"WHAT ABOUT THE SPIRITS IN PRISON"
By Hoyt W. Allen, Jr.
Many folk have
wondered about the
Scripture that says
that “Jesus went to
hell” (Acts 2:27 &
31), and also that
He preached to the
spirits in prison (I
Peter3:19). The
latter question is
our main topic.
Several
interpretations have
been given to the
stated text.
However, the one
which seems to fit
best is that when
Jesus died His
spirit went to
Hades, which is a
place where departed
spirits go at death.
One part of Hades is
a torment type place
for the unrighteous
and the other is a
blessed place for
those who dsired to
live for God & have
accepted Christ as
Savior and Lord.
In Ephesians 4:7-16
Jesus is described
as going to the
lower parts of the
earth (Hades;
translated “Hell” in
KJV in Acts 2:27,31)
and He preached to
the spirits that
were there (I Pet.
3:19). The word
“Preached” in Greek
is “kerusso”. It
means that He
published,
announced, or
proclaimed to the
souls that were
present what had
taken place on
Calvary. These were
Old Testament
saints. No doubt He
told them that He
had fulfilled His
mission, which was
dying for the sins
of mankind on
Calvary’s cross.
He was in the
section of Hades
that had those
desirous of living
for God. This
section was called
“Paradise”. If He
was in the other
section then it
would appear that He
was there to give
them a second chance
and this would run
contrary to the
other teachings of
the Scriptures
(Hebrews 9:27 “It is
appointed unto man
once to die, but
after this the
judgement”). II
Peter 2:4 speaks of
this place as a
place of torment.
The Greek “Tartarus”,
is translated Hell
in the KJV. It is
not the eternal hell
(Gehenna), which is
spoken of in many
other places in
Scripture, but is
seemingly a
temporary place of
suffering (a holding
cell for the
unrighteous).
In Ephesians 4,
Jesus is spoken of
as leading those in
captivity out of
such and took with
Him those (Who were
in the Paradise
section of Hades)
when He ascended on
High, from the Mount
Of Olives (Acts
1:9-11). These were
those whom He had
preached to
(announced that
victory had come
through Calvary).
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