1 Peter 3:19, 20 After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.
This is a bit of a strange verse. In the Apostle’s Creed it is stated that Jesus “descended into hell.” I know some churches that have deleted that statement from the creed. But here in 1 Peter is an indication that after his resurrection Jesus encountered those long dead. This reference above seems to be directed at those “in the days of Noah,” a time when, according to Genesis 6:5, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” The point in 1 Peter seems to be that what Jesus did through his death and resurrection affected not only those in his time but everyone in all time, including you and me. It may be hard to grasp the mechanics of all that but it is a pretty important theme, don’t you think?
Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church 