Is "the Antichrist" teaching a fable?

[veteran]

I Jn 2:18
18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
(KJV)

John's first phrase (in bold) is in the singular antichrist tense.

John's last phrase (underlined) is in the plural antichrist tense.


Those who refuse to heed John's first phrase that they had already heard that antichrist shall come show they cannot even read the simple English grammar it's written in. It's because those are listening to false prophets instead of God's Word there.

Paul is talking about a singular false one coming in 2 Thess.2.

Christ is talking about a singular false one coming in Matt.24:23-26.

Christ again is talking about a singular false one coming in Rev.13:11 forward.

Daniel was talking about a specific false one taking away the daily sacrifice and placing the abomination idol that makes desolate, in Jerusalem. And we have already had the pattern of Antiochus IV in 170 B.C. doing that fitting the Daniel prophecy almost to a tee.

The early Church fathers also understood that John was declaring a specific Antichrist that's to come as separate from the many antichrists as "forerunners" of the Antichrist (see writings Polycarp a disciple of Apostle John, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Cyril of Jerusalem, etc.).

 

[Ridgerunner]

I Jn 2:18
18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
(KJV)
John's first phrase (in bold) is in the singular antichrist tense.
John's last phrase (underlined) is in the plural antichrist tense.

Those who refuse to heed John's first phrase that they had already heard that antichrist shall come show they cannot even read the simple English grammar it's written in. It's because those are listening to false prophets instead of God's Word there.

Those who refuse to acknowledge that John already told us exactly who/what the antichrist they heard shall come was deny the simple truth contained in 1John4:3.
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Paul is talking about a singular false one coming in 2 Thess.2.

2Th 2:3-4 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except
there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Nothing in those verses says the man of sin is the antichrist or a king or a world leader of any kind.

Christ is talking about a singular false one coming in

Matt.24:23-26.

Mat 24:23-26 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it
not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and
wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

Christ is talking about false Christs in this verse not antichrists. False Christs claim they are Christ, antichrists deny Christ. Why would one who denys the existence of Christ try to claim he is Christ?

Christ again is talking about a singular false one coming in

Rev.13:11 forward.

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns
like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

The unchanging Word/God tells us beasts are kingdoms, not antichrists. Can you show us where the unchanging Word/God changed the definition?

Daniel was talking about a specific false one taking away the daily sacrifice and placing the abomination idol that makes desolate, in Jerusalem. And we have already had the pattern of Antiochus IV in 170 B.C. doing that fitting the Daniel prophecy almost to a tee.

Almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. Nothing in Scripture says that the abomination of desolation is an idol.
Abomination G946 bδέλυγμa bdelugma bdel'-oog-mah
From G948; a detestation, that is, (specifically) idolatry: - abomination.
Desolation G2050 ἐρήμωσις erēmōsis er-ay'-mo-sis
From G2049; despoliation: - desolation.

The early Church fathers also understood that John was declaring a specific Antichrist that's to come as separate from the many antichrists as "forerunners" of the Antichrist (see writings Polycarp a disciple of Apostle John, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Cyril of Jerusalem, etc.).

Believe the Scriptures or follow the mistakes of the early church fathers you quote, your choice. As you are led friend, as you are led!

 

[veteran]

Those who refuse to acknowledge that John already told us exactly who/what the antichrist they heard shall come was deny the simple truth contained in 1John4:3.
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.




2Th 2:3-4 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except
there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Nothing in those verses says the man of sin is the antichrist or a king or a world leader of any kind.



Mat 24:23-26 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it
not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and
wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

Christ is talking about false Christs in this verse not antichrists. False Christs claim they are Christ, antichrists deny Christ. Why would one who denys the existence of Christ try to claim he is Christ?




Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns
like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

The unchanging Word/God tells us beasts are kingdoms, not antichrists. Can you show us where the unchanging Word/God changed the definition?



Almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. Nothing in Scripture says that the abomination of desolation is an idol.
Abomination G946 bδέλυγμa bdelugma bdel'-oog-mah
From G948; a detestation, that is, (specifically) idolatry: - abomination.
Desolation G2050 ἐρήμωσις erēmōsis er-ay'-mo-sis
From G2049; despoliation: - desolation.



Believe the Scriptures or follow the mistakes of the early church fathers you quote, your choice. As you are led friend, as you are led!

The early Church fathers were correct with their understanding about a singular Antichrist that is to come.

