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Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Oct. 21, 2025
Update	: Oct. 21, 2025
Parts	: 01

Synopsis:



Recently, while engaging in a conversation with some of my online friends, one particular person began talking about how after we die, we are required to descend into a certain place within the Earth, where we must then suffer in order to be purged of any of our remaining sins. Once this occurs, we will then be allowed to ascend to Heaven. As some of my readers will no doubt already be aware, what this individual described is in fact the false Roman Catholic doctrine which is known as Purgatory. While the person in question did not specifically use the word "Purgatory", or plainly identify himself as a Catholic, it became very obvious to me that he was. After all, to my personal knowledge, there is no other denomination within the Christian religion which promotes this wayward and erroneous doctrine.

My friends, honestly speaking, it really irks me when people such as that begin sharing and promoting such unscriptural doctrinal nonsense online, because it can very easily lead other less-knowledgeable Christians astray, and contaminate them with such very misguided, false Roman Catholic ideas.

It is for this very reason that ever since I first began the Bill's Bible Basics online ministry over three decades ago, I have repeatedly emphasized the importance of being personally and solidly grounded in the Scriptures. If any of us fail to do this, we will in fact remain very vulnerable to doctrinal deception. If you doubt that this is so, just take a look at the current state of the social networks, and you will find ample proof of what I am saying here. The social networks are literally filled with wild and crazy conspiracy theories and wayward doctrines which have no real basis in the Word of God. Following are some of my favorite verses regarding the importance of God's Word in our lives, and verifying all doctrines against it:

"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."


"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."


"BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word."


"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."


"Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."


"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."


"And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."


"Prove [test, examine] all things; hold fast that which is good."


"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try [test, prove] the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."


"Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food."


"More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."


To reiterate, Purgatory is an utterly false, man-made Roman Catholic doctrine which finds absolutely no support in the Holy Scriptures whatsoever. In fact, this doctrine outright contradicts the Scriptures by converting our Salvation from a product of God's Grace and Mercy through our faith in the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, into a religion of pure, self-righteous works where we are all forced to personally suffer first for our sins in order to merit our Salvation, and thus hopefully, and eventually, enter into Heaven.

That the Roman Catholic Church should embrace this devilish doctrine should really come as no surprise to any person who is familiar with Roman Catholic teachings. After all, this vile doctrine is merely an extension of what Roman Catholics are taught to do in this present life. In other words, it is a religion which is heavily based on performing good works. Catholics are basically taught that they must prove to God that they are good enough for, and worthy enough of, Heaven, by performing a series of good works throughout their lives. They need to make the grade through their own good deeds. I know this, because many years ago, I too believed in this.

Interestingly enough, not too long ago, American president, Donald J. Trump, made some public comments in which he too expressed the thought that he hoped that he had done enough good things during his presidency in order to merit Heaven. Upon further reflection, he then said that he didn't really think that he would make it to Heaven. You see, that is the Catholic mentality as well. It is a constant mental struggle because such people never know if they have made the grade yet. It is just like those Christians who also reject the doctrine of "Once Saved, Always Saved". They are constantly flip-flopping between whether or not they are still saved. Imagine the mental anguish and the fear of not knowing for certain whether or not one is saved.

That President Trump would say this does not really surprise me personally. Aside from the fact that he is a very proud, egotistical, arrogant, vain man, the people with whom he has surrounded himself have more than likely made him think in this fashion. I am referring to the fact that the president is surrounded by Orthodox Jews, Roman Catholics, NAR and the Dominionists. For millennia, the Jews have trusted in their own selves to save themselves. This is readily apparent in the Scriptures, as I point out in other BBB articles. For example, consider what the Apostle Paul wrote regarding how his Jewish brethren were trying to establish their own form of righteousness, while rejecting the one true righteousness which can be obtained only through faith in Jesus Christ:

"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."


As I explained a moment ago, the Roman Catholics are likewise hung up on performing good works as well. That being the case, is it really any wonder that this misguided mentality would also rub off on President Trump as well? Can you imagine the spiritual forces which are tugging at him and trying to pull him in different doctrinal directions? In other words, Jews, Catholics and Dominionists. That would leave anyone confused in a doctrinal sense. But I don't blame it all on them. After all, due to his own pride and vanity, Trump has his own level of self-righteousness. As some of you will know, reportedly -- I have not personally confirmed this point -- President Trump once said that he felt no need to ask God for forgiveness.

But regarding endeavoring to establish our own righteousness before God, or foolishly thinking that we are righteous and have no need for forgiveness as Mr. Trump seems to believes, as I have pointed out on many previous occasions, the Bible is very clear regarding this particular subject. The bottom line is that the Scriptures make it rather clear that any perceived sense we may have of being righteous and without sin is ridiculous and absolutely stinks. It is a devilish deception. If you doubt that this is so, then I ask you to consider the following group of Bible verses:

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."


