Before we begin, let me say that a few years ago, I actually
preached on this passage and because this subject comes up
all the time, I thought I might preach on this passage again.
So I pulled that old sermon out and I really didn't like it at
all. I didn't think it was very clear
and I was very critical of my own sermon.
So I decided to put together a new one, put it on PowerPoint,
and maybe it would be a little easier to understand perhaps
less confusing on a subject. T', that's very much
misunderstood today among people that follow or study the Bible.
There are three erroneous positions that come from this
passage, and they are these number one that Jesus after his
death. And before his resurrection on
the third day, descended down into the hadean realm and preach
to the Des parted spirits that were there, that's number one, a
second. Erroneous position is this that
Jesus after His death and before his resurrection on the third
day, preached only to the disobedient spirits of those who
lived before the flood and third, we find that Jesus after
his death. And before his resurrection on
the third day, descended down into Hades as a ceremonial
Proclamation, whether that was literal or figurative.
And undoubtedly, there are variations of these three
arguments But let's first take a historical.
Look at this idea or where these positions actually came from.
I tried to go back Beyond this and I cannot find anyone before
this. But according to Alexander
Campbell there is a preacher by the name of Jesse be Ferguson in
1844 and may I say before we go any further, this man is a
perfect example of what happens when a preacher is good.
What happens when a preacher is Well known and what happens when
a preacher is well-liked. This is what happens when a man
like that deters or drifts into error. 18:44, Jesse be Ferguson
in First Peter chapter 3 and verses 19 and 20.
He was the first one to take in at the consideration, a
sectarian view of this passage. The passage reads this by whom.
He also went and preached to the spirits in prison who formerly
were disobedient. His conclusion was simply this
that Jesus preached to those in Hades while he was dead.
Figuratively. Glee or dead physically.
You know, Alexander Campbell wrote this.
I thought it was very interesting, Alexander Campbell
described this man and he said, you know, he was a man It worked
with a church in Nashville, Tennessee.
Alexander Campbell said that that church was made up of
Nashville's Elite. In fact, from the preaching of
Jesse Ferguson, the congregation literally exploded into several
hundred members. Now notice what happens though
when you leave what is right, this is according to Alexander
Campbell. This is a direct quote.
I'm going to put on there when he called him and what he
actually said. He said brother Ferguson's
official position. Here it is that Jesus Christ in,
or by his spiritual nature did after his death actually and
personally, descending to Hades, usually called hell, the
invisible world of wicked Spirits, embracing both ante,
and post diluvian by the way. That's a fancy way of saying
before. And after the flood, Both ante
and post alluvion, but especially in the case before us
to preach the gospel to all the dead, not those in the flesh.
But actually two Spirits, then in prison indeed, he says, he
preached to the imprisoned. In as his congregation Alexander
Campbell wrote, I wish you would have kept it to himself.
Let me tell you what happened. Hey, a congregation in size of
several hundred. This is what happened as a
result after Jesse. Ferguson and I quote, finish
teaching people, his erroneous views about the spirits in
prison. The church was virtually
destroyed. When others went in to try to
restore the church less than 60 members, could be found who were
willing to worship together and by that time, brother Ferguson
was an avowed. Universalist, Now, what's that
mean? Are Universalist is somebody
that believes that no matter what you do in life?
No matter how good or how bad you are, no matter what you
practice, no matter what you do, it doesn't really matter because
in the end eventually everybody is going to heaven.
That's a Universalist, in fact that that suits and fits Roman
Catholics Roman Catholicism in their doctrine of purgatory.
Several years ago, there was a gentleman he is now passed on
and I was talking to him on a job site.
He was the father of a general contractor that we were painting
that house. And I was talking to him about
stuff and all of a sudden he said, now wait a minute, it
doesn't matter what you do. I mean, he liked to cuss like a
sailor. He like to do whatever he wanted
to do, he said, doesn't really matter what you what we do
because we're all going to the halfway house.
Anyway, in other words, we're going to go and serve whatever
sentence. We have to serve after this
life. But in the end, in the end it's
going to be okay because everybody's going to make it.
That's a Universalist. Very dangerous and may I say
this to, if it doesn't matter, please get this.
If it doesn't matter what I do one way or the other, that
eventually I'm going to make Heaven, I could have teed off at
River Lakes this morning about 8:00 a.m.
