Johan Malan, Mossel Bay, South Africa (August 2016)
All people of all ages can only be saved by virtue of the atonement of Jesus Christ, and that also applies to believers of the Old Testament (OT). Before Christ’s coming, God provisionally forgave the sins of people, pending the coming and atoning death of His Son. The crucifixion of Christ also ratified the imputed righteousness offered to converts during Old Testament times. All the sacrifices brought during the OT period in the tabernacle and the various temples had no intrinsic value with regard to forgiveness, cleansing, and atonement, as they were only preliminary in nature by being shadowy pointers to the atoning death of the Lamb of God:
“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. … For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Therefore, when He [Jesus Christ] came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, Behold, I have come – in the volume of the Book it is written of Me – to do Your will, O God.’ … By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:1-10).
Paul wrote these words to the Jews (the Hebrews) so they could realise that there is no salvation outside the Messiah, Jesus. He reminds them that even Moses, the person through whose mediation they received the law, fixed his hope on the coming of the Messiah, through whose name only Israel and the Gentiles can be saved. Moses fully realised that Israel was called to be a Messianic people through whom a Saviour would be offered to the world – not only a law with its temple service – and that is why the forces of darkness were intent on opposing and eradicating the Chosen People. Satan knew that only the Son of God is able to break the power of sin, and for that reason he tried in everything in his power to destroy Israel and prevent the coming of the Messiah. Moses intensely experienced this hostility but also realised that it was exceedingly worthwhile to suffer because of Israel’s Messianic expectation, and thereby also for the sake of the Messiah Himself:
“By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Heb. 11:24-26). Moses lived 1 500 years before the birth of Christ, and already then he accepted the reproach and rejection which God’s Son and His followers would experience. He knew that he had to make a clear decision between the narrow way of God’s righteousness and the broad way with its worldliness and form of godliness. On the narrow way, the Messiah Himself is the door through whom we can enter into the kingdom of God (John 10:9).
This is the reason why Moses did not say to his contemporaries that faithfulness to the law is the final objective of their faith, but rather faithfulness to the promised Messiah, despite the criticism and rejection which they may suffer. He said to them: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear” (Deut. 18:15). The Messiah would be a human being like Moses, but the Lord would beget Him and therefore He would also be called the Son of God.
Paul likewise emphasised the Messianic expectation of Israel and pointed to the fact that they were only temporarily guarded under the law and included in God’s kingdom until faith in the Messiah has been revealed (Gal. 3:23). The validation of their salvation was therefore dependent upon the Messiah’s coming, so He could fulfil and abolish all the sacrifices by His once for all sacrifice on the cross. Israel were encouraged to put their faith in Him, as He could do to them what the law could not do, i.e. to save and redeem them. Nobody was able to fully observe the law, and for that reason no one could be saved by the law. In this impasse the law was Israel’s tutor to bring them to Christ, and after being reconciled to God they should realise that they no longer need a tutor in the form of the Old Testament law (Gal. 3:24-25).
An important biblical fact of which we should be mindful is that all people are participators in the Fall as all of them inherited Adam’s sin-inclined nature and its inevitable consequences of alienation from God and death (Rom. 5:12). All people of all dispensations are sinners (Ps. 14:2-3; Rom. 3:10-12), and for that reason all of them are subject to the death penalty which was imposed upon all sinners of all time (Ezek. 18:4; Rom. 6:23). Salvation, acquittal of the death penalty imposed on sinners, as well as deliverance from the power of sin can only be granted by the last Adam: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22).
The nature of our spiritual lives are therefore determined by two Adams: “The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. … The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second man is the Lord from heaven” (1 Cor. 15:45, 47). The first Adam was the founding father of a human race of fallen sinners. The second Adam, Jesus Christ, is the beginning of all reborn believers on earth who were forgiven by virtue of His atoning death and to whom a new life – His holy resurrection life – was imputed. Only in Him can a fallen man be spiritually regenerated to become a co-heir of the kingdom of heaven (Phil. 3:20). In the light of these facts it is obvious that the salvation which God offered to people before the coming of Christ was preliminary and conditional as it had to be validated and sealed by the coming and atoning death of the last Adam (Christ).
