s right hand in heaven. And it’s fulfilled in the Day of the Lord, when Jesus returns, resurrects and judges all people, glorifies the saints, creates new heavens and a new earth, and sets everything right. 

The book of life is real, as are the God who authors it and the names written there in his own Son’s blood.

Next: The Lamb’s Book