The Gates of Hell

The Gates of Hell

The Gates of Hell

This subject came up recently.

Matthew 16:18 (KJV)
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

What comes to mind when you hear this phrase? What and where are the gates of hell? Is it simply allegorical? What does this mean in practical everyday terms that we can relate to?
.
 
The gates of hell…

Are the gates there to keep people out?
Or are they there to keep people in?

I believe it could be symbolic.
Perhaps God doesn’t want us to just sit around and pray and worship, fellowship with each other…
There are people out there that are in the grip of satan. He thinks he has them all wrapped up and they belong to them. Like he has them and the gates are locked and they can’t escape.

We, as Christians, can storm the gates of hell, (so to speak) and snatch those people out of the hand of satan. We don’t need to just be on the defensive, but go on the offensive and go after satan and mess up his plan and take back what rightfully belongs to God… His children.

 
Mat 16:18 AndG1161 I say alsoG2504 G3004 unto thee,G4671 ThatG3754 thouG4771 artG1488 Peter,G4074 andG2532 uponG1909 thisG5026 rockG4073 I will buildG3618 myG3450 church;G1577 andG2532 the gatesG4439 of hellG86 shall notG3756 prevail againstG2729 it.G846






From Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of the Bible
Gates
1. pule (G4439) is used (a) literally, for a larger sort of "gate," in the wall either of a city or palace or temple, Luk_7:12, of Nain (burying places were outside the "gates" of cities); Act_3:10; Act_9:24; Act_12:10; Heb_13:12; (b) metaphorically, of the "gates" at the entrances of the ways leading to life and to destruction, Mat_7:13, Mat_7:14; some mss. have pule, for thura, "a door," in Luk_13:24 (see the RV); of the "gates" of Hades, Mat_16:18, than which nothing was regarded as stronger. The importance and strength of "gates" made them viewed as synonymous with power. By metonymy, the "gates" stood for those who held government and administered justice there.

Hades

hades (G86), "the region of departed spirits of the lost" (but including the blessed dead in periods preceding the ascension of Christ). It has been thought by some that the word etymologically meant "the unseen" (from a, negative, and eido, "to see"), but this derivation is questionable; a more probable derivation is from hado, signifying "all-receiving." It corresponds to "Sheol" in the OT. In the KJV of the OT and NT; it has been unhappily rendered "hell," e.g., Psa_16:10; or "the grave," e.g., Gen_37:35; or "the pit," Num_16:30, Num_16:33; in the NT the revisers have always used the rendering "hades"; in the OT, they have not been uniform in the translation, e.g. in Isa_14:15 "hell" (marg., "Sheol"); usually they have "Sheol" in the text and "the grave" in the margin. It never denotes the grave, nor is it the permanent region of the lost; in point of time it is, for such, intermediate between decease and the doom of Gehenna. For the condition, see Luk_16:23-31.
The word is used four times in the Gospels, and always by the Lord, Mat_11:23; Mat_16:18; Luk_10:15; Luk_16:23; it is used with reference to the soul of Christ, Act_2:27, Act_2:31; Christ declares that He has the keys of it, Rev_1:18; in Rev_6:8 it is personified, with the signification of the temporary destiny of the doomed; it is to give up those who are therein, Rev_20:13, and is to be cast into the lake of fire, Rev_20:14.
Note: In 1Co_15:55 the most authentic mss. have thanatos, "death," in the 2nd part of the verse, instead of "hades," which the KJV wrongly renders "grave" ("hell," in the marg.).
 
Never thought about this phrase much before, but I kind of had the simple impression that the gates or forces of hell simply would not prevail against the Church. But that doesn't fit the context of history.

In history it can be seen that a gate is a defensive not an offensive instrument of war. Picture all of the major cities in the Middle East back in the first century. They all had massive protective walls around them; and of course there was the all necessary gates. The gates were the most vulnerable areas of the wall because they were usually made of wood and could be burned - like the Temple doors of 70AD. They could be covered with iron to prevent this.

So this brings us back to WAI's comment...

Quote:
We, as Christians, can storm the gates of hell, (so to speak) and snatch those people out of the hand of satan. We don’t need to just be on the defensive, but go on the offensive and go after satan and mess up his plan and take back what rightfully belongs to God… His children.
Close Quote:

I think that is it - the passage referrs to the kingdom of the enemy on earth and perhaps hell is used symbolically as the primary source or gateway of all evil in the world.
 
What it means to me is that satan and his followers cannot defeat Christ's church. At least that's what I used to think. I'm learning that he is working from within and doing a very good job of infiltrating the church. Instead of attacking from without, he is attacking subtly from within--unbeknownst to the members who look at the enemy in their midst as a brother or sister.
 
agree m8.his followers are becoming increasingly cunning,the sad thing is they don,t think there his puppets,or they are sold out puppets trying to please there father.this is a spirit war and when you change the church to something that it,s not,how can the followers know right from wrong.:eek:
 
The Gates of Hell

This subject came up recently.

Matthew 16:18 (KJV)
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

What comes to mind when you hear this phrase? What and where are the gates of hell? Is it simply allegorical? What does this mean in practical everyday terms that we can relate to?
.

