Who are the real saints in the Bible? Is every true believer in Jesus Christ a saint? What about the worship and veneration of saints? Is that a sin? Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day are the 3-day celebrations of “Allhallowtide” or “Hallowmas”. Should Christians — true, born-again followers of Jesus Christ participate? Let’s dig in…
Who are the Saints in the Bible?
There are only 3 types of saints mentioned in the Bible…
- Old Testament Saints
- New Testament Saints
- Tribulation Saints
The Old Testament Saints
The Old Testament Saints were the good, righteous, God-fearing Jews. These folks obeyed the 10 Commandments and the Laws given by Moses. They obeyed by performing sacrifices in atonement for their sins. They celebrated the Jewish feasts, didn’t follow the bad kings, and certainly didn’t bow down to, sacrifice to, worship, or venerate ANY of the pagan gods. That would be the idolatry that God hates.
Do a search for the word “Saints” in the New King James Version (NKJV) and the word comes up 32 times in the Old Testament. Here are some passages…
Yes, He loves the people; All His saints are in Your hand; They sit down at Your feet; Everyone receives Your words.
Deuteronomy 33:3 NKJV
They worshiped ONLY God and received HIS word — they listened to the reading of scripture.
As for the saints who are on the earth, “They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”
Psalm 16:3 NKJV
He delights in His followers who obey.
Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.
Psalm 34:9 NKJV
What does it mean to “fear the Lord”?
He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.
Proverbs 2:8 NKJV
The “Easy-to-Read Version” (ERV) words it as follows…
He makes sure that people are treated fairly. He watches over his loyal followers.
Proverbs 2:8 ERV
See, it helps to use the bible apps to see the various translations to help you understand what God is saying.
The Old Testament Saints make an appearance in the New Testament! At the moment of Jesus’ death, some strange things happened…
51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
Matthew 27:51-53 NKJV
They are also referred to as the faithful ones in the Book of Hebrews, chapter 11 — known as the Faith Chapter.
The New Testament Saints
These saints are the true, born-again believers in Jesus Christ. When you sincerely, and wholeheartedly accept Jesus as YOUR personal savior, you become a Saint! There’s absolutely no verification needed!
The Apostle Paul referred to the believers many times as saints in the greetings in his letters to the Romans, Philippians, Corinthians, Ephesians, and Colossians. In total, in the NKJV, the word “saints” appears 64 times in the New Testament. Here are some examples…
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19-22 NKJV
In the next chapter of Ephesians, Paul considers himself “less than the least of all the saints”…
8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
Ephesians 3:8-12 NKJV
Given that, do you think that “St. Paul” would want to be venerated and prayed to? Of course not! In fact, if he walked into a Roman Catholic Church or an Eastern Orthodox Church and saw all the idolatry — statues and paintings and candle burning — he’d probably do something like what Jesus did at the temple. God’s house of prayer has been turned into a den of idolaters!
The New Testament Saints have a job in the future Kingdom of God…
2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1 Corinthians 6:2 NKJV
When Jesus comes back to rule in the Millennial Kingdom, we saints will be with Him and judge the world! That’s at His 2nd Coming. Then it’s God’s final judgment and glory.
Paul wrote…
3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, 5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
1 Thessalonians 1:3-10 NKJV
Simply put, if you do not KNOW Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you will face God’s judgment and spend eternity in hell. That’s as far away from God as you can possibly be. Hell is for real! Heaven or hell? — where YOU spend eternity is YOUR CHOICE! Furthermore, it’s a choice you need to make NOW while you’re alive and coherent.
The Tribulation Saints
These are the folks who get left behind at the Rapture and figure out what happened and why they were left behind. If you realize that you missed the boat, you will get a second chance to not spend eternity in hell. If at that point, you fall on your needs and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you will be part of the Tribulation Saints.
In the Book of Revelation, John writes…
6 Then he [the antichrist/beast] opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Revelation 13:6-8 NKJV
Here starts the Great Tribulation. Unfortunately, if you end up being a Tribulation Saint, then you have to survive the Great Tribulation and God’s judgment on the world. And at that point, there’s no more mercy! When the antichrist or the “beast”, the “Son of Satan” — whatever you want to call him — rises to power, he will want to destroy the Tribulation Saints. When caught, you will be beheaded when you don’t renounce Jesus and take the mark of the beast.
Then, in chapter 17, we have the woman riding the beast…
6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
Revelation 17:6 NKJV
Note this, every Christian martyr is a saint, but not every saint is a martyr. By the way, I highly recommend this eye-opening book by Dave Hunt, “A Woman Rides the Beast” (Christianbooks affiliate)
In the end, all the Saints will join Jesus at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!
7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”
Revelation 19:7-9 NKJV
The Saints Reign with Christ 1,000 Years
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4 NKJV
Should Christians Celebrate All Saints Day?
Before I answer that question, let’s review some historical facts…
In 834 A.D., the Catholic Church moved All Saints Day from May to November 1st. This was ordered by Pope Gregory IV. This was to placate the Roman worshippers of Pomona, goddess of fruit and trees, as well as the newly conquered descendants of the Druids in Germany and Scandinavia. Thus, Halloween is celebrated as the eve of All Saints Day with the same reverence for the dead.
Eric Barger
Then there is All Soul’s Day, celebrated on November 2. Prior to its standardization, different Catholic cultures celebrated the Day of the Dead on different days. It was Odilo of Cluny, the fifth Benedictine Abbot of Cluny, who called to have the day celebrated after All Saints Day. See, one day celebrates all the “saints and martyrs”, the other day is a memorial for all the dead.
Related: So many gods
The name “Halloween” is derived from “All Hallows Eve” or the day before “All Saints’ Day” which memorializes the dead. The Roman Catholics actually think that praying to the dead on All Saints Day will get them out of Purgatory — which doesn’t exist.
Here in Phoenix, being so close to Mexico and its culture, many have embraced the Day of the Dead. It’s all about the colorful skull masks and partying. In Mexico, it’s like Santeria mixed with Catholicism. They put out a banquet for the dead.
It’s interesting, but a friend of mine who was a missionary in Taiwan — which is mostly Buddhist — described their celebration of the dead which is eerily similar to the Mexican one. When I asked her about it, she said, “Satan’s influence is everywhere.”
We are seeing end times deceptions — the occult being normalized. There’s a new Disney animated show ‘Little Demon’ is nothing more than an attempt to ‘Desensitize society to the Demonic’ beginning with our children!
Jesus told us in the Book of Revelation who will NOT get into Heaven:
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
Revelation 21:8 NIV
Those are certainly NOT saints!
Incidentally, have you been wondering who Saint Fiacre was? He’s the featured saint in the top image. According to Wikipedia, St. Fiacre of Breuil is the patron saint of gardeners. So we have to pray to St. Fiacre if we want a pretty garden? How ridiculous is that?! St. Fiacre is dead as are all the “saints” venerated by the Roman Catholic Church. This is pure paganism and idolatry!
Why settle for a dead person, like Mary, St. Fiacre, St. Paul, or St. Luke, when you can pray directly to the Living God, Lord of lords, King of Kings, Almighty God, Good Shepherd, our High Priest, Creator, Jesus Christ, Savior of the world?
Everything about “Hallowmass” is about death and darkness. Those are holidays instigated by Satan. Certainly not something that true Saints should be celebrating. Seriously! Don’t we have enough spiritual warfare without encouraging Satan by commemorating him and his demonic cronies every year?
Are YOU a Saint?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
