Before He was done even forming the Catholic Church, Jesus Christ, its HEAD had THIS to say regarding Judgement … and a place of Justice from which one would “not be released” UNTIL “the last penny was paid.”
Matthew 5:25 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.
26 Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.
This is also reiterated in Luke 12.
Luke 12:58 If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison.
59 I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."
Temporary punishment unto justice is found elsewhere in scripture:
Lamentations 3:31 For the Lord’s rejection does not last forever;
32 Though he punishes, he takes pity, in the abundance of his mercies;
33 He has no joy in afflicting or grieving the sons of men.
Also … not all sin “is deadly sin” …
**1 John 5:16 ** 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.
17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.
Some die in the state of being in sins that are “not deadly.” YET nothing unclean can enter heaven.
Revelation 21:27 but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any (one) who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
So there is a
purging. Regarding unclean lips, for instance, consider how the prophet of Isaiah felt upon finding himself in heaven, despite his self-confessed sinful condition:
Isaiah 6:1 In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple.
2 Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two they veiled their feet, and with two they hovered aloft.
3 “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!” they cried one to the other. “All the earth is filled with his glory!”
4 At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7 He touched my mouth with it. “See,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”
PURGED or made clean is the root word for “Purgatory” a time or place where sins are purged (made clean). Isaiah here WAS “in heaven” but his spirit is horrified, woeful, unhappy, and IS dirty. He “is suffering”! After the purging, he feels more at home and when God asks “whom shall I send” he feels free to have a relationship with God unselfconsciously and cries “Here I am, send me!”
And this scripture agrees with **the time or place **described in
1 Corinthians 3:13 the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire (itself) will test the quality of each one’s work.
14 If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage.
15 But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the ***person will be saved, but only as through fire.
And in speaking about the seriousness of sin and how it is better to cut off a hand or an eye that would lead one to sin – than to NOT purge oneself from that which leads one into sin and be cast into Gehenna (hell) where the fires dies not … Jesus then adds:
Mark 9:12 "Everyone will be salted with fire.
Some fires as we have seen are purging fires - meant to remove impurities (non-deadly sins) that are like dross and don’t belong as part of the pure soul. Jesus’ coming to earth was predicted many times in many ways … but in this following one He is compared to a refiner who separates the dross from the silver. When silver is pure it reflects the image of the purifier clearly without flaws or dross distorting the image.
Malachi 3:2 But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the*** refiner’s fire,*** or like the fuller’s lye.
3 He will sit refining and purifying (silver), and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.
The word purgatory may not be in the Bible. But the concept runs through it and is emphasized in all of the aspects the Church teaches about it. Including praying for the poor souls there. The Church does not recommend Purgatory as a destination. And there will come a time when it ceases to be. Even then it will not have been “a lie” nor an invention of the Church.
And its interesting that (despite the “no purgatory!” doctrines some have) Protestants often will join in the praying for the repose of a soul, or say words and prayers over a gravesite.
