PURGATORY

Does Purgatory exist? What does history tell us?

About 100 B.C., we find there is a record of the Jews praying for their dead. At the time of Jesus, and even today in Orthodox Judaism, there were prayers offered for the dead. Jesus did not say anything against praying for the dead. If it were wrong, then He certainly would have condemned it.

The writers in the early Church also tell us about praying for the dead. Tertullian (A.D. 160-240) wrote: "The faithful widow... offers prayers on the anniversary of his death." Also he says, "On one day every year we offer prayers for the dead." St. Augustine's mother was dying in A.D. 387. She said to Augustine, "All I ask is this, that wherever you may be, you will remember me at the altar of the Lord." The early Christians buried their dead in the catacombs in Rome. On the walls of these underground cemeteries we find prayers for the dead, for example, "Peter and Paul, pray for Victor." "In your prayers, remember us who have gone before you."

During the first 1500 years of the Church there was no doubt about the necessity of praying for the dead. Those prayers would help souls in Purgatory to get to heaven more speedily. Martin Luther and some others talked against praying for the dead, and that is why today Protestants do not pray for their deceased relatives and friends. The custom of praying for the dead is more than 2000 years old. The custom of not praying for the dead is less than 500 years old.

Is Purgatory mentioned in the Bible?

The word "Purgatory" is not mentioned in the Bible, but the idea of Purgatory is there. This is similar to the word "Trinity" which is not mentioned in the Bible either, but the idea of the Trinity, or three Persons in One God, is there. In order to be a Christian, one has to believe in the Trinity.

Where is the idea of Purgatory in the Bible?

In Matthew's Gospel we read, "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." (Matthew 12:32) This means that sins can be forgiven in the age to come - after death. If we are in Hell, then we will not want our sins forgiven. If we are in Heaven, then we will have no sins. So, there must be another place where sins can be forgiven.

Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, says, "If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." (1 Corinthians 3:15) Paul is saying that at the Day of Judgement each man's work will be tested. This trial happens after death. What happens if a person's work fails the test? He himself will be saved, yet so as through fire - Purgatory.

About 125 B.C., Judas Maccabaeus sent money to Jerusalem so that sacrifice would be offered for the soldiers who died in battle. "Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin." (2 Maccabees 12:46 NAB) Even if this book is not accepted as part of the canon of Scripture, it still has historical value since it tells us what happened about 125 B.C.. The Book of Revelation says, "But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." (Revelation 21:27) Since nothing that defiles shall enter Heaven, then a person who dies with a very small sin on their soul would be doomed to Hell for all eternity. But God is merciful. He gave us a place where we are purified before we enter Heaven, and that place is called Purgatory. Purgatory is not a sign of God's anger. It is a wonderful example of God's infinite mercy. It is NOT a second chance. Our final destination is determined by the condition of our soul at the moment of our death.