Who is Blotted Out of the Book of Life?
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Have you ever worried that you could sin so badly that God will blot your name out of the Book of Life?  Usually it’s Christians who have this concern because they think that the God who granted them salvation in Jesus Christ can just as easily take it away, especially if they continue to sin after their salvation.  And while it is true that with God nothing is impossible, it is impossible for God to lie and it is impossible for God to do something that is contrary to His holy character.  Also, God does not do things that are contrary to logic, such as make a stone so big that He cannot lift it.

In other words, it is impossible for God to make a promise and then not keep that promise.  And one of His promises that God has made is that your salvation in Jesus Christ is secure for all eternity.   Once you have accepted Jesus as your personal Savior you cannot be cast out and you cannot walk out either.  Your salvation is not based on your ability to earn it and it’s not based on your ability to keep it.  It’s that simple.  Once you have entrusted the salvation of your soul to Jesus, He keeps it eternally.

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”   John 6:37

However, if you do NOT “believe” in Jesus Christ as Lord of your life at some point during your life on earth then God will blot your name out of the “Book of Life” after you physically die on earth.  I also think that God will remove your name from the Book of Life if you take the mark of the Beast during the Tribulation period (but we will discuss this more later).  I am also going to discuss what is the “Book of Life” later in this article but for now let’s look at the time that God said He was going to remove names from the Book of Life … or as God calls it “My Book”.

“The LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.”   Exodus 32:33

To understand the meaning of scripture you need to put the scripture into the context of when it was said and why it was said and the way a Jewish person was saved in the Old Testament.  In this case Moses has been on Mt Sinai for 40 days receiving the 10 commandments and in his absence the Jews in the camp below create an idol of gold molded into the shape of a calf from Egypt and they worshiped the idol.  Moses and God discuss what should be done concerning this grave sin and Moses asks to be blotted out of the book which God has written in order to spare the life of those who sinned against God in this way.

“But now, if You will, forgive their sin– and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!”  Exodus 32:32

The LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.  Exodus 32:33

“But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.”  Exodus 32:34

“Then the Lord smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.”  Exodus 32:35

But God says, “no” to Moses’ request to take the punishment of the guilty and God blots out of the book of life those that sinned against Him by worshiping the golden calf.  And then God smote the people!  Note, God did not smote everyone, not even Aaron who made the calf but those who incited him and purposefully intended to usurp God’s authority.  These people’s hearts were hardened beyond repentance.  This is the equivalent of the unforgivable sin today … when a person blaspheme’s the Holy Spirit, which mean that they reject the offer of salivation in Jesus Christ.  In both cases a heart that is hardened beyond repentance is blotted out of the Book of Life and at the same time that person dies both physically and Spiritually!

Note, some Bible commentators say that Moses asked to be removed from the “Book of the Living“, which is a record of those who are physically alive on the earth at any given time.  To be blotted out of the Book if the Living means that you die physical but your eternal salvation is based on whether of not your name is written in the “Lambs Book of Life“.  In other words, according to some Bible commentators, it’s possible to be blotted out of the “Book of the Living” and physically die but if your name is written in the “Lambs Book of Life” you will be eternally alive with Christ.  Those who take this interpretation say there are “two” books and they use this scripture to back up their reasoning.

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.   Revelation 13:8
But this is the only scripture that uses the term “The Lambs book of Life” and from all other scripture the “Book of Life” and the “Lambs Book of Life” and “My Book” are one in the same book and represent our eternal standing with God.  I am going to discuss this scripture more below in reference to Calvinism but right now I am making the case that there is “one” book that keeps the record of every person who has eternal “life” in Jesus Christ.  

“He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”    Revelation 3:5

Here in Revelation 3:5, the “Book of Life” is mentioned without referring to the “Lambs Book of Life”.  So the best answer is that the “Book of Life” and the “Lambs Book of Life” are the same book and if your name is found in the “Book of Life” after you physically die then you have “eternal life” with Jesus Christ.  I like to think that God put’s an asterisk “*” by the names of those who have accepted the Jesus as Savoir but God’s doesn’t need memory aids or a book to to keep up with those who accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.  

