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Hebrews 9:27 says, “people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” There is no coming back, reincarnation or Heaven Can Wait scenarios.
It is not a "fail your way to success" plan. There is no second chance after we die.
Nor does the Bible teach or even mention a place like Purgatory—a place where, after a believer dies, they finish paying for any sins by suffering in torment, and finally they get to go to heaven. In fact, in Scripture we see just the opposite—a believer goes immediately to heaven to be with Jesus. When Jesus was crucified, two criminals were crucified next to Him. One of the criminals, as he was dying, believed that Jesus was the Son of God and Savior. He cried out to Jesus,
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom!”
This man had lived a horrible life. He even admitted that he deserved to die for his crimes. He certainly had no chance to go right any wrongs, or be baptized, or do penance. But Jesus told him,
“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)
Notice the time and place: he would be with Jesus today, and in paradise, not Purgatory. If there were ever a candidate for Purgatory, it would have been this man. If Purgatory existed, Jesus would have said something like, “A hundred years from now, after being purified by the fires of torment, you’ll be ready for heaven.”
The reason there is no Purgatory is because Christ’s death paid the full price for my sins. And nothing else in the universe could pay that debt. We certainly can't even in a million million years.
When Jesus died, one the last things He said was, “It is finished.” In the Greek language that the New Testament was originally written in, it was actually just one word: tetelestai [te-tel-EST-eye]. That was a word a merchant would write on a bill when someone paid their last payment, when it was paid in full. On the Cross Jesus declared, “It’s paid in full!” It’s the same with God and the entire debt of my sin for my whole life. Jesus paid it all. And in fact, we can't pay for our sins no matter how long we are talking about. Our suffering, our good deeds, none of that is even the right "currency" to pay a debt owed to God. Thankfully that is not what God is asking for because He Himself already paid it in full! We just have to receive that gift now, in this life, but if not then, yes, it is too late.
What about praying for the dead so they can get out of Purgatory?
Since Jesus paid for all my sins on the Cross, God has no need for a place like Purgatory—where I finish paying for my sins. Believers who die are already with Christ in heaven (Ephesians 2:6) so there is no need to pray for them! They are with Jesus in heaven when they die.
But what about someone who wasn’t a believer? Can we pray them out of hell?
Jesus taught that it was impossible for anyone to go from heaven to hell or from hell to heaven. In one of His parables a man in Hades asked if someone could come from heaven and help him. But the answer was,
“…a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.” (Luke 16:26)
Then the man in Hades asks if someone from heaven could come back to earth and warn his five brothers. But Jesus answered, “They have Moses and the Prophets [the Scriptures], they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31). Our only warning is in God’s word while we’re here on earth!
After death it will be too late. Prayers for the dead have no effect on them. Our destiny is shaped while living. Daniel 12:2 makes this clear,
“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”
At the moment after death we “awake” either to eternal life, or to everlasting shame and contempt. God’s word says there are only two destinies, and both are permanent.
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