Purgatory - A Biblical Defense

Purgatory - A Biblical Defense

Purgatory is a widely debated topic and one commonly attacked by Protestants for being unbiblical. It has been said to take away Christ's sacrifice, making it insufficient and meaningless. In this article I will be giving a general defense of purgatory using the Bible and natural reason. For starters, the Catechism says,

CCC 1030

"All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven."

CCC 1032

"This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin." From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.610 The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead..."

For Starters

First, purgatory is not an inherently illogical idea. Our Protestant friends believe in the idea of sanctification (as do Catholics), where one is being made holy or like Christ over their lifetime. Well, if one is perfect in heaven, but dies not perfect, it implies a middle period where God perfects them for heaven.

While this doesn't get you to all the doctrines surrounding purgatory, it does show how being purified doesn't take away from any of our already established beliefs as Christians. Some people aren't perfect when they die, and God is gracious enough to help them. Karlo Broussard gave a small argument for purgatory live on the CA podcast:

P1. If it's possible to die with the guilt of sin on your soul, but still be in friendship with Christ, purgatory is necessary for heaven (nothing unclean is allowed there [Revelation 21]).
P2. The Bible teaches that it's possible to die with the guilt of sin on your soul, but still be in friendship with Christ (1 John 15:16; Matthew 5:19).
C1. Purgatory is necessary for heaven [if needed].

This helps give us a general idea of why purgatory is rational. Some of us won't die perfect, so God must purify the imperfect for heaven.

Those in Purgatory Are Forgiven

A common misconception is that those in purgatory aren't forgiven and Christ's sacrifice wasn't perfect enough to bring them immediately to heaven. Contrary to popular belief, this is false as those in purgatory have been forgiven of their sins. This might seem odd to some, but it is entirely biblical. Multiple times in scripture God punishes people right after forgiving them. For example,

2 Samuel 12:13-14

"Then David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the Lord.' Nathan replied, 'The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.'"

God forgave David and spared his life (even took away his sin), but because David sinned against God he still had to live with the punishment of losing his son. God punished somebody even after forgiving them. Another example is in Numbers,

Numbers 14:15-16; 20-23

"If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
...
The Lord replied, 'I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times—not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it."

As you can clearly see, God forgave and pardoned the people, but still punished them by preventing them from entering into the Promised Land. Moses then suffers the same punishment in Numbers 20:12 and 27:12-14. God very clearly will still punish people even after forgiveness.

Christ's death was the perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 9:11-14) and that sacrifice brought the forgiveness of sins. So while Christ has washed away our sins, the temporal punishments for them might still remain if needed. And as we've just shown, this isn't something contrary to God's nature.

Purgatory in the Gospel of Luke

In Luke, Jesus gives the following parable about the coming of the Son of God:

Luke 12:43-48

"If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. But what if the servant thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful.

'And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished. But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.'"

Here we see Jesus, in parabolic language, give some descriptions of servants and how prepared they are. The parallels should be immediately recognizable: Jesus is the master and we are his servants. What follows is four different types of outcomes:

1. The servant is prepared and faithful. He is put in charge of all the masters possessions (v. 43-44).
2. The servant is rebellious and gives into carnal desires. He is killed and, "banished with the unfaithful" (v. 45-46).
3. The servant is unprepared, but does not give into carnal desires. He is punished severely (v. 47).
4. The servant is ignorant of the master's will, and unknowingly does the wrong thing. He is only lightly punished (v. 48).

The symbolism is very permanent in these descriptions. Servant #2 is "cut ... in pieces" (killed) and cast with the unfaithful. Such a set in stone condemnation can only be interpreted as a punishment to hell. He has adamantly disobeyed God's law and, contrary to servant #1 who obeyed, will not inherit the kingdom. The other two servants, however, are given different sentences. Servant #3 is not deserving of permanent punishment, death, but has still not been perfect and thus requires a temporal punishment. Servant #4 is simply ignorant and thus only receives a light one.

When we look at the verse through the lense of eternal judgement, we can interpret the different outcomes out as follows:

1. The servant is prepared and faithful. He receives heaven.
2. The servant is rebellious and gives into carnal desires. He receives hell.
3. The servant is unprepared, but does not give into carnal desires. He receives harsh purgatory.
4. The servant is invincibly ignorant. He receives light purgatory.

