SOULS IN HEAVEN AND SOULS IN PURGATORY

 SOULS IN HEAVEN AND SOULS IN PURGATORY

November 1 and 2 are dates the Catholic Church celebrates Feast of All Saints and Feast of All Souls respectively. The question is: The Bible mentions that after death comes judgment, and again, there is no repentance in the grave. So why do we talk about souls in purgatory? Again, Jesus says that no one has gone to heaven except the one that come down from heaven, why are we talking of Saints in heaven?

WHO ARE THE SAINTS 

During the astounding vision of heaven, one of the elders bowing before Gods throne asks John, Who are these guys? What might seem like an improbable question is a rhetorical device for John to explain their identity. The elder himself identifies the white-robed people as they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14 RSV). Some Bible commentators will latch on to the phrase great tribulation and make grand predictions, but the central point is that the saints have survived the persecutions of the world, the flesh, and the devil. They have made it past the gauntlet of temptation and have entered into the life of God in Heaven. Yet they did not earn their way into heaven, but have washed their robes, which had been dirty with sin, in the blood of the Lamb. In an impossible-to-imagine scenario, the crimson blood of the Lamb makes the saints robes pure white. The saints are not those who earned it, but those who repented. Jesus washed them of their sins in Baptism and so they now have the right to stand before God in worship in Heaven. Because they are with God, seeing him face to face, we ask them to assist us in presenting our request to God (God here, is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Whether they present the request directly to the Father or to the Son or to the Holy Spirit, I do not know, since I have never gone there before. But following the Scriptures, presenting Jesus as the only mediator, I can confidently say that they present the requests to Jesus, who in turn presents them to the Father.)

HAS ANYONE GONE TO HEAVEN APART FROM JESUS CHRIST?

John 3:13- And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. This verse is intended to confirm Jesus' revelation of the Father as true, complete, firsthand, and unique (cf. John 1:1-14). This is another example of the vertical dualism in John: heaven versus earth, physical versus spiritual, Nicodemus' origin versus Jesus' origin (cf. John 1:51; 6:33, 38, 41, 50, 51, 58, 62). This verse asserts (1) the deity; (2) the pre-existence; and (3) the incarnation of the eternal Second Person of the Trinity.

Since after this saying of Jesus, has anyone gone to heaven? YES How do you know? I know as you know. First, every Christian in this world believes that all the 12 apostles of Jesus and St Paul also are in heaven. If that is the case, why do they deny Blessed Virgin Mary being in Heaven? Again why do they deny other people from 2nd century till now being in heaven? This calls for reflection. Have you seen it!! The misconception of people, and their ignorance as well!!! So, since after Jesus, many people have gone to heaven. A follow-up question will be, what will then happen when Jesus comes again, when the bible says that the dead will rise first?

WHERE WILL THE DEAD PERSON STAY TILL THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST

1Thess. 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord”. "and the dead in Christ shall rise first" This phrase causes confusion about where the dead go between their death and resurrection day. This verse implies that they will remain in the grave (cf. Matt. 27:52-53). However, 2 Cor. 5:6,8 implies that they are with the Lord. The solution may be in postulating a disembodied state. The physical body remains in the grave, the life force (the Spirit) goes to be with the Lord.

The Bible says: The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). At the resurrection, God reunites the body and His life-giving spiritand the person lives again. This explains why the Church teaches about Personal Judgment and General Judgment. Personal Judgment takes place immediately one dies, and the person will go where the Lord will keep him or her. General Judgment will take place on the Second coming of Jesus. In General judgment, when person resurrects, he or she will move straight to either heaven or hell, because the person knows the address already. 

TWO TYPES OF SIN IN THE SCRIPTURE

In the Scripture, sins come in two basic types: mortal sins that destroy ones soul and venial sins, which are less serious breaches of Gods law. The Church believes that if you commit a mortal sin, you forfeit heaven and opt for hell by your own free will and actions. 

1 JOHN 5: 16-17: If any one sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he should ask God, who will give life to those who commit this kind of sin. There is a sin that leads to death; I am not saying he should ask regarding that sin. All unrighteousness is sin, yet there is sin that does not lead to death.

LUKE 12:47-48: The servant who knows the masters will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. 

MORTAL SIN: A mortal sin is a transgression of the moral law in a serious matter, committed with clear advertence to the grievous nature of the act and with full deliberation and consent on the part of the will. It is called mortal since it deprives the soul of its supernatural life of sanctifying grace. It deserves eternal punishment (2 Thes 1:9), since the offence is a deliberate act of rebellion against the infinite majesty of God.

VENIAL SIN: An offence against the law of God less grievous than mortal sin, not depriving the soul of sanctifying grace. A sin is venial either when the matter is not grave, or when, given grave matter, either full advertence to its gravity on the part of the intellect or full consent on the part of the will is wanting. Venial sins can be remitted by prayer or other good works. Venial sins are any sins that meet one or two of the conditions needed for a mortal sin but do not fulfill all three at the same time, or they are minor violations of the moral law, such as giving an obscene gesture to another driver while in traffic. Venial sin only weakens the soul with sickness but doesnt kill the grace within. Venial sins are not deadly to the life of grace, but like minor infections in the body, if casually ignored and left untended, may deteriorate into a more serious condition. For example, someone who tells so-called WHITE LIES commits venial sin, but if he does it long enough, its much easier for him to be tempted to tell a big lie later on that would in fact be a mortal sin, such as cheating on a test or on his income tax return.

REFERENCES TO MORTAL SIN IN SCRIPTURE:

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 "Know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, Nor the effeminate, nor liars with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, Idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects, Envies, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like. Of which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God." (cf. Colossians 3:5-6; Apocalypse 21:8;Matthew 5:28)

REFERENCES TO VENIAL SIN IN SCRIPTURE:

Proverbs 24:16 "For a just mall shall fall seven times and shall rise again: but the wicked shall fall down into evil." Matthew 12:36 "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment." 

THREE CONDITIONS ARE NECESSARY FOR MORTAL SIN TO EXIST:

Grave Matter: The act itself is intrinsically evil and immoral. For example, murder, rape, incest, perjury, adultery, and so on are grave matter.

Full Knowledge: The person must know that what they are doing or planning to do is evil and immoral. For example, someone steals a postage stamp, thinking that it is only worth 50 naira. She knows that it is sinful, but if she is unaware that the stamp is rare and actually worth a 500 naira, she is not guilty of mortal sin but of venial sin.

Deliberate Consent: The person must freely choose to commit the act or plan to do it. Someone forced against her will doesnt commit a mortal sin. For example, a woman told shes giving a minor shock to another person who in fact is administering tortuous electrical jolts is not guilty of a mortal sin (although she may feel guilty if she finds out the truth).