1 Peter 4:6
For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit — the cryptic statement that the gospel was preached to 'the dead' (nekroi) may refer to deceased believers or to those spiritually dead when they heard the gospel. The apparent meaning is that some who are now dead heard the gospel during their earthly lives.