Is Purgatory Biblical?

Nearly all traditional churches believe that after death, the soul remains conscious and, depending on how that person lived, goes to either heaven or hell.

However, that commonly accepted belief has created a troubling dilemma. What happens to people whose lives were somewhere in the middle? 

Will a person who lived a noble life but never accepted Jesus go to hell? What about someone who did profess Jesus but lived a less-than-stellar moral life? Will he or she go to heaven? 

The Roman Catholic Church deals with these questions through a doctrine that developed over several centuries. That doctrine derives its name from the Latin word purgare, which means “to purify.” In English, it’s known as purgatory. 

But does this not-really-heaven but not-really-hell purgatory resolve the dilemma and purify the soul? Is purgatory biblical? 

What is purgatory? 

To understand purgatory, we must consider the Catholic view of sin. Catholics believe there are two forms of sin a person can commit: venial sin and mortal sin. 

Venial sins are defined as minor sins that aren’t bad enough to deserve hell. These would include character defects or sins that don’t have a major effect on others. For instance, telling a small lie or stealing a pack of chewing gum might be defined as venial sins.

Mortal sins are explained as major sins that are deserving of hell, such as cheating on a spouse or committing murder. 

Catholic theologians wrestled with the dilemma of what happens to a person who dies without having experienced what they considered necessary punishment for committing venial sins.

Using primarily human logic, they concluded that there had to be a third destination that was neither as bad as hell nor as blissful as heaven. This became known as purgatory, meaning a place of purging.

Because Catholic theology teaches the need for both forgiveness and penance (works designed to purge the stain of sin and repair one’s relationship with God), purgatory was envisioned as a place where morally imperfect people go after death to have their sins purged through temporary punishment before being admitted into heaven. 

How long in purgatory? 

Though the Catholic Church doesn’t claim to know how long anyone stays in purgatory, it’s generally believed that it is determined by the number and seriousness of a person’s venial sins. This purging time could range from a few years, to decades or multiple centuries. 

A classic Catholic work, My Catholic Faith, explains it this way:

“The greatness and the duration of a soul’s sufferings in purgatory vary according to the gravity of the sins committed. One who has lived a long life of sin, but is saved from hell only by a deathbed repentance, will stay in the purging fires of purgatory longer, and suffer there more intensely than a child, who has committed only the venial sins of an ordinary child” (1958, p. 168).

The resurrection is the Bible’s answer to the dilemma of what happens to those who die in a moral state somewhere between righteous and evil. However, regardless of a person’s assigned sentence in purgatory, Catholic theology provides a mechanism for reducing this duration. An indulgence allows a person’s sentence in purgatory to be shortened. 

Catholics believe there are actions the living can take to shorten a loved one’s time in purgatory. For instance, prayers to Mary or certain saints can be recited on someone’s behalf and will shorten his or her time in purgatory. Many Catholics pray to St. Gertrude, who is believed to have a special influence on releasing souls from purgatory. (To learn more about this practice, read “Should We Pray to Saints?”)

History students will recall that the sale of indulgences to release people from purgatory was a key issue that sparked the split between Protestant reformers and the Catholic Church.

What is the belief in purgatory based on?

Though Catholics do try to use certain biblical verses to defend purgatory, some admit that the idea isn’t explicitly revealed in the Bible.

They often cite passages in the apocryphal books, mainly a section of 2 Maccabees in which Judas Maccabeus is described as urging Jews to “pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins” (2 Maccabees 12:46). However, the apocryphal books are not generally accepted as part of the inspired canon by non-Catholics. (To learn more about these writings, read “Apocrypha: Is It Part of the Bible?”)

The writings of the early Catholic church fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Augustine of Hippo, are usually credited with developing this doctrine. It was later formalized and defined in the Second Council of Lyon (1274), the Council of Ferrara-Florence (1438-1445) and the Council of Trent (1545-1563). 

