What Does Matthew 12:31-32 Mean? Blasphemy Fully Explained

"Blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven"
Matthew 12:31

The unforgivable sin occurs when one speaks blasphemously against the Holy Spirit. The New Testament was originally written in Greek. In the passage above, the Greek word blasphemia was not translated into English but was transliterated. In other words, it was written in English letters to reflect the sound of the original Greek word, resulting in the word "blasphemy" in English Bibles. Blasphemia means slander.

I will repeat the passage:

"Blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven"
Matthew 12:31

And blasphemy means slander. So, if we replace the word blasphemy with the word it represents Matthew 12:31 would read...

Slander against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

So, slander against the Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin.

This sin is...
Described in Matthew 12:31-32
Committed in the taking of the mark of the beast (666) in Revelation 14:9-11
Committed in "sin leading to death", over which prayer is ineffective in 1 John 5:16

Please pray for understanding before I introduce you to Matthew 12:31-32. If you will not ask God for understanding, believing that He will grant understanding, you should not expect to understand (James 1:5-7, 4:2-3).

(Pause for prayer)

"³¹ Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³² Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come" (Matthew 12:31-32).

But remember, blasphemy means slander. And both instances of the word "blasphemy" in verse 31 are transliterations of the Greek word blasphemia.

The words Jesus spoke in Matthew 12:31-32 occurred in the healing event of Matthew 12:22-36. The multitudes saw Jesus heal a blind man (Matthew 12:22), in fulfillment of a prophecy of scripture which identified Jesus as the Son of David, the Messiah (Matthew 11:2-5, Isaiah 35:5). When the Pharisees heard that the people recognized this Messianic sign (Matthew 12:23), having conspired to kill Jesus in their last encounter with him (Matthew 12:14) and in an attempt to dissuade the multitude from accepting Jesus as the Messiah, they said that Jesus healed the blind man by demonic power (Matthew 12:24). They would not want the multitudes to believe that the man they planned to kill was the Messiah.

Jesus said that the Pharisees were "offspring of vipers", inferring that they were snakes with poisonous venom designed to inflict spiritual death in others (Matthew 3:7, 12:34, 23:33). They were people who worked to keep others out of Heaven... to make them sons of Hell (Matthew 23:13-14). John 8:44 states that their father was the devil. While none of these characterizations constituted unforgivable sin, they do describe the type of person who may be near to committing it... and in need of being warned about it. The warning of Christ is an act of grace!

Those in the present age, who spread spiritual death, dissuading people from believing in the Messiah, should heed the warning which was presented as an act of grace… But the offer of mercy has limits... There is a point of no return beyond which judgement is no longer avoidable... The unforgivable sin... Do not slander the Holy Spirit!

This page will focus on Matthew 12:31-32, using scripture regarding the mark of the beast, the "sin leading to death" and numerous other scriptures to arrive at a full explanation of Matthew 12:31-32.

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In this page I will present scriptures in a prayerful attempt to fully explain this sin, to the extent that scripture explains it. Scripture will show that this sin cannot be committed by those who believe in Christ, but that it can be committed by unbelievers in the current age. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you have not, cannot and will not commit the unforgivable sin.

We will examine the stoning of Stephen to see that one may resist the Holy Spirit without committing the unforgivable sin of "speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit", even though both resistance and speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit may be committed through acts of murder. Resisting is to withstand the communication from the Holy Spirit while "speaking against" is verbal aggression against the person or work of the Holy Spirit.

Blaspheme is an act of slander.

To blaspheme the Son of Man (Jesus) is forgivable. So, the unforgiveable sin must be specifically directed against the Holy Spirit. One may commit one act which blasphemes both the Son of Man and the Holy Spirit, but it is the portion of the act which was directed against the Holy Spirit which is unforgivable.

The "sin leading to death" of 1 John 5:16, about which we are not to pray, can clearly be committed in the present age, since 1 John was written to those in present age of the New Covenant regarding sin committed long after the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ.

"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that he should make a request concerning this" (1 John 5:16).

We see that "sin leading to death" is unforgivable because it is a sin regarding which we are not to invoke intercessory prayer, and as such is sin on which judgement is unavoidable, beyond the reach of prayer. 1 John 5:16 reveals that "life" can be given to one because of the prayer of another, if the sin was "sin not leading to death". But No prayers are admonished in 1 John 5:16 for "sin leading to death", meaning that:

The prayer leading to life in 1 John 5:16 for "sin not leading to death" is ineffective for "sin leading to death".
The intercessory prayer of James 5:13-15 resulting in forgiveness of the sin of a third party is not admonished, because forgiveness is not available for "sin leading to death", it being the unforgivable sin. Click here and read micro-subchapter 4.3k for illumination on the intercessory prayer of James 5:13-15.

"Sin leading to death" will be explained in great depth later in this page.

Like "sin leading to death", the sin of worshiping the beast and taking his mark (666) is shown in Revelation 14:9-11 to be unforgivable, even though the word "unforgivable" is not used... even though the phrase "speaking against the Holy Spirit" is not used. But since worshipping the beast and taking his mark results in torment "forever"... and therefore is unforgivable sin... and since there is only one unforgivable sin... we know that those who worship him and take his mark have committed the unforgivable sin, which is speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit. And since the beast commits numerous blasphemies, one of which is blaspheme against those in Heaven (which includes the Holy Spirit)... we know that the beast is guilty of speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit. And since worshippers imitate the object of their worship (John 8:38,44, Psalm 135:18, 15-18 ) those taking his mark and worshipping him will say what he says, to speak the blasphemies he speaks... blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the one and only unforgivable sin.

Some say that the unforgivable sin is...

Accusing Jesus of being demon possessed
Accrediting the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan
Israel's rejection of the Messiah who was there in person
Refusal to believe in Christ
Refusal to believe in Christ for one's entire life.

I will show, from the scriptures that none of these are the unforgivable sin. The unforgivable sin is exactly what Jesus said it was... speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit.

And since the Greek word underlying the English word "blasphemy" means slander, the unforgivable sin is...

Slandering the Holy Spirit

In section 5 you will see that this sin is not committed by mere thoughts in one's mind. It must be communicated to others in order to be slander. This page is organized in twenty sections...

Twenty Sections

1) Only Unbelievers Can Blaspheme the Holy Spirit

2) Jesus Was Not Talking to Believers in Matthew 12:31-32

3) Who is the Holy Spirit?

4) What is Blasphemy?

5) What is Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit?

6) Resisting the Holy Spirit is Forgivable

7) The Unforgivable Sin Was Not Committed in Matthew 12:22-37

8) Blaspheming the Son of Man is Forgivable

9) The Pharisees Worked to Send Men to Hell

10) Grace Offered to Pharisees

11) There is Only One Unforgivable Sin

12) Unavoidable Judgement: God said, "Don't Pray"

13) Sin Leading to Death: Brief Interpretation

14) Sin Leading to Death: In Depth Interpretation

15) The Unforgivable Mark of the Beast (666)

16) Rebuttal of Other Interpretations of Matthew 12:31-32

17) Can a point of no return occur in the day of visitation?

18) What is the Age to Come in Matthew 12:31-32?

19) Evangelism to Blasphemers: Pearls Before Swine

20) What is the Eternal Gospel?

1) Only Unbelievers Can Blaspheme the Holy Spirit

I will repeat the passage:

"³¹ Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come." Matthew 12:31-32

Two times in this passage we are told that one who commits this sin will not be forgiven.

But, at conversion, all sins are forgiven:

"¹³ And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross" (Colossians 2:13-14).

And Acts 10:43 reveals that everyone who believes in Jesus will receive forgiveness of sins:

"All the prophets testify about him (Jesus), that through his name everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43, See 10:1-48).

"Remission" means forgiveness. So, everyone who believes in Jesus will receive forgiveness. But, no one who commits the sin of Matthew 12:31-32 will be forgiven. Matthew 12:31-32 reveals that forgiveness is not possible for anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit. But Acts 10:43 reveals that "everyone" who believes in Christ will receive forgiveness of sins. And Colossians 2:14 says that forgiveness is for all our trespasses. So, one who has sinned the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not believe in Jesus.

I am simply using one of the simplest and most reliable forms of logic which I learned when I studied logic in college.

In studying logic we started with an argument like this:

All carpenters will hammer nails.

Myra refuses to hammer nails.

So, Myra will not become a carpenter.

Comparing to the unforgivable sin:

All who believe will be forgiven for all sin.

Blasphemers of the Spirit will not be forgiven.

So, blasphemers of the Spirit will not believe.

Summary:

Believers are forgiven for all sin.
Blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is not forgiven.
Therefore, Blasphemers against the Holy Spirit will not believe.

God's inspired Word is inerrant and without contradiction. We must understand all three passages in a way which does not contradict any passage.

I will place the three scriptures together so you can see...

"... having forgiven us all our trespasses" (Colossians 2:13).
"everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43)
"blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men" (Matthew 12:31).

If you believe in Jesus, you received forgiveness at conversion for all trespasses. One who has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven for all trespasses. So, one who has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, will not believe.

Conclusion: One who has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit will not believe in Jesus.

I will place the three scriptures together again...

"... having forgiven us all our trespasses" (Colossians 2:13).
"everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43)
"blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men" (Matthew 12:31).

If you believe in Jesus, you received forgiveness at conversion for all trespasses. So, when you were born again, you had not blasphemed against the Holy Spirit in your prior life. This is evident because everyone who believes in him instantly receives remission of sins, forgiveness of "all our trespasses" at conversion. This could not occur for one who has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, since this sin is not forgiven.

So, anyone who has been born again, had not blasphemed against the Holy Spirit prior to conversion.

Conclusion: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit prior to conversion is not possible.

Consider these scriptures:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
"blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men" (Matthew 12:31).

1 John is written to believers (1 John 5:13, 2:12-14). If believers sin, they may confess their sins and be forgiven... for all unrighteousness. So, believers cannot commit a sin which is unforgivable. And... assuming that after conversion, believers will always continue to believe, a convert can never commit a sin which cannot be forgiven.

Conclusion: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit after conversion is not possible

Review

One who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not believe in Jesus
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit prior to conversion is not possible

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit after conversion is not possible

If you believe in Jesus Christ, you have not, cannot and will not commit the unforgivable sin.

But, I assumed above that a believer cannot stop believing.

Some may ask: What if a believer can stop believing?

Well, if a believer could stop believing and then commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, forgiveness would be denied... since that sin is unforgiveable (Matthew 12:31-32).

But a believer cannot stop believing...

"¹⁷ For God didn't send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. ¹⁸He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn't believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God" (John 3:17-18).

Verse eighteen says, "He who doesn't believe"... "has not believed". In other words, one who doesn't believe in the present did not believe in the past. So, it is not possible to believe and then stop believing.

There is a scripture which indicates that superficial faith can be temporary. This is what scripture calls faith with "no root", when God's word is on but not in a person. Click here for an in depth study of this topic. Click here to see scriptural proof for the once saved always saved doctrine. You will see from scripture that one who truly believes will not stop believing, that one who has eternal life will not lose eternal life.

Conclusion: A believer cannot stop believing. Once a believer, always a believer.

Now, let's put that truth together with two of our previous conclusions...

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit prior to belief is not possible.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit after belief is not possible.
Once a believer, always a believer.

If a believer cannot blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, before belief or after belief... and cannot stop believing, then a believer cannot blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. Only unbelievers can commit this sin.

So, we have two additional conclusions:

Believers cannot blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.
Only unbelievers can blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.

Summary

One who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not believe in Jesus.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit prior to belief is not possible.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit after belief is not possible.
A believer cannot stop believing.
Believers cannot blaspheme against the Holy Spirit
Only unbelievers can blaspheme against the Holy Spirit

In other words, if you believe in Jesus Christ, you have not, cannot and will not commit the unforgivable sin.

Later, you will see that the words Jesus spoke in regard to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit were spoken to unbelievers. This is entirely consistent with all six of the above conclusions. This is explained in the next section titled, "Jesus Was Not Talking to Believers in Matthew 12:31-32".

2) Jesus Was Not Talking to Believers in Matthew 12:31-32

Matthew 12:24-25 reads,

"But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, 'This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.' Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them..."

So, after the Pharisees said that Jesus healed the man by the power of demons, Jesus spoke "TO THEM". It says that Jesus knew more than just what they had said audibly. So, Matthew 12:24-25 reveals that Jesus knew their thoughts and spoke "TO THEM".

Then in the next five verses, Matthew 12:26-30, Jesus explains TO THEM why they are incorrect. Then, in the next verse, 12:31, we see that Jesus is still talking to the Pharisees. He begins with, "Therefore I tell you". In 12:34 Jesus says to the Pharisees, "You offspring of vipers..." In 12:36 Jesus is still speaking to the Pharisees, "I tell you..." The whole section is addressed to the Pharisees. Jesus didn't speak these words anyone except the Pharisees. He didn't speak these words to a group of God fearers or believers in Jesus. Jesus was talking directly to the Pharisees who were present before Him at that time. He spoke these words to one segment of Satan's children, dedicated workers in his Satanic kingdom, as I will show you. That is who this message was addressed to.

