The Devil's Dangerous Chain

Have you ever asked for directions to a place you don't want to go to? For 2000 years now Christian ministers have preached about the details of hell, hoping that their listeners would decide not to make that trip. In the case of purgatory, though, a number of theories abound. Where is this place, really? Probably the most definitive statement that even Catholics refer to is found in the popular story, The Divine Comedy, by Dante. He informed his readers that purgatory was right here on this planet, located somewhere "beneath the starry firmament." Well, where? According to him, you could find the flames at a mountain, in a secluded place, an uninhabited place, in the southern hemisphere; in fact, it was and is directly opposite Jerusalem. And of course, the concept of a mountain was highly significant, as sinners being purified on their way to heaven would slowly, inch by inch, try to creep their way up to the perfection levels required to get into Paradise.

We've spent four days here on the radio trying to share the clear Bible principles which would indicate to us that purgatory is simply not real. The Word of God doesn't teach it. You can't find these flames anywhere near Jerusalem or anywhere in the 66 books accepted as the Bible. But here in our final study time we want to think together about the very real danger of what we call "linkage." How big a danger is it if a person believes in this place, and it turns out they're wrong? If we expected the bus to stop at purgatory and it doesn't, so what? That's tremendous good news, isn't it? We're on our way to heaven on a nonstop flight after all! "All's well that ends well," right? Actually, maybe not.

All week we've been sharing one warning over and over. And that's this: the teaching of purgatory is absolutely linked to a weakening of the doctrine of salvation through Christ alone. Accepting purgatory weakens the cross; it dilutes the blood of the Lamb of God. And friend, that's a dangerous, disturbing link; in fact, that's precisely and exactly what Protestants have been protesting for the last 500 years.

Even in his very good treatise on purgatory, Catholic scholar and apologist Zachary J. Hayes from the Catholic Theological Union admits this:

"Luther and other Reformers seemed to think that the doctrine of purgatory would obscure the grace and redemptive work of Jesus."

In his gentle but scholarly critique of Hayes' treatise, Dr. John Walvoord summed up the Protestant movement's opposition to this false teaching in one sentence. Here it is:

"The doctrine of purgatory requires an inaccurate definition of grace."

I mentioned yesterday the powerful Bible rejection of purgatory and the subsequent diluted effectiveness of Calvary in this one verse: First John 1:7:

"The blood of Jesus, [God's] Son, purifies us from all sin."

Or how about this companion text, found in Hebrews 10:4?

"By ONE sacrifice He [Jesus] has made perfect FOREVER those who are being made holy."

So friend, "linkage" ties the doctrine of purgatory to a false, weakened, faith-destroying picture of Calvary. It robs us of our confidence. It diminishes the power of God. It takes away from the love of Jesus by piling on centuries of purifying that we have to endure, that we have to achieve. Whether it's near Jerusalem or some other place, purgatory does indeed put a mountain in our path that competes with another hill called Calvary.

But I'd like to invite you to consider some other links that are disturbing as well. Because as we've considered teachings about heaven, hell, and purgatory in this trilogy of Bible studies, we find one common danger over and over. And that is the teaching — foreign to God's word — that a man or woman's soul is inherently able to survive and live forever with or without God. The ancient Greek philosophy of natural, inalienable, indestructible human immortality is right here in purgatory, of course — but through linkage this false teaching works its way through the entire framework of Christian belief, undermining almost everything.

Notice with me, first of all, that Jesus stated categorically that His Father could destroy both a body AND a soul in hell. That's Matthew 10:28.

"The soul that sinneth, it shall die."

That's Ezekiel 18:4, the King James Version.

"God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who ALONE is immortal."

That's First Timothy, chapter six. And a very careful study of all Bible passages leads the sincere believer to believe that immortality is something only the saved are permitted to PUT ON, as we're told in First Corinthians 15 by none other than Paul.

As we studied one particular reference book, entitled Protestants & Catholics: Do They Now Agree?, the authors point out that a belief in purgatory, which is linked to this concept of an immortal, never-dying soul, is also tied to some other problem issues. Notice:

"Catholic doctrines of purgatory," they write, "indulgences, and the communion of saints have resulted in an openness to visits of the alleged dead."

What are these two writers saying? We find here a link between purgatory — which comes from the error of an immortal soul — and communion between living people and dead people. Have you ever heard of a seancé? The Bible strictly forbids such a satanic thing — but here it is linked with this idea that we can not only pray for dead people but communicate with them across the Great Divide. The entire kingdom of spiritualism, which is identified in God's Word as being of Lucifer, depends on this teaching of a soul which survives death, which lives forever even without God. The New Age movement would be nothing, it would be destroyed, if it were not for the idea that we can communicate with spirits, with the dead, with people's past lives. The eastern teaching of reincarnation, of karma, of endless lives . . . friend, all of these, together with purgatory, are tied to the first lie ever told in Eden, where the serpent said to Eve: "Hey, when you die, you won't really die."

It still brings back a pang of regret when I remember those headlines coming from Rancho Santa Fe about three and a half years ago. Thirty-nine people bought into this entire package of error — that they could shed these "containers," these earthly bodies, and that their souls would survive even without any confession of Jesus Christ. Their souls would catch a ride on that Hale-Bopp comet, or so they thought. And this train of false doctrine: purgatory, seancés, reincarnation, endless lives, an indestructible soul . . . the linkage of these many lies killed 39 people who followed a man's doctrines instead of God's.

As we close, consider with me the teaching, admittedly still embraced by many, many good Christians, that the fires of hell burn forever and ever for all eternity, and that sinners in those flames will not die, but will live forever in agony. This was last week's discussion, but even as thoughtful Bible students consider other Bible evidence, we have to concede this: friend, if you believe that the soul absolutely cannot be destroyed, cannot die, that even God cannot bring a human soul to an end, then you have to immediately accept the teaching of eternal, everlasting hellfire and the torment that accompanies it. Because where else would the "(quote) soul" of a rebellious sinner go? If it can't die, it must be somewhere for all eternity. And we see again the danger of "linkage."

There's one other danger, one other link, we should prayerfully consider together. Because your Bible and mine teaches that a man or woman has only this life in which to accept the claims of the Cross. No reincarnation, no afterlife in purgatory where you can begin to get ready for a heaven you're not presently clean enough for. The pages of Scripture simply do not teach what some call "second chance" theology. Notice this from Hebrews chapter nine:

"Just as man is destined to die ONCE, and after that to face judgment."

It's ironic that many good Christians refer to the parable in Luke chapter 16 — the well- known story of the "Rich man and Lazarus" — to try to discover details about hell and a supposed afterlife. Are heaven and hell so close that we can visit back and forth? Do people in hell have eyes and ears and a tongue? Are the flames so mild that even a drop of water would provide wonderful relief? These questions are ironic and moot, I believe, because Christ was trying to convey a completely different truth! Notice that this person in "(quote) hell" says to Father Abraham:

"Send Lazarus (who was in heaven) to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment."

And Abraham tells him no. "If they won't believe the Bible and the prophets," he says, "they won't even pay attention if someone rises up from the dead." What's the point here? Not that people can issue second-chance warnings from either heaven or hell. It's that now, this life, this day, today, is the time to accept Jesus Christ! Now, today, is the time to cast yourself at the foot of the cross. Friend, don't wait for tomorrow, or a miracle warning coming from a seancé or from someone who's had a near-death experience. Don't count on a reincarnation to get you into heaven, or on the flames of purgatory to clean you up. There's already something which can do both of those things, and it's spelled B-L-O-O-D. Not yours, or mine, but the blood of Jesus.

In the end, that's the only portrait we need.

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