1 Peter 3:19-20

1 Peter 3:19-20

[19] By  which  also  he went  and preached  unto the spirits  in  prison;  [20] Which sometime  were disobedient,  when  the longsuffering  of God  in  the days  of Noah,  while the ark  was a preparing,  wherein  few,  eight  souls  were saved  by  water. 

What does 1 Peter 3:19-20 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Peter here introduced more information about Jesus" activity in His spirit (i.e, His post-resurrection sphere of life), in addition to what he said about His resurrection from the dead ( 1 Peter 3:18), to encourage his readers.
"In which" refers back to the spiritual sphere of life in which Jesus Christ now lives ( 1 Peter 3:18). The identity of the "spirits in prison" is problematic. The plural "spirits" describes human beings only one other place in the New Testament ( Hebrews 12:23), but it describes evil spirit beings frequently ( Matthew 10:1; Mark 1:27; Mark 3:11; Mark 5:13; Mark 6:7 : Luke 4:36; Luke 6:18; Acts 5:16; Revelation 16:13; et al.). Thus we would expect that evil angels are in view, but does what Peter said about them confirm this identification? He said they are in prison (cf. 2 Peter 2:4) and that they were disobedient in the days of Noah ( 1 Peter 3:20).
Some interpreters believe that the incident involving the sons of God and the daughters of men ( Genesis 6:1-4) is what Peter had in view here. [1] But there are some problems with this theory. First, this incident evidently did not take place during the construction of the ark but before construction began. Second, it is improbable that the "sons of God" were angels. [2] Compare also Jesus" implication that angels do not procreate in Matthew 22:30. Nevertheless these "spirits" could still be angels. If they are fallen angels, Peter may have meant that after Jesus Christ arose He announced to them that their doom was now sure. He may have done this either by His resurrection itself or by some special announcement to them.
A more probable explanation is that these "spirits" were the unbelievers who disobeyed God in Noah"s day by rejecting his preaching. [2]2 They are now "spirits" since they died long ago and their bodies have not yet experienced resurrection. He said the spirits of these unbelievers are in prison now (i.e, Sheol) awaiting resurrection and judgment by God (cf. Revelation 20:11-15). One could say that Jesus proclaimed a message to Noah"s unbelieving contemporaries in His spirit (i.e, His spiritual state of life before the Incarnation) through Noah. Noah was preaching a message that God had given him, and in this sense Jesus Christ spoke through him (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:20). Just Song of Solomon , Jesus Christ was speaking through Peter"s readers to their unbelieving persecutors as they bore witness for Him in a hostile world. Noah faced the same type of opposition in his day that Peter"s original readers did in theirs and we do in ours.
Another view is that the people to whom Jesus preached were those alive after Pentecost and in bondage to Satan and sin. Jesus preached to them through the apostles. The obvious problem with this view is that Peter linked these people with Noah. [4]
God would bring Peter"s readers safely through their trials just as He had brought Noah safely through his trials into a whole new world. God had done this for Noah even though he and his family were a small minority in their day. Furthermore as God judged the mockers in Noah"s day, so will He judge those who persecuted Peter"s readers.
"The phrase "in the days of Noah" may well be based on the Gospel tradition and on Jesus" analogy between Noah"s time and the time immediately preceding the end of the age (cf. Matthew 24:37-39// Luke 17:26-27)." [5]
God is so patient that he waited for120 years before sending the Flood in Noah"s day ( Genesis 6:3). Today He also waits, so patiently that some people conclude that He will never judge (cf. 2 Peter 3:3-4). Relatively few will escape God"s coming judgment, just as only eight escaped His former judgment. The rest will die.