Revelation 17:8  “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. (NASB1995)

Obviously, because of the nature of this riddle it is easy to miss the presence stated here of God’s people being located yet upon this earth, residing here within the book of life, during this the time of Great Tribulation.  

This is important. So, to whom do those in the book of life belong because this is a strong indicator that some, who are in the Book of Life, are present at this time.  OThe answer we are going to discover from the pages of Scripture, and it really should not surprise us just who they are. 

Revelation 18:4  I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; (NASB1995)

In order to hold to a pre-Trib Rapture, then one has to hold to a Theory that God’s people are separated from Jesus’ Church or His bride, and from His New Covenant making up that people. 

The question that must be answered is this: is it a violation of Scripture to conclude that there are two peoples of God? For then as we will see there must be two books of life. 

So we must ask what is the foundation for Israel’s Salvation if it is not the acceptance of Jesus’ death for their sin and of His resurrection from the dead, which would place them in Christ or in His bride and therefore eligible for the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20-24)?  These Revelation verses comport in every way with Paul’s explanation in (1 Cor 15) of what Jesus Himself stated: “no man comes to the Father but by Me”.  So can you prove from Scripture that there are in fact two ways to come to Jesus for salvation? Men attempt to do this but with no real solid Scripture telling us how one is saved without coming to Israel’s Christ, the One who brought in a New Covenant for the salvation of the world, including the Jew.  “To the Jew first”.  

To say that the Church is not present in the Tribulation is like saying the Church is not the people of God, or that we are not among those recorded in the “book of life”.  In fact, today and every forthcoming day concerning mankind’s salvation; that stat is only made possible by coming to and being“in Christ”. Those in Christ are the people of God.  To say that Israel is otherwise to be saved is to deny Scripture.  One of the purposes of today’s Church is the making of Israel Jealous that they may come to their Messiah and be saved (Romans 11:14). 

The old Testament makes clear that God will provide His Redemption for mankind.  Isa. 53 and 54, tell us that He is Israel’s as well as our redeemer. But it also makes clear that; though many are redeemed, many are not, because He, it is also clear would be rejected. 

Have you told your neighbors of this only one way to be saved, by coming to Israel’s Messiah.  Anyone from this world can be grafted into Israel’s olive tree which represents all, who are recorded in the book of life.  Christ is the root of that Tree. He is the giver and sustainer of life. 

His is the book of life:

Revelation 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him[speaking of Satan and the Beast], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (KJV)

Yes, the Church, which Jesus is building is made up of those already in His book of life (the book of life of the Lamb).  These are seen here as still in existence during the coming Great Tribulation.  There is no distinction in the Lamb’s book of life between the Gentiles or Israel’s saved.  We are all in His book. There is no way in Scripture to make a separation within this Lamb’s book of life between those that are in it.  The only separation is of those , who are not in it, because they are not in Christ.  The fact that the Jews or Nation of Israel are added last into Christ, by recognizing and accepting Him, does not make them separate or removable from The Lamb’s book of life.  All such persons who are being added to Christ during the Great Tribulation are already written before the foundation of the earth in this book.  And they also will rule with Christ:

Revelation 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (KJV)

And this thousand years is just the beginning of an eternity with our Lord.  How blessed we are to know Him.  If you don’t know Him, He says to us: “seek and you shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you”.  You need only to tell Him that it is your desire to love and to serve Him. He in fact already knows if your name is written in His book of Life.  He is God and He knew before the foundation of the earth just what you would do with the free will that He has given you.  That is just how big this God who created us really is.  He knows the end from the beginning. He knew then that you would be reading this message right now.  He knew that you would be drawn to Him because of His great love for you. He knew that some would spurn such great love.  As for me: I have given Him all my sin that He will break all my sin and flow through me for eternity.  How about you?

Give us your decision and your thoughts in the comments. 

More Insights:

https://raptureonline.blog/2026/05/11/the-raptures-timing-with-scriptures-insights/