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"In any contextual reading, it should be obvious that Peter,nee Simon barjona, is the rock and the Keys are the symbol of authority or leadership,as the vicar(helper, assistant, mimion,etc.) of Christ .Any other interpretation requires major distortional twisting of the written word .
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Lets see:

Matt:16:

17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." ------------------------------------------------------------

Now see:

Matt. 18:18

(Jesus speaking to all the apostles)

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Jesus gave exactly the same power to all the apostles which he had given to Peter. The keys to the kingdom.

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Let's see what the Catholic Encyclopedia has to say:

I. THE FATHERS

(1) In the Fathers the references to the promise of Matthew 16:19, are of frequent occurrence. Almost invariably the words of Christ are cited in proof of the Church's power to forgive sins. The application is a natural one, for the promise of the keys is immediately followed by the words: "Whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth", etc. Moreover, the power to confer or to withhold forgiveness might well be viewed as the opening and shutting of the gates of heaven. . . .

It is comparatively seldom that the Fathers, when speaking of the power of the keys, make any reference to the supremacy of St. Peter. When they deal with that question, they ordinarily appeal not to the gift of the keys but to his office as the rock on which the Church is founded.

. . .

Thus St. Augustine in several passages declares that the authority to bind and loose was not a purely personal gift to St. Peter, but was conferred upon him as representing the Church. The whole Church, he urges, exercises the power of forgiving sins. This could not be had the gift been a personal one (tract. 1 in Joan., n. 12, P.L., XXXV, 1763; Serm. ccxcv, in P.L., XXXVIII, 1349) ============================================================

Christ conferred the "Keys to the Kingdom" not only to Peter but all the Apostles and the Church as a whole.

As to the Rock:

1 Corinthians 10:

1 I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,

2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,

3 and all ate the same supernatural food

4 and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

THE ROCK WAS CHRIST

Matt:16:
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Here Peter is given the keys to the kingdom AND given the power to loose and bind. What's next?

Matt. 18:18

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Jesus gave exactly the same power to all the apostles which he had given to Peter. The keys to the kingdom.

You are here reading things that simply aren't there. The power to bind and loose is NOT synonymous with the meaning of the keys to the kingdom. Peter was given the keys to the kingdom AND (note the use of the word "and" in the Scripture)the power to bind and loose.

All of the apostles were given the power to bind and loose. This does not mean they were all given the keys. If it did, it would have said that. You are reading things athat are not there.

To recap:

Peter: given keys and power to bind and loose

Other apostles: given power to bind and loose

and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

THE ROCK WAS CHRIST

122 Posted on 10/01/2001 12:56:50 PDT by OLD REGGIE

Tehillim (Psalm) 18:46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Saviour!

Tehillim (Psalm) 89:26 He will call out to me, `You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Saviour.'

Tehillim (Psalm) 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer

XeniaSt