About your question my friend about OT prophets salvation. I
cannot say for sure. I have hunches but they are only hunches. My
mind would say Balaam was a prophet that Scripture describes as
someone who is not godly. But i cannot say for sure whether he was
saved or not because the Bible does not say with finality. Who
knows the guy could have repented and got saved.
Your question i leave to God.
About the salvation in the Old Testament.
Two views:
a) one group says that they got saved through believing what God
has revealed to them. The content of the revelation could vary. And
then upon beliveing it, God reckoned their faith to the cross of
Christ.
b) another group [the group which i belong] says they got saved
through faith in Christ like in the NT.
Why i chose the latter view:
1) we should know that the gospel about the Lord Jesus in seed form
was first preached by God in Gen. 3:15:
Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And
between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you
shall bruise His heel."
Adam and Eve first heard of it. Undoubtedly they relayed this to
their children.
2) 2Ti 3:14 But you must continue in the things which you have
learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned
them,
15 and that from
childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to
make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus.
Paul was exhorting his student Timothy to continue in the things
which he has learned in the Scriptures.
Question: What Scripture is Paul referring here? OT or NT?
Surely it is OT. The NT was still in the process of being written
at this time. [Paul was still writitng 2 Timothy-this letter!!!]
Timothy was taught by his mother and grandmom about the OT
Scriptures.
Now notice what does Paul say about the OT Scirptures?
02Ti 3:15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy
Scriptures, which
are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in
Christ Jesus.
What does the OT do with regards to salvation? They are able to
make Timothy wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus.
The OT prophecies about the coming Messiah that wil bring
salvation. Repentant sinners got saved back in the OT by trusting
in the Lord Jesus. Where did they get the knowledge about the Lord
Jesus? From the OT.
No wonder it was written of Moses:
Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he became of age,
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,
25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than
to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
26 esteeming the
reproach of Christ greater riches than the
treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ than Egypts treasures. How
did he know about Christ? OT and Gen. 3:15
relayed.
NO wonder the LOrd Jesus was able to say:
Joh 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My
day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Joh 8:57 Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years
old, and have You seen Abraham?"
Read Faith's Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11. It has always been by
Faith.
Read Romans 4 about Abraham and David. They got saved by
faith.
