Question from a friend of WordTruth Ministries:
>>> Is purgatory in the Bible and where is it?
WordTruth.Com Response:
Purgatory is an unbiblical concept developed in the apocryphal books
(1 & 2 Maccabees, Ecclesiasticus, etc) written between the end of the
Old Testament (book of Malachi) and the beginning of the New Testament
(book of Matthew), a period of about 400 years when God did not speak through
any prophets. The Roman Catholic church recognized these books and
added them to their canon of Scripture.
It is noteworthy that the Jews themselves never considered the apocryphal
books anything more than historical books. They were not considered
writings inspired by God. The Christian church never considered these
books as Scripture when closing the canon of Scripture. The Roman
Catholic church created doctrines such as purgatory, prayers for the dead,
and others from the apocryphal books, not from the sixty-six books of the
Bible. For example, from the non-biblical book of 2 Maccabees:
"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 dead 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" (2 Macc. 12:43-45).
Purgatory as a "holding place" for further work in order to get into
heaven, or until someone prays you into heaven, contradicts the Bible.
Clearly, our salvation is based on the grace of God alone, through faith
alone, in Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). Just before Jesus
died on the cross, He declared, "It is finished!" (John 19:30, NIV) indicating the
penalty for sin had been paid in full and forever. 1 Peter 3:19 indicates
Jesus died for sins "once
for all" to bring reconciliation between the guilty
sinner and a holy God. Jesus said, "he who believes in Me has eternal life" (John 6:47).
1 John 2:2 indicates Jesus' death on the cross was the "propitiation"
for our sins -- a word meaning that God's wrath because of sin was completely
satisfied.
So no one can add to or take away from Jesus' finished work on the cross.
There is no purgatory. Those who believe in the LORD Jesus Christ
as their Savior from sin have eternal life (John 11:25-26). The believer who dies goes immediately into the presence of the LORD Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:7-8; Philippians 1:21-23). Those who reject Jesus will spend eternity in Hell. The choice is in this life, not the life to come (John 3:18). See also How You Can Be Sure of Heaven.
May God bless you with His wisdom and the courage to follow Jesus!
Randy Lariscy :-)
Director - WordTruth Ministries
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© Copyright 4/12/2004, Randy Lariscy.
