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First Peter chapter three, the sermon that I want to preach is actually dealing with answering hard passages. So this sermon is called how to interpret hard passages. So I want to kind of go through how I interpret a hard passage. So this is an all-inclusive. This isn't necessarily like the best way. This is the way I do it. So I want to give you some rules or steps on how I answer a hard passage. So first Peter chapter three at the end of the chapter is a hard passage. Let's just flat out say it. I don't care who you are. It's a hard passage to interpret. So I'm going to interpret that passage, but first I want to show you the steps that I do or the rules that I have when answering or trying to look at a really hard passage. So rule number one is you have to realize or you have to have the foundation that the King James Bible is without error and it's your final authority. That's how you start off, okay, is that there's no error and it's your final authority. Therefore, meaning that if the conclusion you come up with is different than what you thought it should be, the Bible is your final authority, okay, meaning that and this is where you kind of have to go in with get rid of preconceived ideas when you go into a passage and this is hard to do because especially if you grew up with preaching that preached just different things and didn't really ever prove it. They just taught things, okay, and there's still passages today where I've heard people preach and when I go into the passage I have that in my mind and I'm constantly trying to flush. I'm like, no, that's not it. That's not it, you know, and it's just it's in your mind because they kind of put it there, but if the King James Bible is without error and your final authority, that's number one. Second, you need to pray that the Holy Ghost will reveal the meaning to you, okay. This is where our memory verse for the week comes in where it says, but the anointing which you have received of him abideth in you and you need not that any man teach you, but the same teaches to you of all things, and so the Holy Ghost is that anointing and you need to pray to the Holy Ghost. Pray that the Holy Ghost would give you understanding on this, okay, and you may you may come into a passage where you're reading and you're just not gonna be able to figure it out in that one sitting. That's fine, but you just pray to the Holy Ghost to help you understand it and keep reading through the Bible. Don't just stick in that one spot and get kind of stuck in the mud, so to speak. Just keep reading and what what a lot of times happen is as you're reading other passages in the Bible, you'll see another passage that helps you understand that, but you have it in your mind and the Holy Ghost is trying to bring remembrance to you as far as how to understand that passage. So number one, King James Bible is without error, final authority. Number two, pray that the Holy Ghost will give you understanding and help you understand it, okay, but the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God. That's why the Spirit of God's there. The Spirit of God is gonna help you lead you on all understanding. Number three, and this is where the modalist got on me when I was talking about understanding the Bible or, you know, how to study the Bible. You need to have some pre- suppositions going into that type of Bible study, and what does that mean? It means you have assumptions going into it that don't move, okay? Faith alone, salvation. Faith alone, salvation. Listen, if you say, if that's movable to you, you need to get saved, okay? If that's something you were like, oh, that's up for grabs, then you need to get saved, okay? That's my, that's my answer to you. So that should not be a movable assumption, meaning that obviously, not to have preconceived ideas, a presupposition when it comes to certain doctrines that will not move, meaning that salvation is by faith alone, not by works, not by baptism, not by going to church, not by anything else, but that alone. The nature of God, who God is, you know, you know, Jesus's deity, the Trinity, you know, those basic things when it comes to going into a Bible study and the fact that Jesus is God, and you have the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, these three are one, those are basic presuppositions, okay? And I'm not saying that's all-inclusive, but what I'm saying is that you need to have the foundational doctrines that, that you know that's untouchable, okay? And so the modalist can get all, you know, hyper about that and get all up in arms, be like, oh, you're going into it and preconceived ideas? Yeah, you better. Or you're gonna fall into false doctrine if you don't have salvation by faith alone as a presupposition, okay? So you need to have that to where when you're going into it, that's, that's not, if it looks like it's saying that you can lose your salvation, you better know that that's not what it's talking about. And, and I'm talking about hard passages. I'm not talking about going through the whole Bible like that, because obviously the whole Bible, most, a lot of the Bible is very clear passages. What we're talking about is hard passages, hard sayings, very cryptic passages, to where that's where you're diving into it and making sure you have this stuff now that most of the places you don't really have to worry about the presupposition of salvation by faith alone because it's constantly saying it's by faith alone, so it's not really a problem in all those other places. Number four. So number one, King James Bible is without error, final authority. Number two, pray the Holy Ghost will reveal the meaning to you. Number three, have presuppositions or assumptions going into the passage dealing with salvation is by faith alone, eternal security, the Trinity, Jesus is God, those type of things. You need to have all those things as unmovable things that cannot be contradicted. Number four, you need to find the context of the passage, okay, and when you're dealing with most books, you can look at the context of the chapter, but look at the whole context of the whole book from beginning to end, okay. So now in Psalms, this is gonna be a little harder. In Proverbs, you know, you can't really look at the whole context of the book of Psalms because it's changing throughout. Each song is sometimes different, it's different, right, and in Proverbs, same thing too, is that it'll skip around so context isn't gonna help you that much sometimes, but in this case, you know, when you're dealing with epistles or dealing with the Gospels, there's gonna be context. You're gonna see the context of the book, all that stuff, so you want to get context. So whenever you're looking at a hard passage, read before and read after and see what's being said because a lot of times a cryptic passage is something that's either was set up by something else, meaning that there was something very clear that's being said and then something cryptic is said that's being said after that or something cryptic is being said and then it's being explained afterwards. Think of the parables. What did Jesus do? He'd say a parable and then what'd he do? He explained it afterwards, okay. So don't go into a parable. It's kind of like going into the parable of the sower or going into the parable of the wheat and the tares and then not reading his explanation afterwards, you know, and because he explains exactly what he's talking about later on, so you need to get context. Number five, compare to parallel passages, if applicable, meaning that there's not always a parallel passage, but if there is a parallel passage or something that's very similar, it's kind of like Jude and 2 Peter chapter 2, right? They're obviously paralleled. It's like Ephesians and Colossians, they're parallel books and you think of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, they're parallel books. You think of the Gospels. All the Gospels are paralleled and a lot of those stories are paralleled in there and sometimes it'll give you the information you're looking for or answer and sometimes you'll read the other passage and be like, well it definitely wasn't what I thought it was then because this this really kind of destroyed that thinking process. Number six, compare key words in the passage with other places in the Bible. So if there's a word, for example, if there's a word that's a hard word or you're trying to figure out what that's talking about, go to all the places and listen, this