Where In The Bible Does It Talk About Purgatory

Further Teachings About Purgatory

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the suffering in purgatory is proportionate to the sins committed in this life. The time spent can vary from a relatively short period, such as a few hours, to thousands of years. However, there is no consensus as to the duration of stay in purgatory or the type of punishment one receives.

While Christians must spend time in purgatory, it supposedly can be lessened by a number of things. The living can do services and give gifts to the church to shorten the time of their loved one. This included purchasing indulgences or certificates signed by the pope which can forgive sin. This indicates that the pope on earth has some jurisdiction in the next world.

Prayers by priests as well as having masses in the name of the dead can also shorten the time a person spends in purgatory. The dead can do nothing in purgatory to help themselves. It is only their living friends and loved ones who can help them. They are completely dependent upon them to shorten their stay in this place of purging.

Purgatory is a temporary place that will end when the last judgment occurs. Like death and Hades, it will be thrown into the lake of fire. From that time forward, no more suffering will be necessary because everyone will be perfected, ready to enter heaven.

Purgatory: An Act Of Mercy

Ultimately, Purgatory is another example of Gods great mercy for us. Imagine if heaven and hell were the only options. You cant enter heaven unless youre perfect, so where would that leave most of us?

God loves us so much that He offers Purgatory as one more, guaranteed opportunity to enter heaven if we fall short on earth.

True, a few men and women are believed to have bypassed Purgatory and entered heaven right awaywe call them Saints. In fact, being a true Saint is the only way to skip Purgatory. Thats a major reason to always strive for Sainthood during our lives on earth.

What Are Examples Of Purgatory In Other Religions

The best example I can think of purgatory, in the history of religions, comes from Ancient Greece. The Ancient Greek understanding of the afterlife was that people want to one of three places: a place of torment, a place of paradise, and a place somewhere in-between the two. This third in-between place was known as the Fields of Asphodel. In this third destination in the afterlife, people would souls would wander aimlessly. The people neither lived good nor bad lives, by the Greek definition of them. They would wander in a somewhat dreamlike state for all eternity.

As for other religions, Hinduism and Buddhism have a variant form of purgatory. Neraka or Naraka exists as a holding place for the soul in between life cycles and reincarnations.

The Scriptural idea of Gehenna, in the Judaism sense, could also fit some of the molds of purgatory. The Bible often describes this place as a place of refinement, as going through the fire. But theologians have broiled the concept of Gehenna in debate ranging from purgatory to hell itself. In either case, we follow Christianity and not other religions. Even if other belief systems have similar concepts, we need to analyze what Scripture says and follow accordingly. Therefore, let’s discuss the support and opposition to the concept of purgatory within the Christian faith. We’ll also touch on some of the history of this concept.

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The Bible’s Clearest Description Of Purgatory: 1 Corinthians : 11

which is Jesus Christgold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubblethe fire will test what sort of work each one has donewill receive a rewardwill be savedthrough fire;

1. Where is all this burning happening?;

What is this third place?

2. Who “will be saved?” Only those with a surviving building?

will be saved

3. Good works are important!

how

What Is The Doctrine Of Purgatory

Purgatory is defined in Catholic teaching as the state, place, or condition where the souls of those who die atone for their unforgiven sins and are purified.;* According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this purification is needed to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Catechism adds that the tradition of the Church .;.;. speaks of a cleansing fire, as depicted in the artwork accompanying this article. However, this is not a Scriptural teaching.

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Thoughts On Where Is Purgatory In The Bible

Origin Of The Doctrine Of Purgatory

In Roman Catholic teaching, purgatory is the place where the souls of believers go to be further purified from sin until they are ready to be admitted into heaven. Thus, they have to go to a halfway place between earth and heaven, that is, purgatory.

The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church believe that not every Christian who dies goes immediately to heaven. The only people who enter heaven immediately are some martyrs and other highly favored individuals. Even if the person dies at peace with the church, if they are not perfect, they have to go through a time of purging.

Most Christians who are not good enough to go straight to heaven have to go through a time of purging. Although these people have been forgiven of their sins, they are still liable to experience some temporary punishment before their admittance to heaven.

They must be properly freed from the blemish of some defects they had received after baptism and they must work out their salvation in purgatory through suffering and a process of purification in this place. According to this view, the sufferings of purgatory are given to God in substitute for the punishment for sins that believers should have received in time but did not.

Once their sins have been sufficiently purged, they can then enter the perfection of heaven.

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What Is Purgatory Like

We should also note that purgatory does not exist as a second chance for unsaved sinners to redeem themselves. If you have a basic familiarity with Dantes Divine Comedy, you will know that unsaved sinners, even very good ones, end up in one of the nine circles of Hell, including one of Dantes favorites, Virgil.

As for purgatory, the most common language we see used is refinement, purification, and fire.

If that gives you any idea, purgatory doesnt exactly scream Easy Street. A great deal of pain and loss;occurs as someone experiences the purification of their sins and the harms their transgressions have caused others.

Intense joy also does appear to occur here along with pain. We should note that purgatory is seen as a gift of Gods grace.

Apart from specifics we see in Dantes Divine Comedy, a work of fiction, we dont have many personal accounts of visiting purgatory. After all, you only get there after youve passed from your life here on earth.

But we do know that those who believe in purgatory advise others to avoid it and that the saints still living here on earth can help guide people on their journeys in purgatory through prayers and indulgences.

Purgatory In The Bible

What are the references to purgatory in the Bible? Purgatory is defined in Roman Catholic doctrine as a place or experience of suffering for the souls of sinners who are absolving their sins before going to heaven. Furthermore, entrance into Heaven demands this momentary suffering due to sins whose guilt has not been forgiven. Catholic doctrine goes on to say that only those who die in the state of grace but have not yet undergone the punishment of their sin can be in purgatory. Therefore, no one in purgatory will stay there forever nor go to hell. Discover mentions of purgatory in the Bible from the collection of scripture quotes below!

