Question: Who are the “spirits in prison”
mentioned in 1 Peter 3:18-19, and what was “preached” to them?
Here is the
passage in both the KJV and the NIV (2011), with the most pertinent section underlined:
1Pet. 3:18-19 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but
quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in
prison (KJV).
1Pet. 3:18-19 For Christ also suffered
once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He
was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made
alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits (NIV).
Interpretations of
this passage have historically fallen into three general categories:
Interpretation #1 Between his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus went to the
realm of the dead in spiritual form and preached to Noah’s contemporaries. Some
in this group believe Jesus offered salvation to the spirits of those who died
in the Flood. Others in this group believe Jesus’ proclamation was to
officially condemn the unbelievers of Noah’s time. A third view within this
group is that Jesus preached good news to those of Noah’s day who had already
been saved.
Interpretation
#2 Jesus, in His pre-existent,
spiritual state, came from heaven to the sinful generation of Noah’s day and
preached repentance, which they ignored.
Interpretation
#3 After His death on the cross
and burial, Jesus went in the Spirit (either
Holy Spirit, or in the spiritual realm) to the disobedient spirits (fallen
angels) of Noah’s day, described in Genesis 6:1-4, and proclaimed his victory
over sin and death.
The word “spirits” in Scripture can refer to
humans, angels, God, or the demonic. Context generally determines what kind of
spirit is in view. The context of 1Pet. 3:20 makes it clear that Jesus made His
proclamation to spirits “who were
disobedient long ago in the days of Noah….” Jude also refers to this same group
of imprisoned spirits as “angels who did
not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these
he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the
great Day” (Jude 6).
The New Testament,
then, points to a specific group of angels who are imprisoned by God until the
Day of Judgment for their disobedience in the days of Noah. These spirits are
not in hell (Gk. gehenna), which is
currently empty (Rev. 20:10ff.), but in a special prison called Tartarus:
2Pet. 2:4 For if
God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell (Gk. tartarus), putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment…
The only such
distinct group described in Scripture in Noah’s day would appear to be “the sons of God who went to the daughters
of humans and had children by them” (Gen. 6:4). Following His crucifixion,
Jesus was made alive in the Spirit and went to these imprisoned angels,
proclaiming His victory over sin, Satan and death!
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