Let’s get something straight from the start.
Sheol was real.
Purgatory is not.
They’re not the same.
One is biblical.
One is a man made lie.
In the Old Testament, believers and unbelievers alike went to Sheol or Hades, the general place of the dead. It was a waiting place, temporary and divided.
Abraham’s Bosom, comfort and rest for the faithful.
Place of torment, punishment for the unrighteous.
Remember Jesus’ story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31?
Lazarus was comforted, the rich man tormented. Both in Sheol, separated by an uncrossable chasm.
When Jesus died, He didn’t enter purgatory to suffer for His sins, He had none. Instead, He proclaimed victory over death, sin, and Satan.
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit, in which He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,”
— 1 Peter 3:18-19
When He rose from the grave, He emptied Abraham’s Bosom, taking the Old Testament saints with Him into heaven. That’s why Paul says,
“To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:8
Believers no longer wait in Sheol,
they’re with Christ immediately.
“Today you will be with Me in paradise.”
— Luke 23:43
Not “eventually,” not after further punishment, today.
Purgatory was never taught by Christ or the Apostles.
Purgatory wasn’t believed by the early Church.
Purgatory is a human invention, a fictional holding cell of punishment after death, supposedly needed to cleanse you from sins.
This is an attack on Christ’s finished work.
“It is finished.”
— John 19:30
Not “to be continued.”
Not “completed after a painful cleansing.”
It was finished, fully, totally, finally, on the cross.
Purgatory denies Christ’s sufficiency.
“The blood of Jesus cleanses us from ALL sin.”
— 1 John 1:7
If Jesus cleansed all sin, what’s left for purgatory to cleanse?
It contradicts the Bible’s teaching on death.
“It is appointed for man to die once, then judgment.”
— Hebrews 9:27
Death. Judgment. No waiting room.
It robs believers of assurance.
Catholics live in fear, constantly performing rituals to shorten imaginary sentences of dead loved ones. This fear-based religion is not the Gospel.
Purgatory fuels indulgences, Masses, and rituals.
It’s historically Rome’s greatest fundraising scheme.
Peter warned clearly,
“In their greed they will exploit you with false words.”
— 2 Peter 2:3
Purgatory is the ultimate exploitation. It’s a money making doctrine that holds souls hostage.
Scripture is Clear.
Believers go straight to Christ at death.
“I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”
— Philippians 1:23
There is no condemnation in Christ.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
— Romans 8:1
Christ’s sacrifice was complete and perfect, needing no supplements.
“For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
— Hebrews 10:14
Purgatory is not scriptural.
Leave behind candles, indulgences, rosaries, and priests who profit from fear.
Your hope isn’t in purgatory, it’s in Christ.
Your purification isn’t through flames, it’s through His blood.
Your eternal destination isn’t uncertain, it’s secured in Him.
“Whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
— John 5:24
Sheol was real.
Purgatory never was.
The former is empty because Christ conquered death.
The latter never existed except in Rome’s lies.
Trust Christ alone. He is enough.
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