Verse by Verse Matthew

[0:00] That third verse says, judgment is coming, all will be there. And every time I come across that, I'm reminded of a time when the pastor, the man that I grew up under, who's with the Lord now for the last 10 years or so, he was getting pretty old and he was still trying to make attempts every, I don't know, maybe every six months at preaching at filling the pulpit.

[0:31] He pretty much was finished and his son had taken over pastoring the church, but he couldn't walk away from it. He wasn't retiring and moving to a nice place.

[0:42] He just stayed active as he could, visiting and so forth. And once in a while, once in a blue moon, he'd feel like he had the energy to try to preach and so he'd just really just go back into his old sermon notebook and go through some stuff, find one.

[0:55] And something that just impresses me still to this day when I think on him, he had such a heart for souls and for the gospel and for people to be saved that he came up to me before the service and he says, Tobe, and he's old and barely, you know, he can't stand very long in one place.

[1:13] And he's like, what's that song that says, judgment's coming, all will be there. I want to sing that this morning because I'm going to be preaching about that this morning. And so we found that song and sang that song in church and that just reminds me every time I read that of that time and of that man and of his heart for lost souls.

[1:32] So amen. All right. Find Matthew chapter 16 this morning. And last week we kind of got into a passage, a very tricky passage for some.

[1:51] It's not easy, I should say. It's tricky for everybody probably. There's a lot of different takes on some of the words of this passage. And for some people to teach what they teach, they leave the Bible, they go back to Greek and they play with the Greek terminology and come up with their own little version of what Jesus Christ meant, their own interpretation.

[2:16] Last week we got into verse 18 where we spent the end of our time. And we'll pick it up in verse 16 and then come back into this and get refreshed in the passage.

[2:30] So let's just read from 16 to 20 again this morning. Before we do that, let's pray. God, I pray that you'll help us this morning in handling the words of God and to make right application and right division and to do our best to understand these truths and never misapply it.

[2:46] Lord, please guide us in our thoughts and guide us through these holy words. Lord, I pray that we'll reverence this book, that we'll never try to pretend we know more than we do or pretend to have a leg up on somebody else.

[3:00] But Lord, just give us truth, give us light. We pray for these things in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, verse 16. Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

[3:12] And Jesus answered and said unto him. Remember now he's talking to Peter individually in verses 17, 18, and 19. In verse 13, he's asking the disciples a question, whom do men say that I am?

[3:26] And Peter replies, so he turns to him and speaks some very interesting comments and some tricky comments. He says in verse 17, he 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.

[3:43] And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter. And upon this rock I'll 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.

[3:54] And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. And then he turns to the disciples. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

[4:07] So with this question of whom do men say that I the Son of Man am? He turns to verse 15. Whom do ye say that I am? And Peter answers correctly that he's the Christ, Son of the living God.

[4:18] And he then says to the disciples, look, let's not be talking about this to other people. Don't be spreading this around. But in between that, after Peter's confession, and I think as I mentioned and tried to show you last week, I believe it's kind of a relief to Christ to hear him say that after dealing with their lack of faith in verse 8 and their lack of understanding in verse 9 and verse 11.

[4:42] And we saw that also in chapter 15 where they had lack of understanding of certain things. And he's dealing with the Pharisees. He's dealing with the Sadducees coming at him together. And so he's probably frustrated with the way things have unfolded in his ministry.

[4:58] And then he turns to his disciples and just says, so what do you think about me? You know, you've been with me this long. And so Peter confesses that. And then as he does, Christ makes these comments that thou art Peter.

[5:11] Upon this rock I'll build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So what do we got going on here? Well, I mentioned last week that the Catholic Church has privately interpreted this passage to mean them.

[5:24] That Jesus Christ is building his church upon them. And that is that upon Peter who they claim to be their first pope. And I ran you through some thoughts last week of why Peter does not make a good pope at all going against their own teachings.

