Spirits in prison

[Isdaniel]

What is your take on 1 Peter 3:18-20
One of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible is found in 1 Peter 3:18-20 which says

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”
What does this verse mean? Did Jesus preach to spirits in hades or hell? Or did He preach to fallen angels? Or does this verse mean something completely different?


How did Jesus preach to these spirits in prison?
Who are these spirits in prison?
And when did He do this?

I have my take on it but will like to know what you christians brothers and sisters think

Thanks

 

[know1]

I believe it was the time when Jesus was three days and three nights in the belly of the earth, He preach the gospel to the spirits of those who died before, during, and after the flood. Before Jesus rose from the dead, none could go to heaven, for Jesus had not come yet, as He is the only way into heaven, except for babies and children. At that time hell and paradise were in the center of the earth with a chasm between the two. Now there are none but the wicked in the center of the earth.
That's my take on it.

 

[HeRoseFromTheDead]

This is a good explanation - http://christianchat.com/bible-discussion-forum/73329-spirits-prison.html

 

[Isdaniel]

Q: How did Jesus preach to these spirits in prison?

Some think that this verse means that when Christ died on the cross that he went to hel and preached to the spirits in prison. However the word hades or hell is not in the text. Let’s take the verse slowly and see what it means…
One of the keys is verse 18-19 which says
” being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,” the question is who is the individual mentioned in the words “by whom” found in verse 19?
If you read the verse it says “by the Spirit, 19 by whom” Thus the “by whom” is the Holy Spirit. So with that in mind the verse says the following that Christ by the Holy Spirit “went and preached to the spirits in prison”. OK that makes it a little clearer. But that begs the question…
Q: When did Christ preach to these individuals by the Holy Spirit?

The verse says that Christ by the Holy Spirit “went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient,” when? The verse states ” when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”
So Christ by the Holy Spirit preached to the spirits in prison in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared. Thus this happened before Jesus came as a man.

 

[Isdaniel]

Q: But who are these spirits in prison during the days of Noah?

Well the Bible tells us Satan has “made the world as a wilderness
And destroyed its cities, ” and “did not open the house of his prisoners“. (Isaiah 14:17) Hebrews 12:23
So Satan is the one keeping these prisoners. Prisoners have no freedom. Who is it whom Satan is trying to take captive? Humans of course. Thus, the prisoners are actually humans who are bound to sin. Jesus said “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34). Slaves are not free, and whoever commits sin is a slave or prisoner to sin, they have no freedom. There is only one who can set us free, “if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36). Jesus is the only one who can set us free from the prison of sin. This is His mission. One day Jesus stood up to read and He declared of Himself…
“Isaiah 61:1,(Luke 4:18-19)
61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound
Praise be to Jesus who can set us free from the prison of sin!
Therefore, Jesus by the Holy Spirit preached to people who were slaves to sin, during the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared.
Q: Who did Christ by the Holy Spirit use? Giving a warning of a coming prophetic flood?

The Bible tells us that “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21) and that “Noah, one of eight people, (was) a preacher of righteousness”. (2 Peter 2:5) Thus 1 Peter 3:18-20 tells us this, that Jesus in His great mercy by the Holy Spirit spoke through Noah, in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared. Striving to redeem those humans in prison to sin, while the ark was being prepared.
Q: Does the rest of the Bible confirm or contradict our interpretation?

It confirms it for it is written speaking during the days of Noah
And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” (Genesis 6:3)

 

[fretslide]

what would be the point of preaching the gospel either to A/ the righteous who were already saved by faith or B/ the unrighteous who were dead and couldn't accept even if they wanted to. Is it possible that that he was there to proclaim his victory, and if so, who were the spirits?. Like the OP, I also have my own take on this but I am also keen to see what others think

 

[Delija]

Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev: Christ the Conqueror of Hell

 

[Delija]

1. Eastern theological tradition

We come across references to the descent of Christ into Hades and His raising the dead in the works of Eastern Christian authors of the 2nd and 3 rd centuries, such as Polycarp of Smyrna, Ignatius of Antioch, Hermas, Justin, Melito of Sardes, Hyppolitus of Rome, Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria and Origen. In the 4 th century, the descent to hell was discussed by Athanasius, Basil the Great, Gregory Nazianzen, John Chrysostom, as well as such Syrian authors as Jacob Aphrahat and Ephrem the Syrian. Noteworthy among later authors who wrote on this theme are Cyril of Alexandria, Maximus the Confessor and John Damascene.

