49 min. (1 CD / MP3)

Did Jesus himself ever teach about Purgatory? For many readers of the Bible—Catholic and otherwise—the answer to this question would be ‘No’. Many studies of Purgatory in the Bible focus on two key passages: Jewish prayers for the dead (2 Maccabees 12) and St. Paul’s teaching about “being saved through fire” (1 Corinthians 3).

In this exciting study, Dr. Brant Pitre looks at these passages but goes even further, using his knowledge of ancient Jewish tradition to shed light on several forgotten teachings of Jesus himself regarding the reality of Purgatory. In this study, you will learn the following:


• The Sermon on the Mount and “Getting out of Prison”: Did Jesus talk about Purgatory in a Jewish way, in his most famous sermon of all?

• The Fires of “Gehenna”: Is Gehenna always a reference to the place of the damned? Or did ancient Jews believe in a spiritual realm of temporary punishment by “fire”?

• The Parable of the Servant’s Debts: Where is the “prison” into which God will cast us if we fail to pay off our “debts”? Is Jesus talking about an earthly prison in this parable?

• The Parable of the Master and the Servants: What are the different punishments that the servants receive when the Master comes back?

• The Amazing Grace of Purgatory: How can the Catechism of the Catholic Church refer to Purgatory as a “grace”? What is the “double consequence” of sin, and how does it shed light on the logic of Purgatory?


If there is any doctrine of the Catholic Church about which both non-Catholics and Catholics seem to have doubts and misunderstandings, it is Purgatory. If you’ve ever wanted to learn what Jesus himself had to say about what will happen to those who die before “making amends” with their enemies; if you’ve ever wondered what will happen to those who “aren’t ready” for when they meet their Master; and if you’ve ever wanted to learn more about Purgatory—without actually having to go there—then this is the Bible study for you.