I could have done all manner of things today.
My point is, if it doesn't matter, why bother if nothing in
our life matters, what we do and everybody's going to be saved
anyway, then why why bother this man was a avowed.
Universalist he went on further to say this but as is often the
case, those who are in the process of changing from truth
to error, leave behind a twisted trail of division.
So I think it's obvious that everybody here understands that
I am saying Jesus did not go down to the place of disembodied
spirits and preach to them, but let's just do this, let's set
that conclusion aside and let's for sake of argument.
Let's say that he did. Let's say that's exactly what
the passage means. Here's my question.
What did he preach? If he actually did that, what
did he preach? If Jesus went into Hades and
preach to anyone at that time, what did he preach?
That he preached the gospel to them, what benefit?
Could it be? That Jesus would preach a
message of Salvation to people that were already dead?
What do you preach? Also this to, why would he
preach something about a message of salvation for change?
When in Hades, you don't have the option of changing your
status at all. If they could it certainly
supports Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory beautifully.
So what does the Bible say in John chapter 9?
I love that narrative there. Where Jesus heals, the man that
was born blind and I'm not going to go into that story.
We all know what happens, he sends him down to the pool of
Siloam. He watches the clip from his
eyes and he is healed and now he could see what I want to do is I
want to go back before that and notice two verses.
This is what Jesus said to his disciples.
This is what he said. In John 9 verses 4 and 5.
What did Jesus say? I must work.
The works of him. That's God.
Who sent me? That's Jesus.
While it is day, in other words, there's a time for me to work.
The night is coming when no one can work.
And as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the
world. When is Jesus the light of the
world himself preaching? Personally, when he's in the
world? Because there comes a time when
nobody can work, he calls that night time.
So preaching books is done to the living.
Notice, what else? How about this second
Corinthians, 6 and 24. He says, in an acceptable time I
have heard you and in the day of salvation, I have helped you
behold. Now is the accepted time behold.
Now is the day of salvation. Talking about in this life.
Let's go step further. What happens after this?
What happens after this, Hebrews 9:27 and as it is appointed unto
man once to die but after this the Judgment.
So what does this mean? It means that preaching and
changes have to be done when a person is alive.
According to this in John chapter 9 verses 4 and 5
preaching is done in this life, according to First Corinthians 6
and to obedience is also done. In this life.
Furthermore, I'm going to put something on here.
That is extremely encouraging. I'm gonna sit on there for a
minute. You know what this means.
This means that when you die, If you die in a safe condition, you
will never be lost. We always talk about the flip
side of that will do that too. But from a negative standpoint,
What about a positive standpoint?
What about this? What about when I draw my last
breath? And I passed from this life, and
I have died in a safe condition. What about all of our loved ones
that have we have loved and lost that died in Christ Faithfully
unto death. You know what they will?
Never be lost ever Okay, stay with me.
Here's the flip side of that, we got to put it up there.
If that is the case, and those that died in a safe, condition
will never be lost in. It also is the case that those
that die in a lost condition can never be saved.
Remember this after this life is the judgment.
You know what that means? That means there's no second
chance. It means there's no second
chance. It means that I can't go
somewhere and pay some sort of a sentence somewhere in a
spiritual world and have somebody.
Pray me out of there and someday I get to get out.
There is no Second Chance. Here's the point is to be done
in this. Life preaching is done in this
life. Obedience is done in this life.
What's next? The judgment?
If I die in a safe condition, I've never lost it by Dinah,
lost condition. I will never be saved.
Okay, let's talk about the hadean realm.
Now, for just a minute, In the hadean realm, we understand
this. Now, by the way, when we talk
about hadean realm, I'm just talking about the place where
you go, when you die. And everybody, that dies goes to
the hadean realm, in fact, when a person dies and they die in
Christ, sometimes people think they went to heaven.
They didn't go to heaven because there needs to be the judgment
and the judgment is as sentencing day.
Not necessarily a judgement day. Our life is the trial at the
point of death. We're here.
Either guilty or not guilty. And when Jesus comes back and
those that are saved long for that return, guess what we get
our entrance into the Everlasting Kingdom, not barely
not squeaking by, but we have an abundant entrance into the
Everlasting Kingdom. Great stuff.