Later in the book of Matthew, Jesus said that the Pharisees worked to keep men out of the kingdom of heaven (23:13)… That they worked hard to lead men to hell (23:15). In John 8:44 Jesus said that their father was the devil. So, at the outset, we need to recognize that Jesus's words in Matthew 12:31-32 above were spoken to unbelievers... to a special type of unbelievers... unbelievers who were actively and aggressively working against God. Without other scripture indicating that these words apply to Christians, we should not assume that they apply to Christians.

In the previous section I showed from the scriptures that Christians cannot commit this sin.

Here is the passage again:

"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come" (Matthew 12:31-32).

The Pharisees were the religious leaders of Israel. It may seem strange to you that the people working against the Holy Spirit were the religious leaders.

"¹⁴ And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵ It is no great thing therefore if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

Yes, religious leaders can actually be servants of Satan.

Here is the passage again:

"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come" (Matthew 12:31-32).

Jesus spoke these words to the Pharisees. His words about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit were addressed to them. Without other scripture indicating that these words apply to Christians, we should not assume that they apply to Christians. I have shown above that Christians cannot commit this sin, according to scripture.

Matthew 12:31-32 reveals that an action may be taken before physical death which will not be forgiven, the consequences of which are unavoidable, and will therefore prevent entrance into eternal life. This action is called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is committed when one "speaks against the Holy Spirit". By joining those two phrases in bold we have the more concise description of this sin as, speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit.

Jesus's words in Matthew 12:31-32 above were spoken to unbelievers... to a special type of unbelievers... unbelievers who were actively and aggressively working against God.

3) Who is the Holy Spirit?

To understand blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, "speaking against the Holy Spirit" it is helpful to know who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does.

In this book, subchapters 3.1 - 3.7 are all about the Holy Spirit. Click here to go to subchapter 3.1. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. In the Trinity we have one God in three persons... God the Father, God the Son (flesh) and God the Spirit. For an explanation of the doctrine of the Trinity, from the express statements of scripture, click here and read section 3.1a.

Jesus, the Son of God, was born through Mary, a virgin, because she "was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:18). Because of this impregnation by the Holy Spirit, Luke states: "Therefore also the Holy one who is born from you will be known as the Son of God" (Luke 1:34-35). So, Jesus was the Son of God, because God the Holy Spirit impregnated her. See also Acts 5:3-4.

The Holy Spirit also filled Jesus (Luke 14:1), empowered Jesus (Matthew 12:28) and led Jesus (Matthew 4:1). Then, at Jesus' request, the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father to dwell within us (John 14:16-17).

The Holy Spirit regenerates, renews, sanctifies, gives life, seals, brings joy and peace (subchapter 3.5). John 3:1-8 speaks of being "born again... born of the Spirit" (3:3, 5, 8). Being "born again" is the regeneration by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth

The Holy Spirit is also called "the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:13). Most of the functions of the Holy Spirit in regard to man relate to conveying truth. Many of those truths are conveyed by the Holy Spirit to convert the lost. For example, Holy Spirit provides power to comprehend, witness, guard the Gospel and do combat in the spiritual realm (subchapter 3.4). The Holy Spirit also prophesies, preaches, teaches, speaks through us, provides words for witnessing, testifies, convicts unbelievers, reminds us of scripture, leads, warns, intercedes and speaks to us through our conscience (subchapter 3.3). The Holy Spirit even provides power to hope (subchapter 3.5), speaks true confession through believers and distributes spiritual gifts (subchapter 3.5). In this list we see nineteen of the ways that the Holy Spirit communicates truth, fifteen of which can be involved in converting the lost. And seventeen of the twenty-one spiritual gifts are for distributing truth, authenticating truth or enabling others to distribute truth. Click here to learn about spiritual gifts.

Since scripture lists nineteen ways that the Holy Spirit communicates truth... and since seventeen of the spiritual gifts which the Holy Spirit distributes relate to communicating truth... it should be no surprise that the Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of truth". Remember, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is "speaking against the Holy Spirit"... or since the Holy Spirit is also called "the Spirit of truth"... we may say that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is speaking against the Spirit of truth.

Since the word blasphemy means slander, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, "speaking against the Holy Spirit" is to slander the Spirit of truth. In this way, those who commit this sin undermine truth, distort truth or deny the truth... all designed to... suppress the truth...

To merely suppress truth is not the unforgivable sin. It is the statement of slander against the Holy Spirit which is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the unforgivable sin. Jesus is the truth (John 4:16). To blaspheme Jesus is forgivable. So, it is not speaking against truth that defines the unforgivable sin. The words must be spoken against the Holy Spirit to be unforgivable. They must be spoken blasphemously... (slanderously) and directed at the Holy Spirit.

4) What is Blasphemy?

When you see the word "blasphemy" in the Bible, you should understand that word to mean... slander.

Slander

The New Testament of the Bible was written in Greek and then translated into English. The English word blasphemy is actually a transliteration of the Greek word blasphemia. In other words, instead of translating the word into English, the translators simply wrote the sound of the Greek word using the English alphabet. Sometimes they did translate the Greek word as slander, malign, revile, etc. In the English versions of the Bible which I have reviewed, translators tend to transliterate blasphemia as blasphemy when the translator believes that God is the one who is slandered but translate the word when the object of the slander is man, angels, demons and etc. The same tendencies apply to the verb and adjective forms of blasphemia.

In Biblehub.com we see that blasphemia means "slander" and is used in abusive or scurrilous language. Scurrilous means to make scandalous claims to damage another's reputation. Slander is a false statement which damages the reputation of another. The verbal form of the noun blasphemia (Strong's 988) is blasphemeo (Strong's 987). Blasphemia as an adjective is blasphemos (Strong's 989).

According to Strong's Concordance, the word blasphemos is defined as "slanderous, evil speaking", is used to indicate "slanderous" activity and is derived from blapto (to hurt) and pheme (a saying or report). If you join blapto to pheme (blaptopheme) it looks like blaspheme. In Biblehub.com we see that blasphemeo is defined as "to slander, hence to speak lightly or profanely of sacred things" and used to "speak evil against... use abusive or scurrilous language about (God or men)". All three of these Greek words (blasphemia, blasphemeo and blasphmos) respectively mean slander as a noun, slander as a verb and slanderous as an adjective.

It is a mistake to conclude that these Greek words mean slander of God. That is incorrect. These words are used in reference to slander of men and angels as well (Romans 3:8, 14:16; 1 Corinthians 4:13, 10:30; Titus 3:2, 1 Peter 4:4, 14; 2 Peter 2:10; Jude 8; Mark 7:22; Ephesians 4:31, Colossians 3:8; 1 Timothy 6:4; Jude 9; 2 Peter 2:11, etc.). So, the Greek words for slander may be directed at God, men, angels, etc.

So, when we see the word blasphemy in the Bible, we should understand this to indicate slanderous language. Slander, being a false statement which damages the reputation of another, is abusive and insulting.

When we read the Bible and see the noun blasphemy or its appearance as a verb or adjective, it is critical to observe exactly who is being blasphemed.

So, the unforgivable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, amounts to slander...

Slander against the Holy Spirit

5) What Is Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?

I will repeat the passage for your convenience:

"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come." Matthew 12:31-32

We see two characterizations of what "will not be forgiven":

"blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men" (12:31)
"whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him" (12:32)

Are these two different unforgiveable sins or two descriptions of the same unforgivable sin? In other words, is "blasphemy against the Spirit" in 12:31 the same thing as "speaks against the Holy Spirit" in 12:32?

They are the same sin.

If they are not the same sin, then we have not one but two unforgivable sins.

Verse 31 states, "every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men". In other words, all but one sin may be forgiven. So, there is one unforgivable sin that Jesus is speaking of.

So, speaking against the Holy Spirit in 12:32 is the "blasphemy against the Spirit" in 12:31.

And since "speaking against the Holy Spirit" and "blasphemy against the Spirit" are the same sin, we know that "the Holy Spirit" is the same thing as "the Spirit". If they were not, there would be two sins, one against "the Holy Spirit" and the other against "the Spirit'. But since there is one sin in the passage, we know that "the Spirit" is "the Holy Spirit"... so that we understand that "blasphemy against the Spirit" is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

So, the following three are the same thing:

Speaking Against the Holy Spirit
Blasphemy Against the Spirit
The Unforgivable Sin

We see two characterizations of what "will not be forgiven", each with slightly different details:

"blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men" (12:31)
"whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him" (12:32)

In the word "blasphemy" we see the slanderous nature of words. In the phrase "speaks against the Holy Spirit" we see that this sin is more than mere thoughts about the Holy Spirit. It includes words which are spoken against the Holy Spirit. So, combining all of these details we see that...

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is "speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit".

Remember that blasphemy means slander...

So, speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit is slander against the Holy Spirit.

Can the unforgivable sin be committed silently, in the mind?

As you read in section 3, the Holy Spirit communicates directly into people's minds. But He also communicates to people through people, like preachers or prophets who use audible words to communicate what the Holy Spirit put in the mind of the preacher or prophet so that others hear the communications of the Holy Spirit through those preachers or prophets. So people can hear the communications of the Holy Spirit audibly, through their ears and also inaudibly, through silent thoughts placed directly onto their minds by the Holy Spirit. This raises a question…

Can the sin of speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit be committed inaudibly, in one's silent thoughts, through silent conversation with the Holy Spirit?

Both believers and unbelievers can speak to God inaudibly, as in prayer. But, I do not believe that the unforgivable sin can be committed privately, in silent conversations with God. The reason is that the unforgivable sin is slander against the Holy Spirit.

Slander is a false statement which damages the reputation of another.

So, to be slander, words must be spoken to someone other than the Holy Spirit, about the Holy Spirit. Words spoken inaudibly to the Holy Spirit do not damage the reputation of the Holy Spirit. And slanderous words about the Holy Spirit spoken inaudibly to God the Father or God the Son cannot damage the reputation of the Holy Spirit either. Both the Father and Son know all hearts. They know the Holy Spirit intimately. Words of man do not affect the reputation of the Holy Spirit in the mind of God.

So, I conclude that the unforgivable sin can only committed if communicated to people, to damage the reputation of the Holy Spirit in the eyes of man. In other words, the Holy Spirit must be slandered audibly in the hearing of man or in written form communicated to man. Even though in my country, defamation by speech is called slander and defamation in written form is called libel, there is no such distinction in the Bible. In Biblical terms can speak through written words (Galatians 3:8). At the top of this page I wrote that the unforgivable sin is...

Slandering the Holy Spirit

Slander is not committed silently in the mind. It must be communicated to people to become slander.

Incorrect Statements About the Holy Spirit

Speaking against the Holy Spirit is far more than making an incorrect statement about the Holy Spirit. All Christians have imperfect theology:

"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Paul reveals that we will understand clearly when we see Christ. We can have accurate but incomplete knowledge (Acts 18:24-26). In other words, God has not revealed all knowledge in perfect detail so as to remove all lack of clarity. But, in gray areas of doctrine we should be firmly convinced in our own minds (Romans 14:5-7). Christians are or should be in a continuous state of growing in knowledge of God (2 Peter 3:18), which means that our incorrect beliefs in walking alone are being replaced by truth in walking intimately with the Holy Spirit. This is a continuous lifelong process which I have experienced in the fifty-two years since my conversion. The Lord judges our motives (Proverbs 16:2). We are not judged for our ignorance (Acts 17:30, 1 Timothy 1:13). Those two verses do not say that we are not judged for ignorance as long as we never spoke our ignorant thoughts. The ignorance of our minds does tend to come out in ignorant speech. So, I believe that we are not judged for spoken ignorance.

"Sin is not charged when there is no law" (Romans 5:13). The law brings knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20). So, sin "is not charged" when we act without knowledge (ignorance). But we are responsible for the knowledge progressively revealed to us by God, to the degree, depth and detail in which it is revealed to us (Romans 1:18-20). For more on Romans 1:18-20, click here.

So, making an incorrect statement about the Holy Spirit, is not "speaking against the Holy Spirit". Speaking against the Holy Spirit is working for the opposing team... as an adversary against the Holy Spirit... slandering the Holy Spirit. Slander is abusive and insulting... to damage the reputation of the Holy Spirit.

So, the unforgivable sin is more than making incorrect statements about the Holy Spirit.

It is...

Slander against the Holy Spirit.

And slander must be communicated to people or it isn't slander.

Based on the scriptures mentioned above regarding ignorance, in order for a statement to constitute slander against the Holy Spirit, I believe that the person making the statement must know that the statement is false or know that there is no reasonable basis for believing that the statement is true. This is consistent with laws in my country regarding slander.

The unforgivable sin is...

Slander against the Holy Spirit.

6) Resisting the Holy Spirit is Forgivable

We must be precise in our definition of speaking against the Holy Spirit. Speaking against the Holy Spirit is more than resisting the Holy Spirit. Speaking against the Holy Spirit is speaking slanderously against whom He is or what He is doing to suppress or hold back what He is doing. So, for an accurate understanding, we must recognize two sins:

Resist the Holy Spirit (withstand, not give in, Acts 7:51)
Speak Against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32)

To speak against is aggression. There is an implicit intention to defeat or stop the one spoken against. This is a step beyond mere resistance. One must go beyond resistance to commit the unforgivable sin, which is speaking against the Holy Spirit blasphemously, also called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Let me illustrate.

