Well if we assume for now that heaven and hell exist and people go to one or the other when they die, then people before Jesus would have gone to either heaven or hell when they died. I don't recall it being written or said anywhere that Jesus created heaven and hell. So if they exist now, they always existed and always applied, even if people had not thought of them. Gravity always acted on things even before Isaac Newton realised it existed.

Jesus' coming, mission, atonement, and resurrection were predicted long before He actually came. So, knowledge of Him was available to those that were of the covenant. Additionally, His atonement covers all of mankind if they will but accept Him and do as He commanded. This applied to those who lived before He was born. So, the righteous who died before Jesus would have received the same reward as the righteous who died after Jesus. The wicked who died before Jesus would have received the same punishment as those that died after.

According to Dante's Inferno: To Limbo, a special place at the upper circle of Hell where souls are neither punished nor given salvation.

They all descended to hell (Hades, Gehenna, Sheol etc..) , to which after the death at the Cross, Jesus also descended to for three days. Reason He did this to set captives free. The moment He descended, the people that died years before Christ were popping out from the graves, the same afternoon He was crucified.(Matthew 27:52) Gates of hell are meant to keep people in, not out. Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:17-19 (in Context) Matthew 16 (Whole Chapter) Prior to the atonement by the blood of Christ, there was no entry into Heaven; Jesus was the first of many to come after Him. He was the one that opened the gates of hell to release the captives. Who would those "captives" be? Those that lived their lifes according to the God laws under the Old Testament. God made sure those who believe would be able to express it by their lifestyle. Abraham pleased God 400 years before Moses came down the mountain with instructions (Laws) how to do it. Jesus was the first to come down from Heaven,and first to ascend, and He is now seated on the right hand of the Father. John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. John 3:12-14 (in Context) John 3 (Whole Chapter)

Jesus prayed for the souls of all the sinners and hopes that they can go to heaven. That's not up to him to make that judgment.

The Catholic Church believes that those who died never hearing of Christ but have sought the truth and does the will of God as they understand it can be saved. See Romans 2:13-16. (1) If they died before Jesus died for our sins and opened the gates of heaven for us, then they waited in what is called in the Old Testament Abraham's bosom or Sheol. Catholics believe that after Jesus died on the cross, he descended into Sheol, the place of the dead. While there He freed the holy souls who awaited their savior in Abraham's bosom. (2) For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, (1) sections 1257-1261: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2.htm#art1 (2) section 632 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt2art5.htm#p1 With love in Christ.

There fate is judged according to the central message given by all prophets of God from Adam onwards which is simply 'God is one, submit your will to Him only for you'll be accountable to Him and be rewarded by Him for your deeds in the hereafter' This criterion was repeated by Jesus in Matthew 7:21 when he said heaven is for “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven”. Jesus practiced what he preached for in Luke 22:42, after making a request to God, he says “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” The Holy Qur’an has a similar message when it says in HQ 95:6 “those who believe and do good works, theirs is a reward unfailing.”

neither, they went to wormfood, then turned into another being(reincarnation) as it is today

the people who existed before jesus birth went into the grave and are still there. it is a myth that some spiritual part of us survives death. i now also conclude that the resurrection of the dead on the last day is also a myth and i now conclude we are dead forever wiped out forever when we die. we do not turn into spirits at death. the only way we can exist again is if jesus exists to raise us from the grave. all the people who existed before jesus birth are all dead unconscious now in their graves. jesus said in bible a time would come when all the dead in the graves would hear his voice and come forth. he plainly said the dead were in the grave not in heaven or hell as spirits.

Before Jesus's death people went to Abraham's Bosom(known as "Paradise")That was a waiting place. Jesus then went to tell them the truth after he died and the old testament believers were then transferred to heaven. Man was not redeemed yet until the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Before I answer the question I would like to take you to this website where someone explains about heaven and paradise. http://users.belgacom.net/gc674645/heaven/heaven.htm After you read this then you'll understand that everyone who lived before Jesus did not go to Heaven after they died. Exceptions are Enoch and Elijah, but they didn't die!. So where did the souls of all the others go? you asked. First let's read something very interesting: Jesus crucifixion (Luke 23:39-43). I will only cite verse 42 and 43: 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into power!” 43 Jesus replied, “I promise that today you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus said today right? But we know that Jesus went up to Heaven after his resurrection right? (John 20:17) So this paradise he talked to the thief about is not Heaven. So you ask now, where is this paradise? Let's answer that with asking another question: Where did Jesus go between his death on the cross and his resurrection (3 days)? For that I'd like you to read Acts 2:27-31. Let me cite verse 31: 31 he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay. So before Jesus resurrection he was in Hades, but he stayed there between his death and his resurrection which is 3 days. Hmmmmm....so if you put the links....Back then, Paradise was in Hades! Well, I can see the next questions coming. 1.What and 2.where is Hades? Hades (Sheol, Gehenna) is the place where the souls of all who died went. Question 1 is described in Luke 16:19-31. So Hades is divided into 2 parts. Paradise or Abraham’s bosom (verse 22) and Hell or the place of torment (verse 28) Question 2 is described in Matthew 12:40 in the heart of the earth. So did they go to heaven or hell? As you can see it was not Heaven, but they all did not go to hell. Only the unrighteous went to hell and the righteous went to paradise. Or let's put it this way....they all went to Hades :). I hope I answered your question.