Why do Catholics believe that Christ was referring to Peter when He said?

Question

"...and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matt 16:18

When clearly from scripture the rock He was speaking of was Himself?

1Cr 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Answer 1

I know Catholics do not accept what the Bible teaches, much prefering what their own writers fabricate, but if Peter was ever in Rome, then Paul was a liar:

Romans 15:20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:

Galatians 2:8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)


Peter is not the personage the Church of God was to be founded on:

1Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Christ is the foundation, not Peter.

Peter is not the Rock, Yeshua is the Rock on which the Chruch of God is built. Peter's confession that Christ was the Son of the Living God bears this out. The Church of God is not built on a mortal man, but on the Son of God.

1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

This gives gives the lie to RCC claims that Peter is the Rock. It also points to Yeshua being the God of the Old Testament.

Other proofs that it is sacriligious to call Peter, a mere man, the Rock and giving the true identity of the Rock:

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he

De 32:15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. 32:18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. 32:30 How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up? 32:31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

1Samuel 2:2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

2Sa 22:2 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; 3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence... 22:32 For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God?
22:47 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation. 23:3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

Psalms 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 18:31 For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? 18:46 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. 28:1 A Psalm of David. Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. 31:2 Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. 42:9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 62:2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. 62:6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. 62:7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. 71:3 Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.

There is a ton more scriptures in Psalms, Proverbs and Eccleseastes.

Isaiah 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (compare with 1Peter 2:8) Isaiah 17:10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:

The scriptures prove that there is only ONE ROCK, and it ain't Peter.

Now, who was this "Peter" or "Pater" who formed the RCC in Rome? Too much info to post here. If you really want to know, follow these links:


http://www.pointsoftruth.com/SimonMagus....

http://www.remnantofgod.org/pope1

Answer 2

Look at the context of the text and you'll see why. It's basic grammar. I see that you left out the first three words of Jesus' sentence. It will trip you up every time if you take stuff out of context.

"You are Peter (which means "rock") and upon this rock (there it is again!) I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Suppose Peter's nickname was "Freeway," and Jesus said,

"You are Freeway, and upon this freeway I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Would you still say that Jesus wasn't talking about Peter?

What if Peter's nickname was "Limestone Foundation."

"You are Limestone Foundation and upon this limestone foundation I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

You see, when you change it to something other than Peter, it's really very clear, isn't it? You've just been conditioned to think that Jesus *isn't* talking about Peter...because Protestants can't afford to think that Jesus isn't talking about Peter.

None of this negates 1 Corinthians 10:4. Jesus is THE ROCK. But He's the one who gave Simon the nickname "Peter," which means Rock. He obviously intended there to be a correlation between Peter as a leader and Himself as a leader. Which is what Catholics believe. Peter and all his successors are the 'vicars of Christ on earth,' meaning they are the guys that Jesus wants to help keep Christians heading in the right direction while He is bodily in heaven.

Answer 3

Amen
Within the context of this verse sister we can clearly say that it was not the Brother Peter He would build the Church upon .. He said to Peter that flesh and blood did not reveal what Peter said to him, but the Father.
What He was building the Church upon was the REvelation that the Father revealed to Peter.. that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Most cults today would deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. They deny His divinity.

This is not a light matter. We see this in the book of Acts when Philip was sharing the Gospel with the Eunuch. To be saved we believe with all our heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Believing and confessing this brings about our salvation.

So sister.. This Revelation was the that Christ is the Spiritual Rock upon which He builds His church.

Its interesting that in this portion ...FIVE verses later in Matthew 16:23 the Lord rebuked Peter and said "Get Thee behind me satan".. Was Peter satan? No.. but he spoke things that were of satan.. was Peter the rock? NO.. but he spoke something that the Father revealed to Him regarding Christ Who is the real Rock.

Great Question
your sister
sandy

Answer 4

Well, let's read the whole story. Jesus is asking the disciples about who people said he was. When Simon Peter answers for the rest of the disciples Jesus changes his name to "Peter" (a name that means "Rock") see verses 12 and 13. It is important to remember that this would have happened around 32 AD. Paul was writing to the Corinthians some 20 years later. It seems pretty clear that Jesus was talking to Peter and was calling him "Rock".

