1 Peter 3:18-20 (New International Version) New International Version (NIV)
18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
19through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison
20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
Does this mean that salvation after death is possible?
BJ2007-09-06T03:27:01Z
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What was the objective of Jesus’ preaching “to the spirits in prison”?
At 1 Peter 3:19, 20, after describing Jesus’ resurrection to spirit life, the apostle says: “In this state also he went his way and preached to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient when the patience of God was waiting in Noah’s days, while the ark was being constructed.” Commenting on this text, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words says: “In I Pet. 3:19 the probable reference is, not to glad tidings (which there is no real evidence that Noah preached, nor is there evidence that the spirits of antediluvian people are actually ‘in prison’), but to the act of Christ after His resurrection in proclaiming His victory to fallen angelic spirits.” As has been noted, ke·rys′so refers to a proclamation that may be not only of something good but also of something bad, as when Jonah proclaimed Nineveh’s coming destruction. The only imprisoned spirits referred to in the Scriptures are those angels of Noah’s day who were ‘delivered into pits of dense darkness’ (2Pe 2:4, 5) and “reserved with eternal bonds under dense darkness for the judgment of the great day.”
Therefore the preaching by the resurrected Jesus to such unrighteous angels could only have been a preaching of judgment. It may be noted that the book of Revelation transmitted in vision to John by Christ Jesus toward the close of the first century C.E. contains much about Satan the Devil and his demons as well as their ultimate destruction, hence, a preaching of judgment.
What does 1 Peter 3:19, 20 mean? “In this state [in the spirit, following his resurrection] also he [Jesus] went his way and preached to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient when the patience of God. Were those “spirits in prison” the souls of the humans who had refused to take heed to Noah’s preaching before the Flood, and was the way now open for them to go to heaven? 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 with Genesis 6:2-4 shows that these spirits were angelic sons of God that had materialized and married in Noah’s day. At 1 Peter 3:19, 20 the Greek word for “spirits” is pneu′ma·sin, while the word rendered “souls” is psy·khai′. The “spirits” were not disembodied souls but disobedient angels; the “souls” here referred to were living people, humans, Noah and his household. What was preached to “spirits in prison” must therefore have been a message of judgment.)
Salvation after death is utterly impossible. And this or no Scripture states that it is possible.
This is one of the tougher Scriptures to understand because of the quaintness of its expression. All it is saying is that:
1- Christ died and was resurrected BY THE SPIRIT (MEANING THE SPIRIT OF GOD)
2- By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
This says that the same SPIRIT OF GOD that raised Jesus ALSO preached to some spirits in prison OF JESUS' DAY BY USING JESUS AS A MOUTHPIECE
3- Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
This says that those spirits in prison THAT JESUS PREACHED TO IN HIS DAY were sometimes disobedient JUST LIKE CERTAIN PEOPLE WERE IN THE DAYS OF NOAH when he was building the ark. These people had been warned of judgment and rejected the warning same as the people in prison in Jesus' day had.
Some people got vivid imaginations! This Scripture gets ruggedly twisted by many!
This is a much disputed passage. Some have suggested that it means there is a chance for salvation after death but that seems unlikely in light of clear passages of scripture.
Hebrews 9:27 [I]t is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.
Others have suggested that the passage refers to Jesus proclaiming His victory on the cross to the spirits in prison, but not offering them a chance for salvation.
Though the meaning is not that clear, I believe Peter is saying that Jesus went to Hades and told the people who had been disobedient back before he came to Earth, what He had accomplished. It says He "preached" to the spirits. You can't preach to someone who is forever doomed. I strongly believe this means that those who lived before Christ, and never had a chance to hear of His coming, were told what He did and why, and that salvation was now available to them.
KJV Peter I 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Jesus went into Hell after his death and told those souls in Hell he was the saviour and then travelled to Abraham's bosom (Luke 16) and freed the OT saints