The Gates Shall Fall
September 28th, 2009 by 
chesedkel
“…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18
Some time before Jesus and his disciples travelled to Jerusalem, he brought them to Caesarea – a place notorious for its paganism. They stood before a cave that used to contain the idol of the Canaanite god of fertility, Baal-zebub. The people who worshipped Baal in this place practiced various acts of immorality that varied from child sacrifice to temple prostitution. Because of the immense wickedness of Caesarea, the Jewish people of Israel called it the Land of the Devil. Any Jew would not deign to go there and risk letting their minds be polluted by a demon prancing around with a wicked fork.
By Jesus’ time, the culture of worshipping Baal ceased to exist. But a new god came to take his place. It was Pan, the Greek god of fertility, depicted as a satyr with a cunning beard. The culture of immorality was just as prevalent as Baal-worship. Niches were carved in the rock walls where idols of Pan were placed and there were also ‘goat dancers’ who displayed erotic acts in their dance moves. The cave exuded an aura of a cold, foreign god who had won the devotion of many people.
While in full view of the Pan-worshippers and the immoral things that they did, Jesus turned to his disciples and asked, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” (Matthew 16:13).
Most of the disciples said that he was called John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or any one of the prophets.
Then came the question that tested their personal knowledge of Jesus: “But who do you say that I am?”
Despite being in the presence of the idols of Pan, which bore witness to the rule of the Greek god, Peter puckered up his faith and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (v.16)
It was by God’s divine revelation that Peter was able to recognize that there is only one living God. In response to Peter’s answer, Jesus said, “On this rock I will build my church.” If we understand the geographical setting in which this dialogue took place, we would know that ‘rock’ refers to the cave of Pan – a symbol of the pagan culture. Jesus continued to say that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. ‘Gates of Hell’ also refers to the cave where there used to be Baal-Zebub, whose name was translated as ‘Lord of the Underworld’. Essentially, Jesus was saying, “My church will come and take the place of the paganism of this culture and it will not be overcome by evil. It will be on the offensive to assail the territory of Satan until he falls.”
Jesus always moves forward to confront the forces of evil, not waiting for them to go to him to be dealt with. So when he brought his disciples to Caesarea, he was teaching them that the church has to move into the paganism of the society, fight against it with the power of God, and take its place. Many perceive the church as a fortress on the defensive when a spiritual battle takes place, but Jesus has meant for it to be on the offensive, for the gates are the ones that are locked to protect against the aggressor during a battle. Since Jesus proclaimed that the Gates of Hell will fall, we know that the church is destined to attack the kingdom of darkness relentlessly. The hell-forged gates will groan at its hinges under the tides of Christian warriors whose weapons are prayer, worship, mission work, and bible-teaching. The denizens of darkness shall tremble. And when Christ arrives atop his white horse bearing a double-edged sword, the gates will crash down with such great clamor that will shake the belly of Hell.
Our mission is to confront the Gates of Hell of our society, but not to stick to the tradition of a defensive fort where we get too complacent in our comfort zones. Churches and Christian schools ought to be placed where they members can take on the evils of society, touching communities where the power of Jesus has not been felt. As individuals, we need to consider the non-Christians, be they family members, relatives, and friends, into our social circles but not neglect them just because their systems of belief differ from ours. Just as God had made the apostles increase in favour and influence with the public, so can He make us to be Christ’s gospel-bearers of this age. The carnal kingdom of the devil will have to leave because the House of God is here to stay.
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