8 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi 9 he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, 10 others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
11 Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood 12 has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, 13 and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. 14 Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

btw Paul J...if you want to get rid of man-made traditions how about starting with the so-called "Prophecies of St. Malachy" and whoever gave you the idea that "the false prophet" is going to be the Pope.
I don't like the papacy or Roman Catholicism but making up lies and silly stories does nothing to advance the truth.

Answer 5

It replaced into literal. Peter had the authority to alter church doctrine which incorporate nutritional rules and circumsion by way of revelation. the subject is that did no longer mean that any bishop of Rome replaced into ever an Apostle with Peter's authority. This replaced right into a declare made by utilising later bishops centuries after Peter. the area of Senior Apostle could have long gone to James and then John, to no longer an area administrator. while all the Apostles died the keys have been withdrawn from the earth till the restore.

Answer 6

You are using the context of the word "rock" in 1 Corinthians and applying it to a verse from the Gospel of Matthew?!?!?

The word "rock" can have different meanings depending on how it is used in the sentence. The same is true for the word "can".

Look at Matthew 16:17-18:

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,"

Who is Jesus speaking to and about? Peter. He is not talking about Himself. He is making a pun on the name Peter, which means "rock"

If Jesus were referring to Himself as the Rock in this verse, he would have said " I AM Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,"

Answer 7

First things first. Catholics believe that the Church, in other words, church tradition, has the same authority as the Holy Scriptures. They also believe that the Pope is a direct descendant from Peter. Peter was the first bishop of the church in Jerusalem and so were the next 16 bishops who just happened to also be Jewish, just like Peter. It was not until later that the "line of the Popes" moved to Rome.

Therefore, they are totally full of their own version of church tradition with very little of the truth. But I guess you have to fix history so you can be "infallible." Its a total power trip to be in power over the people.

If they would get back to the original documents and throw out their man-made traditions they would be a lot better off. However this will not happen.

Be aware however that the "False Prophet" will come from the Catholic Church. In fact the next Pope is somehow related and will take the name "Peter" as his name as Pope. He will be the final Pope.

Answer 8

The text you are referring to is:
Matthew 16:18 (King James Version) (The one the Catholics use)

18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.


Catholics (incorrectly) interpret this to mean Peter as the Rock; it is "Peter's" lineage that supposedly is the Pope.
But the entire text must be considered in interpreting the "rock" on which Christ is building. If you read the verse prior, you will see that Christ is speaking of faith in the unseen and unknown. It is not the physical being Peter that is the Rock - it is his faith.

Faith in things unseen and unknown are the base of religion.

Answer 9

The "rock" was the CONFESSION of Jesus' IDENTITY.

The linguistics would allow Simon to be named "rock" in the form used in the statement, BUT, that is NOT what was done... Greek has two words which can be translated "rock," but the meanings are very different.

"Petra," the "rock" of Simon's statement means bedrock or a boulder, and "petros," the "rock" which became Simon's new name means a pebble. So Jesus DIDN'T say Peter would be the foundation of the church, but that “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” WOULD BE THAT FOUNDATION.

The 1Corinthians 10:4 text is NOT speaking of the "rock" of Peter's confession as being Christ, but another rock. Here Paul is speaking symbolically of the nation of Israel wandering in the Sinai wilderness for 40 years. Paul asserts that Jesus was the water (which came from a rock Moses hit with a stick) and the manna that they drank and ate.

Answer 10

Jesus was referring to Himself, but He clearly meant the establishment of the church started with Peter. In the greek language Petros also meaning peter stood for rock. There can be great theological study on this. JUst remember that we should always to look to Christ as the way we live. May GOd bless you with knowledge and wisdom.

Answer 11

Common Catholic-Verse-Protestant argument, i've read this argument in texts over two hundred years old in Ireland. Obviously the catholic church needs to and has always needed to interpret that verse as implying peter is the rock as this is the basis for the popes god-given infallibility, and the biblical proof that the catholic churches heirachy is god-inspired not simply an invention of dictators.

Things were so much easier when the bible was only in latin and only priests were allowed to read it.

Love the votes down, go ahead, vote down history, ignorance doesn't mean it didn't happen.