#purgatory
#intermediate_state
Thanks,
Brother for raising the issue of the Romish doctrine of purgatory. Your
screenshot defines purgatory as this: a noun, (in Catholic doctrine) a place
or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their
sins before going to heaven."
Let
me use the above definition to make the following comments.
1.
By the Lord's tender mercies, we both know these basics:
-
Christ died for His people; He bore all the sins of all His people – past,
present, and future – and rendered full satisfaction for them when He died for
them on the cross. God has imputed absolutely all the sins of all His chosen
ones to Christ when He suffered the substitutionary death on the cross for His
people.
-
Their redemption from their sins and just condemnation in the lake of fire is
completely accomplished. God confirmed that by raising Christ from the dead.
-
God’s redeemed people have NO MORE SINS, NO NOT ONE, to expiate, not in this
life nor beyond this life in the intermediate state. In Christ, the redemption
of His people from their sins is completely, perfectly, and immutably
accomplished.
2.
The Romish purgatory is redemptive in nature; thus it strikes at the very heart
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It repudiates the finished work of Jesus Christ
in redeeming His people; there is work left that sinners can do. How? In
purgatory, “the souls of sinners… are EXPIATING their sins before going to
heaven.”
The
essence of expiating/expiation is the removal of sins that stand between God
and them.
-
the idea of sinners capable of expiating their own sins before God is repugnant
and abhorrent.
-
that’s a lie from the very pit of hell.
-
it’s a clever fable to generate riches for the RCC… those other sinners who are
alive can be called upon to help to expiate the sins of their loved ones with
Romish rituals. Many misguided souls love this fable… because it goes so well
with the natural idea of salvation by works; the wealth of the RCC is built
upon this satanic lie.
And
one of Satan’s tricks is to hurl the despicable Romish purgatory upon anyone who
dares to bring forth the Scriptures’ teaching on the intermediate state; as a
result, God’s children are kept ignorant of the subject. This surely delights
the devil.
3.
How does the Bible’s teaching on the intermediate state differ from the Romish
purgatory?
Let
me rehearse some basics:
-
There is an intermediate state between physical death and the beginning of the
eternal state at the resurrection to glory at the end of time. It’s such a
fuzzy feeling to believe that believers go straight into heaven after death;
however, this does not match the Bible’s account. Some will quote Ecc 12:7;
yes, the spirit returns to God for the judgment on where to wait for the coming
resurrection/glorification during the intermediate state. Some appeal to 2Cor
5:8 – Apostle Paul could say that. Also, verse 10 reads, “Knowing, therefore, the
terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” It’s all about the intermediate state,
judgment is “according to that he hath done, whether good or bad.”
-
The intermediate state is in the realm of time; it will end when the Creator of
time shall abolish it.
-
Where a child of God will be during the intermediate state, before being
resurrected and glorified for eternity, is CONDITIONED upon his life as a child
of God during his brief years on earth, i.e. "according to that he hath
done, whether good or bad.”
-
Much of the preaching on hell to God's children has meaning and relevance ONLY if
the above is recognized.
-
No amount of preaching on fiery hell can stop one Unredeemed man from hell;
it’s a complete waste of time, but it will do much good to warn the redeemed
from ending up there in the intermediate state.
Various
passages can only be understood with this understanding.
-
Christ’s solemn warning to His disciples on taking drastic measures to avoid
hell… EVEN though all their sins have been atoned for by Christ. Why? There is
hell and paradise in the intermediate state.
-
When the Scriptures speak of works and rewards, it can’t possibly be in the
context of eternal salvation at resurrection and glorification; it pertains to
the intermediate state.
4.
Eternal salvation from the lake of fire is DETERMINED from ONE CONSIDERATION
ONLY: whether names are written in the BOOK of Life, Rev 20:15 – no further
details considered. For the unredeemed, it would be by “out of those things
which were written in the BOOKS. Rev 20:12.
The essence of the intermediate state is NOT redemption like that of purgatory; it is disciplinary, correctional, and chastening. The Father still scourges those whom Christ has completely redeemed from their sins. Many imagined that discipline and correction are completely done in their lifetime on earth because death ends the time for them and they enter eternity. That's a lie; eternity begins at the resurrection to glory.
So many preachers of falsehood and worldly Christians have it so good in this life; where is the Father's fair parenting, you wonder. God does all things well; righteous are all His ways. There is an intermediate state, still in the realm of time between the physical death and the resurrection to eternal glory, to deal with them. It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God
These
solemn words are addressed to His own disciples:
Luk
12:1b, 5 “…he began to say unto his disciples first of all… But I will forewarn
you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast
into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” What a complete waste of words if
the warning does not apply to the disciples PERSONALLY. Only foolish men issue
irrelevant warnings.
These
are just some scattered thoughts gathered from the Scriptures; I do endeavour
to make sense of what the Scriptures say. I don't have the luxury nor the liberty
to ignore them; also I don’t have all the answers… but I am still studying.
It’s
a lost doctrine of great practical implications for God’s children… but it’s a
massive uphill task to even get their attention. The devil is delighted with
the slumber.