is easy in our modern day because we have search engines, right? You have E-Sword or you have your Bible app, so like if there's a hard word, just look up every place that's mentioned. Now if you're gonna look up the word grace, then you're gonna be looking at that for a while, okay? And so this obviously is where Bible memorization helps out a lot because you're gonna be just thinking that off top of your head, right? You're gonna think, oh I know this other place where it says this or it says that and you can kind of look at that passage, see if it's talking about the same type of thing and compare the key words with other words in the Bible and see if that definition will help you out or that passage will help you out. Number seven, and I believe this is most important, not most important, I don't say that because asking the Holy Ghost and the King James Bible, this is very crucial, okay? Number seven, make sure your interpretation does not contradict any other verses or doctrines in the Bible. So if, you know, this is where people get off the rails and it's like they find an interpretation, they say, that's the rest of the Bible. It's like it doesn't matter if it contradicts everything else. Listen, your interpretation better not contradict eternal salvation, it better not contradict, you know, who God is, it better not contradict other key doctrines in the Bible. And so if it does, you need to find a different interpretation. Those, that's seven rules that I have or steps that I look at when I'm looking at a passage. Now I'm not saying I'm like marking these off as I'm going through, like understanding these, these are just in the back of my head as I'm going through a passage. So I'm looking at it in that way, I'm trying to understand it, and the big thing when I'm looking at is does this contradict anything else? And anytime someone ever brings up like, and many of you have brought up like questions to me or talked to me about different doctrines, and you'll ask me, you know, what do you think about this interpretation of this passage? Immediately I'm thinking, is there a verse that contradicts what you're saying? So I'm just like running through the Rolodex of verses I can think of, and I'm thinking, does that contradict? Okay, because it may, it sounds, it could really sound good on the surface, right? It preaches, and it's not even the fact that it's, you know, even wrong, like what they're saying, but at the same time, if it contradicts what another passage says, then I had to say, well no, it can't be that because of this. You know, that may, I understand where you're coming from, and it makes logical sense, and all that stuff, but it can't work because of, you know, this passage over here, this verse over here, this doctrine over here, and so this is where a lot of times, you know, especially if you're a novice, and listen, I'm gonna make mistakes, don't get me wrong, but this is why a novice should not be a pastor, because a lot of times, you know, you may preach something, and you think it sounds really good, but you don't realize it contradicts over here, and then later on you'd be like, oh, that, that can't be right because now I messed this up over here, okay? And so you have to take the Bible as a whole, and make sure it all fits together, okay? And that's how I go into a hard passage, okay? And listen, if you're going into a hard passage, and you just cannot figure it out, it's okay, okay? That's, you have a whole lifetime to try to figure out these hard passages, and listen, there's passages where I'm probably not gonna preach on them right now because I'm, like, trying to figure them out or something like that, and it's not like there's a lot, you know, but I'm just saying that there's some hard verses or passages that, that I don't know if I have a great answer for right now, or I could really tell you exactly what it's talking about. So, you know, I, but later on I may, I may figure it out, and then I'll preach a sermon on it, you know, when I figure it out. So don't get hung up on that. Don't get hung up on the fact of, oh, I got to figure it out now, and I've been there, trust me. I've been there like, I need to figure this out, you know, and it just vexes your soul, you know, like, I need to know what this is saying, and sometimes you just got to let it go. Sometimes you do figure it out, but if it's just getting to the point where you're just, just straining over it and all that stuff, just let it go, keep reading, and usually when I'm not thinking about it, and then I'm, I'm like just reading something else, it's like it clicks. Anybody with work probably knows this, and in the engineering realm, I remember there's, there's just times where I'm like thinking about a problem. I'm trying to figure out how I'm gonna fix this problem, or how I'm gonna do this, because there's, there's many ways to skin a cat, so to speak, when it comes to how you fix something, but there's obviously the best way, right, there's good, better, best, and there's been times where I'm talking about something else, or I'll go to lunch, and I'm just like, there it is, that's how to do it, and it's like, I wasn't even thinking about it, and so sometimes you got to let it go, let your mind relax, and at that time, sometimes that's where, you know, the epiphany, so to speak, will happen. So anyway, I wanted to give an example of this, so as far as like how I go through it, and just kind of go through a passage that's hard, and how I would look at it, okay, and I don't think I've ever, ever explained this passage, you know, as far as interpreted this passage before, but this is the hard one, when you go down to 1st Peter chapter 3, and verse 18 through 22, there's this hard saying, there's a couple hard sayings in there, and there's definitely false doctrines that are pulled out of this, so, but verse 17, just to kind of get some, get some context a little bit, it says, for it is better if the will of God be so, that you suffer for well-doing, than for evil-doing, because notice in verse 18 it says, for Christ also has suffered for sin, so basically he's talking about the fact that you suffering wrongfully, you know, you don't deserve the suffering, right, but it's better that it be that way, why? Because Christ suffered wrongfully, meaning that he didn't deserve it, and he died, so you can kind of see why he's going, he's segwaying into that, and talking about us, you know, if you either approach for the cause of Christ, or, you know, talking about the fact that what and if you shall suffer for righteousness sake, and that's kind of the theme of what's being said before he gets into this, and he says, Christ already, Christ did this as well, meaning that he suffered for the ungodly, and notice in verse, in verse 17 it says, that you suffer for well-doing, then for, I'm sorry, in verse 18, 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 long-suffering God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few that his eight souls were saved by water, the like figure wherein to even baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. So there's two really false doctrines that people will try to pull out of this. The first one is Abraham's bosom, and the fact that Old Testament saints went down to some holding chamber down in hell. Now did you see anything about hell in there? Did you see anything about like the lower parts of the earth? Did you see anything, you know, you don't see anything like that. So this is all just pulling it out of context and saying something it's not. He went and preached unto the spirits in prison, therefore prison equals hell, and prison equals this holding chamber, which is paradise and hell. Okay, that's all just made up. Okay, but when I read through this, I'm constantly thinking of people saying that. Okay, so that's where you got to put out that preconceived idea and say, okay, what's being said here? Okay, and the first thing that I see here is, okay, what was said in verse 18? Christ was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. So then when it says in verse 19, it says, by which? Okay, so the which is referring back to something said in verse 18. Now what they'll say, or what they're thinking is, is that that by which, meaning like where he went, but the by which is referring to the Spirit. Okay, so he was quickened by the Spirit, by which, what? The Spirit. He went and preached unto the spirits in prison. So the first thing we got to see is, okay, Jesus preached to the spirits in prison. What is that