WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH THERE IS NO PURGATORY

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH

 

THERE IS NO PURGATORY

 

 

      Generally people shy away from the thought of death, but it is vital to know the truth as to what happens after death. The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church has always taught all that Christ and the Apostles and Holy Fathers taught. There are only two places to where we our souls can go after death, a place of repose in heaven and everlasting life, or Hades awaiting Gehenna. The souls will not be on one level in either place, but each will be placed according to what he has done. Christ mentions that in His Father’s house are many mansions. Each soul, according to its worthiness of reward, will be in its proper place. Those who have done evil will be in a different place suffering torment according to the gravity of their sins. Also, some of the souls which have not committed a sin that is unto death, and who repented before death, but had no opportunity to bring forth fruits of repentance, are helped by the prayers of the church.

     The Roman Catholics or Papacy, after separation from the Church, invented for the sake of filthy lucre, a third place which they called Purgatory, which the Papacy defines as follows: "Purgatory is a state of suffering after this life, in which those souls are for a time detained who depart this life after their deadly sins have been remitted as to the stain and guilt, and as to everlasting pain that was due them; but who have, on account of those sins, still some debt of a temporal punishment to pay; as also those who leave this world guilty only of venial sins. In purgatory those souls are purified and rendered fit to enter into the kingdom of heaven, where nothing defiled enters."

    Roman Catholics believe that a Christian who died after the guilt and everlasting punishment of mortal sin have been forgiven him, but who, either from want of opportunity or through his negligence, has not discharged the debt to the justice of God, is in a place called purgatory.

     They also believe that those Christians who die with the guilt of venial sin only on their souls, do not immediately enter heaven, where ‘nothing defiled’ can enter, but go first to Purgatory for an allotted time. As to the place, manner or nature of these sufferings, nothing has ever been defined by the Papacy.

     The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church has never held or taught these ideas in its 2,000 year history, for these reasons:

 

First: Because this doctrine is not warranted by sacred writings of any Fathers, either directly or indirectly, also there is no mention of such a purgatory in either the Old or New Testaments.

Second: The doctrine of the Roman Catholics that the souls who failed to satisfy the justice of God in this life, and have departed before they have made satisfaction for their sins – both of commission and omission – by fruits worthy of repentance, are cleansed by purgatorial pains after death. This is contrary to sound Christian doctrine, which teaches that full satisfaction of the justice of God – or the full remission of all our sins – has been totally paid for by the suffering and great sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, which has been offered once and for all. Only Christ could satisfy divine justice. Having assumed all the sins of men, He suffered and endured the pain and passion which the human race deserved, so that all man has to do to obtain justification, is to believe with strong faith and a continuous state of repentance, that is, a living and vibrant faith which enables a sinner to perform good works. Faith is the beginning of Christian life, and sanctification with good works leads to the end which is theosis, by becoming the image and likeness of the Godman Christ. Total faith in Jesus Christ 

 

     The idea of pain and suffering in a place called purgatory leads to two possible conclusions:

1. Either the satisfaction which our Lord gave to God for the sins of men is not sufficient, and, therefore, sinners are compelled to suffer purgatorial pains to satisfy divine justice, or,

2. That faith and good works are not sufficient to enable believers to obtain the worthiness of Christ. Both of these conclusions are contrary to the revealed truth.

     The claim of the Papacy that souls in Purgatory can be cleansed from sins by purgatorial fire, and thus satisfy the justice of God by their sufferings and pain, is inane and unsound, because, no matter how we interpret that fire – whether real or metaphorical – it is found to be insufficient for that purpose. For, if it is a material fire, with affliction of the soul through its feeling of sin, it is not able to bring the soul any benefit whatsoever, because after death there is no provision for repentance nor for becoming worthy, as the Orthodox Catholic Church has always taught. Scriptures speaks clearly: "after death there is judgment".

     Men commit sins with both their souls and bodies. Lying, stealing, fornication, adultery, blasphemy, cursing, and many more sins, are never carried out by the soul or body alone. The Vatican teaches, that in purgatory, the soul suffers pain and must satisfy the justice of God. But what about the body with which it committed so many sins? Certainly that needs to be purified and made worthy of the kingdom, where nothing impure can enter. We know that there will be a universal resurrection, when the all souls and bodies will be united again. But purgatory, according to the Papacy, cleanses only the soul, leaving the body filthy and unfit for the Kingdom .