The false doctrine that there is no singular Antichrist is a modern doctrine of false prophets that have crept into some Churches and seminaries today. God have mercy on their souls for leading their congregations astray on this matter.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The early Church fathers were correct with their understanding about a singular Antichrist that is to come.

The false doctrine that there is no singular Antichrist is a modern doctrine of false prophets that have crept into some Churches and seminaries today. God have mercy on their souls for leading their congregations astray on this matter.

Many believe that in 1John2:18 he was correcting a misconception that had already entered the church. The term antichrist should be a part of the everyday Christian vocabulary to describe those who deny Christ. But instead \ satan hijacked the term and has turned antichrist into a boogeyman and people are so busy looking over their shoulder for this boogeyman that they fail to notice the billions of antichrists in the world today. It looks as if satan’s ploy has succeeded! Consider how much more soul searching the atheist down the street might do if he were commonly referred to as an antichrist. Even the muslims whose very religion requires that they be antichrist (muslims deny God has a Son) don’t want to be labeled as antichrists. Which is why Imam Deedat twisted Scripture in order to say muslims aren’t antichrist. Sadly many (even some Christians) have bought into his lies.

Remember also John said “ye have heard,” but was what they heard true? Just because “ye have heard” something does not always make it true as the following verses clearly demonstrate:
Mat 5:43-44 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

The above verse shows that even though they heard they should hate their enemies it wasn’t true, but instead we should love our enemies. Could it be that in the case of 1Jn2:18 John was saying ye have heard antichrist shall come but in reality it is already here and there are many. If you want to believe differently that is certainly your prerogative. But what if your wrong and it is you that has been misled and is promoting the false doctrine? Personally I think you are, but unlike you I won’t start calling those I disagree with false prophets. Calling someone names or ridiculing them just because you believe they have been misled will not change their views. That can only be accomplished through open minded, honest, intellectual discussion. Can you do that are must you continue with your unproven accusations?

 

[us2are1]

Given the scriptures in Daniel 12, in which God told Daniel that the prophetic scriptures would remain sealed and closed to understanding until the time of the end, Is it therefore possible that "the Antichrist" theory and all the teachings regarding the Antichrist, are fables?

Exactly. The scripture is now unsealed and ready to be delivered by the Lords' two witnesses. The majority of those who say they are christian will reject them ushering in the day of wrath.

 

[HammerStone]

How could the above verse make any sense if the first use of the term antichrist were supposed to be an individual person as "The" "Antichrist", when six words later we learn there are many antichrists? This is the only verse of the 4 that use the term antichrist or antichrists that is generally construed to indicate a single individual as such. Let's develop our understanding by looking to another verse that also uses the term antichrist in a singular fashion:

This is going to come off as extremely sarcastic, but I know of no other way to put it. I mean it ultimately in love. The above verse makes sense in the context of our English language. Unfortunately, I see a couple of you are stuck applying modern principles to 400 year old English.

John literally says - in modern language derived from both the KJV and modern versions - "Little children, I've heard you talk about the Antichrist. Right now, there are already antichrists here." John was rather obviously responding to the teaching of an Antichrist by saying that antichrists are currently at work. His message was simply not to wait for the ultimate evil at the end, but that evil is already at work.

Even if there had been such a concept of a single antichrist in the Church, consider the wording: "ye have heard". Perhaps like "ye have heard that toads give people warts", but that doesn't mean that it's true.

Bull. Bad argument; let's just look at what church fathers said since you won't accept the Bible saying it. All of this can rather easily be documented with a quick Google search for those who desire to look further.

The Didache
For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; for when lawlessness increases, they shall hate and persecute and betray one another, and then shall appear the world-deceiver as Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands, and he shall do iniquitous things which have never yet come to pass since the beginning.

Justin the Martyr, Dialogue With Trypho, Ch. 60
He [Christ] shall come from heaven with glory, when the man of apostasy [the Antichrist], who speaks strange things against the Most High, shall venture to do unlawful deeds on the earth against us the Christians, who, having learned the true worship of God from the law, and the word which went forth from Jerusalem by means of the apostles of Jesus, have fled for safety to the God of Jacob and God of Israel;

Iranaeus, Book of Heresies, Book 5, Ch 26
In a still clearer light has John, in the Apocalypse, indicated to the Lord’s disciples what shall happen in the last times, and concerning the ten kings who shall then arise, among whom the empire which now rules [the earth] shall be partitioned. He teaches us what the ten horns shall be which were seen by Daniel, telling us that thus it had been said to him: “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet, but shall receive power as if kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and give their strength and power to the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, because He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings.” It is manifest, therefore, that of these [potentates], he who is to come shall slay three, and subject the remainder to his power, and that he shall be himself the eighth among them. And they shall lay Babylon waste, and burn her with fire, and shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the Church to flight. After that they shall be destroyed by the coming of our Lord.