[5:41] And one of them was he's married. And that's earlier in Matthew we saw that. There are several reasons. I gave you one of another. One was in one of his epistles. He tells everybody to honor the king and to be in subjection to the king, which no pope has ever done in history.

[5:57] And Peter teaches in Acts chapter 15 that salvation is by grace through faith plus no sacraments, plus no prayer or giving for the dead or anything like that.

[6:07] So this church that has built themselves up to say that we are the church that is built upon Peter and they've given themselves allowances to conquer lands and to kill men and women and children in cold blood because they are Christ's church and we have the right to do these things because you're part of the gates of hell and their theology coming against them or not agreeing with them.

[6:32] So I tried to strongly point out that that's just false teaching and it's never wise ever, ever, ever to establish a doctrine or even a church for that matter upon a confusing passage, upon something that's just not straight up black and white, plain and clear and understood.

[6:51] And to do that, you're just inviting your own interpretation and then you have to twist an awful lot of other scriptures to, and go figure, to build a doctrine.

[7:02] So what that church does, they go against scripture in so many ways. So what we concluded last Sunday, we were considering what, when Christ said, upon this rock I will build my church.

[7:16] Now what could he be speaking of? Take a look at John chapter, is it chapter 2? John chapter 2. Just to get a little cross-reference here.

[7:29] And this is how your Bible's built for you to understand it, is by comparing scripture with scripture. And this is a different case, but it's one that can point us in the right direction.

[7:46] In John chapter 2, Christ goes into the temple. And in verse 14, he goes in there, finds them in there, and he clears them out. In verse 15 and 16.

[8:00] And so he purges the temple, they call it, or purifies it, just rids them all the money changers and what was going on. And verse number 18, Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

[8:16] Notice this. Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I'll raise it up. So what's he talking about? Well, they thought he's talking about the building, that he just cleared out.

[8:29] He said, Destroy this temple. And verse 20, the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple and building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.

[8:42] So destroy this temple. He's pointing at himself, if he were. Destroy this temple, and in three days I'll build it up again. Now come back to Matthew 16.

[8:52] Consider that passage in that very same phrase. And look in verse 18, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. What could Jesus Christ be referring to?

[9:04] To Peter? Peter? Because as they say, his name means a stone in Greek. And because of that, he's referring to Peter. I showed you the references last week. Paul says that we're built upon the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in Acts chapter 2 and verse 20.

[9:22] I showed you how Peter, in Acts chapter 4, and in his own epistle in 1 Peter chapter 2, quoted the scriptures, calling Christ, saying he's a lively stone.

[9:34] Ye are lively stones. And he says that Christ is a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. And every time he describes any time something's getting built, one thing, it's never on a man.

[9:45] And if it's ever on anything, it's on the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's see here. Let's go back. We'll run a few more references on this. Look at Deuteronomy 32.

[9:57] We won't spend time here, but you'll see it pretty quickly. Deuteronomy 32. Who or what is the rock that Christ will build his church upon?

[10:10] In the scripture, there's one person that is listed and over and over described as a rock. If you want the Bible to teach itself, then this is how you do it.

[10:25] And so Moses is opening his mouth in a song in chapter 32. And notice in verse 3 he says, Because I will publish the name of the Lord, ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

[10:38] He is the rock. His work is perfect. God is the rock, capital R. I think it's five times you'll see that capital R in this passage.

[10:50] For God being the rock. Verse 31. It's in, I missed it, verse 18. You'll see it. It's in verse 30.

[11:03] I'm missing one. If in fact it is five. Fifteen.

[11:20] Yep, the rock of his salvation. There's the fifth one. So five times in that passage. Notice verse 31 says, For their small rock is not as our rock. So they're going to have a rock too.

[11:33] And if you start studying your Bible out, you're going to find an imitation for everything that God does. Connected and tied to the devil. And in the future, the Antichrist. But anyway, all through that chapter, God is the rock.

