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Many times converts to Catholicism will say they never really understood
the Bible until they began to read it with Catholic eyes. Passages
they read many times began to take on new meaning. Doctrines, which
seemed to be invisible, become readily apparent. Such is the doctrine
of Purgatory. Many Protestants reject the theology of Purgatory
because they do not find it in the New Testament. Like the doctrine
of the Trinity, the doctrine of Purgatory is there, but the pieces
of the puzzle have to be put together in order to clearly see the
complete picture.
The theology of Purgatory begins, as all genuinely Christian theology
must, from Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. I intend to focus
primarily on the New Testament. That said, it must be understood
that doctrine is not always clearly defined in Scripture. Some begin
with a premise and then search the Scriptures to find supporting
evidence to substantiate their beliefs; others study seeking understanding
of God’s will and design for mankind. Even the Ethiopian Eunuch
recognized the need for proper interpretation of Scripture (Act
8:27-31).
That the Scriptures do not interpret themselves is evidenced by
the myriad of Christian denominations in existence today. Each denomination
has the same basic New Testament as their foundation, yet there
is little or no agreement concerning substantive doctrinal issues.
Each person professes to rely on the Holy Spirit as guide and arbiter.
It seems as if the Holy Spirit has a multiple personality disorder
and instructs each person with a different truth. Argument can become
vicious if the beliefs and presuppositions do violence to the given
reality or if we expect a specific meaning to be clearly defined
in the pages of a text, neat and self-explanatory. And as we are
to deal with Purgatory, the search is made more difficult by centuries
of bitter controversy often along denominational lines. It soon
becomes evident that Purgatory is a test case for revealing and
linking other beliefs, practices, and ideologies. It could be said,
with only slight exaggeration, that to ask a Christian what he understands
by Purgatory is the quickest way to discover what he believes concerning
life after death, the relationship of Scripture to Tradition, the
nature of the Church, sin and its forgiveness, prayer, etc.
I will endeavor to present the Catholic doctrine of purgatory in
its most important aspects using the New Testament that all Christians
hold as sacred Scripture. To this biblical foundation I will incorporate
the historical origins and foundations of Purgatory from Jewish
belief.
Definition
Purgatory is "a state of final purification after death and
before entrance into heaven for those who died in God's friendship,
but were only imperfectly purified; a final cleansing of human imperfection
before one is able to enter the joy of heaven (CCC p. 896).
New Testament
Let’s begin our study of the New Testament with 2 Cor. 12:2-4.
St. Paul writes of a vision of the "third heaven” and
“Paradise”: “I know a man in Christ who fourteen
years ago was caught up to the third heaven--whether in the body
or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this
man was caught up into Paradise--whether in the body or out of the
body I do not know, God knows--and he heard things that cannot be
told, which man may not utter” (RSV)
Let’s take a good look at this passage. First Paul speaks
of the third heaven. He does not say that there are only three levels
of heaven, or three heavens as Mormonism teaches, only that he (most
scholars believe that Paul was referring to his own experience in
this passage) had a vision of the third heaven. There are numerous
Scripture passages in the Book of Genesis, which refer to heaven
in the plural. Secondly, he states that he was also given a vision
of paradise. Paradise is obviously separate from heaven.
Seventh Heaven
When I was a boy, “He’s/She’s in seventh heaven”
was a common expression. It was not until I began a study of Jewish
belief and doctrine that I understood the origin of the expression.
You see, Jews in Jesus’ time believed in seven levels of heaven.
The throne of God was situated in the seventh, or highest level
of Heaven, hence, the expression: "He's in seventh heaven"
indicating someone who was joyously happy. The significance of 7
in the Bible is fairly obvious; it means totality, fullness, completeness.
The Book of Revelation states that nothing profane can be in the
divine Presence. Where God is, there can only be pure and perfect
love (Rev. 21:27).
Jewish legend tells us that on the first day of creation God produced
ten things: the heavens and the earth, Tohu and Bohu (formlessness
and emptiness), light and darkness, wind and water, the duration
of the day and the duration of the night.
