Is Purgatory In The Bible?
The concept of purgatory is one that most of our Protestant sisters and brothers find almost repulsive and without proof. “Find it in the Bible,” we are challenged and, of course, the word purgatory is not found in the Bible. But then again, neither are the words Trinity or Incarnation. Nevertheless, there is a scriptural basis for purgatory. The tradition of prayer for the deceased (thus indicating that they are not yet in total union with God in heaven) goes back to the Old Testament in the Book of Maccabees: “[Judas Maccabeus] took up a collection among his soldiers which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for expiatory sacrifice. In doing this, he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless to pray for them in death” (2 Mac 12:43ff, italics added). Why is purgatory necessary? Purgatory is an extremely important teaching because it helps us understand,