CONCERNING THE JUSTICE OF GOD

Justice and mercy are opposed to one another, justice gives us what we deserve, but mercy gives us what we do not deserve. When a man sins, he falls under the justice of God, and "the wages of sin is death." The sinless Christ, voluntarily submitted to death, in order to destroy death and its dominion. The justice of God is perfect and requires the punishment of transgressors. But Christ’s voluntary death completely satisfies the justice of God, in regards to all who confess and believe in Him. Satan, the ruler of death put the sinless Christ to death. Being sinless, Christ never should never have died. Satan unjustly brought about His death and, lost his dominion and authority, through which he ruled over men. Satan and Hades are vanquished, The Godman Christ becomes our compassionate Savior, granting us victory and the great mercy. When the Jews, waving the banner of Mosaic justice, which demanded stoning, brought the woman caught in adultery to Christ, He told them how to do the stoning: "Whoever is without sin, cast the first stone." As they all walked away in shame, He rendered His decision: "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." Christ defines the conditions of mercy, which, in place of death by stoning grants total forgiveness. For if we receive forgiveness and continue to sin, we will remain in our sins. The forgiveness of Christ requires that we do not go back to the sin. Christ, extends His mercy and forgives us completely, destroying the myths of purgatory.  

 

   The doctrine of indulgences soon followed the doctrine of purgatory, and by buying or earning these fictional indulgences you could rescue someone from the fiery pain of purgatory, or shorten their stay. Where do these indulgences come from? Pope Clement VI invented them, saying: "The merits of Christ are a treasure of indulgences." Indulgences were earned for reading something, kissing something, or paying money. This became a lucrative goldmine of filthy lucre! During the time of Martin Luther, needing money to complete the new St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pope delegated others to sell indulgences and split the proceeds with the Papacy, fifty–fifty.

     In Wittenberg at the Castle Church (where Luther later posted his theses) there were 19,000 holy bones, 5,000 other relics, and enough indulgences that through them 1,900,000 million years could be struck off someone’s purgatory sentences. Also during the same period, the Castle church at Wittenberg was granted the most unusual and rare privilege of offering deep indulgences, which granted complete remission of sins to anyone in purgatory which occurred during the fund-raising drive for St. Peter’s in Rome.

 

     To demonstrate the folly of the purgatory indulgence doctrine, imagine a good-hearted Pope, who is capable at any time, to release every soul from purgatory because he alone has the keys. Why then is there a single soul left in purgatory, when a pope can release them? Anyone who has seen St. Peter’s in Rome will remember keys, and more keys. Keys above and below and to the left and right, for the Papacy has claimed to possess the keys to heaven and hell, and the authority to judge everyone , but themselves never to be judged.

     Christ always makes everything clear. He commands us to become holy as He is holy, and to become perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. We need to become sanctified in body, soul and spirit, as St. Paul says in his epistle to the Thessalonians. We have learned that if we keep the whole law of Christ and violate a single point, we break the whole law. The Pope does not teach these things, yet he claims to sit as the oracle of God, telling all the faithful what they must believe and do. We must follow Jesus Christ and those who lead us to Him. Our trust should not be in one man, who claims infallibility but in the Godman. We must listen to Christ and His commands, "Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it shall be opened to you." Those who do not know, and love God here in this present life, and who lack faith, hope and love, will be unable to find it in the next life, for after death we cannot change, remaining as we were in life.

    The Papacy does not teach the truth of God’s plan, which is for man to become the perfect image and likeness of God if he desires to be with Him forever. Jesus Christ is our perfect example, our Head, leader, and authority, but not a Pope or Patriarch. Jesus is the perfect Godman and the image and likeness of God, meek and humble-minded. Finally, the idea of one single sinful human being – the Pope of Rome, ruling over the church contradicts these words of Christ: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I amidst them." While the Papacy focuses on the man called Pope, Orthodoxy focuses on the God man called our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! To Him be all glory!

MANY OTHER PAPAL IMAGINATIONS

"Only the Roman Pontiff is rightly called universal;

\* the Pope can be judged by no one;

* no one can be regarded as a catholic who does not agree with the Roman church;

* the Roman Church has never erred and never will err till the end of time;

* the Roman Church was founded by Christ alone;

* the Pope alone can depose and restore bishops;

* he alone can make new laws, set up new bishoprics, and divide old ones;

* he alone can translate bishops to another see;

* he alone can call general councils and authorize canon law;

* he alone can revise his own judgements;

* his sentence cannot be repealed by anyone and he alone can review the judgements of all;

* he alone can use the imperial insignia;

* he can depose emperors;

* he can absolve subjects from their allegiance to impious rulers;

*the Pope is the only man to whom all princes bend the knee;

* all princes should kiss his feet;

*his legates, even those in inferior orders, have precedence over all bishops;

* an appeal to the papal court inhibits judgement by all inferior courts;

*a duly ordained pope is undoubtedly made a saint by the merits of St. Peter."

Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand), the intimate disciple of Pope Leo IX, Dictatus Papae (decreed in 1074 and reiterated at the 1st Latern Council (one of twenty R.C. ‘Ecumenical Councils’); Latin text in Karl Hofmann, Der Dictatus Papae Gregors VII (Paderborn [Germany]: Ferdinand Schöningh, 1933), p. 11.