Book Of Life

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

The actual phrase occurs in six passages only of the NT:  Philippians 4:3,  Revelation 3:5;  Revelation 13:8;  Revelation 17:8;  Revelation 20:12;  Revelation 20:15;  Revelation 21:27 (in  Revelation 22:19 the evidence for the reading ‘book of life’ [Authorized Version] instead of ‘tree of life’ [Revised Version] is negligible). Of these passages the most important for the purpose of determining the meaning is  Revelation 20:12;  Revelation 20:15, because there the book of life is distinguished from certain other books: ‘and the books were opened, and another book was opened which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the books, according to their works … and whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire,’ The natural implication here is that the other books were records of works, but that the book of life was simply a register of the names of those destined for life-an interpretation which fits all the above-noted passages.

An interesting exegetical point comes up in connexion with  Revelation 13:8. The words ‘from the foundation of the world’ may grammatically refer either to ‘written’ or to ‘the Lamb which hath been slain.’ But in  Revelation 17:8, where the same phrase occurs, the only natural way to take it is as referring to ‘written’; and this is practically decisive for  Revelation 13:8 also (so Swete, Apoc. of St. John 2 , London, 1907, and Revised Version). The phrase thus carries a suggestion of predestination; but this is not thought of as absolute, since the idea of blotting out a name from the book of life occurs quite freely.

With the above-noted passages there fall into fine a number of others where the same conception is clearly implied:  Luke 10:20,  Daniel 12:1,  Psalms 69:28,  Exodus 32:32-33. The conception of a register found in all these passages seems to be based on the analogy of citizen-lists, registers of the theocratic community, such as are referred to in  Isaiah 4:3 : ‘He that is left in Zion shall be called holy, every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem’ (cf.  Nehemiah 12:22-23,  Ezekiel 13:9) To be written in the heavenly counterpart of such a list meant to be assured of being a sharer in the blessings destined for the true Israel. Other passages which associate themselves more or less closely with this conception are  1 Samuel 25:29,  Psalms 87:6;  Psalms 139:16,  Isaiah 48:19,  Jeremiah 22:30,  Hebrews 12:23.

The conception of a heavenly record of man’s actions, which we found clearly distinguished from the above in  Revelation 20:12;  Revelation 20:15, appears equally distinct in  Daniel 7:10 as compared with  Daniel 12:1. See also  Psalms 56:8,  Isaiah 65:6,  Malachi 3:15.

Different again is the conception of the Book with the Seven Seals in Revelation 5, for that is thought of as the book of destiny-the prophetic history of the world.

All three conceptions appear in the Book of Enoch . When the Head of Days ‘seated Himself on the throne of His glory, and the books of the living were opened before Him’ ( En. xlvii. 3), the context makes it clear that the purpose of the opening of the books is not a great assize, it is a vindication of the righteous that is at hand, and ‘the living’ means, not all living, but the righteous. Charles remarks that ‘books of the holy ones’ in En. cviii. 3 has practically the same meaning. The complementary conception ‘The book of those that shall be destroyed’ appears in Jub . xxx. 22.*[Note: It is interesting to note that the Old Latin (Donatist) text in  Jeremiah 17:13 has ‘recedentes a te scribantur in libro mortis’ (see Burkitt, Old Latin and Itala [TS iv. 3 (1896)], p. 87).] The second conception, that of a record, appears in En. lxxxix. 70ff., where the evil deeds of the shepherds are recorded and read before the Lord; cf. xc. 17, 20, xcviii. 7, 8, civ. 7 (a daily record). The idea of a book of fate or prophetic history, is represented by the ‘heavenly tablets,’ lxxxi. 1, 2, xciii. 1ff.; but this should be kept separate. See, further, following article.

As regards the origin of the conception, if we take the heavenly book in the wider sense of a record of men’s actions or a prophetic world history, it is obviously one of those conceptions for which it is not easy to establish a relation of dependence between one religion and another, since it is likely to arise independently in various places. A. Jeremias ( Babylonisches im NT , Leipzig, 1905, p. 69ff., and article‘Book of Life.’ in Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics ) has pointed to the Bab.[Note: Babylonian.]New Year’s Festival, at which it was conceived that an assembly of the gods determined the events of the year, and especially the duration of men’s lives, which was written down in a ‘tablet of life.’ For the narrower conception of the book of life as set forth above, the most interesting literary parallel is that cited by Jeremias from the Akhmim fragments of the Coptic Apoc. of Sophonias (Zephaniah), translationL. Stern, in Zeitschr. für ägypt. Sprache , xxiv. [1886], There the seer inquires about two angels whom he sees, and is told by his angel guide: ‘These are the angels of the Lord Almighty who inscribe all the good works of the righteous in His scrolls, sitting at the gate of heaven. They give these scrolls to me, to take them to the Lord Almighty, in order that He may write their name ( sc . names of the righteous) in the Book of the Living,’ This passage is not of any value as evidence for the source of the conception, for the work shows in many places dependence upon Rev., but it probably indicates correctly how the relation of the book of life to the other books in  Revelation 20:12 is to be conceived. As Alford there explains it, on internal grounds, the other books are, so to speak, the ‘vouchers’ for the book of life.

