What are the Books in Heaven?
Implications for Eternal Security in the Old and New Testaments
The Heavenly Archives
The Bible alludes to a written record-keeping system in heaven (like an archive) that contains a variety of information about people on earth. Nearly half of the clear references to this arrangement appear in the Old Testament (OT), but the greatest concentration appears in the New Testament (NT) book of Revelation.
Each of the following references refers to a written heavenly record of some kind or other. Though most instances use the word book in translation, these may refer to any kind of written record, such as a book, scroll, or document.
The IVP Bible Background Commentary observes: “The concept of divine ledgers is well known from Mesopotamia, where the ledgers concern both the decrees of one’s destiny and one’s rewards and punishments.”[1] For example, when Mordecai foiled a plot to assassinate King Ahasuerus, scribes recorded his heroic deed in “the book of the chronicles” (Esther 2:23). Later, Ahasuerus rewarded Mordecai for his heroism as a result of this record of his deeds (Esther 6:1-3).
Exodus 32:32-33
Yet now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of your book which you have written. And the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book.”
This reference provides no name or detailed description of the book. Therefore, we should refrain from equating this book with the NT “Book of Life” (or “Lamb’s Book of Life”). Instead, it most likely refers to a “book of the living” as mentioned in Psalm 69:28. This concept refers to an ancient, customary practice of recording the names of people who lived in a city or region as a member of that community. Those whose names were removed from this ledger were relegated to death and removal from the community, which in this case was the newly formed nation of Israel.
In this case, Moses offered to be removed from the nation by death so that those who had sinned could remain there alive. God refused this offer, however, by choosing to remove the disobedient Israelites instead, which he did through a deadly plague (Exo 32:35). As such, this book and the actions of “blotting out” names from it ledgers refer to a physical life and death status, not eternal life and damnation. Also, it is possible that Moses and God referred to this book in a metaphorical sense, not a literal one, using well-known cultural practices (such as a community register) to refer the people’s personal status in the mind of God.
Psalm 56:8
You number my wanderings; put my tears into your bottle; are they not in your book?
As in the previous instance, this reference gives no name or detailed description of the book it mentions. As such, it may be metaphorical rather than literal. In a poetic fashion, David acknowledges that God took a personal interest in his sufferings and watched over him in a meticulous way.
First, he treasured up David’s difficult experiences (“his tears”) by “storing them in a leather bottle,” which is the meaning of this word. It is unlikely, though, that this refers to a real leather bottle because there would be no killing of animals in heaven, which indicates the metaphorical nature of this statement. Second, God recorded David’s difficulties in written form (at least metaphorically speaking). At the very least, this portrays God’s personal attention to our sufferings; at the very most, it indicates that he records them all in a written form of some kind.
Psalm 69:28
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
As in Exodus 32:32-33, this book refers to a record (whether actual or metaphorical) of people whom God recognized as a legitimate, living member of his covenant people, Israel. Such people did what was right by following the “law of the Lord” and enjoyed a peaceful, guilt-free life within the Israelite nation (Psa 1:1-3). However, people who willfully violated or disregarded God’s law were admitted to the courts of law, received a guilty verdict, and eventually died instead (Psa 1:4-6).
While this concept resembles God’s future, eternal judgments and verdicts for all people at the end of time before his heavenly throne, they do not likely refer to them directly. As such, this “book of the living” and the action of “blotting out” the names of antagonistic, troublesome people (i.e., God’s enemies who harass his people) most likely refers to physical life and death in Israel rather than eternal life and damnation (though the latter would be a logical result).
Psalm 139:16
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.
Once again, this reference gives no name or detailed description of the book in view. Also, the things which were written in this instance do not refer to what comes before (the psalmist’s “unformed substance,” which may refer to his embryonic state before birth). It refers instead to what comes after, “the days fashioned for me.”
Knowing this, this verse describes the days that God had predetermined for David to live. This in mind, “your book” may refer to the “book of the living” (Exo 32:32-33; Psa 69:28). Then again, it may refer to another book entirely, or to a book in the metaphorical sense that portrays God’s detailed knowledge and predetermination of the length of a person’s life.
Ezekiel 13:9
My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of my people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
This “record of the house of Israel” refers to a record of names for people who were legitimate members of the nation. Keil and Delitzsch explain that “any one whose name was not admitted into this book, or was struck out of it, was separated thereby from the citizenship of Israel, and lost all the privileges which citizenship conferred.” In this way, this “record of the house of Israel” corresponds with the “book of the living” mentioned previously (Exo 32:32-33; Psa 69:28).
