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Descensus ad Inferos (Part 3): 1 Peter

posted by Krista | 4/3/2004 1:43:46 PM | Permalink | Stumble It!

The Earliest Account of Christ's Descent
The most significant biblical writing concerning the Descent is 1 Pet 3:18-22, which refers to Christ preaching 'to the spirits in prison who had once been disobedient' (1 Pet 3:19). There have been many debates over what this line refers to. In the context of the entire passage (3:18-22), most scholars interpret it as a reference to the Fall of the Watchers story in 1 Enoch; however, it could be a reference to the souls of a specific group of people or to people in general who lived at the time of Noah.

Christ Preaches to the Imprisoned Spirits
One scholar sees the 'spirits in prison' as the generation of mankind that perished in the Flood of Noah, though he also believes that those spirits may also include the fallen angels. Another view, on the other hand, identifies the 'disobedient' spirits as referring to the fallen angels, though it may include the sinful people of the time of Noah. Christ's preaching is interpreted as a proclamation "about Himself as the Messiah," which may be connected with the previous passage (3:17-18) and interpreted as Christ preached his Gospel to the spirits from the Noah's Flood, so should Christians preach his Gospel to the pagans in their environment.

Where the spirits are imprisoned and when Christ preached to them is also addressed. The passage seems to be in connection with Jesus' death; however, it does not designate whether the preaching took place during the time between Jesus' death on the cross and the resurrection or during or after the resurrection. If the spirits in prison were in the underworld (in reference to 2 Pet. 2:4 and Jude 6), it is most likely that he preached to them while he was dead. However, if the spirits were imprisoned somewhere else (in reference to the Book of the Secrets of Enoch, which has the fallen angels/watchers imprisoned in either the second heaven or the fifth heaven) the preaching most likely occurred during Christ's ascension. Finally, there may be a connection with the Descent in 3:19 with the baptism presented in 3:21-22, in that "the resurrection of Christ gives Baptism power to rescue the Christian that he may have eternal life with God." This connection of Baptism with the Descent becomes more developed in later Descent traditions such as the Odes of Solomon.

While it is possible that the term 'spirits in prison' refers to the fallen angels, it may also be a reference to the wicked men of Noah's generation. In this interpretation, Christ proclaimed his victory over sin and death to those in Sheol, thus referring to the Descensus Ad Inferos interpretation.

Augustine's Interpretation of 1 Peter
It is interesting to note that while many modern scholars interpret the text to be a reference to the Descent, Augustine thought it referred to a pre-existent Christ who appeared in Spirit form to the disobedient of the time of Noah. These spirits were said to be 'in prison' because they were imprisoned in their own ignorance. (Epistle 151)

Reference

• PDF (66KB): Paper with Footnotes - This essay is adapted from an old undergrad paper for a Historical Jesus Class I wrote a few years ago. (Yes, it could use editing.)