Q&A Part III
Question #1
Did Jesus go to hades to preach the gospel to those who died in Noah’s flood? (Based on what Peter wrote in his epistle.)
Answer #1
The belief that Jesus went to Hades to preach the gospel to those who died in Noah’s flood comes from one interpretation of 1 Peter 3:18-20 – “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” This view would take the “spirits in prison” to refer to men who died in the flood in Noah’s time and are now found in Hades. However, this view implies that a second chance is offered to those who have died. This flies against the theology of the Scriptures. God’s Word declare in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” Furthermore, Abraham declared to the rich man in hell in Luke 16:26, “And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” To teach that man can now find a second chance to go to heaven once they are in Hades must be rejected on biblical and theological grounds.
The right view to understand the phrase “spirits in prison” is to regard this as souls who are held captive by sin during the time of Noah. Christ in the Spirit was working through Noah, the preacher of righteousness, to proclaim the gospel to them. Those who did not obey are now suffering punishment for their sins in hell. There are several reasons in support of this view. First, Peter called Noah a “preacher of righteousness” in 2 Peter 2:5. The Greek word translated “preacher” in 2 Peter 2:5 corresponds to the word “preached” in 1 Peter 3:19. Second, Peter earlier in the epistle wrote of how the spirit of Christ was preaching through the prophets in the Old Testament. Thus, Noah preaching in the power of the spirit of Christ follows the same theme. Third, the context indicates that just like Noah was persecuted in the past for preaching in the spirit of Christ, Peter was also facing persecution for preaching the gospel.
Question #2
Is the parable of the Good Samaritan about Christ’s love for the sinner who is dying on the road? Or simply an example for us of how to love our neighbour?
Answer #2
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is found in Luke 10:25-37. As stated in the last weekly, we must be careful not to over emphasise the embellishments from the essentials in the parable. A good way is to determine the focus of the parable which is found either in the beginning or end of the parable. In the case of this parable, the parable was Christ’s answer to the question posed by a lawyer – “And who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:29). The lawyer posed this question because he wanted to claim that he had practised this commandment throughout his life, and thus have inherited eternal life (c.f. Luke 10:25). Through the parable, Christ showed him that if he indeed was a practitioner of the commandment of love, he would also love the Samaritans who were chief enemies of the Jews, just like how the Samaritan showed love to the man who was left half-dead by the thieves.
The doctrine of Christ’s love for sinners can be found in numerous passages of Scripture including the well-loved John 3:16. However, one must be careful not to use a wrong passage of Scripture in support of biblical doctrine. The Parable of the Good Samaritan deals with the question of “who is my neighbour”, and must be treated as such.
As for the interpretation of the parable, please refer to Weekly No. 21 of 2022 on the article entitled, “Who is My Neighbour?”
Question #3
When did Paul go to the third heaven? Did Paul go to the third heaven during the interval between when he was stoned outside Lystra and when he recovered and went back into the city?
Answer #3
Paul wrote of his experience in the third heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
As for the stoning of Paul outside Lystra, the account can be found in Acts 14:19-20, “And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.” This occurred during the first missionary journey of the Apostle Paul.
First, let us consider what the Scriptures mean by the third heaven. The third heaven refers to the realm where God dwells, in opposition to the first heaven which is the atmosphere where the birds fly and the second heaven which is the abode of the sun, moon and stars (i.e. what is often known today as outer space).
Verse 2 tells us that the “catching up” of Paul to the third heaven occurred some fourteen years ago from the writing of 2 Corinthians. This would mean that the event occurred sometime between A.D. 42-44. Paul would be present in either Tarsus or Antioch. It would also be before the first missionary journey and thus could not have occurred during the stoning of Paul outside Lystra.
Yours affectionately,
Pastor Clement Chew