Understanding the POWER of the ‘GATES OF HELL’!
October
13 Bible Reading: Matthew Chapters 16-18
Understanding the POWER of the ‘GATES OF HELL’!
"Blessed
are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but
My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and
the gates of Hades (Hell) shall not prevail against it. And I will give you
the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound
in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
(Matt. 16:17-19)
The above
passage is perhaps the most debated text
in the Gospels, and has various interpretations adopted by different
denominations, particularly Catholics and Protestants. The interpretation accepted
by most Protestants is that the Rock is Christ Himself, whom Peter recognized
and affirmed. Jesus’ church rests firmly on the fact that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of the Living God. This view is supported by Apostle Paul who writes, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than
that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11)
When Jesus
referred to “the gates of Hades (Hell)”
in His declaration to Peter, we should remember that “gates” held a special significance for the Jews during the time of
Jesus. Every city had walls to protect the people from invaders, and along the
walls there were massive gates to allow traffic in and out of the city. During
a siege, the gates would be closed to prevent the attacking army from entering
in the city. Also, city gates were key locations of the public life where goods
were traded and decision makers gathered to hear news and deliberate on events
of the day.
Given this
phenomenon, “gates” signified the
economic and political life of a walled city as most of the business
transactions were done there (see Prov. 31:23; Ruth 4:1–12; Deut. 25:7). War
plans were devised and military treaties signed at the city gates (Judges 5:8,
11). Kings sat at the city gates to address their people (2 Sam. 19:8). Even
conspirators hatched their plots and were exposed in the gates (Esther
2:19–23).
So when
Jesus spoke of the “gates of hell”,
He was actually referring to the actual forces of evil at work among corrupt human
systems like governments. It concerns an intense spiritual warfare as the
Church stood against the powers of hell itself (Genesis 22:17; Psalms 127:5).
These evil powers not only attack individual believers but seek to corrupt political
institutions, enlisting them in their campaign against Christ. They fight
against the church by opposing gospel truths, corrupting gospel ordinances, and
by persecuting individual godly Christians.
Fortunately,
Jesus also promised that in the end the “gates
of hell” would not succeed. God in His mercy protects His people from
participation in evil. That offers great hope to believers who live in
difficult places and contend for good against powerful entities that, in ways
known and unknown, are backed by spiritual forces of wickedness.
In the midst
of the fight Jesus has declared: “I will
build My church!” and has promised that no evil power (scepter of
wickedness) shall prevail against His church. Let us take refuge this promise,
and in His presence with us always (Matthew 28:20b) to resist the evil powers.
"As the mountains surround
Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.
For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the
righteous, lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity." (Psalms 125:2-3)