Thanks for that thought Larry II....I believe that when Christ spoke to Peter , he wanted to tell Peter that no matter how impetuous, ,brash , outspoken, loud , self confident or even arrogant , Jesus picked Peter and his name in greek meant " rock " . We wonder why Jesus would pick Peter and it is for the very same reason that He picks us . He wants to take our unlovely qualities and transform them for His use.

And to think literally of Hell as mentioned to me means that because He picked Peter to build the church He gave him the power over death that would defeat Hell,through the cross. In the next verse Christ gives Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven and shows Peter through Jesus Christ we can have eternal life and the power over death and Hell .
 
The gates of hell (i.e. the grave/death) Even our death will not alter nor stop God's plan for His people.
 
Jesus was never in the grave aka dead for 3 days. if you go back and look carefully you will notice it was not 3 24 hours periods.... the Term "Hear of the Earth" does not mean the grave. What is means was that what is when his ultimate Test began if you will.

God Bless.
 
Matthew 12:40


40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
John 11:9


9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

3 days + 3 nights
That sounds like 6 x 12 = 72 so

24 x 3 = 72

so it sounds like 3 24 hour periods to me :D
 
guys you cannot approach this with the method you have just show above... I could simply say this.

Jesus died Friday afternoon, and was raised up Sunday morning, that is not a total of 3 nights and days or 3 24 hour periods. Please see the events as they unfolded below.

Luk 23:52 This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
Luk 23:53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
Luk 23:54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
Luk 23:55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
Luk 23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Your position has no weight in light of the events that are recorded in the bible... Jesus was not dead for 3 literal days, and the perm "heart of the earth" does not mean death.

Again was Jonah dead when he was in the belly of the great fish? Of course the answer is no, then why is Jesus referred to being in the "heart of the earth" as dead... please read the versed in context and look at the events and time frames and you will see Jesus was not dead for 3 24 hours periods.


God Bless.
 
As a Moderator:
Please return to the original topic as posted by the OP. Thanks and blessings, brother Larry.
 
I never said Jesus was dead for 3 24 hour periods :D I was only doing mathematics :'(! re-read my post :p :D I never said Jesus was raised Sunday either :D! There are other types of Sabbaths also, such as the days of unleavened bread and so forth. (forgive me Larry for talking about this :$ :( )

About Gates of Hell.
Obviously He did not build it upon peter because a few verses later He rebuked peter saying Get thee behind me Satan. Which means that Satan was using Peter which means the gates of Hell got to Peter, therefore the verse of "gates of hell shall not prevail against it" are no longer in effect. So this has a bigger meaning which some have stated that it's Jesus, we're His church and that Satan cannot get to the real Christians, which are upon the Rock, such as the house that is built upon a rock, how it stands compared to that built on sand, where it doesn't stand.
 
I never have figured out what the timeline is on the Crucifixion. The more I read the more confused I got. So I put it in the closet - awaiting further light. The problem is that I cannot find a connection between the day of the month and the day of the week. Someone here pointed out that the Sabbath referred to in the Gospels was corrected by John to read "High Sabbath." (John was written last) A high Sabbath is not necessarily Friday as we always assumed.

Anyway back on the subject at hand.

Rick Joyner in his book, Epic Battles of the Last Days, has a bit different view of the gates of hell. He says "The gates of hell are the entrances through which evil gains access to this world. Likewise, the doors of heaven are the openings through which divine grace and truth flow to the world."

"These spiritual gates or doors are often localities, especially cities where people are concentrated in great numbers. The conflict between the kingdom of God and this present evil age is not over territory, but over people."

He cites the City of Cologne (Koln) as being an example of a portal of evil. Cologne, Germany has been one of the most influential cities in world history. Consider the following...

Cologne was founded at the time of the birth of Christ. The mother of the emperor Nero was born there. The mad emperor Caligula also came from Cologne. Cologne was the capital city which ruled the western part of the Roman empire. It was also highly involved in orchestrating the Crusades, which was the most flagrant distortion of Christianity that there ever was.

The Cathedral in Cologne was built to house the remains of the three wise men. Karl Marx moved to Cologne and was the publisher of a socialist newspaper. He published The Communist Manifesto from there. Robert Blum and Moses Hess started their careers in Cologne. They were the founders of modern Zionism.

So this city was central in many movments that were responsible for much bloodshed over the past several hundred years. Was Cologne a "gate of hell?

Larry II
 
I never said Jesus was dead for 3 24 hour periods :D I was only doing mathematics :'(! re-read my post :p :D I never said Jesus was raised Sunday either :D!

About Gates of Hell.
Obviously He did not build it upon peter because a few verses later He rebuked peter saying Get thee behind me Satan. Which means that Satan was using Peter which means the gates of Hell got to Peter, therefore the verse of "gates of hell shall not prevail against it" are no longer in effect. So this has a bigger meaning which some have stated that it's Jesus, we're His church and that Satan cannot get to the real Christians, which are upon the Rock, such as the house that is built upon a rock, how it stands compared to that built on sand, where it doesn't stand.

Jesus said that God had revealed to Peter who he really was and upon this rock he would build his Church - which was divine revelation - not Peter.
 
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