Does God Have An Eraser?

This question was raised by a friend who was reading Revelation 3:5:

• "‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels."

He's done his own research, but I wanted to think it through for myself. What is the big deal about this verse? Well, if God erases peoples' names from the "book of life" then it can be said that salvation may be lost. This shatters the notion of "once saved, always saved" and makes salvation always at risk, always hinging on each man's actions. Therefore this is a critical question; it touches on a fundamental issue of the Christian faith. I won't deal with the larger context, but rather just focus on the book of life and possibility of being erased from it.

(If you're unclear on the purpose of the book of life, take a look at Revelation 20.)

So, starting with Revelation 3:5. A plain reading (no Greek look-ups, commentaries etc) of the text reveals a couple of things:

• This text never says that God will erase anyone’s name from the book of life
• It does not state that those who are dead/asleep in the Sardis church have a place in the book of life

To infer from this verse that one can become unsaved is to build an argument on inference alone. There are many references to the book of life found in scripture, and all but three of them simply state that a person’s name is either in it or not. These three then:

1. "“But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!” The Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book." (Exodus 32:32-33)
   In his desperate plea for the Israelites, Moses offers himself for punishment in their place. “God, spare them – take me!” However, God will not accept Moses’ offer – He is the God that “will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” While God will always remember His covenant with Israel, He has many times cut off those who have offended Him. However, those whose faith is in Him, in His provided redemption, these are the true Israel, and this remnant will always be His people (Rom 9-11.)
2. "May they be blotted out of the book of life and may they not be recorded with the righteous." (Psalm 69:28)
   This Psalm of David is a plaintive cry for help; his enemies have acted diabolically towards him – hated him without cause, attacked him without remorse, and exulted over his dishonor. David composes a verse of curse of these men, from v22-28, culminating with the above line. Can we build a doctrine of uncertain salvation on this statement? Before that happens, we better read the previous verse where David prays that these people, “may not come into Your righteousness.” There is nothing in this Psalm to indicate that these are righteous men – in fact there is all the evidence to the contrary: they are bitter foes of God’s rightly appointed king. The case for losable salvation is weak here also.
3. Revelation 3:5 - I’ve already commented on this one.

Do these verses show that salvation can be forfeit? None of them makes the case clearly - at best, any of these verses could possibly be considered as a support for such a view, but they fail to establish the view. Even if the view could be established elsewhere in scripture, I would still suggest staying away from these verses for support: the whole concept of the book of life tends to be much more conducive to an “irrevocable salvation” perspective. After all, the names of the saints were written in this book “before the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8, 17:8.) To suggest that God must later erase any of them is to question His omniscience, which is to make Him less than God. So, no, God does not have an eraser.