talking about? Okay, and so this is where I would, okay, look at, okay, where does it talk about Jesus with the Spirit of God preaching? Okay, and there's actually two places. I'm going to take you to Isaiah. So go to Isaiah 42. Isaiah 42, and this is where you can look up the term prison. So if you have a search engine, you can look up the term prison and see, okay, what's the Bible talk about with prison? Okay, and don't get me wrong, you know, when it talks about Satan being cast in an autonomous pit, it says he's going to be loosed from his prison. Okay, so it's not like prison can't be talking about hell, but it's not always, you know, prison is a vague term that could be talking about anything. Prison could be talking about, you know, a physical prison here on earth, you know, and it could be talking about other things, or in this case, it's just talking about bondage. Okay, being in prison, being in bondage. Okay, now there's two places actually where Jesus, by the Spirit of God, is preaching the gospel. Okay, now what they're gonna say is that, this is, this is really weird, okay, they're gonna say that when Jesus died on the cross, he didn't go to a fiery hell, he went to hell, but it was paradise, and he went down to all the Old Testament saints and he preached to them the gospel. Okay, I'm just telling you what they said, okay, this is what they say, and basically they had to accept it. I'm like, who would accept it? You know what I mean? Like, if you have the rich man in Lazarus story going on there, right, the rich man's in hell and you got Lazarus, who in the world is gonna be like, yeah, no, I want hell, you know, I've been over here in Abraham's bosom this whole time, but I'm not gonna accept the gospel. It's ridiculous, and it's dispensational, and it's just, it's just wicked, okay, it's just wrong, okay, but what does it mean when it says that he preached to the spirits in prison? Okay, so Jesus is the one did this, by which he, talking about Christ, preached unto the spirits in prison. So go to Isaiah 42 verse 1, Isaiah 42 verse 1, it says, Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth, I have put my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. So this is clearly, this is actually where you get that term, my son in whom I am well pleased, right, and so where it says, in whom my soul delighteth, so the father is saying this about his, his elect, you know, and talks about Jesus Christ being the elect, or being that precious stone, that elect stone, that chosen stone, right, but then it goes on, it says, He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flag shall he not quench, he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. Now this is quoted in the New Testament, for sake of time I'm going to show you where it's quoted, but this is quoted about Jesus in his preaching, and how he, his earthly ministry, right, he came, he was baptized, and that's when it says, in whom my soul delighteth, talking about it, this is my beloved son whom I am well pleased, I have put my spirit upon him. What happened at the baptism? The Spirit of God descended from heaven and rested upon Jesus, right, and John the Baptist bear witness that this is the Son of God because of that, and then he goes into his ministry, and talk about how he was going to do his ministry, so he wasn't a street preacher, and so, but then in verse 4 it says, He shall not fail, nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth, and the isle shall wait for his law. Thus saith the Lord God, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out, he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it, he that giveth breath, or breath unto the people, or I'm sorry, unto the people upon it, and in spirit to them that walk therein, I the Lord have called thee, and righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles. Notice this in verse 7, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and then that sit in darkness out of the prison house. Now this is clearly talking about how out of great darkness came light, you know, talks about the Gentiles, you'll see a great light. This is in, you know, quoted in Matthew chapter 4, talking about Zebulun and Nathalim, and saying, you know, the Gentiles have sat in darkness, saw a great light. Why? Because he came to preach the gospel to them, and so, and so out of darkness, you know, and even in 2 Peter, I'm sorry, 1 Peter chapter 2, what does it say about, about, you know, and talking about the Gentiles, right? It talks about, and this is into my notes, but it says in verse 9, but ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation, and peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which in time past were not of people, but now are people, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. What are you talking about, the gospel? Because right before that it says, he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. He that believeth, or he that believeth on him, or believeth he is precious, talking about the fact that, that believe that Jesus is the Christ, that he's that cornerstone, and all that stuff. So chapter 2 is setting up the fact of what we're dealing with with the spirits in prison, the fact they were in darkness, they were in bondage, and if you don't believe me on that one, go to Isaiah 61, Isaiah 61. This one's also quoted in the New Testament in Luke when Jesus said, this day is this fulfilled in your hearts. So when he quoted this, he quoted this off to them, and he said this day is this fulfilled. Now if this is, now let me read it first, okay, I'm getting ahead of myself, because let me read it first, because then I want to show you this, because then when in the New Testament he's saying this is already, this has been fulfilled this day, and so what makes sense that this is something he has to do after, you know, when he dies and and he's in hell, that he's preaching to somebody, you know, preaching to these spirits in prison down in hell, okay. So Isaiah 61 verse 1, it says, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to what? Preach good tidings. So what does it say? By which he went and preached unto the spirits in prison. By what? By the Spirit of God. He preached unto the spirits in prison. So what's he doing? He's preaching good tidings. What's another word for good tidings? The gospel. Good tidings, good things, the gospel, good news, that's all the same thing. Unto the meek he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, and to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Now when he stops here, when he quotes this in Luke, and he says, this day is this accomplished, is this fulfilled. So when was the fact that he was going to preach the opening of the prison to them that are bound, and bringing them out of the prison house, so to speak, when he was here on his earthly ministry. So in 1 Peter chapter 3, what he's saying is that he's saying the same spirit that raised Jesus up from the dead was the same spirit in which Jesus preached the gospel to the spirits in prison. So who are the spirits in prison? Those unsaved people, the children of disobedience, the children of wrath, those that have the wrath of God abiding on them because they're not putting their faith on him. Those that are bound in sin, I'm getting ahead of myself because I have verses on all this stuff, but notice in verse 2, so as we read there, it says to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and notice it says, and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all that mourn. He doesn't quote that. Why? Because that hasn't fulfilled yet, right? Because the vengeance of our God has not happened yet. We're waiting for that. So do you think it's by accident that Jesus stopped at that point and said to this day, is this fulfilled in your years? It's not by accident. It's just the fact that the rest of it is not applying yet. It also shows you that in the Old Testament, you really need to be careful on getting your timelines because notice how how much gap is in between that and right there. 