Revelation 3: 5: He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Revelation 13: 8: 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.
The prophet of God speaks at length about the Book of Life in a written work entitled “An exposition of the seven church ages,” and also addressed the subject in the message, “The invisible union of the Bride of Christ” (November 25, 1965). In these we learn a great deal about what the Book of Life actually is, and we also learn that It has a special section known as the Lamb’s section of the Book. The Book itself represents the mind and thoughts of God, for any written work is the expressed thoughts of its author. This great Book is also described as being in Heaven (Luke 10: 20; Hebrews 12: 23) because Its Author is the one who is seated upon Heaven’s Throne.
The Book contains a record of names, but not in the sense of a big long list of names as found in a telephone directory. Rather, it has everything to do with where people stand in the sight of God. To better grasp this concept, when we consider the Bible, it is actually the mind and thoughts of God in printed form, but yet one will not read of their actual name in its holy text; instead, we read our names and see our position in the economy of God by identifying ourselves with the experiences of the men and women written of in its pages.
The Book of Life is not only a symbolic reference to the mind of God, but in another sense is a record of our life in the flesh and of our old nature. For example, when we read of the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew and Luke, we learn about the book of life ancestry of Joseph and Mary; but when we get to the gospel of John, we read of Jesus’ Lamb’s Book of Life ancestry which is recorded thus: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. So in Adam is a record of our natural life, our book of life ancestry all the way back to the beginning; but in Jesus is a record of our spiritual descent, that we were an eternal attribute in the mind of Elohim, and that our theophany rotated out of the Pillar of Fire (Jesus/Melchizedek).
The stories of Ruth, Esther, and Job are self-explanatorily called “The Book of Ruth,” “The Book of Esther,” “The Book of Job” etcetera, because they are records of their natural lives. When the books (plural) are opened at the Great White Throne of Judgment (Daniel 7: 10; Revelation 20: 12), it is the records of people’s natural lives that are being unraveled for all to see; thus the prophet would tell us that history and every secret will be shouted from the housetops at that time.
Although God knows all things, yet we learn that not every person has their name written of in the Book of His thoughts. Now what exactly does this mean? To establish this point, we will look at what God said of Pharaoh in Exodus 9: 16: And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. Again, we will look at what Paul wrote in Romans 9: 22: What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: Here we learn that there are individuals (reprobates) who are put on the earth for no other purpose than to be an unwitting instrument in the hands of God to fulfil certain scriptures, after which they are cast into Hell, and later will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
People such as Cain, Pharaoh, Hitler, and billions of others throughout history never had their names written in the Book of Life, for they had hearts that could not respect nor show consideration toward God, His Word, and His people, and were therefore void of any chance of salvation and eternal life even when such opportunities were presented before them. So although they are known of God (for He is omniscient, knowing all things), yet their names are not on the Book of Life, for their lives were never destined to show any form of positive response to things of eternal value.
Then there are those whose names were on the Book of Life, but their names were later struck off the Book as a consequence of their failing to continue on in the Truth. The children of Israel in the wilderness journey from Egypt to the Promised Land are a classic example of this. They were halfway, borderline believers following the prophet Moses, but then doubted and turned against God and His prophet, resulting in them dying in the wilderness, and their names being struck off the Book. Judas Iscariot is another example of a man who was justified and sanctified, but he did not receive the Spirit baptism, and instead betrayed the Word made flesh for a few pieces of silver.
This group of people is as large as those whose names were never on the Book to begin with. They had a heart that could recognize truth and reality, but they lacked the inner substance to walk in it or at least show a sincere respect toward it. It is these people who at the Great White Throne of Judgment will discover that their names have since been struck off the Book, for they had a chance of salvation, but for the sake of worldly interests, chose to forsake the glorious opportunity that was presented to them. These people too will be cast into the Lake of Fire. It is these people along with the reprobates that will hear those fateful words: “Depart from me ye that work iniquity, I never knew you!” (Matthew 7: 23).
Those whose names remain on the Book of Life and will have eternal life are the countless numbers of children that have been aborted, as well as children who died before the age of accountability. The 144,000 Jews (having been called and sealed under the ministry of Moses and Elijah in Revelation 11) are not of the Bride group, but will be attendants to the Bride in the Millennium and in the restored earth, sitting not in the Throne, but before the Throne, hence their names are on the Book too. The foolish virgins and the fifth seal Jews will also receive eternal life, and those who showed respect to the Bride and did good to Her will receive it also. Then there are those who will not bow down to the edicts of the Beast that will be granted eternal life. There are many God-fearing Christians who are of this group. They love the Lord Jesus with all their hearts and serve Him to the best of their understanding, but they were never chosen to be a part of God’s Bride, yet their meritorious service for Christ and faithfulness to Him will earn them a special place in Glory.
As we have already seen, those whose names are on the Book of Life can potentially have their names struck off It, but those whose names are on the Lamb’s section of the Book cannot under any circumstances have their names removed. The only people who have their names recorded in the Lamb’s section of the Book of Life are God’s sons and daughters, His Bride. It is because She is a part of Him and was foreordained to the new birth and adoption. The Bride is having Her name called now from the Book of the Great Shepherd in Revelation 10, where the Mighty Angel descends from Heaven with an open Book in His hand. From this we learn that Revelation 10 is the names in the Lamb’s section of the Book of Life being called before the first resurrection, whilst Revelation 20 is the names in the Book of Life being called at the Great White Throne of Judgment after the second resurrection.