Bible Question: Where was Jesus during the 3 days between the crucifixion and the resurrection? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Annalee, Here's a few good quotes that I would like to share with you.. "[1 Peter] 3:19 made proclamation to the spirits now in prison. Some understand this to mean that Christ, between His death and resurrection, descended into Hades and offered to those who lived before Noah (v. 20) a second chance for salvation. But this doctrine is without scriptural support. Others say that it was simply an announcement of His victory over sin to those in Hades without offering a second chance. Most likely this is a reference to the preincarnate Christ's preaching through Noah to those who, because they rejected that message, are now spirits in prison." (1) "[1 Peter] 3:19-20a Three main interpretations of this passage have been suggested: 1. Some hold that in His preincarnate state Christ went and preached through Noah to the wicked generation of that time. 2. Others argue that between His death and resurrection Christ went to the prison where fallen angels are incarcerated and there preached to the angels who are said to have left their proper state and married human women during Noah's time. ... 3. Still others say that between death and resurrection Christ went to the place of the dead and preached to the spirits of Noah's wicked contemporaries. The weakness of the first view is that it does not relate the event to Christ's death and resurrection, as the context seems to do. The main problem with the second view is that it assumes sexual relations between angels and women, and such physical relations may not be possible for angels since they are spirits. A major difficulty with the third view is that the term "spirits" is only used of human beings when qualifying terms are added. Otherwise the term seems restricted to supernatural beings." (2) As for where Jesus was (His body), I believe that Matthew 12:40 is simply speaking of 'the grave' when it says "in the heart of the earth." Blessings to you, Makarios |