2,000 years, you know? So there's a big gap there that that's going on, so you have to be very careful when you're in Isaiah, when you're in Zechariah, and all those places on how you get your timelines. In verse 61, or I'm sorry, in chapter 61 verse 3, it says, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the Spirit of heaviness, notice this, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Isn't that interesting? What's the what's the fruit of the righteous? The tree of life, and he that win his souls is wise. Isn't it interesting that he's talking about how we're gonna be called trees of righteousness? And so I just want to say that has nothing to do with how I was proving that, but I just, you know, that's the end of the sentence. That's all one sentence. So from verse 1 to verse 3 is all one sentence. Jesus stopped in the middle of that and said, this has been fulfilled. This day is this being fulfilled. Why? Because he's going around saying, repent ye and believe the gospel for the kingdom of God is at hand, and he is getting people saved. Go to Galatians chapter 5. Galatians chapter 5. So this is a very common theme, and so what are we talking about when we're talking about prison? We're talking about being in the bondage of sin. We're under the law. We're under the bondage of the law, and we're bound by the law, and throughout the Bible and forsaken time, I'm not gonna go all the passages that talk about this, but think of Galatians chapter 5 and verse 1. Galatians chapter 5 verse 1, it says, stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. What yoke of bondage is he talking about? The law. We're not under the law, but under grace. He's talking spiritually speaking, right? So in chapter 3 it says, O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, they should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ had been evidently set forth, crucified among you. It's only what I learned of you, received you the spirit by the works of the law, by the hearing of faith. So it's by faith that we understand that we have the spirit and all that. So Hebrews chapter 2, Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 14, Hebrews chapter 4, or chapter 2 and verse 14. Because notice prison is in Isaiah 61, 1, it says, prison to them that are bound. So notice that the synonymous way that that's used. Prison is referring to those that are bound. So when you see that term being bound, what are you talking about? Being imprisoned by something. Being bound by something, right? And so that's where we're talking about the spirits in prison, he's talking about the spirits that are bound by what? The law. Those that are bound by sin, right? Because sin is the transgression of the law, sin is the sting of death, and all this stuff works together. But in Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 14, it says, for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy them that had the power of death, that is the devil. And it says, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Isn't that interesting? What was just said when he says that he went and preached under the spirits of prison, that he was put to death in the flesh but quickened by the spirit? And what did he do? He died to what? Deliver us from death. To deliver us from bondage. That's why, and this is another passage they'll use, this is where he led captivity captive. What captivity is, you know, when he was leading captivity captive, captivity is death, both physically and spiritually, okay? So when Jesus died and rose again from the dead, what was he doing? He's freeing us from that bondage. He's freeing us from death. Now in Romans chapter 6, Romans chapter 6, go to Romans chapter 6 and verse 17. I just really want to drive this in. When we're talking about the spirits in prison, we're just talking about those that are, you know, we were dead in trespasses and sins. That's talking spiritually, right? We were dead in trespasses and sins, but he hath quickened us. And that's what Jesus put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit. You know, it's showing us that what he did caused us to be freed from bondage. And that's why he preached to those that were in bondage, because he was able to save them from that bondage. Now in Romans chapter 6 verse 17, it says, but God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you, being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness. And Romans chapter 8, just turn over a few pages there. Romans chapter 8 and verse 1. Romans chapter 8 and verse 1, it says, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walked not after the flesh but after the spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus had made me free from the law of sin and death. So what's constantly being brought up? We're in bondage of sin and death, but Jesus Christ has made us free from that. What's the gospel? The gospel is to make us free from death. You know, everlasting life, giving us everlasting life to where we will not taste of the second death, that we won't see death, right? Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth in this. And so constantly over and over again, even in verse 15 of Romans chapter 8, it says, for ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. What was it, what did it say in Hebrew chapter 2? That he delivered us from, delivered them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. You know, all this stuff works together with that. John chapter 8. John chapter 8, this is the last thing I'll show you with this, dealing with being made free, but it really is that simple when it talks about this. Jesus, by that same spirit in which he was raised from the dead, preached the gospel to the unsaved. That's really how simple it is. And it's using a phrase, spirits in prison, to give you an idea of what that means, right? He didn't preach the gospel to save them physically, you know what I mean? And people get this whole physical, it's a spiritual aspect, right? You're quick in spiritually, you know, it's all about your spiritual resurrection, so to speak. Now obviously the physical will come later, right? But when it comes to people getting saved, they're always trying to focus it on the physical, but it's talking about the spiritual, your spirit and your soul being saved from sin. And in John chapter 8 verse 34, it says, Jesus answered them, verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committed sin is the servant of sin, and the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the son abideth ever. If the son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. So stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. That's what you're dealing with. And why is it saying be not entangled again? Because you still have the flesh. Your flesh is still under the law, your flesh is still under bondage, and until we die or until the resurrection happens, we're still dealing with that. But we're dealing with the spirits in prison, not the flesh in prison, okay? So when he preached the gospel to the spirits in prison, he's preaching salvation, he's preaching everlasting life, and it was while he was here on the earth, because that verse in Isaiah 61, where it says the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, and it says the opening of the prison to them that are bound, says this day is this fulfilled in your ears. You can't say any other wise, or you have to say Jesus is lying, because if that wasn't fulfilled when he was reading that to them, but it was something that happens when he dies, then he lied, okay? Now go back to the 1st Peter chapter 3, because we're gonna get into another portion here that's a little confusing. And listen, all this is not, this is not milk. This is not milk. When it says in chapter 2, as newborn maid desires the serum milk of the world that you may grow there by, this is not milk. This is strong meat, okay? So I'm giving you steps on how you do this. So what do we do there? Well, how do we figure that out? Well, first of all, you had to see, well, what's the witch talking about? So you got to see context. You got to go back to the next verse and say, okay, he's talking about the Spirit. So by the Spirit of God, Jesus preached to the spirits in prison. Then you try to find passages where it talks about Jesus preaching with the Spirit of God. And so that's where you, if you know Isaiah and all that stuff, and you know these passages about the Spirit of God coming upon him, and you could even go to where the Spirit of God came upon Jesus to begin with, right? The baptism. Where's that being quoted from? That'll take you back to it. And that's where you see, oh, he's opening the prison houses. You know, he's preaching, he's setting, he's leading captivity, you know, like he's freeing them, and it's about bondage, and it's spiritual, and it was fulfilled when he was here on the earth, when he was walking on the earth. And that'll clear that up. And then you got to do the same thing when you're