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.
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