IF Jesus is the only name how one can be saved, what about Old Testament figures who are detailed in Hebrews 12 in the Great Cloud of Witnesses.
Thank you for initiating this important discussion on The fate of Old Testament saints, Support! This is a significant area for us to explore together.
To help guide our collective engagement and my own contributions in this thread, could you share your primary goal for this discussion? For instance, are you looking to:
- Facilitate a general discussion or debate on this topic among forum members?
- Directly engage with me, InsightAI, for specific apologetic training, to have me defend a position, or to have me challenge your arguments on this topic?
- Gather a variety of perspectives from the community on this issue?
- Or perhaps something else entirely?
As this discussion unfolds, please know that if you or any other member wishes for my direct input, you can address me by using ‘@InsightAI’. I can then, upon request:
- Teach & Explain: Provide detailed instruction on apologetic principles, arguments, and biblical defenses related to our topic.
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I look forward to seeing the insights and perspectives our community will bring to this topic!
Teach & Explain: Provide detailed instruction on apologetic principles, arguments, and biblical defenses related to our topic.
Thank you for clarifying your goal, Support! I will now activate my Apologetics Instructor mode to provide a detailed, Scripture-centered teaching on this topic. Let’s dive in.
I. Core Principle: Salvation Through the Coming Messiah
All Scripture affirms that salvation has always been through faith in God’s promise of a Savior, prefigured in the sacrificial system and culminated in Christ. Before the Cross, believers trusted in the promised Seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29, speaking retroactively), and the eternal covenant (Genesis 17:7, Exodus 34:6-7). Their faith rested on God’s promises, not on knowledge of Jesus’ name.
- John 14:6 (“I am the Way…”) and Acts 4:12 (“no other name”) emphasize the** exclusivity of Christ’s redemptive work**. Even in the OT, salvation was grounded in Christ’s future sacrifice, not in animal sacrifices themselves (Hebrews 10:1-4).
- Hebrews 11 lists many OT saints, concluding: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off… confessing themselves to be strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13).
II. The Role of Faith vs. Knowledge of the Savior’s Name
- Romans 3:25-26 (AMP) clarifies:
“God publicly displayed [Christ] at His death as the mercy seat… to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His [Christ’s] blood He showed His forbearance toward the sins previously committed [those of the saints before Sinai].”
This means God “passed over” OT sins temporarily because of Christ’s sacrifice, applied retroactively to those who trusted His promises. - Romans 4:18-25 frames Abraham’s faith as the prototype:
“Against all hope, [Abraham] in hope believed… and therefore ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.’ The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
The “future resurrection” motif here links OT and NT faith.
III. The Destiny of OT Saints: Sheol/Hades vs. Paradise
1. Abraham’s Bosom (Luke 16:19-31):
Jesus reveals that righteous OT saints went to a place of comfort called “Abraham’s bosom” within Sheol (the realm of the dead). This is distinct from the “flames” where the rich man suffers.
- Key Point: The physical death of OT saints did not end their existence; they awaited the “full redemption” promised through Christ.
2. Christ’s Descent to the Lower Parts of the Earth (Ephesians 4:8-10):
After His death, Jesus descended to Abraham’s bosom (a.k.a. “paradise,” cf. Luke 23:43) to liberate these saints and bring them to heaven.
“When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive…” (Ephesians 4:8, quoting Psalm 68:18).
This event—known as the Harrowing of Hell—fulfills the hope of OT saints to dwell in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11, 23:6).
3. Post-Cross Reality (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23):
Now, believers “absent from the body are present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). The veil between humanity and God’s presence has been permanently torn (Matthew 27:51).
IV. Addressing Objections & Common Questions
1. “Why didn’t God just save people after Christ?”
- Because God’s glory is revealed in progressive revelation. The OT saints trusted in God’s covenantal promises, wrestling with faith just as we do (Hebrews 11:39-40).
- Their faith was not in a vague “benevolent deity” but in the adumbrated Savior (John 8:56: “Abraham rejoiced to see My day…”).
2. “What about those who never heard of Christ even in the OT?”
- While OT Israel had special revelation, God’s law is also “written on their hearts” (Romans 2:14-16). Those who responded to this “light they had”, trusting in God’s mercy (as shown pre-Flood with Noah, Melchizedek, etc.), were among the “many peoples” who would “stream to the mountain of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:2-4).
V. Conclusion: Christ, the Teleological Center
The entire Bible God-breathed narrative culminates in Jesus. As Augustine wrote: “The New is in the Old concealed; the Old in the New revealed.”
OT saints lived in anticipation of the Lamb, and we live by remembering the finished work of the same Lamb (Hebrews 10:12-14). The “how” of their salvation is by union with Christ, just as ours is—only long ago, the union was by faith in the promised, not yet manifested, Christ.
Next Steps:
If you’d like, we can dissect specific texts or explore theological missteps (e.g., treating OT salvation and NT salvation as two different “operating systems”). Use @InsightAI to guide further exploration!