The following is a list of scriptural passages that show either the existence of, or the necessity of Purgatory. There may be additional scriptures that need to be added to this list, but it is the most complete list I have seen so far.
2 Timothy 1:16-18 – Paul prays for mercy for his dead friend Onesiphorus. 16 “May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day (Judgment Day)! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus”.
All the commentaries I have read on this passage suggest that Paul’s friend is dead. The general context of the passage seems to be one of a funeral. Paul is praying for the family of the deceased, much like we do today. Paul is also praying that God will be merciful on his friend on Judgement Day. Question? Why is Paul praying for a dead person? What purpose would this serve? This Passage parallels 2 Samuel 1:12 below.
Matthew 5:25-26 – “… Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny” (made restitution for the harm our sins have caused). See 2 Samuel 12:13-14 below
Luke 12:58-59 - “… I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny”.
Note, for the above two verses See the parallel case in Matthew 18:34 (18:22-34).
In the above verses of Matthew and Luke, Our Lord is using the idea of a debtor’s prison (something the people were very familiar with), to teach then about another type of prison – a spiritual prison – Purgatory!
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 - “…the person will be saved, but only as through fire.” Also see Hebrews 12:5-3, and Hebrews 12:5-23. “… and the spirits of the just made perfect”.
Matthew 12:32 – “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come”. There are two parts (meanings) to this passage. The term “speaks against the Holy Spirit” (also known as the sin against the Holy Spirit) refers to the unforgivable sin of final impenitence – refusing to repent. Without repentance, a person’s sins can never be forgiven.
Now the second part - “neither in this world, nor in the world to come”, indicates that some sins can be forgiven after death. These are minor sins and imperfections, which are not serious enough to send us to hell, but must be atoned for before we can enter heaven. See Revelation 21:27 below. Also see 1 John 5:16-17, and Luke 12:47-48 for the distinction between serious (mortal) sins, and lesser (venial) sins. John refers to these as a sin unto death, and a sin not unto death.
Matthew 12:36 – “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof on the Day of Judgment”. Also see supporting verses 1 John 5:16-17, and Luke 12:47-48.
Matthew 5:48 – Be ye perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Revelation 21:27 - (The heavenly Jerusalem) - And there shall not enter into it anything defiled (impure, unclean, etc. – in other words, no imperfections in heaven). See the next verse below.
Habakkuk 1:13 – “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate iniquity” – Parallels Revelation 21:27 above.
2 Samuel 1:11-12 - “David …and his men …and they mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord … because they had fallen by the sword”. Fasting is a form of prayer and penance – in this case, for the dead. This passage parallels (correlates with) 2 Timothy 1:16-18, above where Paul is praying for his dead friend Onesiphorus.
2 Samuel 12:13-14 And David said to Nathan: “I have sinned against the Lord”. And Nathan said to David: “The Lord also hath taken away thy sin: thou shall not die.14 Nevertheless, because thou hast given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, for this thing, the child that is born to thee, shall surely die”. Note! This verse shows that, even though our sins are forgiven, we must still make up for the harm those sins have caused, either temporal or spiritual.
2 Maccabees 12:43-45 - 43 …46 “it is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins”. This verse from Maccabees is the most direct scripture reference to Purgatory (which is why Martin Luther removed it. See Revelation 22:18-19).
New Testament
2 Timothy 1:16-18 – Paul prays for mercy for his dead friend Onesiphorus. 16 “May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day (Judgment Day)! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus”.
All the commentaries I have read on this passage suggest that Paul’s friend is dead. The general context of the passage seems to be one of a funeral. Paul is praying for the family of the deceased, much like we do today. Paul is also praying that God will be merciful on his friend on Judgement Day. Question? Why is Paul praying for a dead person? What purpose would this serve? This Passage parallels 2 Samuel 1:12 below.
Matthew 5:25-26 – “… Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny” (made restitution for the harm our sins have caused). See 2 Samuel 12:13-14 below
Luke 12:58-59 - “… I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny”.
Note, for the above two verses See the parallel case in Matthew 18:34 (18:22-34).
In the above verses of Matthew and Luke, Our Lord is using the idea of a debtor’s prison (something the people were very familiar with), to teach then about another type of prison – a spiritual prison – Purgatory!
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 - “…the person will be saved, but only as through fire.” Also see Hebrews 12:5-3, and Hebrews 12:5-23. “… and the spirits of the just made perfect”.
Matthew 12:32 – “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come”. There are two parts (meanings) to this passage. The term “speaks against the Holy Spirit” (also known as the sin against the Holy Spirit) refers to the unforgivable sin of final impenitence – refusing to repent. Without repentance, a person’s sins can never be forgiven.
Now the second part - “neither in this world, nor in the world to come”, indicates that some sins can be forgiven after death. These are minor sins and imperfections, which are not serious enough to send us to hell, but must be atoned for before we can enter heaven. See Revelation 21:27 below. Also see 1 John 5:16-17, and Luke 12:47-48 for the distinction between serious (mortal) sins, and lesser (venial) sins. John refers to these as a sin unto death, and a sin not unto death.
Matthew 12:36 – “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof on the Day of Judgment”. Also see supporting verses 1 John 5:16-17, and Luke 12:47-48.
Matthew 5:48 – Be ye perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Revelation 21:27 - (The heavenly Jerusalem) - And there shall not enter into it anything defiled (impure, unclean, etc. – in other words, no imperfections in heaven). See the next verse below.
Old Testament
Habakkuk 1:13 – “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate iniquity” – Parallels Revelation 21:27 above.
2 Samuel 1:11-12 - “David …and his men …and they mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord … because they had fallen by the sword”. Fasting is a form of prayer and penance – in this case, for the dead. This passage parallels (correlates with) 2 Timothy 1:16-18, above where Paul is praying for his dead friend Onesiphorus.
2 Samuel 12:13-14 And David said to Nathan: “I have sinned against the Lord”. And Nathan said to David: “The Lord also hath taken away thy sin: thou shall not die.14 Nevertheless, because thou hast given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, for this thing, the child that is born to thee, shall surely die”. Note! This verse shows that, even though our sins are forgiven, we must still make up for the harm those sins have caused, either temporal or spiritual.
2 Maccabees 12:43-45 - 43 …46 “it is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins”. This verse from Maccabees is the most direct scripture reference to Purgatory (which is why Martin Luther removed it. See Revelation 22:18-19).
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