Posted on 11/02/2019 8:30:32 AM PDT by Antoninus
The idea of Purgatory as an intermediary state between Heaven and Hell is one of the most misunderstood and occasionally ridiculed aspects of Catholic doctrine. Though it is common for Protestants and even some Catholics to assume that Purgatory has no foundation in Sacred Scripture, that claim is actually false. The need for Purgatory developed from a close reading of Scripture by the Fathers of the Church, and the concept has a provenance stretching back to the earliest days of the Church. Furthermore, it has come to my attention recently that the Orthodox have a similar understanding of the need for purification before entering Heaven, even if their understanding of that purgation is not the same as that of the Catholic Church.
See Part II of this post here.
One of the earliest accounts of a Purgatory-like place comes from an unexpected source, indeed one of the Mothers of the Church, rather than one of the Fathers. Dating from about AD 203, the authentic account of the Passion of Saint Perpetua details a poignant vision which Perpetua experienced immediately prior to her martyrdom. The words of this early Christian martyr, as written in Latin in her prison diary, speak for themselves:
After a few days, while we were all praying, on a sudden, in the middle of our prayer, there came to me a word, and I named Dinocrates. And I was amazed that that name had never come into my mind until then, and I was grieved as I remembered his misfortune. And I felt myself immediately to be worthy, and to be called on to ask on his behalf. And for him I began earnestly to make supplication, and to cry with groaning to the Lord.Without delay, on that very night, this was shown to me in a vision. I saw Dinocrates going out from a gloomy place, where also there were several others, and he was parched and very thirsty, with a filthy countenance and pallid color, and the wound on his face which he had when he died. This Dinocrates had been my brother after the flesh, seven years of age who died miserably with disease—his face being so eaten out with cancer, that his death caused repugnance to all men. For him I had made my prayer, and between him and me there was a large interval, so that neither of us could approach to the other. And moreover, in the same place where Dinocrates was, there was a pool full of water, having its brink higher than was the stature of the boy, and Dinocrates raised himself up as if to drink. And I was grieved that, although that pool held water, still, on account of the height to its brink, he could not drink. And I was aroused, and knew that my brother was in suffering. But I trusted that my prayers would bring help to his suffering; and I prayed for him every day until we passed over into the prison of the camp, for we were to fight in the camp-show. Then was the birthday of Geta Cæsar, and I made my prayer for my brother day and night, groaning and weeping that he might be granted to me.
Then, on the day on which we remained in fetters, this was shown to me. I saw that that place which I had formerly observed to be in gloom was now bright, and Dinocrates, with a clean body well clad, was finding refreshment. And where there had been a wound, I saw a scar, and that pool which I had before seen, I saw now with its margin lowered even to the boy's navel. And one drew water from the pool incessantly, and upon its brink was a goblet filled with water. And Dinocrates drew near and began to drink from it, and the goblet did not fail. And when he was satisfied, he went away from the water to play joyously, after the manner of children, and I awoke. Then I understood that he was translated from the place of punishment.
While mysterious and certainly not covering all of the Catholic Church's criteria for Purgatory, Perpetua's vision seems to confirm the belief that the souls of the dead benefit from the prayers of the living, particularly those about to endure martyrdom for the sake of Christ.
Update: September 4, 2018:
The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas is related in full in I Am a Christian: Authentic Accounts of Christian Martyrdom and Persecution from the Ancient Sources. This book is a collection of the best ancient sources on the persecution of early Christians and well worth having if you are interested in this topic.
Some additional sources on the origin of Purgatory, including a large excerpt from Pope Saint Gregory the Great who formalized much of what we believe about Purgatory today, will be included in a subsequent post.
“Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God ...” An unbelieving heart has not been born from above. Paul tells you that WHEN born from above, that spirit cannot sin (unbelief is a sin)because GOD;s Seed in that one abides. Did you catch that? This argument for keeping yourself saved is due to a misunderstanding of the three tenses of Saved. ONLY GOD can have saved you. Only God can push aside your fleshly nature to reveal His Life in your alive spirit. ONLY GOD can transform you in the twinkiling of an eye. If you want to grow in Grace and knowledge then you must submit your flesh to God’s cleansing, daily, in fear and trembling because it is GOD Who is in you both to will and to do of HIS good pleasure.
The myth of purgatory is rejected because of what the Bible actually says, like the event of the Rapture, no purgatory during the twinkling of an eye. we are transformed to ‘fit for eternal living, physically, in soul, and to match our new born status with the Righteousness of Christ. But it appears pope Gregory was not familiar with the letters to the Thessalonians ...
It appears a lot of Roman Catholics are not familiar with a great deal of the New Testament.
God is not going to ‘cleanse’ the flesh, He has told us through Paul that He, GOD, will give us a new soul and body when Jesus comes in the air to gather us and take us to The Father’s House.
According to what you presented, "if" is questionable, but nowhere do any of the translations say that anyone described had done as shown in the profile of experience. In fact, all these do strengthen and amplify my contention that this refers to someone born under the Law who must transition to the New Covenant or "be left behind."
Judas Iscariot and Simon barJonah definitely fit the profile, whereas a post-Pentecost Gentile may not.
More later. Quit or not, that's your choice. But if you choose to continue, your compliance with ordinary courtesy and known standards for communicating are preferred.
No matter brother, we will ‘splain it to him’ on the way up. Those in Christ don’t have to believe they have a ticket for the up in order to take the ride. God has decided they will be Raptured when He imputed the Righteousness of Christ to them and put eternal life in their spirit.
Meant to ping you.
I am a OSAS kind of guy, but let’s assume for a moment that one can lose their salvation. At what point in their life would they lose it? Which sin would take them over the edge, to loss of salvation? The Bible seems to indicate if people can lose their salvation, they can’t get it back again. As you know, I am an ex catholic (thank God for that) but I was taught I could lose my salvation by doing a mortal sin, but I could get it back by going to confession to a priest. Lots of false doctrine out there. 😁😆🤔
How would you know if/when you did lose it? Was it an actual deed or a thought that caused you to lose it?
What would you do until you could get to the priest?
I tell ya....if I were a RC, I'd never let the priest out of my site.
No wonder so many RCs are turning to idolatry through the Brown Scapular promising those who wear it will avoid the eternal fire.
Think about that.
The RC is willing to believe the false promises of an apparition over the true promises of the Savior.
They are truly deceived who listen to the apparition over the Savior.
A good case in point is where the truth regarding Fatima is exposed alongside the mythos the RCC leadership supports and promotes. The Bible warns about preferring to believe a lie.
Sorry again!
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