How did Old Testament figures like Adam, Noah, Abraham, David and Moses receive eternal life?
The Old Testament faithful—Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, and Moses—received eternal life by faith, not by works or human merit. They were recipients of eternal life because they believed God, and Scripture insists that faith is the necessary means of pleasing God. This principle holds regardless of where they lived in human history.
Les teaches that Daniel 12 speaks of a resurrection of the believing Old Testament, separate from the later resurrection of unbelievers. In verse 3, “they that be wise” means they were wise in faith. Les emphasizes that regardless of where a person lived in human history—whether Adam and Eve, Noah, Abram, Jacob, Joseph, David, or Moses—they were all recipients of eternal life by virtue of faith. He stresses that it has to be by faith. He also notes that Hebrews says without faith it is impossible to please God, so faith must be incorporated into salvation.