One of the most controversial passages in the New
Testament in 1 Peter 3:19-20. One commentary on 1 Peter spends 43 of its 248
pages just one these two verses! Throughout the history of both Jewish and
Christian exegesis, there have been many different interpretations of this passage
suggested. Here I can only touch on a few of these, and share my view on the
subject.
In his commentary on 1 Peter (the one mentioned above),
Wayne Grudem lays out five general approaches to the interpretation of this
passage. While there are some other variations, these cover many of the
alternatives proposed by commentators. These are:
1) Christ preached in spirit through Noah to those who
would reject that preaching, thus ending up “in prison” due to their unbelief.
2) Christ preached after His death but before His resurrection
to those people who were imprisoned in hell, offering them a second chance of
salvation.
3) Christ preached after His death but before His
resurrection to those people who were imprisoned in hell, showing them that
their condemnation was final.
4) Christ preached after His death to those who repented
before they died in Flood, releasing them from Purgatory and bringing them into
heaven.
5) Christ preached after His death to the fallen angels
in hell, proclaiming His triumph over them and His ultimate victory. (Some
commentators link this to a belief that in Genesis 6 the “sons of God” are fallen
angels who had relations with human women, and that this pronouncement of
judgment was particularly pointed at them.)
Option 2 is clearly out of line with the teaching of the
rest of the Bible concerning the finality of death on our decision about Jesus.
Option 4 is only viable to someone who believes in Purgatory, which I do not
believe is a Biblical teaching. Option 3 doesn’t really connect with the time
of Noah, unless it is limited to just those unbelievers, and that seems a
rather limited application.
Option 5 is favored by many commentators, both Jewish and
Christian (including the author of the Explore the Bible study guide). They
argue that the use of the word “spirit” strongly suggests angels/demons rather
than people. They also point to some Jewish literature as background to this
passage, particularly 1 Enoch. According to this view, Peter is using material
familiar to his readers to make his point, and they would have readily
understood this as a reference to 1 Enoch and to fallen angels.
While there is much to commend this view, I think when we
place the passage in its literary context option 1 is a preferable view. There
are certainly issues with this interpretation, as there are with any of those
mentioned, but I think this best fits the context, and has support from scholars
both ancient and modern. It also does not require Peter’s audience to have a
familiarity with literature like 1 Enoch, which may be more consistent with the
historical and cultural situation of those readers.
Going back to verse 13, Peter is discussing not only the
way a believer should live, but also the readiness of the Christian to proclaim
his faith in Jesus. He notes that when we stand for Christ, we may encounter
opposition, but that we should live and speak in such a way that those who
slander us and reject our message will be put to shame. He then summarizes the
gospel, then moves into our problem passage.
Using option 1 as our interpretation, this then becomes
an illustration from the Old Testament of someone who proclaimed the message of
the Lord faithfully, but whose preaching was rejected for 100 years. In the
end, only the tiny number of faithful were saved, while the majority who
rejected Noah’s preaching died in the Flood. It was Jesus who preached through
Noah, with a message that foreshadowed His own redemption.
Whichever interpretation is correct, we must not allow the
controversy to become our focal point. Instead, we should focus on the challenge
of being faithful witnesses to the Gospel in a society that will revile us for
standing for Jesus. As those who have an eternal hope in Him, we need to be ready
to give our reason for our hope, and to proclaim the salvation given to us
through Jesus whenever we have the chance.
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