“Several heavens were created, seven in fact, each to serve
a distinct purpose. The first, the one visible to us, has no function
except that of covering up the light during the nighttime; therefore
it disappears every morning. The planets are fastened to the second
of the heavens; in the third the manna is made for the pious in
the hereafter; the fourth contains the celestial Jerusalem together
with the Temple, in which Michael ministers as high priest, and
offers the souls of the pious as sacrifices. In the fifth heaven,
the angel hosts reside, and sing the praise of God, though only
during the night, for by day it is the task of Israel on earth to
give glory to God on high. The sixth heaven is an uncanny spot;
there originate most of the trials and visitations ordained for
the earth and its inhabitants. Snow lies heaped up there and hail;
there are lofts full of noxious dew, magazines stocked with storms,
and cellars holding reserves of smoke. Doors of fire separate these
celestial chambers, which are under the supervision of the archangel
Metatron. Their pernicious contents defiled the heavens until David’s
time. The pious king prayed to God to purge His exalted dwelling
of whatever was pregnant with evil; it was not becoming that such
things should exist near the Merciful One. Only then were they removed
to the earth.
“The seventh heaven, on the other hand, contains only what
is good and beautiful; right, justice, and mercy, the storehouses
of life, peace, and blessing, the souls of the pious, the souls
and spirits of unborn generations, the dew with which God will revive
the dead on the resurrection day, and, above all, the Divine Throne,
surrounded by the seraphim and ofanim, the holy Hayyot (the highest
angelic beings), and the ministering angels.” (The Legends
of the Jews, Louis Ginzberg, Vol. 1, p. 8-9, 1937, Jewish Publication
Society)
Gehenna
Jewish belief was there were also seven levels of the abode of
the dead. The exact opposite of the seventh level of heaven is the
seventh level of the abode of the dead, which was/is called Gehenna.
As the seventh level of heaven is perfect love, then Gehenna would
be the total absence of love, or perfect hate. One priest described
it by saying that “if it were possible, a person in Gehenna
would tear his own flesh from his body, because he has only perfect
hatred, even for himself.”
In the New Testament the matter is quite clear. In the first place,
the word hell usually means the abode or state of the dead. And,
in the second place, there is nothing more clearly and certainly
taught in the New Testament than the reality of Gehenna. It is not
just a figure of speech, and its torments are unimaginably severe
and everlasting. The intensity of the suffering in Gehenna will
depend upon the number and greatness of sins committed, and there
will never be any lessening of that suffering. The greatest grief
results from being separated from God, for the damned realize that
they had been created only for God and because of their own foolishness
and pride they have lost Him (Matt. 7:23; 25:10, 41). There is an
additional punishment which God created, which we can call hell-fire
(Matt. 13:42; 18:9). This fire is some agent outside the souls of
the damned and causes them real pain and suffering. God manifested
his justice by creating an eternal Gehenna, for the evil of a mortal
sin is unlimited, and so the punishment for it must be without end.
When Jesus spoke of everlasting punishment, he did not use the
words hades, or Sheol, he used the term Gehenna. To the south of
ancient Jerusalem is a precipitous ravine, which stretches down
and joins the Valley of Kidron. It was called by the Hebrews, Gei
Ben-Hinnom — Ravine (or Valley) of the Son of Hinnom. It was
in this valley, at a place called Tophet (probably “place
of abomination”) that Manasseh and the wicked inhabitants
of Jerusalem went to worship idols and to sacrifice their sons and
daughters (2 Kgs. 23:10; 2 Ch. 28:3; 33:56; Jer. 7:31; 19:2ff; 32:35).
In fact, the Valley of Hinnom was set aside in Molech’s honor.
The Torah forbade this practice: “You should not give any
of your children to devote them by fire to Molech, and so profane
the name of your God: I am the Lord.” (Lev. 18:21)
The prophet Jeremiah cursed the place and predicted that it would
become a place of death and corruption. In Jesus’ time this
valley, because of its ancient history, was known as a place defiled
and was used as the city’s garbage dump; a place of rotting
flesh, maggots, stench and fire. Gehenna in the New Testament is
mentioned seven times in Mt, three times in Mk, once in Lk., once
in Js 3:6. It is a place of fire (Mt 5:22; 18:9; Js 3:6). The fire
is unquenchable (Mk 9:43). It is a pit into which people are cast
(Mt 5:29f; 18:9; Mk 9:45, 47; Lk. 12:5). It is a place where the
wicked are destroyed (Mt 10:28). Depending upon the translation
you may find the word “Gehenna” or the phrase “the
hell of fire”. “The hell of fire” implying that
there are other hells or other levels of the abode of the dead.
