Matthew 16:18 — "Upon This Rock"

Armstrongism reads Matthew 16:18 as affirming that the Church is built on Christ (the Rock), not on Peter. Like other Protestant groups, Armstrongists reject papal and ecclesiastical hierarchy. However, Armstrongism developed its own authoritarian structure in which Herbert W. Armstrong claimed apostolic authority to lead and govern God's Church.

The 'rock' is understood as Christ alone. Peter's 'keys' (authority to teach) do not establish him as head of the Church; rather, the True Church continues through apostolic leadership, which Armstrongists identified with their own organization. This reading rejects both Catholicism and Protestantism's congregational autonomy in favor of centralized apostolic authority.