The doctrines of purgatory are right there. The servants are judged according to their actions (2 Corinthians 5:10). Because servants #3 and #4 received temporal punishments, it's a clear alluding to purgatorial purification. Even more so, those last two servants were given different degrees of punishments according to the level of ignorance. The same is with purgatory; Those in purgatory are only there for as long as they deserve and/or need (Matthew 5:26).

Purgatory in 2 Maccabees

While this book is not accepted by Protestants, largely for it's clear alluding to purgatory, I will still list it as a resource. While they might not view it as inerrant scripture, it should at the very least be viewed as a historical reference. The verse reads,

2 Maccabees 12:39-45

"On the next day, as by that time it had become necessary, Judas and his men went to take up the bodies of the fallen and to bring them back to lie with their kinsmen in the sepulchres of their fathers. Then under the tunic of every one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jam′nia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. And it became clear to all that this was why these men had fallen. So they all blessed the ways of the Lord, the righteous Judge, who reveals the things that are hidden; and they turned to prayer, beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out. And the noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin."

The reason this verse is significant is because it shows Judas and his men finding pagan tokens of the slain men. They realize that these men committed a sin and immediately went to prayer. However, if somebody is in heaven they have no need for prayers and if they are in hell no prayers can save them (v. 44-45). So it implies that Judas and his men recognized a point besides heaven and hell where these men might be suffering, and thus made atonement for them that they might get out of it faster.

Some Other Verses

Many of the early Fathers recognized various verses as pointing toward purgatory. I will be documenting a few here.

Psalm 66:10-12

"For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance."

Both Origen and St. Ambrose viewed this verse as speaking about water baptism and purgatory. When reading the verse there's a clear theme of being saved. Verse 12 says, "but you brought us to a place of abundance", a reference to the heavenly kingdom. Right before, however, it states of going through "fire and water" which both fathers viewed as reference to being saved through water baptized and "refined" through purgatorial fire.

Matthew 5:25-26

“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny."

St. Francis de Sales saw this as a symbolic reference to purgatory. The phrase "who is taking you to court" is a sign of earthly life as we await judgement, this is made clearer when it says, "Do it while you are still together on the way". The final verse stating, "... you will not get out until you have paid the last penny" seems to point toward a type of temporal punishment one receives for his sins.

This verse also takes place in the context of the Sermon on the Mount. This is significant because the themes of that sermon are heaven and hell, eternal judgement. The Sermon on the Mount also focuses on the different types of sin, both mortal and venial (Matthew 5:19-22 discuss various "degrees" of severity among sins) so the general topic of discussion is clearly focused on the disposition of ones soul.

Micah 7:9

"I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I shall behold his deliverance."

What's interesting about this verse is it talks about the execution of judgement, but then immediately after the bringing forth "to the light" and beholding "his deliverance". Not only is that very clearly talking about going to heaven, but the judgement before heaven seems to point toward purgatory.

1 Corinthians 3:11-15

"For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble – each man’s work will become manifest; for the 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 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."

Perhaps the most popular purgatorial reference in scripture, Paul talks about a man's work being "revealed with fire" and "If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, ..." If his works are being burned away, but then is immediately brought into heaven, it seems to be talking about a purification process one enters into before heaven.

We can learn more about this verse by looking at the Greek. The Greek for "suffer loss" is ζημιωθήσεται (zēmiōthēsetai), a form of the word ζημιόω (zémioó). Forms of this word can be found in Proverbs 17:26; 19:19 and Exodus 21:22 in reference to punishments. If we apply this same principle, we find a man who is being punished and saved through fire. This is exactly what the doctrine of purgatory is.

Matthew 18:33-34

"'Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed."

This verse is in the context of a parable, so Christ is not meaning for this to be read literally. Rather, we should look at the context and see what it is telling us. In Matthew 18 Peter is asking Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother or sister. In verse 23 Jesus identifies this parable is in the context of the kingdom of heaven, we know from previous parables that Jesus often identifies Himself as the master and us as the servants, and in verse 35 Jesus says that this is a description of how God the Father will treat us.

So if we do not forgive our brothers and sisters in our hearts, but decide to sin, we will have to "pay back all we owed" before entering into "the kingdom of heaven". Such a verse points toward the doctrine of purgatory very clearly.

These verses can sometimes be seen as quite vague, which is why I did not make them my only argument. However, they do serve as assisting the concept of purgatory, in proving there is a purification needed for some after they die.

