Preaching to Spirits in Prison (1 Peter 3:18-20) By: Al Maxey A Critical Analysis of 1 Peter 3:18-20 almaxeyFor Christ ... 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. (1 Peter 3:18-20) Just exactly who are these spirits in prison, and how and when did Jesus Christ preach to them, and what did He preach to them? Some scholars have declared this the most difficult passage in the Bible to interpret. The great reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546) has perhaps given the best response of all time, however, when he said, I dont know what Peter means here! This passage has certainly been the cause of tremendous debate throughout the centuries, and countless theories have arisen in an attempt to explain its meaning. Following are the major interpretations proposed as to the significance of this text. FIRST --- Christ went to Hell or Hades (both views have been advanced) between the time of His death and resurrection and preached to the lost souls in torment there. For example, the Symbolum Apostolorum (the Apostles Creed), which was developed between the second and ninth centuries, states, in part, I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. That Jesus literally went to Hell to preach to the lost was the view of Clement of Alexandria (c. 200 AD), among others. Generally it is felt by those who embrace this particular view that the only lost souls preached to on that occasion, however, were the ones from the time of the flood. All other lost souls were simply ignored. There are obviously some major problems associated with this interpretation, not the least of which is the doctrine of the second chance. Was Jesus really extending the opportunity of salvation to lost souls already in torment? And if so, why only to these select few lost souls, and not to all lost souls? The Pulpit Commentary states, If this passage does mean that Christ preached to the dead, it only speaks of the dead in the days of Noah; it seems incredible that these comparative few should be singled out from the great mass of mankind for so great a blessing. I might remind you, too, that if these words mean that the impenitent dead have a second chance, they stand alone in Scripture, at least as far as I am aware (vol. 22, p. 158). SECOND --- A Roman Catholic view (which was put forward primarily by Cardinal Bellarmine -- c. 1600 AD) is that Christ went to the place known as Limbo between His death and resurrection. His purpose for going there at that time was to release the souls of the righteous who had repented prior to the flood, but who could not enter heaven until after the coming of the Messiah. Thus, Limbo was the abode between heaven and hell where the disembodied spirits of the OT saints were kept in waiting, according to this view. I dont think we have to go into too terribly much investigation into Scripture to discover that such a view has no basis in biblical Truth. THIRD --- A third view is that during the time between His death and resurrection Jesus preached to the fallen angels who were being kept in bonds until Judgment (in a special location known as Tartarus -- 2 Peter 2:4). These were also the ones (according to this view) who were known as the sons of God, and who took wives for themselves from among the daughters of men (Gen. 6:1-4). This interpretation was promoted quite vigorously at the turn of the previous century by Friedrich Spitta. FOURTH --- The fourth major view, one held by some of the modern scholars, is that after the resurrection, when Jesus ascended into heaven, He passed through the Hadean realm, and also through the areas where fallen angels were being held, and proclaimed His victory to them as He returned to the Father. This was not a proclamation for the purpose of saving them, but rather a declaration of their ultimate eternal defeat. FIFTH --- Personally, I do not believe any of the above theories have a great deal of merit. The major interpretation which I am convicted best fits the context, and which best harmonizes with the remainder of Scripture, is that it was the Spirit of Christ who preached the message of salvation through His servant Noah unto the people of Noahs day, and that this proclamation occurred during those years prior to the flood. This was also the view of St. Augustine (c. 400 AD), was the view which dominated the theological scene for centuries, and is the interpretation embraced by most scholars today. We know that Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5), so we know that these lost beings (bound and imprisoned in sin) were having the message of salvation proclaimed to them through his efforts. We also know that the OT proclaimers were preaching their message to the lost people about them by means of the Spirit of Christ within them (1 Peter 1:10-11). Therefore, Peter, in the context of the very book wherein we find our difficult passage, confirms for us that the Spirit of Christ was proclaiming the good news through the OT spokesmen of God. And among those OT proclaimers, according to Peter, was Noah. Thus, Christ was preaching to those people before their physical deaths, prior to the coming of the flood, through Noah. John Wesley (1703-1791) wrote in his commentary on Peters epistles, By which Spirit He preached = Through the ministry of Noah. To the spirits in prison = The unholy men before the flood. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, in their classic Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871), wrote, Christ, who in our times came in the flesh, in the days of Noah preached in Spirit by Noah to the spirits then in prison. They then point to Isaiah 61:1 to show that those who are in bondage to sin and its wages (death) are characterized as being in prison. They continue, So the same Spirit of Christ (who preached through the OT spokesmen -- 1 Pet. 1:11) enabled Noah, amidst reproach and trials, to preach to the disobedient spirits fast bound in wrath. Disobedient, NOT disembodied. Adam Clarke stated that it was by the ministry of Noah that the Spirit of Christ preached to the inhabitants of the antediluvian world (Clarkes Commentary, vol. 6, p. 861). Noted brethren even within Churches of Christ have embraced this view as the biblical one. Both Clem & Dillard Thurman (editors of the Gospel Minutes), for example, have long defended this interpretation vigorously in their publication. Brother Clem, in an article dated April 27, 1990, wrote that this view is clearly shown in the context of the passage. Brother Dillard, in an article dated Nov. 23, 1979, wrote, There is nothing in the passage that suggests that Jesus preached while dead. The spirits in prison are very definitely placed in the days of Noah, and it is also shown that Christ (as the eternal WORD) was preaching through Noah by the Holy Spirit. Dillard, in that same article, further writes, Notice carefully what is said. Jesus was put to death in the flesh, and died like any mortal man. But He was quickened, or made alive by the Spirit. By what Spirit? By the same Spirit by which He once preached to spirits imprisoned by sin and Satan in the days of Noah! When did this happen? The passage plainly states it: When once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah. The word when is an adverb of time that tells when the action took place: in the days of Noah! The idea of the Son of God being off on a preaching junket for the three days and nights that His body was in the tomb is utterly foreign to any Bible teaching! If false doctrines had not first brought forth this fanciful idea, this passage would not have been twisted to support the error. Albert Barnes declared, ...this whole passage refers to His preaching to the antediluvians in the time of Noah .... no argument can be based on it in proof that He went to preach to them after their death, and while His body was lying in the grave (Barnes Notes on the New Testament). In the final analysis, I believe the view that best harmonizes with Scripture is the one which declares the Spirit of Christ, speaking through Noah, preached to those who were in bondage to sin during the time prior to the flood. I dont find anything in this view inconsistent with the remainder of Gods Word, whereas I do find problems with the other interpretations (and in some cases major problems). In short, I find nothing whatsoever in this passage which suggests the concept of some Hadean holding area for disembodied, eternal spirit-beings, or that Jesus went and preached to them during the time between His crucifixion and resurrection. Such teaching, in my view, is imposed upon this passage (eisegesis) rather than honestly and legitimately drawn from it (exegesis). -Al Maxey
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 13:54:26 +0000
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