 

[Isdaniel]

Revelation 1

17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

 

[Delija]

Let us look at the most vivid interpretations given to our theme in Eastern Christian theology.

The teaching on the descent of Christ into Hades was expounded quite fully by Clement of Alexandria in his ‘Stromateis’ [3] . He argued that Christ preached in hell not only to the Old Testament righteous, but also to the Gentiles who lived outside the true faith. Commenting on 1 Pet. 3:18¾21, Clement expresses the conviction that the preaching of Christ was addressed to all those in hell who were able to believe in Christ: Do not [the Scriptures] show that the Lord preached the Gospel to those that perished in the flood, or rather had been chained, and to those kept ‘in ward and guard’?… And, as I think, the Saviour also exerts His might because it is His work to save; which accordingly He also did by drawing to salvation those who became willing, by the preaching [of the Gospel], to believe on Him, wherever they were. If, then, the Lord descended to Hades for no other end but to preach the Gospel, as He did descend, it was either to preach the Gospel to all or to the Hebrews only. If, accordingly, to all, then all who believe shall be saved [4] , although they may be of the Gentiles, on making their profession there… [5] Clement emphasises that there are righteous people among both those who have the true faith and the Gentiles and that it is possible to turn to God for those who did not believe in Him while living. It is their virtuous life that made them capable of accepting the preaching of Christ and the apostles in hell: ...A righteous man, then, differs not, as righteous, from another righteous man, whether he be of the Law [Jew] or a Greek. For God is not only Lord of the Jews, but of all men [6] ... So I think it is demonstrated that God, being good, and the Lord powerful, save with a righteousness and equality which extend to all that turn to Him, whether here or elsewhere[7] . According to Clement, righteousness is of value not only for those who live in true faith, but also for those who are outside faith. It is evident from his words that Christ preached in hell to all, but saved only those who came to believe in Him. Anyway, Clement assumes that this preaching proved salutory not for all to whom Christ preached in hell: ‘Did not the same dispensation obtain in Hades, so that even there, all the souls, on hearing the proclamation, might either exhibit repentance, or confess that their punishment was just, because they believed not?’ [8] According to Clement, there were those in hell who heard the preaching of Christ but did not believe in Him and did not follow Him. In Clement’s works we find the notion that punishments sent from God to sinners are aimed at their reformation, not at retribution, and that the souls released from their corporal shells are better able to understand the meaning of punishment[9] . In these words lies the nucleus of the teaching on the purifying and saving nature of the torment of hell developed by some later authors [10] . We will come back to the question of whether the pains of hell can be salutory when considering the teaching of Maximus the Confessor on the descent of Christ into Hades. An exhaustive discussion on this question, though, is beyond the scope of this paper.

 

[Sanashankar]

1Pt 3:18 . 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:
1Pt 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison

I believe when some is dead, they are really "DEAD". It is not the body of Christ which died, but Christ himself. If Jesus Christ was dead for three days and night , how can he go to Hades to teach??????.

He submitted his spirit in the hands of God. He gave up his Ghost

Lk 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Which means God has to raise him back by giving his spirit back and that God did only on the third day

Ac 10:40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;

not on the first day or the second day. So after he was "quickened by the spirit" on the third day he went to the spirit in the prison.

 

[Delivery]

What is your take on 1 Peter 3:18-20
One of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible is found in 1 Peter 3:18-20 which says

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”
What does this verse mean? Did Jesus preach to spirits in hades or hell? Or did He preach to fallen angels? Or does this verse mean something completely different?


How did Jesus preach to these spirits in prison?
Who are these spirits in prison?
And when did He do this?

I have my take on it but will like to know what you christians brothers and sisters think

Thanks

3:18 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:

3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

3:20 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.

The reason these verses are so misunderstood and misinterpreted is because people don't want to accept them for what they say at face value because these verses go against their personal theology.

First of all when Jesus died for us He not only had to suffer physically, He also had to suffer spiritually by dying the death a sinner would have to die without God. That's why when He was on the cross He cried out: "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" So, He also had to go the same place where the spirits of the unsaved go when they die, imprisoned in the heart of the earth, as Jesus Himself said, " For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."


