Where Is Purgatory In The Bible?

Does the Bible mention purgatory? If so, what Scriptures are used to support it?

What is Purgatory?

If you’re looking for the word “purgatory” in the Bible you won’t find it. If you’re looking for the concept of purgatory, I still don’t believe you can find it because I couldn’t, so the question is; what is purgatory? Does it really exist? The Catholic Encyclopedia says that purgatory is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.   In other words, if a person dies with faith in Christ, they don’t go to hell but they go to purgatory if they had unconfessed sins or had what are called “venial sins or faults.” Venial sins are those sins that are able to be forgiven or pardoned but are not serious, even though they are still sin. Venial sins are seen by Catholics as not as serious as mortal sins which are considered to be more severe or mortal and considered to be sins like sexual immorality, adultery, idolatry, murder, or other such sins but is purgatory a real place?

Is purgatory a real place?

What Bible verses do people use to claim that purgatory is real?

Is a person who dies with unconfessed mortal sins, do they still go to purgatory or do they go straight to hell?

Can anyone get out of purgatory by their own effort or do they need help?

Why Purgatory?

Many people believe that purgatory is necessary to purge the sins that weren’t cleansed and see purgatory as a purification process so that they can achieve the holiness necessary “to enter the joy of heaven” which is experienced by those “who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified” (CCC 1030).[1] What Bible verses do Catholics use to prove that purgatory is a real place? Some use Luke 12:59, 1^st Peter 3:19, and Matthew 12:32 among others.

Matthew 12:32 “And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

Who can help us get out of purgatory?

Why is this important?

Doesn’t being in a state of un-forgiveness “in this age” and “in the age to come” contradict the belief of purgatory?

Scriptural Support for Purgatory?

Luke 12:57-59 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

I included the paragraph (verses 57-59) and not just verse 59 because the context is critical. Some believe that Jesus spoke about purgatory in Luke 12:59 but what is the context of this paragraph?

Is Jesus speaking about judgment and settling an account with a judge?

Would any judge allow someone to work their way out of prison by works?

Is there any way that someone else can help them out of prison?

It seems cloudy to me that Jesus is speaking about a temporary judgment by paying every “last penny” when someone in prison doesn’t earn money. Context is so important because if we try to cherry-pick only a few verses, we can rip text out of context and make it a pretext; and often a false one. It takes the whole context of the whole word and often the whole chapter to see the whole meaning.

Did Peter Write About Purgatory?

1^st Pet 3:18-19 “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison”

This is another Bible verse that is used to support purgatory but if we go back to verse 18, notice that Peter wrote “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous” so does “once for sins” allow for purgatory to exist?

Then, Jesus “went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison” (1^st Pet 3:19) but who or what are these spirits? Fallen angels (demons) or the dead who’ve been judged already?

Does it say that these spirits were set free?

Since Jesus suffered once for the sins of the unrighteous, can purgatory still be true?

Didn’t He suffer enough?

Wasn’t His sufficient to take away all sins or only some of them?

Who were these “spirits in prison” that Jesus went to preach too?

Does preaching to those “spirits in prison” mean those who are in purgatory?

Hadn’t they heard the gospel already?

If they hadn’t, wouldn’t they be in hell and not purgatory?

The fact that Jesus went to preach to the spirits in prison doesn’t mean that they had a second chance. There is nothing said about that in these verses. The Bible clearly shows that after death comes the judgment (Heb 9:27) and not that there is another chance to be saved (Dan 12:1-3). The Bible teaches “today is the day of salvation” (2^nd Cor 6:2). We can be wrong about purgatory but we must not be wrong about our salvation and that is through repentance and faith and not one drop of works (Eph 2:8-9) but one that should be bearing good works.

Jesus + Purgatory = Salvation?

It almost seems as if people who believe in purgatory and need to pay for the rest of their sins are telling Jesus, “Nice try Jesus but it’s not quite enough…I have to pay for the rest of my sins in purgatory because the cross wasn’t enough. When I’m done, I’ll see you in heaven.”

I know that sounds harsh but isn’t it robbing God of glory to require someone to pay for the rest of their sins by their own suffering?

If we’re supposed to add to our own salvation in purgatory by being purged because we’re “still imperfectly purified” (CCC 1030), then isn’t that a works-based righteousness which God will not accept (Eph 2:8-9) and one that says the cross wasn’t enough?

Some believe that Matthew 12:32 refers to purgatory where Jesus says “And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matt 12:32) but does this suggest that one can be freed after death from the consequences of one’s sins?

I do not see this in the verse or even in the context of this paragraph because Jesus is speaking to the self-righteous Jews who attributed the power of the miracles of Christ to the Devil. Jesus says that this is blaspheme and “whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” which means there is never any chance of forgiveness, “in this age or in the age to come” (including any time period for purgatory).

How do you feel about purgatory?

Does it seem to contradict Scripture?

Wasn’t Jesus’ payment enough?

Conclusion

I don’t believe in purgatory but those who do are still our brothers and sister in Christ. We can differ over things like the rapture, the millennium, and the gifts of the Spirit but we do agree that Jesus lived a sinless life and offered up Himself so that we might be redeemed and receive eternal life. I believe Jesus Christ died once for all sins and takes away all of our sins forever (Psalm 103:12; 1^st John 1:9), not most of them. The Apostle John writes in “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1^st John 1:9). John says nothing about those sins that God missed or the ones we must make up for. Our purification was from Jesus “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). Jesus missed nothing! He has cleansed us from all of sins and from all of our unrighteousness, so there is none after death to be purged. Paul knew that when he was away from his body (death) he was present with the Lord (2^nd Cor 5:8). Since God made Jesus “to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2^nd Cor 5:21), can we be made any more righteous by our own purging? Isn’t Jesus enough (Acts 4:12)? I believe He is.

1. The Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.