The Gates of Hell

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Published: Wednesday, 07 March 2018 01:07
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The Gates of Hell

By Augusto A. Kho

March 04, 2018 (Sunday); 1:25 A.M.

Updated: March 06, 2018 (Tuesday); 9:51 PM

 

 

Is it the Church have opened the gates of hell?

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Above photo from the internet

 

 

Hell

The word hell is mentioned 53 times in the NKJ. The words “the gates of hell” simply popped inside of me at 1:15 A.M. today, 4th of March, 2018. I have two good reasons why it somehow came to me as a reminder.

 

 

Leap to hell

One, former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. dreaded that the so-called Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), the Charter Change (Cha-Cha) and particularly Federalism and called it a “leap to hell.” That was flashed the Headline on Manila Times’ dated January 18, 2018. He is Catholic and during his stint as a Chief Justice it is quite noticeably that he always keeps a Bible on his working table which he often read. He said that the bible is a great resource where to get divine wisdom.

 

 

Gates of hell

Second, Pro-Life, Party-list Representative Joselito David said we as a people if not as a Church has “opened the gates of hell” when RH Bill was finally approved by our lawmakers that gave birth to another bill, the so-called SOGIE Bill during the Bishops and Leaders’ Meeting held at Pioneer Street, Pasig City last Friday, March 2, 2108.

 

David explained that when the government finally approved the RH Bill, the “gates of hell” have been opened which includes “Gender-Equality”. The RH Bill is being branded by certain moralists group as a “Pandora’s Box” that will lead to other immoral bills including SOGIE Bill, same-sex marriage and LGBT related- rights. LGBT refers to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender.

 

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At 6:00 PM yesterday while I was driving, a strong thought came to me that goes something like this, “Is it the Church have opened the gates of hell?” Let us say, indirectly (which I can explain fully later

 

 

Jesus & the Gates of Hell

No less that the Lord Christ who said the gates of hell to His disciples. Matthew 16:18 says, “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.”

 

You can easily find the key words there which are as follows:

  • Peter

  • Rock

  • Build

  • Church

  • Gates

  • Hell

  • Prevail

 

Peter, rock, Church, gates and hell are nouns. While two important key words are considered verbs which is an action word. These action words are “build” and “prevail.”

 

Definition of Terms

  • Peter. Petros, a rock or a stone

 

  • Rock. Petra, a large stone. Metaphor: firmness or strength of soul, literal/ figurative. It refers to God (2 Samuel 22:2; Psalm 18:2; 31:3). Rock also refers to Christ (Matthew 7;24; Romans 9:33; 1 Cor. 10:4; 1 Peter 2:8)

 

  • Build. Oikodomeo, to build up from the foundation; to restore by building; to repair. To establish. While Satan, the enemy and the accuser of the brethren as diabolos, his main objectives is to steal, to kill and destroy while Christ is a life-giver (John 10:10).

 

  • Church. Ekklesia is not merely branded as “called-out ones” or “assembly” referring to the “household of God,” (Ephesians 2:18; Acts 2:47; 8:1-3; 9:31). The “general assembly” and the “church” are inter-related (Hebrews 12:23; James 2:2).

 

Dr. James Strong says, A Church is “a calling out, a popular meeting especially a religious congregation (Jewish synagogue or Christian community or members on earth or saints in heaven or both); an assembly.”

 

  • Thayer Bible Dictionary define Church as “a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place; an assembly. An assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating.”

 

According to Webster, the word “deliberate” means “to think about or discuss issues or something very carefully in order to make decision, “ or “to consider.”

 

  • Gates of Hell…. Hades or Pluto, the god of the lower regions. Orcus, the nether world, the realm of the dead. Grave, death and hell. Strong: Hades, the place or state of departed souls.

 

  • Prevail against. “ Katischuo,” to prevail against; to overcome. Prevail (verb) means to defeat an opponent especially in a long or difficult contest; triumph, conquer

 

 

Dead Church, Satan of Satan, the Museum

The Church of Sardis claimed to be an “alive church” but Christ gave a sharp rebuked branding this local church as a “dead church.” (Rev. 3:1). Or is it the Church of the living dead?

