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In Matthew 16, beginning with verse 16, "And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17. And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 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 overpower it." NASB. (The KJV uses “gates of hell” for hades.) What exactly does this scripture mean?
Well, the first question I had about it is “what would the church be doing in hell?” Then when I saw that it was hades, which means “grave,” I began to get a glimpse of its true meaning.
The Greek word for “gates,” "pule," pronounced "poo'-lay," means "entrance" or "Portal," and the word for “hell” that is used here is "hades," which means "state of departed souls, or "grave." This, Jesus spoke concerning the resurrection from the dead.
Those of His church (saved Christians) no longer had to fear death, for by the resurrection from the dead all live eternally who believe in Jesus. The portals (or gates) of the grave shall not prevail against the church. Those who died would inherit the kingdom just like those still living, only through resurrection from the dead.
The scripture that says, “He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men,” addresses this same issue. Men were held captive all the days of their lives by the fear of death. Their ancestors who had died were put in tombs and were still there. If that was all they had to look forward, it brought fear of death. Jesus told them that those who believed in Him, would never die.
Apparently, those who died before the coming of the Messiah laid in their graves, awaiting resurrection to life. There is a scripture that says, “the earth shall give birth to the departed spirits.” This is an Old Testament promise looking forward to the Messiah. At the time of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, there were saints of old that were also released from their graves and went into the city (Jerusalem) and were seen of many.
Since Jesus came and gave those who believe it Him the right to become sons of God, when a believer dies, I believe he goes immediately to be with the Lord. His body is in the grave and undergoes decay, but he doesn’t need it anymore because he now has a “glorified,” heavenly body.
I have heard preachers many time say "we're going to storm the gates of hell!" They apparently hold the concept of “Dante’s Inferno,” where hell is depicted as a burning fire in which Satan and his demons are stoking the fire and waiting for the sinners to be thrown into it. If Satan and the demons were already there, why would scripture say that they would be cast into the lake of fire as their final punishment?
Dante's Inferno is not a true picture of hell. Read my article on “Hell.”
In the book of Job, death is said to have gates. "Have the gates of death been revealed to you?" Job 38:17. I believe this is speaking of the grave.