"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."


"For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."


"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one . . . For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"


"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us . . . Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"


"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."


"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."


"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)"


"Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come . . . I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."


"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."


"They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one."


"If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?"


"And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:‭ Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.‭ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men ‭are‭, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.‭ I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.‭ And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as ‭his‭ eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.‭ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified ‭rather‭ than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.‭"


In light of the previous group of verses, it should be clear to everyone that we simply have no righteousness of our own. Furthermore, without Christ, we are all dead in sin. Period. Therefore, to deceive ourselves into believing that we can somehow save ourselves by way of our own works -- including by doing good deeds in this present life, or even by going to Purgatory where we can suffer and purge ourselves of our remaining sins -- is quite ludicrous to say the least. This thought is born of human pride alone. The fact is that there is absolutely nothing that any of us can do in the way of good deeds or good works in order to save ourselves. As the Scriptures make very plain, our Salvation is completely a result of God's grace and mercy through our faith in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as is evidenced by this set of Bible verses:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast."


"NOT BY WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH WE HAVE DONE, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"


For those of my readers who have unwisely embraced and been deceived by the Purgatory doctrine, you really need to stop and think carefully about this for a moment. If, as deceived Roman Catholics erroneously believe, we can truly be purged of all of our remaining sins through suffering in a fiery place of torment called Purgatory, and if undergoing this torturous process will supposedly make us righteous before God, thus making us eligible for Heaven, then it would seem that Jesus Christ actually died in vain, and His Sacrifice was totally unnecessary. It might even lead some people to believe that His Sacrifice was a complete waste of a human life. Well guess what? That is precisely what the Urantia Book adherents believe, as I more fully explain in two of my articles which are dedicated to that subject.

My friends, do you really understand what the false Catholic doctrine of Purgatory is actually insinuating? In my opinion, in so many words, it is basically saying that Jesus Christ's loving Sacrifice on the Cross was not enough. His Sacrifice simply fell short. It didn't meet God's full requirements for the expunction of our sins. Even though in His final moments of excruciating pain and extreme agony, Jesus cried out "It is finished", apparently -- well, at least according to Roman Catholic teachings -- it really was not finished. There was still something else that needed to be done before we can be granted Salvation and Eternal Life. Consider this verse:

"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, IT IS FINISHED: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."


So Jesus clearly said "It is finished." That means that with His loving Sacrifice, the full demands of God's Divine Law had been met, and our Salvation was paid for IN FULL. Jesus paid the full ransom price that dark day so that we can all inherit Eternal Life through our faith in Him. Thus, there is simply no need to add to His purchase price through our own suffering in some imaginary place called Purgatory. Consider the following group of Bible verses:

"Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."


"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."


"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."


"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."


"Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men."


"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."


"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."


Apparently, the Roman Catholic Church believes that Christ's sufferings didn't quite cover all of our sins. Thus, we need to be sent to Purgatory where our REMAINING sins can thus be purged from us by way of torment and affliction before we'll be allowed to pass through the Pearly Gates. In other words, we need to finish ourselves, what Christ started. We need to give Jesus a little help in saving us. Not surprisingly, this blasphemous, devilish doctrine goes right along with another Roman Catholic doctrine which declares that Mary -- the young mother of Jesus -- is now both Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix. In other words, we are in part saved because she consented to becoming pregnant with Jesus. Furthermore, she supposedly is also our mediator before God the Father, just like Jesus.

However, as many of my Bible-believing Christian friends will already know, these erroneous beliefs are most certainly NOT what the Holy Scriptures teach us whatsoever. In fact, quite to the contrary, what they actually tell us is that Jesus HAD to shed His blood, and die on a Roman cross, because that is the ONLY way in which the requirements of Divine Law could be fully satisfied, just as occurred during the Old Testament period when the high priest was required to sacrifice animals which had no spot or blemish, for the remission of the sins of the Israelites. As we read in the Epistle to the Hebrews:

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."


So as I fully explain in Bill's Bible Basics articles such as "The Blood Atonement: In Jesus' Own Words", it is only by and through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ that our sins are truly -- and FULLY -- remitted or cancelled out. There is simply no other way, no matter what anyone tries to tell you. That most certainly invalidates the bogus Catholic concept of Purgatory where we must suffer for our own sins in order to merit Salvation and Eternal Life. As the Apostle John clearly wrote, and as Jesus himself also plainly stated, once we are symbolically washed in the blood of the Lamb of God, we are cleansed of ALL -- not just SOME -- of our sins, as we see by the following group of sample Bible verses:

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."


"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,"


"And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."


