“And the Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail Against It”
Gates don’t swing swords or chase anyone down; they prevail by clamping shut—locking people in or keeping rescuers out.
What about the gate of hell—is it keeping people in or out? In Christ’s promise, those gates will not prevail against us. We’re not enemy soldiers at the walls; we’re the prisoners inside, yearning to break free, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Jesus flips the image on its head. Revelation exposes the gate as a prison with a broken latch. Welcome that light and we’re no longer captives—we’re the crew that kicks the doors wide and walks free. Reject the light and we stay hemmed in by our own prejudices and half-truths; the gate prevails only because we keep it shut. Ignorance lingers when we refuse to open up and let revelation in—and so the gates prevail.
How We Allow the Gates to Stay Closed
- Ignore fresh prophecy. A conference talk left unopened is a hinge-pin we hammer tighter, sealing the door a little more.
- Drag the Lord’s servants through the mud. Snark, sarcasm, “gotcha” clips—each jab eats away trust, muffles the Spirit, and pulls the bar across the gate. Peter held the keys in his day; living prophets hold them now. Discount their stewardship and you jam the very lock that could set you free.
- Live on yesterday’s testimony. Light that isn’t fed goes dim; the hinges rust until the door feels immovable.
Give those three habits enough oxygen and hell doesn’t have to storm the castle—we hand it the keys by keeping the gate firmly shut. Happily stuck in our ignorance and darkness… not even knowing what is outside the confines of the gates of hell.
Revelation—The Only Working Key
The Lord put it bluntly: hear the prophet “as if from mine own mouth,” and the gate swings open (D&C 21). Alma backs Him up: God gives “the greater portion” of His word when we lean in, but “taketh away” when we tune out—until we “know nothing” and the chains of hell snap closed (Alma 12:9–11).
“It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God… according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him. And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word… until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil… and led… down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.”
John 6: When a Hard Saying Slams the Door
Jesus delivers the bread-of-life sermon; half the crowd bolts—offended and done. Gate slammed—by their own hand. They write it off as a “hard saying” and refuse to hear more. Christ turns to the Twelve: “Will ye also go away?” Peter answers, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” Revelation wedged the door open; hell’s prison had no claim on them.
Don’t Linger at the Threshold
Those gates don’t sprint—but they’re masters of containment. Stay still in casual discipleship and the doors creak shut by default. The covenant path—“the Way”—calls disciples to courage when the gates of hell start to slam shut around us. For we will not succumb to the darkness but rather flood the dark hallways with light, kicking barriers off their hinges, and dragging every willing soul—ourselves included—into daylight and the light of the Holy Ghost.
So ask yourself: Where could the gates still prevail in me? They win only when I hand them the advantage—when I shrug off living words from the Lord and those He sends, and when I Do Nothing with the words of God I do hear. Grab the fresh word. Oil the hinges with prayer. Throw the latch wide with repentance. Built on that rock, you’ll discover the gates aren’t as strong as they sound—one more Spirit-powered shove and they clatter to the ground.
Light That Floods In
Key Scriptures
- D&C 88:67 — “If your eye be single to my glory, your whole body shall be filled with light”
- 2 Nephi 28:30 — “Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little”
- D&C 121:45–46 — “The doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven”
- James 1:5–6 — “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally”
Revelation rarely arrives in a single blinding flash; it seeps in—line upon line, layer upon layer—prying the hinges loose until light spills through the widening crack. Keep your eye single, welcome every drop of doctrine, and those once-intimidating doors lose their shadows. Soon the room is bright enough to spot the exit and stride into open daylight.
Then turn back as a rescuer. Help others crack their own gates by pointing them to the light—that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom on the earth and that living prophets still speak. Their counsel, like Peter’s witness that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” brings the revelation that splinters chains and topples every gate of hell.