ROH-ROH YANG TERPENJARA DALAM 1 PETRUS 3:18-21
Abstract
Dealing with the identity of, the location of the spirits which areimprisoned in 1 Peter 3:18-21, and the time when Jesus went and preached to them
have been disputed among the scholars. The paper tries to see the disputed
matters from the view points of the literary structure of the texts, the grammatical
and syntactical relation of the texts, the broader theological meaning, and
implications as well.
From the points of view of the literary structure of the texts shows that
the author of the book wants his readers that even though they have to suffer, they
should be suffering because of right things, and should not be because of their own
faults.
According to grammatical and syntactical analysis, it is found that the
phrase “in which” referring to Jesus before His incarnation. In analyzing the
phrase “spirits in prison” in the light of the immediate context in 1 Peter 3:19, the
text clearly indicates that it refers to the spiritual prison instead of literal prison.
The Bible simply teaches that someone has to receive or reject salvation
while he or she is still alive; because the probation for human is ended when he or
she dies. There is no second chance to accept salvation after the present life.
Jesus wants human being does not only escape from the present worldly
suffering, but also he wants to release humanity from the greater suffering, that is
the eternal lost.
This study concludes that before His incarnation, Jesus was in the spirit,
and the spirit of Christ had inspired the prophet Noah as well as other ancient
prophets. The expression “spirits in prison” denotes to the evil people who were
living before the coming of the diluvian who did not believe and reject the
message given by the prophet Noah.
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