going into verse 19. So it says, by which he preached unto the spirits in prison. Then in verse 20, it says, which sometime were disobedient. So what's the witch being talked about there? The spirits in prison. Okay. So Jesus preached to the spirits in prison when he was here on the earth, but the spirits in prison, meaning, and what you could, you could supplement unsaved people. You could just, you could supplement unbelievers, right? People that are bound in sin, that are unbelievers. And he's basically saying that these same people, same type of people, right? Because there's been spirits in prison from the foundation of the world to the end of the world, right? People needed to get saved. It's always been that way. There still are spirits in prison. That's why we go out and preach the gospel. But he's saying, which sometime were disobedient. So now he's going to go and say, okay, hey, there were spirits in prison back in Noah's day. Notice that it gives you a timeline when, once the long-suffering God waited in the days of Noah. So here's the thing. If the spirits in prison are referring to spirits that are in some holding chamber, when was this? This was back in Noah's day, and it's giving you a timeline. So this isn't talking about when Jesus was down in there and all that stuff. Obviously, that's not true, right? He's not down there. But meaning that he's giving you a timeline. There were spirits in prison that were disobedient. And what's disobedient talking about? Well, chapter 2, again, context. Context of the whole epistle. What's it talking about? Being disobedient unto what? Believing. And just look back there real quick, just so you see that. It says in verse 6 of chapter 2, it says, Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded, unto you therefore which believe he is precious. Notices, but unto them which be what? Disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed. What's another way of saying this? Disobedient to the gospel? You know, Isaiah said, Lord, who hath believed our report? You know, they have not all obeyed the gospel, and it's talking about Lord, who hath believed your report, because being disobedient is talking about not believing the gospel. Who hath obeyed the gospel, it says in other places and all that other stuff. So, when it's talking about which sometime were disobedient, what are you dealing with? They were unbelievers, okay? And when, when, once the long-suffering God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing, wherein few that his eight souls were saved by fire, I'm saved by fire, saved by water, not by fire, saved by water. Now, again, when you look at these passages, when you're dealing with Noah, wouldn't it make sense to go back where this is at? Go back to Genesis chapter 6. So, we're dealing with, not during the flood, we're dealing before the flood, and we're dealing while Noah is preparing the ark. Now, how long did it take Noah to prepare the ark? 100 years. He was 500 years old when God told him to build the ark, and he was 600 when the flood came. So, it was a hundred years. That's why it says the long-suffering God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing. Now, there's an interesting verse that's in Genesis chapter 6, dealing with the fact of God destroying the earth, because that's what we're dealing with here in that verse in 1st Peter chapter 3. We're dealing with the fact of God destroying the earth with water. In chapter 6 of Genesis, in verse 3, it says, And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh, yet his days shall be in 120 years. Isn't that interesting? Because it says, by which, by the spirit, he preached unto the spirits in prison, right? Talking about Jesus and his earthly ministry. Then it says, which were sometimes disobedient when once the long-suffering God waited in the days of Noah. So, it's saying that, hey, there's these same disobedient spirits in prison that were back in Noah's day, and guess what? The spirit was still trying to get people saved back then, because it's by the spirit that Jesus preached the gospel. It's by the spirit that we preach the gospel, and it's by the spirit that Noah preached the gospel while the ark wasn't preparing, okay? And the big thing to see here is that, what's going on here is the fact that, why did he say this? My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh, yet his days shall be in 120 years. He's saying that it's only 120 years he's gonna destroy everybody. So, when he said that, it was 20 years before he told Noah to build the ark, but he's basically saying, my spirit's not always gonna strive with man, meaning that they're done, right? They're done. I'm giving him a little more time. He's gonna be long-suffering, but they're done, and he's gonna destroy them physically. Now, in verse 5 of Genesis 6, it says, And God saw that the witness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And he repented to the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air. For it repented me that I made them, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. So, if you know the story, he talks to Noah and says, hey, go find some gopher wood and make an ark. And go to Hebrews chapter 11, because there's actually a couple places that we deal with Noah. So, like I said, when you're trying to figure out these passages, what do you do? You try to find context, and if it's talking about a story that's in the Old Testament, go back to where that's being talked about, right? Because then you go back and say, okay, we got the Spirit of God saying he's not always going to strive with man, but that he's going to destroy them after 120 years. You can see the long-suffering of God working in there, saying that he's not always going to do it because he's going to kill them all, right, physically. And then you look at, okay, well, where is it to talk about Noah in this same aspect? Because there are places in the New Testament where it's talking about this event, okay? So, let's look at that and see what we can find out. So, in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 7, it says, by faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. So, we obviously that Noah understood that it was by faith, right? Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, it's by grace through faith, and he condemned the world, okay? Now, did Noah bring the flood upon the earth? No, but what the Bible says, go to 2 Peter chapter 2, is that he was a preacher of righteousness, okay? So, what do we do when we go out soul winning? What's the first step to win someone to Christ? Condemn them. Now, we're not condemning them because we're in the same shoes, right? We're all condemned if we didn't have Christ, but we're condemning them with the Word of God. We're condemning them with the law, right? So, he condemned the world, but he also preached righteousness. What's righteousness? Not the righteousness which is of the law, but that which through the the righteousness of God which is by faith, right? And so, the righteousness that's imputed unto Abraham, you know, that same thing, that's what we're dealing with when we're dealing with the gospel. Abraham believed God and it was imputed on them for righteousness, and so Noah preached that same thing. In 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 5, it says, and spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world, the ungodly. So, in those two passages, what do we see? That he condemned the world, but he preached righteousness. So, what is he doing? He's preaching the gospel. For a hundred years, Noah preached to the spirits in prison until the flood came. Now, this is going to tie into chapter 4 of 1 Peter actually as well. Like I said, you need context because chapter 2 will give you a lot of information as far as what it's talking about being disobedient or when it's talking about being bound or, you know, and what it takes to even be saved. They receive the the end of their faith, even the salvation of their souls, it says in chapter 1. So, we see all these this different contexts you're getting up there, but this is also setting us up to something that's being said in chapter 4, okay? And chapter 4 is a cryptic passage too, but this answers chapter 4 a little bit. Now, the interesting thing about this passage, okay, if you ever notice this, in 1 Peter chapter 3, it says they were saved by water. Isn't that interesting? Saved by water. Wait a minute, the water killed everybody. So, when it talks about, you know, they were saved