As I said before, the Holy Spirit is also known as "the Spirit of Truth". He speaks through preachers to people (1 Peter 1:12). Those hearing that preacher may believe that truth or resist that truth. To resist is to say "no, I don't believe that". This is resisting the Holy Spirit as is described in Acts 6:8-7:60. As in human wars, violence may be a part of both resistance and aggression. But even so, resistance and aggression are still different. When one country invades another, the defending country will violently resist the violent aggression of the invader.

When the Holy Spirit brings life giving truth to an unbeliever, the unbeliever may:

Believe the Gospel
Resist, possibly with violence
Speak against the Holy Spirit, possibly with violence

In Acts 6:8-7:60, we see that Stephen performed "wonders and signs"... so that those arguing with him could not cope with his wisdom and Spirit (6:8,10). Stephen told the crowd that they were resisting the Holy Spirit (7:51). As Stephen was being stoned for his testimony for Jesus (7:51-56), being "full of the Holy Spirit" and looking directly at God and Jesus in Heaven (7:55-56), Stephen said, "Lord, don't hold this sin against them!" (7:60). They resisted the Holy Spirit and murdered Stephen. So, resisting the Holy Spirit is not the unforgivable sin. Otherwise, Stephen would not have asked God to forgive them.

So, while we understand that "speaking against the Holy Spirit" is an unforgivable sin, resisting the Holy Spirit, even through murder, is a forgivable sin. The scriptures in Acts made it clear. They resisted the Holy Spirit. They murdered Stephen. But what they did was forgivable sin. They killed Stephen because they were "cut to the heart" by what he said (7:54). In other words, they were angry because Stephen said that they had murdered the righteous one and broken the Law of Moses (7:51-53). They killed Stephen out of anger because of what Stephen accused them of. This was between them and the Holy Spirit... between them and Stephen. They spoke no words of slander against the Holy Spirit. This is the distinguishing factor between the forgivable sin in Acts 6:8-7:60 and the unforgivable sin in Matthew 12:31-32.

I will repeat the two sins:

Resist the Holy Spirit (withstand, not give in, Acts 7:51)
Speak Against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32)

The account of Stephen helped us to understand that resisting the Holy Spirit is not the unforgivable sin.

So, resistance to the Holy Spirit is personally saying no, possibly reacting with violence. Speaking against the Holy Spirit is aggressive, insulting speech against the Holy Spirit... slander. Speaking against the Holy Spirit is not the same as resisting the Holy Spirit, even if this resistance includes violence against the Holy Spirit’s messenger.

7) The Unforgivable Sin Was Not Committed in Matthew 12:22-37

"But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons" (Matthew 12:24).

In other words, the Pharisees were saying that the power within Jesus to heal was demonic... that Jesus was demon possessed. I don't believe that Pharisees committed the unforgivable when they said this in Matthew 12:24. They slandered Jesus by saying that He healed by power of demons... that He was demon possessed. Indirectly, that statement could be interpreted to claim that what the Holy Spirit did was performed by Satan. In other words, slandering the Holy Spirit by claiming that the Holy Spirit’s work was Satanic. But after the event in Matthew 12:22-37, in Matthew 23:1-36, where Jesus spoke to the Pharisees as unbelievers, He spoke to them as if they had a chance at eternal life (Matthew 23:26, 1-36). Why else would Jesus have said, "You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also" (23:26). In Matthew 23:1-36, Jesus let them know that they were on their way to Hell, but told them to get clean in the inside. Why would Jesus say that if it was impossible for them to enter eternal life?

So... maybe the Pharisees did not know that the Holy Spirit was the power behind the healing in Matthew 12:22-37. Matthew 12:22-37 does not record a direct slander against the Holy Spirit. But, possibly because they were getting close to that sin, Jesus warned them against escalating to the unforgivable sin. They had blasphemed the Son of Man (Jesus) by saying that He cast out demons by the prince of demons.

Speaking against the Holy Spirit must be directed blasphemously against the Holy Spirit, as distinguished from speech directed against Christ.

8) Blaspheming the Son of Man is Forgivable

But now we must make a distinction between speaking against the Holy Spirit and speaking against the Son of Man.

I will repeat the passage for your convenience:

"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come" (Matthew 12:31-32).

Speaking against the Holy Spirit "will not be forgiven" but speaking "a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven". He didn't say Son of God. He said Son of Man. So, to speak against who Jesus was and what He did in His humanity is forgivable? The title "Son of Man" focuses on His humanity. In the incarnation, Jesus learned obedience from suffering, was lower than the angels, strengthened by an angel and then raised from the dead to be in authority over angels and authorities and powers.

"though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8).
"You made him (Jesus) a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet". (Hebrews 2:7-8).

"An angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him" (Luke 22:43). (The angel strengthened Jesus.)

"Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him" (1 Peter 3:21-22).
"he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come" (Ephesians 1:20-21).

His humanity in the incarnation may be the reason that blasphemy against the "Son of MAN", against the human side of Jesus, is forgivable, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not.

Both the Holy Spirit and the Son of Man are sinless and fully God. But the Son of Man was also human. For example, He was crucified, died and rose from the dead (Luke 18:31-33). So, possibly to speak against (oppose) his human nature is forgivable. This can be repented of. I must admit that I am confused about this distinction. The Holy Spirit is the communicator of God's truth in the spiritual realm, much of which is truth about the Christ. Opposing the man is not the same thing as opposing the Spirit of God.

Consider this... there is a day of visitation which is explained in section seventeen. In the day of visitation, when God the Holy Spirit reveals his truth directly in the heart of an individual, with a perfect message that cannot be misunderstood. And if that individual speaks against the Holy Spirit, with slanderous words, this is the unforgivable sin, being not only rejection of the Holy Spirit, but an attack on the Holy Spirit. This is a hardness of heart, which progressed from apathy to resistance, from resistance to aggressive opposition... to a point of no return... from which repentance is not possible and therefore not forgivable. While aggressive opposition to Christ in His humanity is forgivable, aggressive opposition to the invisible communications of the Holy Spirit within the heart are not. If you have a better explanation, please contact me through the discussion page. Click here and read section 3.1a to see proof from scripture about the divinity of Christ and the changing spiritual authority in the spiritual realm.

9) The Pharisees Worked to Send Men to Hell

In Matthew 12:31-32 Jesus warned the Pharisees about the unforgivable sin. He warned them because of their behavior. So, a study of their behavior will reveal the type of people who are in danger of... actually coming close to committing the unforgivable sin. So, please prayerfully consider what scripture reveals about the Pharisees.

In Matthew 12:31-32 Jesus warned the Pharisees about the unforgivable sin. Later in Matthew, Jesus told the Pharisees that they were sons of hell (23:15)… That they worked to keep men out of the kingdom of heaven, (23:13-14)… That they worked hard to lead men to hell, (23:15)… That they were sons of those who murdered the prophets (23:31). In John 8:44, Jesus said that their father was the devil (the serpent in Genesis 3:1- 7, 2 Corinthians 11:3 and Revelation 12:9). The ancestry of man is traced both according to the flesh and according to the spirit... as Jesus was a descendant of David "according to the flesh" but was "the Son of God... according to the Spirit" (Romans 1:3,4).

"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don't enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna (Hell) as yourselves" (Matthew 23:14-15)

"You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father" (John 8:44).

If you will read John 8:13-44, you will see that Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees when He said "your father, the devil".

It is safe to say that the Pharisees were children of Satan... that they were on his team, part of his family... that they were working against God to bring people into Hell. This was true early in the Gospel of Matthew, at the early stages of John the Baptist's ministry, before Christ began His ministry. In Matthew 3:1-17 we see that John the Baptist is baptizing people for repentance (3:2), preparing people to receive the one who is coming (Jesus, 3:2, 3:3, 3:11). Let's see what John the Baptist said to the Pharisees:

"⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, 'You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?... ¹²His (Jesus') winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire' " (Matthew 3:7, 12).

In verse 7 John the Baptist addresses the Pharisees and Sadducees in this way; "You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" His message is not for them because they needed repentant hearts but they were not repentant. They were not repenting with faith in the one to come. In 3:8 He told them to prove their repentance by their fruit. The wrath to come is defined as damnation in verse 12, "burn up with unquenchable fire". In John 8:21 and 8:24 Jesus said to the Pharisees ""you will die in your sins. Where I go, you can't come". Jesus was warning them about the dangers of their present course.

Just after Jesus revealed the unforgivable sin in Matthew 12:31-32 He said to the Pharisees,

"You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things?” (Matthew 12:34)

Later in Matthew 23:13-33 Jesus said the Pharisees,

"You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna?" (Matthew 23:33).

The Pharisees were obviously not the physical offspring of poisonous snakes. They were spiritual offspring of Satan, who came as a serpent in the Garden of Eden. They had poisonous, spiritual venom to bring about spiritual death in the multitudes. Jesus was not being rude. He was making it clear that they were on the path to Hell. He was making it clear that they were in need of deliverance.

"But because I tell the truth, you don't believe me" (John 8:45). And as you read the conversation revealed in John 8:1-59, 8:3 and 8:13 you will see that Jesus was conversing with the Pharisees. So, John 8:45 was spoken to the Pharisees. They rejected truth because it was truth, because they were deaf to truth (John 8:43), because they did not belong to God (8:47), because they did not know God (8:55).

Jesus was making it clear to them that they did not have eternal life. Rather than rudeness, this was an act of grace. Jesus may have had tears in his eyes as he spoke these things.

But in spite of their spiritual condition at that time, their situation was not hopeless. They had not committed the unforgivable sin. But the fact that Jesus warned the Pharisees about the unforgivable sin in Matthew 12:31-32, indicates that they were coming close. And those through history who behaved like them were in danger of committing the unforgivable sin as well. But eternal life was possible for the Pharisees and those like them. This will become clear in the next section.

10) Grace was Offered to the Pharisees

Jesus spoke to the Pharisees as if they had a chance at eternal life (Matthew 23:26, 1-36). Why else would Jesus have said, "You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also" (23:26). In Matthew 23:1-36 and other passages Jesus let them know that they were on their way to Hell, but told them to get clean on the inside. Why would Jesus say that if it was impossible for them to enter eternal life?

We know that some Pharisees did come to believe in Jesus:

"But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses" (Acts 15:5).

In Peter's sermon at Pentecost and the conversion of Paul, we see that grace is available to those who work against Christ... even to those who killed Him.

Peter's Sermon at Pentecost

"Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:36-38).

So, even though the Pharisees participated in bringing Jesus to His crucifixion, they could still be forgiven.

Conversion of Paul

Paul was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6). When Stephen was stoned, Paul, who was then named Saul, guarded the garments of the witnesses as they cast the first stones. According to Deuteronomy 13:9 and 17:7, for certain offences in the Law of Moses, the witnesses must cast the first stones. So, Paul participated and agreed with the murder of Stephen (Acts 8:1). Then Paul persecuted the followers of Christ. But Paul did eventually come to Christ.

"¹ But Saul, still breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ²and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³As he traveled, he got close to Damascus, and suddenly a light from the sky shone around him. ⁴He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'
⁵He said, 'Who are you, Lord?' The Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ⁶But rise up and enter into the city, then you will be told what you must do'. ⁷The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the sound, but seeing no one. ⁸Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one. They led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. ⁹He was without sight for three days, and neither ate nor drank. " (Acts 9:1-9).

Paul acted in both ignorance and unbelief:

"although I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief" (1 Timothy 1:13).

If Paul had blasphemed the Holy Spirit, he would not have received mercy. In other words, he would not have been forgiven, because blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. But the above verse states that Paul was a blasphemer. He blasphemed the Son of Man, which Jesus said is forgivable (Matthew 12:31-32). Because Paul acted "ignorantly in unbelief", he received mercy. People are not judged for what they do not know. See Acts 17:22-31, especially verse 30 where Luke reveals in Paul's speech to unbelievers that God has overlooked the times of ignorance.

So, we see that Pharisees, including Paul who persecuted Christ and blasphemed Christ, came to know God and received eternal life.

11) There is Only One Unforgivable Sin

In this section we will review of a portion of the first section. This section and the next section are necessary to understand the two sections after them.

"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come" (Matthew 12:31-32).

We see two characterizations of what "will not be forgiven":

"blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men" (12:31)
"whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him" (12:32)

They are the same sin.

If they are not the same sin, then we have not one but two unforgivable sins.

So, speaking against the Holy Spirit in 12:32 is the "blasphemy against the Spirit" in 12:31.

Summary

There is only one unforgivable sin, speaking against the Holy Spirit blasphemously. But remember... blasphemy means slander. So, the unforgivable sin is... slandering the Holy Spirit.

12) Unavoidable Judgement: God Said, "Don't Pray"

In the book of Jeremiah, God said "don't pray for this people" because they had reached the point of no return, meaning that sin had risen to a level that required judgement, that God's coming judgement was unavoidable. These passages from Jeremiah will help us to understand what God meant when He said in 1 John 5:16, "I don't say that he should pray about this".

"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that he should make a request concerning this" (1 John 5:16).

We are to pray "in everything" (Philippians 4:6) but not for everything (1 John 5:16, Jeremiah 7:16, 11:14, 14:11). After mercy has been offered repeatedly, persistently and loudly, justice must eventually come and we should not pray against this justice.

God says that there is a point of no return... beyond which judgement is no longer avoidable.

