What are "the gates of Hades"?

In a previous thread, I was considering the question “What are the keys of the kingdom?”, based on the words of Jesus at Caesarea Philippi.
The same episode also prompts another question;
What exactly is Jesus promising when he says about the church “The Gates of Hades shall not prevail against it”? – Matthew ch16 v18

Does it mean that the church will stand firm against attack?
Many people have liked that interpretation.
Matthew Henry writes “This implies that the church has enemies that fight against it, and endeavour its ruin and overthrow, here represented by ‘the gates of hell’”.
But I don’t buy the idea, because I just don’t see a set of gates [PULAI] being used as an offensive weapon.

The point of gates is that they enclose.
The gates of a city are there to stop people getting in.
The gates of a prison are there to stop people getting out.
The Bible understands Sheol or Hades as a prison, in the sense that souls don’t normally escape from it.
So the meaning of the promise must be that the power of Hades to enclose will not able to resist the power of the church.

In this connection, we can find a useful clue in the “keys to Hades” mentioned in the first chapter of Revelation.
John hears a voice, turns round, and sees the figure of “one like a son of man”.
This figure represents Jesus and speaks in his name.
The vision declares “I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation ch1 v18).
What he must be claiming is the power to open up the gates of Hades, the prison of the dead, and let people out.
This power would be firmly based upon his own Resurrection.

The promise in Matthew must have the same effect; the prison gates will not hold out against the power of the church.
The church breaks out through the gates, or breaks open the gates from outside.
The result, either way, is that people are escaping the holding power of death.
This becomes possible through the message contained in the gospel about the power of the Resurrection, thus fulfilling the claim of Revelation.

I’ve already looked at the next verse in the Matthew passage, the promise of the keys of the kingdom.
This implies the power to open up the door of the kingdom and let people in.
It’s possible to see a close connection between the two promises.
For the teaching of the New Testament allows, in the last analysis, just the two ultimate possibilities.
We can be part of the realm of life, or we can be part of the realm of death.

There is a sense, in fact, in which men are naturally part of the realm of death and remain there until they enter the kingdom of heaven.
Which is why Jesus says “Let the dead bury their dead” (Matthew ch8 v22)
In which case, the act of getting into the kingdom of heaven is also the act of getting out of the realm of death.


If we think of these realms as two areas with a single doorway passing between them, then this door will have two functions at the same time, as the exit from one realm and the entrance into the other.
In other words, “the gates of Hades” and “the door of the kingdom of heaven” can be seen as alternative names (from different angles) for one and the same passageway, leading between the two kingdoms.

So it seems to me that these promises are two different ways of saying the same thing.
The promise of v18 is that the “gates of Hades” will not be able to resist the church, which will break through and force its way out of Hades (and into the kingdom).
The promise of v19 is that the church will be able to let people into the kingdom (thus getting them out of the realm of Hades).

Then these two verses, and their two promises, have the same effect, in that they are commissioning the church to keep that passage open.

The commission is fulfilled when the church proclaims the gospel and the power of the Resurrection.

Agree D . I have a vague remembrance of a commentary saying something to the effects that Christ uses His Church to attack Hades and there for it can not stand .You drawing the parallel with the two and making it a one and the same works for me .Thanks S&F

a reply to: the2ofusr1
Thank you for the encouragement.
Commentaries vary, but I think the "Hades attacking the church" idea breaks down when you try to picture the scene.

Death= skeleton key.

originally posted by: Wifibrains

A skeleton key (also known as a passingkey) is either a key that has been altered in such a way as to bypass the wards placed inside a warded lock, or a card that contains information necessary to open locks for a certain area. The term derives from the fact that the key has been reduced to its essential parts.

The term "skeleton key", in a more general sense, is also sometimes used in reference to a key or similar object capable of opening any lock regardless of make or type. The term refers to the skeletal structure which can bypass all locks.

A skeleton key has the warded section of the key removed so that it opens all the doors of a system.

I see ya!...

SnF as usual.

