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In 1 Peter, Jesus preaches to the spirits in prison. The Shepherd of Hermas echoes a similar tradition, in which dead apostles and teachers preach to the righteous who died earlier and baptize them in water so they come to know the Son of God.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1 Peter 3:19
New Testament
17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if God wills it, than for doing evil. 18 Because Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring you to God, by being put to death in the flesh but by being made alive in the spirit. 19 In it he went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 after they were disobedient long ago when God patiently waited in the days of Noah as an ark was being constructed. In the ark a few, that is eight souls, were delivered through water. 21 And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you—not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of a good conscience to God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who went into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels and authorities and powers subject to him.
Shepherd of Hermas 93:5
Early Christian
5 “Why, Sir,” I said, “did the forty stones also come up with them from the deep, though they already had the seal?” “Because,” he said, “those—namely, the apostles and teachers who preached the name of the Son of God—after they fell asleep in the power and faith of the Son of God, also preached to those who had fallen asleep earlier, and themselves gave them the seal of the preaching. 6 So they went down with them into the water and came up again. But these others, who had fallen asleep before, went down dead and came up alive; 7 so through them they were made alive and came to know fully the name of the Son of God. That is why they also came up with them and were fitted with them into the building of the tower and were built in with them, though they had not been shaped, for they had fallen asleep in righteousness and great purity, but they did not have this seal. Now you have the interpretation of these things as well.” “I do, Sir,” I said.
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Notes and References
“... The forty already-baptized who have gone down into the water (v. 5) bring up the rest. This is a version of the tradition of the "harrowing of hell," usually said to be performed by Christ during the period of his burial. Here, the apostles and teachers are sent to be the agents by which this soteriological mission is accomplished. Through their agency, those who were dead are restored to life, to become part of the foundation of the tower. [...] 1 Pet 3:19-20; 4:6; Ep. Apost. 27; Apoc. Pet. 14 ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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