In the book of Jeremiah, God spoke concerning Judah:

"¹⁶... don't pray for this people. Don't lift up a cry or prayer for them or make intercession to me; for I will not hear you... ¹⁸ they... provoke me to anger... ²⁰ my raging fury will be poured out on this land" (Jeremiah 7:16, 18, 20).
"¹¹... Therefore Yahweh says, 'Behold, I will bring evil on them, which they will not be able to escape; and they will cry to me, but I will not listen to them... ¹⁴ Therefore don't pray for this people. Don't lift up cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry to me because of their trouble" (Jeremiah 14:11, 14).

God said,

"¹⁰... Even so they have loved to wander. They have not restrained their feet. Therefore Yahweh does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity, and punish them for their sins. ¹¹... Don't pray for this people for their good. ¹²When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and meal offering, I will not accept them; but I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence" (Jeremiah 14:10-12).

So, there is a point of no return when God says "Do not pray", because judgement is unavoidable.

There is sin for which we should not pray... sin for which God has made the consequences unavoidable.

To see a little more background and detail for these words from Jeremiah, please prayerfully read the following quotes from the book of Jeremiah, regarding what God said about God's judgement on Judah:

"^4:18 I have planned it... neither will I turn back from it. ^5:3... they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock. They have refused to return. ^5:15... I will bring a nation on you from far away. ^7:13... I called you, but you didn't answer. ^7:16... don't pray for this people. Don't lift up a cry or prayer for them or make intercession to me; for I will not hear you.. ^8:5... Why then have the people of Jerusalem fallen back by a perpetual backsliding? ^8:17... behold, I will send serpents, adders among you. ^9:2... they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. ^9:11... I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling place of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant. ^9:13... they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in my ways. ^9:16... I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them. ^9:26... all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart. ^11:10... The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant. ^11:11... I will bring evil on them, which they will not be able to escape; and they will cry to me, but I will not listen to them. ^11:14... Therefore don't pray for this people. Don't lift up cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry to me because of their trouble. ^14:10-11 ... Even so they have loved to wander. They have not restrained their feet. Therefore Yahweh does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity, and punish them for their sins... Don't pray for this people for their good. ^20:4... I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them captive to Babylon, and will kill them with the sword."

Notice that in Jeremiah 9:13 above, God said that they had "forsaken my law", that they would be killed with the sword and taken captive to Babylon. Observe the words law, killed, sword and captive. These words are very significant. The Law of Moses did not provide access to eternal life. The Law of Moses promised physical prosperity in the land of Israel... but only if Israel obeyed the Law of Moses (See Exodus 19:5 and the entire book of Deuteronomy, especially 7:11-8:1, 28:1-68, most especially 8:1, 28:63-64 and 30:1-3). If you will read those scriptures you will see that the Law of Moses specifically designated unavoidable, temporary, physical consequences for violating the Law of Moses. You will see that the specifically designated consequences of violating this law... death, sword and captivity, are clearly seen in Deuteronomy 28:22, 36, 48-50 and 63-64. You will also see a temporary aspect of these consequences (30:1-3). In 30:1-3 we see that after the unavoidable, temporary, physical consequences have occurred, and IF they return to God with all their heart and soul, then God will deliver them from captivity and return them to the land of Israel. In this way the consequences are temporary. The temporary consequences were unavoidable because, even though temporary, they would certainly come to pass, temporarily. That will be important in the next section. Click here to learn about the transition from the Old Covenant (Law of Moses) to the New Covenant.

So, we understand from the book of Jeremiah, when Israel was under the Old Covenant, the Law of Moses... that God said, "Don't pray" when unavoidable, temporary, physical consequences were coming. Later we will see from 1 John, that in the New Covenant of the Spirit, we are not to pray when unavoidable, eternal, spiritual consequences were coming.

Compare Consequences:

Jeremiah: unavoidable, temporary, physical

1 John: unavoidable, eternal, spiritual

In both passages God said, "Don't pray". The passage from Jeremiah told them that the reason they shouldn't pray was because the consequences were unavoidable. But in the passage from 1 John, we must determine the reason from other passages.

Now we will return to 1 John 5:16.

"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that he should make a request concerning this" (1 John 5:16).

So, God said to offer intercessory prayer for one sinning "sin not leading to death", but not for "sin leading to death". (Intercessory prayer is prayer prayed for someone other than one's self. If you pray for another person, that is intercessory prayer.) Based on the book of Jeremiah, we saw that when God says not to pray, it is because judgment is unavoidable. So, one who has sinned "sin leading to death" has sinned in a way that judgement is unavoidable... so God wrote about this sin through John saying, " I don't say that he should make a request concerning this". (Request means prayer.)

So, it appears to be clear that "sin leading to death" has unavoidable consequences. Nothing can stop the judgment which is coming. We saw a judgement in the book of Jeremiah. The judgement was to be banished physically from the land of Israel. So, that judgement was not to eternal damnation. It was a judgment for discipline on them, during their life on this earth, resulting in physical death and physical removal from the land of Israel, to be taken into captivity in Babylon.

But, as you read on, I will present scriptures which reveal that "sin leading to death" is not referring to physical death, but the second death in the lake of fire, also called Hell. So, in both cases, Jeremiah and 1 John 5:16, we have unavoidable judgements for which prayer can provide no relief. But the unavoidable judgement in Jeremiah was temporal; of this physical world... while the judgement of 1 John 5:16 is judgement to the second death, to the lake of fire, to Hell. Matthew 12:32 said that blasphemy against the Spirit "will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come". The age "which is to come" is explained in another section. The age to come is the afterlife, Heaven for some and Hell for others.

So, we find in Jeremiah that there is sin for which we should not pray... sin for which God has made the consequences unavoidable. And we see in 1 John that there is "sin leading to death"... a sin for which God has made the consequences unavoidable. But the sin in Jeremiah is not exactly the same as the sin in 1 John. Remember the different but parallel nature of the unavoidable consequences in the two passages.

Compare Consequences:

Jeremiah: unavoidable, temporary, physical

1 John: unavoidable, eternal, spiritual

With that background we will now focus on "sin leading to death" from 1 John 5:16.

13) Sin Leading to Death: Brief Interpretation

If you did not read the previous two sections, please do so before reading this section. It will take less than eight minutes to read those two sections and both are necessary for understanding this section and the next section.

"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that he should make a request concerning this" (1 John 5:16).

Brief Interpretation:

The verse stated that one should "ask" (pray about) "sin not leading to death", indicating that the consequences of this sin are not unavoidable... but regarding "sin leading to death", John wrote, "I don't say that he should make a request concerning this", indicating that the consequences of this sin are unavoidable. So, prayer can offer relief of consequences for “sin not leading to death” but cannot offer relief for "sin leading to death". This distinction regarding prayer is the key to the passage, and is often disregarded in commentaries on this passage. The consequence of "sin leading to death" is Hell. We know this because there are three types of death which are caused by sin, spiritual death, physical death and second death (Lake of Fire). We are supposed to pray about the first two. So, since "sin leading to death" is sin we do not pray about, "death" in "sin leading to death" must mean second death, Lake of Fire, also called Hell.

We know that "sin leading to death" has unavoidable consequences, since we are not to pray about it. We learned that from the book of Jeremiah in the previous section. "Do not pray" indicates unavoidable consequences. But in Jeremiah, we saw that Israel had committed certain sins, sins which were previously designated in the Law of Moses to have unavoidable, temporary, physical consequences. Well, in Matthew 12:31-32 Jesus had previously designated that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit had unavoidable, eternal, spiritual consequences. Well, the unavoidable consequences of "sin leading to death" (leading to Hell) are unavoidable, eternal, spiritual consequences. So, the "sin leading to death" in 1 John 5:16 has unavoidable, eternal, spiritual consequences, just like blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. That's because they are the same sin. Blasphemy against the Spirit is the previously designated sin with unavoidable, eternal, spiritual consequences... just like the Law of Moses contained the previously designated sin with unavoidable, temporary, physical consequences. A single word to describe sin with unavoidable, eternal, spiritual consequences is the word unforgivable.

Sin with unavoidable, eternal, spiritual consequences is unforgivable sin.

Keep that in mind as you continue reading this section.

Both blasphemy against the Spirit and "sin leading to death" are unforgivable. Since there is only one unforgivable sin rather than two, they must be the same sin.

To continue my brief interpretation, I will repeat the passage for your convenience:

"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that he should make a request concerning this" (1 John 5:16).

"Brother" in this passage refers to a fellow human being, as it does in most other places in 1 John. So, if we see a brother (fellow human) sinning a sin which is not the unforgivable sin we should pray and God will give life (knock on the door of the sinner's heart to restore fellowship if the brother is a Christian... or give eternal life through the Holy Spirit if the brother is a non-Christian) knowing that such gifts may or may not be accepted by this brother, even as the gift of Christ may be rejected (John 3:16). There is sin which is unforgivable (sin leading to death), regarding which it is pointless to pray about, since it is the only sin for which prayer can offer no relief, no relief being possible for this sin since its consequences are unavoidable. And since "sin leading to death" is second death, the consequences are also eternal and spiritual. "Sin leading to death" has unavoidable, eternal, spiritual consequences.

That is my brief interpretation. The following section will present an in depth interpretation, providing greater explanation and evidence from scripture.

14) Sin Leading to Death: In Depth Interpretation

"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that he should make a request concerning this" (1 John 5:16).

I will now present a thorough explanation of the meaning and implications of three words, these words being critical in the determination of the meaning of the phrase "sin leading to death", which is seen in a brother and which we are not admonished to pray about in 1 John 5:16. The three words are:

1) Death,

2) Brother

3) Prayer

Please prayerfully consider God's words and my words.

1) Death

There are different types of death which are brought about by sin. In scripture, there is:

A) Physical Death
B) Spiritual Death
C) Second Death

These are the forms of death which can come because of sin.

The Three Deaths Caused by Sin

Spiritual death comes immediately after our first sin after reaching the age of accountability. God sometimes causes physical death because of sin. Second death is the lake of fire (Hell). It occurs after the second coming of Christ for all who died physically without faith in Christ. So, these deaths occur in this order: Spiritual death, physical death and second death (for unbelievers only).

There is sin, regarding which God says "do not pray" because the consequences are unavoidable and will not be changed by prayer (Section 12, Jeremiah 7:16-20, 11:14-17, 14:11-12). Such is "sin leading to death" which 1 John 5:16 states, "I don't say that he should make a request concerning this". "Sin leading to death" cannot refer to sin leading to spiritual or physical death because we have prayers in scripture for these very sins, prayers which I have shown below. So, the "sin leading to death" for which we are not admonished to pray appears to be sin leading to second death... So, sin leading to second death has unavoidable consequences (Hell). There is no point in praying about a sin when its consequences are unavoidable.

There is only one sin in scripture in which Hell is the unavoidable consequence, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. So, I conclude that "sin leading to death", meaning "sin leading to second death" is the unforgivable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Now we will examine each of the three types of death that are caused by sin: physical death, spiritual death and second death. We will also address the applicability of prayer to each.

A) Physical Death

Sometimes God will end a person's life because the person committed a particular sin. For example, when Israel committed sin deserving of physical death by making a golden calf (Exodus 32:1-8), God told Moses that He was going to "destroy" them (Exodus 32:9-10). Moses prayed that God would not kill them (Exodus 32:11-13) and God granted Moses' request (Exodus 32:14). So, sin leading to PHYSICAL death is a sin that we can pray about. King David, who was also a prophet, committed a sin leading to the death of his son and he prayed about that (2 Samuel 12:1-23, 14, 16, 22). So, the sin leading to death which we should not pray about in 1 John 5:16 can't be referring to PHYSICAL death, because we can pray about sins leading to PHYSICAL death. Sins leading to physical death are forgivable.

B) Spiritual Death

"I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died" (Romans 7:9).

Click here for more on Romans 7:9. You will see that a person can be spiritually dead while physically alive. Spiritual death comes after the age of accountability when one breaks God's commandment. We might call this the first sin after reaching the age of accountability. Children are "alive" (Romans 7:9), are part of the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:14) and go to Heaven if they die before the age of accountability (2 Samuel 12:23). After the age of accountability (Isaiah 7:16, Romans 7:9), we see that all people are either "children of the kingdom" or "children of the evil one" (Matthew 13:24-43, especially 38), all being sowed by the Son of Man (Jesus, 13:37) or by the devil (13:38-39). Using terminology of family for the same two groups, those who have reached the age of accountability are all, "children of God" or "children of the devil" (1 John 3:10). Every person is planted either by God the Father or by Satan (Matthew 15:13). In Ephesians 2:1-10, we see that prior to conversion, we were "dead" (2:1), and walked "according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience", this prince being Satan. We are transferred from the "domain of darkness" into the "kingdom of His Son" at conversion (Colossians 1:13). We apparently become children of the devil at or near the age of accountability, dying spiritually at that time, the time "when the commandment came" (Romans 7:9). Conversion, IF it occurs, occurs after spiritual death, possibly on our individual "day of visitation" (Luke 19:44, 1 Peter 2:12). The day of visitation is discussed more thoroughly in section seventeen. Click here for more on Romans 7:9 and the age of accountability. If you were taught incorrectly that babies are born spiritually dead, deserving damnation for what Adam did, click here and read section 7, or sections 1-7 if you have time.

