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. (1 Pet
4:6)
While many interpreters struggle with this verse, early Christians had
no issue understanding this passage in a very “Mormon” manner, that is, it is
speaking of Christ preaching/proclaiming
(κηρυσσω) the gospel during his three days in Sheol/Hades. An early witness
(composed around A.D. 100) to this is The
Odes of Solomon, which, in some quarters, served as a hymn book of sorts.
In The Odes of Solomon 22:4-8,
we read:
4 He who gave me authority over chains,
so that I might loosen them;
5 He who overthrew by my hands the dragon with
seven heads,
and placed me at his roots that I might destroy his
seed;
6 You were there and helped me,
and in every place your name surrounded me.
7 Your right hand destroyed the evil poison,
and your hand leveled the way for those who believe
in you.
8 And it chose them from the graves,
and separated them from the dead ones. (James H.
Charlesworth, The Old Testament
Pseudepigrapha and the New Testament: Expansions of the “Old Testament” and
Legends, Wisdom, and Philosophical Literature, Prayers, Psalms and Odes,
Fragments of Lost Judeo-Hellenistic Work [vol. 2; New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1985], 754-55)
Elsewhere,
in 42:11-17, we read:
11 Sheol saw me and was shattered,
and Death ejected me and many with me.
12 I have been vinegar and bitterness to it,
and I went down with it as far as its depth.
13 Then the feet and the head it released,
because it was not able to endure my face.
14 And I made a congregation of living among his
dead;
and I spoke with them by living lips;
in order that my word may not fail.
15 And those who had died ran toward me;
and they cried out and said, “Son of God, have pity
on us.
16 “And deal with us according to your kindness,
and bring us out from the chains of darkness.
17 “And open for us the door
by which we may go forth to you,
for we perceive that our death does not approach
you. (Ibid., 771)
For more,
see: