In Mathew 16:18, we read “And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
When interpreting this verse, Catholics seem to like the “gates of hell” to a weapon or legion, as the verse could instead read “and the sword of hell will not prevail against it” or “and the legions of hell will not prevail against it.”
The problem with this interpretation is that, as anyone familiar with a gate knows, it is not something used to attack, but a passive structure used to protect, prevent, block, or defend. Thus it seems that when Christ states that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church, he is stating that it is hell on the defensive, as though the Church is waging an offensive and hell will not be able to hold it back.
What do you think?
I think that “the gates of Hades” is a contrast to “the living God” of verse 16. Speaking in an OT context, “the gates of death” denotes the place were the dead go (Job 38:17; Psalms 9:13; 107:18), and Isaiah 38:10 the phrase “the gates of Sheol” is used in the same way (cf. Job 17:16 “the bars of Sheol”). “Hades” is the NT equivalent of Sheol, and the same phrase as here is used in this sense in Septuagint Isaiah 38:10 as well as in Wisdom of Solomon 16:13; 3 Maccabees 5:51 and in Psalms of Solomon 16:2. The idea is, that death will not be able to imprison the Church of the living God founded upon the rock.
I said: At the height of my days, in the gates of Hades
I shall leave behind my remaining years.
I said, I shall not see the salvation of God on the earth;
no longer shall I see a man from my kindred.
I have left behind the rest of my life;
it has gone out and departed from me
like the one who having pitched a tent takes it down;
my spirit in me became like the web
of a weaver who approaches to cut it off.
In that day I was given over as to a lion until morning;
thus he broke my bones,
for I was given over from day to night.
For it was neither herb nor poultice that cured them,
but your word, O Lord, that heals all things.
For you have authority over life and death
and you lead down to the gates of Hades and bring back up again.
- Wisdom of Solomon 16:12-13
As the elephants and the armed force accompanying them were going out around the gate, the Judeans saw both the dust of the passing throng and heard the roaring crowd and, believing this to be their last moment of life, the end of their wretched suspense, gave themselves over to lamentation and wailing and began kissing one another, embracing their relatives, falling upon their necks, parents their children, mothers their daughters and yet others holding newborn infants to the breast as they drew their last milk. Nevertheless, when they considered all the help from heaven that had fallen into their share in the past, they threw themselves prostrate with one accord, parted their newborn from the breasts and called out to the ruler of every power with an exceedingly loud cry, entreating him to show them mercy by making an appearance,
they who stood even now at the gates of Hades.
When my soul slumbered, away from the Lord, I slipped for a short time,
in the lethargy of those that sleep far from God.
For a short time my soul was poured out to death,
close to the gates of Hades with the sinner,
when my soul separated from the Lord, God of Israel,
except that the Lord helped me with his pity forever.
He pricked me, like a goad for a horse, that I might awaken unto him;
my savior and protector at all times saved me.
I will acknowledge [to] you, O God, for you helped me to salvation,
and you did not count me with sinners for destruction.
Remove not your pity from me, O God,
nor your remembrance from my heart until death.
