The Pagan Origin of Purgatory

The term of what afterward grew into the doctrine of purgatory is to be found in the idea of a purification by fire after death among the ancients long before the time of Christ, particularly among the people of India and Persia. It was a familiar idea to the Egyptians and later to the Greek and Roman mind. Plato accepted the idea and gave expression to it in his philosophy. He taught that perfect happiness after death was not possible until one had made satisfaction for his sins, and that if his sins were too great his suffering would have no end.

We need only read church history to discover how this doctrine developed by slow processes into it's present form. In the early Christian era, following the Apostolic age, the writings of Marcion and the Shepherd of Hermes (second century) set forth the first statement of a doctrine of purgatory, alleging that Christ after His death on the cross went to the underworld and preached to the spirits in prison (1 Peter 3:19) and led them in triumph to heaven, Prayers for the dead appear in the early Christian liturgies and imply the doctrine since they suggest that the state of the dead is not yet fixed. Origen, the most learned of the early church fathers (died 254 A.D.), taught, first, that a purification by fire was to take place after the resurrection, and second, a universal restoration, a purifying by fire at the end of the world through which all men and angels were to be restored to favor with God.

In the writings of Augustine (died, 430 A.D.) the doctrine of purgatory was first given definite form, although he himself expressed doubt about some phases of it. It was, however, not until the sixth century that it received formal shape at the hands of Gregory the Great, who held the papal office from 590 to 604 A.D. Thereafter eschatology entered upon what we may term it's mythological phase, during the period of history known as the Dark Ages. The invisible world was divided into heaven, hell, and purgatory, with the imagination attempting to portray as vividly as possible the topography and experiences of each region.

The doctrine was proclaimed an article of faith in 1439, by the Council of Florence, and was later confirmed by the Council of Trent, in 1548. But does any intelligent person believe that such a place as purgatory is described in the Bible it would have taken the church fathers 600 years to discover it, and another 1,000 years to confirm it? At any rate the Protestant Reformation swept away those creations of terror and fancy, and reverted to the Scriptural antithesis of heaven and hell. The Eastern Orthodox Church, incidentally, does not teach the doctrine of purgatory.

Alexander Hislop, in his exhaustive study of the origin of Roman Catholic doctrines, finds that the doctrine of purgatory was adopted from paganism in Babylonian, Greek, and Roman mythology:

"In Egypt, substantially the same doctrine of purgatory was inculcated. But when once this doctrine of purgatory was admitted into the popular mind, then the door was open for all manner of priestly extortions. Prayers for the dead ever do hand in hand with purgatory; but no prayers can be completely efficacious without the interposition of the priest and no priestly functions can be rendered unless there by special pay for them. Therefore, in every land we find the pgan priesthood devouring widows houses, and making merchandise of the tendor feelings of beloved dead" (The Two Babylons, p. 168).

That the doctrine of purgatory is unscriptural can be shown easily. The Bible says nothing about any such place, and in fact the most devastating arguments against purgatory come from those inspired pages. Christ made not even so much as a passing allusion to purgatory. Instead He said: "He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life" (John 5:24).

When Jesus said to the thief on the cross, "Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43), the clear inference was that he would be raised from a death state and not come from a “purgatory” only to receive eternal life.

Christ's words, "It is finished" (John 19:30), spoken at the end of His suffering on the cross, mean that the work of redemption which He came to perform has been accomplished, finished, not partially, but completely.

The apostle John teaches the same: "The blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin... If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:7, 9). Hence our sins, all of them, can be forgiven through the sacrifice of Christ, and none are left to be purged away by human merit.

And again: "And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord form henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them" (Revelation 14:13).

Paul's teachings on this subject is quite full. He anticipated no purgatory, but said that to depart was to "be with Christ, and that it would be "very far better" (Philippians 1:23).