Please explain this verse to me?

Question

MT 16:17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ

Specifically verse 19. I added the rest so there is a little context for you to read.
Also how does this verse get used today?
Personally I think this verse may have been added by the catholic church later to suppose they have the rights to send people to heaven or hell..

Answer 1

you mean as a way of social control,most probably is the
way religions are 'spreading the word of God',specially
in the industrialized word,about Peter?,i could be that there is some kind of relation with the book of Peter in the Bible,pertaining those words,if I'm not mistaken,

Answer 2

The gatekeepers were a distinct group of Levites within the temple of the Old Testament. (The priests and the musicians were the two other groups.)Their job was to literally hold the keys, lock the doors, guard the treasure, allow certain people in, etc.

Jesus was giving Peter the keys to his kingdom, assigning him as the gatekeeper who would guard the treasury of the kingdom, etc.

There is more about the role of "gatekeeper" but I can't take time now .....But think about it: what is the great treasure of the kingdom today? what are the gates? what is the role of a pastor today? etc.

As far as the last part of vs. 19 I think this translation (from the NET bible) brings out the real idea:

16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”

So whatever Peter binds on earth WILL HAVE ALREADY BEEN BOUND in heaven, etc.

Peter, representing the people of God's kingdom, would be under Christ's authority and would only bind or loose what Christ has already done. Jesus was gving Peter - and all of Jesus' disciples - no carte blanche to do whatever they wished. Just the contrary! Peter was to do only what Jesus was doing in heaven!.... Just as Jesus declared that He only did what He saw the Father do, He only spoke what the Father was speaking, etc..

Well, there is more but email me if you wish to discuss...

god bless

Answer 3

According to history there were two keys. Peter used one on the day of Pentecost to open the gate so that the Jewish believers could enter the kindgom of the heavens (Acts 2:38-42), and he used the other in the house of Cornelius to open the gate so that the Gentile believers could enter (Acts 10:34-38). Here the "kindgom of the heavens" is used interchangeably for "church", which is used in the previous verse, verse 18. This is a strong proof that the genuine church is the kingdom of the heavens in this age. This is confirmed by Romans 14:17, in which the kingdom of God is mentioned in obvious reference to the proper church life.

This Gospel is concerned with the kingdom of the heavens, which is a matter of authority. The church revealed in this book represents the kingdom with its reign. Hence, the authority to bind and to loose was given not only to Peter, the apostle for the church here, but also to the church itself (18:17-18).

Whatever the church people bind or loose on earth must be something that has already been bound or loosed in the heavens. We can bind or loose only what has already been bound or loosed in the heavens (MT 18:18). Here to bind means to condemn, and to loose means to forgive.

Answer 4

The rock represents Christ which our faith stands on, it is the foundation of the church, because the Holy Spirit reveal it to him. The church wasn't meant to be a building it is the people like Peter, the Holy Spirit draws us to Christ Jesus in who He is.Anyone who recieves Jesus as there Lord and Savior He also gives them the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, that we may speak against what is evil we can bind it on earth and cast it out and we also can loosen blessings on peoples lives from what the devil has stolen from them, and it will be done by God in heaven because we are his Children now. Only God can send people to heaven or hell through the chioces we make while we live. So choose you this day who you will serve. I pray that it is the right one.

Answer 5

I cant find any note in my Greek New Testament saying that Matthew 16:17 is only found in later manuscripts, so all I can figure is that it is genuine. Besides, read the Acts of the Apostles and you will see how prominent Peter is, particularly before Paul came along, Peter was really the head of the church. Verse 19 does sound out-of-place though. Could be an interpolation I don't know for sure.

Answer 6

According to the New American Bible footnote for that passage:

The keys to the kingdom of heaven: the image of the keys is probably drawn from Isaiah 22:15-25 where Eliakim, who succeeds Shebnah as master of the palace, is given "the key of the house of David," which he authoritatively "opens" and "shuts" (Isaiah 22:22). Whatever you bind . . . loosed in heaven: there are many instances in rabbinic literature of the binding-loosing imagery. Of the several meanings given there to the metaphor, two are of special importance here: the giving of authoritative teaching, and the lifting or imposing of the ban of excommunication. It is disputed whether the image of the keys and that of binding and loosing are different metaphors meaning the same thing. In any case, the promise of the keys is given to Peter alone. In Matthew 18:18 all the disciples are given the power of binding and loosing, but the context of that verse suggests that there the power of excommunication alone is intended. That the keys are those to the kingdom of heaven and that Peter's exercise of authority in the church on earth will be confirmed in heaven show an intimate connection between, but not an identification of, the church and the kingdom of heaven.

Answer 7

I still have trouble seeing Peter as te father of the church. It seems more like Jesus is saying that the revelation of truth from GOD personally will be the foundation of the church. If the church was built on Peter it would be a pretty flimsy church. Even after Christ was risen there is arguments between Peter and Paul.
As far as the Catholic church adding it, I doubt it.

Answer 8

It may have some base sense in morality but I don't trust the form or originality too much pork my blood . you decide for yourself I already know my standards don't always coincide fully with the semi good book...to me the reason that what you bind on earth is bound in heaven is because this is a tricky way of admitting that hell and heaven are in your head as christ supposedly said before and that means of this earth as well . the double entendre is politically sound to captivate the minds of a more diverse audience much like modern political speech.
peace out

Answer 9

The rock was what Peter said the key's to bind or loose things. What ever we want we will have is basically what it's saying. The church was built on the fact that Jesus was the Christ. Our words bind us and loose us. So be careful what you say.

Answer 10

These verses were not added by the Catholic Church later for any reason.

They certainly were not added to give the Church "the right to send people to heaven or hell."

The Catholic Church does not claim, and has never claimed, to have the right or power to send people to heaven or hell.

Catholic teaching is clear that whether we go to heaven or hell is up to US.

We either choose to be with God (by placing our faith in Him and leading a life reflective of that faith) ... or we choose to be separated from Him. In either case, for eternity.

Back to the verse: all it means, in a nutshell, is that the Church (with Peter and his successors, the Popes) has been commissioned by God with full earthly authority.

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