God’s grace to sinners who repented and trusted Him for forgiveness, only materialised through the sacrifice of the Lamb Whom He sent to pay the ransom for sinners. Before the incarnation of Jesus an angel appeared to Joseph and said to him: “… that which is conceived in her [his wife, Mary] is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:20-21). The name “Jesus” is a contraction of “Yahweh” and “saves” (The Lord saves, or The Lord is Salvation). Jesus is the promised Saviour who is “the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Through Him “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Tit. 2:11). By virtue of His crucifixion all people before or after His incarnation can be acquitted from the punishment which is due to all sinners.
The promise of the Messiah was already given to the founding fathers of Israel. Old Testament believers before the birth of Christ all received the promise of the Messiah’s coming but they did not receive the fulfilment of what was promised. Paul says about these OT heroes of faith: “And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us” (Heb. 11:39-40). The validation of their faith and the fulfilment of all the shadowy sacrifices under the law only occurred with the crucifixion of Christ. Subsequently, these believers, together with us, could be joined together in the name of the Saviour into one body of believers of all times.
The strong expectation on the coming of the Messiah was clearly portrayed in the life of Abraham. The Lord promised to him that from among his descendants a blessing for all nations would emerge (Gen. 12:2-3; 22:17-18). Paul confirms the fact that the blessing of Abraham came to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:8, 14). Abraham was aware of the fact that the Saviour of the world would be born among his descendants, and he joyfully anticipated that day. The Lord Jesus said to the agnostic (legalistic) Jews: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56).
Because of their ignorance on the eternal self-existence of Jesus, these Jews could not believe that He was known to Abraham. “Jesus said to them: Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). In this way He confirmed His deity as the eternal I AM. Only He can save these law-observing people who have a mere form of godliness, as well as all other sinners on earth. He said: “… if you do not believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins” (John 8:24; Modern King James Version). Law observation alone, without expecting and accepting the Messiah who would fulfil all the sacrifices, could not save any Jew.
Abraham had a promise and vision of the coming Messiah, and because of that he rejoiced in God’s saving grace. He even had a more remote vision of the new Jerusalem in which all believers will one day live, “for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10). In the same way, other Old Testament believers also awaited the fulfilling of God’s promises. They had the promise of an earthly fatherland, the Messiah who would come as Saviour and King, and also the promise of the new Jerusalem. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, they were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth” (Heb. 11:13). These believers realised that their struggle, tribulation and pilgrimage on earth would continue until the Messiah comes to seal their salvation and reveal the kingdom of heaven on earth. They had to await the fulfilment of the promises, and by faith they fully embraced them.
During His transfiguration on the Mount, Christ gave a clear demonstration on how He fulfilled the law and the prophets. His face was bright and His robe became white and glistering. “Then behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:30-31). The earthly ministry of Jesus was the fulfilment of the law and the prophets. He said that He did not come to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfil them (Matt. 5:17). Strong’s translates the Greek word for “fulfil” (pleroo) as “finish (a period or task) … end, expire, fill (up)”. Jesus fulfilled everything which was promised or foreshadowed by the old covenant; therefore, Paul could say: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets” (Rom. 3:21).
On the Mount of transfiguration Moses was the personification of the law, while Elijah appeared on behalf of the prophets. They were clearly well acquainted with Jesus and were engaged in a discussion with Him on the completion of His earthly ministry of atonement by means of His crucifixion in Jerusalem. The Greek word which is used in Luke 9:31 for “decease” is exodos. In different Bibles and commentaries, this word is rendered going out, exit, departure, going away, death and exodus. In Hebrews 11:22 the word exodos is used for the departure of Israel from Egypt, but in 2 Peter 1:15 it is rendered decease. The discussion on the Mount therefore clearly focussed on the completion of Jesus’ ministry through His sacrifice of atonement, but also that He would subsequently depart to heaven. In his Explanatory Notes, Wesley says: “The Greek word for decease is exodus, an unusual word for death. It means a departure and is, as Bengel says, a very weighty word, since it includes the passion, crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension” (of Christ). He would fulfil His ministry and then depart.
The event and discussion on the Mount also has prophetic significance. Not only Jesus, but also Moses and Elijah, had a glorified appearance which points ahead to the fully revealed kingdom of God on earth. On the Isle of Patmos, John had a vision of the Day of the Lord, in which he saw Jesus as “One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire” (Rev. 1:13-14). During that time there will also be two witnesses to testify about Jesus (Rev. 11:3-13). In the last chapter of the Old Testament the Lord says: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (Mal. 4:5). It is possible that Moses (or someone like him) will be the other witness.
The preliminary nature of Old Testament believers’ reconciliation with God is also evident from the fact that after their death they were kept in a place of waiting in the lower parts of the earth, pending the coming of the Messiah who would, with retroactive effect, apply the benefits and blessings of His atoning death to them. This place was Paradise beneath the earth, where the believers were kept separately from the wicked. The unsaved dead were, and still are, confined in Hades and Tartarus (Acts 2:27; 2 Pet. 2:4) where they await the final judgement. A deep and unbridgeable gulf was fixed between Hades and Paradise, which affirms the fact that there is no possibility of repentance and forgiveness after death (Luke 16:26).
It is to these places beneath the earth that Christ descended after His crucifixion. Jesus said to the robber who repented on the cross: “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Paul also refers to the fact that before Christ’s ascension He first descended into the lower parts of the earth: “Now this, ‘He ascended’ – what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things” (Eph. 4:9-10). The filling of all things also includes the fulfilling and ending of Old Testament practices.
The purpose of Christ’s descent was firstly to show Himself to the deceased believers in Paradise as the fulfilment of their Messianic expectation and the final confirmation of their faith in God. After this, Paradise no longer existed as a “waiting room” in the lower parts of the earth as all the believers could then be transferred to heaven. Jesus Christ alone is the door to the kingdom of heaven (John 10:9), which means that people anywhere in the world can only obtain salvation in His Name (Acts 4:12). He is the personification of God’s righteousness, saving grace and justice. When He showed Himself to believers in Paradise He sealed their faith. Subsequently, Paradise was transferred to heaven. When Paul was caught up to the third heaven during one of his missionary journeys, Paradise was already in heaven – very far from planet Earth: “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know … he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words” (2 Cor. 12:2-4).
By virtue of this revelation we know that believers who died after the coming of Christ are not kept in a place of waiting beneath the earth but go directly to heaven. From here, the Lord Jesus will bring all believers who presently only have a spiritual existence (composed of spirit and soul), with Him to earth to share in the resurrection of the just and receive their glorified bodies (1 Thess. 4:13-17). The living saints will be changed from mortality to immortality (1 Cor. 15:51-53), after which the entire group will be caught up to heaven. Old Testament saints will form part of this group, which explains the statement that “many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 8:11).
As for the unsaved, Jesus also had to appear to them after His crucifixion as everyone who has rejected the righteousness of God, by implication also rejected Jesus Christ. He confirmed their lost state and will eventually judge them at the final judgement (Acts 17:30-31). Hades and Tartarus are still places of confinement in the lower parts of the earth where doomed souls are awaiting the final judgement. They will only be raised at the second resurrection after Christ’s millennial reign of peace to be judged (Rev. 20:5). That event is referred to as “the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:29; cf. Rev. 20:11-15). These two prisons for lost souls in the lower parts of the earth will then be emptied: “Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death” (Rev. 20:14).
The first death refers to the death of the mortal body, which terminates the earthly lives of all people – believers and unbelievers alike. The second death is the eternal death in hell, and that is the punishment for all lost sinners. This death does not apply to Christians: “Over such [believers in Christ] the second death has no power” (Rev. 20:6). Because of this, the first death is not a terrifying prospect to believers as it is not a gateway to Hades but to Paradise in heaven where Christ is. While still alive, Christians are actually looking forward to make this transition from their temporary earthly existence to eternal life in heaven. Paul said that he desired “to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil. 1:23). During His ascension, Jesus was taken up into the third heaven. To be with Him, means to be taken up in heaven and not to be confined in a place of waiting beneath the earth.
It is important to correctly comprehend all the terms which apply to the life after death of sinners as well as saved persons. The lake of fire refers to hell (Gr. Gehenna – Matt. 5:22, 29-30). As yet, there is nobody in hell; consequently, Jesus did not descend to hell after His death on the cross, but to the places of confinement in the lower parts of the earth where Paradise was and where Hades and Tartarus still are. In Tartarus are fallen angels who were “delivered into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgement” (2 Pet. 2:4). Due to inaccurate translations there are sometimes uncertainty about the various places of confinement in which deceased people are kept to await their final destination in heaven or hell. Also in the KJV the terms Hades and Tartarus were wrongly rendered “hell”, while they are both prisons where lost souls are kept until the day of judgement. The word “hell” actually refers to the lake of fire (Gehenna).
After the millennial reign of peace, the devil and his angels will all be cast into the lake of fire: “And the devil who deceived them [lost people who joined him in his rebellion against God], was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are” (Rev. 20:10). Before the Millennium, during the second coming of Christ, the Antichrist and the false prophet were cast into the lake of fire: “These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:20). They will be the first two condemned souls who will be cast into this place of eternal torment. At present, there is nobody in hell.
After Christ’s reign of peace, during the final judgement, Satan, his fallen angels and all the lost people of all time will be cast into the fires of hell. The Lord Jesus will say to the lost: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). Among these lost souls will also be the millions of people who will have accepted and worshipped the Antichrist during the tribulation, and also received his number: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:9-11).
When Christ therefore descends from heaven at the rapture shortly before the tribulation, He will bring all the deceased believers (including those from Old Testament times) with Him from Paradise in heaven to receive their incorruptible resurrection bodies here on earth (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-53). During this initial phase of His second coming He will come as the heavenly Bridegroom, secretly like a thief in the night, to catch away His bride. On this occasion He will not be seen by the rest of the world. The glorified saints will immediately be taken to heaven by Him (John 14:2-3). Seven years later, during the public coming of Christ with all His saints (Zech. 14:4-5; Col. 3:4), they will return with Him for the revelation of His kingdom and also to rule with Him in His reign of peace on earth (cf. Luke 19:15-18; Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:9-10).
A further place of confinement (or prison) will be established at the beginning of the Millennium, i.e. the pit in which the devil and his angels will be incarcerated until the end of Christ’s reign of peace (Rev. 20:1-3). There can only truly be peace on earth after the Evil One and his demons have been removed and shut up in a sealed pit, and therefore unable to continue deceiving people (Isa. 2:2-4; Jer. 3:17; Zech. 8:22-23; Rev. 20:3).
At the end of this period, the final judgement will take place and all people as well as fallen angels will reach their eternal abode (Rev. 20:11-15). There are only two final destinations, i.e. heaven and hell. This fact confronts every person on earth with the most important choice of his/her life – to either spend eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ and His Father, or to share the eternal punishment of the devil and the Antichrist in Gehenna. Can you see how important it is to proclaim the gospel to all people? They were all born in sin but the Lord is not willing that anyone should perish (2 Pet. 3:9). That is why disciples of the Lord Jesus (i.e. all who are saved) are commissioned to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every person (Mark 16:15).