What Are the Gates of Hell Jesus Talked About?

Anyone who has been around Christian culture for some time has most likely heard the phrase, “the gates of hell will not prevail.” This idea is often thrown around without a contextual understanding of what it means. The phrase appears in the middle of Jesus’ conversation with his disciples in Matthew 16. In verse 18, Jesus says to Simon Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Typically these verses are used to communicate that Jesus intended for the church to attack the gates of hell with the confidence that no power of the devil can prevail. While His church does have authority over the power of the enemy as confirmed throughout Scripture (see an example in Luke 10:19), carefully looking at the Biblical meaning of the gates of hell indicates a different meaning than what is often understood and communicated.

What Does Jesus Talk about the Gates of Hell?

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus uses the phrase pulai hadou (gates of hell), a Jewish expression translated as the realm of the dead. This same phrase is found in Job 38:17 and Isaiah 38:10 in the Septuagint version, providing a clearer understanding of the term’s meaning.

“And do the gates of death open to thee for fear; and did the porters of hell quake when they saw thee?” (Job 38:17, Brenton’s Septuagint)

“I said in the end of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I shall part with the remainder of my years” (Isaiah 38:10, Brenton’s Septuagint)

In both of these verses, the term pulai hadou refers to the grave, indicating that the gates of hell imply the unseen place of the dead–the end of life on earth as we know it. Additionally, in biblical times, gates were considered places of great strength and government where councils were held.

With these two details in mind, a proper understanding of the gates of hell implies the power and rule of death. We know that Jesus overcame the devil and the power of death on the cross (Hebrew 2:14). However, the Bible tells us that the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:26). At the end of the age, we will finally see the fulfillment of the promise: “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54).

Where Was Jesus When He Mentioned the Gates of Hell?

Jesus’ conversation with his disciples is set in the Caesarea Philippi district, at Mount Hermon’s base. At that time, Caesarea Philippi was considered the red light district of the world–a place devout Jewish people avoided at all costs. Jesus, the greatest teacher of all time, brought his disciples to this pagan and cultic region to show them first-hand a truth that would forever change them and mark the beginning of His church.

To set the stage, picture a city full of Greek pagan worship and sexual immorality. Originally called Panias under Greek influence, Caesarea Philippi was filled with temples and shrines dedicated to the worship of their half-goat, half-man god known as Pan. Interestingly, Merriam-Webster explains the word panic originates from this Greek god. One can only imagine the fear, darkness, and chaos pervading a district devoted to worshiping the god of panic. Under the rule of Herod the Great, Panias became known as Caesarea Philippi in 20 BC in honor of the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus; however, worship of Pan continued.

Caesarea Philippi was home to a cave known to the pagan occupants as the gate to the underworld. These pagan worshippers believed that their city was literally at hell’s gates, where fertility gods lived during the winter. A stream flowed from the cave’s mouth, believed to be used by fertility gods traveling in and out of the cave. To attract the gods’ return, every springtime, they would engage in horrific, immoral acts such as prostitution and sexual interaction between humans and goats.

With this in mind, when Jesus uses this phrase while teaching His disciples in Matthew 16:18, it takes on a richer dimension. He applies a familiar Jewish expression that his disciples would recognize and uses that term in the very place where the reported physical “gates of hell” existed. He declares to his disciples that they will not be defeated by the power and rule of death on display right before their very eyes. Jesus confirms his truth using a physical picture and a deeper spiritual meaning.

What Word Did Jesus Use for Hell?

Hell is an English word translated in place of four words used in the original Hebrew and Greek languages, each holding a distinctly different meaning. Jesus chooses to use the Greek word Hades when speaking of the gates of hell, which means “unseen” or “the place (state) of departed souls.” In the Old Testament, the corresponding Hebrew word is Sheol meaning “the world of the dead.” Understanding the differences between these words is crucial to interpreting the word hell whenever we read it in Scripture.

