Category: book of life

God’s Registry of the Redeemed

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.

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. 

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The Book of Life

This is the first 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.

The Bible mentions dozens of books. For example, there’s the book of the law, a collection of commands and decrees from God, given through Moses to the children of Israel (Deut. 30:10; cf. Deut. 31:24). There’s the Book of the LORD’s Wars (Num. 21:14), the chronicles of David (1 Chron. 27:24), and an angel’s book (Rev. 10:2). The record book of King Ahasuerus indirectly helps save the Israelites in Persia (Esth. 2:23; 6:1). A book of remembrance is penned in the days of Malachi (Mal. 3:16). And a seven-sealed scroll is opened in the hands of Jesus, revealing future judgments (Rev. 5:1ff.).

But perhaps the most fascinating book revealed in Scripture is the one that may, or may not, feature your name: the book of life. 

Scripture tells us the book of life is God’s book. Under his sovereign authorship, names are written in the book, and many are subsequently erased from it. In some biblical references, the book of life simply appears to be a record of the living, while in other passages, it’s the roll of God’s faithful covenant people. 

But the Bible’s most dramatic revelation is that the book of life discloses the everlasting destiny of all people. It is, John writes, the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 21:27), and those whose names are written there are shielded from the lake of fire and welcomed into New Jerusalem. 

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