My dear friends, please carefully think about that. If the Apostle John writes that we are cleansed of ALL SIN by the blood of Christ, what sins could possibly still be remaining that we would have to descend into an imaginary place called Purgatory, where we need to suffer and be afflicted in order to be purged of even more sins? It makes absolutely no sense, does it? So as you can again see, this Roman Catholic belief in a place called Purgatory is utter nonsense, and does NOT conform to the Scriptures in any way whatsoever.

Furthermore, it may interest you to know that if we continue reading the very next chapter of this wonderful Book called the Epistle to the Hebrews, that is in fact EXACTLY what we are told. In other words, once our sins are remitted through our faith in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, there is simply no longer any need of any additional offering for sin. Why not? Because Jesus ALREADY paid for them all. ALL sins have ALREADY been completely covered by His blood. We are ALREADY washed clean, and there is nothing else that we need to do in order to merit Salvation, as we see by the following verse:

"Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin."


In light of that verse, where in the world is there any room for an imaginary place called Purgatory where we are required to offer up additional personal pain and suffering so that our supposed remaining sins can be forgiven? It just does NOT exist, my friends. Furthermore, as I more amply explain in a few other BBB articles, when the previous verse says "no more offering for sin", it means exactly that. You see, earlier, I briefly mentioned that what Jesus did for us was foreshadowed in the Old Testament. Well, just as during the Old Testament period the high priest was required to enter the oracle -- or Holy of Holies -- one time each year to atone for the sins of the people, Jesus also offered up Himself only ONE TIME, and He is most certainly NOT going to do it again. In short, we either accept by faith what Jesus already did for us, or else we don't. This sound doctrine is clearly confirmed for us by Bible verses such as the following:

"Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin ONCE: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God."


"But this man, [Jesus] because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did ONCE, when he offered up himself."


"But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in ONCE into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."


"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now ONCE in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself . . . So Christ was ONCE offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."


"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE for all."


"For Christ also hath ONCE suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"


Before concluding this article, allow me to address certain false accusations which are made by some Roman Catholics. As some of my readers will know, because we Bible-believers do not make statues and idols of Mary, or bow down and pray to them, or light candles before them, or prance around city streets as we carry aloft huge statues of Mary, or refer to Mary as our Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix, certain Catholics accuse us of not honoring her. However, as I point out in a number of other Bill's Bible Basics articles, this obviously is the furthest thing from the truth. We most certainly do honor Mary, and we fully recognize her part in God the Father's salvation plan.

However, where we choose to draw the line is with all of this other foolish and blatant idolatry in which Roman Catholics simply love to engage. More importantly, we refuse to address Mary as Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix, because nowhere in the Scriptures is Mary assigned these titles or roles. In fact, the Bible makes it very plain that Jesus Christ is the ONLY mediator between God and man, because He alone shed His blood for the sins of the world. Mary most certainly did NOT do it. This Biblical truth is made very evident in verses such as the following:

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."


"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"


"But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises."


"And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance."


"And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."


There is obviously no mention whatsoever of Mary being some kind of Mediatrix in the previous set of verses. Therefore, we can only conclude that such an erroneous belief is the product of human invention, and an entirely man-made false doctrine. In fact, an invention of the Roman Catholic Church.

My friends, there are so many more Bible verses which I could share with you regarding this subject. However, it is my hope that the ones I have included in this article are enough to prove to you that your Salvation is completely secured through your faith in Jesus, and that you do not need to suffer in a Roman Catholic Purgatory, in order to guarantee your place in Heaven. If you are interested in engaging in a deeper study of this topic, then I invite you to read additional articles on the Bill's Bible Basics website. God bless you, and Thanks!

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you've found it informative and enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Cardinal Ratzinger's Rebellion

Churchianity or Christianity: Which Do You Practice?

Controversy: Matthew 28:19 and the Trinitarian Phrase

Have You Read The New Scriptures Yet?

History Of The Authorized KJV Bible

Lies and Deceptions of the Roman Catholic Church

Lying Wonders of Our Age

Mary Worship, Christianity and Roman Catholicism

Our Pagan World: The Easter Myth Exposed

Pontifex Maximus: Pagan High Priest to Roman Catholic Pope

Rise of the False Church

Roman Catholicism, Water Baptism and the Holy Trinity

Saints, Holiness and Perfectionism

Sol Invictus and the Birth of Christ

St. Malachy Prophecies and the Death of Pope Francis

Striving for Perfection: Are You a Sinless Saint?

The Family Life of Jesus Christ: Did Jesus Have Siblings?

To Pray or Not to Pray? That is the Question

Who is Babylon the Great?

Beware of Dominionism!

Dead to the Law: God's Laws Written on Our Hearts

Free From the Fear of Death: Law and Works vs Grace

Hell, the Lake of Fire and Universalism

Salvation is Free Through Jesus Christ

The Blood Atonement: In Jesus' Own Words

The Urantia Book: A Dangerous New Age Doctrine!

The Urantia Book: An Attack on the Blood Atonement!

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