The Greek word that describes hell closest to how we typically interpret it in English is Gehenna, meaning “a place of everlasting punishment.” The word Gehenna comes from the Hebrew word ge-hinnom, translated as the Valley of Hinnom. This was a valley south of Jerusalem where the Israelites “passed children through fire,” or sacrificed their children to the Canaanite god Molech (2 Chronicles 33:6). In Jeremiah 19, the Lord describes this place by saying,

“Therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter” (Jeremiah 19:6 ESV).

He goes on to describe all the judgments coming upon the city and ends the chapter by declaring,

“I am bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their neck, refusing to hear my words” (Jeremiah 19:15 ESV).

In His time on earth, Jesus doesn’t dance around the idea of hell but warns His disciples lovingly to avoid sin that would lead to hell. He describes it as a place where worms do not die, and fire is not quenched (Mark 9:47 ESV). Speaking of the Pharisees, Jesus warns, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell (gehenna)?” (Matthew 23:33 ESV).

In Revelation 20:13-14 we read about the final judgment before the great white throne, and interestingly we read that “death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.” Again this verse confirms that Hades is distinct from hell since the Bible is clear that Hades was thrown into hell—they are not one and the same.

However, in Matthew 16, when Jesus talks about the gates of hell, he doesn’t use Gehenna–intentionally. He instead uses the word Hades, or the place of departed souls. It seems clear that he isn’t referring to the literal power of hell as we think of it but rather to the grave and the fact that death and its rule cannot overpower or prevail against his church.

Do Gates of Hell Imply Hell is Always On the Defensive?

Many may argue that since gates are defensive, this verse implies that the church is called to attack the gates of hell offensively. However, a proper interpretation of the phrase doesn’t seem to support that view. We’ve established earlier that the phrase Jesus used, and the Biblical understanding of gates leads us to understand the gates of hell as the power and rule of death.

With this in mind, if we interpret this Scripture as calling the church to be on the offensive, we are saying that the church is called to attack the power of death–which Jesus has already overcome on the cross. Jesus holds the keys to death and Hades (Revelation 1:18). Therefore, when Jesus says that the gates of hell will not overpower or prevail, He declares that death has no authority over His church. This sounds familiar to 1 Corinthians 16:54, confirming that “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (ESV).

The reality that death has been abolished (2 Timothy 1:10) is the bedrock of our faith. It is the eternal hope that we live confidently within. We know that, through death, Jesus destroyed the one with the power of death and “delivered all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14 ESV).

As His church, we have received the promise of eternal life (1 John 2:25), and we can live in such a way that we are not afraid of the grave–because it could not hold Jesus and therefore cannot hold us. We live confidently in the truth that death and the one who holds its power, Satan, already lost when Jesus said, “It is finished!”

In the last book of the Bible, Jesus describes His church at the end of the age by saying, “and they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:11 ESV).

This is a beautiful and profound picture of the truth that “the gates of hell will not prevail.” It doesn’t mean that we are called to attack the gates of hell or that the church will not face physical death. It means that even in the face of death, we overcome because the blood of the Lamb has covered us. This is the greatest hope of our salvation, which must grow deeper in our souls as the days on earth grow darker. While the world currently lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19), we have been raised with Christ and must stand in his truth. Death has lost its grip, and our King holds the keys!

Charles Spurgeon sums it up best:

“You can never kill the church till you kill Christ, and you can never defeat her till you defeat the Lord Jesus, who already wears the crown of triumph.”

Photo Credit: © Getty Images/Pavel_Chag

Maddy Rager is a copywriter who recently launched her own freelance business. She has always had a passion for writing and conveying the truths of God's word to compel others to know Him more deeply. She also loves to write music and released a personal EP in 2020. Maddy and her husband live in Franklin, TN and are actively involved in their church and community where they lead worship together in various contexts. You can learn more about her work at www.ragercreative.com.