Continuing with age of accountability...

So, those who have passed the age of accountability are spiritually dead if they have not been converted to Christ. They are spiritually dead in the present tense. They are not in a state where their sin will lead them to spiritual death in the future. They are already spiritually dead. We are supposed to pray for the conversion of unbelievers (1 Timothy 2:1-40). So, "sin leading to death", which we should not pray about, can't be referring to SPIRITUAL death, because we should pray for conversion of the lost (the spiritually dead). Unbelief is forgivable. The consequences of unbelief are spiritual but not unavoidable or eternal. When an unbeliever believes, all sins are forgiven (Colossians 2:13, Acts 10:43). The spiritually dead can be forgiven.

C) Second Death

"Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. " (Revelation 20:14-15).

Some refer to the second death as, Hell.

"Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power," (Revelation 20:6)

Those in the first resurrection do not go into the lake of fire. For more on the first resurrection, click here and read the section titled, "When is the Last Day". You will see that there are two resurrections, one to life and one to judgement. The first resurrection is a resurrection to life. The second resurrection is to judgement, the lake of fire, the second death.

Review:

At first sin after reaching the age of accountability, one dies spiritually. If after spiritual death, one commits the unforgivable sin or never converts, they will experience the second death. The second death is the lake of fire, Hell. In 1 John 5:16 we see two types of sin: "sin leading to death" and "sin not leading to death". The verse tells us that "sin leading to death" should not be prayed about. Death in "sin leading to death" refers to second death instead of physical death or spiritual death, as the latter two types of death have already been disqualified since they come from sin which should be prayed about, while “sin leading to death” should not be prayed about. So, there are two sins mentioned in 1 John 5:16, "sin not leading to death" and "sin leading to death", the second of which I have shown to be speaking of second death. I presume that the death in the first type of sin is also second death, on the assumption that John would not use the word "death" to mean one thing in the first two occurrences of "death", change to a different meaning in the third occurrence, then revert back to the original meaning in the fourth occurrence.

Conclusion:

Now you understand the three forms of death which arise from sin: physical death, spiritual death and second death (eternal lake of fire). "Sin leading to death" cannot refer to physical or spiritual death because sins leading to those forms of death are sins we can pray about. Sins leading to physical or spiritual death are forgivable sins. We have no scripture indicating that we should pray for one sentenced to second death. So, second death is the only form of death which the passage can be referring to. 1 John 5:16 is essentially say that we should not pray for one who has sin leading to damnation, since the consequence of that sin is unavoidable. Since "sin leading to death" is unavoidable, not being impacted by prayer, "sin leading to death" is unforgivable. Since we saw above that there is only one unforgivable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, "sin leading to death" is the same as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Otherwise there would be two unforgivable sins instead of one.

Sin which brought spiritual death brings the prospect of damnation. When spiritual death first comes it is temporary and unavoidable. While spiritual death is the unavoidable consequence of first sin after age of accountability, meaning that there is nothing to stop the consequence of spiritual death from occurring after first sin, spiritual death is temporary, until conversion or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. After conversion, spiritual death is terminated and spiritual life begins. After blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, spiritual death is made permanent, with the consequence of second death being unavoidable.

2) Brother

"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that he should make a request concerning this" (1 John 5:16).

Who is the "brother" in the first sentence?

The word “brother” literally means a male who has the same parents. But the word is also used figuratively for another person who has shared interests or traits. So, the word “brother” can be used as a figure of speech. Some examples of brotherhood are: shared citizenship, ethnicity, religion, organization, team, world view, purpose and etc. There is also a brotherhood in our species as humans, which we might refer to as our fellow man, neighbor or brother human. In this page I will use the term “brother human” to refer to neighbor and fellow man, this very broad sense of the word “brother”. The most basic of common traits in the Bible are belief and unbelief, describing those who know God and those who don’t, those who have eternal life verses those who don’t. I will refer to these two brotherhoods as brother believers and brother unbelievers. Faith in Christ is the great divide in humanity. In the Biblical view, those on each side of this divide share deep spiritual and philosophical convictions with those on their side of the divide. The views of those on one side are in opposition to the views of those on the other. In the Biblical view, humanity is composed of two brotherhoods, brother believers and brother unbelievers. None of the occurrences of the word “brother” in 1 John appear to mean brother unbeliever. So, for our purposes in understanding 1 John, we are left with three primary meanings of brother to consider: Sibling, brother believer and brother human.

So, does the word "brother" mean sibling, brother believer or brother human? I will repeat the scripture for your convenience:

"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that he should make a request concerning this" (1 John 5:16).

The word "he" in the third sentence refers to the "he" in the first sentence who saw “his” brother sin a sin "not leading to death". But the third sentence says that "he" should not pray about "sin leading to death", in regard to “his” brother. The passage cannot be understood unless we know which of the three possibilities for "brother" is the intended meaning for this passage... sibling, brother believer or brother human. The phrase "brother human" includes all humans, believers and unbelievers. Brother human is the same as fellow man or neighbor.

The word “brother” occurs fifteen to seventeen times in the book of 1 John, depending on which version of the Bible you read. I have been taught that every occurrence of the word "brother" in 1 John means brother believer. That is clearly not correct, as I will show you. We will look at sixteen of the seventeen occurrences of the word brother in 1 John to see that the word is probably used in all three ways in 1 John, sibling, brother believer and brother human... twice as sibling, thirteen times as brother human and once as brother believer. That will account for sixteen of the seventeen occurrences of the word “brother”. Then we will see that it's meaning in the seventeenth, 1 John 5:16, in regard to "sin not leading to death" and "sin leading to death", is brother human.

The word "brother" is a translation of the Greek word adelphos. Adelphos occurs fifteen to seventeen times in the book of 1 John, depending on which version of the Bible you use. As we examine how the word “brother” is used within the book of 1 John we will receive insight as to its meaning in 1 John 5:16. We will see that there are probably three possible meanings of adelphos:

A) Sibling
B) Brother Believer
C) Brother Human

A) Sibling

"¹¹ For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; ¹²unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother" (1 John 3:11-12).

Genesis 4:1-8 mentions Adam and Eve's first two sons, Cain and Able. Verse eight records that Cain murdered Able. So, brother in 1 John 3:11-12 clearly refers to a sibling.

So, the word adelphos in the book of 1 John can be used to refer to siblings.

B) Brother Believer

"Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning" (1 John 2:7).

If you will read in your Bible the next verses, 2:8-14, you will see in 2:13-14 that Johns makes some very clear statements about those he addressed as "you". He said that they know God. To know God is to have eternal life. If they have eternal life, they are believers. So, those "brothers" whom John addressed as "you" are believers.

But... some Bibles begin this verse with "Beloved, I write" instead of "Brothers, I write". That is because some Greek manuscripts say agapetoi (beloved) instead of adelphos (brother). Most manuscripts say adelphos. So, I suspect that adelphos is the correct Greek text and that therefore brother is most likely the intended meaning. In other words, I believe that the verse should probably read "Brothers, I write". But it is possible that “beloved” was the original text instead of brother.

In summary, I believe that adelphos can probably be used in the book of 1 John to refer to brother believers, as it often does in many other books in the New Testament.

C) Brother Human

We will examine thirteen examples where brother must mean brother human. I believe that the word “brother” in 1 John 5:16 is a figure of speech for brother human. In other words, fellow man or neighbor. Once you see that the word brother may be used in this broad sense, you will know that brother human could be the meaning of “brother” in 5:16 as well.

I will focus on the word “brother” in four verses, organized as a, b, c and d below. The word brother in these four verses, occurring in the context of nine other occurrences of the word “brother” will determine the meaning of those nine as well. So, in a-d below, we will come to understand thirteen occurrences of the word “brother” to be figurative for brother human (fellow man, neighbor).

Let's begin…

a) 1 John 3:10

"In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn't do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn't love his brother" (1 John 3:10).

As we saw in subsection 1) B) regarding spiritual death, all people in the Biblical view are either children of God or children of the devil. This verse presents criteria to distinguish between children of God and children of the devil (between believers and unbelievers). The criteria are righteousness and "love". For our purposes I will focus on the second criterion, love. Does a person love his brother or not? This passage reveals that "He" who doesn't love his brother is a child of the devil. So, "brother" must be understood broadly enough to include children of the devil (unbelievers). But the term "brother" must not be construed to include only unbelievers. If it is restricted to unbelievers, love cannot be a criterion to distinguish between “children of God” and “children of the devil” (believers and unbelievers). So, "brother" must include both believers and unbelievers. Everyone who is not a believer is an unbeliever. And so, a term which includes believers and unbelievers includes all humanity. In other words, "brother" must mean brother humanity in this passage.

Now we will look at the verse which comes five verses later.

b) 1 John 3:15

"Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him" (1 John 3:15).

If brother does not carry its literal sense, meaning sibling, then it is used in a figurative sense for people with shared interests or traits. If a man shares an interest or trait with another person, they are brothers figuratively. The two could be male and female. But each is the brother of the other figuratively. All but one of the occurrences of the word "brother" in 1 John present a figurative use of the word brother. I will repeat the passage:

"Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him" (1 John 3:15).

If "brother" in the above passage is figurative for brother believers, the verse would mean that a brother believer who hates his brother believer does not have eternal life living in him. That would create a contradiction because it would mean that some believers do not have eternal life, while John 3:16 says that believers do have eternal life ("whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life"). So brother cannot mean brother believer as I have been taught.

Well, could brother mean brother unbeliever? If brother means brother unbeliever, then the brother of an unbeliever is an unbeliever. So, if brother in 1 John 3:15 means brother unbeliever it would be saying that a brother unbeliever who hates his brother unbeliever has no eternal life (like an unbeliever). It is pointless to say that an unbeliever who hates his brother unbeliever is like an unbeliever.

But brother as brother human makes excellent sense... saying, whoever hates his brother human doesn't have eternal life (is an unbeliever). The passage is clearly presenting a criterion for identifying those who have eternal life... for identifying believers... just like the passage in the previous example five verses earlier, 1 John 3:10. 1 John 3:10 revealed that love was a distinguishing factor between a child of God and a child of the devil. That is the same criterion used in 3:15.

As an aside, if you do not view scripture with the clearly established "Old Man, New Man" doctrine in mind, then you will have trouble with the truth that the one who sins (hates his brother) doesn't have eternal life. You may think that anytime we hate someone we lose eternal life. The Old Man in us does nothing but sin. The New Man in us does nothing but good. So, the one who hates his brother human in this verse is a brother human (Old Man brother human who does nothing but sin and does not have eternal life). Christians also have the New Man in them, who is also a brother human, but this brother human, the New Man, never sins. Click here for an in depth explanation.

But there is more that we can learn from 1 John 3:15 and the verses immediately before and after it.

Remember that in 3:10-11 the criterion of love was presented to distinguish between the children of God and the children of the devil. In 3:11, John wrote that loving your brother human is the message we have heard "from the beginning". His use of the phrase "from the beginning" relates to the first verse of the book when John wrote, "that which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life". So, in 3:11 John is referring to the beginning when he saw, heard and touched Jesus, the "Word of life". So, 3:11 is referring to what Jesus taught about loving our brother humans. Well, what did Jesus teach about loving more than our friends and fellow believers? Jesus said, "love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). Then in 3:12 John mentions Cain murdering his brother Able as an example of how the wicked hate the righteous... therefore in verse 3:13, we shouldn't be surprised that "the world" hates believers. So, 1 John says that we should love brother humans in 3:10-11, reminds us of "love your enemy" in 3:12-13, and then in 3:14 says that we know that we have life (eternal) if we love the brethren, with 3:15 presenting hatred of a brother as a criterion for determining who does not have eternal life. So, 3:14 presents love as criterion for knowing who has eternal life and 3:15 presents love’s antonym, hate, as criterion for knowing who does not have eternal life. We have already seen that brother in 3:15 means brother human. There is a clear theme of love your brother from 3:10 through 3:18. And 3:15 makes it clear that "brother" means brother human. So, love your brother human is the theme of 3:10-18. This means that brother in 3:13,16,17 and both occurrences of "brother" in 14 all refer to loving our brother humans (love your neighbor). 3:16 speaks of giving our lives for the brothers (the neighbors. Many have given their lives to save the lost (Revelation 12:11). To interpret 3:17 to mean that we should help only needy brother believers seems to be contrary to what Jesus taught about the good Samaritan (Luke 10:27-37) and doing good to those who hate us (Matthew 5:44). In Matthew 5:44-47 Jesus said that there is no reward for loving those who love us (5:46).

So, we see six additional occurrences of the word "brother" where brother means brother human (3:13,14,14,15,16,17) in this subsection 2) C (b) of this section fourteen, "Sin Leading to Death: In Depth Interpretation". We found one occurrence of brother meaning brother human in subsection 2) C (a), (1 John 3:10). So, we have seven so far.

In some books of the Bible the word brother tends to mean sibling. But the book of 1 John appears to be connecting the word brother to the teachings of Jesus regarding loving those who hate, so that we love our neighbors as if they were brothers, even if they are unbelievers who hate us. Remember that in 3:12-13, we saw that the world hates believers. The world is a designation for unbelievers.

We are to love humanity, (our neighbors or brother humans).

