Regarding purgatory

Is there a verse in the Bible that clearly stated this term? Or is this term UNBIBLICAL?

Firstly, you assume that something needs to be in the bible before it is an article of faith. This is a protestant error. The bible never claims to be the sole authority on the faith. Christ left us a visible church-the Roman Catholic church to guide us. He did not leave a bible. He charged the apostles to PREACH the Gospel to all nations-not WRITE. The bible as we know it only came into being when the ecumenical council of catholic bishops and the pope at the Council of Carthage in 398AD pronounced that the 73 books were inspired by the Holy Ghost. From 398AD to around 1500's, the bible was not widely available, due to prohibitive costs of printing and a largely illiterate population. Therefore, if the bible was the sole guide to faith and salvation, millions of souls would have lost the faith for 15 centuries!

Even if something is not in the bible, as long as it is a dogma taught by the Catholic church, it is true. For Christ built His church on Peter the Rock, the first Catholic pope, and charged him to feed His sheep-the CAtholic faithful. Also, because it was the Catholic church who gave us the bible in 398AD, she is the mother of the child, and only she is the guardian of the bible. If she says there is a purgatory, we must believe her, because Christ left her to guide us.

Now, having said that, the bible DOES refer to a place of purification of the dead, and tells us to pray for them. Only, it does not use the word PURGATORY, but rather it describes the place. Go to http://scripturecatholic.com/purgatory.html and http://www.fisheaters.com/purgatory.htmlfor more biblical references to purgatory.

Matt. 12:32 – Jesus says, “And anyone who says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but no one who speaks against the Holy Spirit will be forgiven either in this world or in the next.” Jesus thus clearly provides that there is forgiveness after death. The phrase “in the next” (from the Greek “en to mellonti”) generally refers to the afterlife (see, for example, Mark 10.30; Luke 18.30; 20.34-35; Eph. 1.21 for similar language). Forgiveness is not necessary in heaven, and there is no forgiveness in hell. This proves that there is another state after death, and the Church for 2,000 years has called this state purgatory.

2 Macc. 12:43-45 - the prayers for the dead help free them from sin and help them to the reward of heaven. Those in heaven have no sin, and those in hell can no longer be freed from sin. They are in purgatory. Luther was particularly troubled with these verses because he rejected the age-old teaching of purgatory. As a result, he removed Maccabees from the canon of the Bible.

Heb. 12:23 - the spirits of just men who died in godliness are "made" perfect. They do not necessarily arrive perfect. They are made perfect after their death. But those in heaven are already perfect, and those in hell can no longer be made perfect. These spirits are in purgatory.

1 Cor. 3:10-15 - works are judged after death and tested by fire. Some works are lost, but the person is still saved. Paul is referring to the state of purgation called purgatory. The venial sins (bad works) that were committed are burned up after death, but the person is still brought to salvation. This state after death cannot be heaven (no one with venial sins is present) or hell (there is no forgiveness and salvation).

Zech. 13:8-9 - God says 2/3 shall perish, and 1/3 shall be left alive, put into the fire, and refined like silver and tested like gold. The ones that perish go to hell, and there is no need for refinement in heaven, so those being refined are in purgatory.