Secrets from Beyond The Grave

the first to the fourth century began teaching prayers for the departed.13 Tertullian (160-220) was the earliest father to refer to prayer for the dead. He also admitted that there was no direct biblical basis for praying for the dead. Clement of Alexander (150-220) spoke of sanctification of deathbed patients by purifying fire in the next life. In the early third-century church there was much debate over the consequences of post-biblical baptismal sin. A suggested solution was the idea of a purgatorial discipline after death. This concept was discussed at Alexandria, Egypt, at the time of Clement. Augustine (354-430) taught purification through suffering in the afterlife. The concept of purgatory spread to the West, which was the Roman branch of the church, and into West Africa through the influence of Augustine and Gregory the Great. Gregory (540-604) was the bishop of Rome and therefore pope from 590-604. He popularized and developed the doctrine of purgatory, aiding its spread throughout the western branch of the empire. We must note here that early writers of history and philosophy mention various religions who prayed for the dead and even paid their own "priest" to pray for their departed loved one. Plato (427-347 b.c.) wrote of Orphic teachers in his day: Who flock to the rich man's door, and try to persuade him that they have a power at their command, which they procure from heaven, and which enables them by sacrifices and incantation . . . to amends for any crime committed by the individual himself, or his ancestors. . . . Their mysteries deliver us from the torments of the other world, while the neglect of them is punished by an awful doom.14 Chinese Buddhists believe it is necessary to pray their loved ones out of places of fire similar to purgatory. They have special shops set up for prayer to be offered to deliver their loved ones from the place of fire. The Zoroaster religion believes that the souls of the dead pass through twelve stages before they are sufficiently purified to enter heaven. Even in the Islamic religion, the Muslims teach that the angels Munkar and Nakir question the dead as to their religion and their beliefs after they die. Many who are unprepared will go into a type of purgatory. Paying for Their Release There is a very lengthy history in the Roman Catholic Church of conducting masses for the purpose of praying souls out of the fires of purgatory. This is one of the major doctrinal differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the mainline Protestant denominations. Among traditional Protestants, there is a clear teaching that the act of redemption releases a repentant sinner from the future punishment of hellfire, as long as the person continues in the faith. The belief stems from understanding the finished work of Christ on the cross and how His precious death and suffering replaced our need to suffer and die in sin. Having great-grandparents whose roots were from Italy and having a great love for the Catholic people, I know it is often difficult to challenge traditional doctrines that are inbred from youth. However, the great news is that redemption has been paid, and the Scriptures, not the traditions of men, reveal that a person should never give money for the dead. Only the blood of Christ redeems! What Does the Bible Say?

Many sincere individuals will readily accept their church's tradition as being equal with the inspired Scriptures. However, if and when any man-made tradition of any church contradicts