Quote:
Originally Posted by UntoHim
Firstly, in the verse I cited, the Kingdom of God is compared/contrasted with "the domain of darkness". I think Paul could have easily stated it in the reverse: "Delivered from the kingdom of darkness and transferred to the domain of his beloved Son". Every kingdom needs to have a king.....else it's really not a kingdom! In any event, is there any doubt that the head/leader/king of the domain of darkness is Satan?
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This reads as if I asked you to prove that the Earth is Satan's Kingdom, for which you did an excellent job.
But my question was in response to your statement "Heaven and Hell are actually just two different kingdoms - each with it's own king."
so let me try this a different way: What are the "Gates of Hell" (KJV)? Is it referring to Satan's kingdom, who is fighting to prevent the church from being built?
If you believe this, I would like to see proof using other scripture.
Spoiler alert: there are none. This is one of the many "dangerous" (borrowing your word) aspects of the KJV. The translators bought in a Heaven/Hell model of the afterlife, with Satan replacing Pluto or Hades as the god of the underworld.
Rather, Hades (Sheol in the Hebrew) is clearly a place for dead souls to be held until resurrection. It is not an evil place, It is not a Kingdom with a King that is fighting the building of the church. This description is supported by a large number of OT passages.
So Jesus was telling Peter that not even death would stop His church from being built. Nothing more. Nothing less. The bride will be built after the resurrection from Hades. Why? Because Christ has the keys to open the Gates and call out His church! So, if Hades is a Kingdom, then Christ is the King!
The war is with the ruler of this world, not the grave.
If you share this viewpoint with me, then I apologize for singling you out.
If not, your response was nothing but a filibuster, answering a different question like a seasoned politician.
And my question had NOTHING to do with Universalism, of which I am not a believer.