Absent from the Body Present with the Lord: Biblical Theological and Rational Arguments Against Purgatory

What happens when Christians die? Some conclude that purgatorya place of final purging and purificationis what awaits most believers after death in order to prepare for them to eventually fully enjoy God in heaven. But is purgatory what the Bible teaches? What are the theological implications of purgatory? Is purgatory as some claim a rational conclusion based on human freedom and moral transformation? In this introductory consideration to the topic of what Christians experience after death it will be argued that there are clear biblical theological and rational reasons to reject any teaching of purgatory. Rather than anticipating a time of future purgation the joyful expectation of every Christian is that at the moment of death to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.