CHAPTER 23: IF THERE WAS A RESURRECTION HOW MANY OTW RESURRECTED

CHAPTER 23: IF THERE WAS A RESURRECTION HOW MANY OTW RESURRECTED

OTW teachers never mention the number of Worthies they claim were resurrected other than "many".  They say that there were all or some of the saints in Hebrews 11, but they leave that amount open ended. They put many in the upper room..but never how many..leaving that count open ended?

If there were a physical resurrection, how many would have been resurrected? How can anyone know the physical count of the OTW who were resurrected?

OTW speculation can be made with a starting point of Hebrews 11 by counting the number of saints mentioned in Hebrews it is possible to estimate the number of saints who were found worthy in Hebrews 11, and an assumed number can be considered by name, you will find the following saints found in Hebrews 11:

• Abel     Hebrews 11:4
• Enoch     Hebrews 11:5
• Noah     Hebrews 11:7
• Abraham     Hebrews 11:8, Hebrews 11:17
• Isaac     Hebrews 11:9, Hebrews 11:17
• Jacob     Hebrews 11:9
• Sarah     Hebrews 11:1
• Joseph        Hebrews 11:21
• Moses   Hebrews 11:23
• Rahab   Hebrews 11:31
• Gedeon     Hebrews 11:32
• Barak   Hebrews 11:32
• Samson     Hebrews 11:32
• Jephthae   Hebrews 11:32
• David   Hebrews 11:32
• Samuel      Hebrews 11:32

Hebrews 11 indicates that everyone else mentioned is part of a group, starting with the Prophets.  In Hebrews 11:32, "the rest of the prophets”, which is a general term for the rest of the prophets.

This would include the following Prophets; Ahijah, Micaiah, Beeri, Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Elijah, Elisha, Oded, Azariah, Hanani, Jehu, Jahaziel, Eliezer, Obadiah, Amoz, Isaiah, Zechariah, Micah, Nahum, Maaseiah, Neriah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Urijah, Joel, Ezra, Haggai, Malachi, Nehemiah, Zechariah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Mordecai and Seraiah.

Hebrews 11:35 mentions another general group, "Women," without naming them. Some of these women had their children resurrected. These women included the woman's son who was raised by Elijah in 1 Kings 17:22, the mother of the Shunammite's son raised to life by Elisha in 2 Kings 4:34-35 and the mother of the dead man who had resurrected after touching the dead body of Elisha in 2 Kings 13:21.

Hebrews 11:36 “And others were tortured" another group is called “Others" could have included an unknown amount of possibly 300 to 800 people.

Hebrews 11:37 "they" are mentioned three times as different groups of people, twice in Hebrews 11:37.

Hebrews 11:38 "They" means two or more people. "They," in verse 38, could be more or less than the total number of people in the above "others". The conservative estimate could be less than 300, possibly 1150. The three "they's" could account for from 150 to 900 people who were OTW, depending upon the imagination and commitment of a teacher of the Doctrine of OTW.

If we are conservative (very conservative) in the numbering of the saints in Hebrews 11, the count could be approximately 68 people. If we are liberal (but even conservatively liberal), then the number could be 1257, or if we are totally liberal, we could reach 3257.

This number does not account for biblical characters such as Ruth, Naomi, Boaz, Esther, Sarah, or any other not specifically mentioned as OTW in Hebrews 11, but could have been included in the non-named groupings.

If the teachers of the OTW only account for 68 saints as the number of saints resurrected in Matthew 27, which would be saying very little for the saving power of Old Testament Faith, these 68 resurrected saints would be a formidable group of zealot type saints of God.

Silence from these newly resurrected saints in the church would be absurd. These resurrected saints would have been very familiar with persuading small and large groups of unbelievers to serve God. These zealots and their zeal would have been an unimaginable force in the building of the Early Reign Church!

Moreover, the idea that the Doctrine of the OTW keeps these saints quiet should make us pause and give serious thought to the far reaching idea of a physical resurrection of the OTW.