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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 Peter 4:4-6 NKJ)

Peter was concerned some conclude preaching the gospel to spiritually dead mockers (vv 4-5) was in vain, and might limit their preaching only to those willing to hear it.

On the contrary, it was for this reason the gospel was preached (by us) ALSO to the [spiritually] dead, that they might be judged worthy of Hades by men's standards, but [know how to] live by God's standards in the spirit.

The preaching made them liable to Hades but also provided knowledge of the way out.

In the movie "The LEXX" Captain Stanley Tweedle is on "The Beach" between the planets Water(Heaven) and Fire (Hell), and his own conscience incarnate condemns Stanley to Hell.


But not all accept Peter's words as written:



The argument is a False dilemma its premise a hasty generalization fallacy.

The First appearance of "dead" is titular referring to God as the Judge of the living and the Dead who stands ready to judge them upon physical death, hence neither "living" or "dead" refers to these mockers. The Second appearance describes these mockers as "[spiritually] dead."

Therefore these must have different meaning as they refer to different things.



Special Pleading fallacy as the 6 other appearances (Mark. 1:38; Acts 26:16; Rom. 14:9; 2 Cor. 2:9; 1 Tim. 4:10; 1 Pet. 2:21) are retrospective, and nothing in this context implies this judgment is the eschatological Judgment on the last day. Rather God is described as READY to judge, implying their judgment may occur immediately.



Incorrect, the text does not say they are alive in the realm of the Spirit, it says they are living according to God's standards in the spirit….they repented in other words, of their mocking.

It was for this the gospel was preached to them, to make them liable to Hades even when judged according to men's standards, but educate them about God's standards so they could live according to God in the spirit.

What say you?

_________________

Reasonable faith needs
reasonable doubt.
____________________

"Saying what we think gives us a wider
conversational range than saying
what we know." ~Cullen Hightower

Ditto for the phrase "the quick and the dead" in verse 5.

That violates parsimony, none of those are mentioned in the context.

Rather Peter is speaking about the spiritually dead he and the church preached to, who spoke evil of them and couldn't understand why Christians didn't pursue the same riotous living they did...

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. (1Pe 4:3-6 NKJ)

Peter is concerned some might conclude its a waste of time preaching to spiritually dead mockers.

He assures all that is not the case. The gospel might be rejected now, but it becomes part of the judgment against them their own conscience will use, when condemning them to Hades. But once in Hades, the preaching now informs them how to "live according to God in the spirit" so they be forgiven on Judgment Day, when the secrets of men's hearts will be judged.

"The dead" in verse 5 modifies who God is, He is judge of the living and the dead....who is ready to judged evil doers...

"The dead" in verse 6 clearly are not describing anything about God, therefore they are a different group and in context must be the spiritually dead mockers God is ready to judge.

Peter states they run in a flood of dissipation, aside from that and their rejection of the gospel, they aren't identified.

Here is my understanding about Christ descended to Hades to preach the gospel to the dead in spirt.
In His pre-incarnate state Christ preached through the 'mouthpiece' of Noah to the world which perished at the time of the Great Deluge.
Between His physical death and resurrection Christ went to the fallen angels who are believed by some to have left their proper state and married human women during Noah's time (Genesis 6:1-4; 2 Peter 2: 4-5; Jude 6-7).
Between His death and resurrection, Christ went to the abode of the dead and preached to the spirits of the rebellious dead of Noah's age.
"Christ was put to death in the weakness of human flesh, but made alive in the power of the [Holy] Spirit; and in the power of the Spirit, the risen Christ went to proclaim the Gospel to those who had disobeyed and died in Noah's day." That is an interesting point. If this were the correct interpretation the meaning would probably be that to preach to the dead of Noah's day was one of the first things that the risen Christ sought to do.
"Some people believe this passage teaches that during the three days his body was in the tomb, Jesus went into the spirit-world of the imprisoned lost. At that time, according to this theory, the Lord preached the gospel to those who died lost during the time of Noah's flood.

The Bible clearly teaches that following death, there comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). After one leaves this earth, there is no plan of salvation for him. The spiritual condition in which a person dies (prepared or unprepared) is that which he will possess at the time of the general resurrection (cf. Matthew 25:1-12). There is absolutely no evidence that there is a second chance for redemption following death.

Ephesians 4:8-10 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he captured captives; he gave gifts to men.” 9 Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended to the lower regions, namely, the earth? 10 He, the very one who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. Context (NET)

Can you provide Scripture that can support that Jesus will descend again in hell to preach to the prisoner? if none who do you think or supposed to teach the soul being tortured there?

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How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7

I'm not sure how you're defining parsimony here. Nevertheless (and your possible inference to Ockham's Razor aside), and because both νεκρός and ζάω can be correctly interpreted both literally and figuratively, the best way to interpret 1 Peter 4:5-6 seems to be a matter of dogmatic preference. Yes, contextually, the author appears to be referring to spiritually dead mockers in the midst of the "strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (1 Peter 1:1) be they Jewish or Gentile. But, historically:

> wouldn't "spiritually dead" have been the orthodox (characteristic and commonplace) attitude of the average first century Jewish male (particularly some of those Jewish men who had recently converted from Judaism into first century CE Jewish-Christianity) toward non-Jewish infidels who did not "live according to God in the spirit"?

> wasn't the open acceptance and enforcement of the laws, teachings, and traditions of Judaism required by those Jewish men who, in the author's time, would've permitted non-Jewish males to become Christians if―and only if―they first became Jews? (Acts 15:22ff)

So, yes, the author might have been referring to spiritualy dead mockers. But isn't it possible that he was referring to "the Gentiles in Peter's time and place who, according to his way of thinking, were 'dead' because they did not 'live according to' the commandments of YHVH and Moses' Law"?

Or both?

_________________

Reasonable faith needs
reasonable doubt.
____________________

"Saying what we think gives us a wider
conversational range than saying
what we know." ~Cullen Hightower

Both as those cities are in Northern turkey but heavily weighted towards Jews as He is writing to those of the Diaspora (1:1).

You admit my interpretation makes plain sense, but then seek another sense. If we allow dogma to overrule what is plainly in the text, that indicates the dogma is in error.

There are 4 positions on this text:
1. Christ while dead preached to those who preceded his time
2. Christ while dead preached to those in paradise - similar to 3:19
3. It refers to the spiritually dead
4. It refers to Christians who have died as martyrs (Barclay)

Now my commentaries and study Bibles are somewhat split over which position is correct; personally I select number 3. In Matt. 8:22 Jesus said to let the dead bury their dead, the dead refers to the spiritually dead according to some scholars. Then in Gen. 2:17 the word die is used twice in the Hebrew literally "when you eat of that tree you will die-dying..." I take this to mean a physical and spiritual death but I have few sources backing this position up.

_________________

Reasonable faith needs
reasonable doubt.
____________________

"Saying what we think gives us a wider
conversational range than saying
what we know." ~Cullen Hightower

_________________

Reasonable faith needs
reasonable doubt.
____________________

"Saying what we think gives us a wider
conversational range than saying
what we know." ~Cullen Hightower

I agree Gen 2:7 implicitly teaches spiritual death, which is why both knew they were naked and were ashamed immediately after they ate...and God asks "where are you" = separation from God in figure.

But your four choices left the most elegant one out, which is my interpretation Peter and his church preached to these spiritually dead...while they were still alive, but rejecting what was preached = spiritually dead.