“Since Luther’s day, many Protestant groups have thoroughly ridiculed the idea of purgatory and have even gone so far as to say the Catholic Church made the whole thing up. But although the word purgatory—a Latin word meaning to cleanse or purge—is most definitely not in Scripture, there is biblical mention of just such a place. The Bible did indeed often speak of an in-between or limbo realm where the saints “sleep.” This place has been referred to by its Hebrew name of Sheol. The original Greek of the New Testament used the Greek word for Sheol, which is Hades, to describe the same exact place. The same realm has also come through translation as “paradise,” or even “Abraham’s Bosom.” It can be confusing to have such pleasant-sounding names as “paradise” and “Abraham’s Bosom” for a place Catholic’s called purgatory. Also of confusion is the use of the Greek word “Hades,” which most people probably associate with the Western concept of hell, but hell and Hades are two different concepts. While hell is defined as a place of torment, Hades is simply the underworld abode of the dead. The actual Greek term for a place of torment akin to our common notion of hell is the word “Tartarus.” In the Greek translation of the New Testament, the word “Tartarus” only appears one time when the Apostle Peter is describing the final destination of the fallen angels who disobeyed God. The choice of this word is interesting because, in Greek mythology, Tartarus is the place where the Titans were imprisoned. If you read up on Greek myths and compare them with the biblical stories of the fallen angels/watchers/Nephilim, the parallels are rather stunning. It makes one wonder, was the word “Tartarus” chosen out of convenience, or was it indeed referring to the same exact place? Did the Apostle Peter see some sort of similarity between the popular Greek tales of the Titans and the fallen angels? At any rate, as it pertains to Sheol, Hades, paradise, and Abraham’s Bosom—all these realms spoken of in the Bible, regardless of what they are called, fulfill the same purpose of the Catholic purgatory. They are neither Heaven nor hell, but merely a place where transitory souls are temporarily holed up. These concepts are complex, and save for theologians who spend years studying them in- depth, most Christians probably do not know much about them. But, as strange as they may sound to the casual observer, these concepts are based on Scripture. Early Christians believed that before Jesus came to Earth and died on the cross, all the Old Testament saints (such as Abraham) were denied access to Heaven, yet God certainly wasn’t going to send them to hell, so instead, they were kept in an in-between plane of existence—hence Abraham’s bosom, paradise, purgatory, Sheol, or whatever you wish to call it. According to this notion, Jesus himself, after being crucified, descended down into this netherworld to “set the captives free.” Today, preachers are more likely to use this as an allegory to deliver a feel-good message to the masses about how Jesus liberates those in bondage to things such as alcohol or some other vice. There is certainly nothing wrong with that, but the expression has a literal interpretation, as well. The three days between Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection is a dramatic part of New Testament Scripture that is often overlooked, but according to the Bible, he wasn’t idle. Scripture tells us that immediately after being killed on the cross, Jesus went straight to paradise/purgatory and quite literally “led captivity captive” by rescuing the Old Testament saints who were being held in Sheol. It was only after this mission was complete that Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead and emerged from the tomb—back from the dead and back from that underworld realm of purgatory called Sheol/Hades. According to the Bible, in the three days prior to his resurrection, Jesus was on a spiritual mission to set souls who had long been stuck in a purgatory limbo free. He did not enter Heaven until his physical resurrection and eventual ascension in what Christians refer to as his “glorified” or “immortal/incorruptible” body—a state of being that Christians believe they, too, will be transformed into in the “twinkling of an eye” when the “last trumpet sounds.” The idea that Jesus went to paradise first, before resurrection and ascension, is also supported by a remark Jesus made to the thief on the cross: “This day you will be with me in paradise.” He didn’t say Heaven but specifically said “paradise,” which is another word for Sheol/Abraham’s Bosom/Hades—you get the point. This is a lot to unpack, but understanding such things is essential to understanding why Catholics spoke of an in-between realm called purgatory. Despite misinformation and the insinuation that purgatory is simply nonsense someone made up, the concept of purgatory is one that is grounded in Scripture. At any rate, Catholics greatly expanded upon all of this and eventually came to believe that one could lessen the time spent in purgatory by paying indulgences to priests—or even help dead relatives believed to be in purgatory by paying on their behalf. As for Martin Luther, it is said that he would later drop much of his previous belief in purgatory, but at the time he nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door, he wasn’t so much against the notion of purgatory itself as the idea that one could pay their way out of it. As corrupt as such a bargain might seem at first glance, the act of paying money or “alms” on behalf of a deceased loved one wasn’t simply a scheme hatched by the Catholic Church. Just like purgatory, it was derived from Scripture. The concept of indulgences stems from Maccabees—a book which, coincidentally enough, is excluded from most Protestant Bibles. The concept of paying a sacrificial amount of money for the souls of the departed comes from an account of Judas Maccabeus advising his followers to pay alms for some of his warriors who had perished in battle. These warriors were found to have amulets around their necks that were considered profane and in reverence to pagan gods. It was for the atonement of the acts of these dead men that Judas requested all his followers to offer up alms. Or, as 2 Maccabees 42-45 tells us, “The noble Judas called on the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened to the fallen because of their sin. He levied a contribution from each man and sent the total of two thousand silver drachmas to Jerusalem for a sin offering—a fit and proper act in which he took due account of the resurrection. For if he had not been expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been foolish and superfluous to pray for the dead. But since he had in view the wonderful reward reserved for those who die a godly death, his purpose was a holy and pious one. And this was why he offered an atoning sacrifice to free the dead from their sin.” Maccabees clearly gives an example of praying for the dead and paying alms (an indulgence) for them in the hopes that this atoning sacrifice would “free the dead from their sin.” Protestant Bibles would choose not to include the Book of Maccabees. Roman Catholic priests however, could readily point to this one Scripture as part of their reasoning behind allowing indulgences to be made for those offering alms for the dearly departed. As it pertains to Martin Luther’s reasons for nailing his Ninety-five Theses to the church doors on October 31, 1517, he was primarily critical of what he saw as blatant abuses of the practice. Luther was particularly irked by priests who had used the sales of indulgences to fund building projects. In Luther’s day, the acquisition of indulgences had become so thoroughly commercialized that, at one point, a Dominican friar by the name of Johan Tetzel had created his own advertising jingle to get proceeds. The crafty friar was allegedly fond of proclaiming, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory to heaven springs!” Luther believed that such malfeasance was corrupting to the clergy just as much as it was to the congregation since it made the public think they could avoid true repentance and simply pay their way into Heaven instead.”
