Not "Second Chance", I meant "Universal Opportunity"

[Alfred Persson]

To GOD the Lord belong escapes from death

18 You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the LORD God might dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah
20 Our God is the God of salvation; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death. (Ps. 68:18-20 NKJ)

Postmortem Opportunity explicitly taught. Prophet David speaks of the Christ. The symbols used supply the premises Paul used in Eph. 4:7-16. Prophet David speaks of Conquering King ascending with captives to heaven, which implies He first descended into the depths of the earth conquering Death. Jesus peached what is necessary for them to dwell with God and they respond with gifts, even the formerly rebellious are thankful. These in turn become teachers whom God uses to bestow loads benefits upon the saved community. To God belongs salvation, escapes from eternal death.

The translators of the Aramaic Targums and Septuagint also saw similar premises implied by the giving of Gifts to the Conquering King.

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.
8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."
9 (Now this, "He ascended "-- what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-- Christ--
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Eph. 4:7-16 NKJ)

19 You ascended to the firmament, O prophet Moses; you captured captives, you taught the words of Torah, you gave gifts to the sons of men, and even the stubborn who are converted turn in repentance, and the glorious presence of the LORD God abides upon them. (Ps. 68:19) The Psalms Targum: An English Translation by Edward M. Cook, 2001. Words in italics are interpretation supplied by the Targumist and are not in the Hebrew.
PST)

Thou art gone up on high, thou hast led captivity captive, thou hast received gifts for man, yea, for they were rebellious, that thou mightest dwell among them. (Ps. 68:18 Septuagint, Sir Lancelot Brenton, 1851)

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[Alfred Persson]

Revised:

To GOD the Lord belong escapes from death

18 You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the LORD God might dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah
20 Our God is the God of salvation; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death. (Ps. 68:18-20 NKJ)

Postmortem Opportunity explicitly taught. Paul supplied the interpretive key: "This, 'He ascended'-- what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?'"-(Eph. 4:9) Implied Premises were used in Rabbinic argumentation. Jesus asked the Pharisees "if David calls Christ 'my Lord' how can he be David's son? (Mt 22:41-45) James quotes Amos 9:11-12 to prove Gentiles were always participants in God's salvation (Acts. 15:15-18).

Descending into hell and ascending with captives implies they repented, and now dwell with God's people in heaven. Postmortem opportunity.

The Prophet David is speaking of the Christ, not Moses. He "preached to the spirits in prison…who were formerly disobedient" (1 Peter 3:18-22), the dead had the gospel preached to them and now lived according to God in the Spirit (1 Peter 4:6).

Their response giving gifts to Christ implies they are grateful for learning the way of Salvation so they could dwell with the LORD of salvation, to whom belong escapes from eternal death. That is a figure for baptism, God gracing the church with apostles and prophets, people who have died and risen in Christ and now benefit the church teaching how to escape eternal death.

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.
8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."
9 (Now this, "He ascended "-- what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-- Christ--
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Eph. 4:7-16 NKJ)

The Jewish translators of the Aramaic Targums and Greek Septuagint also reasoned from implied premises to explain what David was implying:

You ascended to the firmament, [O prophet Moses]; you captured captives, [you taught the words of Torah], you [gave] gifts to the sons of men, and even the stubborn [who are converted turn in repentance, and the glorious presence of] the LORD God abides [upon them] (Ps. 68:19 PST).
-The Psalms Targum: An English Translation by Edward M. Cook, 2001. Words in [brackets] are in italics to show they are interpretation and not the Hebrew.)

Thou art gone up on high, thou hast led captivity captive, thou hast received gifts for man, yea, for they were rebellious, that thou mightest dwell among them. (Ps. 68:18 Septuagint, Sir Lancelot Brenton, 1851)

Does the Bible teach there is a Second Chance to be saved by Jesus? | End Time News

Scriptural Proof Universal Opportunity for Salvation in Jesus Spans this life and the After-life God is to us a God of deliverances; And to Yahweh the Lord belong escapes from death. (Ps. 68:20) As Christ alone is the Door to Salvation, what is the fate of those born before His time, or in...

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[Alfred Persson]

Revive me again…bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive (02421 חָיַה chayah) me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth. (Ps. 71:20 NKJ)

Postmortem opportunity twice implied. David trusts God will raise him up from the depths of Sheol "again", confirming he experienced death and revivification before (Ps. 30:2-4). David trusts in the love and mercy of God he will be redeemed and brought "up again from the depths of the earth."

