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Neither the word purgatory, nor a specific teaching about a purgatory, is
actually in the Holy Bible; so Rome points to certain passages that, although
they don't actually prove without a shadow of a doubt the existence of a
purgatory, they allude to (suggest the possibility of) a purgatory. For
example:
In 2Mcc 12:38-46 a Jewish military commander named Judas Maccabeus
made an attempt to atone for his dead soldiers' pagan amulets which he
believed is a crime against God for Jews to wear. So Judas passed the hat
among his surviving men and collected about 2,000 silver drachmas which
were sent to Jerusalem intended for a sacrifice to expiate his dead men's sin
so that it wouldn't jeopardize their resurrection.
Although Judas meant well; what he did was itself a violation of the very
Law that he sought to appease. There are no sacrifices stipulated in the
covenant that Yhvh's people agreed upon with God as per Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy for expiating the sins that people take with
them over to the afterlife.
The very Law he sought to appease makes it a crime to either amend,
embellish, add to, revise, edit, upgrade, update, or subtract from the
covenant.
†. Deut 4:2 . .You shall not add anything to what I command you or take
anything away from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God
that I enjoin upon you.
†. Deut 5:32-33 . . Be careful, therefore, to do as the LORD, your God, has
commanded you, not turning aside to the right or to the left, but following
exactly the way prescribed for you by the LORD, your God,
†. Deut 26:16 . . This day the LORD, your God, commands you to observe
these statutes and decrees. Be careful, then, to observe them with all your
heart and with all your soul.
Therefore, had the priests at Jerusalem accepted Judas Maccabeus' 2,000
silver drachmas for the purpose he intended, they would have been cursed.
†. Deut 27:26 . . Cursed be he who fails to fulfill any of the provisions of this
law!
The phrase "cursed be" is grammatically present tense; so that when Yhvh's
people beak any one of the laws stipulated in the covenant, they incur an
instant curse upon themselves-- no delay, and no waiting period.
Bottom line: What Judas Maccabeus did was just as pagan as the amulets
that his men were wearing when they died.
Q: How can you doubt the truth of 2Mcc 12:38-46? It’s in the Holy Bible!
A: Just because somebody's personal beliefs are recorded in the Bible does
not make their personal beliefs eo ipso truth. Judas believed it was possible
for living Jews to offer sacrifices for the sins of dead Jews. Is it? No;
absolutely not! Were it possible, then a procedure for that purpose would be
stipulated in the covenant that Yhvh's people agreed upon with God as per
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Atonements for the dead fall into the category of sins of presumption; viz:
unauthorized behavior.
If 2Mcc 12:38-46 teaches anything at all it’s that the Israel of Judas
Maccabeus’ day was spiritually decadent-- just as decadent as it was in the
days of the Judges when every man did that which was right in his own eyes
rather than Yhvh's eyes; and they were still at it even in Christ's day and
age.
†. Mark 7:6-9 . . And Jesus said to them: Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you
hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their
heart is far away from me. In futility do they worship me, teaching as
doctrines the precepts of men. Neglecting the commandment of God, you
hold to the tradition of men.
†. Mark 7:13 . . You invalidate the word of God by your tradition which you
have handed down; and you do many things such as that.
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