Purgatory revisited

I found a lucrative resource about the biblical foundations for the notion of Purgatory in a book by Gregory Oatis titled, "Catholic Doctrine in Scripture". I hope this doesn't violate copyright if I've attributed the following text to him:

People tend to think of purgatory as a place, but it is actually a process-- one by which those of us who do not reach perfect holiness in this life are cleansed to prepare us for heaven. It is a great gift, for unless we are made perfect, scripture tells us we will have no place in heaven:

Rev 21:27 "Nothing unclean will enter it..."

1 Cor 3:15 "The person will be saved, but only as through fire..." ***This is the passage I was referring to, Kt, if you are still reading this***

Heb 12:14

2 Sam 12:13-14 ...even after David's sin is forgiven, he still faces punishment.

Heb 12:22-23 "Spirits made perfect"

Mt 5:18-30

Lk 12:58-59 ...accounts must be settled.

Rev 7:13-14 ...those who survived the great tribulation still must wash their robes white in the blood of the Lamb

1 Jn 5:16-17...If there is such a thing as sin that is not deadly, and if sin means not heavenly, and if deadly means hell-- where do you go if you have sin that is not deadly?

Mk 9:49 "Everyone will be salted with fire" ***this passage too, Kt***

1 Pet 3:19 "He also went to preach to the spirits in prison..."

Eph 4:8-10

Mt 12:32 ...here Jesus clearly implies that expiation can occur after death.

2 Mac 12:42-46 ...he could not have been praying for the dead if they were in hell, since prayer would not have benefited them. And if they were in heaven, prayer would not have been necessary. Hence we pray for the dead in the hope of heaven, but not the assurance.

The belief in purgatory is not, as some claim, a medieval 'innovation'. Quite the contrary. This doctrine actually dates back farther in Church history than both the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the canon of the New Testament.

Around 210 AD we find Tertullian stating "...if we understand that prison of which the Gospel speaks to be Hades, and if we interpret the last farthing (Mt 5:25-26) to be the light offense which is to be expiated before the resurrection, no one will doubt that the soul undergoes some punishments in Hades, without prejudice to the fullness of the resurrection, after which recompense will be made through the flesh also."

So I hope this resource proves helpful in offering scriptural basis for the doctrine of Purgatory. The reference to a cleansing through fire especially strikes me, as referenced in my earlier posts on the subject.