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[Alfred Persson]

The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me

1 I love the LORD, because He has heard My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
3 The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called upon the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!"
5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful.
6 The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the LORD In the land of the living. (Ps. 116:1-9 NKJ)

Postmortem opportunity, repentance and deliverance explicitly stated. David experienced literal death and revivification (Ps. 30:2-4; 71:20; 86:13) [#K]. After repentance, God delivered his soul from Death, eternal death. He will walk before the LORD in the land of the living in His kingdom.

The resurrection of the dead: see Ps 116:9: “I will walk before Yahweh in the lands of the living.” … “(The Hallel is said) because it mentions the rescue of the souls of the righteous from gehenna; see Ps 116:4: ‘O, Yahweh, save my soul.’-Strack, H. L., & Billerbeck, P. (2022). A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud & Midrash (J. N. Cerone, Ed.; A. Bowden & J. Longarino, Trans.; Vol. 1, p. 969). Lexham Press.

saving, delivery. Pes. 118a מ׳ נפשות וכ׳ the delivery of the souls of the righteous from Gehenna (ref. to Ps. 116:4).-Jastrow, M. (1903). In A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature and II (Vol. 1, p. 774). Luzac & Co.; G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

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[Alfred Persson]

I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death

"I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes." (Hos. 13:14 NKJ)

I will deliver them out of the power of Hades, and will redeem them from death: where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting? comfort is hidden from mine eyes. (Hos. 13:14 LXX)

Postmortem opportunity clearly taught, doubly implied by the context which is so gloomy and the change in tone so abrupt some believe Paul's application (1 Cor. 15:55) "contextually problematic". But that was the point, against the strong enemy of death God is victorious, in love He redeems the lost venting His rage at that which separates Him from them. He will show Death no pity.

As Keil points out:

The questions, “Where are thy plagues, O death?” etc., are obviously meant to affirm the conquest or destruction of hell and death…To redeem or ransom from the hand (or power) of hell, i.e., of the under world, the realm of death, is equivalent to depriving hell of its prey, not only by not suffering the living to die, but by bringing back to life those who have fallen victims to hell, i.e., to the region of the dead…. The Apostle Paul has therefore very properly quoted these words in 1 Cor. 15:55, in combination with the declaration in Isa. 25:8, “Death is swallowed up in victory,” to confirm the truth, that at the resurrection of the last day, death will be annihilated, and that which is corruptible changed into immortality.-Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (1996). Commentary on the Old Testament (Vol. 10, p. 104). Hendrickson.

Babylonian Talmud Pesaḥim 87B: R. Eleazar (ca. 270) said, “God exiled Israel to Babylon only because the latter is as deep as Sheol; as it says, ‘From the power of Sheol I will free them; from death I will redeem them …’ (Hos 13:14).”… ‘From the power of Sheol I will free them …’ (Hos 13:14; thus, there is a restoration from Sheol); but for its (Harpania’s) illegitimate ones, there will be no restoration.”-Strack, H. L., & Billerbeck, P. (2021). A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud & Midrash (J. N. Cerone, Ed.; J. Longarino, Trans.; Vol. 3, pp. 558–559). Lexham Press.

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[Alfred Persson]

Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice.

1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish's belly.
2 And he said: "I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, And He answered me. "Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice.
3 For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
4 Then I said,`I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.'
5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD, my God.
7 "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple.
8 "Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD."
10 So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (Jon. 2:1-3:1 NKJ)

Postmortem Opportunity is the point. As Jonah's soul faints he remembers God implying repentance. God is not like the worthless gods of the nations, mere idols who have eyes to see but see not, ears to hear but hear not and would be of no help at all to Jonah. The LORD of Salvation is in His Holy Temple, ready to impose His will upon even the lowest Sheol.

The entire loses force if God doesn't hear prayers of repentance in Sheol, forgiving trespass and redeeming the lost. The stated reason God is unlike idols is He reacts to prayer in Sheol. If there is connection to reality, the metaphor is incoherent and potentially disrespectful.

Jewish Tradition found another name for Gehenna in Jonah's account:

I.19 A. Said R. Joshua b. Levi, “Gehenna has seven names and these are they: Netherworld, destruction, pit, [Slotki:] tumultuous pit, miry clay, shadow of death, and underworld.
B. “ ‘Netherworld’: ‘Out of the belly of the nether world I cried and you heard my voice’ (Jonah. 2:2).-Neusner, J. (2011). The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary (Vol. 3, p. 94). Hendrickson Publishers.

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[Alfred Persson]

Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.

