M any interpret 1 Peter 3:19 where Jesus “preached to the spirits in prison” as Jesus going to hell to preach to these spirits? Who were these spirits? The lost or the saved or even the demons?
First Peter 3:18-20
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.”
The Athanasian and the Apostle’s Creed
The Apostle’s Creed says that is was Jesus “Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and buried; He descended into hell, the third day He rose again from the dead.“ The Athanasian Creed states: “He suffered death for our salvation. He descended into hell and rose again from the dead.” There is even the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, which dates from the fifth century A.D. which claims that Jesus descended into hell and retrieved all the Old Testament saints, including Adam, David, Habakkuk, and Isaiah however any books that are not part of the canonized books of the Bible are apocryphal and are not accepted as God-breathed so this “gospel” from Nicodemus is not a reliable source at all (see James, 1924, pp. 125ff.).
Even so, did Jesus preach to these Old Testament saints? There is no evidence to support this from the 66 books of the Bible plus 1 Peter 3:18 talks about those who “formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared” so it is not likely that David, Habakkuk, and Isaiah could be considered as those who “formerly did not obey” although Adam certainly did. However if you look at the context, verse 18 leads into the fact that only “a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water” were saved so in my opinion, these “spirits in prison” were those who rejected 120 years of the righteous preaching of Noah.
These ancient church creeds state it more boldly than does 1 Peter 3:19 which only says that Jesus went and “proclaimed to the spirits in prison.” The creeds state that Jesus “descended into hell” but does that mean the place where those who are condemned are at? Does this mean that Jesus had to suffer and die on the cross and then suffer for a time in hell? No, that is not what this verse or these creeds are saying at all. Others Bible scholars see the time after Jesus’ death and before His resurrection where He descended into hell and was when He preached His victory to the spirits of Noah’s wicked contemporaries who are not confined to the realm of the dead. [1] Yet others believe that Christ proclaimed His triumph on the cross to the fallen angels or demons. There are even some reputable scholars that say only Jesus’ living spirit traveled to the imprisoned demon spirits currently held in the abyss and proclaimed that He had triumphed over the Devil and death.
Who Were the Spirit’s in Prison?
As I wrote before, the “spirits in prison” to which “he went and proclaimed” His victory on the cross seems to fit the context of those who were drowned in the Noachian flood because it was “they [who] formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah…in which…eight persons were brought safely through.” These to whom Christ proclaimed His triumph were “they who formerly did not obey” and the “they” were those who heard Noah preached (God’s patience in the 120 years) in the days of Noah” and these “eight persons” were Noah, his wife and their sons and their wives.
Now whether Christ in His Spirit went to proclaim victory to these who died in the flood (and the flood is symbolic of God’s judgment) or to those fallen angels who caused the rebellion we cannot say (in fact, should not say) for certain from this text. Some believe these “spirits in prison” could be the demons who were so heinous in their wickedness that they had to be restrained or whether these were the spirits of the deceased or maybe even both. The point Peter is making is that Christ had victory over death, over the rulers of darkness, the demons, and even Satan himself. [2] It appears from the context that Christ, as God, proclaimed repentance and belief, through Noah. Those who were drowned in the flood are now the “spirits in prison.”
Did Jesus Suffer in Hell?
First Peter 3:18 says “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,” but notice that it says Christ also suffered once for sins.” If Christ had to suffer and die once for sin and then descended into hell to suffer again, then He wouldn’t have suffered “once for sins” but twice. And wouldn’t that be double jeopardy? The idea that Jesus had to suffer and die and then after that, go to hell to suffer for three days between His death and His resurrection contradicts the many Scriptures that say we are saved by the blood of the Lamb. His hell was on the cross. They hell we deserved! He died on the cross for sinners like me, and God’s promise that “he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:27, 31) meant He would be resurrected in a perfect body and since death is the wages of sin (Rom 6:23), and Jesus never sinned, His body saw no corruption.
Hell
The word hell comes from the Old English and means “grave.” Jesus’ body was in the grave, but Jesus Himself told the thief on the cross that “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43), not, “I’ll see you in three days Mr. Thief on the Cross.” Jesus would not have to go to Hades because by His death He paid for the sins of the world (John 3:16), not His own (He was sinless!), and besides, Jesus said “you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades” (Luke 10:15) and the rich man was sent to “Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side” (Luke 16:23), so Jesus could not be assigned to go to a place and suffer where He said was prepared for the Devil and his angels.
Summary
The “hell” that Jesus descended in was a grave for three days and three nights. As I mentioned before, the word used for a grave is sometimes called hell, but there’s a different word for the place of torment. The early church creeds say that “He descended into hell (the grave) and rose again from the dead” but the hell as we understand it (or misunderstand it), was the place where bodies lay or were buried. The English used to keep their potatoes down in “hell,” or which was simply a place in the basement where potatoes and such were stored in a cool, dry place. Gehenna is in a valley located just outside ancient Jerusalem and was associated with child being sacrificed in the fire. In Gehenna, there was a fire burning continually, a fire that was never quenched (Mark 9:43-48), and being the local garbage dump, more and more was added to the dump that kept the fire burning. In the New Testament, Jesus used it as a reference to a fiery, garbage-strewn imagery as a metaphor to symbolize divine judgment and hell. A place the condemned go to, like the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, where the rich man was in permanent torment and could not cross over into the Kingdom (Luke 16:19-31).
Avoid Gehenna
Whatever you believe, you must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved (Acts 4:12; 16:30-31) to avoid being condemned by your disbelief (John 3:18). You must repent and confess your sins and place your trust in the Savior or you too will go to the place where those who rejected Noah’s preaching, the place where the rich man is in torment right now, and where everyone who chooses to not believe, will all go. I pray that is not you because there will be no escape from that hell (Rev 20:11-15) and so if you won’t harden your heart, make today your day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2) and you too will be saved.
Here is some related reading for you: Bible Verses About Hell: 21 Eye-Opening Scriptures
Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
1. R. C. Sproul, Gen Ed., The Reformation Study Bible. (Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 2005), 1815.
2. John MacArthur, Gen. Ed., The MacArthur Study Bible. (Wheaton, ILL: Crossway Publishers,2010). 1894.
James, M.R., trans. (1924), The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press).
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