The Book of Life
There’s an old song called, “I Know my Name is There” written by D.S. Warner in 1893. The first stanza of the song goes: “My name is in the book of Life, / Oh, bless the name of Jesus; / I rise above all doubt and strife, / And read my title clear.” The chorus of the song says, “I know, I know, / My name is there; / I know, I know, / My name is written there.”
The first reference to this book is in Exodus 32 after the Israelites sin of making a golden calf. Moses intercedes: “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written” (Exodus 32:31-32). God replied: “Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book” (Exodus 32:33). Some are written in God’s book and some will be blotted out of God’s book. The New Testament mentions the Book of Life in Philippians 4:3, Revelation 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12, 15, 21:27, and 22:19.
Everyone’s name is written in the book of life at some point, because we all come into the world without sin as innocent children. When sin enters our life, our name is blotted out. That isn’t the end, though, because we can have our name written again into the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 21:27). Revelation 3:5 says, “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.” God bless you, and I love you.