1 Peter 3:18-19 says , For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God , being put to death in the flesh , but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison . The phrase in the Spirit in verse 18 has exactly the same structure of the phrase in the flesh . So , it seems best to relate the word spirit to the same sphere of the word meat . The flesh and the spirit are the flesh and the spirit of Christ. The words but quickened by the Spirit , point to the fact that Christ bore the sin and death, was the separation of His human spirit of the Father (Matthew 27:46 ) . The contrast is between the flesh and spirit, as Matthew 27:41 and Romans 1:3-4 , and not between the flesh of Christ and the Holy Spirit. When Christs atonement for sin was completed , resumed his spirit had been broken fellowship . First Peter 3:18-22 describes a necessary link between the suffering of Christ (v. 18) and His glorification (verse 22). Only Peter gives specific information about what happened between these two events. The word preached in verse 19 is not usual to describe the preaching of the gospel in the New Testament word. This literally means post a message . Jesus suffered and died on the cross , His body was put to death , and His spirit died when he was made sin . But his spirit was alive and surrendered to the Father. According to Peter, sometime between His death and resurrection , Jesus made a special proclamation to the spirits in prison . To begin , Pedro people as people and not spirits ( 3:20) he meant. In the New Testament, the word spirits is used to describe angels or demons , not human beings , and verse 22 seems to bear this meaning. Moreover, nowhere in the Bible we are told that Jesus visited hell. Acts 2:31 says that He was the Hades ( King James Version ) has Hades is not hell . In the original Greek , the word Hades refers to the realm of death, a temporary place where they await the resurrection . Revelation 20:11-15 in the English-speaking versions NASB and NIV give a clear distinction between the two . Hell is the permanent and final place of judgment for the lost. Hades is a temporary place . Our Lord gave up His spirit to the Father , died , and some time between death and resurrection , visited the realm of death where he delivered a message to the spiritual beings (probably fallen angels ; see Jude 6 ) who were somehow related to the period before the Flood in Noahs time . Verse 20 makes this clear . Peter did not tell us what these spirits imprisoned proclaimed , but this could not be a message of redemption since angels can not be saved ( Hebrews 2:16). It was probably a declaration of victory over Satan and his hosts (1st Peter 3:22 , Colossians 2:15). Ephesians 4:8-10 also seems to indicate that Christ was the paradise ( Luke 16:20 , 23:43) and took to heaven all those who had believed in him before his death . This passage does not give a lot of detail about what happened , but most Bible scholars agree that this is what they mean by led captivity captive . All this to say that the Bible is not entirely clear about exactly what Jesus did , the three days between His death and resurrection. It seems, however , that he was preaching victory over the fallen angels and / or unbelievers. What we know for sure is that Jesus was not giving people a second chance for salvation. The Bible tells us that we will face judgment after death ( Hebrews 9:27) , not a second chance. Actually , there is no definitive clear answer to what Jesus was doing in the time between His death and resurrection. Perhaps this is one of the mysteries we will understand when we reach glory.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 10:03:37 +0000
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