1 Peter 3:20 — The Days of Noah The “Disobedient” Spirits
1Peter 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. This verse sits inside one of the most mysterious passages in the New Testament (1 Peter 3:18–22) . To understand verse 20 properly we must look at three key themes : Who were the “disobedient” spirits The patience of God in the days of Noah The Ark and salvation through water The “Disobedient” Spirits The previous verse (1 Peter 3:19) says Christ preached to “spirits in prison.” Verse 20 identifies who those spirits were : “Which sometime were disobedient… in the days of Noah.” This points back to Book of Genesis 6 , when corruption filled the earth. Many early Christian and ancient interpretations connect these “disobedient spirits” with the rebellious heavenly beings associated with the events before the Flood. These beings are often called Watchers in anc...