[11:47] In the Psalms, all through the Psalms, the Lord is declared to be a rock. A fortress. A refuge. A stronghold. And so forth. But the word rock shows up. You want to run the word rock through the Bible?

[11:59] You're going to find it associated with God. And not with man. So undoubtedly, Christ is pointing to himself. I'll show you one more reference. Go to 1 Corinthians.

[12:11] Chapter 10. And notice how this book's put together. I referenced the Psalms. Deuteronomy. I referenced Acts. I referenced, of course, Matthew. I referenced 1 Peter.

[12:21] And now we're in 1 Corinthians. Several different authors. They're all in the same light as who they describe as a rock. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. And Paul writes about the Jews.

[12:40] He calls them our fathers. Back as they traveled with Moses through the wilderness. And came through the Red Sea. Verse 2. They were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and the sea.

[12:51] And did all drink the same spiritual. Or did all eat the same spiritual meat. Verse 4. And did all drink the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual rock. That followed them. And that rock was Peter.

[13:03] Peter? The Bible tells us the rock was Christ. The Bible tells us the rock's the Lord. And God. And so in Matthew 16. There's no other reason. There's absolutely no reason to think that Christ would be building anything upon the apostle Peter.

[13:20] Furthermore, I showed you last week how in just a few verses in verse 22. Peter took him and began to rebuke him. And then a little later, Peter denies him.

[13:30] That he even knows him. Not a very stable rock. That sounds like somebody building something on the sand. Like back in chapter 7. Alright, so.

[13:41] I don't believe for a moment that Peter is the rock. Now, the only other possibility in the passage. For what Christ is saying.

[13:52] Upon this rock I'll build my church. And this is. I'll just throw it to you. But it's pretty sketchy. Is the thought that it's the confession of Peter.

[14:03] Because Christ initiates this conversation. Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? But whom do ye say that I am? And Peter says, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And when he makes that declaration.

[14:16] He could be saying. Upon this rock. Upon this statement of me being the Christ. The Son of the living God. Upon this truth. That I am the Christ.

[14:27] And that's. That's not a great stand. I mean, you can make the case from there. And kind of. In the wording. And you could even go back. Even to closing this passage in verse 20.

[14:38] That he charges his disciples. That they should tell no man. That he was Jesus the Christ. That is. The overwhelming context. Is that confession. And identification. Of who he is.

[14:49] But. To say that this is the truth. That the church is built upon. It's. It's worth mentioning. But. In this book. The devils.

[15:00] They confess. That Jesus is the Christ. That he's the Holy One of God. So I'm not so sure. That that's the confession. Or that has anything to do. With what's going on here.

[15:11] All right. So I mentioned to you last week. How the Catholics. Take this to be them. I showed you. Or I also mentioned. Even how the church of Christ. Has taken the title. We are the church of Christ.

[15:22] Guess who else calls themselves. The church of Jesus Christ. The Mormons do. As a matter of fact. Here's what they say. About this passage. You know. One of their official. Doctrinal statements.

[15:35] Matthew 16. 18 and 19. Upon this rock. I'll build my church. Gates of hell not prevail against it. Give you. Unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Upon this passage. They say.

[15:45] This sets forth. Clear and important doctrine. If I was writing a commentary on Matthew 16. 18 and 19. I would never use the word clear. But that's their word.

[15:56] This sets forth clear. An important doctrine. And both verses are best understood. In relation to each other. Still vague. And then let's get this last statement.

[16:07] This is. Exposes the Mormons. And. In light of modern revelation. Meaning. The book of Mormon. So. They'll take these two verses.

[16:19] With a grain of salt. And say. Well. They're very clear. The doctrine is very clear. Because. We have additional revelation. Given to us. And therefore. Now we. Can interpret that.

[16:29] To us. Only. And that is a mark. Of a cult. Always. That's a trademark. Of any cult. Is extra. Biblical revelation. It's. For the seventh day Adventist.

