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FROM: 11/10/02 Radio Program
Question:
In the book of Revelation, what is it talking about when it says a name can be blotted out of the book of life?
Answer:
Revelation speaks of being "blotted out" in 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." Here, Christ said He would not blot out some, but obviously the potential is there for some to be blotted out. In fact, this term is used in both Old and New Testaments (Exodus 32:32-33; Psalm 69:28; Luke 10:20; etc.). A similar term was used when Christ talked about some whom God would "take away his part out of the book of life..." (Revelation 22:19).
To "blot out" comes from a word which means to wash out, smear out, wipe, or erase. Therefore, for one to have his name blotted out of the book of life means that his name is smeared out, or wiped out of the book of life.
Passages like these prove that it is possible for a child of God (one whose name is written in the book of life) to be lost. One cannot have his/her name "blotted out" until it was written in there, can he?
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