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. 

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