Popular belief was that the souls of evildoers and sinners were
condemned to live in the everlasting darkness and terror of Gehenna,
a place lit only by the infernal fires that raged there. Gehenna
reeked with the stench of burning sulphur or brimstone. Suffocating,
acrid smoke arose from the "Fiery Pit" or "Pool of
Fire" in which the wicked, expiating their sins in life, agonized.
It was too late for those who wished to escape their fiery torments
- too late for remorse when remorse could no longer avail them!
Their punishment was clearly written down in the Talmud (Jewish
Civil and Canon Law): "The Holy One, blessed be He, judges
the wicked in Gehenna for twelve months. At first he afflicts them
with itching. After that [He roasts them] with fire. At this they
cry out, Oh! Oh! And then he torments them with snow. Thereupon
they cry out "Woe is me! Woe is me!" Jewish belief was
that a soul consigned to Gehenna would be annihilated after twelve
months. The correction of this erroneous belief, by Jesus, is found
in Matt 25:31-46 where he stated that the punishment for the wicked
in Gehenna would be "eternal."
Shammai and Hillel
In Talmudic times there were two differing opinions as to which
category of souls would be flung into the Fiery Pit. The School
of Shammai (first century B.C.) held that three classes of souls
were judged after death: Those who had been perfectly righteous,
those who had been completely wicked, and those who were merely
"so-so" – namely a "little" righteous
and a "little wicked". The names of the righteous were
instantly entered into the Book of Judgement; they were considered
worthy of eternal life without any prior examination. The souls
of the wicked were cast down into the dark caverns of Gehenna to
be tormented and finally consumed in the Fiery Pit. As for the "mediocre"
sinners, namely run-of-the-mill men and women–they were obliged
to go down into the netherworld for a period of fiery purgation,
before being deemed sufficiently worthy of ascending and entering
heaven. The disciples of Shammai based these constructions on this
prophecy: "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth
shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt" (Daniel 12:2).
But the School of Hillel, which was contemporary with that of Shammai
was always at loggerheads with it, had a more humane conception
of the fate of evildoers in Gehenna. Because the Hillites considered
God to be compassionate and just, they were sure that after the
process of purification by suffering and remorse had been completed
for the whole human race, "Gehenna will cease!" They consoled
the backsliding, the confused, and the straying with the assurance
that, in the fires of retributive justice, all their impurities
would be consumed. In this way there would be fulfilled the promise
that the Prophet Zechariah had given Israel: that God "will
refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as Gold is tried"
(Zech 13:9).
This moral principle, with its implication that the human race
is perfectible – a belief fought for so valiantly by Hillel
and his devoted adherents – assumed, finally, a central position
in the ethics of Talmudic Judaism. "Every man a share in the
World-to-Come," became one of the most beloved of the moral
dicta of the Sages of the Mishnah.
Regardless of the validity of either of these propositions, the
point is that both schools believed and taught that a state of purgation
would be necessary before a soul could enter heaven. As a matter
of fact, if you look up the word hell in most Jewish dictionaries
or encyclopedias you will see hell defined as purgatory.
A Place of Hate and Pain
Since the seventh level of heaven was a place of perfect love and
happiness in the presence of God, it stands to reason that the seventh
level of Hell would be in direct opposition in degree, i.e., a place
of hate and pain. For the sake of this discussion I will call the
seventh level of hell Gehenna, in order to differentiate it from
the first six levels of the abode of the dead.
The New Testament is so clear on the subject of death and its
aftermath that the Gospels are almost thematic on the need for serving
God faithfully in this life, because after death there is no chance
of repentance. When I was in grade school, the sisters taught us
to pray, holding our hands, palm to palm, fingers extended, with
the right thumb crossed over the left. They explained that the thumbs
crossed in this manner indicated mercy over justice and as long
as we prayed we could receive God’s mercy – which is
a very fine spiritual interpretation of a simple gesture. As long
as we are alive, we can invoke God’s mercy over his justice.
Paradise
When Jesus was being crucified he turned to the good thief, and
said: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk. 23:43).
This makes Paradise the place where both Jesus and the repentant
thief went after their deaths; this is the paradise of the righteous,
also called the "Bosom of Abraham" (Lk 16:22) or in Catholic
parlance “The Limbo of the Fathers”. Paradise was the
abode of the souls of the just and identified with part of hades
or hell. Here the souls of the just awaited the Messiah to lead
them to heaven. “The Bosom of Abraham was the first level
of hell” (Encyclopedia Judaica, Vol. 2, p. 165).