[16:41] It's. The prophecies. Of Ellen White. And all that she says. It's. It's elevated to scripture. On the same level. With the. With the Catholics. It's the Pope speaking. In act.

[16:52] In his. Doctrinal. Infallible way. And all their traditions. And you. You look at a. A cult. You'll find that. They. Go beyond the scriptures. And equate things.

[17:03] With the scriptures. And we won't do that. We'll stay. As Martin Luther said. Sola scripta. The scriptures alone. That's it. If God didn't say it. Or give it to us.

[17:13] Not going to follow it. Not going to seek it out. To determine if it's truth or not. We'll stay in the book. Others. I mentioned this as well. Last week. That others say. That this is evidence.

[17:24] That the true church. Will not fall into apostasy. Because it says. The gates of hell. Will not. It's just a very loose. Interpretation. Of the passage. Saying the gates of hell. Will not prevail against it.

[17:35] Therefore the true church. Is not going to fall into apostasy. And if you do fall away. And are back slidden. And living in sin. Then sorry. You were never truly saved.

[17:45] You're not part of God's church. And there's a lot of bad takes. On this passage. I'm trying to tell you. All right. So. I believe. It's clearly. That Christ is with the scriptures.

[17:56] Saying that upon himself. Just like he said. Destroy this temple. He's saying. Upon this rock. I'll build my church. And Jesus Christ. Being the chief cornerstone.

[18:07] In scripture. All right. Now the last phrase. Here we go again. And. In addition to that. The gates of hell. Shall not prevail. Against it.

[18:18] The gates of hell. Now. Running the word gates. Through your bible. Most often. It refers to. The door. Of a town. A city.

[18:28] Something to that effect. A home even. A property. Just like you'd expect. Or even. Sometimes. It has nothing to do. With the doors. That are hinged. But rather. The actual opening. Within the wall.

[18:39] It's called the gate. And there are doors. Of a gate. Or something. But occasionally. Gates. Are symbolic. Of something. Of a city itself. Occasionally.

[18:50] For instance. In Isaiah 3. Verse 26. The bible says. And her gates. Shall lament. And mourn. And she being desolate. Shall sit upon the ground. So the gates.

[19:00] Referring to the city. Itself. Of Jerusalem. Of its. Power. Of its. Its people. It's personified. By an action. And of course. The.

[19:12] No physical gate. Is mourning. Jeremiah 14. Verse 2. Says. Judah mourneth. And the gates thereof. Languish. They are blackened to the ground. And the cry of Jerusalem.

[19:22] Has gone up. So it's just symbolic. The term gates. Of a city. Not a physical gate. At all. Often business. Is conducted. At the gates. Of a city. Kind of. Some of the.

[19:33] Courtroom. Scene. Would be held. In the gates of the city. With the elders of the place. A. Political discussions. Places of judgment. Property. You remember. Perhaps.

[19:44] At the end of the book of Ruth. With Boaz. Going. To the gate of the city. And taking off his shoe. And he's. It has to do with another man's inheritance. A parcel of land.

[19:54] Property. Exchanging hands. An official. Rendering. Going on there. That's taking place. In the gate of the city. Ezekiel 26. Verse 2. The Bible says. Son of man.

[20:05] Because that Tyrus. Hath said against Jerusalem. Aha. She is broken. That was the gates of the people. Jerusalem's called. The gates of the people. And so there again. Figurative.

[20:16] Referring to the gates of Israel. It's capital. Where the throne is. Where the temple. And the presence of God was. So the thought being. In that line. I'm just introducing this.

[20:27] The gates of hell. It's proposed. That it's possibly. Figurative. Of the powers of hell. Of the forces of hell. And that's. That is actually.

[20:38] The most common interpretation. Of this thought. The gates of hell. Should not prevail against it. But. I'd have to say. Just on the surface. That's a strange way.

[20:49] To say. That the devil. And his angels. Aren't going to stop me. Or stop my church. By saying. The gates of hell. Shall not prevail against it. So. I really don't like that.

[21:00] And that is the most. That's pretty much. The way folks take that. Statement. But however. What if it was literal? What if the word was literal? It would suggest. That hell has.

[21:10] Gates. It would suggest. That hell. Is a. Is a gated place. That gates. That are closed. Gates that hold in. Captives. Why not? Why wouldn't it be like that?

[21:22] Let's. Let's look at a place here. Look at back at chapter 7. Just as another. Example here. Back at chapter 7. Matthew 7.

[21:38] Verse 13. Enter ye in. At the straight gate. Gate. For wide is the gate. And broad is the way. That leadeth to destruction. And many there be.

[21:48] Which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate. And narrow is the way. Which leadeth unto life. So you say. Well that's figurative. Of course. That's figurative. Speaking of life's journey. And the choice you make.

[21:58] And where you end up. And so forth. You could. You could say that. But here's a reference to a gate. Earlier. Just in this very book. And it's connected to. Eternal life.

[22:11] And the kingdom. And it's also connected to destruction. Alright. So let's take a little bit deeper study. Come to Revelation chapter 20.

[22:23] Revelation 20. Is hell a physical place? Or is it just a figurative. Thought. Of the afterlife. Of the grave. Because once you start changing the word hell.

[22:35] In your Bible. To the grave. Or to Sheol. Or to Hades. Or Hades. Then what are you going to. Where are you going to go from there? You can't make any further teaching. Or you can't go any further than that.

[22:46] You're stuck. Back in. What is that term? In Ezekiel. I can't think of it.

[22:57] The nether. Nether world. There's a place that. It comes up once or twice. Or something. And then. The Bible. A lot of the new Bibles. Change hell. Or change anything. To say this.

[23:08] Just generic. Phrase. That you can't put your finger on. Is hell a physical place? If so. As it truly is. The heart of the earth. As Christ said. Then why wouldn't it have. Physical properties.

[23:19] And things with it. Like a gate. Alright. Revelation 20. Verse 1. And I saw an angel. Come down from heaven. Having the key. Of the bottomless pit. And a great chain. In his hand.

[23:30] And he laid hold on the dragon. That old serpent. Which is the devil. And Satan. And bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit. And shut him up. How did he shut him up? Closed him in.

[23:40] Locked him in. He shut him up. And set a seal upon him. That he should deceive the nations. No more. A thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that he must be loosed. Because he's bound. Look at verse 7. It says.

[23:51] When a thousand years are expired. Satan shall be loosed. Out of his prison. Out of his prison. This bottomless pit. Come to Job chapter 17.

[24:02] Job 17. And we're going to. You can keep your place in Revelation. We're going to be back. Close to that. Job 17. What does the scripture say?

[24:23] Here Job is speaking about death. He speaks of the grave in verse 13. He's talking about his life being. Or light is short because of the darkness in verse 12.

[24:36] Speaking of corruption where his body is going to decay in verse 14. And then in verse 16 he says they shall go down to the bars of the pit.

[24:46] That's not talking about some honky tonk place down there. Where people say we're going to go party in hell. This is talking about a cell. A place of captivity.

[24:58] To the bars of the pit. When our rest together is in the dust. Okay. Come back now to 2 Peter chapter 2. Let's keep adding a few more pieces to this.

[25:08] 2 Peter chapter 2. Oh that's just figurative. Oh that's just figurative. That's just a way of describing that you can't get out of death.

[25:20] Once you die you're done. Okay. 2 Peter chapter 2. Let's see about this one. Verse number 4. 2 Peter 2 verse 4.

[25:33] For if God spared not the angels that sinned. But cast them down to hell. And delivered them into chains of darkness. Darkness to be reserved unto judgment.

[25:48] What's in hell? There's chains in hell. And darkness. And gates. And bars. Jonah said that he used the word hell in Jonah chapter 2.

[26:03] And he said the earth with her bars was about me. Out of the belly of hell I cried is what he said. So why can't hell have literal gates?

[26:16] Well it does. It absolutely does. But let's come back to Matthew 16. And try to make a clear sense of what Christ is saying here. This is something you have to analyze word by word.

[26:29] To really get it all out of it. Matthew 16 verse 18.

[26:40] In the middle of the verse he says. Upon this rock I'll build my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So the gates of hell are not going to prevail against it.

[26:53] What is it? What is the antecedent? Many say it's the church. It's Christ's church. It's me. It's us. Bless God. The gates of hell are not going to prevail against us.

[27:04] The devil can't stop us. We're a force to be reckoned with. And they get you all wound up. Is that what Christ is saying to Peter? Peter. The gates of hell will not prevail against the New Testament body of Christ.

[27:17] That I'm not even really going to teach you about Peter. You're going to be confused about for a long time Peter. You're going to have false doctrine. And you're going to have your own problems. Separating from Jews in the future Peter.

[27:29] I don't think Christ is talking to Peter about any New Testament church. For sure. But even so. If Christ says upon this rock I'll build my church.

[27:40] And if I reworded it. And I'm not attempting to change the scripture or do anything. But if he said it in the order we speak of. I will build my church upon this rock. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

[27:53] What's he talking about? This rock. The gates of hell will not prevail against me Peter. Me. Now you know why that makes sense? It's because Jesus Christ went down to hell.

[28:08] Look at the next. Look right after this statement. In verse 20. Charged his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. And look what he says next. From that time Jesus. Or from that forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how they must go to Jerusalem.

[28:22] Suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes. And be killed. And be raised again the third day. From that time when Jesus Christ says. The gates of hell are prevailing against me.

[28:34] What's he saying? Well he's telling them something they don't even understand. But then he starts to talk about. He starts to talk about how I'm going to be killed. But I'm coming back up. So let's just let the scripture speak for a moment.

[28:47] Come to. Let's go to Ephesians chapter 4. Let's go quickly if we can. Ephesians chapter 4. And verse number 9.

[29:01] Paul writes in a parenthetical statement here. about Jesus Christ ascending. But then he adds to that statement from verse 8 and verse 9. Now that he ascended.

[29:12] What is it? But that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth. When did he do that? He did that after he died on Calvary.

[29:23] Come to 1 Peter chapter 3. Christ went down. 1 Peter chapter 3. Peter adds a comment of what happened.

[29:43] In verse 18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins. There's Calvary. The just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. Being put to death in the flesh. But quickened by the spirit.

[29:55] By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison. That's Christ. That's Christ down there in the prison.

[30:06] Letting them know something. Look at Acts chapter 2. Keep adding a few more pieces of the scripture. Acts chapter 2. And after we put some scripture together.

[30:26] We'll come back and read it. And you tell me if it doesn't make sense. Acts chapter 2. And verse 24. Describing Christ.

[30:37] Verse 23. Describes that he was crucified and slain. By whom God hath raised up. Having loosed the pains of death. Because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

[30:51] Holden. Because he came out. Verse 25. For David speaketh concerning him. And he quotes the Psalms. I foresaw the Lord always before my face. He is on the right hand. I should not be moved.

[31:02] Therefore my heart rejoiced. My tongue was glad. Also my flesh shall rest in hope. Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. David is speaking concerning Christ.

[31:14] That will not leave my soul in hell. It doesn't say grave. Does it? Neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. His body did not corrupt on the earth.

[31:25] Because he rested. In verse 26. In hope. That his soul would be reunited. Coming back. In verse number 29. Men and brethren. Let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David.

[31:36] That he is both dead and buried. And his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet. And knowing that God hath sworn with an oath to him. That of the fruit of his loins. According to the flesh. He would raise up Christ.

[31:48] To sit on his throne. He's seeing this. Before. Spake of the resurrection of Christ. That his soul was not left in hell. Second time. Neither did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up.

[32:01] One more place. Revelation 1. Let's look at the victorious Christ. That was dead. And now is alive. And look what he says.

[32:12] Revelation chapter 1. Peter said it was not possible. For death to hold him. Because if you can let your mind even just imagine.

[32:23] When he went to that place. To that cell. With our sins. Inside of that prison. And the gates were shut. Look what happened. He says in verse.

[32:33] When John sees the Christ. In his second advent form. He sees him bright.

[32:44] And his eyes a flame of fire. His voice the sound of many waters. His countenance was as the sun. In verse 17. When I saw him I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me.

[32:54] Saying unto me fear not. I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth. And was dead. And behold I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell. And of death.

[33:07] What's that all about? Is that figurative too? Christ has the keys of hell. Where do you get them? You know in Hebrews it describes that he. Let me find that verse.

[33:18] The devil about who had the power. That is the devil. In Hebrews 2 verse 15. Verse 14.

[33:30] He says for as much. Then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood. He also himself likewise took part of the same. That through death he might destroy him. That had the power of death. That is the devil.

[33:42] And now he's got the keys. So I think it's pretty plain. When you put scripture with scripture. That Jesus Christ. Is pointing at himself. That's that's the foundation.

[33:54] Or that's the the rock. That he's going to build a church upon. And furthermore. The gates of hell. Are not going to prevail against him. Being the rock.

[34:04] That's future. When he says. I will build my church. And he says the gates of hell. Shall not prevail against it. When he's standing there talking to his disciples. He's got something to do. In the near future.

[34:14] And he alludes to it in verse 21. He starts to tell him about it. His death burial and resurrection. He said I'm going down. But before. Before I'm building anything.

[34:25] Church wise. Before I build my church upon this rock. The gates of hell aren't going to prevail against this thing. Because it's coming back out. I'm coming back up.

[34:36] So. The fact that he. Turns from that moment. And starts talking about his death burial and resurrection. Just seals it for me. Of the.

[34:48] Interpretation of this passage. It is surely not. A church. A Roman Catholic church. Or a Lutheran church. Or a church of Christ.

[34:58] Or a Mormon church. Or any body of people here. On the planet today. That make claims to this passage. This is the first time the word church shows up in your Bible.

[35:10] First time. Do you. Do you study your Bible. Based on what you know. And then see the word church. And then say. Oh well that's what he's talking about.

[35:20] Because. Paul says that we're members of his body. And that. He's the head of the body. Which is the church. And do we just make those connections. Because Paul says that the body of Christ is a church.

[35:30] And Christ says my church. Do we make that assumption. Would it be wise to make that assumption. Look at Acts chapter 7 quickly. We're going to have to stop here. And. Try to maybe conclude.

[35:42] And finish this whole passage. In a few weeks. Acts chapter 7. And in this passage.

[35:56] You have Stephen. Before he's murdered. And stoned by his brethren. He preaches to them about. Joseph. About. Moses. And about Jesus Christ.

[36:08] And in this message. As he speaks of Moses. In verse 37. This is that Moses. Which said unto the children of Israel. A prophet. A prophet.

[36:18] Shall the Lord your God. Raise up unto you. Of your brethren. Like unto me. Him. Shall ye hear. This is he. That was in the church. In the wilderness. With the angel.

[36:29] Which spake to him. In Mount Sinai. The church. Is the word church. Always a reference. To the body of Christ. To Gentiles. Called out. Saved by grace. Through faith. No.

[36:41] This word is. In this case. Referring to a nation. That is. Called out of Egypt. And carried by God. Through extreme.

[36:51] Terrible circumstances. And provided for. This is. The word church. The church. In the wilderness. Is the nation of Israel. Back. In Pharaoh's day.

[37:02] Back in Moses's day. So do not see the word church. And automatically assume. Body of Christ. Me. Especially. Especially in Matthew 16. Where are we learning about.

[37:14] Future church age. As we call it. Doctrine in Matthew. I can't point you to anywhere. Right now. Not that we've covered. What are we learning about. In Matthew.

[37:24] What is Jesus Christ. Consumed with. Teaching. About a kingdom. About being their Messiah. That Christ. Christ. And when he says. Upon this rock. I'll build my church.

[37:36] Let's just. One more verse. And then we'll. We'll quit. We'll probably pick it up here. Look at chapter 18. The next time the word church. Shows up. The next time the word church.

[37:50] Shows up. In the Bible. Only at second reference. In the book of Matthew. Is in verse 17. And if he shall neglect. To hear them. Tell it unto the church.

[38:00] Now folks say. Well this is. The future. The church. That's. That Christ is going to build. You know. The rock. Build his church upon.

[38:12] New Testament church. Look at verse 1. What's the context? You see the last three words? You see the last three words. In verse 3.

[38:24] You see the last three words. In verse 4. You see verse 23. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven. Like and done to a certain king.

[38:36] Do we know where we're at. When we're reading our Bible here. In Matthew. And what we've been studying. Is it. Is it. It's. This statement about the church. The church. Or a church.

[38:47] Is sandwiched right between. Plain and doctrinal teaching. About the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven. And. If your brother. Trespass against thee. Do this.

[38:57] Do this. Tell it to the church. You think that's really talking about. The New Testament. Future church. He's just slipping in. Some doctrine about that. And some teaching for the future church. Of the Gentiles. That's.

[39:08] That's not how you study your Bible. That can't. That's just nuts. And sometimes for this. You need to free yourself. Of what you've thought. Or been taught. And just stay in the book. And let it plainly teach itself.

[39:20] In this case. Christ is. There's no reason. To. Insert. The word church. Just means. A. It's a congregation. A group of people.

[39:31] Commonly referred to as. A called out assembly. And as I showed you. In Acts 7. That called out assembly. Is Israel. The nation. The next. The first time. It shows up.

[39:42] In the Bible. Is Jesus Christ. And his disciples. Him talking to Peter. Directly. About doing something. Building my. Christ's church. The context.

[39:53] Is overwhelming. Of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom. Thou art that Christ. And so. We don't need to jump. Into some conclusion. That Paul then later. Reveals to the body of Christ.

[40:04] And saying. Oh that's what Jesus. Is talking about. Us. Because. Where are you getting that from? You're pulling that out of thin air. And trying to connect it to the apostle Paul's teaching to somebody else.

[40:16] So. I don't believe at all that. Christ is referring to the body of Christ. That we call. The church. In this age. But rather. He's referring to something else. And.

[40:27] There's a Jewish church. Early in the book of Acts. And it's going to. Connect. Skip the church age. And into the tribulation. Into the future. There's a plan. That God has set in motion here.

[40:39] And that Christ is. Part of. And trying to institute. But they reject him. The kingdom of heaven's at hand. There's a. There's an assembly. There's a congregation. That's going to step in.

[40:50] To this kingdom. And enter the kingdom. And we'll try. The next time we get together. We'll try to make sense. Notice verse 19. Right after you use the word church. I'll give unto thee. The keys of the kingdom of heaven.

[41:02] So you think he's talking about. The future church. That Paul's going to reveal. To a different people. And then go. In the same sentence. To Peter. About the. Keys of the kingdom of heaven. No. What Christ is talking about.

[41:12] Has to do with the kingdom of heaven. Absolutely. So. We'll pick that up. In a couple weeks. Lord willing. In two weeks. And try to make the. Final sense of that. And then. Get past this.

[41:23] Heavy. Tricky. Stuff. And. Continue on in the book. So let's take a break. And we'll. Come back in a little bit. Thank you.