Jasher

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?
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Who am I

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Blessings to all

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD,
thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Boanerges

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.).

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“Neither skill nor knowledge is needed to go to God, all that is necessary is a heart dedicated entirely and solely to Him out of love for Him above all others.”
Brother Lawrence

Jasher

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.

Jon-Marc

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.

smellycat

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.

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1. GOOD BAD SALVATION

Dusty

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 .

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RickyN

The gates of hell (i.e. the grave/death) Even our death will not alter nor stop God's plan for His people.

Boanerges

Amen Ricky!

__________________
“Neither skill nor knowledge is needed to go to God, all that is necessary is a heart dedicated entirely and solely to Him out of love for Him above all others.”
Brother Lawrence

smellycat

hell is real,or where did Jesus go for 3 days,st lucia.?

__________________

1. GOOD BAD SALVATION