My blog site has been a favorite venue of detractors trying to (hopelessly) defend their erroneous faith which can never be proven Biblical. I felt like laughing on top of my voice when I read a portion of their comments and defenses which follows:
Reply:
Purgatory is biblical. It comes from latin; Purgationem Peccatorum.
Heb 1:3 “qui cum sit splendor gloriae et figura substantiae eius portansque omnia verbo virtutis suae PURGATIONEM PECCATORUM faciens sedit ad dexteram Maiestatis in excelsis”
Translation:
Heb 1:3 “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself PURGED OUR SINS, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
By merely looking at the verse and using 5% of the 100% capacity of our brains to discern and understand things, you can easily notice that the person who posted his defense in favor of the Catholic Church’s doctrine of purgatory is inane, insane!
Does the Latin term “purgationem peccatorum” mean purgatory? Translated into English, it is “purged our sins,” not purgatory! And who purged our sins? According to the verse, “He” referring to Christ, purged our sins. Aren’t you implying now, whoever you are, that Christ is purgatory? Oh, come on!
And notice the verse that says, after purging our sins “He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Will that imply now that purgatory is in the throne of God? Come on! Catholic doctrine defines purgatory as a place between heaven and hell so it cannot be sitting in the throne of God.
Take note that it is the Council of Trent of the Catholic Church, not the Bible, that asserted the doctrine of purgatory!
The greatest of the Malayan race, Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal, in his famous book, Noli Me Tangere, said categorically after reading the whole Bible that there is no purgatory in the Bible! Mind you, Dr. Rizal speaks more than 22 languages. He surely is knowledgeable of Latin and Spanish. And he said purgatory is not in the Bible as Rizal is neither inane nor insane.
The Catholic doctrine of purgatory is not founded on Biblical teachings. The alleged mention of praying for the dead in the book of Maccabeus, (this book is not part of the Bible until the Catholic Church included it in 1546) does not in any manner imply that there is a purgatory!
Praying for the dead was never a part of the Christian doctrine! The Lord Jesus Christ, or anyone of His apostles, never taught any idea of it!
I CORINTHIANS 4:6 (REVISED STANDARD VERSION)
I have applied all this to myself and Apol’los for your benefit, brethren, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.
The word purgatory cannot be found in the writings of the apostles nor have the slightest idea of it!
If Christians are to be purged from their sins, it has to be in this life and not in the hereafter. It is through the atoning power of the death of Christ that we are purged from our sins, not in purgatory.
HEBREWS 10:10-12
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God;
ISAIAH 53:3-5
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
“and with his stripes we are healed” not by purgatory!
I CORINTHIANS 15:3
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;
The sufferings of Christ and the offering of His body is sufficient to purge our sins!
Posted: 22 Oct 2011 12:03 AM PDT
II TIMOTHY 3:16 (THE AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION)
Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness.
All Scriptures inspired of God are profitable for:
• Teaching
• Reproof
• Correction
• Instruction
These are the main concerns of every Scripture inspired of God! Historical wise, Scriptures teach, reprove, correct and instruct in righteousness.
The long history of the Israelites as a people teaches every generation thereafter with correction, reproof and instruction.
I CORINTHIANS 10:6, 11
6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Prophetic wise, all Scriptures inspired of God, convey the same thoughts and intent.
DEUTERONOMY 28:47-48
47 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
JEREMIAH 25:11
And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
All matters of faith must be learned from the inspired Scriptures, no more, no less!
I CORINTHIANS 4:6 (REVISED STANDARD VERSION)
I have applied all this to myself and Apol’los for your benefit, brethren, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.
“…that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written…”
Why not go beyond?
Because they were written by the commandment of the Lord.
I CORINTHIANS 14:37
If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
REVELATION 21:5
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Any article or matter of faith not written in the Scriptures should not be accepted by a prudent servant of God.
GALATIANS 1:8
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Beliefs not written in the Scriptures come from satan!
II CORINTHIANS 11:3-4, 13-15
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Teachings coming from satan through his ministers are camouflaged to make it appear as though they were of God!
Alleging that the doctrine of purgatory is in the Latin Bible is a clear manifestation of doctrinal bankruptcy! It’s clear that it is not in the Hebrew and Greek Bible, the original languages used in the writing of the sacred Scriptures! And to claim that the Bible is a book owned by the Catholic Church, is another blatant stupid claim. The official name of the Catholic Church only formulated in the late 19th century is, “The Holy Roman Catholic Apostolic Church”.
Why is the original Bible not written in the language of Rome but instead in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic which were never the official language of the Roman Catholic Church? The answer is inevitable: the Bible is not a book owned and written by Roman Catholics! It will be a pity to all Bible-believing people if Roman Catholics were the ones who wrote it! Sins are purged not in the afterlife but here on earth!
The word used by Paul in his writing to the Hebrews, in the Greek Scriptures is καθαρισμός.
HEBREWS 1:3
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
καθαρισμός
katharismos (kath-ar-is-mos’)
From G2511; a washing off, that is, (ceremonially) ablution, (morally) expiation: – cleansing, + purge, purification, (-fying).
The Hebrew synonym (because he was writing to the Hebrews) is כּפר
kâphar (kaw-far’)
A primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel: – appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, to pitch, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-liation).
* (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, Dictionaries of Hebrew and Greek Words taken from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., 1890.)
Whether in Hebrew or in Greek, the phrase, purge our sins, translated in Latin as “purgationem peccatorum” means an act of atonement, the cleansing or ablution of sins, not a place which the Catholics were made to believe as “purgatory”.
HEBREWS 1:3
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Before sitting on the right hand of the Majesty on High, “when He had by himself purged our sins,”means, that the purging was done while He was still on earth.
The earth is our home in this age, and the world to come will be our home in eternity.
Our home in this present age is:
THE ACTS 17:26
And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Our home in eternity will be:
JOHN 14:1-3
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
REVELATION 21:1-2
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Our earth or our home on this present age is the right place for the purging of our sins. This is the very reason why He came to this earth!
MATTHEW 1:21
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
How did He purge the sins of His people? By offering His body as a ransom for our sins.
HEBREWS 10:12
But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God;
HEBREWS 10:10
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Being baptized as the Lord Jesus commanded is the way for us to be covered by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.
THE ACTS 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
THE ROMANS 6:4, 6
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
The purging of our sins must be done in this life on earth for us to be prepared to enter the abode of God and the Lord Jesus.
ECCLESIASTES 9:10
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
REVELATION 21:22, 27
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Souls of God’s servants rest in God’s domain and are not being purged in purgatory!
REVELATION 6:9-11
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Will there be a stopover in purgatory? NONE! Why? Because there is no purgatory!
