Beliefs about the Afterlife (xiii)

"For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water." (I Peter 3: 18-20 nasb)

"Who shall render account to him, who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to the dead: that they might be judged indeed according to men, in the flesh; but may live according to God, in the Spirit." (I Peter 4: 5-6 Douay-Rheims Bible)

In this chapter we will continue our analysis of I Peter 4: 6 and begin with Peter's stated reason why the gospel was preached to the dead by Christ upon his descent into the Underworld of Hades. We have already contended that I Peter 4: 6 is describing the same preaching event that was previously mentioned by Peter in I Peter 3: 19. The above chart lists some of the chief similarities and differences between the two texts. In the preceding chapter we began to look closely at the text of I Peter 4: 6 and left off with going into detail about the purpose clause in the passage.

The Purpose Clause

Since we are eager as readers of Peter's words to hear what reasons he gives for Christ going to Hades to preach to the inhabitants there, we would naturally want to notice what comes after the word "that," what in Greek is "hina," which denotes purpose and often signals the presence of a "purpose clause." Let us read Peter's words with an ellipsis. "For for this reason was the gospel preached to them who are dead, that they might be..." That they might be what? Be saved? Is that not what we might expect Peter to say since he says that Christ went there to preach the gospel, among other things? Is not saving souls the end and purpose of preaching? But, he does not say "that they might be saved" but says rather that the dead in Hades were preached the gospel in order "that they might be judged." That is striking and should lead us in another direction in ascertaining Christ's purpose in preaching in Hades. 

It seems that the purpose of Christ's proclamations and announcements in Hades was rather for the purpose of judgment, or part of important and necessary preliminaries for trial and judgment procedure. 

To what do the words "for this reason" refer? To what goes before or what follows? Doubtless it refers to what goes before. In other words, Christ being "ready" to "judge the living and the dead" is the reason why he went to the Underworld and made announcements. 

Barnes' Notes on the Bible says:

"For, for this cause - The expression, "For, for this cause," refers to an end to be reached, or an object to be gained, or a reason why anything referred to is done. The end or reason why the thing referred to here, to wit, that "the gospel was preached to the dead," was done, is stated in the subsequent part of the verse to have been "that they might be judged," etc. It was with reference to this, or in order that this might be, that the gospel was preached to them."

That is not totally correct, however. In the KJV there is a double "for." It says "for, for this..." It was because Christ was ready and prepared to judge the dead, as well as the living, that he went to the Underworld and made proclamation, and was then resurrected, and ascended to the right hand of God. Further, the second "for" in the text and the word "that" (hina) give the same or restates the general purpose as served by Christ in his making announcements and proclamations in Hades. It was not only to show that Christ was ready, mentally or otherwise, for acting as judge of all, but in order that the dead in the Underworld might themselves be "judged," or their cases decided upon in some ways, or be distinguished by him upon his arrival in the Underworld. 

In other words, in some ways he was carrying out his role as Judge and Lord of the dead by his judicial proclamations in Hades and was preparing himself for the administration of heaven's judgment. At the same time he was also declaring some initial judgments while in the Underworld pertaining to the occupants of Hades. 

Thus, the evidence so far is that the preaching of Christ in Hades was not in order to save anyone from his or her state of condemnation but was rather a means towards bringing the final day of judgment closer to reality. 

Greek scholar and bible commentator, Dr. Henry Alford, in Alford's Commentary (here), wrote:

"For (assigns a reason for the κρῖναι νεκρούς just mentioned) to this end (viz. that enunciated by the ἵνα which follows: see ref. John; ch. 1Pe 3:9) to dead men also (as well as to living, which is the ordinary case." 

So, Alford would disagree with Barnes, as noted before. "For this reason" (Greek "eis touto") literally  means "unto this end." As Alford said, The words point back to Christ being "ready" to judge the living and the dead." Christ preached to the dead as a means to an end, the end being the judgment of the dead in addition to the judgment of the living. 

Alford, after showing the error of several views, also wrote:

"Next, we have the view (Calv., al.) that the particular case, on which the general νεκροῖς  (dead ones - SG) is founded, is that of such persecuted Christians as should decease before the Lord’s coming. To this the first of the before raised objections, that νεκροῖς must mean ‘now dead,’ and εὐηγγ . refer to a former preaching when they were alive, applies in full force. And this I should hold to be fatal to it. It must be confessed, that it agrees better with the context than the last: for while that finds no assignable contextual justification, it might be said in this case, that for this very reason was the Gospel preached to those among you who have suffered death at the hands of persecutors, even hereunto were they called, that they might indeed be judged, condemned, by human persecution, as regards the flesh, but notwithstanding might live eternally with God as regards the spirit. Still I conceive we are not at liberty to receive it, on account of the above objection. If καὶ νεκροῖς εὐηγγελίσθη may mean, “the Gospel was preached to some during their lifetime, who are now dead,” exegesis has no longer any fixed rule, and Scripture may be made to prove any thing. (Bengel takes it in both the last-mentioned references: to the persecutors, and to the Christians.)" 

That expresses my sentiments. He would disagree with Wuest (though both believed in Christ's descent into the Underworld). "The dead" are not the spiritually dead (unconverted), but the physically dead. "The living and dead" means those who have not died (living) versus those who have died (dead). "Preached the gospel to them who are dead" must be interpreted as "preached to them who are dead physically." The meaning for "the dead" denotes the same thing in verse 5 and then in verse 6. He is also opposed to those translators who translate the text so as to say "unto the now dead ones."  

The evidence is clear that the reason that Peter assigns for Christ descent into Hades to preach was 

1) Because he was ready (or prepared) to judge both living and dead, and 

2) That the dead in Hades might be judged as "men in the flesh" or as "men in the spirit." 

Consider how Christ's arrival in Hades would have been perceived by the occupants therein. He could be viewed as a Warden, as a Judge, as a Prosecutor, as a Lord over all, including Hades, as a Deliverer, etc. The inhabitants of Hades no doubt would have recognized that Christ, upon his arrival, was a human who had died, but they would also soon realize that he was no normal or mere human being, but was rather the Son of God and Lord from Heaven joined to his human soul. Surely the context emphasizes that Christ's preaching in Hades has to do with the judgment of the dead.

 

The latter part of verse six is actually more difficult to grasp the meaning than are the first parts of the text. It is not difficult to understand what "the gospel was preached to them who are dead" means. It is also not difficult to understand "that they might be judged" means. However, I find the remaining words and phrases awkward. Why and how judged according to or as "men in the flesh"? Or, why and how judged according to or as men "alive to God in the spirit"? 

Who is alluded (or presupposed) to be the "judge" in the words "that they might be judged as men in the flesh"? Who is referred to by the pronoun "they"? Depending on which interpretation one takes (of the fact of Christ preaching to the dead, or of his descent into Hades), one will answer this question differently. 

Some will say that "judged according to men in the flesh" means that men in the flesh are doing the judging. The words "according to" are interpreted to mean "by," and so it is "that they (dead ones) might be judged BY men in the flesh." However, it seems clear that the judge is the one who is now "ready to judge the living and the dead." Christ is "ready, willing, and able" to judge all, living people and even the dead people. He is prepared for the judgment trial. To him we may apply the words of the Psalmist who said: 

"But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness, And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness." (Psa. 9: 7-8) 

In fact, this is what is said of the Lord Jesus Christ in the new testament. 

"He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17: 31)

Christ descent into Hades and his proclamations there were acts of judgment, or judicial decision, and they served also as an important step in Heaven's judicial procedure. Wrote James:

"Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!" (James 5: 9)

Literally, the text says "he stands already before the door." Says another Commentary (Contending for the Faith - here):

""Standeth" (hesteken) is a perfect tense verb conveying the thought "He has been standing and even now is still there." "Before the door" uses the preposition pro (meaning before) and may be translated "at the door." "Door" is actually plural in the Greek (ton thuron) and may indicate double doors. The picture James presents is that of Christ standing behind double doors, ready to burst through at any time for judgment." 