In this instance, it refers to false prophets who spoke lies to the people to turn them away from God. God would reject them as citizens of Israel and remove his protective, covenantal sanction over them in this life, relegating them to banishment, bewilderment, and certain death (see Ezek 13:10-23). As with Psalm 69:28, this pronouncement focuses on the physical life and death of these people, though eternal damnation would be a logical result.
Daniel 7:10
A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. A thousand thousands ministered to him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
As in previous instances, this reference gives no name or detailed description of the books in view. It differs from previous references, though, because it is plural and refers to more than one book. As such, it refers to all the heavenly records at God’s disposal – the entire archive, as it were.
Furthermore, these records were opened for the purpose of God’s divine judgment at the end of all time from the court and throne room of heaven. If this is metaphorical, then it refers to God’s voluminous, inexhaustible memory and knowledge by which he is able to ensure perfect and complete justice for every person.
Daniel 12:1
At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book.
As many times before, this reference provides no detailed description or name for “the book” in question. This prophecy likely refers to the end of the Tribulation period in which the Antichrist will persecute the Jewish nation with unprecedented furor. Despite this excruciating ordeal, God promises to deliver “his people” from it. Who are these people? “Every one who is found written in the book.”
Once again, this book likely refers to a record, whether an actual record in heaven or a metaphorical reference to God’s omniscient, indelible memory. It does not refer to all Jewish people in an ethnic sense. Instead, it refers to “every one who is found written in the book.” In other words, it refers to everyone (esp. Jews, but anyone else as well) who would exhibit genuine faith in the Messiah despite the persecution they endured, refusing to capitulate to the antichrist while serving as a witness for the Messiah instead (see Joel 2:32). As such, though this book may be a reference to the “Book of Life,” such a parallel is not clear. Therefore we should refrain from making that connection with dogmatism
Isaiah 65:6
Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will repay— even repay into their bosom.
This instance refers to one of two things. First, it may refer to the peoples’ sins listed previously (Isa 65:1-5). If so, this would refer to one or some of the books in God’s heavenly archives (Dan 7:10). Second, it may refer to a divine verdict of judgment for the peoples’ sins, written down in a permanent, irrevocable way. In either case, it may refer to an actual written record, or it may refer to either concept in a metaphorical way.
Malachi 3:16
Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on his name.
This “book of remembrance” may be another record included in “the books” of God’s heavenly archives (Dan 7:10). While it may refer to a separate and distinct scroll, it may also be translated as “a written reminder” added to another, larger scroll. Then again, it may also be a metaphorical, customary description of God’s indelible memory.
Whatever the case, this record contained either the names or the behavior of those who resisted apostasy in Israel prior to the intertestamental period and who exhibited the qualities of genuine faith in God. In a time of future judgment, God would spare these people from the outpouring of his wrath (Mal 3:17-18).
Luke 10:20
Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
Though this reference doesn’t mention a book or scroll, it alludes to such a record indirectly. It specifically describes the spiritual status of seventy Jewish people to whom Jesus had given a special mission during his earthly ministry. He sent them out his witnesses in some cities of Israel, such as Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum (Luke 10:1-16). Afterwards, he encouraged them to rejoice, not because they had experienced some miracle-working power, but because their “names are written in heaven.”
This phrase described their special status as citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom due to their genuine faith in the Messiah (Luke 10:21-22). It also begins to expand the OT concept of a “book of life” from an earthly to a heavenly dimension.
Philippians 4:3
I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
This instance refers to a “Book of Life” and affirms that the names of Paul’s faithful ministry partners appeared in this record. These partners included a man named Clement, who was likely a Gentile believer, not a Jewish one: his Latin name (not Hebrew) indicates this characteristic.
This instance is especially fascinating because it resembles what Jesus said previously to his fellow Jewish ministry partners (Luke 10:20). In this way, Paul affirmed that not only were the co-laborers of Jesus recognized as full-fledged citizens of God’s heavenly community, but the ministry partners of Paul enjoyed the same privilege.
Hebrews 12:23
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect.
