SAINTS
THE DIFFERENT GROUPS OF SAINTS
To understand many things in the Scriptures, especially prophecy and chronology, it is important to know about the different groups of Saints in the Bible. Once you understand this, many things will be much easier for a student of the Word to understand and follow. Here are the different groups of Saints.
OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
These are people born in the time period that began from when Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden and started to populate the earth, and ended at the beginning of the Church at Pentecost.
The Old Testament tells us of a good number of people that walked in faith with God. They are the Old Testament Saints.
Some individual examples are Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Samuel, Daniel, Ezekiel, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Nehemiah, Joel, Joseph, John the Baptist, other prophets not yet named and many more.
When in 1 King 19:14 Elijah said to the Lord that “And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” God replied in 1King 19:17-18 “It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. Yet I will LEAVE 7000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.” These were a remnant of 7000 Saints.
Without going in too deep we can say that the Old Testament Saints were saved by faith like Abraham. Also God chose Israel not because they were numerous or special, but so that they would be a people who would obey him and keep his covenants. They sinned just as we Christians still sin and are forgiven when we ask for forgiveness. They were forgiven by keeping the commandments and fulfilled the sacrificial obligations at the Temple and with the High Priest. They were chosen to bring forth the Scriptures, the WORD of God. They were also chosen to be the nation and people through whom Jesus, the WORD, would be born to be the Messiah to all those that BELIEVE IN HIM.
Jesus called John the Baptist the greatest prophet and yet He also called him, not as a member of the Body of Christ, the Church, the Bride of Christ. No, He called him the FRIEND OF THE BRIDEGROOM.
John the Baptist was an OLD TESTAMENT SAINT.
CHURCH AGE SAINTS
We have now come to a VERY SPECIAL group of Saints who are called by different names.
These are the believers that have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour in the “CHURCH AGE” or “AGE OF GRACE” which started at Pentecost and ends at the Rapture.
The Church Age Saints are mentioned in the Scriptures under the following names.
The BODY OF CHRIST.
1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are CHRIST’S BODY, and individually members of it.”
Jesus is the HEAD of the body and we are individual members serving Him according to the gifts He has given us and according to His will, although many people can’t recognize His will and try to be some part of the body they are not and cause disruption and confusion. Some people have the gift of visiting the sick and are good at it wile others have the gift of preaching and are good at it. That does not mean that the one who is preaching is better than the one who is doing the visiting. Like in a human body the eye is as important as a foot and the nose as important as the hand. You get the picture?
Ephesians 1:22-23 “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, WHICH IS HIS BODY, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
The BRIDE OF CHRIST.
Revelation 19:7 “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready AS A BRIDE adorned for her husband.”
Revelation 21:2 “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready AS A BRIDE adorned for her husband.”
The CHURCH.
The word CHURCH (ekklesia) in the New Testament is always used for a special assembly of people “call out” to be the Body of Christ and can mean individual assemblies meeting at different locations or collectively the whole Body of Christ.
It is NEVER used for a church building.
Some examples of the individually use of the word.
Romans 16:1 “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of THE CHURCH which is at Cenchrea;”
Romans 16:5 “also greet THE CHURCH that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.”
1 Corinthians 16:9 “THE CHURCHES of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with THE CHURCH that is in their house.”
Some examples of the collectively use of the word.
Ephesians 1:22 “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to THE CHURCH,”
Ephesians 3:21 “to Him be the glory in THE CHURCH and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
Ephesians 5:23 “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of THE CHURCH, He Himself being the Savior of the body.”
Ephesians 5:32 “This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and THE CHURCH.”
Philippians 3:6 “as to zeal, a persecutor of THE CHURCH; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.”
The TEMPLE OF GOD.
The moment a person trust in and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour the Holy Spirit seals that person into the Body of Christ and makes His abode in that person and WILL NEVER leave that person. We call this ETERNAL SECURITY or ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED. You can read more about eternal security on our Topic Page “CHOSEN IN JESUS“
Because the Holy Spirit makes His abode in the believer the Father and the Son also make their abode within that same believer. This is the Holy Trinity beautifully at work because the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are ONE GOD IN THREE PERSONS
John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make OUR ABODE with him.”
1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are a TEMPLE OF GOD and that the Spirit of God DWELLS IN YOU?”
There is ONE GOD in three Persons. The members of the Trinity have distinct roles. Although they are all equally God, they have different functions within the Godhead.
THE HOLY TRINITY
Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are EQUAL with God the Father in nature.
Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are SUBORDINATE to the God the Father in their RELATIONSHIP
The NEW JERUSALEM
Revelation 21:2 “And I saw the holy city, NEW JERUSALEM, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”
This group of Saints (the CHURCH AGE SAINTS) was CHOSEN in JESUS by the Father BEFORE the foundation of this world were laid. Now carefully remember the word BEFORE for when we get a bit further down this page.
In eternity, BEFORE the foundations of this world were laid, God, according to His perfect pleasure and will, choose a NUMBER of people whom He would call out of this world and by His Grace and the work of the Holy Spirit, seal them into the Bride of Christ. They are chosen from among the Jews and from among the Gentiles (non Jewish), NOT because they are special, but purely according to His own pleasure and for His OWN GLORY. We, those that are chosen, DON’T deserve it because of who we are or what we have done, but we are VERY GRATEFUL that we are members of the Bride of Christ, the Church, the Body of Christ.
These are the CHURCH AGE SAINTS which are being called out by God from Pentecost until just before the RAPTURE, when the last person that was chosen by the Father to be part of the Bride of Christ, has trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as his/her Lord and Saviour.
If you are still an believer and are reading this then you must know that GOD is CALLING you right now, so that you TOO, can become a member of the CHURCH AGE SAINTS, the Bride of Christ, by going to our SALVATION PAGE.
TRIBULATION SAINTS
After the RAPTURE has taken place, the Church (the Bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem, the Temple of God) is complete and nobody can be added to it. Like we said above, the Saints of the Church Age, that is the Church, were CHOSEN by the Father, in Jesus BEFORE the foundation of this world.
CHURCH AGE SAINTS ARE CHOSEN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD
Now we take a look at the Tribulation Saints.
Remember that a few paragraphs above we mentioned to remember the word BEFORE.
Ephesians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He CHOSE US in Him BEFORE the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. (In love)”
Looking at Revelation 13:8 we read that all people that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour during the seven year Tribulation period will have had their names written in the Book of Life of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) FROM the foundation of the world.
This includes the people who have become believers during the seven year Tribulation period and are still alive at the end when Jesus Christ comes from Heaven as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, accompanied by the Church Age Saints, (the Bride of Christ) and who will appear before the Judgment of the Sheep and the Goats of which the Lord Jesus makes mention in Matthew 25:31-34 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you FROM the foundation of the world.“
Let us summarise who the Tribulation Saints are: The Jewish remnant of 144,000 witnesses (Revelation 7:4-8), the Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:1-12), the martyrs of Revelation 6:9-11, Revelation 7:9 and Revelation 20:4, the sheep of the Judgment of the sheep and the goats as per Matthew 25: 31-34. (You can read more about this Judgment on our Topic page “JUDGMENTS”
TRIBULATION SAINTS ARE CHOSEN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD
MILLENNIUM SAINTS
A quick explanation about what the Millennium is. After the battle of Armageddon has taken place at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Lord will establish His 1000 year (Millennium) reign here on the earth.
The people that will live in the Kingdom during that 1000 year reign are the Tribulation Saints that were alive after the battle of Armageddon (the sheep -believing Gentiles) and the Jewish remnant that were protected super naturally by God during the Great Tribulation. They will enter the Kingdom of God (the Millennium) in their natural bodies as they haven’t yet died and received their resurrected bodies.
However, they will not be the only once on the earth during the Millennium.
The following Saints will reign with Jesus during that Millennium.
They are the resurrected Old Testament Saints, the Church Age Saints (the Church or Body of Christ, who will reside in and are the New Jerusalem which will hoover above the earthly Jerusalem, but will be able to move from there to the earth and vice versa, reigning with Jesus), and the Tribulation Saints who will be resurrected at the end of the Tribulation period, who will also reign with Jesus in their resurrected bodies and the Millennium Saints, those who are born in the Millennium.
All those in their resurrected bodies will also be able to move to and fro from the New Jerusalem as that will be were God dwells.
Revelation 21:23 “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”
We are also the TEMPLE as we are ONE with Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:20-21 “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 6:16 “Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? FOR WE ARE THE LIVING TEMPLE OF GOD; just as God said,
“I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM;
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.”
The Millennium Saints in chart below are the sheep (believers alive at the end of the Tribulation period) from the Sheep and Goats Judgement and who enter into the Millennium Kingdom of God and the children that will be born to them during the Millennium. The first three groups on the chart below, the Old Testament Saints, the Church Age Saints and the Tribulation Saints are all in their resurrected eternal bodies and reign with Jesus Christ over His Kingdom with an Rod of Iron. As we mentioned before, the Church Age Saints dwelling will be the New Jerusalem as they will be the New Jerusalem.
MILLENNIUM
OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
CHURCH AGE SAINTS
TRIBULATION SAINTS
MILLENNIUM SAINTS
SAINTS
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