As I was proceeding from an American evangelical tradition toward full communion with the Catholic Church, I had to work through some particularly difficult doctrines. Among these were the twin doctrines of purgatory and prayers on behalf of the dead.
In retrospect, they were only difficult from the perspective of a theological education that included a large dose of explicitly anti-Catholic rhetoric. They were also difficult because the version of the Bible I was using — the only version I knew existed — eliminated the Old Testament books from which those doctrines are developed. Among these is the Second Book of Maccabees, which accounts for the developing Jewish understanding of life after death and provides the foundation for the Catholic doctrines of purgatory and prayers for the dead. It is no surprise, therefore, that the most recent volume of the monumental Word on Fire Bible, “Exile and Return,” puts special emphasis on the two chapters of 2 Maccabees in which these doctrines are expressed.
The Word on Fire Bible is not a typical study Bible. Unlike, for example, the massive Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, it does not contain cross-references, explanatory footnotes and detailed word studies. Rather, the Word on Fire Bible might be described as an evangelistic work of art surrounding the biblical texts. Hundreds of paintings, photographs and essays from saints, theologians, artists and philosophers situate the text of Scripture in a holistic theological framework, which accounts for the historical, aesthetic and religious significance of the Bible. “Exile and Return” is the fifth of a projected seven volumes that, when finished, will include all of the Bible’s 73 books.
“Exile and Return” contains the books 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. Like its predecessors, Volume 5 is printed on heavy, high-quality paper and available in full-grain leather. It contains dozens of works of art depicting scenes and themes in the text, as well as explanatory essays of both Scripture passages and the interpretive images. Reading the Word on Fire Bible gives one a sense of the profound impact that the Jewish and Christian narratives have had on every aspect of world history. And it accounts for the entirety of the rich Catholic theological tradition, including aspects that were arbitrarily rejected by schismatic traditions from the 16th century onward.
Resurrection: ‘The King of the universe will raise us up’
This includes 2 Maccabees, the seventh and 12th chapters of which provide the foundation for the doctrines of resurrection, purgatory and the communion of saints. Recognizing the importance of these chapters, the Word on Fire Bible provides extensive explanation and commentary on both their historical and theological significance.
As Bishop Robert Barron notes, Chapter 7 of 2 Maccabees “is exceptionally important, and the narrative that it contains is one of the most powerful and compelling in the entire Old Testament.” It is the story of the martyrdom of seven brothers under ruthless dictator Antiochus IV Epiphanes, in the second century B.C.
As, one by one, the brothers are brutally tortured and murdered for refusal to eat forbidden foods, they mock those who can take their bodies but not their souls, expressing the hope of life after death. “You dismiss us from the present life,” says one of the brothers, “but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life.” After his hands are amputated, another says, “I got these from Heaven … and from him I hope to get them back again.” Another brother “cherish[es] the hope God gives of being raised again by him.” And as she watches her sons martyred one by one, their mother declares, “the Creator of the world … will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws.”
If one removes 2 Maccabees from the Bible, one removes any hint at the developing doctrine of the resurrection. Indeed, without 2 Maccabees, the Christian doctrine of resurrection to heavenly glory is probably unintelligible. The Word on Fire commentary accompanying Chapter 7 explains why this is the case.
Purgatory and prayers for the dead: ‘They turned to supplication’
The 12th chapter of 2 Maccabees is similarly indispensable for our understanding of purgatory and prayers for the dead. In this narrative, some of the slain Jewish martyrs to Antiochus were discovered to be wearing pagan amulets, probably as talismans against harm. Even though these faithful men fought courageously against the tyrant Antiochus, they bore the sins of idolatry when they died. Rather than to consign them to hell, the narrative introduces us to faith in what we now call purgatory and prayers for the dead.
The surviving companions of these men “turned to supplication, praying that the sin that had been committed might be wholly blotted out” in the afterlife. Commentary from Bishop Fulton Sheen explains that this is the foundation for our responsibility to pray for the righteous dead. “These poor souls suffer from one great handicap,” he explains, “they cannot help themselves.” But, Bishop Sheen continues, “they can be helped by us.” Through the prayers of the Church Militant, these faithful dead “are made ready … to enter into the glory of the Church Triumphant and the all-embracing love of God.”
I have accounted for only a couple of the hundreds of notes, illustrations, paintings, photographs and interpretive essays that accompany the text of Scripture in Volume 5 of the Word on Fire Bible. It is a treasure of Catholic wisdom and theological nourishment to which, along with the first four volumes, I will return again and again. The Word on Fire Bible continues to be a publishing triumph, unique among English editions of the Bible.
