Some Christians wonder if unbelievers can be saved after they die, based on 1 Peter 3:19-20. It states that Jesus “went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”
Before we can determine whether this (or other passages) implies that there are second chances for salvation after death, we must first understand and recognize a few crucial facts.
The first fact is that God divinely inspired every verse of Scripture. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
As the divine author of the Bible, God is incapable of fabricating deception or including errors or contradictions in His written Word. In other words, the Bible cannot contain inconsistent or conflicting information because God is holy and perfect. Angels say of the Lord in Isaiah 6:3, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” Likewise, Numbers 23:19 states, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent.”
The second fact we must grasp is that judgment immediately follows death, which is why believers enter the joy of Heaven when they die, and unbelievers are subjected to torment in Hades. Hebrews 9:27 declares, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” It is also stated in 2 Peter 2:9-10, “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment [i.e., great white throne judgment], and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority” [emphasis mine].
The third fact we must understand is that people cannot cross from Hades to Heaven or vice versa. Jesus confirmed this truth in His account of the death of the rich man and Lazarus. Luke 16:24-26 states, “And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’”
Considering these three important facts, it is clear that Jesus did not preach an evangelistic message that provided the disobedient “spirits in prison” a chance to be saved because that would contradict the Bible’s clear and consistent message.
I hope this information helps answer why there are no second chances for salvation after death.
