RomeSweetHome wrote:The Church encourages us to pray for the dead since they may be in Purgatory needing our prayers. Praying for the dead is quite biblical. In the Book of Maccabees found in the Catholic and Orthodox Old Testament, Judas Maccabees took a collection for a sin offering for his men who died in battle:
For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead... Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin. [2 Macc 12:44-45]
The traditions of men.
St. Paul offers a short prayer for Onesiphorus and his family:
May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus... may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day... [2 Tim 1:16 & 18]
Onesiphorus had died!
Whether dead or live, St. Paul intercedes (mediates) for him to God
(1 Tim 2:1-5).
In the Bible St. Paul writes about a purging fire that will purify our works "for the Day." St. Peter reminds us that our faith will be refined and tested by fire. Elsewhere in the Bible, the action of the Holy Spirit is described as fire. "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." [Luke 3:16] According to the Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross, the fire of Purgatory is God's Love purifying our soul in preparation for the final beatific vision - the heavenly union with God. (Rev 22:3-5) "For indeed our God is a consuming fire." [Heb 12:29]
Peace
2 Tim 1:15-18
15 You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains; 17 but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me, and found me-- 18 the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day-- and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus. NAS
Are you assuming Onesiphorus is dead because Paul indicates he is no longer traveling with Paul or can you site a source that states Onesiphrous is dead when this was written?
As to the Hebrews reference our works will be tested by fire and those who are not found in Christ are destined for the lake of fire. Neither of these verses establishes praying for the dead in purgatory. "the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day" is rather vague. On what day? The day of judgment? If this is your thinking then every soul of man is waiting in "purgatory" for that day, as judgment and our rewards are in the future.