Purgatory is a Trick

When a story passes through enough peoples’ lips, it is no longer the story it was when it was first told.

Words that have been abused long enough become something new. Part of Archie Bunker’s fame came from his misuse of words and stories. He was poorly educated, but strongly opinionated. His vocabulary increased by hearing other people use words, not by studying lists of words and their definitions in a classroom. Most people have learned much of their vocabulary in the same way. Some words that are a bit goofy:

Wicked. Pronounced “wik’-id”. Adjective – “evil in nature or intent”. Not really… before we abused it, it was: Pronounced “wikt” (rhymes with “picked”) Adjective – “twisted, like the wick in a candle is a bit of twisted flammable fibers.” The “ed” being pronounced came from Shakesperian English. Used mostly in religious circles or conversations, it came to mean what it initially only implied.

Talent. Pronounced “tal’-int”. Noun – “a level of ability or skill that exceeds the norm.” Not really… before we abused it, it was: Pronounced “tal’-int”. Noun – “from Hebrew; a measure of weight, used to quantify anything from gold to wheat.” Sermons on the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 were frequently applied to the idea that God has given each of us abilities that we must use. In Matthew’s record, they were referring to money, not abilities. Used mostly in religious circles or conversations, it came to mean what it initially didn’t even really imply.

Purgatory. Pronounce “perg’-uh-tō-ree”. Noun – “a place for the dead who were not bad enough to go to hell, and not good enough to go to heaven, in which they have some chance of being purged of evil by suffering. If they are purged before the day of judgement, they will be counted worthy of entering heaven. If not, they will proceed to hell.” Not really… before we abused it, it was: Pronounced “perj-uh-tō-ree”. Emphasis is on the “purging” process. The meaning is actually “a non-existent place invented by the Roman Church to control and extort money from their adherents by offering to help redeem their deceased loved ones from Purge-tory by sacrificing the flesh and blood of Jesus on their behalf through a ritual called “eucharist” or “mass”, and asking for the help of deceased saints in the process.”

Jesus paid for your sin. If you accept that payment, and believe that He is Savior and King over your life, you experience the mystery (can’t be explained) of being born again, of God’s Spirit. He already paid for all of your sin. Your new identity is fixed on that fact. There is a judgement based on your acts that you will experience, but the judgement that could cause you to end up in the lake of fire is based on one criterion: is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? The  works-based judgement is not related to the lake of fire. It is related to the connection between having entered His Kingdom here so that you inherit His Kingdom after that judgement.

Then I saw a great white throne and One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them. I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.

Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead; all were judged according to their works. Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
(Revelation 20:11-15 Holman Christian Standard Bible® ©)