Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Gates of Hades shall not Prevail
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Matthew 16:18
The church has misunderstood this verse. Its dominant interpretation has been that Greek hades always refers to “the grave.” This understanding is incorrect in this case. What Christ describes in this verse is an active, military-style engagement—a spiritual war between the church and its enemies. Since a grave is merely a receptacle for a dead body, it does not—cannot—make war. Jesus' phrase, “gates of Hades,” which Matthew correctly remembered and recorded for us, is a metaphorical expression describing the forces of evil: Satan and his horde of demons. They, not the grave, make war against the church. Christ asserts that the demonic forces of evil will not triumph over His church. Jesus pictures His church—His spiritual Body—as dominating the warfare between it and the Adversary and his minions. We can be assured that Christ has already defeated Satan, as shown in the encounter recorded in Matthew 4 and Luke 4, and in His resurrection and ascension to His Father's right hand in heaven. We will be saved by His continuing life (Romans 5:10). Those of His faithful brethren, the elect, have nothing to fear about His willingness and His ability to overcome Satan on our behalf. Knowing that the church, with Him as its Head, is on the offensive ought to be faith-building.
John W. Ritenbaugh
A Truth About Revelation 2 and 3
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Matthew 24:2
While the dead stones of Herod's Temple were separated from each other and "not one . . . left here upon another," the living stones of God's spiritual house are being built up (I Peter 2:4-5)! Jesus Christ, the Chief Cornerstone, used the same word in telling Peter that "on this rock [Himself] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18; emphasis ours throughout). Christ's church—that spiritual organism—is being built up, not torn down! Paul uses a similar metaphor in his first epistle to the church in Corinth: For we [ministers] are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 3:9-11) He employs similar language when writing to the Ephesians: Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22) Notice the positive progress in these passages and the sense that the building of God's spiritual Temple continues unabated—and as Jesus promised, the gates of the grave will not prevail against it. It will always exist in some form. For Matthew 24:2 to refer to spiritual stones, it would mean that not one Christian is left on Jesus Christ—the Cornerstone! Yet who are Christians, if not living stones on top of the foundation of Jesus Christ? As long as the church exists (Matthew 16:18), there will also be at least one living stone upon another. This does not mean that the church of God will always exist in the same form or that it will be without turmoil, division, and even scattering. These are natural byproducts of carnality, so it follows that unless every member of the Body rids himself of all vestiges of carnality simultaneously, there will always be those forces that tend to divide. Intriguingly, God uses those same elements to work out His perfecting of us. Even when the church is in a relatively stable form, it is still subject to persecution from without, as Jesus warns in Matthew 24:9 (see also John 16:33). Switching metaphors, on top of this the Good Shepherd moves His sheep around in ways that we sometimes cannot understand until after the fact. Thus, the life of a "living stone" will never be static for very long.
David C. Grabbe
Will the Church of God Be Thrown Down? (Part One)
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Luke 12:32
Despite this, the number of people calling themselves "Christian" tops two billion worldwide. Yet, just because people profess faith does not mean they are truly converted, and by the Bible's standard, the overwhelming majority are not. Compared to the two billion professing Christians, the true church is minuscule and virtually invisible. However, it does exist, for Jesus promises in Matthew 16:18, "I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." It will never die out because eternal life resides within it, and the most powerful army in all creation protects and provides for it.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Is There a True Church?
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