For to this end was the Gospel preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed as men in the flesh, but live as to God in the spirit.
The plain meaning is that the gospel was preached to people when living, who are now dead; just as it would be perfectly correct to say that it was preached to saints in glory, or to souls that are in perdition, meaning that it was preached to them when on earth.[12]