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world– our faith. 1 John 5:4

Based on (1 John 5:4) anyone who has accepted Christ as the personal Savoir is an “overcomer” and then based on (Revelation 3:5), an “overcomer” will not have his or her name blotted out of the Book of Life.  However, some Bible commentators think a Christian must do some great works of faith to be called an “overcomer”.  Therefore those who think Revelation 3:5 is a “threat or warning” to a Christian that his name can be blotted out of the Book of life if he’s works are worthy or he commits some grave sin is a “incorrect” view of scripture.  Armenian teach that a believer can “loose” his salvation by simply thinking some sinful thought or doubting His salvation.  Of course, a Christian should be motivated to serve Jesus but our motivation should be based on our love for Christ with the assurance of His promise to “keep our salvation”, not based on a fear of loosing our salvation.  Revelation 3:5 is actually a great promise of our eternal assurance in Christ, not a threat to it.

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  – Romans 8:1

The analogy of there being a “book” with name written in it is for our human benefit of understand.  God doesn’t need a book to remember who has eternal life.  Before the “Foundation of the World”, the name of every person who God ordained to ever to be born … i.e. given a soul … were written in the “Book of Life”.  Before the Foundation of the world there was no sin, therefore God’s original intent for every person that He created was that they would become like Christ and remain in the Book of Life eternally.  And even now God’s intent is that none should perish and that all names remain in the Book of Life by accepting Christ as Savior of their life (2 Peter 3:9).

God’s original plan was that all men would be become as Christ through the sanctification and glorification process that Adam began in the garden of Eden (Ephesian 1:4).  However, because sin entered the world through Adam, man has to “first” be reconciled to God through “salvation in Jesus Christ” before he can begin the “sanctification” process.  Then after death he enters the “glorification” process where the believer gets his resurrected body.  The believer has the promise that God will complete the process of sanctification and glorification after salvation …

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” – Philippians 1:6.

Therefore, based on “your response” to God’s offer of salvation in Jesus Christ that you make during your life time on earth, your name will either “remain” in the Book of Life or be “blotted out” of the Book of Life.  In other words if you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior then your name will “remain” in the Book of Life and never be blotted out … you will live with Jesus Christ forever.  After your physical death, you will wait in Heaven to receive your resurrected body and then appear before the Judgement seat of Christ for “rewards” in Heaven.  However, if you have NOT accepted Christ as your personal Savior then after your death, your name will be blotted out of the book of life and you will wait in “Hell” (jail – unbelievers side of Sheoul) until the end of the 1,000 year Millennium period.  Then you will appear before the White Throne of Judgement for sentencing and you will exist eternally in a state of torment in the “Lake of Fire” (prison without parole).

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. – Revelation 13:8

Calvinist use the above scripture to support the claim that God has favorites, “the elect”, and He only wrote the names of His favorites into the Book of Life and they are “predetermined” to have eternal life.  Calvinist think that God only makes a way for “the elect” to be saved but everyone else is predetermined by God to eternal death.  In other words, there is no accountability or responsibility for man to choose Christ because God has predetermined everything.  We are just robots who think we have free will.  The Calvinist view of God has many falsies and one of them is that it makes God out to be a liar or schizophrenia since He has stated He desires that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9).  I have written two articles about the problems with Calvinism and there is a lot of information on the Internet that exposes the false teaching of John Calvin.  But in reference to Revelation 13:8, this passage is saying that the people on earth who worship “him”, the Antichrist, will no longer have their name written in the Book of Life because God will have blotted out their name when they took the mark of the Beast.  The mark of the Beast Spiritually seals a person for judgement just like believing in Jesus Spiritually seals a person for salvation.  So the passage above can be understood to say that the people on earth during the Tribulation period who names are “no longer” found in the Book of Life, the book that  has been written since the Foundation of the world, … these people will worship the Antichrist.