Thomas Aquinas on Purgatory

This last section will be taken directly from the Summa Theologica. Aquinas, as one of the greatest philosophers of all time, provided arguments for purgatory in his extensive work. Let's see what he said:

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, [Supplementum Tertiæ Partis, Art. 1]

Objection 1. It would seem that there is not a Purgatory after this life. For it is said (Apocalypse 14:13): "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors." Therefore after this life no cleansing labor awaits those who die in the Lord, nor those who do not die in the Lord, since they cannot be cleansed. Therefore there is no Purgatory after this life.

Objection 2. Further, as charity is to an eternal reward, so is mortal sin to eternal punishment. Now those who die in mortal sin are forthwith consigned to eternal punishment. Therefore those who die in charity go at once to their reward; and consequently no Purgatory awaits them after this life.

Objection 3. Further, God Who is supremely merciful is more inclined to reward good than to punish evil. Now just as those who are in the state of charity, do certain evil things which are not deserving of eternal punishment, so those who are in mortal sin, at times perform actions, generically good, which are not deserving of an eternal reward. Therefore since these good actions are not rewarded after this life in those who will be damned, neither should those evil actions be punished after this life. Hence the same conclusion follows.

On the contrary, It is said (2 Maccabees 12:46): "It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." Now there is no need to pray for the dead who are in heaven, for they are in no need; nor again for those who are in hell, because they cannot be loosed from sins. Therefore after this life, there are some not yet loosed from sins, who can be loosed therefrom; and the like have charity, without which sins cannot be loosed, for "charity covereth all sins" [Proverbs 10]. Hence they will not be consigned to everlasting death, since "he that liveth and believeth in Me, shall not die for ever" [John 11]: nor will they obtain glory without being cleansed, because nothing unclean shall obtain it, as stated in the last chapter of the Apocalypse (verse 14). Therefore some kind of cleansing remains after this life.

Further, Gregory of Nyssa [De iis qui in fide dormiunt] says: "If one who loves and believes in Christ," has failed to wash away his sins in this life, "he is set free after death by the fire of Purgatory." Therefore there remains some kind of cleansing after this life.

I answer that, From the conclusions we have drawn above (III:86:4, III:86:5; Supplement:12:1) it is sufficiently clear that there is a Purgatory after this life. For if the debt of punishment is not paid in full after the stain of sin has been washed away by contrition, nor again are venial sins always removed when mortal sins are remitted, and if justice demands that sin be set in order by due punishment, it follows that one who after contrition for his fault and after being absolved, dies before making due satisfaction, is punished after this life. Wherefore those who deny Purgatory speak against the justice of God: for which reason such a statement is erroneous and contrary to faith. Hence Gregory of Nyssa, after the words quoted above, adds: "This we preach, holding to the teaching of truth, and this is our belief; this the universal Church holds, by praying for the dead that they may be loosed from sins." This cannot be understood except as referring to Purgatory: and whosoever resists the authority of the Church, incurs the note of heresy.

Reply to Objection 1. The authority quoted is speaking of the labor of working for merit, and not of the labor of suffering to be cleansed.

Reply to Objection 2. Evil has not a perfect cause, but results from each single defect: whereas good arises from one perfect cause, as Dionysius asserts [Div. Nom. iv, 4]. Hence each defect is an obstacle to the perfection of good; while not every good hinders some consummation of evil, since there is never evil without some good. Consequently venial sin prevents one who has charity from obtaining the perfect good, namely eternal life, until he be cleansed; whereas mortal sin cannot be hindered by some conjoined good from bringing a man forthwith to the extreme of evils.

Reply to Objection 3. He that falls into mortal sin, deadens all the good he has done before, and what he does, while in mortal sin, is dead: since by offending God he deserves to lose all the good he has from God. Wherefore no reward after this life awaits him who dies in mortal sin, whereas sometimes punishment awaits him who dies in charity, which does not always wash away the sin which it finds, but only that which is contrary to it.

Conclusion

As you can see, purgatory is rooted in the scriptures. In no way does it take away from Christ's sacrifice, but rather is a gift God has given us that we might be made pure and perfect for His heavenly kingdom. In fact, we should pray for those who have died that they might be brought into heaven quicker. As St. John Chrysostom stated,

Homilies on First Corinthians 41:5 [A.D. 392]

“Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice [Job 1], why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them”.