The Gates of Hell
And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. What are the gates of hell?
Excerpt found on www.isaiah58.com
His sharp eyes followed the outline of buildings and houses along the avenues until he focused upon the house of a wealthy business man which stood near the palace and in full view of his perch. The man’s wife, dressed as though she were a harlot, strutted shamelessly along the street outside her gate. She was not an Israelite but a "stranger", who over the years of her wantonness had made an art of flattery and seduction. Yes, the king saw, she knew well how to appeal to the natural desires of men. She continued her evening stroll in the direction of the palace, constantly looking about. The king, still unnoticed in the shadows, could even hear her footsteps now, could see her painted face when she turned it toward the fires of his servants’ quarters, and, when the breeze was just right, he could even smell her perfume. She was on the prowl. How much like an animal of prey she seemed!
Of course, all this has a profound spiritual meaning. Jehovah was Israel’s God, and the Israelites, as a whole, had begun to worship other gods. In the eyes of God, this was adultery, for Israel had promised when she was joined to God at Mount Sinai that she would "have no other gods" before Him (Ex.20:3). Her vows notwithstanding, heathen idols eventually covered the hills of Canaan’s land. "Upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot", cried God through young Jeremiah. "According to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. . . . I have not found it by secret search."
No, there was no need for God to send out spies to see if Israel had been faithful to Him or not. Nothing much was hidden. She flaunted her "liberty" from the old-fashioned ways of the Law of Moses in the most conspicuous of places. She was proud of her evil ways and built sites for the worship of other gods (whore houses in God’s sight) in the most convenient of locations. "Thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thy high place in every street" (Ezek.16:31). How deeply the heart of God was pained! How He suffered because of His holy love for Israel! But Israel didn’t know it, and didn’t believe His prophets when they told her. One of Israel’s sons, Hosea was sent by God to "Plead with your mother! Plead. . .that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts" (Hos.2:2). But she continued her search for lovers, wherever she could find them, confident that she would never be called into account.
Those who entered the gates to the high places built by Israel for other gods did not know that by doing so they were entering the sacred bedchamber of the adulterous bride of the Lord. Just like the young men whom David watched from his balcony, they were taken in by the appearance and flattery of professional idolaters, completely unaware that they had entered into the gates of hell. Many of the high places, especially the older ones, were beautiful, pleasant places. Under the shade of huge oaks, from ornate altars, the inviting fragrance of incense chased away the ordinary and unappealing smells of ancient life. The priests of the most prestigious high places were clothed with rich garments and could make scribbles on parchments which actually had meaning, and could make meaning out of the scribbles of others. Priestesses, beautifully attired, were carried into trances; there were prophecies delivered at times; and lovely music often filled the air. The high places had all the appearance of divine approval and unction, and yet had all the spiritual filth of a brothel in the slums. The truth of God was avoided in these places like the plague; one actually took his life in his hand to proclaim it. The sophisticated priests of these groves made God’s Law seem to be but a misguided attempt to find the right way, something to be smiled at and then ignored.
For centuries, Protestant Christians have understood that this Great Whore is the Catholic Church, which reigns on the seven hills of Rome (Rev.17:9) and has authoritative influence over the kings of the earth (17:18). What Protestant Christians have altogether missed, however, is that the Whore is "the mother of harlots", and that the harlots which sprang from the Great Whore are the Protestant faiths of Christianity. Catholicism is the greatest of whores because it is the most perfect form of Christianity. No other Christian faith can rival her ability to allure men. No other Christian faith has the money or the age (experience). As Uncle Joe once said about a small, run-down pentecostal church, which had cluttered the space (once used for prayer) at the altar with an ornate Christian communion table, "They can’t be as wrong as the Catholics, no matter how hard they try." Yes, Uncle Joe, it takes a lot of money to be as wrong as the Catholics. But the daughters are growing in wealth, and are trying hard to be like their mother.
One underlying, unifying element in Christianity–Catholic and Protestant–is the evil notion that one can be baptized with the Spirit, and thereby become a member of God’s church, without speaking in tongues. Once that idea was promulgated, the sinner found that he had to rely on a man (priest, bishop, or some other cleric) to tell him that he had received the Spirit. But the baptism of the holy Ghost is an act of God, not of man. In Christianity, the woman (the church) has "usurped authority over the man" (Christ) and has made her own religion out of what should have been solely the work of God’s Spirit. Christianity’s churches can be joined; the kingdom of God can not. Jesus suffered to provide a "new and living way" for us. What’s new about deciding to join something? What’s new about water baptism? What’s new about having a ceremonial communion meal using natural food? The heathen were doing that centuries before Christ. The way of Christ is the way of the Spirit; it is a way of serving God that was not made available to us before the sacrifice of Christ.