In other words, it is just like we see today in a courtroom where trial is about to begin. The courtroom's various occupants, prior to the judge entering, would be members of the jury, the prosecutors, the court personnel, the guards, the audience, defense attorneys, etc. The judge would be standing outside one of the doors leading to the courtroom and would enter at the proper time and the words "all rise" would be heard in the courtroom. Prior to his entrance, all eyes would be on the door(s) through which the judge would enter the courtroom. Such is the imagery of the words of James. Christ "stands before the doors" of the courtroom, and this means all the same as saying that Christ is now "ready to hear and judge" the case. 

It seems likely that Christ, during his time in the flesh on earth, before his death on the cross, was not quite "ready" to judge the living and the dead. We know that he was "ready" to begin the trial (judgment day) for both living and dead at the time that Peter wrote his first epistle, for he says in the text (vs. 5) that Christ is "now ready to judge the living and the dead." 

Since, as we will prove, Christ did not come the first time for the purpose of judging all men, of initiating judgment day, we can say that he was not "ready" at that time to sit as the judge of living and dead. But, after having finished his work of bearing the sins of many (as a sacrificial substitute), and of having brought reconciliation between God and sinners, and after having borne witness in Hades, and having been risen from the dead, and having ascended to the highest heaven and taken his seat on the right hand of God, he is now more than "ready" to judge the living and the dead (as Peter said). Even in the days of James and the first Christians, Christ was "standing before the door," telling them that judgment day for all was imminent, that nothing but the court's patience puts it off. 

As proof that Christ's first coming was not for judgment, we notice that Jesus said - "for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." (John 12: 47) He also said:

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3: 17)

Those are true statements relative to his first coming, but they are not true of his second coming, for at his second coming he will indeed come to judge and condemn the world. It may be said that Christ, while he was alive in the flesh, before his sacrificial death, was not yet "ready" to judge the living and the dead. But, after having died and been raised to life he has been made ready. His focus now turns to his second coming, which will be a coming to judge, to condemn, to execute sentence. And the message of warning in the gospel is "here comes the judge"! Christ also said:

“You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. “And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me." (John 8: 15-16)

Who is doing the judging? Was the preaching to the dead spirits in Hades not a judicial proceeding? 

Could the "dead ones" in this verse be a reference to the righteous dead in upper Hades in Abraham's Bosom? The text seems to apply to all the human occupants of the Underworld. Peter does not say "the gospel preached to some of them who are dead," which would be proper to say if he only preached to the righteous in the "limbus patrum," or "Abraham's Bosom," since they are only one portion of the inhabitants of the Underworld. But, as we have shown, the gospel will be preached to all in some sense.

Translation Difficulties

The difficulty in properly interpreting the last half of our text can be seen by looking at some of the various ways it is given in English translations. Following the words "that they might be" (future subjunctive) we have these translations of the rest of verse six - 

"that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (KJV)

"that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God." (NASB)

"that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does." (ESV)

"also, that they might be judged, as regards men, after [the] flesh, but live, as regards God, after [the] Spirit." (Darby)

"so that, although they might be judged by men in the fleshly realm, they might live by God in the spiritual realm." (Holman Christian Standard)

"to those who had been judged in their physical existence as everyone is judged; it was preached to them so that in their spiritual existence they may live as God lives." (Good News Translation)

"that they might be judged indeed as men in the flesh, but live as to God in the spirit." (Hebew Names Version)

"Human judges said they were guilty as far as their bodies were concerned. But God set their spirits free to live as he wanted them to." (NIRV)

There are many more we could supply, but these are sufficient to show how getting the latter half of 4: 6 translated in a manner that English people can understand and properly interpret is very difficult. Also, none of them explains what is meant by being "judged according to men in the flesh" nor what is meant by "alive to God in the spirit." Also, we see how translators are interpreters, and each may interpret differently, and where literal word for word translation worsens our comprehension in English (other non Greek languages too) of Peter's words.

