Maybe you grew up in some church settings that would paraphrase this verse to say, “the gates of Hell.” Even some English translations of the Bible render the verse that way (KJV, ESV, NLT). Well, to be candid, that is just a bad translation. Ready for a quick Greek lesson? The word for “Hell,” comes Gehenna (γέεννα) and “Hades” (ᾅδης) speaks of the underworld, or the “realm of the dead” as the ancient Hebrew concept of Sheol attests to. The first point here is that these are two different words and are not synonyms. It is not the gates of “Hell” but the gates of “Hades” that Jesus speaks of here.

The realm of the dead has a new Lord: King Jesus—He holds the keys! And that is why—and this is key—Jesus says the “gates of Hades will not prevail.” Gates are not on the offense, they are immobile and on the defense. The realm of the dead, and Death himself, is on the defense as the kingdom of God advances and raids the fallen kingdom of Hades.