Purgatory

By John Martingnoni

SO, YOU THINK PURGATORY ISN’T IN THE BIBLE, EH? WELL, YOU ARE RIGHT IN ONE SENSE, BUT VERY WRONG IN ANOTHER SENSE.

No, Purgatory is NOT in the Bible!

You are right because the word “Purgatory” does not appear anywhere in the Bible. But, does that mean Purgatory is not a “biblical concept”?

No. Just because something is not directly mentioned in Scripture, does not mean it isn’t scriptural. The primary example of that: the word “Trinity” never appears in the Bible either; yet, the Trinity is indeed a biblical concept. Just so Purgatory.

Yes, Purgatory IS in the Bible!

There are a number of biblical principles that, individually and as a group, make a strong biblical argument for the existence of Purgatory.

2 Samuel 12:13-18 “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘the Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.’ And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became sick… On the seventh day the child died.”

Biblical Principle on Purgatory #1 – there is punishment for sin even after one has received forgiveness.

Revelation 21:27 “But nothing unclean shall enter it…” I.e., the New Jerusalem – Heaven.

Biblical Principle on Purgatory #2 – nothing unclean, nothing with the stain of sin, will enter Heaven.

Heb 12:22-23 “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living god, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect…”

Biblical Principle on Purgatory #3 – there is a way, a process, through which the spirits of the just are “made perfect”.

1 Cor 3:13-15 “…each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day [judgment day] will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation [Jesus Christ] survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

Where is this place that a man, after he dies, suffers loss, as through fire, but is still saved? Hell – No, once you’re in Hell, you don’t get out. Heaven – No, you don’t suffer loss in Heaven. Hmmm…must be somewhere else.

Biblical Principle on Purgatory #4 – there is a place in the afterlife other than Heaven or Hell.

So, let’s summarize these four principles: There is punishment for sin even after one has received forgiveness. Nothing unclean - nothing with the stain of sin - will enter Heaven. There is some way, or process, by which the spirits of the just are made perfect. And there is a place besides Heaven or Hell where you can suffer loss, after you die, as through fire, yet still be saved.

These principles, when taken together, make a very strong case for Purgatory, straight from the Bible.