Hyppolytus wrote a work entitled: Treatise on Christ and Antichrist (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/hippolytus-christ.html)

So yes, the church fathers, in extension from the Bible, talked about the Antichrist.


Genny, given that I know there is no point in engaging you in a King James Version Only (KJVO) argument, what is your definition of the word Antichrist? After that, please explain where the spirit of the Antichrist is from, because a spirit has to proceed from somewhere.

I've never actually seen anyone set the 10 kings up as people of God - that's a new one for me, but easily refuted. Revelation 17:12-14.

 

[us2are1]

These are the ones who are a witness to all nations. Then the end of the world as we know it will come. The kingdom of Christ will be ushered in by them.

 

[genny]

Exactly. The scripture is now unsealed and ready to be delivered by the Lords' two witnesses. The majority of those who say they are christian will reject them ushering in the day of wrath.

You are absolutely right. Paul foretold in 2Thess.2 that in the end-times Christians would "not receive the love of the truth", in other words, they would not accept the true interpretation of the prophetic scriptures, and would hate the messengers who deliver the true interpretation.
In fact, 2Peter 2:2 says that the true interpretation would be "evil spoken of."

You're also correct in saying that the prophetic scriptures are now unsealed. By that I mean that they've come to fruition and are therefore now able to be understood.
Except for the soon coming tribulation, every single one of those prophecies have in fact come to fruition....the falling away, the exaltation of the man of lawlessness, the taking away of the daily sacrifice, the putting in place of the abomination that makes desolate, the worship (celebration) of the man of lawlessness.....ALL these things have come to fruition in AMERICA, and in the last half of this century.

Problem is that, the true interpretation of these things are so very controversial that the average Christian American will not receive nor accept the truth.
Even with all the descriptions given of it, most won't even accept the fact that modern-day AMERICA is BABYLON THE GREAT, let alone accept the fact that it is the subject of all the prophetic scriptures.

 

[Rocky Wiley]

An antichrist is anyone who does not believe Jesus is the Christ.
1Jn 2:18

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
John said that even at the time he wrote this there were many antichrist and thereby they knew it was the last time.

1Jn 2:22

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

1Jn 4:3

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

2Jn 1:7

For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

These are the only four scriptures in the New Testament that mention antichrist and as one can see none of it pretains to our time and most certainly was not just one man.

Many prophecy teachers of today must make scripture say something is does not say thereby making it a fable, just as you said.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Problem is that, the true interpretation of these things are so very controversial that the average Christian American will not receive nor accept the truth.
Even with all the descriptions given of it, most won't even accept the fact that modern-day AMERICA is BABYLON THE GREAT, let alone accept the fact that it is the subject of all the prophetic scriptures.

While I agree that there are many antichrists and they were already here when John wrote about them I must respectfully disagree with your view on Babylon.

Rev 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

America does not contain the blood of all that were slain upon the earth. For Babylon to contain the blood of all that were slain upon the earth she would have to exist from the time Cain slew Abel until the last person to be slain upon this earh is slain. Babylon cannot be constrained by time or location. Therefore Babylon cannot be America, because many that were slain were slain before America existed. Do you deny that Babylon contains the blood of all that were slain upon the earth?

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

Bottom line is that AMERICA is the suject of the prophetic scriptures, NOT the Jews and the nation of Israel.

To make that work you would have to cut most of the pages out of your bible ...... and replace them with pages from The National Enquirer.

I would encourage you to buy a book on systematic theology to help you study. They are not all that expensive and they are quite easy to read. Your bible book store should have them .

Best wishes.

 

[genny]

To make that work you would have to cut most of the pages out of your bible ...... and replace them with pages from The National Enquirer.

I would encourage you to buy a book on systematic theology to help you study. They are not all that expensive and they are quite easy to read. Your bible book store should have them .

Best wishes.

Sorry, but I don't need man's theology to help me to understand the prophetic scriptures.
God gave me a brain; He gave each of us a brain to understand them. And with much study and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we CAN in fact understand those scriptures....perfectly.

