Blog Archives
Preaching to the spirits in prison. An interpretation of 1 Peter 3:18-20
Copyright by Bob Rogers, Th.D.
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring you to God, after being put to death in the fleshly realm but made alive in the spiritual realm. In that state He also went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while an ark was being prepared. – 1 Peter 3:18-20, HCSB
There are three facts about 1 Peter 3:18-20 which cannot be ignored:
- There was a story in a Jewish book called First Enoch about Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24) who made a journey to the supernatural beings who seduced human women (Genesis 6:1-4). This was at the time of Noah (Genesis 6:5-8). In First Enoch, Enoch is said to preach condemnation on these beings.
- First Enoch was well known in the first century, for Jude 9-10 and Jude 14 and 2 Peter 2:4-5 refer to stories which are in the older book of First Enoch, as does this passage.
- In Greek, verse 19 begins with three words which are transliterated in English letters: en o kai, which in Greek manuscripts would be run together: enokai. Compare that to the name Enoch.
What does all this mean? 1 Peter is well-known for clever arrangements of words. It seems that he is making a pun on the name Enoch in verse 19 because he is referring to a story about Enoch known to his readers.
First Peter 3:18 says that after Jesus died and was buried, he was “made alive in the spiritual realm.” Yet before His resurrection was physically displayed on Easter, He took care of some other-worldly business. He made a journey to the lower world of the dead (see Romans 10:7, Ephesians 4:9), where He “made a proclamation to the spirits in prison” (verse 19). The term “spirits” is never used to mean dead men, so it must refer to the fallen angels of Noah’s day, whom God had bound in prison (Jude 6, 1 Peter 2:4, Revelation 20:1-2, First Enoch 10).
Nowhere does Peter say that Jesus went to hell as punishment for our sins. The journey was to “Tartarus” (2 Peter 2:4, incorrectly translated “hell” in some translations). Tartarus was a Greek name for a place they believed all dead went, good and bad, like Hebrew word Sheol in the Old Testament. This journey was not forced upon Jesus; He went rather than suffer agony while in the grave.
Peter’s readers lived in a world where belief in evil spirits was universal. Some saw the Roman persecution coming, and they longed for protection from the evil spirits of the Romans which they feared might overcome the power of Christ. Peter comforted them with the news that Christ had defeated the most horrible of all spirits, the greatly feared fallen spirits of Noah’s day. In folklore, these spirits were considered to be the most wicked of all spirits.
First Peter 3:19 says Christ made proclamation to these spirits. This does not mean He was giving those who died before the time of His crucifixion a chance to believe the gospel, for he was speaking to spirits, not men. It does not even mean he was presenting the gospel to the spirits, for this Greek word can be used simply to “declare” or “proclaim” (the translation used in many versions, see also Revelation 5:2) with no implication of the gospel being presented. No, Jesus was announcing that He had defeated them! Thus, in verse 22, Peter says He ascended to heaven “with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.”
This proclamation of victory over the fallen angels was reassurance to Peter’s readers that they shouldn’t fear evil powers around them, for Christ is more powerful.
A second interpretation of 1 Peter 3:18-20 is worth considering. This view says that Jesus did not descend at all, but that in the same spirit of Jesus which has always existed, He had preached to the evil men of Noah’s day and given them a chance to repent. This takes verse 19 to refer to “in the spiritual realm” in verse 18.
This view appears to answer some questions people have, because it claims that the people living before the time of Jesus’ crucifixion had the same opportunity to repent as we do, for the spirit of Christ has always been around to give them the message, whether it be seen in Noah or Moses or a prophet.
This view is correct in noting that verse 19 simply says, “He went,” not “He descended.” It is also less complicated than the other view.
However, this second explanation seems to take things out of order. In verse 18, Peter refers to the cross, and in verse 22, he refers to the ascension. Verses 19-20 should refer to something in between, not to Jesus’ spirit back in the days of Noah.
Whatever interpretation we+9 follow, we would do well to remember to present it in “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
Further reading: Ernest Best, 1 Peter in the New Century Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1971), 135-146.
E.G. Selwyn, The First Epistle of St. Peter, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1946), 197-202.
Ray Summers, “1 Peter” in volume 12 of The Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1972), 163-164.
Top blog posts in 2016
In case you missed them, here were my top blog posts and top new blog posts in 2016, in order of the most visits:
TOP THREE POSTS OF 2016:
1. Blessing the food: ways to say “Grace”: https://bobrogers.me/2013/10/25/blessing-the-food-ways-to-say-grace-before-meals/
2. Four great truths from the creation account in Genesis: https://bobrogers.me/2013/10/14/four-great-truths-from-the-creation-account-in-genesis/
3. Why I am changing Bible translations: https://bobrogers.me/2012/04/17/why-i-am-changing-bible-translations/
TOP THREE NEW POSTS OF 2016:
1. In this weird political year, be a patriotic prayer warrior! https://bobrogers.me/2016/05/05/be-a-patriotic-prayer-warrior/
2. Twisted scripture: “by His stripes, we are healed”: https://bobrogers.me/2016/08/07/twisted-scripture-by-his-stripes-we-are-healed/
3. Twisted scripture: “God doesn’t put on you more than you can handle”: https://bobrogers.me/2016/06/10/twisted-scripture-god-doesnt-put-on-you-more-than-you-can-handle/
Twisted scripture: “by His stripes we are healed”
Copyright 2016 by Bob Rogers
(NOTE: This is the fifth blog post in a series on scriptures commonly misinterpreted.)
