Purgatory

[dogknox]

doke
Purgatory is “NOT” a place… It is a stage… A stage where the soul is SANCTIFIED, before entry into the kingdom!

Think of it as… “A shower, putting on clean clothes before going to meet the king!”
Matthew 22:11
"But when the king came in to see the guests,** he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. **
12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
13 "Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

 

[Hope3]

Purgatory is a “state or stage of being” because venial sins are atoned for or purged away by fire during this stage Hebrews 12:29, and purgatory is also the name the Church calls the “place” or “prison” where the person is purified by the cleansing fire.

Jesus compares purgatory to a prison: Matthew 5:25-27 All of our “works” will also be tested by fire on Judgment Day to see if they deserve a reward in heaven. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

It is my opinion that while Jesus was in the grave awaiting His resurrection, He went to this prison/purgatory to preach to the poor souls who had repented before they drowned during the Great Flood: 1 Peter 3:18-20 These poor souls who had repented before drowning had been in this purgatory/prison for about 2000 earth years before Jesus went to preach to them. After Jesus preached to them, they were allowed to enter into heaven.

Jesus also went to preach to the rest of the dead in the bosom of the Patriarchs (Abraham) during this interlude between His crucifixion and His resurrection so that He could explain to them the necessity of His death and consequent ransom for them before they entered into heaven.