Matthew 16:15-18 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 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.
It has been pointed out that gates are defense, not offensive. This is an attack against hell that overcomes the defenses of hell. Some will say the rock is Peter, and that is true, but statements of Christ tend to have multiple meanings. The rock is Christ, or the rock could be the statement that Jesus is the Son of God. The church is built upon the rock.
It is not the church that overcomes the devil, but Christ. It is the rock that overcomes the gates of hell. Christ overcame the devil when He was on the cross, but the proclamation in Heaven that Jesus is the Son of the living God causes the downfall of Satan.
Just as Peter proclaimed that Jesus is the Son of God, that very proclamation in Heaven will expose the fact that God is a witness against the devil.