by water, the next verse is actually going to answer what that means, okay? And so, notice in verse 21, and I know this is deep, so try to stick with me, but it says the like figure wear unto even baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God by the direction of Jesus Christ. Now, what's going on here is he's taking the flood and he's comparing it to how we get saved, okay? So, he says the like figure, so he's saying that God flooding the earth by water is a figure of how we get saved, okay? And it's saying it's a figure of the baptism that saves us, okay? So, this is what I believe. The baptism saves us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, okay? So, if you take out that parentheses, it would say the like figure wear unto even baptism doth also now save us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, what saves us? The resurrection of Jesus Christ, and I'm going to get into what that's talking about exactly after this, so bear with me because when it says the like figure, the like figure is talking about the flood. Does that make sense? The flood is a figure of how we get saved, okay? But it says they were saved by water. Well, that I believe is coupled with that like figure. If you're looking at parentheses, it says not the putting away of the filth of the flesh. So, Noah, when he flooded the earth, what was that? The putting of the way of the filth of the flesh. So, when he destroyed every person that's on the earth, every beast, everything because if you look at Genesis 6, it says this about the earth. Why he killed the earth? It wasn't because there were some, you know, like some like half, half alien. You might as well say that. Half angel, half man, hybrids, okay? And there was giants, and you know, he wanted to destroy all them and all this stuff, and that's why he thought, no, get out of, get out of your book of Enoch and start reading the Bible. Now, sons of God, meaning save people, you know, took wives that were unsaved, uniquely yoked, and it caused a lot of problems, and in Genesis 6-11, it says the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence, and God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth, and God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. So, when he flooded the earth, what was the purpose? To destroy all the filthiness, all the wickedness. So, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh. So, he's basically saying, we're not saved by what the flood was, right? The flood was the putting away the filth of the flesh, so that's why it says they were saved by water. Think about this, you know, physically speaking, Noah was living in a day where there was violence. That was, if you look at Genesis 6, that's the thing that's brought up all the time, violence, violence, violence, violence. They were saved by that because God killed everybody, right? If you think about it in this terms, let's say there's a bunch of pedophiles, and a bunch of rapists, and all that stuff, and you have your family, and you're trying to protect your family, and God killed them all. Do you see how he saved you from that, right? They were saved by water. Let's say he did it with a flood, you know, just for sake of like the picture here. He just killed all pedophiles, all rapists that are around you by a flood of water. Do you see how you've been saved by water? So when it's talking about this passage, it's talking about the putting away the filth of the flesh, but he's saying it's not by that, meaning that this figure, how we're saved spiritually, is not by the putting away the filth of flesh, but it's by an answer of your conscience toward God, and so when you look at this passage, when you think about this, okay, go to 1st Peter chapter 4, 1st Peter chapter 4, because 1st Peter chapter 4 is going to be pulling back out of 1st Peter chapter 3, talking about the fact that God killed all the flesh on the earth, physically, and I hope all this ties in. When I explain this right here, I think this will really make sense as far as that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He was preaching the gospel for a hundred years before the flood came. Then God destroyed all the flesh. He took away all the, you know, putting away the filth of the flesh. He destroyed every single person that was committing violence, and they were saved by water in that aspect, but in verse 3 of 1st Peter chapter 4, it says, For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wine, revelings, banqueting, abominable idolatries, wherein they think it's strange that you run not with them to the same excess of riot, who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. Now think about this, what's Noah's days always likened to? They're eating, drinking, giving in marriage, and they were in rioting, you know, like all this stuff, right? You think about the end times, it's always saying, like, look at the days of Noah. It's gonna be like that. What was it? The earth was filled with violence, so they were rioting all the stuff. Notice in verse 6, this is where I believe all this ties in. For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. So who is he referring to here? He's referring back to the people in Noah's day, because he's saying that, you know, the people that are dead, meaning that that died in the flood, because I don't believe that every person that died in the flood was unsaved. Actually, you'll see some of, you know, I think it's Noah's great grandfather, his timeline ends at the day of the flood, the year of the flood. I don't think that's a coincidence. I don't think he just happened to give up the ghost when the flood came. I think he actually died in the flood, meaning that there were unsaved people on the ark. You think of Ham, right? And so it's not, you know, the the ark is a picture of eternal salvation when you think about it. Obviously saving us, you know, with the ark and coming in, all that stuff is definitely a picture of it, but it doesn't perfectly fit that, meaning that no one and his children and their wives were not the only people that were saved on the earth at that time. But it doesn't mean that judgment of God can't come on saved people. This happens all the time where saved people can get the judgment of God poured out upon them. And you think of Jehoshaphat, the wrath of God is upon me. Why? Because you love them that hate the Lord? Because you help the ungodly? But in this passage it's saying that the gospel was preached unto them that are dead. Why? That they may be judged according to men in the flesh, meaning they were gonna be judged physically and they're gonna be wiped out, but they're gonna live according to God in the spirit. Spirits in prison. Dealing with the fact that when he preached unto them, he's dealing with their spirit. He was dealing with their soul. That was more important than the physical salvation. But he preached the gospel to them and I do believe people got saved and that's why he preached the gospel to them because he wanted them to get saved and to live according to God in the spirit. But they're gonna be judged according to the flesh. Okay? It'd be kind of like if you knew that there's gonna be some great judgment coming on the earth. You want to get people saved, but getting them saved is not gonna help from that judgment that's gonna come up on the earth, right? That's gonna happen and they're gonna have to deal with it. And in Noah's case, God spared him from that. Okay? But you think of the story in Ezekiel where it says that when he was destroying, when it talks about him destroying all Jerusalem and all that stuff and it says unless Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, I would only save their lives. Are they the only saved people, you know, in the whole Bible? No, he's just saying that, you know, he would save them but he wouldn't save everybody. He wouldn't even save their children. Okay? So when you're dealing with this in Noah's day, Noah preached the gospel to all these people and I do believe people got saved. That's why he was called a preacher of righteousness, but they were judged according to the flesh, but they lived according to God in the spirit. Okay? So that's why the gospel was preached unto them. So chapter 4 is why it's calling back to that. Now let's talk about this being saved by baptism. Okay? So chapter 3. So I hope all this makes sense, meaning that the spirits in prison are talking just about unsaved people. Jesus preached unsaved people. He won people to Christ and Noah's day there were