does purgatory exists?

Question

what do you think purgatory exists or no?
catholics say yes !
protestants say no !
others have no opinion!

whats your take?

Answer 1

Purgatory is an imaginary place created to extort money from the living relatives of the deceased. By "praying" the dead out of purgatory (oh, thank you very much for the money), corrupt priests were able to extract money from the dead.

The bible is clear as to what happens to you at death.

You either go to Heaven, or Hell.

Bill Weise wrote a book, "23 Minutes in Hell" where he describes what he saw when he went to Hell. His testimony can be seen on http://www.SpiritLessons.com

Answer 2

Purgatory is clearly implied in Jesus' teaching and in other New Testament scriptures.

Christ taught that the sinner who speaks against the Holy Spirit "will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come" (Matt. 12:32). This implies there are lesser sins that will be forgiven after death. How? By paying the just penalty for these sins in purgatory.

The apostle Paul tells us that when we are judged, each man’s work will be tried. And what happens if a righteous man’s work fails the test? "He will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire" (1 Cor 3:15).

How can we suffer loss after death, but still be saved? Paul can't be talking about hell because no one is saved there. He can't be talking about heaven because there is no suffering ("fire") there. Only purgatory explains this passage.

Purgatory explains how God can be perfectly just and perfectly merciful. His justice requires that every sin incurs a penalty, a time of suffering and purification in purgatory. While God's forgiveness restores God's friendship, the penalty for violating God's just laws is not canceled.

We need purgatory to purify our hearts. If we have lived selfishly and hurt others, even if we wisely repent and go into death with a heart full of love for God, our character has been sullied by years of bad attitudes and contempt. We are not ready to meet God, who is holy, holy, holy.

The bottom line on purgatory: Jesus taught it. Paul explained it. The Church has always defined it. And justice demands it.

Cheers,
Bruce

Answer 3

Of course I believe in purgatory because according to the Bible if purgatory does not exist heaven will be an empty place.

In Christ
Fr. Joseph

Answer 4

In the Bible it speaks of "Abraham's bosom" where when Jesus was crucified and died before ascending to heaven he went down into the earth and triumphed over Satan and set those in Abraham's bosom free and took them to heaven with Him.

After Jesus arose from the grave on the third day, Abraham's bosom no longer existed. This may be where the Catholics get purgatory, but purgatory is long gone to heaven. The rich man who was mean to Lazarus the beggar is still in hell begging for water, but Lazarus went up with Jesus. Jesus set the captives free.

If you reject Jesus, there is no way anyone can pray you out of hell. We will all stand before Jesus whether we get eternal life and rewards or eternal hell.

Answer 5

Yes



Purgatory is simply the place where already saved souls are cleansed of the temporal effects of sin before they are allowed to see the holy face of Almighty God.

Revelation 21:27 tells us that "...nothing unclean will enter [Heaven]."


Purgatory is His way of ensuring that Revelation 21:27 is true and that nothing unclean will see Heaven. It is only through Christ's sacrifice that we are shown this mercy! It is Christ and Christ alone Who allows us access to the Father.

It's isn't in the Bible, but neither are the words "Trinity," "abortion," "lesbianism," and "cloning" (or "Rapture," for that matter), and it doesn't matter whether you call the process of purgation "purgatory" or the "Final Theosis": the concept of a "final cleansing" or "purgation" for those who require it is very evident in the Bible, in the writings of the early Church Fathers, and in the Old Testament religion whence Christianity sprang.

Daniel 12:2, Matthew 12:32, 1 Corinthians 3:13-15, 2 Timothy 1:16-18, Hebrews 12:14, Hebrews 12:22-23, 1 Peter 4:6 and Revelation 21:10, 27 all speak of Purgatory in their telling of the need for purification, prayers for the dead, Christ's preaching to the dead, or how nothing unclean will see God.

Archaeology also indicates the antiquity of the Christian belief in Purgatory/the Final Theosis: the tombs of the ancient Christians were inscribed with words of petition for peace and for rest, and at the anniversaries of deaths, the faithful gathered at the graves of the departed to make intercession for those who'd gone before.

Orthodox Jewish practices, which branched off from the Old Testament religion, to this day reflect belief in this "place" of final purification which they call Gehenom: when an Orthodox Jewish person dies, a ritual called the taharah is performed by the "Chevra kaddisha -- gmilat khessed shel emet," the "Holy Society" or "Burial Society" of Jews knowledgeable in these traditional duties. They cleanse and prepare the physical body and recite the required prayers (Chevra Kadisha) which ask God for forgiveness for any sins the departed may have committed, and beg Him to guard and grant eternal peace to the departed. For eleven months after the death of a loved one certain members of the family pray a prayer called the Mourner's Qaddish (or Kaddish) for their loved one's purification.

Even the The Talmud1 speaks of Purgatory:

Sabbath 33b:
"The judgment of the wicked in purgatory is twelve months."
Rosh HaShanah 16b-17a:
"It has been taught that the school of Shammai says: "There will be three groups on Judgment Day (yom haDin):
(1) one that is completely righteous,
(2) one that is completely wicked,
(3) and one that is in between."

Jews, Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox have always proclaimed the reality of the final purification for those who need it. It was not until the Protestant Reformers came in the 1500s that any Christians denied the idea of a final purgation before seeing the face of God.





"Believe, repent, and obey."

We must:


believe and trust in Christ (John 3:16);


repent and be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost for the remission of sins (Matthew 28:19, John 3:3-5, Acts 2:38);


obey the will of the Father and keep the commandments (Matthew 7:21, Matthew 19:16-19);


eat the Body of Christ (John 6:51-69) -- but not unworthily, and only after discerning the Lord's Body lest we eat damnation onto ourselves (I Corinthians 11:23-30);


judge ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:28-31) and, when we fall, confess our sins to those to whom Christ has given the authority to forgive sins in His Name, and to obey that authority when it comes to what is bound and loosed (Matthew 9:5-8, Matthew 18:18, John 20:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:18);


love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31).

Answer 6

The Bible is very clear about the condition of the dead.
It says that they 'are conscious of nothing at all.'

That being the 'fact' on the matter , any idea of there being a hellfire place of torment or a waiting place called purgatory is simply not backed by truth according to the Bible.

The teachings of hellfire , purgatory , immortal soul and the trinity are teaching from pagan , unChristian origins and should not be something for true Christians to follow.

For more Bible based information please feel free to email me.

Answer 7

I believe there is a Heaven, Purgatory and hell. Purgatory is where a soul goes, when it is not pure enough to go to Heaven, That soul has to suffer a little more for it sins. Then it can go to Heaven. Hell is for the soul that refuses to repent and is downright evil.

Answer 8

Heaven and hell exist but purgatory, no that is a creation of the Roman Catholic Church. Heaven is our destination following our earthly pilgrimage, whilst hell is for those people who fail to find the way during this life on earth by denying God through Jesus the Son and sadly their destination is hell.

Answer 9

I believe there is a spirit paradise that the souls of the righteous abide in until the day of resurrection.

I also believe in a spirit prison where the souls of the accountable wicked abide until the day of judgment. This is not the same as the Catholic purgatory where they can escape it due to the prayers or money given by the living. Once you die you cannot repent or change your fate, your fate is sealed and if damned there will be no getting out of it.
The LDS have a similar concept in teaching they can baptize for the dead thereby making salvation possible.

Rev. 22: 11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Luke 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

Answer 10

I'm not religious, but purgatory, as I understand, is sort of an intermediary between heaven and hell, a way station for souls. So if heaven and hell exists, I think this life we live could be purgatory.