Now back to the Moses, the golden calf and the passage about God blotting out the names from the book of life for those that have sinned against Him.  The unforgivable sin is to deny Jesus, to reject the wooing of the Holy Spirit who is the One that reconciles people to Christ (Matthew 12:32).  In the case of the Jews who sinned and worshiped the golden calf, they proved that their heart was hard toward God’s offer of salvation.  God blotted their names from the Book of Life and they died both physically and Spiritually separated from God forever.   Note, however, that Aaron who also participated and allowed the making of the idol golden calf, did NOT die in this judgment.  Arron, like Moses, had a heart that worshiped God and sought forgiveness from God for his sin. Note, however, that later God “disciplined” both Aaron and Moses by NOT allowing them to enter the promise land of Israel because they struck the struck the rock at Meribah to bring water instead of speaking to it (‭‭Numbers‬ ‭20:6-13‬).   Yet, though Aaron and Moses did not make in into the promise land on earth they did make it into the promise land in Heaven, the new Jerusalem!

The good news is that a person who is “born again” in Jesus Christ is an “overcomer” and his name will not be erased from the Book of Life (1 John 5:4).   Those who have trusted their life to Jesus will eat and worship and serve with Moses and Aaron in the New Jerusalem in Heaven!

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world– our faith. 1 John 5:4

You can not be Spiritually unborn anymore than you can be Physically unborn.  When you are born again you are “sealed by the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13).  This seal is given by God and it can’t be undone by a believer.  There are many scriptures that speak of a born again Christian’s eternal assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ.

John 10: 26“But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. 27“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29“My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30“I and the Father are one.”

Romans 8: 37But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The only unforgivable sin, is the sin of NOT accepting Christ as your personal Savior.  This will cause God to blot your name out of the Book of Life at the time for your death.  It is not sinning against one another that blots a person’s name out of the Book of Life but it is the sin against God in not acknowledging that Jesus “is” Lord of your life that causes God to blot your name out of the Book of Life.  To blasphemy the Holy Spirit, is the unforgivable sin, which means you don’t accept Christ as your Savior (Mark 3:29).  Even the sin of killing someone or killing yourself is forgivable by God if the person is a believer or becomes a believer of Jesus Christ.  All the sin of a person who has made Jesus their Savior is forgiven at the cross … past, present and future sin.  Sin in a believers life cannot take away their eternal assurance of “entry” into the Kingdom of Heaven but it can take away from the inheritance of “rewards” in Heaven.

And un-confessed sin of a believer will effect the believer’s fellowship with God.  Sin effects a believers sanctification process and sin effects the rewards a believer will inherit in heaven at the judgement seat of Christ.  The long suffering and loving heart of God toward man is demonstrated in the way He handled “the apple of His eye” … David.  Even after David arranged to have Bathsheba’s husband killed in battle so he could cover up his sexual sin with Bathsheba, when David asked forgiveness from God for this sin, God forgave David.  His sin did have consequences, his child born to Bathsheba died shortly after birth and later his own son laid with David’s wife in broad daylight.  David is even said to be a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).  It is not that David never failed God but he never failed to repent and ask forgiveness from God. 

 – Rogersings


This article does a good job in explaining that the Book of Life and the Lambs book of Life are the same book.    http://bereans.com/bible_studies/the_book_of_life_one_book_o.html 

Note, however, the Berean web site author does not believe in the doctrine of once saved always saved (OSAS).   He thinks the title “overcomer” in Rev 3:5 is some title that a believer “earns” by works of faith, instead of a designated title that is given to someone who believes in Jesus Christ.  However, 1 John 5:4-5 make it clear that the title “overcomer” is given to all believers.  Salvation is not something you earn by works or a reward that you keep by works.  There are rewards a believer can earn at the “Judgement Seat of Christ” for faithfully serving Christ after he is saved but retaining his salvation is not one of them.  Salvation is not a reward but a “gift” and God’s gift is not dependent on our continued faithfulness but our “one time for all time” act of faith in acceptance of the gift of salvation in His Son Jesus Christ.  Note, even the faith to believe in Christ is a gift from God and not a work of man.  You can read more about the the rewards “all” believers will receive in this article “The New Jerusalem“.    

1 John 5: 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.      5Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

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