9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be`from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.'
11 "As for you also, Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you.
13 For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the sword of a mighty man."
14 Then the LORD will be seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And go with whirlwinds from the south.
15 The LORD of hosts will defend them; They shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; They shall be filled with blood like basins, Like the corners of the altar.
16 The LORD their God will save them in that day, As the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, Lifted like a banner over His land--
17 For how great is its goodness And how great its beauty! Grain shall make the young men thrive, And new wine the young women. (Zech. 9:9-17 NKJ)

Post Mortem Opportunity. This is Telescoped Messianic Prophecy of Christ's First and Second Coming. Like the Quentin Tarantino movie "Pulp Fiction", the scene flashes back to the resurrection rapture of all in Christ who eagerly wait his second coming for salvation (Heb. 9:27-28) because of the New Covenant in Christ's Blood. The scene shifts to the prisoners of hope joining God's forces for the Battle of Armageddon, when the sons of Zion will fight the sons of Greece. Adonikam the Antichrist is a Jewish descendent of the Greek Assyrian Antiochus Epiphanes and at mid-week or 3.5 years into his reign, will declare himself to be the literal seed of Satan (Gen. 3:15) "Son of Destruction" (2 Thess. 2:3-4) prophesied to come. He will revel in it. The Beast, False Prophet who united Britain and America to support the Beast, will be cast body and soul into the Lake of Fire. All their army with Satan's Nephilim "mighty ones" will become food for the birds of heaven on the mountains of Israel, Armageddon (Rev. 19:11-21).

Perhaps Paul had this prophecy in mind when he declared "The Deliverer will come out of Zion" and because of the blood of His covenant "all Israel will be saved":

26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins."
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience,
31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.
32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. (Rom. 11:26-32 NKJ)

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The Two Phases of Antichrist: Man of Sin and Son of Destruction | End Time News

The Two Phases of The Antichrist: Man of Sin and Son of Destruction Give no belief to false words: because there will first be a falling away from the faith, and the revelation of the man of sin (266 ἁμαρτία hamartia), the son of destruction (684 ἀπώλεια apoleia), (2 Thess. 2:3 BBE) "Man of sin"

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The Antichrist His Names Titles and Ancestry | End Time News

The Antichrist will appear in the guise of Christ, to oppose Christ. Paul called him the "Son of Destruction" which implies a Jewish-Christian miracle worker evangelist. His name is Adonikam and he will rise from obscurity near the ancient city of Antioch, modern Turkey. He is from ancient...

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[Alfred Persson]

"Second Chance" was a poor choice of words. Actually, my position denies there is a second chance. What I should have said is "Universal Opportunity exists to be saved, and if one hasn't rejected the gospel in this life, it will be preached to them in the Afterlife so they can "make their choice." I decided to leave this post available to the public while I revise it. Still lots of good stuff here, but "second chance" implies the wicked get another go at God. No way:


Title: Postmortem Opportunity in Biblical Perspective: A New Argument Universal Opportunity for Salvation in Jesus Spans Life and the Afterlife

The Fate of those who die unevangelized has been debated ever since the Apostles departed to be with Christ. Did God create knowing the opportunity for salvation would exist only for those born in the right time and place? As Christ alone is the Way to Salvation, what is the fate of all born before that time, or in places where Christ remained unknown for centuries? Where and when is their opportunity for salvation in Jesus?

Until now, four different theories have been proposed to answer this question: Restrictivism which denies universal opportunity exists; Universal Opportunity exists despite appearances, no one dies without a special revelation of Christ; Inclusivism where opportunity exists apart from faith in Christ; Universalism where all are ultimately reconciled to God in Jesus, opportunity unnecessary.

This essay argues universal opportunity for salvation in Jesus Christ spans both life and the afterlife, via the timeless sacrifice of "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8) who was "offered once" "at the end of the ages" (Heb. 9:26) so the gospel is preached "also" to them who are dead (1 Pt. 4:6) and during their judgment (Heb. 9:27) "according to men in the flesh" the opportunity to be saved in Jesus is offered "to bear the sins of many" (Heb. 9:28). Those who grasp the opportunity to be saved then "live according to God in the Spirit" protected from all torment (1 Pt. 4:6 cp. 1 Pt. 3:18-22). About them, it is written: "To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation" (Heb. 9:28 NKJ) during the resurrection gathering/rapture of the church (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 5:1-4; 2 Thess. 2:1-4; 1 Cor. 5:5, 15:51-54; Rev. 14:12-16; 7:9, 14).

Postmortem Opportunity is not a second chance. Deliberate rejection of the gospel of Christ concludes the "window of opportunity" (Heb. 6:4-8). This does not apply if ignorance caused the rejection. Christ made this clear by saying: "He who is not with me is against me", which implies Christ's identity is fully known. However, if "anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man" (incarnation veiling Jesus' identity) "it will be forgiven" "in the age to come" (Mt. 12:30, 32) for he spoke in ignorance of God.


