Misunderstandings can cause confusion.
Now saints and the holy ones are a big subject in Scripture. The main Hebrew word is qodesh. It has the idea of setting something apart, dedicating it to a special service, or work. It can refer to special day that is set aside, as the Sabbath day, Ex 20:8. It can refer to a spirit, the living God, of whom it is said,
“Who is like you, Yahweh, among the gods?
Who is like you, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders? ”
Ex 15:11 WEB
It can refer to an assembly for a holy purpose (Ex 12:16), or a holy place (Ex 3:5), or even a holy nation, the people of God (Ex 19:6). It is the Old Testament word for the saints, those purified by the Lord,
“As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.”
Psa 16:3 WEB
And there is the phrase “holy ones.”
It might refer to a place or a thing that is holy, or even a person or an angel that is holy. The New Testament word is hagios, and it has the same range of meanings.
And certain beings come with God, both in history,
and at the Second Coming.
It is clearly angels which are spoken of iater times.
“ …Yahweh came from Sinai, …
He came from the ten thousands of holy ones:”
Deut 33:2 WEB
It is clearly not talking about men. There are “holy angels,” and one appeared to Cornelius in Acts 10:22.
But who does Jesus come with at the end of our age?
And there are some startling passages.
“… Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, ”
Jude 14 KJV
The Lord is coming with His “saints”? How does this come to be? When Paul discusses this he says that those who are alive will arise to meet Jesus in the air, 1Thes 4:17, preceded by the resurrected saints of old, 1Thes 4:16. But in Jude 14 KJV it has Jesus coming with saints! What is going on here? How can this be? I never stopped to study it out as a young man, but this greatly mystified me.
Qodesh or hagios can mean EITHER a holy person
(a saint), OR a holy angel, OR
a holy thing or place.
The phrase is often just the word “holy” by itself, with the context left to determine if it is a holy thing, or person, or angel. Sometimes translations simply say “holy ones,” as many translations have it Jude 14.
So who does Jesus come with at the end?
He comes with his holy angels, and can be easily proved from verse after verse.
“… the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Mk 8:38 WEB
And when Jesus comes again He will send out his angels to gather His elect, Mtt 24:31. When even some translators confuse the issues, it can muddle the thinking of many.
KJV is the King James Version, 1611.
WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901