As you know, in the Apostle's Creed, Jesus is said to have gone to "Hell". The Early Church Fathers believed that, as Christ had to be the first to enter Heaven, just souls had to be somewhere, and that somewhere was Sheol (Hades in Greek.) So they held that, between the death and resurrection, Christ was in Hell. That's problematic, if Hell is a the realm of Satan, pitchforks and eternal fire, but the problem is resolved if one takes the view that Hell is the state of separation from God. Jacob, for example, died long before 33AD, but in a timeless realm, he might have just been sitting around, without God, for a couple of days.

Here's what the Catechism has to say about it: "HE DESCENDED INTO HELL. ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN"

We also find a reference to this in 1 Peter:

For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. (1 Peter 4:6 NIV)

Who did the preaching? Well, Christ, of course. When did he do it? Between the death and resurrection seems most likely.

The idea was most fully fleshed out in the Gospel of Nicodemus, incorporated into the Acts of Pilate.

For some reason (okay, for an obvious reason, lol,) some Protestants do all sorts of mental gymnastics to expunge this notion from the Bible, but it's pretty clear, from the creed, from Scripture and from early writings, that this idea, that Hades was not exclusively some fire and brimstone place of eternal torture, came from the Apostolic Age, if not from Christ himself.

I am more inclined to think that God was going to use simple Man to defeat Satan and replace the fallen angels .In the grand scheme of things . a reply to: DISRAELI

a reply to: adjensen
Yes, I'm content with that interpretation.
The only description we get from the words of Jesus is "outer darkness" (separation from God) and "gnashing of teeth" (an undesirable outcome).
The statement in the Creed is justified, because as long as he was humanly dead, he would have been in the place of the dead.

Well, it kind of looks as if this reality is a part of Hades. We are in a testing area to see where we belong. Satan tempts us to see how we handle it. If we pass the test we are allowed to apply for a place in heaven. I wonder if there are only condos there or if we can get an old farm.

originally posted by: rickymouse
Well, it kind of looks as if this reality is a part of Hades.

Biblically speaking, that comment is only half true, because we can also enter the kingdom of heaven while living in this reality.

Perhaps hell is a place where a person is connected to someone living and is forced to influence that person negativly. Kinda like that whole angel on one shoulder and a demon on another. IThen you may say that the gates of hades is a way to go from that existance to somewhere else. Maybe we would see it as a mental border in our minds that seperate the left brain and the right brain.

If Jesus did go there then maybe he is saying that the gates of hades will not prevent his return to the church.

originally posted by: DISRAELI

originally posted by: rickymouse
Well, it kind of looks as if this reality is a part of Hades.

Biblically speaking, that comment is only half true, because we can also enter the kingdom of heaven while living in this reality.

but we have to pass through the pearlygates to get to heaven. Maybe there is actually only one set of gates.

originally posted by: rickymouse

originally posted by: DISRAELI

originally posted by: rickymouse
Well, it kind of looks as if this reality is a part of Hades.

Biblically speaking, that comment is only half true, because we can also enter the kingdom of heaven while living in this reality.

but we have to pass through the pearlygates to get to heaven. Maybe there is actually only one set of gates.

I talked with St. Peter at the pearlygates and asked where the "gates of Hades" were. He reminded me 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and when you're out front that smell emanating from the inside is sulfur with a side of fire and brimstone.

a reply to: MarlinGrace

And they keep looking for the gates of hell in Europe. That explains everything.

a reply to: DISRAELI

We are born into the kingdom of death aka the kingdom of Adam, the flesh man, the soulish man. This is Hades, the land of death. Its where we reside until we enter back through the gates that Adam saw on his way out of the garden.

So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

The gate is the cherubim and the key is the flaming sword.

Heb 4
8For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. 9So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. 12For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

I included the entire paragraph concerning the two edged (flaming)sword (that dwells in the midst of the cherubim). You see these cherubim are also found on the veil woven of babylonian design that is at the entrance to the holy of holies HOH.

The garden is the HOH, the HOH is the third segment of the temple as the garden is the 3rd segment of "Earth". From west to east its:

Garden (cherubim gate)-- Eden -- Nod
So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

We see this same configuration for the tabernacle/temple from west to east:

HOH (cherubim veil) -- Inner court -- Outer court

This same pattern is seen in the Feasts of Israel, and the exodus saga. Though the direction is a reversed as we walk through it.

