What is Purgatory?

The Roman Catholic Church teaches the doctrine of purgatory, which they claim is an intermediate place for the soul after death and before entering heaven.

According to the tradition, adults who remain unbaptized by the Roman Catholic church and those who commit mortal sins are destined for hell (by which standard would include all human beings). As per their understanding, only a few perfected persons (or saints) ascend directly to heaven while the rest of the in-between must spend their time in purgatory.

In essence, purgatory is the teaching that those who die in fellowship with the church but are not in a state of perfection must undergo a purification process before they can enter heaven.

Purgatory is a temporary place of fire where your sins (built up throughout your life) are burned off physically.

Pope Gregory I (served as Pope from 590 to 604 AD) taught that “baptism absolves us of original sin, but for sins committed after baptism, penance and purification are necessary to prepare the soul for heaven.” His teachings, especially in his Dialogues (Book 4), laid the groundwork for the Catholic doctrine of purgatory, emphasizing that a process of purification must occur for the soul to be fully prepared for eternal life with God.

Here are some citations from the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church;

The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.
(Paragraph 1031)

As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence, we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.
(Paragraph 1031 (608))

To understand the Catholic claim regarding purgatory, we need to examine a key passage they often use to support it:

Matthew 12:31-32 (NKJV):
“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”

The Catholic Church interprets this to mean that some sins could be forgiven after death, suggesting an intermediate state like purgatory. But is that what Jesus was really saying? The context shows that Jesus is actually stressing the severity and eternal consequence of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit—it’s a sin that has no forgiveness, ever. This statement isn’t about a chance for forgiveness after death; it’s about the finality of God’s judgment against a specific sin.

When we look at the New Testament as a whole, there is no clear teaching that supports the idea of an intermediate state like purgatory. In fact, Hebrews 9:27 makes it plain: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” The idea here is simple—judgment comes after death, with no room for an in-between purification.

So while the Catholic Church may use Jesus’ words to argue for purgatory, the Bible in its proper context does not support this interpretation. Jesus was speaking of eternal consequences, not a temporary place of purification.

Purgatory is the glue that holds the church together. Its followers become completely dependent on the merits of their own good works, the priests’ forgiveness, and prayers.

Through the doctrine of purgatory, the Catholic Church sells its followers a sense of assurance that they can escape the clutches of hell.

Taking away the idea of purgatory collapses the entire works-based system. In other words, why should you be Catholic if the church cannot guarantee anything for you? What is the point of adhering to the Catholic faith if it cannot fulfill its promises?

The deceptive hoax of purgatory is perfectly summarized by Pastor John MacArthur in his sermon titled ‘the Pope and the Papacy’:

“Purgatory is what makes the whole system work. Take out Purgatory and it’s a hard sell to be a Catholic. Purgatory is the safety net; when you die, you don’t go to hell. You go [to Purgatory] and get things sorted out and finally get to heaven if you’ve been a good Catholic. In the Catholic system you can never know you’re going to heaven. You just keep trying and trying. . .in a long journey toward perfection. Well, it’s pretty discouraging. People in that system are guilt-ridden, fear-ridden, and have no knowledge of whether or not they’re going to get into the Kingdom. If there’s no Purgatory, there’s no safety net to catch me and give me some opportunity to get into heaven. It’s a second chance, it’s another chance after death.”

But is there really a “second chance” after death? The Bible clearly teaches otherwise. Paul makes it plain in 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NKJV): “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” There is no mention of a future opportunity to be purified after death. The chance to repent and be saved is now, in this life. The idea that a purifying fire in purgatory can cleanse sins after death goes against the core message of the Gospel—Christ’s sacrifice was once and for all, fully sufficient for our salvation.

Those who believe that a purifying fire will sweep away their sins are gullible victims of a false teaching. The creation of purgatory as a place for the purification of sin is one of the most seductive attractions of the Catholic religion, and it nullifies Christ’s final sacrifice.

The origin of Purgatory

During the first two centuries of the Christian Church, the doctrine of purgatory was neither mentioned nor taught.

It was only until the Roman Emperor Theodosius (379-395) issued a decree that made Christianity the official religion of the faith that thousands of pagans flooded into the Church and brought their pagan beliefs and traditions with them.

One ancient pagan belief was that there was a place of purification where souls were sent to atone for their sins.

This concept further became widespread around A.D. 600 due to the fanaticism of Pope Gregory the Great. It was Gregory who developed the doctrine of purgatorial fire through certain visions and revelations that he claimed to have received.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Pope Gregory said Catholics “will expiate their faults by purgatorial flames,” and “the pain [is] more intolerable than anyone can suffer in this life.”

Centuries later, the doctrine of purgatory was officially defined as Catholic dogma at the Council of Florence (1431-1449) and was later reaffirmed by the Council of Trent (1545-1563). At the Council of Florence, the Church declared the existence of purgatory as an infallible doctrine, meaning it was established as a truth that all Catholics were required to believe. This declaration formalized the belief that souls who die in a state of grace but still need purification must undergo a process of cleansing before entering heaven.

The Council of Trent, convened in response to the Protestant Reformation, strongly reaffirmed this doctrine, emphasizing that purgatory was essential for the purification of souls and rejecting any arguments against it. The Council also reinforced the practices associated with purgatory, such as prayers, almsgiving, and masses for the dead, which were believed to help those in purgatory attain their final purification more swiftly.From its roots in pagan beliefs to its development through the claimed visions of Pope Gregory and its eventual formalization in Church councils, the doctrine of purgatory is deeply entwined with Catholic tradition, extra-biblical writings, and oral history.

