Is purgatory real, and is it mentioned in the bible?

Like many other things, the word "Purgatory" doesn't occur in the Bible, but the principle is very clearly laid out in the I and II Books of Maccabees. Slain Jewish soldiers were found with pagan amulets on their bodies, and money was sent to the Temple on Jerusalem for sacrificial offerings that the dead might be loosed from their sins. Although Maccabees is a very accurate historical record, it was removed from Protestant Bibles because it supports the ancient Jewish doctrine of an intermediate state where sins are purged.

And you're absolutely right: Purgatory makes a great deal of sense. God cannot look upon sin, and dying doesn't make a person perfect. . .it just makes him dead. Think in terms of working outside all day and coming home wet, cold, and muddy. You have a party to go to that evening, so you have a choice: take a bath and get cleaned up, or go as you are in your dirty, sweaty clothing.

For most of us, the choice is obvious. The hot water may sting a little at first, but then we begin to feel the peace that comes of being clean and free from all that would keep us from enjoying the party to the fullest.

Just like that hot bath cleanses the dirt away, Purgatory removes even the attachment we may have to worldly things and sinfulness. It doesn't "insult" Christ: in fact, it testifies to His great mercy and compassion for preparing us to fully enjoy the glories of Heaven.

Oh, and one more thing: ignore those here who try to rewrite history to suit their own bizarre fundamentalist agenda. They've told the same lies about Catholicism so many times that they no longer are capable of recognizing the truth.

If you've read the "Chronicles of Narnia" series and remember the fate of the Dwarves at the end of "The Last Battle," that's a perfect illustration of what I'm talking about.

Purgatory is not mention in the bible. study the history first:

These 15 books are I and II Esdras (additions to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah), Tobit, Judith, Additions to the book of Esther, The Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (or the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach), Baruch, The Epistle of Jeremiah, The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon (addition to Daniel), The Prayer of Mannasseh, and I and II Maccabees. These books were included in Jerome's Latin Vulgate Version (against his recommendation), which became the Roman Catholic Bible.

While some of these books contain some material of literary merit and historical value, they must be rejected as inspired Scripture for these reasons:

a. They were written long after the Old Testament books were completed about 425 B.C.

b. They lack the prophetic character which qualifies them as the word of God. None of the apocryphal writers claim divine inspiration and some openly disclaim it (Ecclesiasticus and I and II Maccabees).

c. They were never recognized by the Jews. No Hebrew canons included them (the Jamnia Sanhedrin, Talmudists, Massoretes, etc.). The Jewish historian Josephus did not include these books in his list of canonical books.

e. These books contain numerous historical and geographical inaccuracies, as well as blatant myths, folklore and fictitious accounts. Judith 1:1-7 calls Nebuchadnezzar the King of Assyria instead of Babylon. Baruch claims to have been written by the secretary to Jeremiah, but quotes from Daniel which was written much later than Jeremiah.

f. These books teach false doctrines, promote questionable ethics and foster unbiblical standards (deception and suicide are justified, the end justifies the means morality is promoted, almsgiving is said to save you, etc.).

g. Jesus and the New Testament writers never quoted from the Apocrypha and no canon or council of the Christian church for the first 350 years of the church recognized or endorsed these books as inspired.

that is why Protestant(s) didn't believe and removed that. also king James and his panel didn't accept all Apocrypha books. only 66 book.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. - John 8:32

Is Purgatory Real

ReneO and David need not worry about Purgatory as there attacks against the Body the Church that Christ left guarantee's them there eventual warm spot. But also Trinity is not mentioned in the Bible no more than the word Purgatory but both are taught. You just have to open your eyes such as like one mentioned in Matthew about Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost not being forgiven in the world to come or in Peters Epistle 3:19>> 19through whom[d] also he went and preached to the spirits in prison.

Yes it is real, & yes it is mentioned in the Holy Bible(contrary to what Protestants may tell you).

It is in the Gospel according to St. Matthew, where Christ Tells the Pharisees that the only sin which will never be Forgiven in this life OR the next, is Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

The fact that it is still possible to have one's sins forgiven in the next life, proves Purgatory.

Catholic's are absolutely nuts, it's a large cult. Of course not, purgatory is another crazy teaching the Catholics brain wash their listeners into believing.

Jesus never quoted from the apocrypha. To suggest we can pay for our sins is suggesting that Jesus death on the cross was insufficient to pay for our sins. That suggests to me many people who believe in purgatory do not understand or possibly appreciate properly the sacrifice that was madehttp://www.letusreason.org/rc17.htm Sorry about the wrong linkhttp://www.dtl.org/catholicism/emails/apocrypha.ht... You would think if a subject as important as purgatory was true Jesus would have mentioned it. The subject never came up.

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Purgatory is very scriptural. But you must remember the Protestants have removed the books in the OT that refer to purgatory from their bible and they really dont read the NT verses where it talks of purgatory.

First, a definition is in order: what is Purgatory?

Purgatory is not Hell minus a few torments and degrees Fahrenheit; it's not Heaven minus joy. It's not a "Third Final Destination" of souls. 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]."

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.

prayers for the dead (Tobit 12:12; 2 Maccabees 12:39-45),

Purgatory (Wisdom 3:1-7),

intercession of dead saints (2 Maccabees 15:14),

and intercession of angels as intermediaries (Tobit 12:12-15).

Even the The Talmud 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):

The completely righteous will be recorded and sealed at once for eternal life. The completely wicked will be recorded and doomed at once to Gehinnom, as it says: "And many who sleep in the dust of the earth shall rise up, some to eternal life and some to shame and eternal rejection" [Daniel 12:2]. Those in between will go down to Gehinnom and cry out and rise up, as it says: "And I will bring the third part through the fire and refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name and I will answer them" [Zechariah 13:9]

Rabbi Shammai (50 BC - AD 30), one of the two main teachers of early rabbinical Judaism, also is on record as having interpreted Zechariah 13:9 as referring to a state of purification after death. Isaiah 66:15-16 and Malachi 3:2-3 were also interpreted in rabbinic literature as referring to the purgatorial process, and the same theme is reflected in Wisdom 3:1-7 and II Maccabees 12:43-45, both contained in the Deuterocanonical

That there are temporal effects of sin is obvious when one considers that even those who have been baptized, who have a deep and intimate relationshp with Jesus, who are the "elect" or "the saved/being saved," or what have you, are subject to pain, work, death and sickness.

The best way to understand the idea of already being forgiven but still having to be cleansed of the temporal effects of sin is by analogy: imagine you are the parent of a 7-year old child who steals a candy bar from the local grocery. The child is repentant, in tears, sobbing his apologies. You, being the good parent (as God, our Father is!) forgive that child and love him and show him your mercy. But being a good parent means that you are also just and will expect that child to pay back the store. Purgatory is God's way of forgiving us, loving us, showing us His mercy and justice -- and making us "pay back the store." Can you imagine what would happen to the child of a parent who never expected that child to "pay back the store" (especially when that same parent believed also that there was nothing that child could do to become "disinherited," as in the "once saved, always saved" doctrine)?

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.

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To my mind, none of the bible makes sense. But to answer the second part of the question, the reason why certain books were removed by protestants is that they weren't in the original Hebrew bible, only in the later Greek translation of it. I suppose Martin Luther wanted to go back to the original. Of course the doctrine of purgatory comes from 2 Maccabees so protestants don't want to believe in it.

Revelation does indeed say that you shouldn't add to or remove from the bible, but it also doesn't define what the bible is. So how can that instruction have any meaning?