For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God

Good morning. For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God. There is disagreement as to what this actually means. It sounds like it was preached to them after they were dead; but it could mean that it was preached to them before they died, and that they are now dead. Those who lived before Jesus did not have the “gospel“ preached to them. They were judged on how they lived their lives. That seems to give credence to the belief that a previous verse (... Spirit, in which He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison) indicates that after Jesus died, He went to them wherever they were and spoke the gospel to them. It does not mean that they or anyone else today gets a second chance to receive Jesus as Lord of their lives. It could mean that good people, like Abraham, got to hear the gospel message which they missed out on during their lives. Father continue to go with the reader and his/her family, bringing new life to them and those around them.

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