 

[Retrobyter]

Shalom, genny.

Sorry, but I don't need man's theology to help me to understand the prophetic scriptures.
God gave me a brain; He gave each of us a brain to understand them. And with much study and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we CAN in fact understand those scriptures....perfectly.

I've seen a lot of good Christian people cop this attitude and it amounts to unteachable ignorance. Equate this attitude with ... say ... mathematics.

"Sorry, but I don't need man's mathematics to help me understand how to use money.
God gave me a brain; He gave each of us a brain to understand [how to use money]. And with much study and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we CAN in fact understand those monetary facts....perfectly [i.e., without mathematics]."

Can you see how making these statements would be sheer folly?! YES, God gave you a brain! But, knowledge doesn't come magically into a person's brain! He expects us to USE our brains and take advantage of the education He brings our way! Sure, one could get there by unstructured study ... I suppose ... but how much easier would it be to submit to a superior, a teacher who knows the material, and LEARN FROM THEM?! Sure, it takes time and effort, two commodities most don't like to give up, but wouldn't the exposure to new knowledge be worth the time and effort? God not only gives each of us a brain, but He also expects each of us to use it! God also gives us OPPORTUNITIES and BIBLE COLLEGES and WISE COUNSELORS and INTELLIGENT TEACHERS and the ability to LEARN FROM THEM, and if we don't take advantage of those opportunities, colleges, counselors, and teachers, IT'S NOT GOD'S FAULT if He doesn't magically impart His knowledge to your brain!

It's rather like that little story of a person trapped in his house in a flood and praying to God for His help. A man on a raft comes by and offers him a ride to safety, but he says, "No thanks. God will rescue me." It continues to rain and the flood waters climb higher; so, he moves to the second floor and continues to pray. Then another man in a row boat paddles by his upstairs window and offers him a ride. Again, he says, "No thank you. God will rescue me." It continues to rain and now the flood waters are so high, he must climb to the roof of his house. A helicopter comes by and drops him a ladder, and again he says, "No thanks. God will rescue me." It continues to rain and finally there's no place left to go, and the man drowns.

So, the story goes on to say that in Heaven, the man is puzzled and says to God, "God why didn't you rescue me?" And God says, "I sent you a raft, a row boat, and a helicopter! What more do you want?!"

Now, I'm not saying that there are any perfect teachers; however, there ARE godly individuals who are good teachers and who bathe their teaching in prayer, also asking the Holy Spirit to give them wisdom in their teaching to help as many of God's children as he or she can! And, we would be fools not to take advantage of God's provision and God's ministers in education!

 

[veteran]

Many believe that in 1John2:18 he was correcting a misconception that had already entered the church. The term antichrist should be a part of the everyday Christian vocabulary to describe those who deny Christ. But instead \ satan hijacked the term and has turned antichrist into a boogeyman and people are so busy looking over their shoulder for this boogeyman that they fail to notice the billions of antichrists in the world today. It looks as if satan’s ploy has succeeded!

You're just not thinking per the actual Scripture, and I don't mean just what John wrote, for nor did the early Church fathers just separate the 'antichrist' title apart from other Scripture warnings about the coming of a false king - pseudo-Christ, a specific... false one coming work great signs and miracles on this earth to trick as many as will into worshipping him in place of our Lord Jesus Christ. They pointed to a specific man coming in that role, and were well aware that the temple Paul mentions him coming to sit in involves a Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

So you've got some ideas about the 'antichrist' turned around. Satan did not steal that title, he is the father of it, and his servants are his little antichrists. You've got to break the word down in the Greek where it originates - anti - Christ. The Greek word anti does not just mean against, it can also mean 'in place of', or 'instead of'.

The FULL meaning is the 'instead of Christ'.

Well I wonder who it was that wanted to be God that first rebelled against Him? Let's see, was it Moe, or Curly? No. Was it Popeye? I mean the pope. Nope. Was it Hitler? Nope.

It was the Devil, Satan, that old serpent, the dragon.

Satan is the main hinge-point of the false worship coming in our near future involving a rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem, like Paul showed in 2 Thess.2. Many have been blinded by God away from understanding that, otherwise they'd be found bowing in false worship to him on purpose, and thus lose their Salvation. For this reason, many brethren have been blinded as to his coming in our near future, and will sin in ignorance when they unknowingly bow to him in place of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that blindness, I do not speak this for the sake of those already deceived in that, but to those who have yet to 'hear' about it which God did not put that blindness upon for that near future event.