On the other hand, those that died lost or in a lost
condition, they go to the hadean realm to, but they go to another
place in the hadean realm, and at the time of Christ, when
Jesus comes back, their sentence will be in Hell.
According to the scripture is not me, didn't make that up.
All right, so let's talk about some in possibilities in
possibilities in the hadean realm.
The Bible talks about the fact that there is an impassable
Gulf. It is between them and may.
I say, I'll just call the names out.
And I'm going to prove it to you on one side, the place, where
save people go. It's called Paradise on the
other side, it's where lost people go.
And we call that Tartarus even though you can't read that
English word, in our translations, In this passage,
I'm going to prove to you. That's exactly what the word is,
all right. in Luke chapter 16 now This is a very familiar
Passage. And it's the rich man and
Lazarus, right? So you got the rich man and you
got Lazarus the rich man fared sumptuously day by day.
But Lazarus was a beggar and all he wanted was the crumbs that
fell from the master's table like some dog somewhere.
So, eat a terrible life. He had an awful life, they both
die. Now sometimes Scholars say that
this is not a true-to-life narrative and some say that it's
a parable. I'm saying this, I believe it is
a true-to-life narrative and this is the reason in all the
Parables of Jesus, Jesus never mentioned anybody's name.
But here he mentions name, he says a certain rich man.
And he says, Lazarus a specific person and he mentions the name
of Abraham and calls the place Abraham's bosom, or the place of
comfort, all that being said, it doesn't matter.
Here's why. If it's a parable, a parable is
a laying alongside. In other words, something from
the Physical Realm laying it, along side, something of the
spiritual realm, or spiritual idea.
And they both had add to be true.
All Parables were true. And for a parable to be true,
has to be true on the physical side, as well as on the
spiritual side. All right?
All Parables were true. So guess what?
If this is a true-to-life narrative, it is what already
has been. And if it's a parable, it is
what will be. It doesn't matter.
So here we go. So it was that the beggar died
and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.
Like what Joe hisle said, I don't know 20 years ago.
I heard him say this from the pulpit.
I believe it was here. It plans, Road and Joe.
Hisle said you know I just think somehow some way when I crossed
over it it comes my time to leave this world.
I think I'm not going to be afraid and he referred to this
phrase right here. Don't you think it just might be
one of the angels that take you to Abraham's bosom and you're
not afraid. You cross the chilly Waters of
death, but like this man, that was saved.
He was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom, but then, there
was the rich, man. He also died and was buried.
And being in torments, in Hades, I've highlighted this word for a
reason. This word Hades is translated.
Also in the King James version as hell, what that is, that's
the English version of the Greek word Tartarus.
So, if anybody ever wonders, where you Guitar Taurus.
It's this word right here. It's the same word that's found
when it talks about Satan in the third of the hosts of Heaven
were cast out of heaven and cast down to Hell or Hades it.
Start Taurus. In other words, that's where
lost people go, they go to Tartarus, Watch What Happens.
He lifted up his eyes and he saw Abraham afar off.
And Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, Father
Abraham I have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the
tip of his finger in water and cool.
My tongue for I am tormented in this Flame Now, I gotta tell
you, I know that whatever pain, he was feeling, I can't relate
to, because we live in the Physical Realm still.
So when I think about thirsty, I think about being physically
thirsty, when I think about pain, I think a physical pain.
This is a spiritual world or spiritual realm.
So I don't know, specifically what all that means.
All I know is he knew he was lost.
He knew he was in torment and he wanted Lazarus, just tip the tip
of your finger and water. Just put that on my tongue.
Let's go further. But Abraham said, Son.
Remember that in your lifetime, you received your good things
and likewise Lazarus, evil things.
But now he is comforted and you are tormented and notice talking
about the impossibilities in the hadean realm and beside this
between us, and you, there is a great Gulf fixed.
So that those who want to pass from here to you cannot nor can
those from their pass to us. This impassable Gulf here.
This Great Gulf 18 Robertson says it's a permanent.
Chasm, a be Bruce says it's location is fixed and Final.
You know what that means? It's impossible to go from one
side to the other. Where did Jesus go?
What about those beautiful words when Jesus was on the cross?