In the Apostolic Fathers the conception occurs in 1 Clem. xlv. 8: ‘Those who remained faithful, inherited glory and honour, were exalted and were inscribed by God in His memorial for ever’; Hermas, Vis . i. 3, 2: ‘Cease not to admonish thy children, for I know that if they shall repent with their whole hearts they shall be inscribed in the books of life with the saints,’ and Sim . ii. 9: ‘He that does these things shall not be abandoned by God, but shall be inscribed upon the books of the living’; cf. Mand . viii. 6: ‘Refrain thyself from all these things, that thou mayest live to God, and be enrolled with those who exercise self-restraint therein.’

Among homiletic expositions of the passage  Revelation 20:12 one of the moat impressive is that of St. Augustine in de Civ. Dei , xx. 14. Taking the book of life as a record of men’s deeds, he observes that it cannot be understood literally, since the reading of such a record would be interminable. ‘We must therefore understand it of a certain Divine power by which it shall be brought about that every one shall recall to memory all his own works, whether good or evil, and shall mentally survey them with a marvellous rapidity, so that this knowledge will either accuse or excuse conscience, and thus all and each shall be simultaneously judged.’

Literature.-R. H. Charles, The Boot of Enoch 2, Oxford. 1912, note on xlvii. 3; H. Zimmern, KAT [Note: AT Zimmern-Winckler’s ed. of the preceding (a totally distinct work), 1902-03.]3[Note: Zimmern-Winckler’s ed. of the preceding (a totally distinct work), 1902-03.]Berlin, 1903, p. 401ff.; A, Jeremias, article‘Book of Life’ in Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics  ; W. Bousset, Com. (Göttingen, 1896) on  Revelation 3:5; B. Duhm, Com . (Göttingen, 1902) on  Isaiah 4:3; A. Bertholet, Stellung der Israeliten u. der Juden zu den Fremden , Freiburg and Leipzig, 1896.

W. Montgomery.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Book Of Life . The legalistic conception of morality which existed among the Jews involved a record of the deeds of life on the basis of which the final judgment of God would be given. Allied with this was another conception, derived from the custom of enrolling citizens (  Jeremiah 22:30 ,   Nehemiah 7:5;   Nehemiah 7:64;   Nehemiah 12:22 f.; cf.   Exodus 32:32 ), of a list of those who were to partake of the blessings of the Messianic Age. A second natural step was to conceive of God as keeping two sets of books, a Book of Life (  Daniel 12:1 ff.,   Malachi 3:16 ,   Psalms 69:28 ) for the righteous, and a Book of Death for the wicked (Jub xxx 20 22). To have one’s name blotted out from the Book of Life was equivalent to complete condemnation (Eth. Enoch 108:3).

In the Apocalyptic writings of Judaism the Final Judgment was to be based upon the records contained in the books supposedly kept by the archangel Michael. In some cases Rabbinical thought elaborated the figure until each man was to read and sign his record. The judgment of God was thus supposed to be based upon absolute justice, and determined by the balance of recorded good and evil deeds. In the NT are to be found references both to the books of records ( Revelation 20:12;   Revelation 20:15; cf.   Daniel 7:10 , Eth. Enoch 89:61ff.), and to the books containing a list of those who were to enjoy eternal life (  Luke 10:20 ,   Philippians 4:3 ,   Hebrews 12:23 ,   Revelation 3:5;   Revelation 13:8;   Revelation 17:6;   Revelation 21:27 ).

Shailer Mathews.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Luke 10:20 Hebrews 12:23 Revelation 13:8 Revelation 17:8 Hebrews 12:23 Revelation 13:8 Revelation 13:8 Revelation 17:8 Revelation 21:27 Revelation 3:5 Philippians 4:3 Revelation 20:12 20:15 Revelation 21:27

Christ Himself determines whether the names that are recorded in the book of life remain in that record and are supported by His confession that they belong to Him at the day of judgment or are blotted out ( Revelation 3:5 ).

