The False Doctrine of Purgatory.

[Hobie]

So lets look and see what the doctrine is and the origin of it so it gives us context. Purgatory as a doctrine teaches that a Christian's soul must burn in purgatory after death until all of their sins have been purged. To speed up the purging process, money could be paid to a priest so he could pray and have special masses for an earlier release, and much money was made with this doctrine. Purgatory is given as a way that no matter how sinful or unbelieving, when you die, you go to Purgatory and get things sorted out and finally get to heaven, so no acceptance of Christ is needed, you can buy your way in. But is it in the Bible, if you look it doesnt show it anywhere, so where did it come from. It comes from apostasy, it is a corrupt pagan doctrine, which was allowed into the church.

This pagan idea began creeping into the church around the end of the sixth century, and it has no scriptural support. In fact, Jesus warned us about this pagan practice when He spoke of those who devoured widows houses and made long prayers for a pretense.
Matthew 23:14
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

We also have scripture that tells us that a person couldn't redeem a loved one, even if such a place did exist
Psalm 49:6-7
6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

Peter also addresses this issue if you look..
Acts 8:20
But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

You can see that God's word is clearly against the doctrine of purgatory. The Greeks, and the Egyptians before them, created myths of the afterlife which spread throughout the Hellenistic world, and even into words which were used when the Hebrew text was translated into the Greek. Scripture clearly rejects the Greek notion of the immortality of the soul disembodied from the here and now as spirit beings, and early Christians affirmed the resurrection of the body just as Lazuras was resurrected by Christ. So there is no place for a underworld depicted in Greek myths or place of cleansing by fire such as purgotary where spirit beings are left till they are ready to be reunited with God, it comes from other origins which we shall see.

Purgatory as a transitional condition has from many sources, a origin from the pagan belief of caring for the dead and praying for them, and to the belief that prayer for the dead contributed to their afterlife purification. Pagan tradition created this place of purgatory which leaves hope after death for the wicked, who, at the time of their death, are unrepentant and cling to their love of sin.

In Egypt, substantially the same doctrine of purgatory was taught as in modern times and its priests created grand funerals and masses for the dead, along with celebration of prayer and other services for the soul of the dead. The priest who officiated at the burial service was selected from the grade of Pontiffs who wore the leopard skin; but various other rites were performed by one of the minor priests to the mummies, previous to their being lowered into the pit of the tomb after that ceremony. They practiced elaborate ceremonies to prepare the pharaohs for their next life, constructing massive pyramids and other elaborate tombs filled with luxuries the deceased were supposed to need in the hereafter.

The famous Book of the Dead, a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary and ritual texts, describes in great detail how to meet the challenges of the afterlife. The pagan Egyptian belief was when the body died, parts of its soul known as ka (body double) and the ba (personality) would go to the Kingdom of the Dead. While the soul dwelt in the Fields of Aaru, Osiris demanded work as restitution for the protection he provided.

 

[Hobie]

The Egyptian belief in the immortality of the soul existed centuries before Judaism, Hellenism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. According to Herodotus, eventually the Greeks adopted from the Egyptians the belief in the immortality of the soul. He wrote: 'The Egyptians also were the first who asserted the doctrine that the soul of man is immortal . . . This opinion, some among the Greeks have at different periods of time adopted as their own.' The Greek philosopher Socrates traveled to Egypt to consult the Egyptians on their teachings on the immortality of the soul. Upon his return to Greece, he imparted this teaching to his most famous pupil, Plato.......

In Greece the doctrine of a purgatory was spread through the Greek mystery religions and even was spoken by one of its major philosophers. Plato, speaking of the future judgment of the dead, holds out the hope of final deliverance for all, but maintains that, of "those who are judged," some must first "proceed to a subterranean place of judgment, where they shall sustain the punishment they have deserved." The ancient Greeks sacrificed on the thirteenth day (after death) to Mercury as the conductor of the dead, they also had sacrifice which, according to Plato, "was offered for the living and the dead, and was supposed to free them from all the evils to which the wicked are liable when they have left this world.

In ancient Rome, the pagan priests also picked up and spread purgatory to the pagans, but as a belief in the early church it was not immediately picked up. From earliest times Greek religious beliefs were a strong influence in Italy, and the Graeco-Roman world was essentially one in its religious and philosophic views of the afterlife. There was no mention of the doctrine during the first two centuries of the church, it has no basis in scripture, the apostles did not teach it, nor did Christ.