Now, let's look at still other passages which shows that the word “brother” in 1 John means humanity.

c) 1 John 2:9-10

"⁹ He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness even until now. ¹⁰He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him" (1 John 2:9-10).

This passage reveals how to tell the difference between believers and unbelievers, even though they both may claim to be "in the light". In verse nine, the one who hates his brother is in the darkness until now. In other words, the one who hates his brother has never been in the light (is an unbeliever). In verse ten, the one who loves his brother is in the light. (He is a believer since he can walk in the light and have fellowship with God, 1 John 1:6-7).

Again, if you do not view scripture with the clearly established "Old Man, New Man" doctrine in mind, then you will have trouble with the truth that the one who sins (hates his brother) has never been a believer. The Old Man in us does nothing but sin. The New Man in us does nothing but good. Click here for an in depth explanation.

But, let's review and get back to the topic at hand. I will repeat the passage.

⁹ He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness even until now. ¹⁰He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him" (1 John 2:9-10).

There is nothing in the verse to indicate that John is talking about siblings. We need to test the other two possible meanings of "brother" in this passage. Here is how. Replace "is in the darkness until now" with "is an unbeliever" since we know that one who is "in the darkness until now" is an unbeliever. Next, replace the word "brother" in the passage with brother believer and brother human. We will see that only brother human makes sense. Let's try it. The replacements will be shown in ALL CAPS.

"⁹ He who says he is in the light and hates his BROTHER BELIEVER IS AN UNBELIEVER. ¹⁰He who loves his BROTHER BELIEVER remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him" (1 John 2:9-10).

If brother means brother believer it would create a contradiction because it would mean that the brother believer is an unbeliever.

Now let's try the substitution with brother human.

"⁹ He who says he is in the light and hates his BROTHER HUMAN IS AN UNBELIEVER. ¹⁰He who loves his BROTHER HUMAN remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him" (1 John 2:9-10).

When we understand "brother" in this passage to mean "brother human" it makes perfect sense. The brother human in verse nine who "says he is in the light" and yet hates his BROTHER HUMAN is an unbeliever. In verse ten, "He who loves his" BROTHER HUMAN "remains in the light". He has not broken fellowship with God, so he remains (abides or lives) in the light.

Christians are supposed to love unbelievers. God did (John 3:16). Jesus told us to love our neighbors (Mark 12:31), love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Those admonitions to love certainly include unbelievers since unbelievers are our neighbors and are the primary ones who make themselves enemies of Christians and persecute Christians. Understanding brother in 1 John 2:9-10 to mean brother human is perfectly consistent with what Jesus taught.

So, in 1 John 2:9-10 we have seen two examples where brother means brother human, 2:9 and 2:10. The word brother is used in 2:11 again and continues the same theme as he previous verses. So, brother appears to mean brother human again.

With seven examples in a and b above and three examples in c, we now have ten examples in the book of 1 John where brother means brother human. So, ten of the seventeen occurrences of the word brother in the book of 1 John have been shown to mean brother humanity, so far. And remember, brother is the English translation of the Greek word adelphos.

Now let's look again at still other passages which shows that the word brother in 1 John means humanity.

d) 1 John 4:20-21

"²⁰If a man says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn't love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? ²¹This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother" (1 John 4:20-21).

We see in verse 21 that one who says that he loves God but "hates his brother" is a liar. In other words, one who hates his brother doesn't love God. In this verse, as in the many verses we have examined, love... or its antonym hate, are presented as criteria for revealing whether one has eternal life or not. Please begin reading from 1 John 4:8: "He who doesn't love doesn't know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8). So, love is the criterion for revealing who knows God. And knowing God and Jesus equals eternal life (John 17:3). Then the next eleven verses after 4:8 reveal eternal life through Christ (4:9-10), reveal that we abide in God as we abide in love (4:11-16), and by this abiding we have confidence in the day of judgement (4:17-19). So, the themes of loving God and eternal life are brought through all the way to 4:20. Then in 4:20-21 we see hatred of our brother as the criterion for revealing whether we love God or not, love being the criterion for determining if we know God (4:8), knowing God being eternal life (John 17:3). So, 4:8-21, taken together show that loving our brother is the criterion to reveal whether we have eternal life or not. The same truth which has been repeatedly revealed in these many passages where we see the word "brother". We have seen that the word brother in those passages meant brother human. It would be contradictory to change the criterion in 4:20-21. The criterion doesn't change in 4:20-21. The criterion is still love of fellow humans.

I will repeat the passage:

If brother means brother believer, meaning that both brothers are believers, this verse would mean that a brother believer who hated his brother believer doesn't love God; therefore he does not know God (4:8), therefore he does not have eternal life since knowing God is eternal life (John 17:3), and if the brother believer doesn't have eternal life... that contradicts John 3:16.

But if “brother” means brother human, as in the many previous passages, 4:20-21 means that a brother human who hated his brother human doesn't love God; therefore the brother human does not know God (4:8), therefore the brother human does not have eternal life since knowing God is eternal life (John 17:3), and if the brother human doesn't have eternal life... that does not contradict John 3:16, which states that believers have eternal life. Understanding brother to mean brother believer is what creates the contradiction. This contradiction is removed by understanding brother to mean brother human.

Since 1 John 4:20-21 uses the word brother three times; we have three additional examples of the word "brother" being used to represent brother human. So, adding three to the ten examples we had at the end of subsection 2) C) (c), we now have thirteen examples of the word "brother" meaning brother human. And all of them present love or its antonym, hate, as defining criteria. We have two examples of brother meaning sibling, both in 3:12. We have one example where brother possibly means brother believer (2:7). The only remaining example of the word brother in 1 John is in 1 John 5:16... the passage presenting "sin leading to death", the subject of this section.

Conclusion:

So, we have seen that adelphos in the book of 1 John can clearly mean brother human.

We have seen that the Greek word adelphos in 1 John can mean sibling, brother believer or brother human. But, which of these meanings of "brother" did John intend in 1 John 5:16 for the sin of a brother, "sin leading to death" which we should not pray about? There is no point in praying for one who committed the unforgivable sin, since prayer can offer no relief for this sin. So, the "brother" who sins a sin leading to death must be defined in a way that includes unbelievers, since only unbelievers can commit the unforgivable sin, a sin which we should not pray about. So, "brother" could mean sibling or humanity, but not believers, since the prayer criterion requires that "brother" include unbelievers. It is unlikely for 1 John 5:16 to only apply to sins of siblings, since the sin is not presented as sin which only siblings can commit. So, in the case of "sin leading to death" in the third sentence, brother must be humanity.

I will repeat the passage:

"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that he should make a request concerning this" (1 John 5:16).

Brother in the first sentence could mean humanity as well. So, I will show the interpretation assuming that brother means humanity.

If we see a brother (fellow human) sinning a sin which is not the unforgivable sin we should pray and God will give life (knock on the door of the sinner's heart to restore fellowship if the brother is a Christian or give eternal life through the Holy Spirit if the brother is a non Christian) knowing that such gifts may or may not be accepted by this brother, even as the gift of Christ may be rejected (John 3:16).

There is sin which is unforgivable (sin leading to death), regarding which it is pointless to pray about, since prayer can offer no relief for this sin, being unforgivable. Since the sin is unforgivable and it should not be prayed about, the word death in "sin leading to death" refers to second death.

Review:

"Sin leading to death" is the unforgivable sin, blasphemously speaking against the Holy Spirit. The word “death” refers to the second death and “brother” means brother human. The key to the passage is that it says that we should not offer prayers in regard to “sin leading to death. Since there is only one sin regarding which prayer is useless, the unforgivable sin, I conclude that “sin leading to death” is the unforgivable sin. Since two of the three forms of death resulting from sin are sins which we should pray about, sins that are forgivable, I conclude that the third form of death, second death, is the form of death in "sin leading to death". Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, (slandering the Holy Spirit), is the unforgivable sin, sin leading to second death.

3) Prayer

"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that he should make a request concerning this" (1 John 5:16).

This verse reveals that "life" can be given to one because of the prayer of another, if the sin was "sin not leading to death". But, there is sin, regarding which God says "do not pray" because the consequences are unavoidable and will not be changed by prayer (Section 12, Jeremiah 7:16-20, 11:14-17, 14:11-12). Regarding "sin leading to death" 1 John 5:16 states, "I don't say that he should make a request concerning this". So, "life" can't come to one sinning "sin leading to death". So, the consequences of "sin leading to death" are unavoidable and will not be changed by prayer. No prayers are admonished in 1 John 5:16 for "sin leading to death", meaning that the intercessory prayer of James 5:13-15 resulting in forgiveness of the sin of a third party is not admonished, because forgiveness is not available for "sin leading to death", it being the unforgivable sin. Click here and read micro-subchapter 4.3k for illumination on the intercessory prayer of James 5:13-15. There is only one sin in scripture which is unforgivable, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. So, I conclude that the "sin leading to death", is the unforgivable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The "sin leading to death" of 1 John 5:16, about which we are not to pray, can clearly be committed in the present age, since 1 John was written to those in present age of the New Covenant regarding sin committed long after the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ.

We do have prayers in scripture regarding many topics. But, among those, there is not one prayer for those who have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit.

Here are the prayers from chapter 4...

The Endorsed Prayers for spiritual communication (subchapter 4.2) are prayers for knowledge of God's will, enlightened eyesight (revelation), wisdom and words for witnessing... four prayers.

The Endorsed Prayers for spiritual needs (subchapter 4.3) are prayers for power, strength, love, unity, obedience, faith, tranquility, intimacy with God, escape from temptation, forgiveness, spiritual weakness, enemies, rebuke, and mercy.

The Endorsed Prayers for making disciples (subchapter 4.4) are prayers for unity, salvation, sending workers into the harvest, opening doors for the Gospel, spreading God's word and words for witnessing.

Subchapter 4.5 includes the Endorsed Prayers for food, health, war and spiritual gifts.

None of these prayers from subchapters 4.2 through 4.5 will change the destiny of one who has committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. So, there is no point in praying these prayers for that sin.

As I wrote earlier, verse 16 stated,

"... There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that he should make a request concerning this" (1 John 5:16).

The sin of blasphemy against the Spirit, speaking against the Holy Spirit, the unforgivable sin... is a sin which leads to death... a sin of which it is pointless to offer prayers for one who has committed such a sin... since Jesus said, "it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come" (Matthew 12:32).

Our prayer for one who has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit cannot bring that person to repentance resulting in forgiveness, since forgiveness will not be granted... "in this age, or in that age which is to come".

So, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit meets every element of the sin which is presented in 1 John 5:16.

1) It is a sin leading to death (lake of fire).

2) There is no point in praying for one who has committed it.

If 1 John 5:16 doesn't apply to the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, what sin can "sin leading to death" be, that we should not pray about it?

If you know of such a prayer which you have found in the scriptures, please click the discussion link at the top right of this page and send me a message about it. If I am incorrect, I wish to be corrected. But, I know of no such prayer from the scriptures.

So, it appears to me that the "sin leading to death" in 1 John 5:16-17 is the sin of blasphemy against the Spirit, also known as speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit, the unforgivable sin.

Closing Remarks for this Section

John was saying that we should not offer prayers to God regarding a person who has sinned a "sin leading to death", because this sin is such that prayer is ineffective in any way... ineffective in bringing forgiveness for the one prayed for (James 5:15), ineffective in restoration of fellowship with God, removal of temporal consequences, removal of eternal consequences or any other purpose which prayer may have in regard to a sin. Prayer offers no relief for sin leading to death.

John writes as if the readers will know what he means by "sin leading to death"... so that the readers can identify this "sin leading to death"... so as to know which sins should be prayed about and which sins should not. Blasphemously speaking against the Holy Spirit is a sin which they would have been aware of, being recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, books about which commentators I have read believe to have been written before 1 John. Additionally, since this verse was written long after the death of Christ, one should not claim, as some do, that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit ("sin leading to death") cannot be committed after the resurrection and ascension of Christ. So, yes...

This sin may be committed in the present age.

In other words,

Speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit may be committed in the present age.

But remember,

If you believe in Jesus Christ, you have not, cannot and will not commit the unforgivable sin. We saw this in the first section.

15) The Unforgivable Mark of the Beast (666)

"⁶ I saw an angel flying in mid heaven, having an eternal Good News to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people. ⁷He said with a loud voice, "Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!"
⁸Another, a second angel, followed, saying, "Babylon the great has fallen, which has made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality."
⁹Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or on his hand, ¹⁰he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name" Revelation 14:6-11).

We see in this passage a time in the future when

1) The "eternal Good News" is preached (14:6-7),

2) Babylon has fallen (14:8) and

3) People are warned to not take the mark of the beast (14:9-11), which is 666 (13:18), because to do so results in eternal flames (14:11), in other words, is unforgivable.

The "eternal Good News" is "Fear the Lord and give Him glory. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters! The "eternal Good News" is explained in depth in section twenty.

The "Good News" is a translation of the Greek word euangelion, being translated by some as Good News, while being translated by others as Gospel. The Good News and the Gospel are the same thing. Since Babylon, as defined in the book of Revelation, has not yet fallen as of today, 8/17/24, this passage, 14:6-11, clearly will occur subsequent to 8/17/24. So, the taking of the mark of the beast (666) in this passage is not something that has occurred as of 8/17/24. Click here and read the section titled, "Present Jerusalem (The Great Harlot)" to see that Babylon, as described in the book of Revelation, is not a geographical city of one specific time period, but a spiritual, global, commercial, sexually immoral sovereignty spanning all of human history which is guilty of all murders, beginning with Cain. It is still functioning today in your country and in mine.

