The people that are coming after us will, in a sense, be like the people that came before us.
There are five, perhaps six, perhaps more groups of individuals that are recorded in the Scriptures, and from another line of humans, there is only one group. The one group consists of those who will spend eternity in the lake of fire, (Rev. 21:8) and they have not been altered or changed since Cain, as far as we are told in that he was the first. They are without repentance, and so will be without the love of the Father forever.
But there are others, those who have submitted to the knowledge that there is indeed a Sovereign Lord over all creation, that His Son Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father, and that by His grace and mercy we will be with Him where He is for all eternity. (Eph. 2:6) The first group would be those from Adam to Moses, at least to the point in history where the law was given. “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20) These are those, and this is just in my humble opinion, that are those that Christ went to set free. “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” (Eph. 4:8) “He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.” (Eph. 4:10) There is of course no perfect set of verses that inform us of this event, and so as I stated, it is simply an opinion.
The second group would be those from the giving of the law to the resurrection of Christ, when the veil was torn in two. (Matt. 27:51) When these died, both groups went to the same place, albeit a place with two different temperature zones, and separated by a wide, impossible to cross over gulf, (Luke 16:26) a chasm, if you like.
The third in this group of individuals who are in the family of God began at Pentecost, (Acts 2:1) and are still present as of the time that I am penning these words. They, we, are known as Christians, literally the Christ followers. We are the bride of Christ, (Rev. 19:7-9) and we will remain here until the rapture occurs, (1 Thess. 4:17) when we will meet the Lord in the air, as He promised in John 14:3, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
After we are gone will come the fourth group, those who will accept Jesus Christ as Lord during the seven-year tribulation period. These are they you can read about in Revelation 20:4, they are the ones who have been killed, many beheaded, for their faith and their stand against the ruling power of that day, the antichrist. They will differ from us in this one major respect, they will not have the Holy Spirit of God living in them continuously, they will be, in that respect, similar to those that came before us, in both group one and two. They will see mighty miracles, they will be guided by the hand of God for His glory, many of them to their death.
Not one unsaved person will enter into what is the fifth group, those who will walk into the millennium period, and those that will be born then. I again will speak as one who has no knowledge, but as far as I can tell, those will not have the Holy Spirit residing in them either. The Lord Jesus will be sitting on the throne, and will rule with a rod of righteousness. But there will be those who will be born that will rebel, both before Satan is released (Rev. 20:7) and after.
The sixth group I know absolutely nothing about, and I do not believe anyone does. They are those spoken of in Revelation 22:15, “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”
Are there more? Will there be more? I can only tell you this in all honesty and truth, only those who will live and reign with Christ will ever know, all others will be in the Lake of Fire for all eternity, and it matters not what group of six, or more, that you live or will live in, the glory of God, lifting up the name of Jesus will be all we will be concerned with for that time called eternity.
