Nothing impure can enter into the Kingdom of God (Revelations 21: 27). Every person will have to pay for their sins to ‘the very last penny’ (Luke 12: 59). I’ll use somewhat of a parable to explain purgatory. God is just per Scripture (John 5: 30), correct? Now, let’s say you have one man who leads a saintly life and another who leads a sinful life, but sincerely repents of his sins on his death bed. According to Protestants, both these men go straight to heaven after death. Is this just? I would have to answer in the negative.
According to Catholic belief, the saintly man would go straight to heaven whereas the repentant man would have to be cleansed through temporal (not eternal) punishment for his sins before entering heaven. Where is this done? He can’t be sent to hell because hell is eternal per Scripture (Matthew 25: 46; Mark 3: 29). There has to be a middle ground so to speak. This ‘middle’ ground is purgatory.
We must suffer for our sins just as Christ suffered for them (Romans 8: 17; 2 Corinthians 1: 5-7). If this suffering is not in this life, it has to be in the next. Protestants say that since purgatory is not mentioned in the Holy Bible, it doesn’t exist. But the Holy Trinity is not mentioned in the Bible either yet almost all mainstream Protestant denominations believe in it. Unfortunately, the King James version of the Bible mistakenly omits the Books of Maccabees. These books were decided by the Church Fathers to be inspired of God.
The Twelve Apostles used the Septuagint (Greek) canon – almost every single quote from the Old Testament that is cited in the New is from the Septuagint – this canon INCLUDES the First and Second Books of Maccabees (as well as five others). It is clear that praying for the dead to release them from the reparation of their sins is good according to the first Biblical verse quoted at the top of this page. With repentance comes reparation for sins such as ‘sackcloth and ashes’ (Matthew 11: 21; Luke 10: 13). Why did God give St.
Paul the pain of the stigmata (Galatians 6: 17) if there is no reparation for sins? Why did St. Paul pray for a DEAD friend (Onesiphorus), if there is no Purgatory (2 Timothy 1: 16-18)? Consider this – not even King David escaped punishment for his sins even though they were forgiven.