So, this prison that it's talking about is the place where the spirits of the unsaved go and wait for the final great white throne judgment of God where they will get their final judgment and sentencing for their sins. This is where Jesus spent the 3 days and 3 nights between His death and resurrection. It is the place commonly referred to as Hades or Hell. Yes, as part of Jesus' sufferings for our sins "The just for the unjust" He had to die the death of a sinner, including going to Hell.


Then it says He preached to the spirits that were there. And more specifically it says He preached to the ones who perished in the Flood of Noah. Now why go and preach to the unsaved who had already died unless those unsaved could believe and get saved and come out of that prison of Hell? It goes directly against the theology of those who say you can't get saved in the after life. They say, If you don't get saved in this life your doomed to Hell forever. But obviously these verse prove otherwise. I believe Jesus came and died for every single person who has ever lived on this planet and as such He is going to give everybody a chance to receive Him. If they didn't hear about Him or get a chance to receive Him in this life, they will get a chance in the next.



KJV:

 

[Delija]

Gregory of Nyssa entwines the theme of the descent in hell with the theory of ‘divine deception’. On the latter he builds his teaching on the Redemption. According to this theory, Christ, being God incarnate, deliberately concealed His divine nature from the devil so that he, mistaking Him for an ordinary man, would not be terrified at the sight of an overwhelming power approaching him. When Christ descended in hell, the devil supposed Him to be a human being, but this was a divine ‘hook’ disguised under a human ‘bait’ that the devil swallowed [11] . By admitting God incarnate into his domain, the devil himself signed his own death warrant: incapable of enduring the divine presence, he was overcome and defeated, and hell was destroyed. This is precisely the idea that Gregory of Nyssa developed in one of his Easter sermons on ‘The Three-Day Period of the Resurrection of Christ’. Judging by its contents, this homily was intended for Holy Saturday [12] , and in it Gregory poses the question of why Christ spent three days ‘in the heart of the earth’ [13] . This period was necessary and sufficient, he argues, for Christ to ‘expose the foolishness’ (moranai) of the devil[14] , i.e, to outwit, ridicule and deceive him [15] . How did Christ manage to ‘outwit’ the devil? Gregory gives the following reply to this question: As the ruler of darkness could not approach the presence of the Light unimpeded, had he not seen in Him something of flesh, then, as soon as he saw the God-bearing flesh and saw the miracle performed through it by the Deity, he hoped that if he came to take hold of the flesh through death, then he would take hold of all the power contained in it. Therefore, having swallowed the bait of the flesh, he was pierced by the hook of the Deity and thus the dragon was transfixed by the hook. [16]

 

[Isdaniel]

Isaiah 8:13

King James Version (KJV)

13 Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

 

[RuthHannah]

The prison is sin

 

[RuthHannah]

3:18 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:

3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

3:20 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.

The reason these verses are so misunderstood and misinterpreted is because people don't want to accept them for what they say at face value because these verses go against their personal theology.

First of all when Jesus died for us He not only had to suffer physically, He also had to suffer spiritually by dying the death a sinner would have to die without God. That's why when He was on the cross He cried out: "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" So, He also had to go the same place where the spirits of the unsaved go when they die, imprisoned in the heart of the earth, as Jesus Himself said, " For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."


So, this prison that it's talking about is the place where the spirits of the unsaved go and wait for the final great white throne judgment of God where they will get their final judgment and sentencing for their sins. This is where Jesus spent the 3 days and 3 nights between His death and resurrection. It is the place commonly referred to as Hades or Hell. Yes, as part of Jesus' sufferings for our sins "The just for the unjust" He had to die the death of a sinner, including going to Hell.


Then it says He preached to the spirits that were there. And more specifically it says He preached to the ones who perished in the Flood of Noah. Now why go and preach to the unsaved who had already died unless those unsaved could believe and get saved and come out of that prison of Hell? It goes directly against the theology of those who say you can't get saved in the after life. They say, If you don't get saved in this life your doomed to Hell forever. But obviously these verse prove otherwise. I believe Jesus came and died for every single person who has ever lived on this planet and as such He is going to give everybody a chance to receive Him. If they didn't hear about Him or get a chance to receive Him in this life, they will get a chance in the next.



