The statement seemingly most harmful to the LDS case is Matthew 16:18. “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” To interpret this passage we must first define terms.
First, what is “the Church” (Greek
ekklesia = “assembly”) that Jesus spoke of? Steve’s interpretation suggests it was “the Church” in its manifestation as an earthly organization. However, in a broader sense, “the Church” is much more inclusive. Two of the earliest post-New Testament Christian writings,
The Pastor of Hermas and
2 Clement (both early second century) claimed that God created the Church even before he created the world. "She was created first of all… and for her sake was the world made."
1 "Moreover, the books and the apostles declare that the Church belongs not to the present, but existed from the beginning."
2 Paul wrote, “He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.” (Ephesians 1:3) The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews went on: “But we are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and in an innumerable company of angels. To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.” (Hebrews 12:22-23) The message here is clear. “The Church” is not just an earthly organization - it existed before the foundation of the world, and it exists with the saints of all ages, both those who are on the earth and those who have passed on. Therefore, even if the Church as an earthly organization disappears and reappears periodically, the Church will always survive!
But is there any reason to believe Jesus was speaking primarily of the earthly Church? On the contrary, the text says that “the gates of hell {Greek
hades = “the world of the dead”} shall not prevail against it.” What are “the gates of hades”? Hades is not hell - it is the underworld, and in early Christian and Jewish thought it was believed to be a place of waiting where the spirits of the dead, both the just and unjust, remained until the resurrection. (If Jesus had been speaking in Roman Catholic terms he might have said, “the gates of Purgatory shall not prevail against it.”) Thus Tertullian (ca. 200 AD): "All souls, therefore; are shut up within Hades: do you admit this? (It is true, whether) you say yes or no…"
3 The “gates of hades”, then, represent the “powers of death”, as Steve’s quotation of the verse from the RSV indicates, and “the sting of death is sin”. (1 Corinthians 15:56) Thus the text seems to be a promise of protection from the powers of death and sin for Christ’s assembly (
ekklesia) of believers. For this reason Michael M. Winter, former lecturer in Fundamental Theology at St. John’s Seminary (Roman Catholic), in his excellent scholarly defense of the papacy, admits that "although some writers have applied the idea of immortality to the survival of the church, it seems preferable to see it as a promise of triumph over evil."
4
Furthermore, there are numerous allusions in the early Christian literature to Christ, when he died and went to hades, breaking down the gates of Hades and leading out the faithful to glorious resurrection. For instance, Athanasius related the following tradition: "He burst open the gates of brass, He broke through the bolts of iron, and He took the souls which were in Amente {the Coptic equivalent of Hades} and carried them to His Father… Now the souls He brought out of Amente, but the bodies He raised up on the earth…"
5 Therefore it is clear what Jesus was talking about when he said “the gates of hades” would not prevail against the Church, and to apply this statement to the perpetuation of the earthly Church would make no sense.