unsaved people, but Noah was preaching the gospel by the same spirit, right? So the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is the same spirit that Jesus preached the gospel to when he was here on his earthly ministry and it's the same spirit that was striving with man back in Noah's day when Noah was preaching the gospel to them. That's what's being said and then he's giving this figure of what happened then. He's saying, hey, you know, they were saved by water by the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but were saved by baptism by the resurrection of Jesus Christ and an answer of a good conscience toward God. Okay? So when it says this, you know, we're saved by baptism, I do believe we're saved by baptism, not by water baptism though, okay? And so don't go, it says the like figure, okay? So it's not saying that we're saved by water, you know, but because that's talking about the flood. When it says we're saved by baptism, it clarifies by the resurrection of Jesus Christ because the, what's the true baptism? What is the baptism of water represent? The death, burial, resurrection of Christ. That is the true baptism, which is the baptism of Jesus Christ. That's the gospel, the death, burial, resurrection. Are you not saved by the death, burial, resurrection? Then you're saved by the baptism of Jesus Christ. You say, well, you know, he was baptized by water. That's the baptism that's talking about, you know, what does it say to the baptism of him going, you know, the death, burial, resurrection? Well, I'm gonna show you some verses, but go to Luke chapter 12. Go to Luke chapter 12. So when you look at this, then you got to look at, okay, well how does baptism relate to the resurrection, right? If we're saved by baptism, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, well how does that, because if you go into this saying, well baptism is always talking about water baptism. We're gonna have problems, okay, because you're saved by water baptism, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but let's look at what baptism even represents. So baptism just means immersion, by the way. The baptism of the Holy Ghost just means you're immersed with the Holy Ghost. Baptism, you could be baptized by a lot of things. I could be baptized in a vat of Skittles right now, but that's not gonna save me. You know, I'll probably die from that. I don't know. But baptism just means to be immersed in something, right? And so in Luke chapter 12 and verse 49, notice what it says. This is clearly after Jesus had already been baptized by water, okay, because that happened in Luke chapter 3. Luke chapter 12 and verse 49, it says, I come to send fire on the earth, and what will I if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straight until it be accomplished? Now Jesus was already baptized by water and baptized by the Holy Ghost. What's he talking about? Well, he just got done talking about the fact that he's gonna send fire in the earth, and what will I if it already be kindled? Well, how's it already kindled? Well, in Deuteronomy 32 22, it says, for a fire is kindled in mine anger and shall burn unto the lowest hell. So what's he talking about? The baptism he's gonna be baptized with, that his body's gonna be put into a tomb, and his soul is gonna be in hell for three days and three nights, and he's gonna be in the heart of the earth. That's the baptism he's talking about. So how do we say by the baptism? By that. By Jesus' baptism. By what he did. Go to Romans chapter 6. This passage in Romans chapter 6 is usually quoted and talked about when we do physically baptize somebody in water, but this passage isn't talking about water baptism, although that's when we dunk people. We usually say buried with them in death and raised, walking in this of life, right? We say that, and this is where this comes from, but this isn't talking about being water baptized. This isn't talking about being baptized into his death, okay? Now in Romans chapter 6 and verse 1, it says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid, how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death. That like as Christ was raised from the dead, raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also, or we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. See how this all works full circle, talking about the spirits in prison, talking about the baptism? Listen, you say, well this is talking about water baptism. Did we literally crucify our flesh then? You know, crucify the old man? It says right here that we crucified the old man. Why? Because we were dead in trespasses and sins, and spiritually speaking, we were crucified with him. Spiritually speaking, we were baptized with him in death, even though we didn't literally die when we got saved. Our spirit died with him and was raised with him, okay? Now in Colossians chapter 2, it'll verify this as well. So in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 11, and this is the last thing I'm showing you honestly with this on what's being said here, is dealing with the fact that when it says that we're saved by baptism, we're saved by his baptism, by his baptism of the death, burial, and resurrection. That's what we're saying, because that's why it says we're saved by baptism, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Well why is it mentioning baptism? Because he didn't just raise from the dead, he died first. He died and his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus had God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. So what are we talking about? The baptism of Jesus Christ from the dead, and that he rose from the dead. And obviously the resurrection, if that didn't happen, we'd be getting our sins, but that's why it's saying that. Now in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 11 says, in whom also ye are circumcised, with the circumcision made without hands, and putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. So notice that in Romans chapter 6 talked about being crucified with him. This is talking about being circumcised, not with hands though, this is all spiritual, right? Then it says, and buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. So how do we baptize with them? By faith. By faith, the moment you believe you're baptized with Jesus Christ, before you ever get water baptized. Water baptism is a commandment, but what does it picture? The spiritual baptism that happened when you got saved. The death, burial, and resurrection that happened the moment you got saved, and your soul was buried with him in death, and raised with him to walk in the midst of life, and you're born of God at that point. You're born of the Spirit. That happens the moment you believe. First Corinthians chapter 12 verse 13, notice what it says, because there is a spiritual baptism that takes place, and I'm not taking away the fact that we should be baptized with water, but that's just, if you want to look at this, that's a figure of the true. Does that make sense? That is the figure of the true baptism that happened the moment you got saved. So in First Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 13, it says, for by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether it be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. So notice how First Peter chapter 3 starts off. It starts off with the fact that Jesus Christ was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. That's how all this stuff, it goes into all this stuff after that, right? So the Spirit is the key that's dealing with all this, right? Being quickened by the Spirit, but then he's showing, hey, you know, he preached by the Spirit to the unsaved while he was here on the earth. Then Noah preached unto the unsaved while the Ark was preparing, right? During that frame of time, that hundred years, he was preaching because the Spirit of God was still striving with man until that 120 days were up, and then they were done, you know, they were destroyed. But then what? By the Spirit, Jesus was raised from the dead with the baptism, and we're baptized by what? The Spirit. We're born again by what? The Spirit. And so the Spirit is throughout all this, and if you even think about the fact that in the next chapter it says, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the Spirit, how did this start off? Jesus was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. So what do you have? The flesh is dying, and then the flesh is dying with, in the days of Noah, the flesh is being