In all pagan religions you will find a similar description of a place after death where everyone can be absolved of their sin, not in any way connected to what the Bible says. In the pagan purgatory, fire, water, wind, were represented as combining to purge away the stain of sin, and has its roots in the Babylonian belief of Tammuz or Zoroaster, the great God of the ancient fire-worshippers. The doctrine of purgatory is purely pagan, and in no way from scripture as those who die in Christ no purgatory is or can be needed as it teaches that Christs blood cleanseth true believers from all sin, not purgatory. Scripture does not tell us of at death being put through altered spiritual states of immortality till we are cleansed by purgatory fires and then go to eternal life or heaven, but clearly teaches that immortality is not an innate human possession, but a conditional gift of eternal life given to believers at the resurrection. Thus we see much of what has cause confusion among Christians to this day on this issue..

Now some people point to Jesus' enunciation of the unpardonable sin as proof for Purgatory. Let us quickly review this Scripture.
"And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." [Matthew 12:32] This reference to two worlds is held to be proof of Purgatory in the Bible, but that has nothing about purgartory. The expression "either in this world or in the world to come" does not imply that some sins are forgiven after death; however, it is a strong way of stating the truth that the unrepentant sinner will never be forgiven, as we see from the parallel passages of this Scripture (Luke 12:10, especially Mark 3:29)..

The doctrine of Purgatory is not only without Biblical proof, but it is against the clear and consistent teaching of Scripture. the Bible nowhere speaks of a temporary place of punishment after death for believers; however, it does clearly state that when the believer dies, he rests in the grave and becomes dust, a place that no living loved one can effect in any way.
Revelation 14:13
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

Others point to a text in Matthew 5:25-26 as the basis for Purgatory. Let us review that Scripture:
"Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, until thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." Matthew 5:25-26. This "prison" thus implied in this Scripture is supposed to be Purgatory. The implication in this Scripture is also that, eventually, the prisoner will pay his final bill and be set free. This implication is held to be consistent with the teaching of Purgatory, that it is not eternal, and eventually, everyone will get out of it, and go on to Heaven, perfectly purified. But it was a literal prison the verse refers to not purgatory by any stretch of the imagination, or whatever the pagan mystery religions tried to come up with.

In fact, neither the word nor the concept of sin-purifying fire is found in Scripture or worse paying to cleanse a dead person of sin as a way to heaven. Scripture leaves absolutely no possibility for sin to be purged away by anything other than the blood of Jesus Christ. The apostle John wrote with irrefutable clarity, "The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" and "all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:7, 9). John did not say "some" sins or "most" sins, but all sin. The Roman church was confronted with this in the 16th century when the Reformers protested its practice of buying and selling of God's grace through indulgences. Backed into a corner, the Council of Trent tried to tie it to the apocryphal books not part of the canon of Scripture. These were a collection of uninspired books by writers influenced by the Greek belief in the immortality of the soul, prayer for the dead, and denial of the resurrection, who put these teachings what in what was known as the Apocrypha. The council ignored the fact that the Jewish scribes never recognized the apocryphal books as inspired or part of the Hebrew Scriptures and it was rejected outright in 90 A.D. at the Council of Jamnia . Clearly they saw the danger as it was obviously pagan myths and beliefs mixed into these apocryphal books and they clearly saw that God did not inspire the writers of the Apocrypha. This is why the Apocrypha was never included in the original canon of 66 books.

 

[Gabriel _Arch]

So lets look and see what the doctrine is and the origin of it so it gives us context. Purgatory as a doctrine teaches that a Christian's soul must burn in purgatory after death until all of their sins have been purged. To speed up the purging process, money could be paid to a priest so he could pray and have special masses for an earlier release, and much money was made with this doctrine. Purgatory is given as a way that no matter how sinful or unbelieving, when you die, you go to Purgatory and get things sorted out and finally get to heaven, so no acceptance of Christ is needed, you can buy your way in. But is it in the Bible, if you look it doesnt show it anywhere, so where did it come from. It comes from apostasy, it is a corrupt pagan doctrine, which was allowed into the church.

