While some have taken this prophecy to claim worldly dominion, others struggle to give it much thought. Here I show how extraordinary it is and show it’s key to understanding other prophecies.
Jesus prophesied…
18“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. 19“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt 16:18-19, NASB)
This prophecy is more important than many realize, yet often-misinterpreted. To the Roman Catholic Church, it is the coronation of Peter as the first pope. They say that the word Peter (petros) means rock. So, Jesus is building his church on Peter. Then they’re free to interpret the keys as they see fit, applying those rights to successive popes.
Now that we have more access to the Word of God than ever before, even in the original language, we discover that it is true that Peter (petros) is a rock, but only a small one or perhaps a boulder. These are movable by man. But “upon this rock I will build My church” uses a different word (Petra). These are two different words, with very different meanings. See for yourself here. In one case we have a stone or boulder; in the other we have a large mass of rock, immoveable like a mountain. If Peter is a stone, who is this large, immovable stone? If only we could ask Peter what Jesus meant by this! But wait, maybe we can! See 1 Peter 4:2-8.
Even Young’s Literal Translation has rock twice, so it’s easy for someone to be confused here. Now we know that the church is built on Jesus, and him only, as the Chief Cornerstone.
Now, about those keys…
It is clear that in verse 19 Jesus is giving Peter a very special task. For that we have to turn to the book of Acts. After Jesus’ crucifixion, His followers were more or less in limbo, waiting for the promised Holy Spirit. That day came at Pentecost – the feast of weeks, or the feast of the harvest. With the Holy Spirit poured out on them as prophesied by Joel, Peter addressed the crowd and about 3000 were baptized into Christ Jesus. Peter used one key that day, opening door to forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ – marking the first day of Jesus’ church. This was a huge event, presided by Peter.
At this point, there’s just one problem. God promised many times that all nations would partake in this blessing. Peter just got finished quoting Joel saying that the Spirit would be poured out on all people. That didn’t seem to be a problem at the time, though, as the church grew as a Jewish sect.
Some time later, perhaps about 3 years, Acts 10 records that Peter had a disturbing vision where God asked him to do a very non-Jewish thing! Two days later, he found himself in the home of a Gentile in Caesarea – also a very non-Jewish thing! The event unfolded in remarkable similarity to Pentecost with the Holy Spirit poured out and the first non-Jew believers being baptized. This “second-Penecost” marks the second of the two pivotal, and most important moments in the history of the church—the pouring out of the Spirit on all people (Jews first, then non-Jews).
Now we’ve witnessed Peter using the second key. He opened the door of forgiveness to all people. From that point on, the church spread quickly to all nations. Is there more? No. The Gospel is open and available to all. Every door is open. All nations. Never to be shut again. Jesus entrusted Peter, and he obeyed. Prophecy was fulfilled.
Now you have the true meaning of “to seal up vision and prophecy” in Daniel 9:24. The most significant of all prophecy, concluding the story of God’s plan of salvation for all nations. It is done! It’s not the end of the world, nor is it the last thing that is to be foretold. But it is the conclusion of the prophecy of all prophecies!
But wait, there’s more! Did you know that it was predicted almost 500 years earlier when this would happen? Read about it here.
