Dr Paul Allen

For the most part, the problem which moved Martin Luther to post his 95 Theses on October 31, 1517 had to do with indulgences. Much could be said about that issue. But the doctrine of indulgences is inextricably linked to the doctrine of purgatory. The word “purgatory” comes from the Latin word, “purgare,” which has the idea of “make clean,” “purify,” or “purge.” The doctrine refers to the purging of remaining guilt and unrighteousness after death. Purgatory is not hell, but the place of conditioning and preparation for heaven. It is unsure exactly what purgatory is like or how much time people spend there. It could be thousands upon thousands of years, perhaps. We could go many places in Scripture to address the Roman Catholic teaching on purgatory. But one favorite is the thief on the cross ( Luke 23:39-43). When the justice of God thundered upon his Son at the cross, two criminals happened to share a spot on Golgotha . Matthew’s account uses a word to speak of the criminals a...

Foundational to the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory is their understanding of the double-effect of sin. Note carefully the following description taken from the Catholic Catechism: “Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the ‘eternal punishment’ of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification [in purgatory] frees one from what is called the ‘temporal punishment’ of sin” (CC, 1472). As for purgatory itself: “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. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely d...

What body do we occupy between the time our lifeless bodies decompose into worm-fodder and when they are resurrected in glory?  The short answer is that we don’t know. The Bible doesn’t say. Biblically speaking, it’s a secret.  So, let’s start with what the Bible  does  say: Disembodied spirits seem to require a material, animated host , i.e. a person or animal (remember the pigs) in which to operate in the material world. In Scripture we see spirit beings such as angels and demons disengaged from the material dimension until they manifest in a bodily form. Matt  12:43   When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 2 Kings  6:17   Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Bodies ...