It ought not to be interpreted as meaning Christ preached to the living, nor to the living who have died, but preaching to the spirits of the dead. It ought to explain the reason for Christ preaching to the dead ones. To make it say that the purpose of the preaching was to save the souls of departed saints is no different than the purpose to save believers who have not yet died and departed. 

No translation or bible commentary, it seems, wants to define what it means for "they" (the dead ones who were addressed by the Lord in preaching) to be "judged according to men in the flesh." If you look at the above translations you will see how different are their renderings. 

There are two occurrences of "according to" (kjv) in the passage. "According to men in the flesh" as opposed to "according to God in the spirit." 

"According to" means "as reported by" or "as stated by" and refers to a belief or opinion which is not the speaker's opinion. The Greek word is "kata" and Strong says that it is translated as follows (kjv):

according to (107x), after (61x), against (58x), in (36x), by (27x), daily (with G2250) (15x), as (11x), miscellaneous (165x).

The words "that they might be judged" (denoting purpose) connects with two effects; 1) that they might be judged according to (or "as") "men in the flesh", or 2) that they might be judged according to (or "as") men who are "alive to God in spirit."  

Here we see that "kata" may sometimes carry the meaning of "by" and this would give credence to saying that the text may be viewed as saying "that they might be judged by (kata) men in the flesh." We also see how "kata" may be translated or carry the sense of "as." That is the way I see it. I think "as" or "according to" convey the same idea. Notice also how "kata" has 165 miscellaneous English word equivalents other than the major ones named. 

The word(s) "according to" or "as" (kata) are used twice in the text. First there is "according to men" and then "according to God." 

Several such couplings of opposites are seen in the text:

1. "According to men..." versus "according to God."

2. "In (the) flesh" versus "in (the) spirit."

3. "But alive to God" versus "dead to God in spirit" (implied)

4. "Put to death in flesh" versus "made alive in spirit"

5.  The "living ones" versus the "dead ones."

in-order-that · they-may-be-judged · on-one-hand (μεν) · according to · men · to-flesh · yet-on-the-other-hand (δε) · may-be-alive-ing · according-to · God · in-spirit."

Since I have concluded and proven that 1) the one doing the judging is the same judge of verse five, which is Christ, the one who is ready to judge living and dead, and 2) the preaching to the dead of 4: 6 is the same preaching to the dead of 3: 19, I can therefore paraphrase the text as - 

"for this reason (because Christ is ready to judge living and dead) was the gospel preached (by Christ in his descent into the Underworld) even to dead ones (in Hades), in order that they (dead ones) might be judged (their cases decided by Christ) as being men in the flesh (as carnal depraved men) on the one hand, or judged as men alive to God in spirit, on the other hand."  

We have also seen how it is necessary to decide whether the hina clause and the words "that they might be" are to be connected only with "judged" or whether it is also implied and to be included with the words "but living to God in spirit." There is an "either/or" in the text. It is seen in the "men...de" construction and in the double use of the conjunction word "kata," or "according to" or "as" that we have already mentioned. 

When Christ made proclamations to the inhabitants of Hades and preached the gospel there, he also judged them and discriminated between them on the basis of whether they were in the believer's section or unbeliever's. His preaching was in the context of a Lord and Judge over all the occupants of the Underworld, and acted as a Deliverer to those in the comforting side of Hades. The dead spirits of Hades were recognized by Christ the Judge as being either "flesh men" (and therefore in the tormenting place of Dives) or "spiritually alive God men," or "according to" whether they are judged by Christ to be one or the other.

