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 can we understand this passage of Scripture? When we look at 1 Peter 3:18-20 we must ask a few questions.
- How did Jesus preach to these spirits in prison?
- Who are these spirits in prison?
- And when did He do this?
Thankfully the Bible gives us the answers.
But before we search the Scriptures to discover the answers let us pray…
Dear Heavenly Father,
We thank you that we can always call on you. Please guide us into all truth, grant us an open mind so that we may we simply take your Bible as it reads. We ask for the Holy Spirit to teach us and may we learn from your wonderful word today we pray, in Jesus name amen.
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 hades 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.
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)
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…
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”” (Luke 4:18-19)
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)
It’s clear that the patience of Jesus is great. By the Holy Spirit He spent 120 years trying to reach the people before the flood came. The world was warned, but when the message was rejected the flood did come. Jesus has told us “As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:37-39, 44) Are you ready for the return of Christ? Do you know what the mark of the beast is directly from the Bible? To learn more about God’s final message of warning to the world we recommend the below related posts and may the Lord bless you as you choose to follow Him.
It all makes perfect sense! I appreciate it.
I am very satisfied. Thank you very much. There is no reason to say much. It’s absolutely true. Many people argue that Jesus went to hell to preach to the spirits that were in prison so that they may be saved. May God our Lord bless you.
While this is a very interesting read, and I quite enjoyed it, I was puzzled by your conclusion, that where the bible says Jesus preached to the imprisoned souls, you take this to mean BEFORE He died for our sins, pointing Back to the days of Noah. But is this REALLY what the text is saying? I double checked it to be sure, and noticed this:HE WAS PUT TO DEATH IN THE BODY, but made alive in the Spirit. 19 AFTER BEING MADE ALIVE,[d] he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits. The text is clearly saying that Jesus preached to the imprisoned AFTER HE DIED AND WAS RAISED. Thus it is pointing to after His death, NOT in the many years prior,that is the days of Noah. I feel your conclusion is in error.
May our God be with you and bless you.
Hi Sally,
Thank you for your comment and concern, I appreciate you checking my statements by the Bible! However the translation of the Bible that uses the word “after” is in error in regards to this verse. A literal translation such as the King James or New King James 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” (1 Peter 3:18-19) There is no “after” in the original Greek – http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Pe&c=3&t=KJV#s=t_conc_1154019 Thus the NIV version translators actually added this word, incorrectly. By reading the two verses together we can also see that the NIV translators shouldn’t have added the after for the text says “By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; …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.” (1 Peter 3:19-20) I do appreciate you checking though, I had no idea the NIV used this additional word and sometimes I myself get confused by additions in translations. Please do not think this comment is written in an angry or defensive tone, I appreciate the fact that there are people out there who are like the Bereans who check what is said by the Bible and only follow the Bible and the Bible alone. Keep searching the Scriptures and may the Lord bless you as you follow Him!
Thank you for your ministry, may God bless you more!
can you please help me with Matthew 28.1? Someone told me that Jesus resurrected on sabbath and not on sunday morning. Thank you for help.
Wow!! Thanks SO much for your reply, now I can see that it is the translation that I was using, the NIV which ADDS THE WORD “AFTER” CHANGING THE ENTIRE MEANING OF THE TEXT!! Thanks SO much for bringing this to my attention!! I had no idea!!
It appears that Christ made the proclamation to the imprisoned spirits only after the resurection because verse 19 says “After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits”. Can you please explain this?
Sorry, I didn’t read your reply to Sally and have posted the above question. You don’t need to reply I already got it. Thank you so much. Wonderful insight. May the Lord continue to use you in a mighty way.
Hi, this is one of the verses that have caused more differences with my friends. Am really contented with your explanation. Hopefully they will accept it during our fellowship tonight.
Even though Satan holds us captive to do his desires and his will being under the master called sin. Isaiah 14 does not paint the picture of an angel but only a wicked king, for although we know what satan through man will accomplish and that man of disobedience is under his will and does what he desires. There is no mention of satan in this passage as it is a taunt against a man and not an angelic being
Greetings Joseph,
I understand how some could take such a position however Isaiah 14 could not just be about a human king for it says “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!” (Isaiah 14:12)
So this individual, Lucifer by name, fell from heaven. And in the Bible there is only the mention of Satan and his fallen angels falling from heaven. In Revelation 12 it says “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9) Jesus Himself also speaking of Satan says “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18) Thus by the Bible we can conclude that Isaiah 14 applies to Satan. I hope that helps and may the Lord bless you as you study His Word!
Please can you explain what 1 Peter 4:6 means? Dankwah
Hi Dankwah,
Great question! This verse has already been asked about and you can find an answer here – http://willfults.com/1peter318-20-spirits-in-prison/#comment-4609
May the Lord bless you as you study His Word!