'''Purgatory''' is the [[Roman Catholic]] doctrine on the fate of [[soul]]s that are in [[God]]'s saving grace at the time of death and have perfect assurance of salvation but which require, as a matter of divine justice, remaining temporal punishment for forgiven minor sins ("venial" sins) or major sins ("mortal" sins) that were forgiven prior to death. These souls are believed to undergo a final purging after death, so that the believer who is cleansed from them will then enter [[Heaven]] where "there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth" (Rev 21:27). The punishment for sin is twofold: eternal and temporal. The judgment for unforgiven and unrepented sins is hell. When sin is forgiven, the eternal punishment is entirely removed, along with some, or most, or all of the temporal punishment according to the wisdom of a loving God who is both merciful and just. The doctrine of purgatory was formulated at the Councils of Florence and [[Council of Trent|Trent]], based on Biblical exegesis. | '''Purgatory''' is the [[Roman Catholic]] doctrine on the fate of [[soul]]s that are in [[God]]'s saving grace at the time of death and have perfect assurance of salvation but which require, as a matter of divine justice, remaining temporal punishment for forgiven minor sins ("venial" sins) or major sins ("mortal" sins) that were forgiven prior to death. These souls are believed to undergo a final purging after death, so that the believer who is cleansed from them will then enter [[Heaven]] where "there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth" (Rev 21:27). The punishment for sin is twofold: eternal and temporal. The judgment for unforgiven and unrepented sins is hell. When sin is forgiven, the eternal punishment is entirely removed, along with some, or most, or all of the temporal punishment according to the wisdom of a loving God who is both merciful and just. The doctrine of purgatory was formulated at the Councils of Florence and [[Council of Trent|Trent]], based on Biblical exegesis. |