THE CONFESSION OF THE ROCK

Matt 16:13-19  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some [say that thou art] John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

• When he sinned, he was cast from the Garden to til the ground, because he was taken from the ground and would return to it.
• Dust to dust and ashes to ashes.
• Blocking Adam out were cherubims on the east of the Garden of Eden.
• So the cherubs blocked Adam from the east of the Garden so man could not get in to the holy Garden.
• Man's grave became the very ground from where he was taken.
• And that ground was outside the Garden.

• Adam was cast out of the Garden due to his sin and because he would die.
• Sin and Death always go together.
• And the world is outside the home of Life.
• Man dies and is held in prison  behind death's gates.

• Some said Elias, John Baptist or a prophet come back.  But Peter said something totally different.
• Hell shuddered when Peter said that.

• This was a very profound statement.
• Hell does not mind if you believe Jesus was a good teacher.
• It does not mind if you believe Jesus was a Son in the sense that there were others before Him just as much sons.
• But when you state and totally believe that JESUS IS THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD, you just challenged all of DEATH.
• All that is opposed to God becomes your enemy.

And Jesus told Peter that he would then become a STONE.  "PETER" means "STONE."
 

• And after mentioning that PETER was a STONE, Jesus spoke about a building program He was going to begin.
• He would build His CHURCH upon a ROCK.
• "THIS" Rock.
• And the Gates of Hell would not prevail against the CHURCH.

1Pet 2:5-7  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe [he is] precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

Get the big picture.
 

• Peter was a stone.
• Jesus would build a CHURCH from many stones.
• This Church would be built on a ROCK.
• HELL would endeavour to triumph and win victory over this church, but would not be able to.
• Hell, in this reference, is translated from the word HADES as "grave".
• (Sometimes "hell" is translated from Gehenna, which refers to a fiery abode, but in this case it is "Hades", or "the abode of the dead."
• HADES holds in souls of departed people.
• It locked them in its confines.
• In the phrase DEATH AND HELL, it is this CONFINING ABODE OF THE DEAD that is in mind in them term HELL.

Matt 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Peter means a STONE, not a rock.
 

John 1:42  And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

• The term "ROCK" means a great cliff, or massive piece of Rock ledge.
• Each believer is a stone.

Jesus is the ROCK.
 

1Cor 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1Cor 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock {PETRA} was Christ.

Jesus heard Peter say that..
 

Matt 16:15-16  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus said that flesh and blood did not reveal that to Peter.
The Father revealed it.

Jesus says that this fact that Peter stated was true.
 

Even after Peter stated this, and Jesus confirmed Peter heard it from God, Jesus began talking about death.
 

Matt 16:20-21  Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

• This confession stirs up the devil.
• Satan hates for people to know of this.
• But the gates of hell would not prevail against the church.

• Hades is the unseen abode of the dead.
• It holds the departed souls.
• Jesus said He would enter Hades... he would enter death.
• Six months later Jesus made this confession...

Matt 26:63-64  But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

The High Priest sentenced him to death for making this statement.
 

Matt 26:65-67  Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote [him] with the palms of their hands,

• This statement condemned Him to death.
• The statement Peter made caused DEATH to strike back!

These unbelievers thought they could send Him to Hades where the Gates of the Grave would hold Him in and prove He was not God.

• But the gates of HADES could not prevail against Him and hold Him.
• It was undeniable that His confession about the Church built on the ROCK was the truth, for He rose from the grave and truly was the Son of the LIVING GOD.

This is the confession of the ROCK.

JOHN said this confession is what gives eternal life.
 

1Joh 4:15  Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

1Joh 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

1Joh 5:20  And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, [even] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

This faith moves God to protect you and to make you undefeatable.

Jesus will take these people who believe this and make them into a fortress upon a Rock of this confession and faith that cannot be taken down.

• An immovable structure.

How could the Gates of the abode of the imprisoned unseen departed souls hold back the people who confessed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God when that revelation that they fully believe means eternal life to them?

And Peter said Jesus is the Son of  the LIVING GOD.

• The God of Life.
• That means if He is the Son of the Living God, then death could not hold Him.
• Its gates could not bar Him in.

Gene 22:17  That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

• Jesus has the KEYS OF DEATH AND HELL.

Reve 1:18   I [am] he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

HELL HERE IS ONCE AGAIN "HADES."
 

• The Gates of Hell could not prevail against Him.
• Jesus possessed the very gates that tried to hold him in.
• He burst through them and took control of them.
• He was dead.
• He was in Hades... the abode of the departed souls.
• But He is alive.
• The gates of Hell did not prevail to hold Him in.

• Saying Jesus is the SON OF THE LIVING GOD is saying a powerful statement that enrages HELL/HADES.
• It is the one statement that makes Satan's armies attack you.
• But it is the statement, if you really believe it, that moves God to give you eternal life.
• It is the statement that makes Hell mad and at the same time breaks the hold hell can have over you.
• Satan's armies cannot hold you back.

Roma 14:8  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

No matter what happens, we are the Lord's!
 

Roma 14:9  For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

Death then alive:
 

Hebr 1:3  Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Hebr 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Revelation 5 shows the RESURRECTED LAMB STANDING... broken through the gates of hell.  And it says that the 24 elders worshipped Him that liveth forever and ever.
 

Reve 5:14  And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four [and] twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

John saw that no one was worthy to enter the HOLIEST OF HOLIES in Heaven and take the BOOK.
 

Reve 5:2-4  And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

No one was worthy since no one could defeat the gates of hell and break out of death.
 

Reve 5:5  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

• "PREVAILED."
• A BATTLE TOOK PLACE!
• PREVAILED MEANS A BATTLE WAS WON.

A battle was on when Jesus went to resurrect.  But Jesus prevailed.  Death could not hold Him.

The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church
 

Psal 125:1  A Song of degrees. They that trust in the LORD [shall be] as mount Zion, [which] cannot be removed, [but] abideth for ever.

Psal 125:2  As the mountains [are] round about Jerusalem, so the LORD [is] round about his people from henceforth even for ever.

Isai 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue [that] shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This [is] the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness [is] of me, saith the LORD.

John 10:27-30  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand. I and [my] Father are one.

Jesus challenged all that exists to try and stop Him from accomplishing what He set out to do.
 

Roma 8:33-39  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? [It is] God that justifieth. Who [is] he that condemneth? [It is] Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What were these men saying?

• The Gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.

Hebr 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Kingdoms were represented by ROCKS or MOUNTAINS.

• The ROCK this church is built upon is CHRIST being SON OF THE LIVING GOD.
• And the Confession of the ROCK is declaring that those who are on this ROCK, in this kingdom, will not be held down by DEATH AND HELL!
• They will live eternally!