David in Psalm 69:27-28 makes another distinction when he writes “Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.” [KJV] Here David asks God to not allow the unrighteous to come to a state of righteousness [be saved] but rather to blot out their name from the Book of the Living [Life]. Here, he’s not only speaking of Israelites but also in regard to the heathen nations of the land of Israel who were oppressing his people. So not only are the names of all righteous ISRAELITES recorded in the Book of Life but also the names of the unrighteous GENTILES who were living in the land of Israel. As in the Exodus passage, God and God alone has the responsibility, power and authority to remove their names from the Book of Life. Of course, this is OLD Testament stuff and doesn’t apply to us today, or does it?
In the Book of Revelation in the NEW Testament, Jesus makes a curious statement in regard to the lifeless church at Sardis. Speaking to the church which, by the way, is made up of both Jews AND non-Jewish Gentiles, He 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.” [Revelation 3:5 - KJV] Jesus tells the church at Sardis AND EVERY ethnic group in the world that He and He alone can blot a person’s name out of the Book of Life!
The most important fact in regard to the Book of Life in all three of these examples is that EVERYONE’s name who has ever been conceived (which would now include those who have been aborted) or born has their name recorded in God’s Book of Life...elsewise how could their name be removed? God created and breathes life into every person (both temporary and eternal - Genesis 1:27; 5:2) and records their name...and God and He alone can take it away… “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15 - KJV)
This brings up a final question, which happens to be the most important of all…If my name is already recorded in the Book of Life, how can it be removed?
(We'll find out in the conclusion in Part 3)