false prophet 2014c

The phrase “book of life” occurs only eight times in the Bible, and seven of them are in Revelation. In addition, there are four instances in the Old Testament that refer to God having a book.

This book of life has been the subject of many misleading ideas which are not scriptural. For example, evangelical preachers often use the book of life with an emotional appeal, urging people to accept Jesus as their personal savior so their names will be written in the book of life and they will go to heaven when they die.

Revelation 13:8 ESV / 54 helpful votes

And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

Revelation 3:5 ESV / 46 helpful votes

The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

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Revelation 20:12 ESV / 44 helpful votes

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

Revelation 20:15 ESV / 39 helpful votes

And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

10See, for example, M. Rist, "Life, Book of," in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (New York: Abingdon,
1962) 3:130. See also Thomas W. Davis, "Book, Book of Life" in Walter Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of
Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 74. Davis describes the book as a simple "list of the righteous" in the
OT and a "eternal ledger of heavenly citizenship" in the NT.

11Cited in I. Howard Marshall, Kept By the Power of God: A Study of Perseverance and Falling Away
(Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1969), 29-39.

12Robert Shank, Elect in the Son (Springfield: Westcott, 1970), 207ff. and Life in the Son (Springfield: Westcott,
1960), 281, 365. See also W. M. Ramsay, Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1907),
385.

13J. A. Seiss, Letters to the Seven Churches (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1956), 201. Compare the critique of this view
by John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chicago: Moody, 1966), 82. See also his Prophecy Knowledge
Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991) for a current statement. Walvoord takes umbrage with Seiss’ suggestion
that eternal salvation blessings could be lost.

14As observed in footnote 13, Walvoord, Revelation, 82.

15E. W. Smith, "Book of Life," in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, gen. ed. Geoffrey Bromiley,
rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), 1:534. See also Walter Kaiser, "Exodus," 481; Robert Gromacki, Is Salvation
Forever? (Chicago: Moody, 1973), 156, 157. Gromacki concedes that the list "does seem to contain a roster of the
names of saved people."