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What are the keys to the kingdom of heaven? What can be bound and loosed on Earth and in heaven? What church did Yeshua (Jesus) build that the gates of hell shall not prevail against? This article will answer these theological statements made by Yeshua (Jesus) as recorded in Matthew 16:17-19.

MATTHEW 16:17-19:
Yeshua (Jesus) answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar- Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:17-19 are the primary Scripture verses upon which the Roman Catholic Church uses to declare itself as the one true church established by Jesus Christ through the Apostle Peter.

Catholics interpret and proclaim Matthew 16:17-19 in the following way:

MATTHEW 16:17-19:
Yeshua (Jesus) answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar- Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock [PETER] I will build My [CATHOLIC] church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it [THE CATHOLIC CHURCH]. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven [THE CATHOLIC CHURCH], and whatever [LAWS] you [AS POPE] bind on earth will be bound in heaven [WILL BECOME LAW ON EARTH AND IN HEAVEN], and whatever [OF GOD’S LAWS] you loose on earth will be loosed [ABOLISHED ON EARTH AND] in heaven.”

The Catholic Church is a deceiving church that was founded upon a lie. Yeshua (Jesus) did not declare or establish a papacy through Peter, start a Catholic Church, issue literal keys to Peter, or give Peter the authority to bind new laws or unbind God’s eternal laws.

JOHN 16:25:
“These things I have spoken to you in FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.”

Yeshua often spoke to His disciples in figurative or parabolic language (Matthew 13:13-15,34-35; Mark 3:23, 4:2-13, 12:1; Luke 8:10).

Yeshua (Jesus) spoke to Peter in figurative, parabolic language in Matthew 16:17-19. Yeshua (Jesus) responded to Peter, who faithfully answered His question.

MATTHEW 16:13-16:
When Yeshua (Jesus) came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Messiah (Christ), the Son of the living God.”

The true meaning of Yeshua’s (Jesus’) response to Peter is as follows:

MATTHEW 16:18:
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, …”

Why did Yeshua (Jesus) say, “… you are Peter?” This was Yeshua (Jesus) responding in kind to what Peter just said to Him, which was, “You are the Messiah (Christ), the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16).” Yeshua (Jesus) did not declare Peter to be some special kind of rock on which He was going to build His church upon by merely calling him by his name.

MATTHEW 16:18 (continued):
“… and on this rock I will build My church,”

What rock is “this rock?” Yeshua (Jesus) was replying to Peter’s statement, “You are the Messiah (Christ), the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16).” This faithful answer is the rock that Yeshua (Jesus) built His church on.

Peter was not a reliable rock. Shortly after these statements were made, Peter would go on to lose faith and deny Yeshua (Jesus) three times (Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-62).

MATTHEW 16:18 (continued):
“… I will build My church,”

Yeshua (Jesus) said that He would build His church, not the church of Peter.

What is the church that Yeshua (Jesus) built? It was not the Roman Catholic Church or any other denomination. It was not an actual church building.

COLOSSIANS 1:24:
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Messiah (Christ), for the sake of HIS BODY, WHICH IS THE CHURCH,…

‘Church’ is more properly translated ‘assembly.’ His body of believers who have faith in Yeshua (Jesus) and congregate together are the church, are the assembly. Even when just two or three believers are gathered in His name, He is there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).

MATTHEW 16:18 (continued):
“… I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

The Catholic Church has applied the slogan, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against the Catholic Church,” to its church.

The Catholic Church has persecuted millions of Messianic and Christian believers throughout millennia during the Dark Middle Ages in Europe. The actual amount of people killed by the Catholic Church during the medieval period is not fully known, but it is estimated to be between 100 – 150 million people. The Catholic Church has acted in the capacity of the gates of hell in its inquisitions, persecutions, and executions of believers in Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ) during its bloody history.

Although Satan has used the Catholic Church to persecute true believers in Yeshua (Jesus), it shall not prevail against them (Revelation 17:6). The Catholic Church did not prevent the true gospel from going forth. The gates of hell (death) will not prevail against the martyred saints, who will be resurrected to eternal life in the age to come.

As for the Roman Catholic Church, it is Mystery Babylon – the harlot woman (church), and the gates of hell (the nations of the beast) will prevail against it as a judgment from Yeshua (Jesus) (Revelation 17).

MATTHEW 16:19:
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven…

Peter was not handed literal keys to open the doors of the Catholic Church.

The keys to the kingdom of heaven is the gospel (good news) of Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ) that Peter and the other apostles were entrusted with to share with all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20). The keys open the door, which is Yeshua (Jesus), by which we enter heaven.

JOHN 10:7-9:
Then Yeshua (Jesus) said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I AM THE DOOR of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I AM THE DOOR. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved…”

JOHN 14:6:
Yeshua (Jesus) said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

MATTHEW 16:19 (continued):
“… and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

We are not permitted to bind or unbind God’s eternal, everlasting, perpetual laws. Yeshua (Jesus) did not come to destroy His laws (Matthew 5:17-18), so neither can any denominational church, government institution, or man.

The Catholic Church has declared that it has the authority to change God’s laws based upon the authority given to Peter to “bind and loose.”

DANIEL 7:25:
He [THE CATHOLIC POPE] shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law.

Catholic popes past, present, and future are referenced in Daniel 7:25. It is the Catholic pope and the Catholic Church that have persecuted true biblical Messianic and Christian saints throughout their history, while hypocritically proclaiming that they are the persecuted ones and that the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.

It is the Catholic pope who shall intend to change God’s times and law. Scripture says “shall intend,” because no Catholic pope can change God’s times or God’s law. God’s times and law will not change by the edict or encyclical of a Catholic pope. God’s times and laws are eternal and will not be abolished by any man (Matthew 5:17-18).

CATHOLIC CHURCH QUOTES:

“Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the church ever did happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday not from any directions noted in the Scriptures, but from the Catholic Church’s sense of its own power.”
– Saint Catherine Catholic Church Sentinel, May 21, 1995.

“The Pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, change, or interpret even divine laws.”
– The Catholic Ferraris’ Ecclesiastical Dictionary.

“We confess that the Pope has the power of altering Scriptures, or increasing and diminishing it, according to his will. We confess that the Holy Scripture is imperfect and a dead letter, until it is explained by the Supreme Pontiff and permitted by him to be read by lay people.”
– Confessio Romano—Catholica, ‘The Hungarian Confession of Faith’ Articles IV, I, and XXI.

“We frankly say, yes, the Catholic Church made this change, made this law [the Sunday Sabbath], as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages and a thousand other laws.”
– Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Society (1975), Chicago, IL.

“The authority of the church could therefore not be bound to the authority of the Scriptures, because the church had changed the Sabbath into Sunday, not by command of Christ, but by its own authority.”
– Canon and Tradition Pg 263.

MATTHEW 5:17-18:
“DO NOT THINK THAT I CAME TO DESTROY THE LAW or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle WILL BY NO MEANS PASS FROM THE LAW…”

Regarding binding and unbinding, what we are permitted to do is bind and unbind agreements, settle accounts, forgive debts, and forgive sins and trespasses committed against us.

DEUTERONOMY 15:1:
“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called YHWH’s (the Lord’s) release…”

MATTHEW 18:18-35:
“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Again I say to you that IF TWO OF YOU AGREE on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
Yeshua (Jesus) said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to SETTLE ACCOUNTS with his servants. And when he had begun to SETTLE ACCOUNTS, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, AND FORGAVE HIM THE DEBT.
“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I FORGAVE YOU ALL THAT DEBT because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

MATTHEW 6:9-12:
Our Father who is in heaven, holy is Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS.

LUKE 11:4:
Our Father who is in heaven, holy is Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and FORGIVE US OUR SINS AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS.

In conclusion, a proper interpretation of Matthew 16:17-19 should be understood in the following manner:

MATTHEW 16:17-19:
Yeshua (Jesus) answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock [FAITHFUL ANSWER] I will build My church [FOLLOWING], and the gates of hell [DEATH] shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys [GOSPEL] of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever [AGREEMENTS, DEBTS] you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever [AGREEMENTS, DEBTS, SINS, TRESPASSES] you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”