When did Jesus proclaim to the spirits in prison?

see 1 Pet 3:18

(1a) For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God,

(1b) having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

(1c) in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, who once were disobedient,

(1d) when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.

(1e) Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”

Points to Note:

1. There are two chronological instances in the verse concerning Christ’s proclamation, A is after he is made alive in the spirit, B is the time period during which he actually makes the proclamation.
2. The time of the spirits imprisonment is grammatically vague.
   1. Grammatically it is vague because the tense of the spirits in prison is not found in its immediate proximity because there is no verb-to-be (eimi), rather only the prepositional phrase “in prison,” upon which we are left with only assumptions upon (1.) whether or not to supply the tense (2.) how to understand two past tense verbs in temporal relation to one another.
      1. Note: The verse “when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark…” relates specifically to the time of their act of “disobedience”. However, knowing the time of disobedience does not elucidate the temporal state of the spirits imprisonment. Just because they committed sin in the past does not necessitate that Christ preached to them in the past nor does it necessitate that Christ preached to them on the day after the Crucifixion.
3. The time period of Christ’s proclamation is grammatically and theologically vague.
   1. Grammatically it is vague because the main verb “He preached” is not determined by:
      1. The temporal status of the spirits in prison.
         1. Whether or not the spirits were in prison on the day of the crucifixion or in the days of Noah makes no impact upon concluding when exactly Christ made his proclamation.
      2. The time during which the spirits committed disobedience.
   2. Theologically it is also vague because after death, it is uncertain whether a spiritual creature experiences time the same way and in the case of Christ, the God-man, it is even more unknown. Jesus could have traveled to the past, no longer bound by time, to preach or he could’ve descended to the spiritual prisons.
4. However, one must wonder why Peter even mentions Noah. If his point is to say that Jesus descended to the spiritual prison of condemned souls, why mention Noah and specifically the “days” of Noah? It seems much more likely that Peter draws upon Noah’s historical period to highlight the “once for all” sacrifice of Christ. This he does in order to show that even in Noah’s day, the message of Christ was being preached just as it is now.
5. The type and anti-type presented between the flood and baptism highlight the Gospel’s saving work rather than victory over the condemned.

The current possibilities are as following:

1. 1. Strong takes
      1. Christ after his crucifixion after he was made alive in the spirit went back in time to preach in spirit, in the days of Noah to those who at the time were alive in the flesh but simultaneously spiritually imprisoned because of depravity.
      2. Christ after his crucifixion after he was made alive in the spirit went back in time to preach in Spirit in the days of Noah to those who have since died and are currently spiritually imprisoned because of their disobedience.
   2. Weak takes
      1. Christ after his crucifixion after he was made alive in the spirit descended to hell to preach victory to those imprisoned because of disobedience in their earthly lives.
      2. Christ after his crucifixion after he was made alive in the spirit descended to hell to preach the gospel to those therein imprisoned to give a second chance to those who in their earthly life were disobedient.

Concluding Thoughts:

The reason the strong takes are strong is because they actually give a reason to mention Noah’s day. The flow of argument seems to center around the vast temporal expanse of the Gospel’s reach, that it was indeed a once-for-all sacrifice, applicable to all people of all epochs. If that is true, then Jesus’ proclamation as mentioned by Peter unto the spirits in prison was not a self-honoring proclamation of victory but a proclamation of salvation in Him and a call to repentance. What further supports this claim is the type and anti-type that is presented at the end of the section. The flood and deliverance through the proclamation of salvation by means of the ark corresponds to the coming judgment and deliverance through the proclamation of salvation by the atonement of Jesus Christ. It is the saving work of the gospel that is here highlighted, not the heralding of victory over the condemned.

that’s for you Richard.