This is my view of part of the message the Messiah is trying to give in Matthew 16:18; this post is only about the phrase “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it”.
Anyway, the phrase “gates of Hades” or “gates of Hell” or similar phrases are seen in other places in the Bible as well. Anyway, here they are:"I said, ‘In the prime of my life I shall go
to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the remainder of my years.’ " (Isaiah 38:10)
"Have
the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen
the doors of the shadow of death?" (Job 38:17)
“Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to
t****he gates of death.” (Psalms 107:18)
“Have mercy on me, O LORD! Consider my trouble from those who hate me, You who lift me up from
the gates of death.” (Psalms 9:17)
This is the passage in question (in case you haven’t read it before)“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘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 shall not prevail against it.’” (Matthew 16:17-18)
Here is Strong’s and Thayer’s definition of “Hades”:G86
ᾅδης
hadēs
hah’-dace
From G1 (as a negative particle) and G1492; properly unseen, that is, “Hades” or the place (state) of departed souls: -
grave,** hell**.
G86
ᾅδης
hadēs
Thayer Definition:
- name Hades or Pluto, the god of the lower regions
- Orcus, the nether world, the realm of the dead
- later use of this word: the grave, death, hell
Part of Speech: noun proper locative
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G1 (as negative particle) and G1492
Citing in TDNT: 1:146, 22
And here is the definition of the word “Sheol”, as the one seen in Isaiah 38:10, where the phrase “gates of Sheol” is found:H7585
שׁאל שׁאול
she’ôl she’ôl
sheh-ole’, sheh-ole’
From H7592; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranian retreat), including its accessories and inmates: - grave, hell, pit.
So in short, both Hades and Sheol pretty much mean the same place: the grave.
So when Jesus is speaking of the “gates of Hades” he is speaking of the “gates of Sheol” or, “the gates of the grave”. Jesus has the keys to these gates as it is seen in Revelation:“I
am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.
And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Revelation 1:18)
Now going back to Matthew this is what I believe He tried to say: the grave was not going to have any power of the Church, because death has power no more, for He won; He has the “keys” to the “gates” of the grave, metaphorically speaking.
So the “gates of Hades (grave)” will have no say, they won’t be able to hold in the Church on the last day because He has the “keys” to the “gates” and when He decides for her (the Church) to come out they won’t have power over her. Now, leaving the symbolic talk, on the last day He is going to resurrect the Church and death and the grave won’t have any power over it for He won death, it has no power anymore over us.
This is my view of what Jesus tried to say in Matthew 16:18. Jesus will be able to resurrect the Church because He won over death. * “Death is swallowed up in victory.
O Death, where*
is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55) So when the “gates of Hades won’t prevail over the Church” it means that death won’t have the final say. At least this is my opinion.
I was not even thinking about the ‘keys’ of Peter. All I said in my post was that “the gates of Hades will not prevail against her” meant that she will be resurrected, and death won’t have a say (or the grave, to be more precise).