Promised Land (Jordan River) -- Wilderness -- Egypt
Feast of Tabernacles -- Feast of Pentecost -- Feast of Passover/Unleavened Bread

When it says Joshua did not give them rest, its referring to the "literal" events of crossing over the Jordan river and entering into the promised land. Possibly because they chose the literal sword, instead of the Sword of the Spirit which cuts even to the division of soul and spirit. That division is the cherubim veil (BABYLONIAN DESIGN).

The same pattern as before:

HOH/Spirit (Veil/Jordan) --Inner Court/Soul --Outer Court/Flesh

Jordan means descent aka death.

Here is the next sentence in Heb 4 after the paragraph above
Heb 4 14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Continuing on to Hebrews 10
19Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place (HOH) by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

So the veil=cherubim=jordan=death=gates of hades

The veil is the same veil that is over our minds until its taken away, or opened by the flaming sword.

2 Cor 3: 14But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. 15But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; 16but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

The Lord is the Spirit, the Sword of the Spirit, The flaming sword

I'll end this post now as I could go on and on, and this is already longer than I planned, but if you look at the context of Hebrews 10 with the first covenant being a shadow aka the shadow of death being taken away for the new covenant this is paralled in 2 Cor 3 comparing Moses' ministry of death with the ministry of life. I would remind you also that Moses died in the wilderness aka outside the garden. The law is the power of sin aka the power of death the land of Hades.

I'm not arguing against anything you've said, just in regards to the land of Hades and the Keys. I also agree that the gate is one between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth/hades/death, it is the veil of confusion/babylon that lies over our minds.

1 Cor 13:12 for we see now through a mirror obscurely, and then face to face; now I know in part, and then I shall fully know, as also I was known; 13and now there doth remain faith, hope, love — these three; and the greatest of these [is] love.

That word Obscurely also translated as darkly is the word Enigma in Greek. It is a riddle. The word mirror (esoptron and its relative kataoptrizomai) is only used two other times in the bible. One is in the passage from 2 Cor 3 above regarding unveiled faces being transformed/transfigured (same word).

The other is in James 1
23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

There is that law/spirit of liberty in comparison to the law of flesh again, aka the law of moses, the ministration of death, the law of death, the life of adam, the veiled mind

originally posted by: zardust
We are born into the kingdom of death aka the kingdom of Adam, the flesh man, the soulish man. This is Hades, the land of death. Its where we reside until we enter back through the gates that Adam saw on his way out of the garden. ..
The gate is the cherubim and the key is the flaming sword.
12For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword...

I'm not arguing against anything you've said...

No, you're essentially re-stating two of the key points of the OP, that men are naturally part of the "realm of death" until they escape from it, and that the key which provides access to the kingdom of life is the gospel, the word of God.
Thank you for your contribution.

For later reading. I dont know how to just add it. Sorry.

My two cents...

Apologies to OP.

HADES is a Greek comedy which is treasured by Spanish speaking folk.
It's translation is as a sentence which reads "Adios"...
Meaning (literally) : "To God!"... however it is not used in that sense...
It's actual application is presented as "Good Bye!"

Ex: HADES is pronounced ADIOS...

In religion it is the term used for "complete separation from God!"

The Realm of HADES is linked to that of "Tartarus" which in Spanish is torturas/torture.
Although not all accounts are applicable to torture... The term is implied.

Not all people go to tartarus. But many indeed are in hades. Apart from God and Christ.

The church of St. Peter... was designed to bring about the unification and conglomeration of Europe. Each country with a king or queen... intermarrying the potentates to one another.
It was to be Christian/Catholic with the papacy at the head of Christendom.
Not emperor... But grand pontiff. A gift from Christ to the peoples of hades in Europe.
It was to have all kingdoms United as one powerhouse for the benefit of the peasants and the free peoples.

IT FAILED! BUT... It lives...

I am in hades... but... I look forward to appeasing God by recognizing that Satan (adversary) is present in me always... and that I can battle against it.

I always took it more as a mental prison.
Not believing in God makes life bad, you can break this like a barrier by believing in God.

a reply to: Pinocchio
I would asssume that ADIOS is actually short for "I commit you to God", making it the exact equivalent of the English "Good-bye", which is short for "God be with you".
HADES comes from a Greek word meaning "not-to-be-seen" (A-IDEIN), according to my lexicon, so the similarity in sound is a coincidence.
However, the phrase "outer darkness", used by Jesus, does confirm that what is most to be feared is the separation from God.

