The aim of this book is to prove that neither 1 Peter 3:19 nor 1 Peter 4:6 refers to the Christian doctrine the 'Descensus Christi ad Inferos'. The meaning of these two verses has long been debated, and is very often seen as references to Christ's descent into Hades. These questions will be answered by means of a parallel study. The first part of this book involves the doctrine of the 'Descensus'; looking at its origin and its development. It is argued in this section that the roots of this doctrine can be found in Jewish-Christianity and not pagan mythology as has been suggested. The second part of the book then engages in the meaning of 1 Peter 3:19 and 4:6. This section starts with an introduction to 1 Peter, discussing all the preliminary questions . This will be followed by a structural analysis of 1 Peter. By means of an analysis of these verses, and the influence of the pseudepigraphal book 1 Enoch, it is shown that these verses do not allow themselves to be interpreted as references to the Descent of Christ into Hades.