Right. But the promise is not "resurrection," but the Messiah. What was promised was a redeemer, and that promise has been fulfilled. All those who had not yet seen the promise fulfilled were yet saved by their faith that God would keep his promise, which He did when our Savior was revealed, born of a Virgin (as promised) and bore our sins in His own body on the cross (as promised). Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises.
Gal. 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Rom. 9:3-5 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 15:7-8 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.
2 Cor. 1:19-20 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
So, our Lord is the fulfillment of all the promises.
As for "sleep," it is obvious to any honest reader of Scripture the expression is only a metaphor for physical death, which is common in all cultures and languages. There is not theological import in any of those verses that describe death with the metaphor sleep regarding the nature of death.
Hank
Well...I have no doubt that Christ was A promise...and that he fulfilled certain aspects of some promises, and indeed made eternal life possible, but in Hebrews 11 the promise being spoke of that Abraham and the others didn't recieve was a specific promise of eternal life, or heaven, or what have you, that is only available through Christ.
In other words, they're sleeping, unconscious and unaware of the passage of time until the resurrection and do not yet have eternal life.
How would you postulate that they gained eternal life? Or will gain eternal life?