Hi Gifted Child,
You tell us,
"Bill Gray asked us to show, in Scripture, (the doctrine of) purgatory. 8/20 "Is the Bible Really Inerrant." And, for proof of purgatory, you give us the following Scripture passages. Let's take a look at each one:
You offer:
Isaiah 35:8-10: "A highway will be there called the Holy Way; No one unclean will pass over it. No lion will be there, nor beast of prey go up to be met on it." This is not hell. It is for those with a journey to make, and on it the redeemed will walk -- on their way to heaven. Isaiah 35 has nothing whatsoever to do with a doctrine of Purgatory. Isaiah, chapters 33, 34, and 35 tell us about God dealing with the enemies of His chosen people, Israel -- destroying their past enemies and His promise to destroy those future enemies of Israel. God intends to save the remnant of His chosen people and this is the purpose of the coming Tribulation -- to remove all their enemies and to cleanse His chosen people, leaving only the faithful remnant.
Isaiah 35:8-10, "
A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, And the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away." During the Tribulation, many will come to faith in their Messiah, Jesus Christ, and will be killed, martyred, for their faith. We read about them in Revelation
Revelation 7:15-17,
"For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes." And, when Jesus Christ returns after the Tribulation to establish His Kingdom on Earth, the Millennial Kingdom, He will rule all of His people from their Zion, the holy city of Jerusalem. All Christian believers, Old Testament, New Testament, Tribulation, and those believers who survive the Tribulation and enter the Millennial Kingdom in their mortal bodies -- will live in the perfect theocracy, ruled by Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Next, you offer:
Hebrews 12:29: "For our God is a consuming fire." (this isn't necessarily talking about his anger). There is a fire in hell, but there's an infinitely hotter fire in Heaven. It's God himself. So fire refers to God's infinite love even more than his eternal wrath. The angels closest to God are the Seraphim. Which literally means "The Burning Ones" It is interesting that Pastor Chuck Smith, in his C2000 Series Commentary on Hebrews 12-13, refers us back to Isaiah 33, where God is destroying the enemies of Israel. Yes, His fire did consume Israel's enemies. However, fire has a dual purpose, as we see in this excerpt from Pastor Chuck's commentary:
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Pastor Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel, Commentary of Hebrews 12-13 (C2000 Series): http://www.blueletterbible.org...Hebrews&ar=Hbr_12_29 Hebrews 12:28-29,
"Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire." Very interesting! We are told in Isaiah that when God destroyed the large Assyrian army that had come against the southern kingdom of Judah, in one night an angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian army and wiped out 185,000 troops; one night, destroyed the army, one angel. In the morning when the Israelites got up, looked out to see the enemy that had been camped around them, there was nothing but these dead corpses, 185,000. And it said a fear gripped the hearts of the sinners in Zion. Those that were in the city who were sinners, man, they really got scared. They saw what the fire of God could do. They said,
"Who among us can dwell in the midst of this devouring fire?" (Isaiah 33:14). They got panicked when they saw what God's fire can do. Our God is a consuming fire.
Well, that all depends. Fire is an interesting phenomena of nature. One thing you can say about fire is that it is everywhere. There is what they call
"aeromocasis." Long word, but it means the slow burning fire of nature. Take a piece of metal and lay it outside and in just a short little while, on that bare metal you'll see little bronze specks on it. What are those little brown specks? Oxidation, the slow burning fire of nature, as nature starts to deteriorate that piece of metal, starts to eat it away. Slow burning fire of nature, destroying, eating away.
Fire -- an interesting substance, because it can consume. But fire is also used to transform into permanency. If you put the alloy into the fire and heat it, it becomes steel; hardened and tempered by the fire. So fire is interesting. It can transmit something into permanency while consuming others. It all depends on the material that it is working with.
The sinners in Zion said,
"Who can escape the fire of God?" The answer is no one can escape the fire of God. It is everywhere. You can't escape it. The question is, what is it doing to you? And it all depends on what you are. If you are a child of God, the fire of God is transmitting and transforming you into permanency. If you're not, it's a consuming fire that will one day totally consume you.
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However, we find nothing in this Scripture passage to support the doctrine of Purgatory.
Then, you offer:
1 Corinthians 3:13-15, "The work of each will come to light for the will disclose. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each one's work. If the work stands, that someone will receive a wage. But if someone's work is burned up, that one will suffer a lose. the person will be saved, but only as through fire." You have chosen on of my favorite passages in support of
"once saved, always saved" -- for here we are assured that, even though the fruit of our salvation, the works motivated by the Holy Spirit when we become Christian believers and are indwelled and sealed by the Holy Spirit -- may be burned up, but, we who are true believers will be saved.
1 Corinthians 3:10-15,
"According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." When will our works, the fruit of our salvation, be tested? After the Rapture, we will receive our immortal bodies and will be taken into heaven for a period of seven years, the Tribulation period. In heaven, we Christian believers will stand before our Lord for a judgment of rewards. We call this the Bema Seat Judgment and find it in 2 Corinthians 5:10,
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Judgment Seat Of Christ http://www.raptureready.com/ab..._Seat_of_Christ.html Bema is a Greek term meaning
"judgment seat." In the city of Corinth, a stone platform was constructed to support the Bema seat (judgment seat) of the local officials. The seat was used to give out awards to athletes for their competitive performances (usually a crown wreath of leaves), but also to address legal charges brought against individuals. The great Apostle Paul was quite familiar with this seat. This is where he was brought before Gallio, who was the proconsul of Achaia at the Bema seat (Acts 18:12). This seat was also what Paul referred to in 2 Corinthians 5:9-11 as the
"judgment seat of Christ." In this context, Paul explains to us that this is where the Christian will receive an evaluation for works done in the body, whether good or bad.
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Child, my Friend, I am not telling you that you should not believe in your church's teaching of Purgatory, even though I believe it is not Biblical -- for your salvation is not based upon how you believe on this teaching. We are saved, by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ -- plus nothing else (Ephesians 2:8-9). So, on issues such as Purgatory we can agree to disagree and yet, not allow this to divide us. I pray this is agreeable to you.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill