Okay if you believe in Jesus you are saved and go to heaven, what happened to souls before Jesus?

Question

Before Jesus came here to save us?

Answer 1

Since the fall of man, the basis of salvation has always been the death of Christ. No one, either prior to the cross or since the cross, would ever be saved without that one pivotal event in the history of the world. Christ's death paid the penalty for past sins of Old Testament saints and future sins of New Testament saints.
The requirement for salvation has always been faith. The object of one's faith for salvation has always been God. The psalmist wrote, "Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him" (Psalm 2:12). Genesis 15:6 tells us that Abraham believed God and that was enough for God to account it to him for righteousness (see also Romans 4:3-8). The Old Testament sacrificial system did not take away sin, as Hebrews 9:1-10:4 clearly teaches. It did, however, point to the day when the Son of God would shed His blood for the sinful human race.
What has changed through the ages is the content of a believer's faith. God's requirement of what must be believed is based on the amount of revelation He has given mankind up to that time. This is called progressive revelation. Adam believed the promise God gave in Genesis 3:15 that the Seed of the woman would conquer Satan. Adam believed Him, demonstrated by the name he gave Eve (v.20) and the Lord indicated His acceptance immediately by covering them with coats of skin (v.21). At that point that is all Adam knew, but he believed it.
Abraham believed God according to the promises and new revelation God gave him in Genesis 12 and 15. Prior to Moses, no Scripture was written, but mankind was responsible for what God had revealed. Throughout the Old Testament, believers came to salvation because they believed that God would someday take care of their sin problem. Today, we look back, believing that He has already taken care of our sins on Calvary (John 3:16; Hebrews 9:28).
What about believers in Christ's day, prior to the cross and resurrection, what did they believe? Did they understand the full picture of Christ dying on a cross for their sins? Late in his ministry, "Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day" (Matthew 16:21). What was the reaction of His disciples to this message? "Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, '‘Far be it from you, Lord; this shall not happen to you!'" (16:22). Peter, and the other disciples, did not know the full truth, yet they were saved because they believed that God would take care of their sin problem. They didn't exactly know how He would accomplish that, any more than Adam, Abraham, Moses, or David knew how, but they believed God.
Today, we have more revelation than did people living before the resurrection of Christ, we know the full picture. "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2). Our salvation is still based on the death of Christ, our faith is still the requirement for salvation, and the object of our faith is still God. Today for us the content of our faith is that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Answer 2

Before this new covenant people had to do animal sacrifices and have faith in God and then also good deeds were instrumental part of salvation.

You need to remember that Jesus has always been here, even before He came to the earth. He has been on the job. He knew that He was going to come and make the way.

He has always been the way, but He does not want us to be religious, He came here to show us how to have a personal relationship with God. What ever He decides about our salvation, that is going to be Just. He knows our hearts and there is no better Judge than the One who knows us through and through. He knows how we are, and He loves us anyway. He came to show the way so that we have the perfect examle and we understand that we all need mercy.

Answer 3

One theory is that the "virtuous pagans" (people who lived before the time of Jesus but lived virtuous lives) go to Limbo. That's where the expression "in limbo" comes from. In Dante's Inferno, Limbo is portrayed as technically being part of Hell, but just sort of an anteroom. In particular, the souls there (which in Dante's portrayal included people like Plato and Aristotle) don't endure any suffering as punishment for their sins, because they don't really have any sins to speak of. They're just sort of waiting there--presumably at the End they will be allowed to make a choice whether to accept christianity-one that they weren't given in life due to when they lived.

Answer 4

Souls go to a place of rest. But some went to hell fire.

Old Testament Saints went to Abrahams Bosom until Jesus raised from the dead. Then they went to the 3rd heaven. The 3rd Heaven is where New Testament Saints go when they die. Also, all children who died before purposely rebelling against God went to heaven also. I don't thing they had blindness/deadness of spirit (from rebellion) yet.

An experience http://www.90minutesinheaven.com .

Answer 5

In the story of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar, Jesus tells us that Lazarus died and was carried into "Abraham's bosom", where he was comforted. From this place they could actually see and converse with the rich man who ended up in a place of torment (see Luke 16:19-31 for details). This was the state of affairs before Jesus ransomed mankind by paying their sin debt. Those who died in faith were kept in Sheol (Hebrew) or Hades (Greek), which is the abode of departed spirits. After Jesus died, He descended in spirit into Hades. When He was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven, He rescued the faithful souls who were awaiting God's Redeemer and took them with Him into heaven. This is explained in Ephesians 4:8-10 and was also prophesied in Isaiah 49:24-25

Answer 6

If they followed the Old Testament (Contract for People to go to Heaven) they were Kept in Paradise untill Jesus died on the Cross and went down into Paradise (not Hell, Hell was beside of Paradise) and Preached the Word of GOD concerning getting Born-Again. Then they Accepted Jesus as their Saviour and their Spirits were RECREATED and then Jesus took Paradise and EveryBody in there up to Planet Heaven.

Nobody could get Born-Again untill Jesus died on the Cross, ratifying the New Testament.