It finds no origin or basis in Scripture; the Bible provides no clear teaching on an intermediate state where souls are purified after death. Instead, the doctrine relies on human traditions and interpretations that developed centuries after Christ’s apostles. This lack of biblical foundation raises significant questions about its validity, leading to the conclusion that purgatory is a man-made concept rather than a divine truth.

Is there Biblical justification for purgatory?

If you are trying to find any biblical justification in the 66 books of the Bible concerning purgatory, you will not find anything. Neither the word nor the concept of purgatory is mentioned in the Scriptures.

The idea of a temporary place of purification before a soul enters heaven did not originate from the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. Instead, it began to emerge at the end of the second century AD and slowly gained traction over the years. The doctrine eventually found formal recognition when the Greek and Latin churches agreed upon it at the Council of Florence in 1439. It was later reaffirmed and firmly established as Catholic dogma during the Council of Trent, which took place between 1545 and 1563, with a strong emphasis in its final session in 1563.

During the 16th century, the Vatican was confronted by the Reformers who protested against the practice of buying and selling God’s grace through their indulgences (so as to get out of purgatory).

To defend their dogma, the Roman Catholic Church included the apocryphal books, such as 2 Maccabees (12:39-45), in the canon of Scripture, which makes a reference that some interpret as supporting the idea of purgatory. It should be noted however, that the Jewish scribes never accepted the apocryphal books as part of the Hebrew Scriptures, not to mention they contain numerous historical, theological and geographical errors that invalidate their status as sacred texts.

Even 2 Maccabees 12:39-45 when taken in context does not support the church’s purgatory claims. It is simply a desperate attempt on the part of the clergy to defend their false doctrines.

Some people also wrongly cite 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 as evidence for purgatory since it refers to a future testing by fire. However, if you read the context of the verse, you would notice that there is no indication of any time or place after death when the sins of the individuals are purged. The verse instead speaks of a man’s work being tested by fire and that the works that ultimately survive are those done for the glory of Christ and are like gold, silver, and precious stones in His sight.

If we look at the 66 books of the Bible, there is no basis for the doctrine of purgatory. Scripture is clear that after death, a person’s eternal state is set, with no mention of any intermediate place where sins can be purged. The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 makes it obvious that there is an immediate separation between the righteous and the unrighteous after death, and there is no crossing from one state to another.

Paul’s words in Philippians 1:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:8 confirm that a believer who dies goes straight into the presence of Christ, leaving no room for a stopover in purgatory. When Jesus declared, “It is finished,” in John 19:30, He made it clear that His sacrifice was complete and sufficient for our salvation—nothing more needs to be done, and no further purification is required. And Romans 8:1 reminds us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, which would make any further suffering or purification unnecessary.

All of these passages drive home the point that purgatory is not a doctrine found in the Bible but rather one built on tradition, extra-biblical writings, and a twisting of Scripture to fit the Church’s agenda. The Roman Church’s reliance on purgatory shows a lack of understanding of the complete and final work of Christ, leading many to place their hope in a false idea of cleansing after death, rather than in the finished work of Jesus.

Purgatory implies that Christ’s sacrifice is imperfect

According to the Handbook for Today’s Catholic, page 47, “If you die in the love of God but possess any ‘stains of sin,’ such stains are cleansed away in a purifying process called purgatory. These stains of sin are primarily the temporal punishment due to venial or mortal sins already forgiven but for which sufficient penance was not done during your lifetime.”

Purgatory is not only wrong as a concept but it also downplays the essential doctrine of the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice.

Logically, there can be only one of two answers to the question of whether believers’ sins are forgiven or not. If purgatory exists, then Christ’s death was in vain because we are eventually required to earn it. If Christ’s sacrifice was perfect then purgatory is unnecessary.

While purgatory leads to uncertainty about one’s eternal destination, the Bible is clear that because of Christ’s sacrificial death, we can be assured that all our sins are forgiven, past, present and future.

(Romans 3:24 / John 5:24 / Hebrews 9:12 / Heb. 9:25, 26).

By comparing the doctrine of purgatory to the Biblical teaching, we are able to see that it is a flawed concept.

Furthermore, this false doctrine denies the most fundamental teaching of the new testament, that Jesus’ death on the cross atoned for all sins, not just the original sin (Romans 3:21-26; 2 Cor 5:21).

Biblical rebuke of Purgatory 

It is clear from the Bible that only the blood of Christ can purge our sins. The apostle John stated that “The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin and all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7, 9).

Rather than saying ‘some’ or ‘most’ sins, John said ‘all’ sins. The verse alone negates the entire purpose of Purgatory’s sin-purification fire.

Scripture also teaches that every redeemed believer is immediately sent to be with the Lord Jesus Christ upon death. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 states that to be “absent from the body” is to be “at home with the Lord.”

The same can be said for the repentant thief on the cross at Calvary, to whom Jesus promised instant paradise (Luke 23:43). A habitual sinner like the thief (deserving of a punishment that required his crucifixion) did not require the fires of Purgatory to cleanse his sins.

It is important to ask Catholics who they believe is responsible for “releasing” souls from the purging fires and the answer cannot be God, since, Hebrews 10:17 clear states, God promises not to remember believers’ sins and iniquities.

The concept of purgatory mocks God’s justice and mercy, and it denies Christ the glory He deserves for redeeming us. It is the deception of Purgatory that blinds Catholics from the gospel of grace. This is one of many lies propagated by Satan to keep his captives from trusting in and knowing Jesus as their Saviour.