PURGATORY

People tend to think of purgatory as a place, but it is actually a process one by which those of us who do not reach perfect holiness in this life are cleansed to prepare us for heaven. It is a great gift, for unless we are made perfect, scripture tells us we will have no place in heaven:

Rev. 21:27 – “…Nothing unclean will enter it (heaven)…”For those of use who are not totally perfected in this life, the doctrine of purgatory offers great hope. For until we are perfected, we cannot enter into communion with God.

Heb. 12:14 – “Strive for peace with everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Those who die without completely achieving such peace need not depair. They will be cleanse, even after death.

2 Sam. 12:13-14 – “Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan answered David: ‘The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin; you shall not die. But since you have utterly spurned the Lord by this deed, the child born to you must surely die.’” Even after David sin is forgiven, he must undergo punishment; his child still dies.

Heb. 12 22:23 – “No, you have approached Mouth Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the first born enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect...” It’s hard to imagine a better three word summary of the concept of purgatory than that phrase “spirits made perfect.”

Mat. 5:18-30 – Mortal sin, venial sin, purgatory, hell; “Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you you will not be released until you will paid the last penny.”

Lk. 12:58-59 – “If you are to go with your opponent before the magistrate, make it an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn over you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have not paid the last penny.” Jesus tells us that all accounts must be settled before salvation can be gained. This process – of paying, of learning, of cleansing the Church calls “Purgatory.”

Rev. 7:13-14 – “These are the ones who survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they stand before God’s throne and worship him day and night in his temple.” The souls who have survived the time of great distress – their trial on earth – wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and as a result are able to enter heaven. The cause-and-effect is quite clear. “They have wash…” and “for the reason, they stand before God’s throne” The doctrine of purgatory is unmistakable.

1 Jn. 5:16-17 – “If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.” When we die in sin, but the sin is not deadly, where do we go? What happens to us? We know we do not gain immediate entry into heaven, since nothing unclean can enter there (Rev. 21:27). And certainly not to hell, since John tells us the sin is not deadly. We must therefore undergo some kind of cleansing, or purgation.

Mk. 9:49 – Jesus describes purgatory: “Everyone will be salted with fire.”

1 Pet.3:19 – “…He also went to preach to the spirits in prison…”

1 Pet. 3:19 (LA SAGRADA BIBLIA) – “…el Espiritu de Cristo por boca de Noe…la fabrication del arca. El padre Sa entiende por espiritus las almas y por carcel el purgatorio.” Where is this “prison”? Not heaven, certainly. But neither can it be hell.

Eph 4:8-10 – “… He also descended into the lower [region] of the earth…”

Mat. 12:32 – “ Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come.” Here Jesus clearly implies that expiation can occur after death. Apparently some sins are forgiven in “the age to come.”

2 Mac. 12:42-46 – “The noble Judas…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 so he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view…”

Sirach 7:33 – “Be generous to every living soul, and be gracious to the memory of the dead.”

Tobias 4:11 – “For alms deliver from all sin, and from death, and will not suffer the soul to go into darkness.”

.Tobias 4:18 – “Lay out thy bread, and thy wine upon the burial of a just man…”

2 Cor. 12: 15 (New King James Version) – “And I will very gladly spend and be spend for your souls.”

The belief in purgatory is not, as some claim, a medieval “innovation.” Quite the contrary. This doctrine actually dates back farther in Church history than both doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the cannon of the New Testament. Around 210 A.D., we find Tertullian stating: “if we understand that prison of which the Gospel speaks to be Hades, and if we interpret the last farthing (Mat. 5:25-26) to be the light offense which is to be expiated there before the resurrection, no one will doubt that the soul undergoes some punishment in Hades, without prejudice to the fullness of the resurrection, after which recompense will be made through the flesh also.” (The Faith of the Early Fathers, page 145).