Scripture is clear that the Old Testament believers were made righteous, which means they were given the Holy Spirit, and that means they were saved by the indwelling Holy Spirit (without which, nobody will go to heaven).
So, understanding that believers in the Old Testament received salvation by the giving of the Holy Spirit, WHAT IS ACTS 2 ALL ABOUT?
So many in christianity have no clue about this, because they have been taught that the Holy Spirit was not given to people until Acts 2 (many don’t even realize that the events in Acts 2 occurred on the Feast of Weeks, as “pentecost” is just a Greek term that means “fiftieth day,” and describes the period from the Feast of Firstfruits to the Feast of Weeks—seven Sabbaths plus one day).
The Feast of Weeks commemorated the giving of the old covenant—the ten commandments. And, the old covenant was a physical foreshadow of the later-revealed new covenant, as the ten commandments are physical commandments—they govern the flesh. But, the physical is a foreshadow (picture, object lesson, representation) of the spiritual real substance. The old covenant, written by the hand of the Holy Spirit, is a picture (shadow) of the Holy Spirit’s seal on Messiah’s bride.
So, while salvation has always been by belief, as shown throughout the Old Testament scriptures, what was revealed on the Feast of Weeks was not salvation, but the covenant (“ketubah,” or marriage covenant) given to Messiah’s bride. The bride’s salvation is peculiar, in that, unlike the salvation given to those before Messiah’s earthly ministry, the Holy Spirit cannot be lost by the believer once He has sealed the believer by the covenant.
Obviously, the salvation given to Messiah’s bride is different from the salvation given to the friends of the Bridegroom (OT saints), friends of the bride (tribulation saints), and the millennial saints (wedding guests), as it is given as a covenant—an eternal promise, the seal of the Holy Spirit—given to Messiah’s bride alone.
While those who are lost in the false teachings of christianity will often debate ad nauseum about their myriad ideas about salvation, and how it is received (“accepting Christ,” or making a decision, or praying a sinner’s prayer—all of which are based on false teachings and emotions, and not scriptural truth), the more important issue is how one is given the covenant, for without the covenant, one is not a part of Messiah’s bride.
Oh, if there were only a way that man could be shown how the covenant is received, those doctrines could be so much easier to understand. Oh, wait, we ARE given those learning aids in the scriptures!
How was the old covenant received? The people of Y’isra-el were told to sacrifice a lamb and spread its blood on the doorposts of their homes (belief in the blood of the lamb), and then to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit out of Egypt (the world), through the wilderness (enduring in belief through a time of testing), and to the mountain where the covenant was given.
Then, the Father instructed that the tabernacle be built according to His specifications, and it is a mirror of that Passover journey, beginning in the Outer Courtyard (Egypt) identifying with the sacrifice of the lamb (altar of sacrifice) and crossing the Red Sea (laver—baptismal cleansing), into the wilderness (Holy Place) being led by the Holy Spirit in the pillars of cloud and fire (altar of incense and menorah), and fed by His manna (bread of the presence), and then, through the veil into the Holy of Holies, where the covenant indwells the ark (the bride).
These are given to us as instructional tools to aid in our comprehending HOW THE COVENANT IS RECEIVED. And yet, most who are lost in the false teachings of christianity cannot even describe what the covenant is, how it is received, or how one knows he has received it.
Such a vital doctrine concerning the eternal covenant given to Messiah’s bride, and it is virtually ignored and unknown, because christianity rejects the truths taught by the Passover, and most are unmoved by what is revealed by the way of the tabernacle—the priestly progression from the Outer Courtyard, through the Holy Place, and into the Holy of Holies, which is the Passover journey—the path to the bride’s salvation by covenant.
No, most who are lost in christianity claim that such things just don’t matter, and that whatever days they choose are just as valid as any other days—even though the days they choose, like SUNday assembling, christ-mass, and easter/ishtar (with its ludicrous “good Friday”) are pagan counterfeits that are wholly unacceptable to the Father.
Sadly, those in christianity largely believe their emotions trump what the entirety of scripture teaches, and most have no idea that, apart from being given the covenant, they have no salvation, and are not adopted children of Yah the Father. They are deceived by the cunning counterfeits of the enemy to believe they are saved, regardless of how we’re shown that salvation is received (belief, confessing Messiah Yahoshua before others, which is to endure in belief through a time of testing, and then awaiting the giving of the promise—the eternal seal of the Holy Spirit, which is the covenant given to Messiah’s bride).
Because we are still in the spiritual barley harvest, which began on the Feast of Firstfruits (the day Messiah rose again from the dead), the ONLY way to receive salvation is to be given the covenant. And, that will be true until the end of the spiritual barley harvest, which will occur on the Feast of Trumpets, and will be the day when Messiah’s bride is fully removed from the earth and taken to the wedding chamber, and that will then start the spiritual wheat harvest (tribulation), at which time the friends of the bride will be given salvation.
Too often, those who are lost in christianity are repelled by things they don’t understand (because they have believed outright lies that were crafted by a religion of men), and they falsely believe that, if they just cling to what they’ve been taught, and say that they “know that they know that they know” they are saved, the Father will then accept them into His eternal household. Sadly, that’s the same lie that Satan told Eve in the garden—just do what I’m telling you to do, and you SHALL NOT SURELY DIE.
Tragically, believing that lie from Satan will end with eternal torment. It doesn’t have to be that way, but to be brought into the one true faith (Ephesians 4:4-6), it is necessary to allow the Holy Spirit to audit your belief system, and to let go of firmly held beliefs that are shown, scripturally, to be false. But, as Messiah Yahoshua told us, “few there be who find it.”
For more information: What Are The Old and New Covenants?