Keep in mind that the gates of heaven were not opened until Jesus
ascended to the Father. When Jesus ascended to heaven Scripture
tells us that “led a host of captives” (Eph. 4:8).
Now, who were these captives and where were they being held captive?
They were the righteous souls of the just men and women who were
awaiting heaven’s gate to open. Keep in mind that heaven had
been closed as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve.
Lazarus and the Rich Man
Christ's parable about Lazarus and the rich man is unmistakable.
When the rich man (tradition has him as Dives) begged Abraham for
some relief from his sufferings, he was told, "My son, remember
that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things
came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you
are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf
has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our
side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours"
(Lk. 16:22-31). Further, Dives asks Abraham to send Lazarus back
to his brothers and warn them, in order to save them from the torment
that he was experiencing. Where was Dives who had compassion and
love for his five brothers? It is generally understood that there
is no love in Gehenna, only complete and perfect hatred. He obviously,
was not in either Heaven or Paradise. Since the rich man had love
and compassion for his brothers, it would indicate that he was not
in Gehenna. And please note that he was able to converse with Abraham;
this would indicate that he was in the second level of the abode
of the dead, or Purgatory.
To sum up: The first level of hell was the paradise or “Bosom
of Abraham”; the abode of the souls awaiting the opening of
heaven’s gate. When Jesus ascended to the Father, he took
the captives with him, emptying Paradise.
Level seven, Gehenna, was a place of defilement and hatred, the
direct opposite of level seven in heaven, filled with the souls
who had rejected God. Levels 2 through 6 were the state of purgation.
Assignment there would depend upon the severity of the sin. The
Book of Revelation (21:27) tells us: “But nothing unclean
shall enter it (heaven), nor any one who practices abomination or
falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of
life”. As a soul’s sins were expiated it would graduate
from one level to another until it reached perfection (perfect love
of God) and be worthy of heaven.
Catholics did not “invent” the doctrine of purgatory,
or even coin the phrase “State of Purgation.” The doctrine
is a legitimate outgrowth of Jewish belief. We must take the Bible
as an organic whole, not simply selecting certain verses on which
to build theologies. Jesus corrected the Jews concerning divorce
in Matt 19:3-6. He also taught that the fires of Gehenna would be
everlasting in contrast to the Jewish belief that would be a time
limitation of 12 months. Jesus did not come to change the law, but
He did clarify certain aspects. It stands to reason that if the
Jews were wrong about their belief in a state of purgation. Jesus
would have had a moral responsibility to correct them; this he did
not do.
When NT passages, such as 1 Cor 3:13-15; Rev. 5:3, 13; 21:27; Matt
5:25-26, 12:32; 1 Pet 3:18-20; 1 Jn. 5:16; and Lk 12:58f are examined
in the light of Jewish belief their meaning becomes clear. Souls
must be purified before they can enter heaven's gate; God’s
justice demands it.
Finally, the doctrine of Purgatory is reasonable. Our God is not
a God of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). Everything God revealed as truth
must make sense. The greatest part of humanity; all who believe
in revelation, except those who follow the Protestant Reformers,
and those who are guided by reason alone, agreed in the belief in
a place of temporal punishment, and in the practice of praying for
the dead. If a soul dies before attaining a state of perfection,
then Divine Justice, will after death, be compelled to exact the
last penny of what could have been paid in this world. If one continues
to assert that he cannot find either purgatory or the practice of
praying for the dead in New Testament Scripture, the Catholic Church
answers that we find both doctrine and practice clearly expounded
there.
Who shall decide, and decide so as to put the question to rest
forever? None but the Church, which Jesus established almost two
thousand years ago, placing Peter as its head. When infusing into
His ministries the Spirit of Truth, Jesus promised that the Spirit
would never depart from them until time ceased. I believe the Catholic
Church’s teaching on the existence of Purgatory is Scriptural,
Historical and reasonable.
Prayer for the dead goes so far back into pre-Christian/Jewish
antiquity that there is no way to trace its origins. If a soul is
in heaven, it has no need of prayer. If a soul is in Gehenna, prayer
will do no good. Prayer for the dead indicates a belief in an intermediate
state between heaven and hell where prayer would do some good. We
Catholics call this state Purgatory. The Catholic doctrine of Purgatory
is a legitimate outgrowth of Jewish belief and divine revelation.
Please keep in mind that the Catholic Church does not specifically
teach that there are seven levels of heaven or seven levels of the
abode of the dead, only that Heaven, Gehenna, and Purgatory exist.
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