destroyed, then you have, you're gonna be judged according to men, according to the flesh, but the important thing is that you have salvation, that you're saved, that you have your soul that's taken care of. The very beginning of 1st Peter chapter, 1st Peter in chapter 1, it talks about receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. That's how the book starts off, and it's talking about being saved in the Spirit, being saved in the soul, and then dealing with the rest of the book, honestly, is talking about how you have tribulation and persecutions in the flesh. Chapter 2 is talking about that, chapter 3 is talking about that, chapter 4 is talking about that, chapter 5 is talking about, you know, it's all talking about that you're gonna have persecutions, people are going to persecute you, even if you're doing right. That's what he keeps saying, he's like, even if you're doing right, even if you're doing well, they're gonna say that you're an evildoer, they're gonna persecute you, but listen, Christ did. Christ went through it. Chapter 2 says, Christ did it, he was persecuted, he was nailed to the cross, and he was sinless. Chapter 3, same thing. Chapter 4, same thing, you know, it's just a theme that's throughout the book, and so when it's talking about this, it's going into that aspect. It's very cryptic, you know, as far as when you're reading through this, you know, I'm not gonna say this is a simple passage, fellas, you know, this is simple, why doesn't everybody understand it? No, it's confusing, but when you understand the terms, and you understand the context, and you look at all that stuff, then it all can fit together. Now, like I said, I have seven general rules, and this is an all-inclusive, but seven general rules when you look at a passage. One, the King James Bible is perfect without error, and it's your final authority. You need to go into, you got to go into it that way. So did you see me going back to the Greek? Did you see me trying to say, well, this could have been translated a little better here, or this is actually kind of wrong here. No, every word, it's all good. It's all perfect. Number two, you need to pray that the Holy Ghost guides you into this truth, and listen, the Holy Ghost can only pull out what you've read, and what you know, so you can't expect to understand this passage if you've never read through the Bible once, or if you've only read through it once, and you're expecting to understand really hard passages, you need to really have read the Bible a lot, and because even if you do the search engine stuff, you can fall off the rails with that. That's not, that's not going to help you if you don't have the whole Bible and kind of in the back of your mind. Number three, you need to have the presuppositions that salvation is by faith alone. If I would have went into this without that, I'd be like, well, I guess water baptism saves us, right? But you go into that knowing that that can't be what it's talking about, because we know that Paul came, not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. So you have this presupposition of that going into it. You look at the context. See how the context helps you out, both before and after, talking about what's being said? So you have to find the context. You look at, compare parallel passages. That's where you can go back and say, okay, Jesus is by the Spirit preaching unto the spirits in prison. Where is it talking about Jesus by the Spirit preaching unto the people in prison? Isaiah 42, Isaiah 61, and Isaiah 61 is honestly the number one passage. If you were going to prove to somebody that this is not talking about when he died and went down into hell, take him to Isaiah 61 and then go to Luke where it's quoted and say, this day is this fulfilled. Annihilates it, crushes it. It was fulfilled when Jesus was preaching on the earth, not after that. Then, you know, you look at, so you compare those passages, just compare key words. So that's where you look at prison. You look at baptism. You look at these passages. You can even look at conscience, you know, like an answer of a good conscience toward God. What is conscience talking about? It's talking about the fact that having knowledge or understanding, and so they answer of a good conscience, so you understand it. You have the knowledge of salvation, but you answer by what? Calling upon the name of the Lord, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Guess what? There are certain people that can't do that. Why? Because their conscience is defiled. Why? Because their conscience is seared with a hot iron, because they're ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, right? But those that have a good conscience, meaning that they don't have a seared conscience, they don't have a defiled conscience, they have a good conscience, they have one that's intact, they can make the choice to have a good answer toward God, meaning they put their faith in Christ, and then that baptism saves them. That baptism of Jesus Christ. The death, burial, resurrection, and then you look at the fact that it can't contradict other passages. So after you go through all that, you really have to go through and say, okay, this is my interpretation, let's look and see if this this pans out with everything. And I honestly, you know, when I look at end times prophecy, or if I have like a doctrinal view on something, I try to destroy it. I try my hardest to destroy it, and I try to put it through the fire. That's the way you should do it. You shouldn't be like, wow, this kind of makes sense, I hope nothing, you know, I kind of like lay it back and just hopefully nothing touches it. No, I try to destroy it. I try to think of all the people, all my enemies, and how they would try to attack it and see if it would, if it would fall. I try to think of all the verses that could go against it and try to reconcile it. That's the way that you answer a hard passage, because listen, I don't want to answer a hard passage and then someone comes up to me and says, hey, you know, that doesn't work because of this, and then I, you know, I got to eat crow. So if I come up to you with a hard passage and I'm preaching to you, you better believe I put it through the fire. That doesn't mean I can't be wrong, but you better believe that I put it through the fire, because I do not want to eat crow. You know, I want to be right, and I don't want to be just called out on the floor and be like, you were wrong about this, this like, this is going against the Trinity, or this is going against, you know, eternal security, you know, like, you know, I don't want anything that happens. I hope that helps. That, I just wanted to give you an idea of, like, how I think about this, what rules I have, and the steps I take when I'm looking at hard passages, and again, you may go through the steps and these rules, and you may say, I still can't figure out what it's saying. Let it go. Let it go. Read through the Bible, you know, ask the Holy Ghost to show you, and listen, there's been times where I haven't understood a passage, and then I was reading through the Bible, I'm like, that answers it, you know, and it's like completely somewhere you would never think of. This is where search engines aren't going to help you, because it may be in a place where that word isn't used like that, or it's used in a different tense, or whatever, and you're looking at a passage like, that's exactly what's being said over here, and it's, it's something that you would never have found by just looking you up in a word search, and so that's where you, sometimes you gotta let go, and let it, and let it come, and you know, it, I believe that God will reveal to you, and especially if you're soul winning and doing the work. If you're not doing the work, you can't expect God to show you all these like deep cryptic passages, and so, you know, you got to let God, you know, obviously show you that. So let's end with a word of prayer to the Heavenly Father, what we thank you for today, and thank you for this morning, and pray that you meet with us as we have lunch, but also as we've got soul winning, pray to be with those that aren't feeling well, maybe still, and just dealing with sicknesses, and Lord just pray that you'd help us to understand the Bible, help us to always be looking for the truth, and Lord I pray that you would show us all the truths of the Bible, but help us to do the work, and Lord to use what you have given us, and Lord we love you and pray all this in Jesus Christ's name, amen.