Where in the Bible does it indicate that when we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, our names are wiped clean from the book of death and entered into the book of life?
The Bible does not claim that our names are erased from the book of death and entered into the book of life, to put it briefly. Actually, the Bible never makes reference to the book of death directly. The idea of a book of death can only be derived from Revelation 20:12. The passage says, “And I saw books opened, and I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne.” The book of life was then opened, which is another book. And based on their deeds, the deceased were judged by what was recorded in the books. (Revelation 20:12)
The book of life
It is evident that books were opened, but it never explains what the books are or how we are to be assessed. Nevertheless, the books do show what has been opened. We are indeed reminded of one book in particular by this passage: the book of life.
In the whole of Scripture, the book of life is mentioned just eight times. It is mentioned outside of the book of Revelation only once. Every paragraph makes reference to whether or not a person’s name appears in the Book of Life. There is no mention of switching between books in any of these chapters.
Names not found in the book of life
The verses in Revelation 13:8 and 17:8 concerning names that are not included in the Book of Life are the most fascinating.
“And every person who lives on earth will worship it, everyone whose name is not recorded in the book of life of the slain Lamb before the world was founded.” (John 13:8)
“The beast that you witnessed existed, does not exist now, and is set to emerge from the abyss and face annihilation. And because the beast was, is, and will come, those who live on earth whose names are not recorded in the book of life from the beginning of time will be astounded to see it. (John 17:8)
Written from the foundation of the world
It makes sense that for those who do believe in Jesus, their names have been in the book since the beginning of time if certain names have not been inscribed in the book of life since the creation of the universe. Paul also writes about God selecting us before the world was created in Ephesians 1:3-6.
Consider this: your name has been recorded in the book of life from the beginning of time if you have trusted in Christ for the atonement of your sins. According to Revelation 3:5, your name will never be blotted out. We may be sure that our Lord knew us as His own before we were ever born and that He will never reject us.