Nobody could go up to Planet Heaven to Live untill their Spirits were Recreated, too much Power of GOD up there, they would burn up and Cease to Exist if GOD Flowed through them and their Spirits weren't Recreated to Handle that Power Flow.
Ditto.............

Answer 7

4000 years was the time that had elapsed, when Jesus said at John 3:13 "Moreover, no man has ascended into heaven but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man." So up to that time millions of people had died, yet according to Jesus, non had gone to heaven. So just what happens to one when they die. Jesus gives us the answer.

Jesus Christ spoke about the condition of the dead. He did so with regard to Lazarus, a man whom he knew well and who had died. Jesus told his disciples: “Lazarus our friend has gone to rest.” The disciples thought that Jesus meant that Lazarus was resting in sleep, recovering from an illness. They were wrong. Jesus explained: “Lazarus has died.” (John 11:11-14) Notice that Jesus compared death to rest and sleep. Lazarus was neither in heaven nor in a burning hell. He was not meeting angels or ancestors. Lazarus was not being reborn as another human. He was at rest in death, as though in a deep sleep without dreams. Other scriptures also compare death to sleep. For example, when the disciple Stephen was stoned to death, the Bible says that he “fell asleep.” (Acts 7:60) Similarly, the apostle Paul wrote about some in his day who had “fallen asleep” in death.


The Bible teaches that the dead “are conscious of nothing at all.” They are not alive and have no conscious existence anywhere. The account of Lazarus confirms this. Upon returning to life, did Lazarus thrill people with descriptions of heaven? Or did he terrify them with horrible tales about a burning hell? No. The Bible contains no such words from Lazarus. During the four days that he was dead, he had been “conscious of nothing at all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) Lazarus had simply been sleeping in death.
The account of Lazarus also teaches us that the resurrection is a reality, not a mere myth. Jesus raised Lazarus in front of a crowd of eyewitnesses. Even the religious leaders, who hated Jesus, did not deny this miracle.

Think about this too: If Lazarus had been in heaven for those four days, would he not have said something about it? And if he had been in heaven, would Jesus have made him come back to earth from that wonderful place? Of course not!

Yet, many people say that we have a soul, and they say that the soul lives on after the body dies. They say that Lazarus’ soul was alive somewhere. But the Bible does not say that. It says that God made the first man Adam “a living soul.” Gen. 2:7, Adam was a soul. The Bible also says that when Adam sinned, he died. He became a “dead soul,” and he returned to the dust from which he had been made. The Bible also says that all Adam’s offspring inherited sin and death too.

The Scriptural teaching of the resurrection, however, is not compatible with the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. If an immortal soul survived death, no one would need to be resurrected, or brought back to life. Indeed, Martha expressed no thought about an immortal soul that was living on elsewhere after death. She did not believe that Lazarus had already gone to some spirit realm to continue his existence. On the contrary, she showed her faith in God’s purpose to reverse the effects of death. She said: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” (John 11:23, 24) Likewise, Lazarus himself related no experiences of some afterlife. There was nothing to report.

Clearly, according to the Bible, the soul dies and the remedy for death is the resurrection. You enjoy the best sleep ever, until Jesus resurrects you, sometime in the future.

Answer 8

What I believe is.... perhaps all these or most of these people before Christ went to Hell. And when Jesus came, and ascended to Hell, before he gone to Heaven. FOR MORE THAN ONE REASON, one reason I believe was to free all them souls so they can be reincarnated so they can learn of God and Jesus Christ, that they have their fair chance to make it to Heaven.

Answer 9

Oh, Christians have some great place the souls went and waited for Jesus to release them.

Answer 10

You maximum frequently gets some moronic solutions on right here, yet with any luck you will get a pair of sound solutions additionally. Your first question grow to be could we proceed to flow to church and the respond is a distinctive confident. Scripture demands us to proceed to fulfill at the same time. while devil tempted Eve, she grow to be on my own. while devil tempted Jesus, He grow to be on my own. it relatively is once you're maximum susceptible. the place ever 2 or 3 are gathered in Jesus' call, he would be there interior the process them and it rather is for confident that devil is rather no longer everywhere around. the only dumb question is the single you do no longer ask. Jesus died for our sins through fact the wages of sin is dying. we are all sinners and should be seperated from God through fact He won't be able to stand to look upon sin. Jesus died so as that we as sinners ought to repent of our sin. so so you might set that directly God despatched His basically begotten Son into this international so as that whosoever believes on Him shall no longer die yet have eternal existence. Jesus got here to die for our sins through fact he's the way, the fact, and the existence. no one come to the daddy different than with the aid of Him. So in different words we are sinners who should die (religious dying - to be separated from God) yet through fact of Jesus' sacrifice we've been given the determination of repenting of our sins and being judged righteous interior the sight of God. i'm hoping this has helped. God bless you and Jesus did love all individuals sufficient to die so as that shall we spend eternity in heaven with Him. do no longer quit assembly at the same time. come across a good Bible coaching church and a good preacher.

Answer 11

No problem to God. Jesus died "for the sins of the whole world", before and after He died on the cross.