Matt. 16: 18And 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.
Now let's break this down and I will show you what I believe this means.
Greek word for "church": ekklēsia G1577
Thayer's definition:
1) a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly
d) in a Christian sense
1) an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting
2) a company of Christian, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order's sake
3) those who anywhere, in a city, village, constitute such a company and are united into one body
4) the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth
5) the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven
So I do think that "church" is an applicable word used here. Because we who are saved, God called out of darkness. So we are a "called out assembly", so to speak.
Greek word for "gates": pylē G4439
Thayer's definition
1) a gate
a) of the larger sort
1) in the wall of either a city
2) a palace
3) a town
4) the temple
5) a prison
2) the gates of hell (likened to a vast prison)
3) metaph. the access or entrance into any state
Greek word used for "hell": hadēs G86
Thayer's definition
1) name Hades or Pluto, the god of the lower regions
2) Orcus, the nether world, the realm of the dead
3) later use of this word: the grave, death, hell
And finally, "drum roll please", the Greek word for "prevail": katischyō
G2729
Thayer's definition
1) to be strong to another's detriment, to prevail against
2) to be superior in strength
3) to overcome
4) to prevail
So, in summation, this is what I think that Jesus meant by saying this.
No matter how hard Satan and his minions fight against the Church, which is Jesus' Bride, His body, His people, he will not win. When Jesus established His Church, He did so at the cross. Those that He saves through faith, will be placed in His Church which He built on THE Rock, which is Himself. IOW, Satan is fighting a lost(not losing) battle. He defeated satan when He came forth on that third and appointed morning!! Praise be to His name!!
i am I AM's!!
Willis