This pagan idea began creeping into the church around the end of the sixth century, and it has no scriptural support. In fact, Jesus warned us about this pagan practice when He spoke of those who devoured widows houses and made long prayers for a pretense.
Matthew 23:14
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

We also have scripture that tells us that a person couldn't redeem a loved one, even if such a place did exist
Psalm 49:6-7
6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

Peter also addresses this issue if you look..
Acts 8:20
But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

You can see that God's word is clearly against the doctrine of purgatory. The Greeks, and the Egyptians before them, created myths of the afterlife which spread throughout the Hellenistic world, and even into words which were used when the Hebrew text was translated into the Greek. Scripture clearly rejects the Greek notion of the immortality of the soul disembodied from the here and now as spirit beings, and early Christians affirmed the resurrection of the body just as Lazuras was resurrected by Christ. So there is no place for a underworld depicted in Greek myths or place of cleansing by fire such as purgotary where spirit beings are left till they are ready to be reunited with God, it comes from other origins which we shall see.

Purgatory as a transitional condition has from many sources, a origin from the pagan belief of caring for the dead and praying for them, and to the belief that prayer for the dead contributed to their afterlife purification. Pagan tradition created this place of purgatory which leaves hope after death for the wicked, who, at the time of their death, are unrepentant and cling to their love of sin.

In Egypt, substantially the same doctrine of purgatory was taught as in modern times and its priests created grand funerals and masses for the dead, along with celebration of prayer and other services for the soul of the dead. The priest who officiated at the burial service was selected from the grade of Pontiffs who wore the leopard skin; but various other rites were performed by one of the minor priests to the mummies, previous to their being lowered into the pit of the tomb after that ceremony. They practiced elaborate ceremonies to prepare the pharaohs for their next life, constructing massive pyramids and other elaborate tombs filled with luxuries the deceased were supposed to need in the hereafter.

The famous Book of the Dead, a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary and ritual texts, describes in great detail how to meet the challenges of the afterlife. The pagan Egyptian belief was when the body died, parts of its soul known as ka (body double) and the ba (personality) would go to the Kingdom of the Dead. While the soul dwelt in the Fields of Aaru, Osiris demanded work as restitution for the protection he provided.

Acts 8:20
But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.


Remember when Immanuel taught about Purgatory and Indulgences?
No?

People fell for that. And it made the church even richer.

I know Catholics who light candles at their church and pray for family they believe are in Purgatory.

There's a box where the candles are arranged. Donation for the candle they light.

When trouble hits I'll hear them say, offer it up to the poor souls in Purgatory.

 

[Hobie]

Acts 8:20
But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.


Remember when Immanuel taught about Purgatory and Indulgences?
No?

People fell for that. And it made the church even richer.

I know Catholics who light candles at their church and pray for family they believe are in Purgatory.

There's a box where the candles are arranged. Donation for the candle they light.

When trouble hits I'll hear them say, offer it up to the poor souls in Purgatory.

Well, in the Latin countries, its not a 'donation'...you pay.

 

[Gabriel _Arch]

Well, in the Latin countries, its not a 'donation'...you pay.

Not surprised.
A friend at work wanted a mass for their ailing mom.She was a life long Catholic and very active in the church.
He got it.
It only cost him a certain amount of money,donation. The cost of which he didn't reveal.

I wonder if Saint Malachi's last Pope prophecy, the 112th,which is Francis, will come to fruition?
Supposedly, the Fatima kids said the 3rd secret their virgin Mary encounter revealed that the last Pope would end by the act of soldiers.

One of the kids said the Fatima encounter also included the date of the Apocalypse. But the then Pope took that information to the grave.

People often forget the Papal office and Holy See are a government. Not just a church.

 

[Hobie]

Not surprised.
A friend at work wanted a mass for their ailing mom.She was a life long Catholic and very active in the church.
He got it.
It only cost him a certain amount of money,donation. The cost of which he didn't reveal.

I wonder if Saint Malachi's last Pope prophecy, the 112th,which is Francis, will come to fruition?
Supposedly, the Fatima kids said the 3rd secret their virgin Mary encounter revealed that the last Pope would end by the act of soldiers.

One of the kids said the Fatima encounter also included the date of the Apocalypse. But the then Pope took that information to the grave.

People often forget the Papal office and Holy See are a government. Not just a church.

Do the Popes normally give 'prophecies', I've never heard of such a thing.

 

[Gabriel _Arch]

Do the Popes normally give 'prophecies', I've never heard of such a thing.

I think the first Jesuit Pope in their history is likely always going to break out something new. As Francis has done from the beginning.