And that Thief, says to him, Lord remember me when thou
comest into thy kingdom? And Jesus says today, Thou shalt
be with me in Paradise. Where was Jesus?
He was on the other side of the gulf fixed, he was over there.
Where Lazarus went, he was over there at Abraham's bosom.
He was over there with all the redeemed, waiting for the second
coming of Christ. All of those that were doing
that, that's where Jesus was the rich man.
He was on the other side where Satan and a third of the hosts
of Heaven are chains of Darkness waiting the resurrection.
So the thief went to Paradise, are there.
Wicked people there too. No, the wicked rich man was on
the other side of the golf, The Impossible place to cross.
Jesus goes to the hadean realm of the pave paradise, where the
righteous go. So, here's my point.
There's no reason to preach to those that are in paradise and
no way to preach to those, that weren't By the way, did the
righteous need to be preached to?
Nope, they made it. They made it.
Did the wicked need to be preached to sure but it's too
late. So the righteous don't need
preaching in that realm. And the wicked can't get it.
It's too late. According to this.
Because there's a great Gulf fixed so summing up so far.
Stay with me number one, Jesus did not preach to anyone.
In Hades pre or post diluvian before or after the flood as his
congregation which is the doctrine of supported by
universalism. Number two, Jesus did not preach
to the disobedient in the days of Noah after he died three.
This passage does not mean that when he died, his Proclamation
was so great. That it even reached hell do You
know why? Because those that were saved
knew that were saved and those that were lost knew they were
lost. No Proclamation.
You know, there's something kind of sobering about that.
It's wonderful on one hand. But it's also very sober and you
know what it is. The second that I died.
The very second that I died. If I die in a safe condition,
I'm going to know, I'm saved. But if I die in a lost
condition, I'm a gnome lost. There's no Proclamation
necessary, folks. You know, you're safe and you
know you're lost, okay? So all that being said, what is
the passage mean? I just told you everything that
it doesn't mean. What is the passage actually
mean. Let's look at it from this
perspective. Let's look at the passage again
on the screen. First Peter, 3, 18, and 19 by
whom. Also, he went and preached to
the spirits in prison who formerly were disobedient.
When Once the Divine long-suffering, waited in the
days of Noah. While the ark was being Prepared
in which a few that is eight Souls were saved by water.
There are two key phrases in here.
Watch one, it was in the days of Noah.
And two. It was while the ark was being
prepared. So in other words, there's the
time frame, it was in the days of Noah.
And number two, it was. While the ark was being prepared
and incidentally, it took 120 years to build that thing.
We're talking about preaching that was done in that time
period. Now here are some identifying
characteristics and considerations here.
They are. Number one.
They were spirits that live during the days of Noah.
Number two specifically there were those that were disobedient
during the 120 years of the got that the ark was being prepared,
three, they were taught while Noah was building the ark. 4.
Therefore, they were disobedient during the time that the ark was
being built and number 5, and finally, Jesus Christ Spirit was
involved, all of those considerations are true.
So, okay, alright. Well, the question is How this
is so simple. I'ma tell you something folks.
This is so simple. It takes a preacher to fill this
up. This is so simple.
This is how very, very easy to understand Jesus Christ in his
spirit. And not in the flesh.
During the days of Noah. Proclaim God's truth to evil
people. Pre-flood generation.
And he did so through Noah. A preacher of righteousness.
He had a preacher do it. He had a man, do it.
That's what he did. We talked about the preacher of
righteousness. Second Peter 2 and verse 5.
More about Noah and did not spare the ancient world.
But saved Noah the eight and eight people.
A preacher of righteousness bringing in the flood on the
world of the ungodly. That's very key to explaining
First Peter chapter 3 and verse 18.
All it was is this Jesus Christ in spirit through Noah, preach
to people that were alive. Did you get that?
They were alive. What do we already established?
Jesus says, I got to do it, but during the day I got to do my
preaching, I got to do my work during the day because there's
going to come a time when nighttime comes and no man can
work, right? So, the preaching was done in
the day. Also, Paul said, to those at
Corinth, obedience is now in the day.
