The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-07-09

Inc expression, upon THIS rOCk
will build my church and the gates
of hell (hades) shall not prevail
against it." is one that Is much mis-
understood. The gates OF hell are not
gates to some PLACE OF torture, nor
gates to purgatory. They are, in the
Greek, gates OF hades," and hades
signifies a state or condition OF death.
The passage might we'll be translated.
THE gates OF the grave shall not
prevail against IL. That is to say.
Chris Jesus invites the church to die
with him, to share In his sacrifice, in
his death, and while, apparently, the
gates OF hades have prevailed against
the church, against Gods people, for
more than eighteen centuries, never
theless, we have the assurance that
they shall not forever prevail. The
Masters assurance is that by his
death he has come Lord OF all aud
has the keys of death and hades. He
has the right to open hades. the tomb.
and To call forth all who have gone
down into II. he assures us that he
will do this, as he says, "All that are
In their graves shall hear the voice
OF the Son of man and shall come
forth
Nevertheless, for all these centuries
It has required saith to believe that,
by dying with Christ, his followers
shall yet share with him in his resur-
Iection to the glory, honor and I'm.
mortality Of the Divine nature. SO.
then, our Lords words mean that
there will be a resurrection from the
grave, and since tha chnrch is to ne
"a kind Of f1rstfruits unto God of his
creatures" DANES 1913; Revelation
l4:4, her resurrection means, indi-
rectly, this result, the uplifting or
mankind, the opening OF the grave to
every member OF the human family.
The giving OF the keys" OF the
kingdom to st. Peter has no reference
to locks and bars OF heaven, over
which st. Peter is the custodian. The
church In the present time is the
kingdom OF heaven in its preparatory
work to the gospel church. He opened
the door to the Jews at Pentecost
when, as the mouthpiece of the Lord,
he proclaimed the meaning OF the
Pentecostal blessing and the hopes
then open to every Jew coming, In.
dividually into membership In Christ.
He used the second key" to open
the same kingdom privileges to the
gentiles, In that when the due time
came for Cornelius, the first gentle
convert, to the received, st. Peter
did the work. BY preaching to Cor
nelius the gospel and by baptizing
him into Christ he threw open the
door to the gentiles, as our Lord fore
told in the words of this lesson.
st. Peters commission that what
ever things he should bind on earth
should be bound In heaven and what
things he should lose on earth
should be loosed in heaven, is the
same that was gwen to the other
apostles. (See Matthew 1880 II
does not mean, of course, that the
Lord has turned matters over to st.
Peter and made him Lord of heaven
and earth, nor that any or all OF the
apostles were so honored. II simply
means this: God purposes to use his
apostles and to so hold up their
hands, In all their affairs. that the
whole church may have confidence in
them, and may recognize their teacn-
ings az of God. II they declare that
certain of the commandments under
the Jewish law we're not binding upon
Christians, we must know that their
statements were true, and that. sim
Harry, in heaven, the release or
change Ia recognized. And II they
bound certain doctrines and teach.
ings, we must know That those are
bound and firmly established in
heaven. In other words. we must rec.
ognize the APOSTLES rs Gods inherent
mouthpieces.
The time for proclaiming Jesus rs
the Messiah did not come until after
his death and resurrection. Indeed
his MCEsiahship properly dates from
his resurrection. He desired his dis
ciples to recognize him properly. and
he explained to them about his ap-
preaching death and resurrection, br;
he Gid not wish them to proclaim
this 10 the world unit, the due time
st. Peter. perhaps clated with the
Lords CCmmendation OF his previous
speech, undertook now the role of
teacher To- the one whom he had just
acknowledged as the Messiah. In this
he erred, II was I'm sympathy that
nc urged that the Master should not
think OF any steps which lead TO suf.