Eternal Life BEFORE Jesus?

Q: The Bible speaks extensively about eternal life in the New Testament. But there doesnt seem to be that hope in the Old Testament, and in fact, in many places, such as Ecclesiastes and Job, death seems to be the final end. Was that really the case before Christ came?


By Pastor Ken Burisek,
The Ole Country Church, Medford, Wisconsin
Email: kburisek @wildblue.net

The first part of this question can be answered by explaining that the book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon from the perspective of how hopeless the world would be if there were no God. The rest of this question will take a whole heap of explainin as there are some things that might be a bit confusin to some folks.

Just how were the Old Testament believers saved? The first problem we run into is the fact that in Old Testament times, they didnt know about Jesus death on the cross. Yet we see in Acts 4:12 that, Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

So then how could people living in Old Testament times be saved if they didnt even know the name of Jesus, let alone what He was going to do?

The second problem we run into is that in the Old Testament the people sacrificed animals for their sins. So then did those animal sacrifices take away their sin? Were people saved by sacrificing kritters like sheep, cattle, and goats? There are those who might take an extreme position and ...