The history of "rest in peace" (RIP) begins with the Latin phrase requiescat in pace, meaning "may he/she rest in peace," which appeared on Christian gravestones as early as the 8th century. The phrase was used as a prayer for the soul of the departed to find peace after the struggles of life. It gained widespread use in the 18th century, often abbreviated as R.I.P., and has since evolved into a more secular expression of peace after death, used in both formal funeral settings and informal social media tributes - AI
RIP is actually a brief prayer on behalf of the deceased. Where did the idea of praying for the deceased which resulted in the Catholic's creating purgatory come from?
The idea continued to develop through the writings of the Church Fathers, with figures like Pope Gregory the Great writing about a purifying fire in the 6th century. -- AI
When did purgatory actually become a 'fact' in the Catholic religion?
The formal doctrine was officially defined at the Second Council of Lyon in 1274. This council taught that some souls need purification after death and can be aided by prayers and acts of piety from the living. -- AI
It is very disturbing If a person who is close to you passes away without you knowing whether or not they ever accepted Christ Jesus as LordAndSaviour. So it is not unreasonable for you to continue to pray for them even after death.
However the scriptures are clear on this:
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: |
So, there is no allowance for the eternal destiny of a person to be altered once they pass from physical life.
The verse that Pope Gregory twisted to make it justify prayers for the dead is:
Obviously, this is talking about the believer who dies without any righteous deeds. Such are saved by Grace but receive no reward as their works were of the flesh and not of the Holy Spirit.
But again, people are disturbed by the finality of death with respect to the deceased having no possibility of changing their eternal destiny. So, the human motivation is to give such deceased 'another chance'.
But think about the implications. The individual in question did not think the sacrifice of Christ for him was of value while he lived and enjoyed the benefits of life from Christ. And so, a living person is going to pray that such an ungrateful, rebellious person gets into heaven anyway. How ludicrous!
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; |
And whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. |
No, there is no escape for any person who rejects the Mighty God and Saviour during his span of years on this earth. Such will perish in the Lake Of Fire.
Those who would ignore the Truth do it for their own comfort and vainly pray for such - even if it is just RIP.