"And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."
[/SIZE] Hello Marcelo,
And I would also add that, when Jesus said "upon this Rock I will build my church" he wasn't speaking about Peter, but of himself. Jesus had just asked the disciples the question "who do you say that I am?" Peter said, "you are the Messiah of God." So, Peter confessed who Christ was and then Jesus does the same to Peter "and I say that you are Peter." Then Jesus says, "upon this Rock I will build my church," referring to himself, not Peter. Jesus is the Rock.
And you are correct, scripture never teaches that there was to be one man over the entire church. In fact, the RCC is set up exactly opposite of what Jesus said:
"But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
I would agree .It's the little word
it used to represent the unseen faith of God that the gates of hell could never prevail against . It the same use of the word it in the previous verse .They both work together to give it the meaning that I believe God intended.
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed
it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
The Catholic simply walk by sight and need an image to place their misguided, father guided , faith in .It's the same paradigm found in the garden in the beginning as a wile of Satan.