Revelation  22:19 says, “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of  this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of  the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” This verse  is usually involved in the debate concerning eternal security. Does Revelation 22:19 mean  that after a person’s name is written in the Lamb’s  Book of Life, it can at some time in the future be erased? In other words,  can a Christian lose his salvation?

First, Scripture is clear that a  true believer is kept secure by the power of God, sealed for the day of  redemption (Ephesians  4:30), and of all those whom the Father has given to the Son, He will lose  none of them (John 6:39).  The Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed, “I give them eternal life, and they shall  never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given  them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand”  (John  10:28-29b). Salvation is God’s work, not ours (Titus 3:5),  and it is His power that keeps us.

If the “anyone” referred to in Revelation  22:19 are not believers, who are they? In other words, who might want to  either add to or take away from the words of the Bible? Most likely, this  tampering with God’s Word would be done not by true believers but by those who  only profess to be Christians and who suppose that their names are in the Book  of Life. Generally speaking, the two main groups who have traditionally tampered  with the Revelation are pseudo-Christian cults and those who hold to very  liberal theological beliefs. Many cults and theological liberals claim the name  of Christ as their own, but they are not “born again”—the definitive biblical  term for a Christian.

The Bible cites several examples of those who  thought they were believers, but whose profession was proven to be false. In  John 15, Jesus refers to them as branches that did not remain in Him, the true  Vine, and therefore did not produce any fruit. We know they are false because  “by their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew  7:16, 20); true  disciples will exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit who resides within them (Galatians 5:22). In 2 Peter 2:22, false  professors are dogs returning to their own vomit and a sow who “after washing  herself returns to wallow in the mire” (ESV). The barren branch, the dog, and  the pig are all symbols of those who profess to have salvation, but who have  nothing more than their own righteousness to rely upon, not the righteousness of  Christ which truly saves.

It is doubtful that those who have repented of  their sin and been born again would willingly tamper with God’s Word in this  way—adding to it or taking from it. Of course, we recognize that good people  have sincerely held differences in the area of textual criticism! But it can be  demonstrated how cultists and liberals have repeatedly done both “adding to” and  “taking away from.” Thus, we can understand God’s warning in Revelation 22:19 in  this manner: Anyone who tampers with this crucial message will find that God did  not place his name in the Book of Life, will be denied access to the Holy City,  and will forfeit any expectation of all the good things He promises to His  saints in this book.

From a purely logical standpoint, why would the  sovereign and omniscient God—He who knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10)—write a name  in the Book of Life when He knows He will only have to erase it when that person  eventually apostatizes and denies the faith? Additionally, if you read this  warning within the context of the paragraph in which it appears—Revelation  22:6-19—you can clearly see God remains consistent in His theology: only  those who have taken heed of His warnings, repented and been born again will  have any good to look forward to in eternity. All others, sadly, have a terrible  and terrifying future awaiting them.

Revelation  3:5 is another verse that impacts this issue. “He who overcomes . . . I will  never blot out his name from the book of life.” The “overcomer” mentioned in  this letter to Sardis is the Christian. Compare this with 1 John 5:4: “Everyone who is  born of God overcomes the world.” And verse 5: “Who is he that overcomes the  world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (See also 1 John 2:13.) All believers  are “overcomers” in that they have been granted victory over the sin and  unbelief of the world.

Some people see in Revelation  3:5 the picture of God’s pen poised, ready to strike out the name of any  Christian who sins. They read into it something like this: “If you mess up and  don’t win the victory, then you’re going to lose your salvation! In fact, I will  erase your name from the Book of Life!” But this is NOT what the verse says.  Jesus is giving a promise here, not a warning.

Never does Scripture say  that God erases a believer’s name from the Book of Life—there is never even a  warning that He is contemplating it! The wonderful promise of Revelation 3:5 is that  Jesus will NOT erase one’s name. Speaking to the “overcomers”—all those redeemed  by the blood of the Lamb—Jesus gives His word that He will not delete their  names. He affirms that once a name is there, it is there forever. This is based  on the faithfulness of God.

The promise of Revelation  3:5 is directed to believers, who are secure in their salvation. In  contrast, the warning of Revelation  22:19 is directed to unbelievers, who, rather than change their hearts  toward God, attempt to change God’s Word to suit themselves.