Spirits in prison

Lore & Background

The concept of spirits in prison is introduced in 1 Peter 3:19, which states that Christ 'went and preached unto the spirits in prison.' The verse immediately follows a reference to the days of Noah and the ark, linking the spirits to those who were disobedient before the flood. The Greek word ψυχαί (psyche) in 1 Peter 3:20 can be translated as 'person' rather than 'soul,' and St. Peter applies it uniquely to humans, not animals.

Reader's Guide

The significance of 'spirits in prison' lies in its role as a minor but recurrent subject in Christian writings, generating multiple interpretations across centuries. Early Christian interpreters like Augustine of Hippo held that the spirits were the unbelieving contemporaries of Noah, to whom Christ preached through Noah or as the pre-existent Christ. Enlightenment Unitarians such as Thomas Belsham viewed them as gentiles in the prison of ignorance. Modern scholar Wayne Grudem (1988) catalogued five common views: (1) Christ preached through Noah to unbelievers now in hell; (2) Christ offered a second chance of salvation to people in hell; (3) Christ proclaimed triumph over the condemned; (4) Christ released repentant flood victims from purgatory; (5) Christ proclaimed triumph over fallen angels. The last view finds support in 2 Peter 2:4–5 and Jude 6, which refer to rebellious angels imprisoned, though those passages use the word Tartarus rather than phylake. The concept also appears in other religious traditions: in the Latter-day Saint tradition, it supports the belief that Christ visited the spirit world to teach the gospel to the dead; in Islamic tradition, a place called Sijjin is described as the prison of unbelieving souls and of Satan and his devils.

Did You Know?

• Augustine of Hippo interpreted the spirits as the unbelieving contemporaries of Noah.
• Wayne Grudem (1988) identified five commonly held views on the interpretation of 1 Peter 3:19.