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

Sorry, but I don't need man's theology to help me to understand the prophetic scriptures.
God gave me a brain; He gave each of us a brain to understand them. And with much study and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we CAN in fact understand those scriptures....perfectly.

But that is the whole point genny ..... "your theology" is "man's theology" just like all the rest .

Systematic theology done by scholars is still the best approach , and even then there are disagreements.

If you feel that AMERICA is the subject of the prophetic scriptures, NOT the Jews and the nation of Israel , then you must lay it out in a systematic fashion , and be able to defend (prove) it .

Otherwise it is simply your personal opinion (belief)

Best wishes in your studies.

 

[teamventure]

The term "Antichrist" is not found in the book of Daniel. Nor is it found in the book of Revelation. Nor did Jesus speak of a coming "Antichrist". Nor did Paul referr to the man of sin; son of pertion as that of "the Antichrist".

Therefore, somebody along the line, whether it was Darby, or whomever, had to have added "the Antichrist" to the terms "man of sin" and "son of perdition" in 2nd Thess.2.

BTW, are you aware that Jesus called Judas Iscarot "the son of perdition"?

Could it be that the man of sin; son of perdition is not an individual man at all, but rather a nationality of "man"?

That seems to be the case, based on the scriptures of Danial and of Revelation 13 and 17.

neither is the word trinity found in the Bible, but the concept is there. it's really quite simple. now slap yourself on the forehead and go have a V-8.

 

[tgwprophet]

Ridgeerunner wrote:

" For the above verse to be true Babylon would have to exist from the time Cain slew Able until the very last person to be slain on this earth is slain. Babylon cannot be constrained by time or location. How can America contain the blood of all that were slain upon the earth if America did not exist while many of those slain on this earth were slain? "
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Concerning " How can America contain the blood of all that were slain upon the earth if America did not exist while many of those slain on this earth were slain? "

I am uncertain if this is true or not but, Consider with the population of the esrth today that there are more people alive today than has existed. With this in mind is it possible that everyone who has ever existed and died is re-incarnated during this time?

Ok, let us test it a bit... Where are the people going to hell or heaven if they never heard the words of Jesus? For any and all reasons like... the lived and dies before Christ was born. How could they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and saviour if they died before Jesus was born? Do they autromaticcaly go to hell? and my Word shall be given throughout the world and then the end shall come... No one comes to the Father except through Jesus.

 

[us2are1]

Sorry, but I don't need man's theology to help me to understand the prophetic scriptures.
God gave me a brain; He gave each of us a brain to understand them. And with much study and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we CAN in fact understand those scriptures....perfectly.

Amen Genny

 

[martinlawrencescott]

No, but I believe there are scriptures that have to do with endtimes, that almost no Christian believes has to do with end times yet. Since people rarely delve into the first 5 books of scripture to find info on end times, except maybe sodom and gomorrah and a few other things, which are valid lessons, but it's good not to be strictly excluding on other ideas. There are mysteries about the end times still shaded by our understanding of God's plan of salvation. But I do believe the end times are near, so I believe that is lifting as we speak. Like Christians are getting it right now.

 

[veteran]

Ridgeerunner wrote:

" For the above verse to be true Babylon would have to exist from the time Cain slew Able until the very last person to be slain on this earth is slain. Babylon cannot be constrained by time or location. How can America contain the blood of all that were slain upon the earth if America did not exist while many of those slain on this earth were slain? "
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concerning " How can America contain the blood of all that were slain upon the earth if America did not exist while many of those slain on this earth were slain? "

I am uncertain if this is true or not but, Consider with the population of the esrth today that there are more people alive today than has existed. With this in mind is it possible that everyone who has ever existed and died is re-incarnated during this time?

Ok, let us test it a bit... Where are the people going to hell or heaven if they never heard the words of Jesus? For any and all reasons like... the lived and dies before Christ was born. How could they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and saviour if they died before Jesus was born? Do they autromaticcaly go to hell? and my Word shall be given throughout the world and then the end shall come... No one comes to the Father except through Jesus.

No such thing as reincarnation Terry, I think you actually know that.

Christ's future "thousand years" is going to be the balance to all that. Moreover, per 1 Pet.3, Christ went and preached to the "spirits in prison", i.e., the souls of the dead in the heavenly prison. Isaiah 42 was the prophecy about that, and it hints that He led those who believed with His preaching out of the prison house. That took place after His death and resurrection.