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“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” ~ Matthew 16:15-18
Commentary:
The Greek word is πυλαι and does literally mean "gates", and this is the only reference to the gates of Hades/Hell in the NT. It's also the first use of the word εκκλησια, "the called-out", "church".
The gates of a city are the point at which attackers lay siege, the weakest point. The strength of a city is directly related to the strength or power of its gates. Here Hades or Hell is represented as a city with its strength in its gates. The gates represent the power of Hell, and the Church is stronger.
'Upon this rock I will build my church' suggests that the rock is a firm foundation, fixed in place, and immobile, but 'the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it' suggests that the rock (the Church) will be hurled against the gates to knock them down.