The Old Testament refers to a record kept by God of those who are a part of His people ( Exodus 32:32;  Isaiah 4:3;  Daniel 12:1;  Malachi 3:16 ). As in Revelation, God can blot out the names of those in the book ( Exodus 32:32;  Psalm 69:28 ). In the Old Testament this may simply mean people not in the book die, leaving the list of the living. Those whose names are written in the book are destined for life in a restored Jerusalem ( Isaiah 4:3 ) and deliverance through future judgment ( Daniel 12:1 ). See Apocalyptic; Book; Eschatology; Judgment, Books of.

Jeff Cranford

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

It appears that different Bible writers used the expression ‘book of life’ in different ways. In Old Testament times it may have meant simply the register of all living people. It seems also to have had a special meaning as referring to the register of all who claimed to be God’s people ( Exodus 32:32-33;  Psalms 69:28).

Among those known as God’s people, from Old Testament times to the present, there are those who become apostates or who were not genuine believers in the first place. They demonstrate this by openly and deliberately rejecting God, and God removes their names from the book of life. True believers do not reject God, and God does not remove their names from the book of life. They are assured of eternal life in its fulness ( Exodus 32:32-33;  Revelation 3:5;  Revelation 21:22-25; see Apostacy ; Backsliding ).

From this usage, ‘book of life’ has developed a more specific meaning. It becomes the register of all true believers – those whom God has chosen and who have received cleansing from sin through the blood of Jesus. Thus it becomes specifically the ‘Lamb’s book of life’ ( Luke 10:20;  Philippians 4:3;  Revelation 13:8;  Revelation 21:27). In the coming judgment, all whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life will suffer eternal punishment ( Revelation 17:8;  Revelation 20:12-15).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

In  Philippians 4:3, Paul speaks of Clement and other of his fellow-laborers, 'whose names are written in the booksof life.' On this Heinrichs observes that as the future life is represented under the image of a citizenship, community, political society, just before ( Philippians 3:20), it is in agreement with this to suppose (as usual) a catalogue of the citizens' names, both natural and adopted ( Luke 10:20;  Revelation 20:15;  Revelation 21:27), and from which the unworthy are erased ( Revelation 3:5). Thus the names of the good are often represented as registered in heaven ( Luke 10:20). But this by no means implies a certainty of salvation, but only that at that time the persons were on the list, from which (as in  Revelation 3:5) the names of unworthy members might be erased. This explanation is sufficient and satisfactory for the other important passage in  Revelation 3:5, where the glorified Christ promises to 'him that overcometh,' that he will not blot 'his name out of the book of life.' When God threatened to destroy the Israelites altogether, and make of Moses a great nation—the legislator implored forgiveness for them, and added—'if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of the book which thou hast written' ( Exodus 32:32). By this he meant nothing so foolish or absurd as to offer to forfeit eternal life in the world to come—but only that he, and not they, should be cut off from the world and brought to an untimely end.

A sealed book ( Isaiah 29:11;  Revelation 5:1-3) is a book whose contents are secret, and have for a very long time been so, and are not to be published till the seal is removed.

A book or roll written within and without, i.e. on the back side ( Revelation 5:1), may be a book containing a long series of events; it not being the custom of the ancients to write on the back side of the roll, unless when the inside would not contain the whole of the writing.

To eat a book signifies to consider it carefully, and digest it well in the mind ( Jeremiah 15:16;  Revelation 10:9).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(ספר חיּים , ṣēpher ḥayyı̄m  ; ἡ βίβλος τῆς ζωῆς , hē bı́blos tḗs zōḗs , "book of life"): The phrase is derived from the custom of the ancients of keeping genealogical records ( Nehemiah 7:5 ,  Nehemiah 7:64;  Nehemiah 12:22 ,  Nehemiah 12:23 ) and of enrolling citizens for various purposes ( Jeremiah 22:30;  Ezekiel 13:9 ). So, God is represented as having a record of all who are under His special care and guardianship. To be blotted out of the Book of Life is to be cut off from God's favor, to suffer an untimely death, as when Moses pleads that he be blotted out of God's book - that he might die, rather than that Israel should be destroyed ( Exodus 32:32;  Psalm 69:28 ). In the New Testament it is the record of the righteous who are to inherit eternal life ( Philippians 4:3;  Revelation 3:5;  Revelation 13:8;  Revelation 17:8;  Revelation 21:27 ). In the apocalyptic writings there is the conception of a book or of books, that are in God's keeping, and upon which the final judgment is to be based ( Daniel 7:10;  Daniel 12:1;  Revelation 20:12 ,  Revelation 20:15; compare Book Jubilees 39:6;  Revelation 19:9 ). See Apocalypse; Blot; Book Of Remembrance; Judgment , Last .