This theory of Universal Opportunity is Exclusive to Christ: "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (Jn. 14:6 NKJ). "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12 NKJ). It does not require temporal or geographical luck, everyone from Adam and Eve hears the gospel of Christ preached when their appointed deaths occur. Then is the "Judgment/trial" if Christ's sacrifice "to bear the sins of many" includes them. To finite creatures living in spacetime this "is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible" (Mk. 10:27 NKJ).

https://endtimenews.net/does-the-bible-teach-a-second-chance/

 

[Alfred Persson]

Putting all these in one thread would make discussion of the different contexts difficult if there were any discussion. Each discussed a separate context of scripture. But my objection is moot, no one wants to discuss it anyway. Too bad. This is revolutionary stuff and NOT AI generated.

 

[Alfred Persson]

What will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

Postmortem Opportunity is clearly taught in this context. God the Holy Spirit, writing through Paul knew the "partial hardening" of Israel" would continue for centuries "until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in". He knew the "enemies of the gospel" Paul speaks of, would long since have died before Christ the Deliverer came. "What will their acceptance be but life from the dead?" (Rom. 11:15)

I believe Paul's doxology referencing God's mercy and Judgment (Rom. 11:33-36) indicates Paul understood this too.

7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded…
11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.
12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
…
15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
…
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins."
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience,
31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.
32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 "For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?"
35 "Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?"
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. (Rom. 11:7-36 NKJ)

 

[Alfred Persson]

"He went and preached to the spirits in prison"

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive (ζῳοποιηθεὶς) by the Spirit,
19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
20 who formerly were disobedient (544 ἀπειθέω apeitheo), when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
21 There is also an antitype which now saves us– baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. (1 Pet. 3:18-22 NKJ)

What afflictions many and sore hast thou shewed me! yet thou didst turn and quicken (ἐζωοποίησάς) me, and broughtest me again from the depths of the earth. (Ps. 71:20 [70:20] Brenton Septuagint)

The themes of Triumph and Salvation span this context. 1 Peter 3:18-22 describes a Postmortem Salvation Event when Jesus “descended into the lower parts of the earth” (Eph. 4:8-10) to “proclaim (2784 κηρύσσω kerusso) liberty to the captives” and the “acceptable year of the LORD (Lk. 4:18-19) to the “spirits in prison.”

As this scene unfolded neither Noah, the eight souls with him or the Flood came to Peter’s mind, he saw the Antitype of Baptism. Both the Church and “spirits in prison” responded to Christ’s preaching with the “answer of a good conscience towards God”. “Buried with Christ they now rose with Christ to a newness of life” (Rom. 6:4; Eph. 2:4-7; Col. 2:12-14).

Christ was put to death in the flesh and his human soul went to Sheol ( Ps. 16:10; Ac. 2:27), it did not die with the body. God the Holy Spirit gave it life (Job 33:4; Jn. 6:63; 2 Cor. 3:6), reviving it (Ps. 70:20 Septuagint) as part of the process of being the "firstborn from the dead" (Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:20; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5). In the sphere of the Spirit Christ went and preached to the spirits in prison.

The prophet David speaks of Christ's descent into hell and preaching to the formerly disobedient "spirits in prison" (1 Pt. 3:18-22) who gladly give gifts for being shown the LORD could dwell among them. Like the Church, they responded to Christ's preaching "with the answer of a good conscience towards God". That is the "like figure" Peter saw in Baptism, not referring to water at all. Having believed Christ's preaching the formerly disobedient were raised to a newness of life (Rom. 6:4. Col. 2:12. Eph. 2:3-7) "through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Pt. 3:21-22). Upon learning Christ is the only way to Salvation; the formerly rebellious humans in like figure become God's gift to the church of apostles prophets evangelists pastors teachers "for the edifying of the body of Christ." (Eph. 4:7-16).

This is postmortem opportunity for the "spirits in prison" plainly stated.

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[Alfred Persson]

For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead

3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles-- when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.
4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.
5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. (1 Pet. 4:3-6 NKJ)

Postmortem opportunity plainly stated.

Evildoers "think it strange (3579 ξενίζω xenizo)"; "are surprised" (CSB); "cannot understand" (REB) why Christians stopped partying with them, so they react with anger speaking evil of them. "For this reason the gospel was preached ALSO to those who are dead", when such ignorance is impossible: "That they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the Spirit."

Just as in Matthew 12:30-32, those who knew not the master's will are beaten with a few stripes (Lk. 12:48) and having been judged there is opportunity to repent (Heb. 9:27) and "live according to God in the Spirit" while they "eagerly wait for Him" to "appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." (Heb. 9:28).

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