He Went and Preached to the Spirits In Prison
1 Peter / Chapter 3 / V18 – 21
“For 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, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who 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, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” ~1 Pet 3:18-21
The word “preached” in the passage is translated as “proclamation” in the New American Standard Bible (NASB); both words are consistent with the original Greek text which can be translated either as “proclaim” or “preach”. In view of this, even if the Lord should enter Hades, it does not necessarily mean that He was there to preach the gospel to the unsaved spirits. It is clear from the bible that a person can only believe and receive the Lord’s salvation when he is still alive. Once the person dies, there would be no second chance given. Hence, the Lord’s proclamation could be related to His accomplishment of salvation, victory over death and His resurrection from the dead three days later. (Note: If this had happened, it must have had occurred during the three days after the Lord’s death on the cross.) Although this explanation might resolve the doctrinal conflicts found in the passage, it raises another issue. Why did the Lord choose only to make proclamation to the spirits that were lost during the time of Noah and not to the other Old Testament unbelieving spirits? What is the difference between those who died during the flood and those who died during the Old Testament period? And what spiritual lesson does the Lord want us to learn from the passage? This passage causes great confusion here.
What we have perceived as a difficult passage was in fact Peter’s excellent masterpiece. He had skilfully made use of the example of the flood to illustrate a profound truth to its fullest meaning.
“…while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also.” Peter used the analogy of the flood to make a comparison between an Old Testament event with one happening in the world today. The flood water of old represents the New Testament’s water baptism. When Noah’s family of eight survived the flood waters, it is being compared to our water baptism by which we are being saved and granted eternal life.
Just as the flood waters represent baptism, the ark represents the Lord Jesus Christ. When the family of Noah escaped God’s judgement of water by entering the ark, believers today likewise shall escape God’s judgement of fire in the last days by being baptised into our Lord Jesus Christ. During the flood, the ark built by Noah as instructed by God saved the family; today, God has prepared the Lord Jesus Christ to become the salvation for sinners. In Noah’s time, only eight persons out of the whole world were saved. Similarly today, only a small number of the world’s population would be saved from the final judgement of God. As God had been patient with the people of Noah’s time, having waited many years for them to repent; likewise, He is patient towards us by using the church to share the gospel for the past two thousand years waiting for men to repent.
Peter’s use of the flood waters to explain the coming judgement by fire is consistent throughout the first and second book of Peter: “But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgement and destruction of ungodly men.” (2 Pt 3:5-7)
Having understood Peter’s comparative style of writing, we can be sure the verse, “he went and preached to the spirits in prison” certainly does not mean that Jesus had been to Hades to preach the gospel to the spirits who died in the flood but are now imprisoned in Hades waiting for judgement. From the main passage, we will notice there are two groups of people in Peter’s comparisons: one group belongs to the time of Noah; the other group belongs to the time between Christ’s death and the rapture of the church. This period is also known as the Period of Grace and we belong to this group. As long as we know which group of people did the Lord preach to, the difficulties in the passage can be resolved.
The “spirits in prison,” actually refers to the people mentioned by the Lord in John 8:34, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” We are precisely the “spirits in prison” that have lost our freedom under the dominion of sin and have become slaves and prisoners of sin. “Through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison …” refers to the work of the Holy Spirit as mentioned in John 16:8 & 13-14, “when he, the Spirit of truth, comes… by taking from what is mine and making it known to you… when he comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement.” When Peter said “through whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,” he was actually saying, that after the Lord had ascended to heaven, He came to preach the gospel through the Holy Spirit to the people of this world whose spiritual lives had been made prisoners and slaves of sin. The result of the gospel preached to the people today is similar to the response of the people during Noah’s time. In the Final Judgement, only a small number of people will be saved and the majority will perish. This was what Peter actually meant. The Lord had never been to Hades to preach the gospel to the spirits because the fate of all the souls in Hades was sealed. No amount of preaching of the gospel could change the outcome.
In summary:
“For 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. [After the Lord’s ascension to heaven, He came and preached the gospel to the world through the Holy Spirit. These people in the world are the spiritual slaves of sin. However, they too responded in the same manner as those during the time of Noah — while the Lord was patient with them, they had chosen to remain unbelieving. Those that were saved by water from entering the ark were few — only eight in total. In contrast, the number of people that are saved today are comparable to the time of Noah, only a very small percentage will be saved.] And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”