Does this judgment of the dead in Hades, along with or via the preaching of Christ there (as a disembodied spirit), as the text seems to affirm, seem unnecessary and redundant? If they are already divided (as result of a judgment when they died and appeared at the entry gates of the Underworld), having been placed either on the comforting happy side where the righteous are gathered (as Lazarus) or in the lower side of the gulf where we saw that the rich man, called "Dives," was placed, then Christ judging one as a man of the flesh or a man of God in the spirit, upon his entry there would be nothing more than a stamp of approval and a certification that no one was where he or she should not be. 

In reply let us consider and agree that every soul or spirit is "judged" when it leaves the body for it is directed or escorted to either the place of the righteous ("Abraham's Bosom" for OT believers or "Paradise" or the "Third Heaven" for NT believers) or to the place of the unrighteous (tormenting flames). That is taught in the story of Lazarus and Dives. It is also taught in these words of Paul in his Hebrew Letter:

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." (9: 27-28)

Judgment comes to a soul when it leaves the body and must go to the place of departed spirits and will go either to heaven or hell. But, that is not the end of all judgment. There is yet the great day of judgment after the resurrection of the dead, when all will be judged. So, just as being judged at the time of death does not mean there is not more judgment or trial to come, so Christ judging the dead when entering the Underworld did not signal an end to all judgment and trial. There are stages of judgment. Recall that Jesus was tried by several courts and judges during his trial.

On The One Hand

We mentioned, citing Dr. White on I Peter 3: 19-20, about the Greek "classic men…de construction," of the text, "which students of Greek recognize as meaning “on the one hand this…but on the other that…” That same construction is seen in I Peter 4: 6.

"That they might be judged ('men' - "indeed") on the one hand, according to men in the flesh, they might live on the other hand ('de' - "however") according to God in the spirit." 

In I Peter 3: 19 we mentioned earlier how there was a classic "men...de" construction, which was the Greek way to say as we do "on one hand" and "on the other hand." So we may read the text as - "being put to death in the flesh (on the one hand) but made alive in the spirit (on the other hand)." 

In our text in I Peter 4: 6 the beginning of the first clause we have μέν (or men) and often it is omitted or not even translated. That is a mistake. It is sometimes translated as "indeed" and sometimes as "though." At the beginning of the second clause is the conjunction δέ (or de) which is most often translated as "but." Since most English Bibles don’t translate the μέν (men) we don’t easily recognize this discourse construction.

Which Interpretation Fits the Context?

Is what Peter says about preaching to the spirits in prison out of context? 

No, he is not. What he says about Christ's going to hell and preaching even to the dead is an encouragement for Christians to not fear their own deaths at the hands of persecutors as a result of preaching the good news. Nor should they fear that their preaching is useless when they have no converts, and the case of Christ preaching to Hell's degenerates upholds this fact. Preaching can serve other purposes other than salvation, which it did in the case of the damned in Hades. 

"He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him— the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." (John 12: 48)

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matt. 24: 14)

"Witness" is from the Greek word "martyrion" (from which we get our word "martyr") and denotes testimony. 

As I have already stated, the gospel was proclaimed or testified to in Hades as in a judgment or trial. It was not intended for deliverance of any of the condemned. For OT believers who were in the comforting and joyous side of Hades, the appearance and proclamations of Christ would signal a kind of deliverance for them in that their place would be from then on in the third heaven or paradise with Christ. 

Apostolic Emphasis

"Even to the dead" (Greek "kai nekrois"). "Kai" is often translated as "and" but often carries the meaning of "even" and "also." It also acts as an intensive, "even to the dead!" But, if the dead who are addressed in preaching are really not dead, but living, at the time of the preaching of Christ, the emphasis loses its sense. 

Consider that we may say - "bible preachers preached the word of God to everyone, EVEN to the dead bones through Ezekiel." That is similar to Peter's words.

It is not denied that it is an attractive interpretation to believe that the text supports the proposition that people who have died can be saved in the afterlife from torment. Though I can see why some would be led to think Christ preached in Hades to give the condemned a chance of salvation from Peter's words, yet in reality his words teach just the opposite.