So, Revelation 14:6-11 is a snapshot of a future event when people are taking the mark of the beast to identify with and follow the beast. But that does not mean that one cannot take the mark of the beast before that future day, when Babylon falls. Click here and read the first section titled, "Signs of Events" to see that the plague on those who have the mark of the beast mentioned in Revelation 16:2 may have been occurring figuratively in and since the first century. The scriptures in that page reveal that the book of Revelation should be understood figuratively.

Review:

We see in this passage a time in the future when

1) The "eternal Good News" is preached (14:6-7),

2) Babylon has fallen (14:8) and

3) People are warned to not worship the beast and take his mark (14:9-11), which is 666 (13:18), because to do so results in eternal flames (14:11), in other words, is unforgivable. Taking the mark is a point of no return... a point beyond which judgement is no longer avoidable.

The time frame of 14:6-9 is in our future, future to 8/17/24. So, the taking of the mark of the beast as pictured in 14:6-9 has yet not occurred. But taking the mark is unforgivable (14:11). Remember, Matthew 12:31 reveals that there is only one unforgivable sin, which is "speaking against the Holy Spirit". So, taking the mark must be the same sin as "speaking against the Holy Spirit" or there would be two unforgivable sins, not one.

The word "mark" is a translation of the Greek word charagma, defined as a stamp or impress. Biblehub.com states that charagma indicates "undeniable identification, like a symbol giving irrefutable connection between parties... an owner's unique 'brand-mark' ". So, by taking the mark they identify themselves as ones who belong to the beast. Taking the mark appears to be an endorsement of and testimony of faith in the beast, called 666. Taking the mark is a point of no return, beyond which judgement is no longer avoidable, resulting in damnation (14:9-11).

The section titled, "Sin Leading to Death revealed that the unforgivable sin can be committed in our day. And Revelation 14:6-11 shows that it can be committed in the future by taking the mark of the beast, worshiping the beast. Possibly, all who have committed themselves to Satan's work up till that day pictured in 14:6-11 also had his mark. But taking the mark and worshiping the beast is a "sin leading to death" because it is a sin that may be committed before physical death which is a point of no return, resulting in damnation.

So, the sins which occur in one taking the mark of the beast and worshiping him appear to include the unforgivable sin, "speaking against the Holy Spirit", blasphemy against the Spirit. One who takes the mark of the beast is obviously connected with the beast, who speaks blasphemies against God (13:6, 1, 5), is "full of blasphemous names" (17:3), blaspheming those in Heaven (13:6). Possibly those who take the mark of the beast help the beast accomplish his objectives of pressuring the world to worship him (13:8) as no one can buy or sell if they don't take his mark (13:17). One can argue that to worship the beast, requires that they must say what he says (John 8:38), speaking blasphemies against God (13:6) as he does, behaving as he "desires" (John 8:44). To "blaspheme those in Heaven" as the beast will (13:6) would include blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, since the Holy Spirit is in heaven... And if they are "speaking against the Holy Spirit" they are blaspheming the Holy Spirit, committing the unforgivable sin. It would be a great contradiction to take his mark and worship him but not participate in what he does. So, it is hard to argue that those who take the mark of the beast do not participate in the blasphemies of the beast. People become like those they worship (Psalm 135:18, 15-18). If those who carry his mark are not his instrument to kill the saints (13:7, 15) then who is?

So, if those who take the mark of the beast identify themselves with the beast and blaspheme those who the beast blasphemes, then they will be joining the beast in blaspheming the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

And by blaspheming the Holy Spirit, they will commit the unforgivable sin.

So, we have two proofs from scripture that the unforgivable sin results in a point of no return, a point in time prior to death when conversion becomes impossible. Those two proofs are:

1) The "sin leading to death" in 1 John 5:16 and

2) Taking the mark of the beast in Revelation 14:6-11.

There is only one unforgivable sin (Matthew 12:31). But we have examined three passages presenting an unforgivable sin, Matthew 12:31-32, 1 John 5:16 and Revelation 14:6-11. So, all three passages appear to be referring to the same unforgivable sin... blasphemously speaking against the Holy Spirit. If they didn't describe the same sin, there would be three unforgivable sins instead of one. But Matthew 12:31 tells us that there is only one.

And... what details about the unforgivable sin can we see from Revelation 14:6-11?

Those who will commit the unforgivable sin will publicly identify themselves as worshippers of the beast, belonging to the beast and work actively AGAINST the eternal Gospel, which is "fear God and give Him glory".

Revelation 14:6-11 reveals a time of visitation... a time when all must choose a side... Either worship God or worship the beast, testify of Jesus or testify for the beast, die for Christ or kill for the beast. That will be the choice... one or the other. No one may sit on the fence. All who worship God will be sentenced to physical death. There is no more time! No more time! The decision must be made. Every person is either on one side or the other. The unbelievers, called children of the devil (tekna tou diabalou), who have not committed the unforgivable sin, have one last chance to believe and thereby receive eternal life.

One can be an unbeliever without committing the unforgivable sin. In other words, one can be a lukewarm unbeliever... one who is a child of the devil, but not trying to destroy the Gospel. But when Revelation 14:6-11 takes place, all of these will either become active workers in Satan's kingdom to attack the Gospel and speak blasphemously against the Holy Spirit... or they will become Christians. This is a time of visitation, when no more delay is possible, when one either converts to Christianity or commits the unforgivable sin. That will be the choice.

Now, remember the details about the unforgivable sin from Revelation 14:6-11:

Working against the Gospel is not the unforgivable sin. Slandering the Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin. But those who work against the Gospel may be moving close to committing the unforgivable sin.

Although the book of Revelation does not expressly state that those who take the mark of the beast will speak blasphemously against the Holy Spirit, we know that they commit that sin because that is the only unforgivable sin and they commit a sin, after which no salvation is available.

In our age, some may publicly identify themselves as worshippers of the beast, belonging to the beast or another current day manifestation of Satan's kingdom and work actively AGAINST the eternal Gospel, which is "fear God and give Him glory", which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the creator. And as all promoters of genocide do, they will demonize those whom they seek to destroy, possibly by saying that they are evil as was done in Matthew 12:31-32... possibly saying that the Gospel is evil, possibly saying that it is of Satan, speaking slander against the Holy Spirit and thereby speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit, the unforgivable sin...

If they merely spoke against Christ, that would not be unforgivable (Matthew 12:32). So, to commit the unforgivable sin, they must speak blasphemously against the Holy Spirit, whether the time period is Revelation 14:6-11 or the current day. To speak blasphemously is to slander.

But remember,

If you believe in Jesus Christ, you have not, cannot and will not commit the unforgivable sin. We saw this in the first section.

16) Rebuttal of Other Interpretations of Matthew 12:31-32

Before we explore various definitions of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, I will review Matthew 12:31-32.

"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come." Matthew 12:31-32

We see two characterizations of what "will not be forgiven":
"blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men" (12:31)
"whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him" (12:32)

These are not two different unforgiveable sins. They are two descriptions of the same unforgivable sin. In other words, "blasphemy against the Spirit" is the same thing as "speaks against the Holy Spirit"?

If they are not the same sin, then we have not one but two unforgivable sins.

Verse 31 states, "every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men". In other words, all but one sin may be forgiven. So, there is one unforgivable sin that Jesus is speaking of. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and speaking against the Holy Spirit are the same thing. If we include the details of each characterization of the unforgivable sin, we see that speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit is the clearest definition of the unforgivable sin. And, when we remember that blasphemy means slander, we see that the unforgivable sin is...

Slander against the Holy Spirit

As we saw in section 1,
If you believe in Jesus Christ, you have not, cannot and will not commit the unforgivable sin.

Now, with that review, I will provide a rebuttal to five interpretations of the unforgivable sin which are interpretations contrary to what I have presented.

1) Accusing Jesus of being demon possessed
Some say that accusing Jesus of being demon possessed is the unforgivable sin. But the passage from Matthew 12:22-37 specifically said that "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him"... and Christ is "the Son of Man". Jesus didn't say that accusing Jesus Christ of being demon possessed was the unforgivable sin. He said that speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirt is unforgivable. That is enough to refute the interpretation. But, there is more.

In John 7:20 the multitude said to Jesus, "You have a demon!" But instead of telling them that they had committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the unforgivable sin, Jesus said, "Don't judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24). There is no point in making "righteous judgement" regarding Christ if they were doomed to Hell because they said that Jesus had a demon. By saying that Jesus had a demon, they had blasphemed Jesus but not the Holy Spirit. Blasphemy against Jesus is forgivable. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable.

So, it is clear that an accusation of demon possession directed at Jesus is not the unforgivable sin.

2) Accrediting the Holy Spirit's Work to Satan
Jesus didn't say that accrediting the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan was the unforgivable sin. He said that speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirt is unforgivable. But we will examine an event when the scribes accredited the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. Then we will see if Jesus says that that accusation was the unforgivable sin.

The passage is Mark 3:22-30. It's short. Here it is:
"22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, 'He has Beelzebul,' and, 'By the prince of the demons he casts out the demons.'
23 He summoned them and said to them in parables, 'How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 If Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he can't stand, but has an end. 27 But no one can enter into the house of the strong man to plunder unless he first binds the strong man; then he will plunder his house. 28 Most certainly I tell you, all sins of the descendants of man will be forgiven, including their blasphemies with which they may blaspheme; 29 but whoever may blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.' 30 —because they said, 'He has an unclean spirit'" (Mark 3:22-30).

In this passage from Mark, the scribes are accusing Jesus (3:22). They said,
"He has Beelzebul,' and, 'By the prince of the demons he casts out the demons" (Mark 3:22).

This is nearly identical to the accusation of the Pharisees in Matthew 12:24:

"This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons" (Matthew 12:24).

These statements, Mark 3:22 and Matthew 12:24, are characterized by some to be accrediting the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan, which they say is the only way to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, which they also say cannot be done today because Jesus is not present in the flesh to receive such an accusation. However, let's see how Jesus responds to their accusation.

Their accusation in Mark 3:22 is, "He has Beelzebul,' and, 'By the prince of the demons he casts out the demon."

Then, in Mark 3:23-27 Jesus argues that Satan doesn't achieve his goals by fighting against himself. Then in 3:28-30 Jesus warns them about the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Here is His warning from 3:28-30:
^{"28 '}Most certainly I tell you, all sins of the descendants of man will be forgiven, including their blasphemies with which they may blaspheme; ²⁹but whoever may blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.' ³⁰—because they said, 'He has an unclean spirit'" (Mark 3:28-30).

So, the scribes made their accusation in 3:22. Jesus spoke His answer in 3:23-29. He gave this answer, "because they said He has an unclean spirit" (3:30). So, Jesus warned them about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit "because" they accused Him of being demon possessed. Jesus spoke, "because they said He has an unclean spirit". We saw in the first rebuttal that accusing Jesus of having an unclean spirit is forgivable.

When Jesus provided the reason for His response, Jesus mentioned the accusation of demon possession but not the accusation of "By the prince of the demons he casts out the demons". Jesus doesn't say that they attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. He warned them about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit because they were close to committing that sin. He characterized their sin as "they said He has an unclean spirit" which John 7:20 and 7:24 reveals is forgivable. See the first rebuttal for a more complete explanation of John 7:20-24.

Their statement, "By the prince of the demons he casts out the demons", is clearly blasphemy against Jesus, being a slander against Him (which is forgivable according to Matthew 12:32). But one must use deduction to conclude that this statement was indirectly alleging that Satan performed the exorcism which the Holy Spirit actually performed, and use additional deduction to conclude that the Pharisees intended to accuse the Holy Spirit of being Satan. Both of these deductions are debatable. And, Jesus does not seem to agree with these deductions, since He summarized their sin as, "because they said He has an unclean spirit", (demon possession), which John 7:20 and 7:24 indicate is forgivable.

In conclusion, Jesus does not take the slanders levied at Him and make a series of interconnected deductions to arrive at an indirect and possibly unintentional blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which results in the unforgivable sin. Neither should we.

3) Israel's rejection of the Messiah who was there in person
The passage explicitly stated, "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him". And Christ is the Son of Man. Jesus didn't say that Israel's rejection of the Messiah who was there in person was the unforgivable sin. He said that "speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirt" is unforgivable. Many fail to believe the Gospel many times before they believe. But, with this definition, one strike is all you get. Besides, after Israel rejected Christ, the apostle Paul prayed for their salvation (Romans 9:31-10:1). One could conceivably refuse to believe in the Messiah without "speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit".

4) Refusing to believe in Jesus Christ
The passage explicitly stated, "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him". And Christ is the Son of Man. Jesus didn't say that refusing to believe in Jesus Christ was the unforgivable sin. He said that "speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirt" is unforgivable. Many fail to believe the Gospel many times, possibly hundreds of times before they believe. But, with this definition, one strike is all you get. Besides, after Israel rejected Christ, the apostle Paul prayed for their salvation (Romans 9:31-10:1). So, Paul didn't believe they had committed the unforgivable sin. One could conceivably refuse to believe in Jesus Christ without "speaking against the Holy Spirit".