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What Does The Catholic Church Say About Purgatory

According to the Catholic Church, the souls of men who have died under grace but are not free of all imperfections go to purgatory. The Catholic Church teaches that “the soul in purgatory must be freed of certain defects: the guilt of venial sin; the inclination toward sin ; and temporal punishment due to sin”.1 “The Church also teaches that the punishment due to sin, whether mortal or venial, is not always and necessarily forgiven along with the guilt of sin; hence this punishment is to be paid by the sinner either in this life or in the next before he can enter the kingdom of heaven .”2

The Catholic church also teaches that: “Concretely, the souls in purgatory can be helped by works of piety, such as prayer, indulgences, alms, fasting, and sacrifices. These works are undertaken by the faithful on earth . . . and they are performed for the benefit of these souls.”3 It says that “the manner in which this is accomplished is hidden in the mystery of divine wisom.”4

With this teaching, the Catholic Church is saying that Christ’s work was not sufficient to take away our sin. It only takes away our guilt. According to the Catholic Church, whether Christ died or not, we must go to purgatory to pay for our sins. But…

Who Believes In Purgatory

Most Catholics and a few scattered denominations believe in Purgatory as being real.; Most evangelical or Protestant Christians do not.; There is no record in the history of the early church that this doctrine was ever taught.; I found none of the early church fathers wrote about it like Polycarp, a student of the Apostle John or Justin Martyr.; You decide for yourself whether or not you believe it.; Of these things we can be certain:

• that there is salvation only in the name of Jesus Christ ;
• and there is simply no other way that a person can be saved
• and that salvation means that one believes that Jesus lived a sinless life, died in the place of sinners, was raised from the dead, and today sits at the Right Hand of God .

I pray that you will place your trust in Jesus Christ today and be saved , otherwise you will stand condemned and judged as guilty by the Savior, the Lord, Judge, and Master Jesus Christ .

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How Painful Is Purgatory

In the past, Catholic theologians taught that the cleansing fires of Purgatory were EXTREMELY painful . Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Doctor of the church, declared, It is the same fire that torments the reprobate in hell, and the just in purgatory . The least pain in purgatory , surpasses the greatest suffering in this life.

Confusing Purgatory With Limbo

So why do so many people think that belief in Purgatory is no longer a doctrine of the Church? Part of the confusion arises because some Catholics conflate Purgatory and Limbo, a supposed place of natural bliss where the souls of children who die without having received Baptism go because they are unable to enter Heaven since Baptism is necessary for salvation. Limbo is a theological speculation, which has been called into question in recent years by no less a figure than Pope Benedict XVI; Purgatory, however, is doctrinal teaching.

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St Century Catholic Apologetics For Mary’s Spiritual Warriors

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Much has been said over the centuries of a “third” place that people go to after death.; In the Second Book of Maccabees 12:43-46, it says, “He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.”.

Since Martin Luther threw both books of Maccabees out of his Protestant Bible during the;sixteenth;century;Reformation, most Protestants today dont recognize Maccabees as scripture.; However, both 1 and 2 Maccabees are in the Gutenberg Bible, published a century before Luther was born, which proves that the Catholic Church didn’t add them at the Council of Trent after the Reformation;; they were taken out by Luther during the Reformation.

Why a need for purgation after one’s sin has already been forgiven?; The premier example from the Bible comes from David, in the book of 2 Samuel 12:13-14:

And when God speaks, fire issues forth from His mouth:

In Hebrews 12:22-24, St. Paul says the following:;

What Did Jesus Say About Purgatory

Jesus mentioned nothing about the existence of purgatory. If anything, Jesus spoke more about the realities of hell than the doctrine of purgatory.

During his crucifixion, Jesus offered a profound answer to a dying thief.

Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise, Luke 23:42-43.

Jesus is . Jesuss words are true. If He said, today, than he meant it.

In Matthew 13:49, Jesus spoke of what would come at the end of the Church Age that angels would separate an evil humanity from a righteous one. Matthew 13:50 goes on to tell us the wicked would be thrown into a fiery furnace where weeping and gnashing of teeth would occur. This scripture does not support the doctrine of purgatory.

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What Scriptures Appear To Support Purgatory

The concept of purgatory, of course, doesnt arise out of thin air or didnt spontaneously spawn in the Middle Ages. This idea has existed for centuries.

Most commonly, a person who believes in purgatory will point to scriptures that talk about the refinement process, for instance:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad;.

Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny .

If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved even though only as one escaping through the flames;.

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lambs book of life .

In the Apocrypha, we also run into a number of scriptures that support the idea of purgatory. We should note that most denominations do not believe the verses found in the Apocrypha to exist as part of the biblical canon. And therefore, we should exercise caution when reading these passages.

Verses in the Apocrypha that support the idea of purgatory include 2 Maccabees 12:39-46 .

1 Peter 3:9 also seems to refer to imprisoned spirits whom Jesus ministered to. But this passage has broiled itself in debate for millennia.

What Does The Bible Say

The Bible says nothing about purgatory. Not one time does it refer to a place where the souls of men go to pay for their sins before going to heaven.

But yes, the Bible does speak of sin and of its results. It speaks of what people will face after death.

The Bible teaches that because of our sins we are condemned to eternal death . Christ died for our sins, taking the curse of our sins upon Himself . The Bible says clearly that Jesus’ death was enough to pay for all our sins: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God…. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” .

Because of Christ’s sacrifice, God promises in the same passage:

“And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin” . Through Christ Jesus we can have remission of sins. When He was sacrificed on the cross of Calvary, God made Him our eternal High Priest. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” .

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