1 Peter 3:19 ‘in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison'

‘in which' -Must refer back to the last statement of 1 Peter 3:18. ‘In which spirit'.

Point to Note:. popular denominational view on these verses has been that they are teaching that after His death, Jesus preached to the lost souls in hell. And this preaching took place between His death and resurrection. This interpretation has been furthered by the unfortunate rendering of ‘hell' in Acts 2:27 (KJV). First things first! The word in Acts 2:27 is ‘Hades', not ‘Hell'. The spirit of Jesus went to Hades (Luke 23:43; Luke 16:19 ff). In addition, these verses are not talking about what Jesus did after His death, rather, they are talking about what happened during the days of Noah (1 Peter 3:20).

‘also He went and made proclamation' -As Jesus had spoken through the prophets in time past (1 Peter 1:11); He had long before that, spoken to Noah's generation, through Noah (2 Peter 2:5 ‘..a preacher of righteousness'). The activity of Jesus didn't start with the incarnation. Rather, Jesus had been serving mankind long before that. See also Ephesians 2:17. Consider John 14:18 ‘..I will come to you'. And yet it was the Holy Spirit Who came. Even though the Holy Spirit inspired the apostles (John 16:13), it is always assumed that what is being revealed comes from Jesus (1 Corinthians 14:37; Hebrews 1:2). Hence, the Holy Spirit was guiding Noah, as He would do for other prophets (1 Peter 1:20), and yet Jesus was the source of the information being spoken.

‘to the spirits now in prison' -Points to Note: 1. Death ends all chances to change (2 Peter 2:9 ‘keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment'; Luke 16:19 ff). 2. The unrighteous experience conscious suffering. 3. Notice the word ‘now'. When Peter wrote these people were in prison, but they were not in prison when they heard the proclamation that originated with Jesus. They were alive, and they were in the flesh. ‘ the time when this preaching was done is clearly stated in the next verse' (Woods p. 101) 4. In addition, WHO ARE THESE SPIRITS is also defined and specified. 5. The Jehovah Witnesses contend that man doesn't have. soul or spirit. And that the word ‘spirit' means ‘life-breath', or something physical that keeps the body alive. Insert that definition into this passage!

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Old Testament