Who Are the Spirits in Prison?

…He (=Christ), who was put to death according to the flesh, but made alive according to the spirit, in which He also went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly had been disobedient, when the longsuffering of God kept waiting, in the days of Noah…
1 Peter 3:18–20 NBG51

Nowhere in the Bible are human beings called “spirits.” Peter is referring here to “the sons of God” who had relations with “the daughters of men” (Genesis 6:1–4). This mingling of heavenly beings and human beings is the direct cause of the flood in the days of Noah. In Jude 1:6 these spirits are also referred to with the statement: “angels who were unfaithful to their origin and left their own dwelling.” Since the judgment of the flood (in which all human beings perished), these spirits have been kept in secure custody. These spirits are also referred to in 2 Peter 2:4. After His resurrection, Christ proclaimed His triumph also to them.

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