 

True enough when we arrived to the ruins of ancient Thyatira (now Akhisar), our tourist guide explained that it is smallest ruins out from the Seven Churches of Asia. And the only reason why the ruins is being preserved is because the city government decreed a law and converted it into a literal cemetery.

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Above photo by Peps (2017)

 

Whereas I was almost run in disbelief when Ms. Emile Maltem, our Turkish female tourist guide have shown us that Hagia Sophia (Peace Church) which was one among the ancient churches in Constantinople that is converted into a Museum when the Ottoman Empire rose its prominence and prevailed over Constantine, the 1st Roman Emperor. Constantine was the 1st emperor who declared Christianity an official religion in Rome including its territ\ories. The rise of Ottoman Empire instantly spread Islam to the ancient world.

 

Is it the Church of our Lord now is now being converted as a museum as well? Museum is where the collected ancient artefacts are being put on display. Is it the Church now is merely placed on earth as a display or artefacts?

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Above photo by Peps (2017)

 

And it is also ironic that when we visited the ruins of Pergamon, it became too terrifying to believe that this church is being called, “where Satan throne is,” and “where Satan lives,” (Revelation 2:12-13).

 

In other words, could this Party-List Rep. Lito David is right that the church have indirectly opened the gates of hell because they remained silent on the issue without a fight?

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Above photo by Peps

 

 

Officially speaking the Church is very much alive here in the Philippines in terms of official capacity like being registered at Security Exchange Commission (SEC); vibrant in liturgical rites like preaching, teaching, stunning worship, discipleship, praying, breaking of the bread; dental and medical missions and other social advocacy program. But the Church is technically dead in influencing our community leaders to invoke God and His Precepts in the public service; to legislative just and righteous bills; to implement social justice and reforms, and invokes truth, to name a few.

 

The immoral bills being legislated and approved by the lower Congress i.e. the House of Representatives succeeded in a way because we as a Church is so pathetically passive, indifferent and stale on social issues that affects the Church, the affairs of the State and the moral and spiritual fibre of our society.

 

Many of our Christian leaders fail to sit down corporately to identify pressing issues for proper and careful deliberations for a common decision for the best interest of the Church, the State and the people in general. We failed somehow to stand in our common ground for the best interest of God so that Christ’s Light should shine.

 

This is how Thayer Bible Dictionary define the Church when he said, “an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating.”

 

 

We have not deliberated nor considered enough the implications of those fishy bills not until lately when like the “Anti-SOGIE Discrimination Act” or House Bill (HB) 4982 finally approved on the 3rd Reading by the House of Representatives and it is now being lobbied in the Hall of Senate. And more dodgy bills follows like HB 6595 or Civil Partnership (same-sex marriage); the Annulment of Church Wedding; Dissolution of Marriage; to name a few. It is because we have not taken them into a very serious consideration because we are too busy on spiritual things alone.

 

 

To consider

The Church of Jesus Christ is out-of-consideration of many certain pressing issues that plagues this nation. I could hardly see Christians or Christian groups in considering or lobbying against some of our immoral if not anti-God bills. Bangsamoro Basic Law or BBL for example is a bill that “legalizes” the “creation of a religious state within a state” that assails the sovereignty of this nation and the separation of the state and the church, (Article II, Section 3 and Section 6; Philippine Constitution).


Is this the reason why Federalism is being pushed very hard for the BBL to perfectly fits in? Otherwise if the 1987 Philippine Constitution cannot be amended once BBL has been approved, will be deemed null and void from the very beginning because it will be considered unconstitutional? Should anyone from the Supreme Court (SC) vetoed BBL or SOGIE Bill or Dissolution of Marriage, it is the sitting Chief Justice must be ousted or impeached?


Try to consider what is happening now in the Legislative, Executive and Judiciary branches of our Government. Why as if we are being messed up as a nation? Consider…

 

 

To Consider (In Judicial Form)

Foreign Issue

 

In India, the Supreme Court is to consider scrapping country's colonial-era gay sex law that bans homosexuality as reported by Rod Ardehali For Mailonline date 9th January 2018.

 

There was a previous ruling of the court in 2013, that “the law prohibits: 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man'.” But lately a larger group of judges will now re-examine the law's constitutional validity and the Supreme Court in India decided “to reconsider” the 2013 ruling. Now LGBT in India is expecting that the Supreme Court will reconsider the previous 2013 ruling and hoping that a “same-sex marriage” will be approved for on their favour.

 

 

To Consider (in Judicial Form)

Philippine Issue

 

UNTV News dated 14 December 2017 reported that, “ Several lawmakers consider elevating the issue of martial law extension to the Supreme Court.”


The report said that the Makabayan Bloc has expressed grave concern over the decision of Congress to extend for another year the military rule in Mindanao.With this, the opposition group wants to bring the matter to the Supreme Court (SC). “We will question this in courts. We will question and we will resist this on streets,” Anakpawis Partylist Rep. Ariel Casilao said.

 

The above action of the said Party-list is one way of corporately making a move on a certain issue appealing for consideration from the high tribunal – the Supreme Court.

 

 

QUESTION

The question is this. If the LGBT Group have requested for the consideration of the 2013 Ruling and the Makabayan bloc also raises up the one-year Martial Extension by the present administration to the Supreme Court, can we not ask as well from the High Tribunal of Heavens to reconsider our case on SOGIE Bill and let the Lord God of the Universe will declare it as “unconstitutional” and “anti-God?”

 

 

To Consider (A Biblical Perspective)

Consider as a word can be found in Exodus 33:13 when Moses appealed to God to consider His planned judgment to judge Israel. “Ra’ah’ is the Hebrew word “to consider” which means to see, look inspect; perceive or have a vision; to distinguish, cause to gaze.”

 

In Hebrew 12:3, the author asked us as a Church “to consider Christ that endured contradictions of sinners against himself…” Consider in Greek “analogizomai” means “to think over, consider, ponder, contemplate, estimate. “ Or “consider” in another Greek term “katanoeo” which means “to perceive; remark, observe and understand or perceive, to consider attentively, ” (Hebrews 3:1). Another Greek “theoreo,” means “to be a spectator to view mentally, to discern,” (Heb. &;4). Or another Greek term “noieo” meaning “to perceive with the mind to understand; to think upon, to comprehend,” (2 Timothy 2:7).

 

 

Clear and Present Danger

When I gave my Position Paper to the Committee Hearing of HB 6595 or “Civil Partnership” at the Congress in Quezon City last January 31, 2018, I discerned that the bill is a “clear and present danger” that will not only assail the Christian’s civil and religious rights in Article III, Section 4 and 5 but a blatant violation of the “separation of the church and the state.”

 

Art. III, “(4) No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assembly and petition the Government for redress or grievances,” and, (5) “No law shall be made respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall be forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights.”

 

The bill is also a blatant intrusion to the Church that violates the Constitutional Mandate in Article II, Section 5, “The separation of the Church and the State shall be inviolable.”

 

Conscience-stricken, I need the support of my fellow pastors to make a Signature Campaign of the Pastors and give a copy of my Position Paper to our District Congressman to air our grave concern or even our worst fear.

So on February 17, 2018, I texted over 400 pastors in my own District alone comprising ten (10) towns but only ten people came to attend it. In other words they did not consider the grave concern of the pressing issues that would fall upon us as a curse or a disgrace in the years to come

 

 

Gates of Hell opened?
Now, is it the Church have opened the “gates of hell? “ At least, unconsciously? But there is a saying that “Ignorance of the law excuses no one.” Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge.”

 

The apathetic, indifference, cold, and ignorance of my fellow comrades in the Lord’s vineyard as well as the whole church in the Philippine who taken the issues very lightly without much consideration indirectly have opened the “gates of hell.” Take note that the word “gates” is plural and not singular. Shall the other demonic gates will be opened technically speaking?

 

 

Closer look to the Church

Let us have a closer look to the church definition again?

 

Thayer Bible Dictionary define Church as “a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place; an assembly. An assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating.”

 

Thayer demands that Christians must get out from their comfort-zone sanctuaries and let the Council of Elders or Ministers to sit down corporately on a public square or place to discuss or deliberate the pressing issues (be ecclesiastical, social, legislative, economic, security and others) that can affect them and the entire community for the sole purpose of arriving to one common stand or decision. This has not been made by the Church yet, at least on regular basis. The Church erred for being not too responsible enough to discuss or to deal with the issue that has been made so gargantuan damaging to this very day.

 

 

It all started HB 4982 or “Anti-SOGI Discrimination Act” when I made a strong “NO STAND” on the bill on August 9, 2014 at the Committee Hearing at the Philippine Congress in Quezon City. My Position Paper is not submitted to them but we also enclosed over 18,000 signatories from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to air our displeasure on the said bill.

 

I informed the Bishops that this bill is a Pandora’s Box which includes the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) which I strongly opposed during the Public Forum held at UP, Quezon City on November 29, 2014 and on which I also made a Position Paper which was submitted to then Hon. Senator Bong Bong Marcos with over 12,000 Signature Campaign’s signatories.

 

But consideration is not immediately made, not until now that seemingly too late.

 

In other words, “to consider” certain issues or topics demand analytical discourse, mastery on the subject; and common jurisprudence.

 

 

 

Delayed Response

“Delayed response” spoke to me while I was in Toyota Dagupan for car maintenance a few weeks back. I asked one Toyota Staff if his co-employee in the person of Engineer Joey is around and this staff never looked at me as he continued scribbling down. Two minutes later, he looked up and said, “Yes Sir! He is around.” I muttered to myself, “delayed response.”

 

Habakkuk recognized some delays as well to serve God’s purposes in the exact location at the right time. The prophet called it “tarrying” in Habakkuk 2:3. Others may say, “ It is better to have a delayed response than nothing at all. “

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Photo from the Internet

“Declare ‘death’ to those demonic, immoral and unconstitutional bills”

 

Is it the planned march of Christian Evangelical Group against SOGIE-Bill on March 7, 2018 at the Senate is a product of delayed response? I have been suggesting it since 2014. Whether it is a delay or not, the Scriptures says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose,” (Romans 8;28).

 

 

The power to legislate

During the 1st Committee Hearing of HB 6595 (Civil Partnership) which is technically “same-sex marriage,” I strongly said this to the members of the Committee:

 

“You cannot legislate morality. Neither you can legislate on God. The Preamble of the Philippine Constitution states that, ‘We the sovereign people, imploring the aid of Almighty God…’ You invoked God’s name in the Constitution. And according to Jose P. Laurel Sr, ‘The reason we changed Divine Providence to Almighty God is because we would like to show our Filipino’s unfaltering reliance on God that He is the one who create the destinies of men and nation.’ In other words, it is God who legislated you as a lawmakers but never you can legislate on God.”

 

 

Obviously the absolute power of legislation is not given to the Philippine Congress, be in the House of Representatives or in the Senate. The power to enact laws is given to the Church alone. And this is the divine mandate of the Church. Jesus Christ said to Peter and to the Church:

 

“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.,” (Matthew 16:19).

 

Period.

 

“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,” (Revelation 1:18).

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Above photo from the interned

 

 

Even the Church is privileged enough to exercise the divine power of legislation and once for all to legislate “death” which must be “final and executory” that the above-mentioned dubious and immoral bills and any bill related to that evil nature must be declared “DEAD” both in the Congress and in the Senate.

 

Only you and me as a Church who is founded on the Rock has the right to terminate those bills contrary to the Laws of God and Laws of Nature. Nothing one. And nothing else but the Church of Jesus Christ alone.