Can a name be blotted out of the Book of Life?
and .
The short answer Settled
No. Christ promises never to blot out a believer's name. is a promise, not a threat, and does not speak of erasing a name.
A promise
"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" (). Christ does not say He blots out anyone's name. He says He will not. The Greek is ou mē exaleipsōGreekοὐ μὴ ἐξαλείψωou mē exaleipsōI will not blot out3756, 3361, 1813 · Two negatives with the verb, two words for "not" put together, the firmest denial Greek has. It means He will never blot it out.
John says who overcomes: "Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (). So the promise is to every believer. Revelation describes the lost as never written: "whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world" ().
His part
Revelation ends with a warning to everyone who hears the book:
"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; and 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" ().
When John means a name, he says "name": "I will not blot out his name" (). Here he says "part," a man's share. It is his whole share, not some of the blessings. Revelation uses the same word for the unbelieving, who "shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire" (). And no one is partly in the city: "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie" ().
So whose part is taken? Not a believer's, because Christ never blots out his name. The lost were never written. So the man who loses his part never had his name in the book. Jesus spoke of this kind of loss: "Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him" (). The man heard the book with God's people and seemed to have a share with them. God takes away the share he only seemed to have.
If a believer does it
A believer could take away from the words of this book. It would be a sin like any other. Revelation names sins believers commit: "all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire" (). Yet no believer is there, because Christ "loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood" (). Jesus said, "he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment" ().
The Book of Life holds names, not deeds: "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" (). A believer's sin brings the Father's discipline and loss of reward. It never takes his name out of the book.
The usual objection
If Christ promises not to blot out the name of the one who overcomes, then a name can be blotted out, and a believer who does not overcome would lose his. seems to say so directly.
is a promise to the one who overcomes: "I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life." And John says who overcomes: "Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (). The promise covers every believer.
does not say a name is blotted out. It takes away a man's "part," and the man who loses it never had his name written.
Textual note. One textual difference touches this question. The Greek text the KJV and NKJV follow, the Received Text, reads "God shall take away his part from the Book of Life." The Majority Text, which follows most Greek copies, reads may God take away his part from the tree of life. On that reading the verse does not mention the Book of Life, and it calls down a curse rather than announcing a sentence. But the answer is the same. The tree of life goes with entering the city (), so losing a part in it is still losing everything. Either way the verse speaks of a man's part, not his name, and the man who loses it never had his name written. This study follows the Received Text.
The words behind it
| Word | Where | Form | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| οὐ μὴ ἐξαλείψω ou mē exaleipsō, "I will not blot out" (Strong's 3756, 3361, 1813) | Two negatives with the verb | The firmest denial Greek has: never. | |
| ὁ νικῶν ho nikōn, "He who overcomes" (3528) | Present participle | John names who this is ... | |
| τίς ἐστιν ὁ νικῶν τὸν κόσμον, εἰ μὴ ὁ πιστεύων tis estin ho nikōn ton kosmon, ei mē ho pisteuōn, "Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes" (3528, 4100) | Present participles | ... the one who believes. | |
| ὧν οὐ γέγραπται τὰ ὀνόματα hōn ou gegraptai ta onomata, "whose names are not written" (1125, 3686) | Perfect passive, negated | The lost were never written. | |
| τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ to meros autou, "his part" (3313) | Noun | A share; the same word as "their part" in the lake (). | |
| ὃ δοκεῖ ἔχειν ho dokei echein, "what he seems to have" (3739, 1380, 2192) | Present indicative with infinitive | Taken from a man who "does not have" it. |
The difference that touches this question is explained above. No other textual variant affects the conclusion.
This study checks the Greek Received Text against the Majority Text, and the written Hebrew against its traditional reading. If a difference could change a conclusion, this note explains it. Otherwise it says that none does.