What does 'preaching to the spirits' mean?

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1 Pet. 3:19 “by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20who 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. “ Most Christians think that this portion of Scripture means that there are souls somewhere who are sitting and waiting until their destiny has been decided. They, therefore, suggest an opportunity after death for these souls to find salvation. This thought, since they see Jesus as having descended to the realm of the dead and that they, by way of His preaching, would be given another chance. Please read that part of Scripture again that deals with the state of the dead (verse 18) because the Bible is clearly opposed to the concept of any intellectual activity in death. This shows how important it is to read the Bible in context. Let’s read these verses in Scripture again, but let’s start one verse earlier: 1 Pet. 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 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.” Now the verse confirms that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, used Noah to preach to those who were in the prison of sin, namely the people who were trapped in Satan’s snares.