This verse describes people who are “registered in heaven.” The word registered is a more technical form of written that means “enrolled” or “written down onto a census list.” As such, it appears to be a more specific description of what Jesus (to Jewish believers/co-laborers) and Paul (to Gentile and Jewish believers/co-laborers) have already alluded to (Luke 10:20; Phil 4:3). This word identifies the people on the heavenly list as bona fide members of the group, which in this case is a future celebration and entrance into God’s eternal, heavenly kingdom.
This verse refers to a gathering of all believers from all time, whether OT or NT, living or dead, Jewish or Gentile. David Allen observes: “This reference harks back to Heb 2:12 where the author quoted Ps 21:23 (LXX): ‘I will declare your name to my brothers, in the midst of the assembly [ekklēsia] I will sing praises to you.’ … They have also come to the ‘spirits of righteous men made perfect.’ The word spirits here probably refers to the spirit apart from the body awaiting the final resurrection. That they have been ‘made perfect’ means they have died and reached the state of having been perfected by Christ’s atonement. The reference is to both OT and NT saints.”[2]
Revelation 3:5
He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
This verse continues the NT emphasis on the names of true believers being recorded in a heavenly register and, like Paul, calls this register the “Book of Life” (Phil 4:3). This promise from Christ applies to believers today who exhibit genuine faith by overcoming obstacles and persevering throughout their earthly lives. Christ assures these true believers, whether Jew or Gentile, that he will never remove their names from the registry of his heavenly, eternal kingdom.
Some speculate that this promise requires the opposite possibility as well, that it is possible for a believer’s name to be removed from the Book of Life, which would entail the loss of salvation. However, this is merely a logical assumption, not a biblical truth, and two later references in Revelation refute this wrong assumption (Rev 13:8; 17:8).
Revelation 5:1
I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
This “scroll” is the same word translated as “book” elsewhere. Here it refers to a seven-sealed scroll (whether actual or metaphorical) that will announce a series of cataclysmic judgments by God on earth during the Tribulation (Rev 5:2-6:17; 8:1-6).
Revelation 13:8
All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
This refers to the same “Book of Life” as before (Rev 3:5; Phil 4:3). It also adds a specific descriptor, “of the Lamb,” which identifies Christ, the sacrificial Lamb of God (John 1:29), as the basis for this book’s (or record’s) existence. Without the atoning sacrifice of Christ, no person could ever be registered in this book, OT or NT.
Another important detail in this verse must also be considered, the phrase “from the foundation of the world.” It appears six other times in the NT (Matt 13:35; 25:34; Luke 11:50; Heb 4:3; 9:26; Rev 17:8), and a similar phrase, “before the foundation of the world,” also appears (John 17:24; Eph 1:4; 1 Pet 1:20). Robert Thomas observes that this concept “cannot be limited to the beginning of human history, but must refer to the founding of the whole visible order.”[3] As such, it refers to irreversible plans set in motion by God before he spoke anything into existence.
In this instance, John describes the sacrificial death of Christ as an irreversible plan set in motion by God before he made the worlds. He did not “come up with” this idea as a response to Adam and Eve’s first sin, but he had already determined to do it beforehand.
Revelation 17:8
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
This instance carries forward the “Book of Life” concept as developed in the NT. Here it describes people whose names are not written the book. These people will be alive on earth at the end of tribulation period who had refused to believe on Christ as Messiah.
Apart from knowing this, it is also important to recognize the reoccurrence of the phrase “from the foundation of the world.” In Revelation 13:8, this phrase described the atoning, sacrificial death of Jesus Christ as the basis for names being entered in the Book of Life; but here in Revelation 17:8, the phrase describes the names themselves.
We should affirm that the death of Christ was a settled, irreversible choice made by God before he made all things, and he made this choice in tandem with the choice to send Christ as our atoning sacrifice. We should also affirm that the names of those who would be redeemed by his atoning sacrifice (and given entrance into his eternal kingdom as a result) have also been recorded in a pre-temporal, irreversible way. What’s more, the absence of all other names (those who will not believe and will not be redeemed) is also a pre-temporal, irreversible reality.
This fact negates the possibility of God removing the name of any person from this list at a later point in time.[4] The presence of every true believer on this registry of the redeemed is as irreversible as the very death of Christ, and so is the absence of others. This is a permanent record fixed and established before Creation, which corresponds to what Jesus taught when he said to Nicodemus, “He who believes in him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). No one can earn or coerce his or her way onto this list, and no one can be removed.
