Purgatory
On 2nd November, the Catholic Church marks the day as a day for all departed souls. The Catholic Community marks the month of November as a month for all departed souls especially for all souls in 'PURGATORY'. Prayers and offerings are performed for the eternal rest of the souls. Time after time I had some serious debates and questions about the existence of purgatory. Yes, I do believe it exists. Some religions have their own beliefs like some believe in rebirths, some believe in heaven and hell, while some only believe in heaven. We Christians believe in Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. But not all Christian sects believe in the place known as purgatory. It is only the belief of the Catholic Church. I was asked about the same by some of my friends from others sects a few years back. I did say that the Catholic Church teaches us that. But I was always asked a simple question of where is it written as said by Jesus in the Bible. All wanted to see that in writing.
I did ask God if its really there and to show me in writing, as my question was simple. Suppose if there were three persons Ang, Bng, Cng. Ang was a righteous man, always helping the poor, a pure soul with no bad habits at all. Bng was a cruel man, for his ancestor's wealth he killed his only brother and after obtaining the wealth got rid of his parents. Cng was a normal guy who would sometimes gossip, use bad language with friends and was lavish with drinks & money. Now one day all three died in an accident. So now after death what will happen their souls. Ang has a high chance to be in heaven, likewise Bng has a very high chance to be thrown in hell. But what about Cng. He was not righteous enough to go to heaven or he was not ungodly enough to go to hell. You cannot go to heaven because the Bible says that you should be perfect i.e without any stains of sin which we read in Matthew 5:48 You must be perfect—just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Then what about him? So when I was reading the Bible some parables struck me and likewise a different scenario which made me think, ponder and meditate on it.
I read two parables which according to me was a portrayal of the situation after death 1. In Matthew 25:14-30 the parable is about the three servants, in which a wealthy master has three servants and before going out on a journey gives them talents according to their ability. Two servants were faithful made more for while one was lazy and unfaithful. In Matthew 25:30 As for this useless servant—throw him outside in the darkness; there he will cry and gnash his teeth.’ 2. The place where Jesus is teaching about anger. Matthew 5:25-26 “If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, settle the dispute while there is time, before you get to court. Once you are there, you will be turned over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail. There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine." This was the first place where the person is not thrown into darkness, but to a place where he can come out one day. This was different.
So now I read two different variations of punishments. So if we are to analyze both of the circumstances: Let's begin with the 1st incident. So if we are to analyze the 1st incident, there throw into darkness is about a place i.e with no hope, no rest, no light - total darkness. The gnashing of teeth indicates pain, sorrow, anguish, suffering etc. But the main part is the realization that its eternal. For e.g if while chewing food, we accidentally bite our tongue; we would gnash our teeth with pain at that instant. OR while hitting a nail to the wall and we miss the target and hit our thumb, we would gnash our teeth very hard but for a temporary moment. That same indescribable pain is described when 'gnashing of teeth' is mentioned but forever. So summing up we can say it's 'HELL' that we are talking about.
But in the 2nd incident we read about being taken to court, police taking to prison finally to stay there till the last penny is paid. Now this is what happens in the usual known judiciary system. If someone is caught in crime, he is brought to court, where after finding that the person is guilty is handed over to the police and is put in prison for a time according to the crime. This is the place which is called 'PURGATORY'.
Now there will be questions like why purgatory? The answer is written in the Bible in 1 John 3:3 Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as Christ is pure. When we say Christ is 'pure'. What do we mean by it? We find many times written that God is pure. So if God is pure, then to be in his presence we too have to be pure. 1 John 3:5 You know that Christ appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him. So there should be no sin in us, but because some die without repentance so after death they have these stains of sin. God as said before is pure so you have to be pure to stand in front of God which is said in Habakkuk 1:13 Your eyes are too holy to look at evil, and you cannot stand the sight of people doing wrong. So here the purification is required.
As gold is made pure by melting it in a furnace, in the same way the souls will be made pure and their stains will be removed. The only difference between hell and purgatory is that it will only last till the all the stains are removed and we are made pure again like it's said in Matthew 5:26 There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine. So it will be over someday. But some feel happy that it's not hell, hence it's fine to go there. Then let me tell you that it's not an amusement park, where there will be rides and then it's over. No, it's a purification place; where you will be purified like Gold. Gold to be purified is not kept in a room and its purified in a period time. It is melted completely in high temperature i.e we too would be heated to purify like pure gold, sparkling and shining to be in the presence of God.
But many of us know what and which are called as sins. So a bad news for all those intelligent people who think they can find a way to escape for we read in Job 34:21-22 He watches every step we take. There is no darkness dark enough to hide a sinner from God. Also e.g if we know what our parents want from us and we knowingly do wrong i.e against what they wanted then the reward for us will be severe beating. But if we did it unknowingly to the will or expectations of our parents, then there will be light beating which we read in Luke 12:47-48 “The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping. But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with a light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given". Our intellect and our conscious do tell us the between right and wrong, our choices will lead us what we want. Like we read in Daniel 12:10 Many people will be purified. Those who are wicked will not understand but will go on being wicked; only those who are wise will understand. All we need to do is understand and be wise in choosing what we want 'A temporary struggle & eternal life OR A temporary pleasure & external suffering.'
