By Clement Harrold
September 4, 2025
A common Protestant claim is that the Catholic doctrine of purgatory is nowhere to be found in the Bible. But is this true? Since the Bible assures us that nothing unclean shall enter heaven (see Rev 21:27; cf. Heb 12:14), this implies that souls who die in a state of imperfect friendship with God must undergo some kind of final purification prior to their entry into eternal life. This fits with what Sacred Scripture teaches more generally about how God acts as a “refiner’s fire” (Mal 3:2) who disciplines His children in order to purify them of their unhealthy attachments to sin (see Wis 3:1-9; Heb 12:5-6, 10-11). But even so, if Catholics are right about purgatory, then we would expect there to be some passages in the Bible which point to its existence. Here we’ll explore five such passages.
2 Maccabees 12:39-45
On the next day, as had now become necessary, Judas and his men went to take up the bodies of the fallen and to bring them back to lie with their kindred in the sepulchres of their ancestors. Then under the tunic of each one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. And it became clear to all that this was the reason these men had fallen. So they all blessed the ways of the Lord, the righteous judge, who reveals the things that are hidden; and they turned to supplication, praying that the sin that had been committed might be wholly blotted out. The noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened as the result of the sin of those who had fallen. He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin.
In this well-known text, Judas Maccabeus and his men pray for the souls of some Jewish soldiers who died in battle. This points to the reality of purgatory, since only souls in purgatory could possibly benefit from the prayers of the living. Of course, Protestants don’t accept 2 Maccabees as canonical, but this only underscores the arbitrariness of their position on the biblical canon. (How can they be sure 2 Maccabees is not canonical when all of the world’s Catholics and Orthodox Christians, not to mention Church Fathers like St. Augustine, do regard it as canonical?) In any event, 2 Maccabees remains significant as a historical text regardless of its canonical status; it indicates that Jews in the second century B.C. believed in some form of post-mortem purification, which shows that the Catholic doctrine of purgatory is rooted in an ancient tradition.
Another objection Protestants sometimes raise is that the Jewish soldiers in this passage died in a state of serious sin, since tokens of the idols of Jamnia were found on their corpses. Doesn’t this necessitate that the men who died went to hell rather than purgatory? Well, Judas and his men apparently didn’t think so. Perhaps they trusted that the sin of the slain soldiers was venial rather than mortal (it’s possible the soldiers were guilty of a lesser sin of superstition rather than the more serious sin of outright idolatry). Or maybe they held out hope that the soldiers had repented of their sin in the moments before their death. In any event, what’s significant is that Judas and men considered it at least possible that the souls of the dead soldiers could be helped by their prayers. This suffices to show that they believed in some kind of purgatory.
Matthew 5:25-26
Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
In this passage Jesus offers a warning about a man who heads to court together with his accuser. While this passage might simply be talking about how to face judgment in this present life, it is reasonable to suppose that Jesus is also trying to teach us something about the far more important judgment which awaits us in the life to come. The surrounding verses, as well as the broader context of the Sermon on the Mount, show that the eternal consequences of our actions are very much on Jesus’s mind; and the passage in question is sandwiched between warnings about the kinds of sins which lead to hellfire (see Matt 5:21-22, 27-30). It would therefore be odd if in verses 25-26 Jesus was merely offering us advice on how to avoid legal trouble.
It seems much more likely that Jesus is offering a mini parable which points to a deeper reality: we should seek reconciliation with the neighbour whom we have wronged (our “accuser”) before the moment of our death (arriving at the “court”) in order that God (“the judge”) will not pass a harsh sentence on us. If we fail to reconcile with our neighbour, then we can expect to be handed to “the guard” (perhaps the angels) and thrown into prison—or purgatory. We know that the prison refers to purgatory rather than hell because Jesus says “you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.” In other words, we won’t escape purgatory before we have first received the punishments which are needed to restore divine justice, re-order our wills, and cleanse us of our attachment to sin.
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Matthew 12:32
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
This verse is significant because it implies that some forgiveness of sins takes place in the age to come, that is, after death. This fits well with the Catholic view of purgatory, which holds that a soul might die in a state of friendship with God without having repented of all his venial sins. This soul will then enter purgatory, where he will undergo a process of purification whereby he comes to repent of even his smallest sins, and receives God’s forgiveness through that process. Of course, Jesus doesn’t explicitly say that some sins will be forgiven in the age to come, but His words would be confusing if this weren’t the case. Why would Jesus warn that the sin of speaking against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven in the age to come if there’s no such thing as receiving forgiveness in the age to come?
Luke 12:42-48
And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.
In this parable about divine judgement, Jesus distinguishes the different kinds of punishments which a master will administer to his slaves. The most egregious punishment is for the slave who is cut into pieces and put “with the unfaithful”—seemingly an allusion to the punishments of hell. But there are other slaves who receive either “a severe beating” or “a light beating.” These distinctions would be baffling if there’s no such thing as purgatory. But if purgatory does exist, then they make perfect sense: the slave who is perfectly faithful will go straight to heaven, while the slave who is guilty of terrible crimes will go to hell. But there are other slaves who are imperfect enough to deserve punishment, but not so depraved as to belong in hell. It is these souls who get to heaven eventually, but only after they have first received the cleansing punishments of purgatory.
1 Corinthians 3:10-15
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.
St. Paul beautifully describes how we are all builders who are called to build our lives on the foundation which is Christ. But we can build our lives out of many different things: everything from gold and silver to hay and straw. On the day of our judgment, the true nature of our efforts will be revealed. Did we construct a life which can withstand the blazing holiness of the God whom Scripture describes as “a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29)? If not, then we fully expect the divine presence to burn away all our fluff, all our impurities, all our empty show. This is what we call purgatory. St. Paul warns us that through this purgation we “will suffer loss”—that is to say, it will be painful. Indeed, our post-mortem purification will be “as through fire,” for it is only by putting to death our old self and being formed anew in Christ that our souls will finally be ready to enter the joy of heaven.
Further Reading
Catechism of the Catholic Church #1030-1032 & 1472
Karlo Broussard, Purgatory Is for Real: Good News About the Afterlife for Those Who Aren't Perfect Yet (Catholic Answers Press, 2020)
About Clement Harrold
Clement Harrold earned his master’s degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2024, and his bachelor’s from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2021. His writings have appeared in First Things, Church Life Journal, Crisis Magazine, and the Washington Examiner.
