Does bible talk of purgatory?

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BennyD:
anything not in the bible is irrelevant
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Uh oh…

Joh 20:30 In his disciples’ presence Jesus performed many other miracles which are not written down in this book.
**
Joh 21:25 Now, there are many other things that Jesus did. If they were all down one by one, I suppose that the whole world could hold the books that would be.

I doubt I’d have the guts (arrogant presumption) to tell Jesus that His undocumented extra-biblical activities weren’t relevant…

2Th 2:15 (2:14) Therefore, brethren, stand fast: and hold the traditions, which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle.
 
Benny-

I was not going to say anything but let me tell you how I see it. I used to be a protestant. I feel the Catholic Church is simply a fulfillment of my Protestant faith. I haven’t changed anything that I believed about the church before, only added to it.
I am guessing that you are a protestant, but I may be wrong.
If so, you believe in God. You know that in the Old Testament that the Jews used to be afraid of going into the Inner Sanctuary for fear of God striking them down. They use to tie a rope to their feet to pull them out just in case. There are tons of references where people were deathly afraid of seeing God, because they know that they could die.
This being said-Can you really imagine going in to see God in your rags and the shape you are now? Going in to see the Almighty God in the way you are right now without being changed? Purgatory is simply that process of cleansing, changing your spiritual body into a clean a wonderful gift that you are given. I like to think of it as a cleansing fire that might only take place in the twinkling of an eye so that we can see God. Purgatory is part of Heaven. Not anything like what Dante’s Inferno suggests. It’s a process to cleanse us. I know that most Protestants believe in this process of God changing us so that we can see God. The Catholics just give it a name.
 
Oregon Artist:
I haven’t changed anything that I believed about the church before, only added to it.
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But in Revelation it says that you can’t add anything to the Bible!!! 😛
 
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JSmitty2005:
But in Revelation it says that you can’t add anything to the Bible!!! 😛
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I am assuming from your icon dude that you realize the Catholic Church teaches that all Revelation is complete and add nothing to it. It goes on further to say however, that we are constantly learning and coming to a better understanding of that which has already been revealed.

God Bless,
Maria
 
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MariaG:
I am assuming from your icon dude that you realize the Catholic Church teaches that all Revelation is complete and add nothing to it. It goes on further to say however, that we are constantly learning and coming to a better understanding of that which has already been revealed.

God Bless,
Maria
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Yeah, I was just anticipating what I thought BennyD would say. 😉
 
At least one Protestant believed in Purgatory. A quote from C.S. Lewis is copied below, if interested. I recommend *C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church *by Joseph Pearce, if you want to learn more. I had a (former?) friend basicaly tell me that I was going to hell over issues such as this recently and have been giving it a lot of thought. I agree with a priest who said that purgatory may be over in an instant, and we might not even be aware that it took place. Personally, I think of it in terms of the gate which we step through to enter heaven beyond. It is an acknowledgement of how unprepared we are to face our Creator. It is a similar to the transition the Protestants take for granted, but just better described (we’re had more time to think about it than they have!).

***I believe in purgatory… Our souls demand purgatory, don’t they? Would it not beak the heart if God said to us, ‘It is true, my son, that your breath smells and your rags drip with mud and slime, but we are charitable here and no one will upbraid you with these things, nor draw away from you. Enter into the joy’? Should we not reply, ‘With submission, sir, and if there is no objection, I’d rather be cleansed first.’ ‘It may hurt, you know.’ ‘Even so, sir.’ - C.S.Lewis ***
 
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Writer:
At least one Protestant believed in Purgatory.
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There are plenty more:
catholic.com/thisrock/1998/9801fea2.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/1997/9711word.asp
firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0204/articles/walls.html
I agree with a priest who said that purgatory may be over in an instant, and we might not even be aware that it took place.
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I don’t believe that the Church has an official stance as to how long Purgatory lasts, but I think that you’ll probably know what’s going on.
 
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BennyD:
anything not in the bible is irrelevant
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Therefore you can throw out the entire New Testament because the list of what books are to be in the New Testament IS NOT IN THE BIBLE.

Ken
 
does purgatory take place after death, or is it a spiritual process ,like sanctification, that takes place on earth?
 
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Writer:
Thanks for the URLs, but the first two appear to be bad links now…
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Yeah, they are. I haven’t been able to access any of the sites off the Catholic Answers site tonight other than this forum.
 
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BennyD:
does purgatory take place after death, or is it a spiritual process ,like sanctification, that takes place on earth?
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I believe both. One can experience their purgatory on earth through penance. (anyone who knows any different, please correct me)

Luke 13:3. No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish.
 
It seems both to me too. But whenever I think about it I always think about after death. The reason is, We have “all sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Romans 3:23 We will always have some sin that has hurt us and will need cleansing.

I read in the Catechism the following, which seems to make a lot of sense.

“As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age not in the age to come. **From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.” ** CCC #1031
Verse: Matthew 12:31

This makes me think of it like a process. We are constantly changing trying to be more like Jesus (here on earth) with the Holy Spirit’s help. (Until it is completed when we die)
 
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BennyD:
Where in the bible does it talk about purgatory??
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The scriptures do not specifically speak about it, but an act of purification does take place after death, to fulfill Jesus cleaning work of the Cross. It is implied. Here are a few examples:

Purgatory
Mt 5:48 ~ be perfect like heavenly father
Hb 12:14 ~ strive for holiness, without it none see God
Jm 3:2 ~ we all fall short in many respects
Rv 21:27 ~ nothing unclean can enter heaven
1Jn 5:16-17 ~ degrees of sin distinguished
Jm 1:14-15 ~ sin reaches maturity, brings death
2Sm 12:13-14 ~ David, though forgiven, was punished
Mt 5:26 ~ not released until you pay last penny
Mt 12:32 ~ sin against Holy Spirit unforgiven
Mt 12:36 ~ account for all idle words
2Mac 12:44-46 ~ atoned for the dead to free them from sin
1Cor 3:15 ~ suffer loss, but saved thru fire
1Pt 3:18-20, 4:6 ~ Jesus Christ preached to spirits in “prison”
1Tm 1:16-18 ~ Paul prays for dead friend
1Cor 15:29-30 ~ baptized themselves for dead
 
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BennyD:
does purgatory take place after death, or is it a spiritual process ,like sanctification, that takes place on earth?
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I don’t want to start an argument with anyone, but it doesn’t always have to take place after death.

My mother-in-law never gave God much thought until she found out she was dying. My wife and I had her receive the sacraments of Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation in the Catholic Church. Afterwards she suffered greatly for years, but I definitely noticed a spiritual cleansing going on in her soul before her death last fall. Her body became a living prison for her soul here on earth. God will do anything to draw us closer to Him and he won’t let one ounce of suffering go to waste in order to accomplish that.
 
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JSmitty2005:
One can experience their purgatory on earth.
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This is what happened to St. Dismas as he hung on the cross next to Jesus. He suffered crucifixion for his purgatory.
 
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IanS:
I don’t want to start an argument with anyone, but it doesn’t always have to take place after death.

My mother-in-law never gave God much thought until she found out she was dying. My wife and I had her receive the sacraments of Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation in the Catholic Church. Afterwards she suffered greatly for years, but I definitely noticed a spiritual cleansing going on in her soul before her death last fall. Her body became a living prison for her soul here on earth. God will do anything to draw us closer to Him and he won’t let one ounce of suffering go to waste in order to accomplish that.
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I don’t think that needs to start an argument! I agree: suffering in this life has the potential to cleanse us of our attachments to sin when joined with Christ’s suffering on the Cross.
 
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BennyD:
does purgatory take place after death, or is it a spiritual process ,like sanctification, that takes place on earth?
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I just wanted to clarify what purgatory isn’t. Purgatory is not a second chance at confessing all your sins after you die. If a person dies with unconfessed mortal sin on their soul, they are going straight to hell.

Purgatory is not a second chance to ask for forgiveness and try to “get into heaven”.

God Bless,
Maria
 
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