2007-10-17 04:35:04 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The church led by Peter and James was basically wiped out by the Paul followers.
They called themselves the Nazarenes, and their immediate successors were the Ebionites, who were declared heretical by the Paul-based Church.
The church "started by Peter" has not existed for a very long time.
"Telling a non-Christian that she's going to "burn in hell" is like calling offsides on the *spectators* at a football game"
2007-10-18 03:24:24 · answer #1 · answered by Raven's Voice 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First, Christ started the Church.
Second, the translation of hell should be hades. or death.
So we need to understand what it means for the gates of death to prevail over the Church. Gates are created to either keep people in or keep people out.
If the gates of hell were designed to keep us out, then Christ's promise that the gates of hell will not preveal against the Church means that the Church will succeed in going to hell. Personally, i dont think Christ was promising that the Church will go to hell or die. do you?
Now if the gates of hell were designed to keep us in hell, thats a different story. It means at some point the Church will be dead. But death will not prevail against the Church. This could mean two things, probably both.
First, the Church as a visible body will die, but that death will be overcome and be restored.
Second, The church, meaning the individual saints in the Church, though they will die will rise from the dead through the Merits of Christ and the resurrection.
So no. The Church started by Christ will not be prevailed against. He paid the price to redeem us from hell.
2007-10-17 11:56:17 · answer #2 · answered by Avatar_defender_of_the_light 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Jesus told Peter, "You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out."
Christ named him Peter in an allusion to his stability or firmness in professing the truth. The word translated to rock, is not the same word as Peter, but is of a similar meaning. Nothing can be more wrong than to suppose that Christ meant the person of Peter was the rock. Without doubt Christ himself is the Rock, the tried foundation of the church; and woe to him that attempts to lay any other!
Peter's confession that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, is this rock as to doctrine. No one can prevail against God Himself. It has nothing to do with human effort. God is Sovereign.
There is no rock , there is no god like our God
No other name worthy of all our praise
The Rock of Salvation that cannot be moved
He’s proven himself to be faithful and true
There is no rock, there is no god like ours
Rock of Ages
Jesus is the Rock
2007-10-17 12:35:18 · answer #3 · answered by bwlobo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hi Coholt
This verse that you mentioned is amazing. This is the first time the word' Church' is mentioned in the bible.. imagine that..
The Lord asked the disciples a question.. " who do men say that i am"
Peter..after being given a revelation from the Father said " You are the Christ.. the Son of the Living God"
The Lord knew that Peter of his own accord would not have uttered such a thing and that it was revealed to him by the Father..
He said in Matthew 16:18
" And I also say to you that you are Peter.. and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall NOT prevail against it.
The Lord said he WILL build His Church.
In His epistles broher Peter was really impressed with this matter .. and was even given a deeper revelation by the Lord concerning this builded CHurch
1 Peter 2:5
And you yourselves also, as living stones are BEING BUILT up into a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ"
There is a very deep meaning to this matter in John 1:42
" He led him to Jesus. Looking at him, Jesus said, You are Simon, the son of John and you shall be called Cephas ( which is interpreted Peter)
Peter means Rock..Being changed from Simon to Peter shows us something very significant..
Shows us that through the Working of the Spirit God is able to transform us from merely being a " simon" to becoming a " Peter" .. a rock.. a living stone for His Builded Church.
The Builded CHurch is the most frightful thing to satan. ONce the Lord has completed this building in all of us He will have a way to come back and it is this church that will deal the enemy of God and man. Hades shall not prevail against it.
May we each day be so open to the Lords inner workings in our being. That the Spirit will have a way to strip us of all the natural things of the Old man and truly usher us to see that we are in the process of transformation .. May we not just remain as " simon" but become " Cephus or Peter"
A living stone and precious stone for the Lord's builded Prevailing Church
Great Q
sandy
2007-10-17 11:59:56 · answer #4 · answered by Broken Alabaster Flask 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on Earth..
The gates of Hell have not prevailed even with their measly little battering ram who has a couple of initials for a name
2007-10-17 11:50:42 · answer #5 · answered by Midge 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Jesus established the church and made Peter the head of that church(Peter was the first pope, bishop of Rome)and no the gates of hell will never prevail of Christ's Church, it has been going strong for over 2,000 years and will continue to do so.
2007-10-17 11:42:30 · answer #6 · answered by tebone0315 7 · 6⤊ 6⤋
Strange, you allude to a verse that specifically identifies Jesus as the one who started the Church that the gates of hell will not prevail against.
2007-10-17 11:40:57 · answer #7 · answered by NONAME 7 · 4⤊ 5⤋
No the gates of Hell will lose always in the end God and love are ever stronger then HELL!!!
2007-10-17 11:40:58 · answer #8 · answered by Rita 6 · 7⤊ 1⤋
why would hell have gates? the idea of hell having gates is from dantes inferno
and dont worry hell is a made up place to normal people but its real to a bunch of people who choose myth over reality
2007-10-17 11:45:53 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Do you label all opposition to a specific interpretation of your religion as the "gates of hell?"
It must be hard for you to make friends.
Here is one important thing: The christian "church" began with the torture and murder of pagans once christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire in the third or fourth century A.D. Most ancient books and knowledge were lost, and pagans killed. Don't forget the Crusades over the holy land, the inquisition (which led to the torture and death by burning of "heretics" as young as six, accused for witchcraft by money grubbing men working with the church) , or the tyrannical rule of the official christian "church," which had no separation from government.
If anything, christianity has improved because they no longer torture, kill, and destroy those outside the church. Know your history, or your questions will sound silly.
2007-10-17 11:43:43 · answer #10 · answered by Dalarus 7 · 3⤊ 6⤋