After Simon/Peter said who Yahoshua was Yahoshua said you are "petros" the Greek word for a small stone(peeble) and upon this "petra" (a large rock) I will build my ekklesia (called out ones..or group of people which is ALL the nations of mankind).The large rock is Yahoshua which is revealed by revelation from the Father of who and what Yahoshua is .....the foundation being "built" in ALL of the people of all nations(the church)...ALL of mankind.

.Yahoshua isn't just a "label' to "call" a person as an identifier nametag…. it is his "NAME" which is his nature and character of what he "does".Yahoshua means Yahweh(which means I will be what I will be….the creator God) IS salvation….which means the deliverer.That is what Yahoshua "does" he delivers ALL of mankind's … the ekklesia ..ALL of the nations of the world not just some "self chosen" religious people…from hades…which is the realm of death and imperception.Yahoshua will deliver ALL of mankind from the realm of death ..the grave….and the realm of imperception…..their false Belief System religion that EVERYONE believes in.

Revelation from the Father is the "keys" to the Kingdom of the creator God realm not studying the scriptures.That is exactly what the Jewish religious leaders believed the keys were.They bound others by "their religion" and taught them unless you believe what we believe (the doctrines of mens Belief systems) you cannot enter The Kingdom of God…which is exactly what is still going on and is not true.

When Yahoshua asked the disciples "who" do the people say I am they referenced the scriptures.When Yahoshua asked Simon his answer didn't "reference" the scriptures nor did Yahoshua because the "keys" to the Kingdom of the creator God is not about the scriptures and the doctrines of men extrapolated from it .... it is ONLY the "revelation" from the Father not studying the scriptures MORE thoroughly or more religion.That is the bondage of religion that produces more religion and more blindness.The foundation of religion forms the core of the realm of imperception(hades)….. the very thing Yahoshua will deliver mankind from INTO The Kingdom of the creator God realm.

Mans solution to everything can only be perceived through their false Belief System religion.Simon still hadn't perceived what the truth was when a few verse after his revelation Yahoshua calls him satan"the adversary for having the "mind of man". Then later at the trial of Yahoshua Simon completely denies Yahoshua.Religious belief never turns out good.The Good News is the creator God will deliver everyone from the realm of death and from the real of imperception…their false perception of life(hades) however most will not be delivered(freed from their religious bondage) in this age nor the next.They will continue to "believe" and be bound by their religion.Their cure will be the lake of fire after their 2nd resurrection.

Yahoshua forgave the disciples (forgiveness means freed from bondage not pardoned of guilt) after Yahoshua told the parable of the seed and soil.He said "hearing" (revelation) had been given to only them because the parable of the seed and soil was mainly about them.They are the FirstfruitS of the Firstfruit (seed)…the good trees that produces good fruit that is multiplied 30,60,100 fold.That is the core meaning of the parable of the sowing of the seed in the soils.

The fact is mankind DOES not "live" in The Kingdom of the creator God realm.It is impossible.Everything in that realm "lives" and cannot die because it literally is LIFE(Spirit).The physical realm is the valley of the "shadows" of death (hades)and the shadow of life(Kingdom of the creator God). When Yahoshua said the Kingdom of the creator God is in your "midst" he wasn't talking about mysticism or metaphysics.It is "casting a shadow"in your midst(the physical realm)

The life in the physical realm is where the conception process called salvation begins.The physical realm is the womb.The realm of death of hades has a gate out of it and Yahoshua(Yahweh is salvation) is the door into the Kingdom of God realm.The physical realm is where everything is being conceived in Life.NONE have been born anew on high(poorly translated born again) that live in the physical realm.Some have been conceived and are in a "state" of conception(zygote,embryo,fetus) some are still seeds that have not been joined to an egg. The apostles grew to be fetus but were not born into the Kingdom of God yet.Unless a seed dies it can bear no fruit.Everything in the physical realm must die then be IN the realm of death of hades until it is resurrected(delivered/saved) to Life.

The gates of hades cannot bind resurrection to life.The physical realm is in a shadow of the valley of death and is a shadow of the green pastures of life(metaphors).The creator God has it all worked out.The gates of hades will not stand against it.