Flint asks,
Are OT saints ‘in Christ’ the same as church-age saints? If they are, does that mean that OT saints will be raised at the rapture when the dead in Christ rise first (1 Thess 4:16-17)?
The short answer is, no.
But as Ricky used to say to Lucy, “You have some ‘splainin’ to do.”
What follows is my explanation.
The Greek words translated in Christ are en Christō. Paul uses that expression a whopping eighty-four times in his epistles. (It is only used two other times in the NT, both in 1 Peter.)i Whenever Paul uses it, he is referring to church-age believers. Essentially, in Paul’s writing, in Christ is short for in the Body of Christ.
Old Testament believers were not in the Body of Christ. Israel and the nations are distinct from the Church (cf. 1 Cor 10:32). In the kingdom, there will be three groups of saved people: Jews, Gentiles (the nations), and the Church.
It is true that OT saints believed in the coming Messiah for their eternal salvation (Gen 3:15; 15:6; John 3:16; 8:56). But there is no verse in the NT or OT that calls them in Christ.
That means that OT saints will not be part of the Rapture. They will, of course, be judged before the Millennium so that the faithful OT believers will be able to rule with Christ. I think it most likely that OT believers will be raised and judged after the Tribulation during the 75-day gap before the Millennium starts (cf. Dan 12:12). They will not be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the Bema (2 Cor 5:9-10). Instead, like the Judgment of the Sheep and the Goats (Matt 25:31-46), OT believers will be judged in a separate judgment.
Good questions, Flint.
