Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living. All the Israelites who came up out of Egypt were put down in a muster-roll of the living, called "the writing of the house of Israel" (Ezekiel 13:9) and "the book of life." Those who had died were excluded when the names were written out afresh each year. They were thereby consigned to oblivion (Proverbs 10:7). Hence, the book of life was used as an image for God's book of predestination to eternal life (Psalms 139:16; Exodus 32:32; Psalms 87:6; Daniel 12:1; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 17:8; Revelation 13:8; Revelation 21:27; Luke 10:20). The book of life, in the human point of view, has names written in it who have a name to live, but are dead, being in it only by external call, or in their own estimation, and in that of others. But in the divine point of view it contains only those who are elected finally to life. The former may be blotted out, as was Judas (Revelation 3:5; Matthew 13:12; Matthew 25:29; Matthew 7:23; Exodus 32:33; but the latter never (Revelation 20:12; Revelation 20:15; John 10:28-29; Acts 13:48) Hope succeeds to prayer