I did ask God if its really there and to show me in writing, as my question was simple. Suppose if there were three persons Ang, Bng, Cng. Ang was a righteous man, always helping the poor, a pure soul with no bad habits at all. Bng was a cruel man, for his ancestor's wealth he killed his only brother and after obtaining the wealth got rid of his parents. Cng was a normal guy who would sometimes gossip, use bad language with friends and was lavish with drinks & money. Now one day all three died in an accident. So now after death what will happen their souls. Ang has a high chance to be in heaven, likewise Bng has a very high chance to be thrown in hell. But what about Cng. He was not righteous enough to go to heaven or he was not ungodly enough to go to hell. You cannot go to heaven because the Bible says that you should be perfect i.e without any stains of sin which we read in Matthew 5:48 You must be perfect—just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Then what about him? So when I was reading the Bible some parables struck me and likewise a different scenario which made me think, ponder and meditate on it.
I read two parables which according to me was a portrayal of the situation after death 1. In Matthew 25:14-30 the parable is about the three servants, in which a wealthy master has three servants and before going out on a journey gives them talents according to their ability. Two servants were faithful made more for while one was lazy and unfaithful. In Matthew 25:30 As for this useless servant—throw him outside in the darkness; there he will cry and gnash his teeth.’ 2. The place where Jesus is teaching about anger. Matthew 5:25-26 “If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, settle the dispute while there is time, before you get to court. Once you are there, you will be turned over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail. There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine." This was the first place where the person is not thrown into darkness, but to a place where he can come out one day. This was different.
So now I read two different variations of punishments. So if we are to analyze both of the circumstances: Let's begin with the 1st incident. So if we are to analyze the 1st incident, there throw into darkness is about a place i.e with no hope, no rest, no light - total darkness. The gnashing of teeth indicates pain, sorrow, anguish, suffering etc. But the main part is the realization that its eternal. For e.g if while chewing food, we accidentally bite our tongue; we would gnash our teeth with pain at that instant. OR while hitting a nail to the wall and we miss the target and hit our thumb, we would gnash our teeth very hard but for a temporary moment. That same indescribable pain is described when 'gnashing of teeth' is mentioned but forever. So summing up we can say it's 'HELL' that we are talking about.
But in the 2nd incident we read about being taken to court, police taking to prison finally to stay there till the last penny is paid. Now this is what happens in the usual known judiciary system. If someone is caught in crime, he is brought to court, where after finding that the person is guilty is handed over to the police and is put in prison for a time according to the crime. This is the place which is called 'PURGATORY'.
Now there will be questions like why purgatory? The answer is written in the Bible in 1 John 3:3 Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as Christ is pure. When we say Christ is 'pure'. What do we mean by it? We find many times written that God is pure. So if God is pure, then to be in his presence we too have to be pure. 1 John 3:5 You know that Christ appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him. So there should be no sin in us, but because some die without repentance so after death they have these stains of sin. God as said before is pure so you have to be pure to stand in front of God which is said in Habakkuk 1:13 Your eyes are too holy to look at evil, and you cannot stand the sight of people doing wrong. So here the purification is required.
As gold is made pure by melting it in a furnace, in the same way the souls will be made pure and their stains will be removed. The only difference between hell and purgatory is that it will only last till the all the stains are removed and we are made pure again like it's said in Matthew 5:26 There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine. So it will be over someday. But some feel happy that it's not hell, hence it's fine to go there. Then let me tell you that it's not an amusement park, where there will be rides and then it's over. No, it's a purification place; where you will be purified like Gold. Gold to be purified is not kept in a room and its purified in a period time. It is melted completely in high temperature i.e we too would be heated to purify like pure gold, sparkling and shining to be in the presence of God.
But many of us know what and which are called as sins. So a bad news for all those intelligent people who think they can find a way to escape for we read in Job 34:21-22 He watches every step we take. There is no darkness dark enough to hide a sinner from God. Also e.g if we know what our parents want from us and we knowingly do wrong i.e against what they wanted then the reward for us will be severe beating. But if we did it unknowingly to the will or expectations of our parents, then there will be light beating which we read in Luke 12:47-48 “The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping. But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with a light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given". Our intellect and our conscious do tell us the between right and wrong, our choices will lead us what we want. Like we read in Daniel 12:10 Many people will be purified. Those who are wicked will not understand but will go on being wicked; only those who are wise will understand. All we need to do is understand and be wise in choosing what we want 'A temporary struggle & eternal life OR A temporary pleasure & external suffering.'
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