 

[Augustin56]

This topic is very interesting, because it shows that those engaged in it 1) don't know what Purgatory is or where it's found in the Bible and 2) personally interpret Scripture, against the warning of St. Peter in 2 Peter 1:20-21 and 3) have an unwarranted hatred for the Church founded by Christ, in which the majority of Christians reside.

The Bible isn't a do-it-yourself book, to be read through your personal light. It must be read in context of the constant teaching of the Church founded by Christ in the beginning. In fact, the New Testament wasn't decided until the late 4th century. It is the Church that is the "pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Tim 3:15), not the individual personally (mis)interpreting his/her own Bible.

If you want to find out the real truth about Purgatory, read this article: Is Purgatory in the Bible?

 

[Hobie]

This topic is very interesting, because it shows that those engaged in it 1) don't know what Purgatory is or where it's found in the Bible and 2) personally interpret Scripture, against the warning of St. Peter in 2 Peter 1:20-21 and 3) have an unwarranted hatred for the Church founded by Christ, in which the majority of Christians reside.

The Bible isn't a do-it-yourself book, to be read through your personal light. It must be read in context of the constant teaching of the Church founded by Christ in the beginning. In fact, the New Testament wasn't decided until the late 4th century. It is the Church that is the "pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Tim 3:15), not the individual personally (mis)interpreting his/her own Bible.

If you want to find out the real truth about Purgatory, read this article: Is Purgatory in the Bible?

It is of pagan origin, plain and simple and brought in along with all the other apostasy the church of Rome let in.

 

[Augustin56]

It is of pagan origin, plain and simple and brought in along with all the other apostasy the church of Rome let in.

So, I take it you either didn't read or you didn't understand the article from the link I posted (Is Purgatory in the Bible?). You're going to go with polemic lies that you were told instead. I just want to understand where you're coming from.

Also, crosses were used in ancient religions long before Christ was born. Does that mean we should abandon the Cross because someone else used it for a different religion?

 

[Hobie]

So, I take it you either didn't read or you didn't understand the article from the link I posted (Is Purgatory in the Bible?). You're going to go with polemic lies that you were told instead. I just want to understand where you're coming from.

Also, crosses were used in ancient religions long before Christ was born. Does that mean we should abandon the Cross because someone else used it for a different religion?

No, history shows its origin and to try to twist or bend scripture to justify this false doctrine is seen for what it is.

 

[Augustin56]

No, history shows its origin and to try to twist or bend scripture to justify this false doctrine is seen for what it is.

With regard to history, I'm assuming you are referring to the cross, yes? Origins, maybe not. Perhaps cavemen made them, too. But pagans using them, history is clear that many did. So, does that mean we should never use a symbol used by pagans, even though we give it an entirely different meaning? Try to get past your anti-Catholic polemics, if you can. Pray to the Holy Spirit to send you enlightenment. You can use the following prayer, which I've found very helpful:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created,
and you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O God, who have taught the hearts of the faithful
by the light of the Holy Spirit,
grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise
and ever rejoice in his consolation.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The only twisting of Scritpure is, sadly, by Protestants, since they stray from the interpretations that existed before Protestantism. Anything you personally interpret from Scripture (in disobedience to 2 Peter 1:20-21) that is in contradiction to the original interpretation of Divine Revelation, is erroneous. Unless you can claim and prove that Jesus came back down and changed the teachings that He gave the Church in the beginning? Divine Revelation, however, ended with the death of the last Apostle. No new Divine Revelation has been revealed by Jesus.

 

[Hobie]

With regard to history, I'm assuming you are referring to the cross, yes? Origins, maybe not. Perhaps cavemen made them, too. But pagans using them, history is clear that many did. So, does that mean we should never use a symbol used by pagans, even though we give it an entirely different meaning? Try to get past your anti-Catholic polemics, if you can. Pray to the Holy Spirit to send you enlightenment. You can use the following prayer, which I've found very helpful:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created,
and you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O God, who have taught the hearts of the faithful
by the light of the Holy Spirit,
grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise
and ever rejoice in his consolation.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The only twisting of Scritpure is, sadly, by Protestants, since they stray from the interpretations that existed before Protestantism. Anything you personally interpret from Scripture (in disobedience to 2 Peter 1:20-21) that is in contradiction to the original interpretation of Divine Revelation, is erroneous. Unless you can claim and prove that Jesus came back down and changed the teachings that He gave the Church in the beginning? Divine Revelation, however, ended with the death of the last Apostle. No new Divine Revelation has been revealed by Jesus.

History as actual events documented by historians in books and papers.