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"And I say unto thee,
thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church: and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18
My favorite proof text for an optimistic view
of history is a well known scripture verse. Although well known, few seem to
understand its significance. This verse is Matthew 16:18. The context is
Peter's confession of Jesus as Messiah. Jesus says that He will build His
church on that truth. Jesus also says that the gates of Hell will not prevail
against that Church as it stands upon that foundation. Many Christians are so
conditioned to a pessimistic view of history that they automatically reverse
that passage to read "Hell will not prevail against the gates of the
Church." That's not what it says, folks! The Church is not to withdraw
within its walls and take pride in the fact that she can withstand the
continuing siege of the forces of darkness until Jesus comes back and raptures
her out of her predicament. No! Christ is commanding His church to get out and
take the offensive and storm the gates of Hell and knock over the devil's
strongholds. Christians should be taking their principles to the marketplace
and making inroads for the kingdom of Jesus Christ. He has promised that the
gates of Hell are no match for His loyal troops.1
Because Jesus Christ declared that "the
gates of hell shall not prevail against" His Church (Matt. 16:18), "
there shall be always a church on earth, to worship God according to His
will." "The gates of hell" means the powers, council, or
authority of hell, the city council in ancient times convening publicly before
the gates; "prevail" here has the force of "withstand," and
the Berkeley Version translates it, "the gates of hell shall not hold out
against her." This connotes clearly action against hell by the Church, and
defensive action by hell. It is heretical thinking to assume that the action of
the church is defensive; it is dangerous and creates a mood receptive to the
enthronement of Satan for the Church to assume that its position is a defensive
retreat towards the rapture or towards the second coming. The Church, however
small, and however much a Gideon's band, is the aggressor against the powers of
darkness, who, in constant frenzy, try to barricade themselves, in their towers
of Babel, against the sovereign and omnipotent God.2
This verse, following immediately after Peter's
magnificent confession of Jesus as the Christ, gives us special confidence for
believing in the future progress of the Church. It has usually been understood
to mean that the Church which Christ established will be able to defend itself
against all its foes, that even the worst that the enemies of the Gospel will be
able to bring against it will not be able to destroy it. We believe, however,
that the real meaning is quite different. "Gates" are not offensive,
but defensive weapons. They are stationary. They do not make the attack. In
that day the gates were strongly fortified instruments designed for the defense
of the city, designed to withstand the strongest onslaughts of the attackers.
As such they did not move. Hence the real meaning of this verse is, not that
the Church will be able to defend itself against all attacks, but that it will
make the attack, that it will advance throughout the world, and that nothing,
literally nothing, will be able to resist it. All will fall before it. Before
the end comes the Church will make a clean sweep of everything. Even the
strongest fortress of the enemy will be laid waste before it. Surely that is
Postmillennialism with a vengeance!!3
CHRISTIAN RECONSTRUCTION TODAY issue #1
Sept./Oct 1988. Subscription: STILL
WATERS REVIVAL BOOKS 4710-37A Ave.
Edmonton, AB. Canada T6L 3T5
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FOOTNOTES:
1. Mark Duncan: The Five Points of Christian
Reconstruction from the Lips of Our Lord, Still Waters Revival Books, 1990.
2. R.J. Rushdoony: The Foundations of the
Social Order, pp. 181, 182. Fairfax, VA: Thoburn Press, 1978.
3. L. Boettner: The Millennium. pp. 409, 410.
Presbyterian and Reformed, 1986.
Antichrist (666) Revealed In Classic Puritan,
Reformation and Covenanter Thought - Prophecy, Antichrist, and Eschatology