"Preaching To The Spirits In Prison"

Some sincere religious folks believe that while Jesus was in the grave for three days, He journeyed to Hades and personally preached the gospel to the “spirits” which were imprisoned there. As a proof-text, they use 1 Peter 3:19. In I Peter 3:17, Peter uses our Lord as an example of “suffering for well doing” when he states in 1 Peter 3:18-20:

“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.“

Let’s analyze the next three verses with the above context in mind.

See here.

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets