Question: Does the Book of Life mean Calvinists are right? | thebereancall.org

TBC Staff

On our website: https://www.thebereancall.org/content/question-does-book-life-mean-calvinists-are-right
More question and answer: https://www.thebereancall.org/questionanswer

Question: Why does Revelation:17:8 (and maybe Revelation:13:8, depending on the translation used) refer to those “whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world...”? Could that, coupled with Psalm:69:28, Revelation:3:5, and Revelation:22:19 mean that the names of all mankind are in the Book of Life, then later blotted out one by one as each Christ-rejecter crosses the line of final renunciation? I always thought that only after we believed the gospel were our names written in the Book of Life. If this were not the case, wouldn’t Calvinists say, “See! He has already chosen those whom He will save; their names are already written down before the foundation of the earth!”?

Response: Several verses speak of God blotting or not blotting names out of the book of life: “I will not blot out his name out of the book of life” (Rv 3:5); “God shall take away his part out of the book of life” (Rv 22:19); “...if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.... Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book” (Ex 32:32-33)...

Our main website: www.thebereancall.org
Store: store.thebereancall.org
Download our app: www.thebereancall.org/app

In-depth research on a variety of Bible topics:  https://www.thebereancall.org/topics
Sign up for our email updates: https://www.thebereancall.org/subscribe