Biblical Contradiction?

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Paul tells us that
“To be out of the body is to be present with the Lord.”
Revelation says that Nothing impure can enter the presence of God. Unless Purgatory is being in God’s presence, this seems like a serious contradiction.
 
What do you think that the contradiction is? (And it would help to add chapter/verse)
 
Why would the Lord not be present with the souls in Purgatory? They’re in pain as their souls are purified from their sins, sure, but they are not separated from God at all. They know they’re going to Heaven.
 
Hi Fauken, thanks for your answer. I’ not sure that being present with the Lord Jesus Christ entails suffering.
 
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LBJ1 said:
Hi Fauken, thanks for your answer. I’ not sure that being present with the Lord Jesus Christ entails suffering.
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Why would it not? Christ suffered. He Himself asked us to take up our crosses and follow Him. The path of Christ is laden with suffering, but it is not vain.
 
Actually the verse says “We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 5:8 -

St. Paul is stating his preference, how he would rather be at home with Jesus in heaven, than here on earth. He’s not implying that to be dead is to automatically be present and at home with Jesus.
 
Believe you are over-thinking this. Paul described the purgation process in 1 Corinthians 3:101-4. As well, he was making a blanket statement, not delineating a precise, set-in-concrete doctrine.
 
Fauken said:
Why would the Lord not be present with the souls in Purgatory? They’re in pain as their souls are purified from their sins, sure, but they are not separated from God at all. They know they’re going to Heaven.
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They are truly in His presence in a way which no living person has experienced or can describe. Yet, they do not yet experience the Beatific Vision until their souls are pure.
 
But Revelation says nothing impure can enter God’s presence.
 
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LBJ1 said:
Paul tells us that
“To be out of the body is to be present with the Lord.”
Revelation says that Nothing impure can enter the presence of God. Unless Purgatory is being in God’s presence, this seems like a serious contradiction.
Click to expand...
No. That passage says that Paul desires to be out of the body and also desires to be present with the Lord.
The passage does not say they are the same thing.

Consider that a lost soul–a soul in Hell-- is “out of the body” but clearly not “present with the Lord”.

In order to be “present with the Lord” Paul needs to first be “out of the body”.

Paul desires the one thing as a necessary precondition for obtaining the other.
 
First, we are not limited to or restricted by the partial, fragmentary record known as the bible. It was written to confirm what the Apostles taught orally. Don’t think so? Read the prologue to Luke (Luke 1:1-4). In it, we see that Luke wrote his Gospel only to confirm that which Theophilus had already learned from the Apostles! No bible, no scripture needed.

We are very thankful to have the scriptures, as they are irreplaceable, but in the Protestant US, we have almost become programmed to think that we can only believe what is “biblical” and must not believe that which is “unbiblical” - the individual Protestant determining the definition of each.

We must examine the context in which Paul wrote. He was clearly not setting down doctrine, but elaborating on a principle.
 
Since souls in purgatory know they are going to heaven,they are not separated from God.
 
So the question is then:
Is GOD here on Earth with us now?

When we die if we are “ready” we can survive being in the presence of GOD.
If we are not ready then GOD has to make us ready.
Purgatory is not Hell. St. Paul explains that it will be like going through fire.
Fire is painful. Last time I burned myself.
And since in Heaven there is NO suffering of any kind what is left?
GOD is here, HE is also present in Purgatory but HIS full glory can only be grasped in Heaven. And as you pointed out nothing impure or “not ready” will enter to the full presence of GOD, Heaven.
 
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