The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail
One of the most important chapters in the gospels is
Matthew 16 where the keys of the kingdom are promised to Peter. Verse 18 is particularly significant for
Christianity and one that is interpreted differently between the various
Christian denominations. The Savior said
to Peter, “That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Most of the discussion I believe has focused
on what the “rock” is that Christ is referring to.
Some would say that it is Peter himself; Joseph Smith said it was the rock of revelation. Bruce R. McConkie suggested that in addition to revelation we can extend that to say that it is also Jesus Christ: “Christ is the Rock: the Rock of Ages, the Stone of Israel, the Sure Foundation—the Lord is our Rock!” (General Conference, April 1981). But what is the antecedent of “it” in the last phrase? I think that it is assumed to be the Church by most. If that’s the case, then the text would be saying that the “gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church.” This is the interpretation given in the CES New Testament manual, which states, “Thus, the Savior’s promise that ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail’ means that death and evil will not permanently overpower the Church” (New Testament Student Manual, ch. 6). The manual references a quote from President Harold B. Lee which speaks of how salvation for the dead makes it so that even while the gospel was not on the earth after the Apostasy ultimately all can receive salvation. I understand this and I think it generally makes sense, but it still seems odd to say that the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church given what we know of the Apostasy. The Church was driven “into the wilderness” by the tares that Satan sowed according to D&C 86:3, and so it sure seems like the gates of hell prevailed in some respect against the Church, if only temporarily. I wonder if instead of focusing on the Church, we can’t instead interpret “it” to be the rock. From a simple grammatical point of view it seems just as plausible to me. And if we take the rock to be Christ Himself, then surely the gates of hell have never and never will prevail against Him. To me this fits in the context of what the Savior told the apostles next in Matthew 16: He said to them them “how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” (Matt 16:21). That was the atonement, and His resurrection showed that indeed the gates of hell and Satan could not prevail against Him. When Peter then suggested that it would not be so—speaking of His death—Christ gave the stunning rebuke: “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Ultimately what the adversary wanted was to thwart the atonement and resurrection, and Peter’s suggestion, however innocent, that the atonement not take place was suggesting that hell prevail instead of Christ. But Christ did prevail, and even though the Church was driven into the wilderness, the gates of hell never triumphed against Him. I think that D&C 10:69 also supports the idea that Matt 16:18 refers to Christ as the conqueror over the gates of hell. The Lord said, “Whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.” The qualifiers of this verse seem to indicate that the church or people of the church could have the gates of hell prevail against them. It’s the rock that is never failing, and while here the rock seems to have reference to the gospel, I think that we can also interpret it as Christ Himself. Ultimately it may be that both interpretations for the antecedent of “it” in Matt. 16:18 are valid, and in the end the question for us is whether we will let the gates of hell prevail in our own lives. Helaman of course gave the answer to us for how to prevent that: be founded in the “rock of our Redeemer” which indeed can never fail us.
Some would say that it is Peter himself; Joseph Smith said it was the rock of revelation. Bruce R. McConkie suggested that in addition to revelation we can extend that to say that it is also Jesus Christ: “Christ is the Rock: the Rock of Ages, the Stone of Israel, the Sure Foundation—the Lord is our Rock!” (General Conference, April 1981). But what is the antecedent of “it” in the last phrase? I think that it is assumed to be the Church by most. If that’s the case, then the text would be saying that the “gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church.” This is the interpretation given in the CES New Testament manual, which states, “Thus, the Savior’s promise that ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail’ means that death and evil will not permanently overpower the Church” (New Testament Student Manual, ch. 6). The manual references a quote from President Harold B. Lee which speaks of how salvation for the dead makes it so that even while the gospel was not on the earth after the Apostasy ultimately all can receive salvation. I understand this and I think it generally makes sense, but it still seems odd to say that the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church given what we know of the Apostasy. The Church was driven “into the wilderness” by the tares that Satan sowed according to D&C 86:3, and so it sure seems like the gates of hell prevailed in some respect against the Church, if only temporarily. I wonder if instead of focusing on the Church, we can’t instead interpret “it” to be the rock. From a simple grammatical point of view it seems just as plausible to me. And if we take the rock to be Christ Himself, then surely the gates of hell have never and never will prevail against Him. To me this fits in the context of what the Savior told the apostles next in Matthew 16: He said to them them “how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” (Matt 16:21). That was the atonement, and His resurrection showed that indeed the gates of hell and Satan could not prevail against Him. When Peter then suggested that it would not be so—speaking of His death—Christ gave the stunning rebuke: “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Ultimately what the adversary wanted was to thwart the atonement and resurrection, and Peter’s suggestion, however innocent, that the atonement not take place was suggesting that hell prevail instead of Christ. But Christ did prevail, and even though the Church was driven into the wilderness, the gates of hell never triumphed against Him. I think that D&C 10:69 also supports the idea that Matt 16:18 refers to Christ as the conqueror over the gates of hell. The Lord said, “Whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.” The qualifiers of this verse seem to indicate that the church or people of the church could have the gates of hell prevail against them. It’s the rock that is never failing, and while here the rock seems to have reference to the gospel, I think that we can also interpret it as Christ Himself. Ultimately it may be that both interpretations for the antecedent of “it” in Matt. 16:18 are valid, and in the end the question for us is whether we will let the gates of hell prevail in our own lives. Helaman of course gave the answer to us for how to prevent that: be founded in the “rock of our Redeemer” which indeed can never fail us.
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