KJV:

u cannot get save in the after life , then accepting Jesus now will not mae sense if you are going to be preached too in the dead

 

[CRC]

Demons—Who Are They?
During the 15 centuries following Satan’s deception of Eve in Eden, God’s family of angels observed that Satan the Devil succeeded in turning aside from God all humans except a few faithful ones, such as Abel, Enoch, and Noah. (Genesis 3:1-7; Hebrews 11:4, 5, 7) Some of the angels also yielded to Satan. The Bible refers to them as the spirits who were disobedient “in Noah’s days.” (1 Peter 3:19, 20) How did their disobedience become evident?
In Noah’s time an unspecified number of rebellious angels left their place in God’s heavenly family, came down to the earth, and materialized fleshly bodies. Why? They had developed a desire to have sexual relations with women. This led to their fathering offspring called Nephilim, who became violent giants. Moreover, “the badness of man was abundant in the earth and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only bad all the time.” However, Jehovah God did not allow this corruption of mankind to go on. He brought a global Flood, which swept away all wicked humans along with the Nephilim. The only humans preserved alive were God’s faithful servants.—Genesis 6:1-7, 17; 7:23.
The rebellious angels escaped destruction at the time of the Flood. They abandoned their fleshly bodies and returned to the spirit realm as spirit creatures. Thereafter, they are referred to as demons. They put themselves on the side of Satan the Devil, who is called “the ruler of the demons.” (Matthew 12:24-27) Like their ruler, demons crave the worship of humans.
Demons are dangerous, but we need not dread them. Their power is limited. When the disobedient angels returned to heaven, they were not allowed back into God’s family of faithful angels. Instead, they were cut off from any spiritual enlightenment from God, with only a dark outlook for the future. Indeed, they were confined in a condition of spiritual darkness known as Tartarus. (2 Peter 2:4) Jehovah restrained them with “eternal bonds,” so that they are in spiritual darkness. Furthermore, they are now unable to materialize human bodies.—Jude 6.

Thus the prison that these fallen angels inhabit is spiritual with literal parameters that have been set by God. The message that Jesus preached to these demons was condemnatory. Only the final abyssing and everlasting destruction await these rebellious angels who sided with Satan and escaped the flood of Noah’s day.

 

[Isdaniel]

Demons—Who Are They?
During the 15 centuries following Satan’s deception of Eve in Eden, God’s family of angels observed that Satan the Devil succeeded in turning aside from God all humans except a few faithful ones, such as Abel, Enoch, and Noah. (Genesis 3:1-7; Hebrews 11:4, 5, 7) Some of the angels also yielded to Satan. The Bible refers to them as the spirits who were disobedient “in Noah’s days.” (1 Peter 3:19, 20) How did their disobedience become evident?
In Noah’s time an unspecified number of rebellious angels left their place in God’s heavenly family, came down to the earth, and materialized fleshly bodies. Why? They had developed a desire to have sexual relations with women. This led to their fathering offspring called Nephilim, who became violent giants. Moreover, “the badness of man was abundant in the earth and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only bad all the time.” However, Jehovah God did not allow this corruption of mankind to go on. He brought a global Flood, which swept away all wicked humans along with the Nephilim. The only humans preserved alive were God’s faithful servants.—Genesis 6:1-7, 17; 7:23.
The rebellious angels escaped destruction at the time of the Flood. They abandoned their fleshly bodies and returned to the spirit realm as spirit creatures. Thereafter, they are referred to as demons. They put themselves on the side of Satan the Devil, who is called “the ruler of the demons.” (Matthew 12:24-27) Like their ruler, demons crave the worship of humans.
Demons are dangerous, but we need not dread them. Their power is limited. When the disobedient angels returned to heaven, they were not allowed back into God’s family of faithful angels. Instead, they were cut off from any spiritual enlightenment from God, with only a dark outlook for the future. Indeed, they were confined in a condition of spiritual darkness known as Tartarus. (2 Peter 2:4) Jehovah restrained them with “eternal bonds,” so that they are in spiritual darkness. Furthermore, they are now unable to materialize human bodies.—Jude 6.

Thus the prison that these fallen angels inhabit is spiritual with literal parameters that have been set by God. The message that Jesus preached to these demons was condemnatory. Only the final abyssing and everlasting destruction await these rebellious angels who sided with Satan and escaped the flood of Noah’s day.

Who were diobedient in the days of Noah the demons were disobedient before that