An attempt to answer a question

As we examine purgatory from a biblical perspective, we can acknowledge that it attempts to answer a logical question that derives from the popular idea of heaven and hell—what happens to people who are neither fully righteous nor fully evil? 

Protestants typically deal with this question in one of three ways:

1. Avoid the question and claim only God knows what happens to people in this category.
2. Take a black-and-white approach, condemning everyone who doesn’t accept Jesus to hell. 
3. Take the more lenient approach that God will judge people based on their hearts.

The first key to understanding why these ideas are incorrect is recognizing that the entire notion of going to heaven or hell after death is unbiblical. To learn why, read “Do We Go to Heaven When We Die?” and “What Is Hell?” 

The biblical teaching of the resurrection 

Though Catholics claim certain biblical passages allude to purgatory, they often admit that it’s really logic and reason that necessitate a place of temporary punishment for those who are neither pious nor evil. 

However, doctrinal understanding should be firmly grounded in Scripture—not just human reason, logic or tradition. 

First, the Bible doesn’t mention the word purgatory or describe any post-death place of temporal punishment. Contrary to what nearly all churches teach, the Bible reveals that we are mortal and that death is a state of unconsciousness. As Solomon wrote, “The dead know nothing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). Throughout the Bible, death is likened to sleep (see, for example, Psalm 13:3; John 11:11, 13; 1 Corinthians 11:30).

All of the dead—the righteous, the less-than-righteous and the incorrigibly wicked—are unconscious in their graves.

The true hope of all the dead is a future resurrection—when the dead will be “roused from their sleep” (Job 14:12). The resurrection is the Bible’s answer to the dilemma of what happens to those who die in a moral state somewhere between righteous and evil. 

The truth of the resurrections

The Bible shows that the righteous will be resurrected at the return of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

The book of Revelation shows there will be another resurrection, 1,000 years after Christ’s return. The Bible describes the people in this second resurrection as “the dead, small and great” (Revelation 20:12).

These billions upon billions lived their lives, never having been called by God, let alone rejecting His calling. In many ways, they represent the group some would place in purgatory.

After they are restored to physical life, “the books” (of the Bible) will be “opened” to them (verse 12). They will be given the spiritual perception only possible through God’s calling (John 6:44). “The book of Life” will also be open to them—which represents the opportunity to have access to God’s Spirit and eternal life.

They will be resurrected and given the chance to learn about God, repent and live His way of life, without the deception and influence of Satan. They will be given a physical lifetime to overcome their sins and weaknesses with the help of God’s Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 37:14). 

Jesus mentioned that people from the past, such as the queen of Sheba, who was neither a follower of God nor incorrigibly wicked, will be given an opportunity in this resurrection (Matthew 12:42).

Even the people of Sodom, who lived wickedly but were never called by God, will receive an opportunity to repent and change in this resurrection (Matthew 10:15; 11:24). Jesus indicated that these wicked people will repent and demonstrate a faithfulness that will exceed that of many of the religious people of Jesus’ day (Matthew 11:23-24). 

You can learn more about the second resurrection in our article “What Is the Great White Throne Judgment?”

After this period, the Bible describes a third group—the incorrigibly unrepentant—who will be destroyed in “the second death” and “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15). They will experience the ultimate wages of sin—death (Romans 6:23). God’s justice will be decisive and permanent, but not cruel like the idea of eternal torment in hell. 

Embrace the biblical hope

Though the idea of purgatory provides people comfort that their deceased loved ones are not doomed to eternity in hell, the reality is that it provides a false hope. No matter how logical it may sound, it’s not in the Bible.

Thankfully, the Bible provides an even greater hope for all people. 

You don’t need to fret about your loved ones suffering temporarily in purgatory or permanently in hell. They are sleeping peacefully in their graves, awaiting their time of resurrection.

To learn more about the hope of life after death, download our free booklet The Last Enemy: What Really Happens After Death?