Why Did Jesus Go Preach to Spirits in Prison in Hades After His Death? — Part 2 | Michael Heiser

Dr. Michael Heiser unpacks how Genesis 6's mysterious "sons of God" incident—echoing through 1 Enoch's sin of the Watchers (fallen angels breeding Nephilim giants, then imprisoned in Tartarus)—shapes New Testament theology, particularly 1 Peter 3:18-22. Peter blends this with Noah's flood, spirits in prison, baptism, and resurrection, portraying Enoch as a "type" of Christ (like Paul's Adam typology): Enoch ascends to heaven, intercedes unsuccessfully for repentant Watchers, descends to proclaim their doom in the abyss—mirroring Jesus' post-death descent to the underworld, where he preaches victory over demonic powers, announcing his imminent resurrection despite their temporary triumph. Baptism thus symbolises this triumph, a loyalty oath against Satan (echoed in early church renunciations), commemorating not just Genesis 3's fall but Genesis 6's Watcher rebellion, reversing depravity through flood-like waters tied to salvation and resurrection. Heiser notes NT writers (Peter, Paul, Jude) assumed audiences knew 1 Enoch, using it for typology amid intertestamental Judaism's high view of Enoch (sometimes above Moses as direct heavenly translator countering Watcher forbidden knowledge); this frames Galatians 3-4's law "added because of transgressions" (Watchers', not just Adam's) and Jude's Michael-Satan dispute over Moses' body (from Assumption of Moses, symbolizing Satan's claim on God's people). Ignoring this supernatural worldview—rife with pseudepigrapha allusions (dozens in NT)—misses the ancient cognitive context, where common grace and general revelation parallel wisdom traditions globally, urging modern readers to reclaim second temple Jewish lenses for deeper New Testament insight.

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