What Did Jesus Mean by 'Gates of Hell'?

If you’re like me, you are probably not fond of discussions about word meanings that all too often turn into arguments. Not only that, the Apostle Paul told the young preacher Timothy to boldly instruct the disciples of Jesus “not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.” (2 Timothy 2:14)

Yet, surely we agree that words and phrases have meaning. When Jesus intentionally used the phrase ‘gates of Hell,’ He meant something.

I realize that your soul is not in danger if you do not fully understand the meaning of the phrase gates of Hell. Yet, I think you’ll be greatly encouraged if you do.

One of the difficulties in understanding this phrase is the differences found in translations. The ESV, ISV, KJV, and NLT* all have gates of Hell. However, other translations read: gates of Hades or something else.

Complicating matters more is a common misunderstanding among some that Hell and Hades are the same. In the Bible Hell is the final place of torment for those who are evil. Hades is more accurately the temporary place of the dead. In the Bible only ungodly people go to Hades. Then, at the final judgment a number of things will be thrown into the lake of fire (parallel in description to Hell). They are death, Hades, the devil and those whose names are not written in the book of life.

So, is it gates of Hell or gates of Hades?

Without a doubt the Greek text reads: gates of Hades. 

Here is the only Bible verse where the phrase occurs:

I also say that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

—Matthew 16:18

So, what did Jesus mean?

Unless you are a character from Greek mythology (Hercules), there is only one way to get to Hades, the place of the dead, and that is by dying. So, simple reasoning suggests that the gates of Hades, i.e., the entry to Hades, is a figurative reference to death.

Reasoning is fine, but is there concrete evidence that the phrase meant death at the time of Jesus. Yes, in ancient Greek literature Homer used the phrase gates of Hades for death in The Iliad. Much closer to the time of Jesus, no less than four non-biblical religious texts used the phrase gates of Hades for death.

So, when Jesus spoke of His church and said that “the gates of Hades will not overpower it,” He was saying that death itself would not overpower His church.

Now, that’s great news! That tells us that all who are a part of Christ’s church will not be overpowered by death. That does not mean that we will not die a physical death, but that death will not have the final say. We will be resurrected just as God promised.

Considering our resurrection, Paul wrote about the death of our physical bodies saying:

It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;

     it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory;

     it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

     it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?

—1 Corinthians 15:42-44 & 55

Christ was victorious over death. Through faith in Christ, we are assured that the gates of Hades will not overpower us. In that we rejoice!

Mark Stinnett

June 27, 2021

*ESV—English Standard Version; ISV—International Standard Version; KJV—King James Version; NLT—New Living Translation.

Is Doing God's Will the Same as Obeying God's Law?

The author of the book of Hebrews writes of Jesus, “I have come to do Your will” (10:9). Is that the same as obeying God’s law?

The two may seem to be equivalent, but there is a difference. The difference between the two marks the difference between the old covenant and the new covenant and largely defines how we look at Scripture.

It is true that breaking the law of God is sin (James 2:10). However, the Scripture also says that law is not for a righteous person (1 Timothy 1:9).

Jesus was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Did that mean that He simply did not break any rules? Did God send His Son so that we would stop breaking rules?

To do the will of God is more than obeying the legal aspects of God’s word. Jesus was not merely flawless according to the Law of Moses. He was more. That was actually the point that the writer of Hebrews was making when he said of Jesus: “I have come to do Your will.”

That statement about Jesus was set in contrast to the first covenant in which sacrifices were offered “continually year by year” (10:3). Jesus introduced a better covenant through a better sacrifice. He presented Himself as a sacrifice that was acceptable to God for all sin for all people for all time (10:12).

But what was the new covenant? A new set of rules?

Jesus said of Himself that He had come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17-20). He went on to say that one’s righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees.

In their day, the Pharisees were known as elite law-keepers. They were very strict when it came to the Law of Moses. In fact, in order to keep from breaking the Law of Moses, they created rules that were even stricter. The idea seemed to be that if they stepped over the line and broke their strict laws, they would still be a step away from breaking God’s law.

So, did Jesus mean that His disciples were supposed to be stricter than the Pharisees???

Jesus later taught that the two great commands (to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself) summed up all the Law and Prophets. Notice that these two commands are rooted in relationship. They are dependent upon one’s attitude and actions toward God and others. Obedience to these commands is far more than a strict adherence to a legal code. They are more descriptive of God’s will than the rule of law.

As long as we look at the Scriptures as a law code, we will see rules in the form of dos and don’ts. That will only produce a Pharisaical attitude toward the Scriptures. We will argue religious questions, boast in our knowledge and conclusions, and ultimately divide.

The Law of Moses gave the Israelites (and us) insight into the character of God: His holiness, His righteousness, His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness and His love. Nothing in the Law was arbitrary. It all pointed to something about God.

