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1 Peter 3:19-20
19 By [en] which [hos] also [kai] he went [poreuomai] and preached [kerusso] unto the spirits [pneuma] in [en] prison [phulake];
20 Which sometime [pote] were disobedient [apeitheo], when [hote] once [hapax] the longsuffering [makrothumia] of God [theos] waited [ekdechomai] in [en] the days [hemera] of Noah [Noe], while the ark [kibotos] was a preparing [kataskeuazo], wherein [eis] [hos] few [oligos], that is [toutesti], eight [okto] souls [psuche] were saved [diasozo] by [dia] water [hudor]. KJV-Interlinear
19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. NASB
After Christ’s work on the Cross was finished, He pushed himself forward, exhaled His last breath, and died physically, in the same manner as every other human being on this earth has died.
At that moment several miracles and events took place. The storm, the earthquake, some Old Testament believers rose up and walked the streets for Jerusalem, the curtain dividing the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies in the Temple, was torn top to bottom and so forth.
But there was another set of events that occurred that living humanity did not see. When He died, Jesus’ body was placed in the grave, His soul went to paradise (one of the compartments in the underworld called Hades), and His spirit went to heaven (but His spirit made a quick stop in Tartarus, first).
In any other death of a believer, the soul and spirit never separate. They will remain together forever, never to be separated, ever. But in Jesus’ case, there was an exception, as well as a demonstration.
In death, the unbeliever who consists of body and soul only, leaves this world, resides temporarily in Torments (another of the compartments in the underworld called Hades), and remains there until they are called for at the end of human history, to stand before Christ at the Great White Throne. There, they will then be formally sentenced to the Lake of Fire, and that judgment formally executed.
When the believer died in Old Testament days, then their soul and spirit, both eternally united, went to paradise and there awaited the victory of the cross. They were often referred to as captives. Not that they were in jail for wrong doing, but because and until Satan’s accusations had been formally dealt with by the Cross, they had a place to go to while awaiting Gods victory.Cross.
Acts 2:27
27 Because Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, Nor allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay. NASB
Eph. 4:8-9
8 Therefore it says, ‘When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.’
9 (Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? NASB
Psa 68:18
18 Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captive Thy captives; NASB
Once the victory of the Cross had been historically accomplished, then those believers from Old Testament times, were led by Christ, out of Paradise, and into heaven. Therefore, since Paradise in now empty, this means only that Christ has accomplished, successfully, His work on the Cross and had descended (His soul that is) into Paradise (Hades).
Prior to the advent of the human race, angels lived in this universe. They were led in a rebellion by Satan, were given a chance to return to God, refused and some were judged to the Lake of Fire. Those rebellious angels, fallen angels or demons, or devils as they may be called, are currently awaiting their sentencing orders from God.
But there is another category of creature that came into existence at the time of Noah.
In Genesis six, we have the story of angels breeding with human women, producing many strange, strong and powerful hybrid creatures. They were evil to the extreme. And as the Bible states, these people were the source of the stories of the great men of old, which today we call Greek mythology.
When the ark was built they were evangelized by Noah, but rejected the salvation call. The word for disobedient, ‘apeitheo,’ means the disobedience of a belligerent kind. They were not only indifferent toward the gospel, but they openly and deliberately opposed God, Noah, and everything that smacked of truth. Their evil was never repeated in history, that is, until the end times of the Tribulation, when life will get evil and horrible to the extreme. That comparison is made in Matthew 24.
When Noah and his family (Noah, Noah’s wife, Noah’s three sons and their three wives), of only eight people, entered into the ark, then the rains and underground waters came and the entire population of the world died.
Those half-breed creatures, half-human, half-angel, were sent to Tartarus, where they remained and will remain until the end of human history and their judgment.
Their belligerent attitude was so great, that with their fate now sealed because of the victory of the Cross, Christ, in His spirit, went into Hades, to Tartarus, to announce the victory of the Cross and that their fate was now sealed.
The fallen angels have already been told their fate, and humanity will find out their fate in a formal trial at the Great White Throne. These creatures were evidently the worst of the worst of living creatures, and defiant to the maximum.
Their belligerence, their defiance, their evil was so great, and yet they lost everything. Only eight people were delivered because of their faith.
In the end days, the world will again turn evil to the maximum, and likewise there will be few by comparison, who will not follow the popular beliefs, but will remain faithful to the very last moment before the Second Advent.
Noah and his family suffered because of their faith and faithfulness. They worked on the ark for one-hundred and twenty years. That is a long time to bear the brunt of the worlds criticism. Most folks would cave in and turn away from God, because of the social pressures and treatment.
At the end of history, a few people, will stick it out, even to the point of hiding in caves with absolutely no comforts for home, when they could easily leave their caves and go with the popular opinions of the world.
And by the way, if the Tribulation does not occur for another hundred years, just imagine the comforts that people will have a century from now, and imagine leaving all of those conveniences for the extreme hardships of life in a cave. Could you do that today? It will be doubly hard for future generations. Generations who may not even know how to boil water, let alone make a fire, catch game and cook it, while at the same time hide and keep from being discovered, in an even further advanced technological age of the future.
And of course, after three days in the grave, Christ was reunited with his soul, and spirit, and a resurrected body, and then ascended into heaven and so forth. It was then that He led all of the captives out of Paradise and into heaven.
A huge parade, and huge celebration, one that we can only find a comparison in the Old Testament in 2 Sam. 6. You can read that story at your leisure.
Judgment on the Cross, blasted Christ apart into His three components, body, soul and spirit. And yet the work of the Cross was so thorough and complete, that death could not keep Him dismembered.
