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Let us now turn our attention to another important claim that is made by the Roman Catholic Church which is directly linked to the issue of Peter supposedly being the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church; and that is the claim that he is also the rock of God's Church. As we saw earlier, in Matthew 16:18 in the KJV version of the Holy Bible, Jesus says to Peter: "thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church"

I have long held the view that because of the way that the sentence is worded, particularly the phrase "upon this rock", it just does not seem like the phrase is directed to, or referring to, Peter. If that is really what Jesus meant to say, then I would think that He would have been more clear about it and would have said something like "Thou art Peter. Ye are the rock; and upon thee I will build my church". If the Lord would have said it that way, then there would be no doubt concerning what He was saying. However, the way it is actually translated into English, it sounds to me like Jesus is in fact referring to Himself when He says "upon this rock". I don't say this lightly. I have a lot of Scriptural evidence to amply support my position.

First of all, every Bible-believing Christian knows that the Christian Church is in fact founded upon the Blood of Jesus Christ, who was cruelly sacrificed on a Roman cross, for the remission of our sins. Rather than share a lot of verses here concerning this topic, allow me to refer you to the article "The Blood Atonement: In Jesus' Own Words". That article will demonstrate in very clear Scriptural terms why Jesus had to shed His Blood on a Roman Cross. The fact that the Blood of Christ is the foundation of the Christian Church should be sufficient evidence to convince most Christians reading this that Jesus is the Rock, and not the Apostle Peter. After all, when we refer to a foundation, we are in fact referring to a foundation of stone, rock or cement upon which most ancient and modern buildings are constructed. So in this particular case, the building is the Christian Church; in other words, the spiritual Body of Believers; and unless the Church is built upon Christ the Rock, it will surely be swept away when the floods come, just as the Lord warned us in His parables.

However, let's examine some Scriptures which will clearly prove that Jesus is the Rock. One verse which at first may not seem to be related to this topic -- but in my view, really is -- is the following:

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."


As I explain in other articles, we know that Jesus was not really referring to Herod's temple, in which He stood at that particular moment; He was in fact referring to His own body. Thus, only two verses later we can read "But he spake of the temple of his body". In other words, Jesus was prophesying His own Resurrection from the dead. However, what I want to call to your attention is the way that Jesus referred back to Himself with the phrase "Destroy this temple". In my view, it is the very same verbal mechanism that He uses when He states to Peter "upon this rock". In other words, with both of these terms -- "this temple" and "this rock" -- Jesus is referring to Himself. If you aren't convinced that this is so, and are still of the opinion that Jesus was saying that Peter is the rock of His Church, then allow me to provide you with some even more convincing, direct Scriptural evidence.

To begin with, one would think that if Peter had understood that Jesus was saying that he -- Peter -- is the rock of the Christian Church, then Peter might possibly confirm this fact while preaching, or perhaps while writing his Epistles. But, quite to the contrary, instead of saying that he was the rock, Peter clearly confirmed that Jesus is the Rock and the Corner Stone, or Foundation Stone, of the Christian Church. Consider the following verses. In the first one, Peter is telling the rulers of Jerusalem that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah:

"This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner."


"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."


In the second group of verses, there should be no doubt that Peter is referring to Jesus as the "living stone", the "chief corner stone", the "head of the corner", "the stone which the builders disallowed", a "stone of stumbling" and a "rock of offence". After all, this is the very same thing that he had been preaching to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. However, another reason why we know that Peter is comparing Jesus to all of these things, and explaining to his audience that the Lord was rejected by His own race, is because Jesus said the very same things concerning Himself in the Gospels as well, as we see here:

"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?"


"And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?"


"And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."


"And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."


"Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day."


"But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation."


"He came unto his own, and his own received him not."


So here we see Jesus describing Himself as the prophesied "Suffering Servant", as the chief Corner Stone which would be rejected by the unbelieving Jews of His day, and as the Firstfruits of the Resurrection. This, of course, was in direct fulfillment of the words of the Prophet Isaiah, who wrote:

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not."


With all of these verses, we are building a very strong case which demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the one true Rock and Foundation Stone of God's Christian Church is Jesus Christ, and not the Apostle Peter, as certain Roman Catholics erroneously believe. If you are not yet convinced that this is the case, then allow me to share some additional verses with you from the writings of the Apostle Paul:

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."


"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;"


"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."


Not only is Jesus Christ the true Spiritual Rock, Corner Stone and Foundation Stone of the Christian Church, but as the Old Testament Prophet Daniel tells us, He is also the Rock from Heaven who will someday utterly smash all of the corrupt governments of man, in order to establish His own righteous Kingdom on Earth during the coming Millennium, as we see here:

"Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth . . . And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."


Psalm Two is likewise a Millennial Prophecy which describes how Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Rock from Heaven, will someday "break them [ the rebellious rulers of the Earth ] with a rod of iron", and "dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel", as we see here:

"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."


We began this series with the following verse taken from the Gospel of Matthew:

"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."


As some of you will undoubtedly already know, the verse that immediately follows it is also used by Roman Catholics in an effort to support their claim of Peter being the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church. This verse states:

"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."


This verse does indicate that Jesus bestowed a considerable amount of responsibility upon Peter, in spite of Peter's own personal weaknesses; but does this verse in any way confirm that Peter traveled to Rome and became the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church? No it does not. As we've already seen, the Roman Catholic Church did not even come into existence until the Fourth Century, so Peter could not possibly have become its first pope during the First Century. As I explain in other commentaries, it was during the Fourth Century, and thereafter, that some Christian Bishops throughout the Roman Empire compromised with the Roman Government, in order that they might obtain power and influence over the masses; and the whorish woman began to ride the worldly beast in an ungodly marriage.

Furthermore, as we also discovered earlier, while there is an abundance of Scriptural evidence which demonstrates that the Apostle Paul was in Rome on several occasions, there is not a single iota of Biblical evidence that supports the contention that Peter ever went to that evil city. Personally, I find this point particularly strange for another reason. You see, as I point out in some of the aforementioned articles, it is commonly believed that the Bible that we have today, was in large part influenced by, or perhaps better said, manipulated by, the so-called early "Church Fathers". Who were these men? Basically, they were the Bishops -- as well as other persons of importance -- who had a hand in the early formation of the Roman Catholic Church. These individuals lived anywhere from one hundred to three hundred years after the time of Christ and the Original Apostles, so they didn't personally know Christ, or any of The Twelve.

One of the tasks which these men undertook -- in addition to their own ecclesiastical writings -- was to collate copies of the original manuscripts -- also known as the autographs -- into what would eventually become the Bible. In comparison to today, there were many more manuscripts available during that time. They undoubtedly had access to some inspired writings which we have never seen, and which no longer exist. But the problem is that amongst the many religious manuscripts which were available at that time, a lot of them were of doubtful authorship and Divine Inspiration. Today, we refer to those which still exist as apocryphal and pseudepigraphal works. The "Acts Of Peter" is in fact one such work. So simply put, the task of these men was to determine which writings were truly inspired by God, and which were not. Those which they deemed to be Divinely Inspired, became a part of our Bible, while the rest were cast aside, or destroyed.

At this point, you may be questioning how these historical facts tie into our discussion concerning the Apostle Peter's alleged travels to Rome, and his serving there as the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Allow me to explain. If we consider that these men were in large part responsible for the early formation of the Roman Catholic Church, and if we also consider that it was in their interest to legitimize the new relationship between the Roman Empire and the Bishops who compromised with it, regardless of how wayward they were, it seems to me that if any manuscripts existed during that time which documented the Apostle Peter's travels to Rome during the First Century, and/or which detailed his activities as the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church, surely these men would have included any such manuscripts in the Bible. Yet, as we have seen, there is not a single book, or even a single chapter, or a single paragraph, and not even a single verse which clearly supports Roman Catholic claims. All they can point to is Roman Catholic tradition, and a few obscure documents of doubtful reputation such as the "Acts Of Peter".

In my opinion, there is only one reason why such manuscripts were not included in the Bible, and that is simply because they either did not exist, or else if they did exist, they were deemed to be untruthful and uninspired, and it would have been too risky to include them in the Bible. In short, the only alleged "evidence" which the Roman Catholic Church possesses today to prove their claims concerning Peter going to Rome and taking on the mantle of the first bishop and pope of Rome, exists outside of the Bible. Do you really want to trust such information? I don't.

At this point, we are going to swing back to our discussion concerning Jesus' words regarding the "Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven" in Matthew 16:19. There is a belief amongst some Bible teachers and students that the Greek word "kleis", or "keys" in English, is a general reference to authority and power. It is partly from this understanding that the Roman Catholic Church derives its belief that the Lord was making Peter the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church. However, allow me to suggest another possibility which I believe has some merit. In endeavoring to understand what Jesus may have been saying to Peter, let's consider a simple, and obvious, question: What are keys used for?

Obviously, keys are used to unlock something, such as a door or a chest. In the New Testament, keys are symbolically used to signify the opening or closing of doors of opportunity. Consider the following verses from the Book of Revelation, where the Lord is speaking to the Church in Philadelphia:

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name."


As serious students of God's Word, we all should already know that in a spiritual sense, the most important keys are those which open the doors to Heaven and Hell, and Eternal Life and Eternal Damnation. Believe it or not, if we turn to the Gospel of John, we discover that Jesus said the very same thing while He was still on Earth, albeit in a slightly different manner. Please consider the similarities between the following verses and Revelation 3:7-8 above:

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."


"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."


In other words, the Lord is saying that when He opens the Door of Salvation for us, absolutely no one can shut it in our face, or cast us out. This is the same thing that Jesus is saying to the brethren at the Church of Philadelphia by way of the symbolism of a door which no man can shut. If we read only a few verses later, we see that Jesus is indeed offering them the promise of Eternal Life, if they will only endure:

"Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name."


So what we see then is that Jesus is the Keeper of the Keys. This same fact is confirmed for us in yet another verse that is found a little earlier in the Book of Revelation. Please consider this one:

"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."


So again we see that because of His loving Sacrifice, Jesus has the power over life and death, as well as over Eternal Life and Eternal Damnation. Our fate is determined entirely by our faith in Him. Furthermore, not only is Jesus the real Keeper of the Keys -- and not Peter -- but He is in fact the Door which leads to God's Kingdom; for as He said in John chapter ten:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine."


Thus we see that Jesus is the Keeper of the Keys, the only Door to Salvation, as well as the Good Shepherd who leads the sheep into the greener pastures of Salvation. Based on all of the Scriptural evidence that I have shared with you in the previous paragraphs, I believe that we can arrive at a very interesting, and Scripturally-sound, conclusion; and that is this: It would seem that by saying to Peter, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven", Jesus was not saying to Peter "Here you go; I am anointing you as the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church; but rather, He was in effect giving Peter a mandate to share the Kingdom of the Heaven with the world; that is, to announce the Kingdom of Heaven to the world, through preaching the blessed Gospel of Salvation. Jesus was giving Peter the power to open the Door of Salvation for all men everywhere, as I explain in some of my articles concerning the topic of Eternal Salvation.

Allow me to reiterate that Peter did not, and does not, own the Keys of Heaven. Jesus is the only true Owner and Keeper of said Keys, as previous verses indicate, and He merely lent the Keys to Peter, because the Lord knew that His Crucifixion was drawing near, and that He would need someone to carry on the work of preaching the Gospel of Salvation after He had returned to His Father in Heaven. What is interesting here is that this incident in Matthew chapter sixteen would not be the last time that Jesus would remind Peter of the important mandate that He had given him. You may recall that after the Lord's Crucifixion, with both the Jews and the Romans after them, the Disciples became very discouraged; and following Peter's lead, they returned to their old lives of fishing at the Sea of Galilee, which was also known by the names of the Lake of Gennesaret and the Sea of Tiberias.

But then the miraculous happened. Jesus rose from the dead, and He appeared to His Disciples for the third time at the Sea of Galilee. It was during that third time that the Lord reminded Peter of the mandate that He had given him, when He told Peter three times to "Feed my sheep", as we see here:

"So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep."


Now, as I have explained to my readers many times before, in order to properly understand the Bible, we must diligently compare Scripture with Scripture. It is only in this way that we can form a full, and hopefully accurate, picture of what is being said, and hopefully avoid error in our understanding. Endeavoring to form a doctrine based upon one verse alone is dangerous business. The reason why I am sharing this with you is because if I were to end this series right here, you might possibly be left with an erroneous impression regarding the meaning of Matthew 16:19. You see, just as I demonstrated to you earlier through the Scriptures that Peter did not oversee the Early Church alone, but rather he guided it and taught it in a spiritual triumvirate along with James and John who were the sons of Zebedee, and who were likewise Peter's worldly partners prior to becoming Apostles, in similar fashion, the Scriptures make it clear that Jesus did not give the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter alone. In other words, Jesus did not give the mandate to preach the Gospel of Salvation to Peter alone; He in fact gave it to all of the Apostles. This is confirmed for us by such verses as the following:

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:"


"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."


"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."


"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."


The previous verses were not just spoken to Peter; they were spoken to all of the Apostles; so technically-speaking, they were all given the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven because they were all given the power and the authority to preach the Good News, and thus bring people to the one true Door, Keeper of the Keys and Good Shepherd; that is, Jesus Christ. That this is so, is wonderfully symbolized for us in the final book of the Bible; that is, in the Book of Revelation. You may recall that Jesus had said the following to The Twelve:

"Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven."


Not only were their names written in the Book of Life, but consider the following verses where we're told that the twelve foundations of the Heavenly City -- New Jerusalem -- are named after the Twelve Apostles as well:

"And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb . . . And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst."


Please go to part four for the conclusion of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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