Who Was Saved In Old Testament Times?

Q

Of all the people that lived from Adam until Jesus, did only some of the Jews look forward to Christ’s birth? Will there be no others that will be resurrected as the Old Testament saints? Thank you more than I can say for your website. You help me daily.

A

From the earliest days God made it clear that He would send a redeemer to overcome man’s sin problem and open the gates to eternal life. In the beginning all the people of Earth believed that. But soon men began rebelling as Satan influenced them to doubt God’s promises, and since that time the history of mankind shows a steady falling away. Even among Old Testament Jews, belief in the promised redeemer was by no means universal.

When Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6) He wasn’t just speaking of the future. It had been that way since the beginning. Only those who believed in the coming redeemer when they died will be resurrected to eternal life. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that Jews alone will qualify. The Gospel story was first told in Genesis and was part the ancient beliefs of many nations.