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed. – Isaiah 53:5, NKJV
I often meet people praying for the sick who claim Isaiah 53:5 as a promise that God will heal any sickness if they pray for it in faith. Their logic is straightforward: the prophet said that the Messiah would be crucified for our sins, “and by His stripes we are healed.” Thus, they conclude, the verse is saying that Jesus’ cross has two effects: first, Christ paid for our sins, and second, He also heals our diseases, if we pray in faith. After all, they reason, didn’t Jesus say, “Your faith has made you well?” (Mark 5:34).
Is this really what Isaiah 53:5 is teaching? Does it teach a two-part effect of the cross: a healing from both sin and sickness? This interpretation fails to take into consideration the kind of Hebrew poetic writing used here, often called Hebrew parallelism. That is, the Hebrew poet frequently says the same thing twice in slightly different ways, for emphasis. We see this in many psalms, such as, “While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have being” (Psalm 146:2). If this is Hebrew parallelism, then the second part means the same thing as the first part, and the first part says the Messiah was wounded for our transgressions, not our sickness. But what if this is not Hebrew parallelism?
Here is where we need to apply a very important but often neglected principle of Bible interpretation: scripture itself is the best interpreter of other scripture. So what does the rest of the Bible say on this subject?
The New Testament frequently discusses the effect of the cross of Jesus Christ. Romans 3:24-25 speaks of how Jesus’ blood justifies us from sin, redeems us from sin, and presents Jesus as a sacrifice for our sin. Ephesians 1:7 says His blood gives us forgiveness from our sin. Colossians 1:20-22 says Jesus made peace through the blood of His cross, in order to present you “holy and blameless” before God. Many other scriptures talk about how the cross of Christ offers salvation from sin, but nowhere does the New Testament say that the cross of Christ brings healing from sickness.
Is Isaiah 53:5 directly quoted anywhere else in the Bible? Yes, it is, in 1 Peter 2:24. Here it is:
“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”
If Isaiah 53:5 was intended to be a prophecy that Jesus’ cross would heal from sickness as well as sin, then when Peter quoted that very same verse, surely Peter would have mentioned the effect of the cross on sickness. Yet it is not there. Read the verse again. It says Jesus “bore our sins in His own body…” It continues, “that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.” After making reference to sin twice, Peter then quoted Isaiah 53:5: “by whose stripes you were healed.” There is no question what kind of healing Peter understood Isaiah to mean. He already said it twice: healing from our sins.
Remember this important principle: the best interpreter of scripture is other scripture, not a human preacher or teacher. Should we pray for the sick? Yes, we are commanded to do so (Matthew 10:8; James 5:14). Is God able to heal the sick? Yes, and He often chooses to do so, although not always (Acts 5:16; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10). However, does Isaiah 53:5 teach that the cross of Christ is a promise of physical healing for us to claim in faith? Based on the interpretation of scripture itself, we can only conclude that it is a promise for one type of healing– the greatest kind of all– from our sin.
Twisted scripture: “God doesn’t put on you more than you can handle”
Article copyright by Bob Rogers
(NOTE: This is the second in a series of blog posts I am doing on some of the most commonly twisted and misinterpreted verses in the Bible.)
As a hospital chaplain, I seek to guide patients to find the spiritual strength to handle their problems. After hearing their story, I sometimes ask, “How are you handling that?” Many people will reply, “Well, God doesn’t put on you more than you can handle.” Others will say, “The Bible says God doesn’t give us more than we can bear.” That sounds nice, but it’s not what the Bible says! People get this idea from a misreading of 1 Corinthians 10:13. Here is what the entire verse says [italics mine]:
“No temptation has overtake you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13, NKJV
Many people seem to think that this verse says that God will not allow you to be tested beyond what you can bear. But read the verse again. Is that what it says? No! It says God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. Some people correctly argue that the Greek word can be translated “tested” or “tried,” instead of “tempted.” However, almost all translations prefer the word “tempted” in this verse. Why? Because of the context. A rule of thumb for Bible interpretation is to read the context. So when we read the whole chapter, we see that 1 Corinthians 10 is about temptation. The first part of the chapter gives a series of warnings against falling into disobedience through unbelief. Verse 12 warns, “So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.” Fall into what? Temptation. And verse 14 says the solution to the temptation is to “flee.” So the context of 1 Corinthians 10:13 shows that it is about temptation.
But if 1 Corinthians 10:13 does not say God won’t put on us more than we can bear, do other verses teach this? Ironically, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:8 that “we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.” In other words, God put more on him than he could handle! But he goes on to say in the next verse, “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” The scripture frequently says that when we cannot handle things, God can give us the strength we need (See 1 Samuel 30:6; Philippians 4:13). (Unfortunately, Philippians 4:13 is also misinterpreted, and we’ll discuss how in the next blog post.)
Here is the bottom line: God is not saying that we won’t face more than we can handle, but He is saying that He will give us the spiritual strength to handle whatever we face.
Bob Rogers 