Is Peter really “the rock” upon which “the church” is built?

Is Peter really “the rock” upon which “the church” is built?  Nope!  Let's take a look at the context of this passage:

Matthew 16:13. And when Y’shua came to the region of Caesarea of Philippi, he was asking his disciples and said, Concerning me, who do men say that I am, merely a son of a man?  14. And they said, “Some say Yochanan the Immerser, but others Eliyahu.  And others Yirmeyahu, or one of the prophets.  15. He said to them, But who do you say that I am?  16. Shimon Keefa said, “You are the Mashiyach, the Son of the Living Elohim.” 

17. Y’shua answered him and said, Blessed are you Shimon, the son of Yona, because flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  18. I say also to you that you are Keefa, and on this Keefa[1] I will build my assembly, and the gates of Sheol will not subdue it.  19. To you I will give the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and any thing you bind[2] on earth will be bound in heaven, and all things that you loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven.  (AENT)

FOOTNOTES:

[1]  This is a wordplay between Keefa the man and what his nickname means.  Y’shua uses Keefa’s name to reveal the significance of Keefa’s conclusion.  Neither flesh nor blood (an individual) can reveal the “nature” of Mashiyach, except YHWH Himself by the Ruach haKodesh!  Using the literal meaning of Keefa’s name (rock),

Y’shua brings together the understanding of the Tsur (Rock) of D’varim/Deut 32:18, 30, 31; Psalm 18:46; 61; 62; Isaiah 8:14; 17:10; 51:1-8.  When Shimon Keefa says, “You are the Mashiyach, the Son of the Living Elohim” he confesses faith in Mashiyach, not the person only, but the Spirit of Mashiyach in Y’shua.  Y’shua’s reply provides Keefa the same reference that David and the Prophets had regarding YHWH’s Salvation, the Rock.

However, this verse was twisted by Catholicism to first give Peter “authority,” then usurp Peter’s “authority” for its leader.  Ya’akov was the first Rosh Beit Din of the Netzari, not Peter.  Paganism makes the physical persons of Y’shua, Maryam, Peter, and others into deity-like icons, very contrary to Torah and Mashiyach.  See also 1 Corinthians 10:4.

[2]  Binding and loosing refers to the application of Torah (halacha), what is prohibited/obligated (bound) and what is allowed (loosed) within a Torah infrastructure.

Acts 15:28, 29 is an example of binding and loosing; the matter of circumcision was being applied commensurate to immediate need, as directed by the Ruach haKodesh. Instead of performing the act of circumcision before learning Torah, new converts are required to learn and apply Torah first, and then, when they have a good understanding, they are circumcised, but not the other way around.  The keys of the Kingdom are wisdom and discernment given by the Ruach haKodesh to apply the Word of YHWH.