READ: Gen. 6:1-8
…by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, 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. – 1 Pet. 3:19,20
Just as Christ suffered on earth from the disobedience of those who rejected him, His ascension to heaven also represents a victory over all those who remained disobedient to God and did not repent.
Peter references the people who underwent the judgment of the flood during the days of Noah as a result of their accumulated sins, whose souls (“spirits”) are now in prison, waiting for the final judgment.
Genesis 6 describes them as people whose “thoughts of the heart were only evil all the time.” There were prophets who called on them to repent, Enoch and Noah, but they did not listen or turn from their ways. They ignored the announcement of the flood, even during the building of the ark. Finally, God’s patience was exhausted and the flood came, which killed all people except Noah and his family.
Now, those people who hardened themselves in disobedience, resisting God and His prophets, must see Christ triumphantly ascend to heaven. The revelation of this fact may serve as a warning to all who reject the call to repentance, but it is also a consolation to all who love God and want to follow His Son wherever He goes, even if it means suffering, tears, and sometimes death.
How do you recognize this disobedience in our time?
Singing: Ps. 1:1,3