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 and the Spirit.

Hey listeners, this is Nick from Scripture Central, and today's podcast addresses the question, why did Jesus preach to the dead?

On October 3, 1918, President Joseph F. Smith received a profound revelation as he was reading the New Testament. According to President Smith, the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I saw the hosts of the dead, both small and great,

awaiting the advent of the Son of God into the spirit world to declare their redemption from the

bands of death. As this vision continued, President Smith saw the Savior appear to the faithful spirits,

declaring the everlasting gospel, and organizing a missionary force to preach

to those who had been unable to accept the gospel in their mortal lives. This vision established

firmly what had been preached by other apostles and prophets in earlier years. The scriptures

that President Smith had prayerfully been reading at the time were 1 Peter

chapter 3, verses 18 through 20, and 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 6, which declare that the gospel

was preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh,

but live according to God and the Spirit. Although these verses are the most explicit

reference to this event in the New Testament, other New Testament authors shared this same belief,

and occasionally referenced it. Likewise, this idea appears to be closely connected to early Christian

beliefs about proxy baptisms for the dead and the different levels of heaven and salvation.

In the early centuries A.D., multiple early Christian texts discussed this event as an impactful

and important aspect of Jesus' identity and mission. Indeed, as those early Christians drew upon

these New Testament references to Jesus' post-mortal ministry,

the Greek Orthodox Archbishop Hilarian Alfayev explains,

This event offered three themes that were fundamental to all early Christian literature.

Namely, one, Christ actually preached to the dead.

2.

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