His desire was to produce in His chosen people an attitude of love and justice and holiness. He was trying to teach His people to be holy as He is holy and to love as He loves.

The problem was that Israel could not become what God desired through strict obedience to the Law of Moses. Strict law-keeping never made anyone like God, even if the law was divinely given. God sent Jesus to fulfill the Law, that is, to bring the Law to its natural state of completion. He came to do God’s will, not just obey rules. He demonstrated the very essence of God.

The obedience of Jesus is not about legal obedience but about doing God’s will. It is about sacrificial love. It is about sacrificial holiness. Sacrifice is about me giving up myself. I give up my things to help others; I give up my rights to preserve relationships; I give up my desires to please God. I consciously fight temptation to remain holy before God.

Jesus laid down His life for us and said:

No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.

—John 10:18

Being found in appearance as a man, He [Jesus] humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

—Philippians 2:8

Are you trying to do God’s will or just obey laws??

Mark Stinnett

June 6, 2021

Who Understands?

Listen to Solomon’s proverb:

Evil men do not understand justice,

But those who seek the LORD understand all things.

--Proverbs 28:5 (NASB95)

Do you think that there might be some evil people who understand something about justice? Maybe Solomon meant that they just didn’t apply justice properly.

And, seriously, do you think that those who seek the Lord truly understand all things??? After all, I once knew a guy who….

The Proverbs were not written for the purpose of our evaluation. They were not written for us to judge whether we think they hold true or not.

• Evaluate bumper stickers.
• Evaluate sayings on posters.
• Evaluate clever maxims on wall hangings.
• Evaluate the wise and witty sayings (memes) posted by all your friends on social media.
• Evaluate emotional verses of poetry set to music with stunning background photographs.

However, when it comes to The Proverbs, don’t spend your time thinking and wondering whether or not it is true. Don’t spend your time trying to come up with examples of exceptions. Even if you can come up with a true exception, it changes nothing.

Assume that you have found an exception. Is that how you want to live your life? Do you want to depend on the exceptional cases, or would it be wiser to listen to wisdom as it is presented?

Judge the value of human sayings but not The Proverbs in the Bible. Rather...

• Learn The Proverbs.
• Spend time in The Proverbs.
• Absorb The Proverbs.
• Live The Proverbs.

Then, you will surely live an exceptional life.

Sometimes you just need to give it a little time to soak in.

Evil men do not understand justice,

But those who seek the LORD understand all things.

Accept the Lord’s wisdom!

Mark Stinnett

June 20, 2021

How Important Are Consequences?

Children are not reasonable people.

That might be one of the reasons we have laughed at “Calvin and Hobbes,” “Peanuts,” “The Family Circus,” “Baby Blues” and other comic strips featuring children.

The younger the child, the more likely they are to have a complete lack of understanding of consequences. They lack life experience, understanding and knowledge. For that reason children are vulnerable to many dangers. For example, they do not recognize the consequences of touching a hot stove or sticking a metal object in an electrical outlet. While entertaining in the comic strips, the consequences of real life are often much more serious and sometimes painfully lasting.

Parents struggle with the task of instructing, training, and disciplining their children so that they will be able to avoid physical dangers in life. Parents also teach their children how to avoid financial pitfalls, academic failure, and common health problems. These are all necessary lessons. Yet, as Christians we must never rest from providing our children moral and spiritual training.

A significant part of moral and spiritual training is that of teaching consequences. Oftentimes, spiritual and moral offenses are not followed by immediate consequences. So, parents must apply consequences. Otherwise, their children will grow up spiritually immature and unable to see the ultimate consequences of their moral and spiritual choices.

At the end of a lengthy admonition to his son regarding the adulteress, Solomon considered the future of the one who had not listened to instruction. In the end, the young man's life was destroyed because he had wasted his energy and forfeited his possessions to strangers. Awakened by the reality of the moment, the young man cried out:

How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!
--Proverbs 5:12 (NKJV)

After experiencing devastating consequences, the eyes of the young man were opened to reality. Instruction and correction had not failed, but only after reaping the consequences of his poor attitude and rebellious behavior did the young man realize that he had failed.

The Bible, God’s revelation to mankind, allows us to peer into the future and learn the consequences of our choices. Many of the teachings in the Proverbs apply directly to our physical lives in the here and now. Yet, the overall message of scripture deals with spiritual life and spiritual consequences reaching into the afterlife.

The simple point is this: Instruction has already been revealed. Correction has already been written. God still disciplines his children today. (See Hebrews 12:4-10.) So, listen and follow God’s instruction NOW. At times of failure, when God corrects you through His word, listen and follow!

Experience may be the best teacher in some areas of life. However, no one wants experience to teach them that they hated instruction and despised correction. The eternal consequences are devastating and irreversible.

Be wise, now.
Consequently, live.


Mark Stinnett

June 13, 2021