So so when Jesus Christ, Through Noah, preached to evil people,
they were alive on the Earth but I want to notice this passage
right here. This this shows about the spirit
of Jesus Christ in a preacher that was living of this
salvation. The prophets have inquired, and
searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace, that
would come to you searching. What or what manner of time, the
spirit of Christ was in them was indicating when he testified
beforehand, the sufferings of Christ and the glories that
Would follow. In other words, the spirit of
Christ was also In Those Old Testament prophets to just like
in Noah a preacher of righteousness.
So when Christ through Noah preached to those evil people,
they were alive on the Earth. But at the time that Peter wrote
the letter, they were long dead and their Spirits were suffering
in the prison of Hill known as Tartarus.
Do you know what this is called? This is called a prolepsis, let
me paraphrase. It this way, Christ Was Made
Alive in the spirit and in the spirit during the days of Noah,
he preached to evil people. Whose Spirits are now in the
prison of Tartarus punishment. This is called a prolepsis what
in the world is that what's up roli?
Sepsis. A prolepsis involves bringing
two time frames together into one expression.
We give an example. President Abraham Lincoln was
born in Kentucky. Was he president when he was
born? No but it's bringing two time
frames are two errors together in one expression involving that
President Abraham. Lincoln was born in Kentucky.
In other words, that is a prolepsis now.
It's a common mode of expression that Associates a current fact
with a prior or antecedent event And with reference to First
Peter, 3 18 and 19. The preaching was done by Christ
in spirit through a preacher that was alive named Noah in
ancient times to living people. And at the time of the writing
though, they were not alive. But let's furthermore go on.
What about first Peter four and six?
And the reason I wanted to talk about this is because this is a
passage that's often misunderstood and misapplied and
in doing. So the past and itself has been
used to support the idea of baptism by proxy.
In other words, it doesn't matter.
You're dead, you're gone but somebody that's living.
That's wonderful that loves you. They can be baptized for the
dead, there are religious Persuasions that believe that in
other words, something on the Physical Realm can be done.
For somebody on the spiritual side.
So that's this verse here, First, Peter, chapter 4.
And verse 6 says, for this reason, the gospel was preached.
Also to those who are dead, that they might be judged, according
to men in the flesh but live, according to God, in the spirit.
What is that? It's a prolepsis that gospel was
preached to the living. but at the time of the writing, they
were dead. Regarding prison.
Regarding this idea of prison. Burton Kaufman said this.
There's not a line in the passage that requires us to
believe that Jesus Christ. Preached personally to those
Spirits during the three days that he laid in the Tomb, folks.
That's a misunderstanding of the passage And if that's not the
case, what? He preached those on the safe
side, that's where Jesus was, you can't get across to preach
to those that are on the Lost side.
So, in conclusion, In conclusion, I'll just sum it up.
Again, this passage means this. That Jesus Christ by his spirit
in no. Preached through Noah a
preacher. Two people who were living
during the days of Noah. while the ark was being prepared for
the 120 years and while those people were still alive, but at
the time of Peter is writing, they were in the prison of
Tartarus and you know what folks?
They are still there. Today waiting for the Judgment
as it is appointed unto man once to die.
But after this the judgment. You know, it is not uncommon or
it's not hard or far-fetched to understand and believe that the
Lord Works through people. In fact, if you stop and
consider the word of God consider this please, we have as
one preacher said, one time, we have the power of God in the
hands of man. In other words, Jesus is not
going to work on people directly.
Miraculously, neither is God, nor the Holy Spirit.
The only way that people can make changes in their life.
According to what Paul said in second Corinthians is to make
them personally by way of choice while they're still living.
And during the time that you're still living, you can make all
manner of changes. You could change for the rest of
your life. In fact, I'll tell you this
right now, this is the greatest thing in the world is about
being a Christian, you know why? Because it's the only thing that
I'm aware of that you can mess up constantly and be forgiven
and change your life over and over again.
I don't know any other thing like that, you know what happens
in a job like that they go fired.
Fired. You know, happens if you do that
school, F kicked out. but with God, you could change your life
as long as you're alive. And those people in the days of
Noah during that 120 years while a preacher was preaching to
them, had a chance and a choice. And they chose not.
So only eight Souls were saved. What we do with the word of God
folks is we take the word of God to those that are living and
lost and need it. And they have to make the choice
to make the change. So Jesus didn't preach when he
died. It's a prolepsis combining two
time frames of when those people were living but at the time of
the writing in second Peter, at the time of the writing, they
had already died.