Revelation 20:12, 15
I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
This instance describes a frightening, awful moment before a “great white throne” of judgment in heaven (Rev 20:11). This courtroom/throne room event will exclude believers but will encompass every nonbeliever from history, from the beginning to the end of time. Nonbelievers, whether Jew or Gentile, will be gathered from their graves throughout the world for individual hearings before God.
The place of these persons’ eternal destiny (the Lake of Fire) will be determined by the absence of their name from the Book of Life (which will be invoked, Rev 12:15). Beyond this, the degree and details of their individual punishments will be determined by their individual works (Rev 12:12).[5] From this it seems apparent that though all nonbelievers will suffer unbearable, conscious torment in separation from God forever, some will suffer more intensively than others.
Revelation 21:27
There shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
This instance reiterates that only those people whose names are recorded in the permanent, redemptive registry of heaven will enter God’s eternal kingdom. People who enter eternity as unrepentant, unredeemed sinners will be denied entry his kingdom (1 Cor 6:9-11).
Revelation 22:18-19
For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
This statement serves as a divine warning for anyone who would dare to deliberately alter the words and message of Revelation. Heretics like Marcion did this in the period of the early church and liberal higher critics have done so in recent years.[6]
It is important to know that these verses contain a crucial textual variant of which we should be aware. The NET Bible translator notes provide this helpful explanation:
“The Textus Receptus, on which the KJV rests, reads “the book” of life (ἀπὸ βίβλου, apo biblou) instead of ‘the tree” of life.’ When the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus translated the NT he had access to no Greek MSS for the last six verses of Revelation. So he translated the Latin Vulgate back into Greek at this point. As a result, he created seventeen textual variants which were not in any Greek MSS. The most notorious of these is this reading. It is thus decidedly inauthentic, while ‘the tree’ of life, found in the best and virtually all Greek MSS, is clearly authentic. The confusion was most likely due to an intra-Latin switch: The form of the word for ‘tree’ in Latin in this passage is ligno; the word for ‘book’ is libro. The two-letter difference accounts for an accidental alteration in some Latin MSS; that “book of life” as well as ‘tree of life’ is a common expression in the Apocalypse probably accounts for why this was not noticed by Erasmus or the KJV translators.”[7]
Knowing this, we should benefit from the oldest and vast majority of manuscripts available to us today which say, “God shall take away his part from the tree of life” rather than “Book of Life.” In doing so, we recognize that this is not a reference to the Book of Life in heaven and does not relate to this discussion.
Conclusion
This study of the “books” in heaven reveals a gradual progression from the OT to the NT.
In the OT, allusions to the books in heaven refer to a variety of information of which God keeps a permanent record. These records give special attention to whom he recognizes as part of his chosen, covenant community on earth through the nation of Israel. Those who followed his Law remained on record as legitimate members of the community, while those who rejected his Law were removed. Though this scenario implies certain implications in the afterlife, it focused on physical life and death rather than eternal life and damnation.
In the NT, allusions books in heaven shift attention to heavenly and eternal realities. They move beyond the paradigm of national Israel and temporal life on earth to encompass all redeemed persons, whether Jew or Gentile, and their future place in the eternal kingdom of God. These future realities are the result of an irreversible choice made by God to send Christ as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, a choice he made before he created anything. As such, the Book of Life as portrayed in the NT refers to a permanent record of all believers, both Jew and Gentile, from the beginning to the end of time.
On the basis of this study, it is clear that the redemptive status of every believer, not just in the NT, has always been an irreversible reality. At no time in history – past, present, or future – is a true follower of God able to “lose” his or her salvation. Whether or not a person is redeemed by God is a matter of permanent, public record in heaven which cannot be altered. Both Nahum, an OT prophet, and Paul, a NT apostle, affirms this timeless truth:
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows those who trust in him. (Nah 1:7)
Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (2 Tim 2:19)
[1] Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000), Ex 32:30-35.
[2] David L. Allen, Hebrews, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 2010), 592.
[3] Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22: An Exegetical Commentary (Chicago: Moody, 1995), 165.
[4] As a result, it counters a popular view which claims that the name of every person appears in the Book of Life from the beginning of time, but those who go one to reject Christ are later “blotted out” at a later point in time before they die, thus sealing their eternal doom.
[5] Stephen R. Miller, Daniel, vol. 18, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994), 205.
[6] Cited from John MacArthur at https://www.gty.org/library/bibleqnas-library/QA0106/hands-off-the-word-of-god, 7 September 2019 at 7:17 p.m.
[7] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Rev 22:19.
