The Gates of Hell
Lets start of this teaching by reading Matthew 16:13-18
In Verse 18 of this passage, Jesus tells Peter that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. What He meant by this was that nothing would stop the church from the resurrection.
The teaching that is universally taught in almost all churches today is that when you die physically, you either go to heaven or you go into Hell. There in Hell, you will spend eternity burning in a Lake of Fire. It is also taught that the only way to escape the judgment of God and go to Heaven is to obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ and become a Christian.
It is the input of information from the Bible and from tradition that is being taught in churches today that often determines the output of the life you live.
What has always been taught about the subject of Hell in the Bible is being re-examined by people who really want to know what the Truth is according to book, chapter, verse, person, place, and thing. What does the Bible say and what does it mean when it says it.
When it comes to the Bible, most people that attend church base the Bible on what they believe and have always been taught at their church. You are what you eat is a true saying.
What is not taught behind the pulpit will not show up in the life or lifestyle of the pew. In reality, our faith and beliefs must be based upon what the Bible says.
Ever since Adam in the Garden of Eden disobeyed God, spiritual death passed onto all humanity. Romans 5:12 The Hebrew word “sheol” is first used in the Bible in Genesis 37:35 and means grave, Hell, or pit denoting the holding place of the dead or realm of the dead.
Other examples of the use of the Hebrew word “sheol” in the Old Testament include: Psalms 9:7, 55:15, 6:5, 89:48 Proverbs 9:18, 27:20, Isaiah 5:14, 1 Kings 2:6, Job 7:9, 14:13, 17:16, 21:13, 24:19, Ecclesiastes 9:10.
Remember “sheol” means grave, Hell, or pit and denotes the holding place of the dead.
Although the word “resurrection” is not found in the Old Testament of the Bible, the concept of resurrection is found.
In Job 14:14, Job spoke of a future appointed time of a change that was going to take place. Resurrection from spiritual death to spiritual life is what Jesus Christ came to restore.
He came to restore what was lost in the beginning in the Garden of Eden. 1 Corinthians 15:22 All people who lived before Jesus conquered death, suffered spiritual death. In Jesus Christ, we regained what was lost through the resurrection.
Physical life is not what the Bible means by resurrection from the dead. The nature of the resurrection was spiritual not physical. Ephesians 2:1, Romans 8:11, Colossians 2:13, John 5:21 6:63
To quicken means to give life, to make alive. This happens by response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ through being born again. John 3:3,5,7, 2 Timothy 1:10
The Bible tells us when the resurrection occurred. Daniel 12:2,4,13 It was to be at the end of the Old Covenant that God had with the Nation of Israel.
It was to be at the end of that last-days generation of AD 30 – AD 70. The Last Days belong to that Age that was coming to an end.
It was then that all the dead were resurrected from the holding place of the dead, from “sheol”, from Hell, from the grave, or from the pit.
The bars of the pit or of the grave could not hold back the resurrection power of God. Job 17:16 The Gates of the cemeteries or the gates of Hell could NOT hold the righteous any longer. John 5:25,28-29 This resurrection is in the list of basic foundational principles of the doctrine of Jesus Christ found in Hebrews 6:1-2.
Resurrection Day was on the Last Day of the Last Days in AD 70 when Jesus returned to consummate His Kingdom and marry His Bride, the Church. Notice the Scriptures in John 6:39-40,44,54 11:24. Lazarus’ sister Martha said that the resurrection would happen on the Last Day, the Last Day of the Old Covenant.
The New Covenant has no last days. It will NEVER end. It is everlasting and eternal. Jeremiah 31:31,33, 32:39-40, Ezekiel 37:26 Jesus came to give life, Eternal Life. John 11:25, 1 John 5:13 There is no end of time in the Bible.
Conclusion
The gates of Hell, of the grave, of the pit would not stop the resurrection from the holding place of the dead, the resurrection from death to life.
Today, there is no more a holding place for those who die. The Scripture clearly states at physical death, if you are not covenant connected by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you will go before God’s Throne of Judgment and face the destruction of your soul. Hebrews 9:27, John 3:16, Matthew 10:28
Today, for those who have been born again according to the Scripture, Acts 2:38-39, there is no more spiritual death. Revelation 21:4
Believe the Word of God. John 8:51, 11:26