5) Refusing to believe In Jesus Christ for one's entire life
Jesus didn't say that refusing to believe in Jesus Christ for one's entire life was the unforgivable sin. He said that "speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirt" is unforgivable. In this case the unforgiveable sin is not committed until one dies in unbelief. So, it is the death of the unbeliever which makes the sin unforgiveable. Few of us control the time of our death. The last moment of unbelief may be no worse than the first moment of unbelief. One man could hear and disbelieve the Gospel 1000 times before his death makes his unbelief unforgiveable. Another could hear and disbelieve the Gospel once and then die so that the death over which he had no control created the unforgivable sin in him. In this case, disbelieving the Gospel once would be his unforgiveable sin. Also, one could conceivably refuse to believe in Jesus Christ all one's life without speaking blasphemously against the Holy Spirit.

666
The day of death cannot be the event which creates the unforgivable sin in the unbeliever because Revelation 14:9-11 reveals that those who take the mark of the beast, 666, have committed the unforgivable sin, being irrevocably condemned to eternal flames "forever and ever" (14:11) even though still physically alive, condemned before physical death.

Sin Leading to Death
One who has committed "sin leading to death", which should not be prayed about, is still physically alive, but their sin leads to the second death... a death which comes after physical death. So, it is not the physical death which makes this sin unforgivable.

Revisions of Scripture
All of these five interpretations are really not interpretations of scripture. They are revisions of God's word... an action which I myself am regrettably, also guilty of. I suspect that these mischaracterizations are typically unintentional.
No believer has committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Having not committed this sin we have difficulty defining it because we haven't done it. If we can't define it, how can we describe it? So, we seek to define it as something we can explain... If we had not eaten ice cream, had sex or committed murder, how could we know what it felt like to do those things. But even so, we should not revise what we don't understand as something we think we do understand.

17) Can a point of no return occur in the "day of visitation?

"When he (Jesus) came near, he saw the city (Jerusalem) and wept over it, ⁴²saying, "If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³For the days will come on you, when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side, ⁴⁴and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn't know the time of your visitation" (Luke 19:41-44).

Jesus said,

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!" (Matthew 23:37).

Here is more:

"Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. ²But he answered them, "You see all of these things, don't you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down" (Matthew 24:1-2).

Since Jesus said, "most certainly" in verse 2, this appears to mean that this judgement cannot be averted by repentance, as some judgements can be (Jeremiah 18:5-10). So, it can be said to be a point of no return. Jesus said these things in roughly 33 AD during His three year ministry to draw men into the Kingdom of Heaven. But Israel rejected Him. Because of this, He said that Jerusalem and the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. 37 years later in 70 AD, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. So, the destiny of the city was set in 33 AD because they rejected the Messiah. Jerusalem was at the point of no return in 33 AD. That point of no return occurred on the "time of your visitation", when they rejected Messiah. This was a point of no return in regard to a judgement of destruction for the city of Jerusalem. It did not mean that everyone in Jerusalem had committed the unforgivable sin. Rejection of the Messiah is not the unforgivable sin.

In Luke 20:20-22, Jesus told them to run for the hills when Jerusalem was surrounded by armies. So, when the prophecy of Jesus came true in 70 AD, those in Jerusalem could have heeded His warning and survived. Those who didn't heed the warning had the entire period of the Roman siege to remember His prophecy, reconsider His claims and convert before dying at the hands of the Romans. Those who converted entered paradise through the portal of death.

I will repeat the passage about the day of visitation:

"They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn't know the time of your visitation" (Luke 19:44).

Most translations read "day of visitation" instead of "time of your visitation. The word "visitation" is a translation of the Greek word episkope, meaning a visiting, an overseeing. The day of visitation is a day or possibly a season of overseeing. In the three years of Jesus's ministry, He oversaw the presentation of Himself as Messiah, for them to believe in Him for entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. But, they didn't know the time of their visitation. The day of visitation is a day arranged by God for people to be converted, if they will. In Acts 15:14 the day of visitation is the day of conversion of some from "the nations", meaning non-Israelites.

"Simeon has reported how God first visited the nations to take out of them a people for his name" (Acts 15:14).

The city of Jerusalem was destroyed because they "didn't know the time of" their "visitation" (Luke 19:44, 28-46)... In other words, they rejected Messiah. So, a city may have a "time of visitation".

1 Peter 2:12 indicates that individuals also have a "day of visitation":

"Having good behavior among the nations, so in that of which they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they see, glorify God in the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2:12).

Some see this day of visitation as the day of judgement. But Luke 19:44 indicates that it is the opportunity for faith, for entering the Kingdom of Heaven or for conversion, all of which precede the day of judgement. Acts 15:14 also indicates that the visitation is the opportunity for conversion. It would be odd for the enemies of Christians, as the phrase "speak against you as evildoers" indicates that they are, to glorify God in the day enemies of Christ were judged. So, the day of visitation does not appear to be a day of judgement. No, they would glorify God in the day of opportunity for conversion, a day of visitation which the Holy Spirit had prepared them for, as their divinely predetermined opportunity to receive God's offer of salvation. They would glorify God in the day they came to know Him (conversion). So, the day of visitation appears to be a day when the Holy Spirit comes to bring them into the final step of conversion, acceptance of the Messiah.

For me, the day of visitation occurred when I was fourteen. For my grandfather, at age 72 on his death bed.

Day of Visitation, in the Context of Life

God orchestrates the events of every person's life to encourage all men to seek God (Acts 17:26-27). He does this to bring people to a season of visitation. In that season of visitation, God guides the unbeliever into love of truth and also reveals truth. Some receive the love of the truth and follow the corridor of conversion to be saved (2 Thessalonians 2:10). Click here for more on the corridor of conversion. THOSE WHO DO NOT RECEIVE THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH (2 Thessalonians 2:10), are deceived (2 Thessalonians 2:10) and do not believe the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:12). They will not believe truth BECAUSE it is the truth (John 8:45). They oppose truth (John 8:45). Some will "suppress the truth" (Romans 1:18). They exchange the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1:25).

Answer

Yes. A point of no return can occur in the "day of visitation".

That is what we learn from Jerusalem's "time of visitation". But while the passages in 1 Peter 2:12 and Acts 15:14 mention a time of visitation, they don't indicate that there is only one time of visitation for each individual. So, those two passages don't present a point of no return.

So, everyone may only get one day of visitation. Or, possibly we receive many such visits. I don't have a way to prove one or the other, from scripture. But, it appears that we all receive at least one visitation.

18) What is the Age to Come in Matthew 12:31-32?

The age to come is the afterlife, which continues forever. While we who believe in Christ have eternal life now (John 5:24), the "age to come" is the age of fully experiencing that eternal life (Mark 10:30), an age of which we currently have a "taste"... of the powers thereof (Hebrews 6:5). The age to come begins at the resurrection of the righteous (John 5:28-29), at the rapture, just before Armageddon. In Matthew 24:3, the disciples ask for a sign of Jesus's coming and the end of the age. The word sign is singular, not plural. So there is one sign for the second coming and the end of the age. That's because the second coming is the end of the age. So, Matthew 12:32 above reveals that those who speak blasphemously against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in the current age, or in the afterlife. To not be forgiven in the afterlife indicates that the person is not in Heaven, but in Hell.

19) Evangelism to Blasphemers: Pearls Before Swine

Should we evangelize those who blaspheme?

No.

Jesus said that we should not cast pearls before swine.

Paul stopped sharing the gospel with people who blasphemed. So, if we share the Gospel and those who hear respond with slander against God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the New Covenant or "the Way" we should stop sharing with those people. Please prayerfully observe the following scriptures...

Galilee

"Don't give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces" (Matthew 7:6).

In Corinth

"⁵But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. ⁶When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!" (Acts 18:5-6)

In Antioch

^"44The next Sabbath, almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God. ⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed.
⁴⁶Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, "It was necessary that God's word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from yourselves, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:44-46).

These scriptures from Acts do not tell us who or what they blasphemed. So, we shouldn't assume that they blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. When these scriptures say that they blasphemed, it means that they expressed slander. This is the sign to spend our time witnessing to someone else. Maybe they committed the unforgivable sin. Maybe not. I can't prove either from the scripture.

Ephesus

"⁸He entered into the synagogue and spoke boldly for a period of three months, reasoning and persuading about the things concerning God's Kingdom.
⁹But when some were hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus" (Acts 19:8-9).

In this passage we do not see the word "blasphemed". But they did speak evil of the Way... Speaking evil is slander... so I consider their words to be blasphemy. Christians were referred to as followers of The Way (Acts 19:9 19:23, 22:4, 24:14, 24:22). While scripture doesn't clearly describe "the Way", I believe that it means the New Covenant, since Paul followed the way (Acts 24:14) and Paul was a minister of the New Covenant of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:6). So, if others "speak evil" of the New Covenant, it is time to stop presenting the Gospel to them and focus on someone else.

Click here to learn about the transition from living by rules in the Old Covenant of Moses to living by the Spirit in the New Covenant.

20) What is the eternal Gospel?

Revelation 14:6-7 reveals that the "eternal Gospel" is fear of the Creator. The creator is Jesus (John 1:1-3, especially verse 3, Hebrews 1:2). Here is the scripture from Revelation 14:6-7.

"I saw an angel flying in mid heaven, having an eternal Good News to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7 He said with a loud voice, "Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!" (Revelation 14:6-7).

The words "Good News" are a translation of the Greek word euangellion. Many translations will translate euangellion in verse 6 as "eternal Gospel" instead of "eternal Good News". The eternal euangellion is: Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!"

In other words worship the creator. We know that the creator is Jesus from (John 1:1-3, especially verse 3, Hebrews 1:2). This does not mean that those who reject the Jesus of the Bible receive eternal life (John 3:18). It only means that those who never read scripture and never heard the reading of scripture don't automatically receive eternal damnation. It means that the direct, internal revelation of God through creation, to those not having the scriptures, can be received in a way that results in eternal life. I will quote Romans 1:18-20 as proof:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. 20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse.

Prayerful Observations:

Verse 19 states "that which is known of God is revealed in them". So, "that which is known of God" is revealed by God within them. This is revealed through creation (verse 20). This knowledge of God is revealed so clearly that they are "without excuse" (verse 20). If 100% of all the billions of people who never had access to scripture went to Hell... they would have the perfect excuse... their excuse would be that it was impossible for them to enter eternal life. Zero out of billions would mean that it was impossible. Therefore, I prayerfully submit, that 100% of all the billions of people who never had access to scripture were not eternally damned. Those who believed God's revelation escaped that destiny by grace and through faith in the creator (who is Jesus).

Does the phrase "that which is known of God" include the Gospel? Please prayerfully read on...

Exegesis of Romans 1:18-20

Does the phrase "that which is known of God" include the Gospel? Those who assert that the billions of people who never heard scripture are all eternally damned would probably say "no".

But what does the scripture say? Does the phrase "that which is known of God" include the gospel?

The scripture says that "that which is known of God" is revealed by God within them. Well, God's gospel is something which is known about God... so it would logically be included within the meaning of the phrase "that which is known of God". So, when God revealed "that which is known of God" within them, God revealed the Gospel.

Furthermore, verse 32 of this long passage, Romans 1:18-32, specifically reveals that, by internal revelation, without scripture, it was known that those who live contrary to the internally revealed ordinances of God deserve death. That is an essential part of the gospel message. They specifically knew this fact, by internal revelation. But there is much, much more...

The text of Romans 1, leading up to the famous Romans 1:18-32 text, is talking about the gospel. I will present the whole section below for your prayerful consideration:

"15 So as much as is in me, I am eager to preach the Good News to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek. 17 For in it is revealed God's righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, "But the righteous shall live by faith."

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. 20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse" (Romans 1:15-20).

Please observe the phrase "good news" in verses 15 and 16. Some translations say "gospel" instead of "good news". Verse 15 says that Paul wanted to preach the gospel (good news) to the Roman church.

By the way, the gospel is for both conversion through Christ and growth in Christ... which is why Paul wanted to preach the gospel to those who were already converted (the Roman church)... for growth in Christ (Romans 1:15).

But continuing... Paul wanted to preach the gospel (v 15). The gospel he wanted to preach is the gospel of Christ (v 16). Notice the phrase "in it" in verse 17. The gospel is still the topic in verse 17. The gospel reveals "God's righteousness" (v 17). Then in verse 18, God's wrath is against the "unrighteousness" which "suppresses the truth". What truth is suppressed? The gospel!

I will repeat the passage for your convenience, with comments:

"15 So as much as is in me, I am eager to preach the Good News to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek. 17 For in it is revealed God's righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, "But the righteous shall live by faith."

Do you see that the Good News (the Gospel) is the topic in verses 15, 16 and 17? When you do, then please look below at verse 18. Do you see the word "For"? It is the first word of the sentence. The word "For" means that the words of verse 18 are related to the previous sentences, the subject of which is the Gospel of Christ.

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. 20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse." Romans 1:15-20).

Verse 18 says that men "suppress the truth". To claim, as some inaccurately claim, that this suppressed truth is non-gospel, non-salvific truth is unsupportable from the text and inconsistent with an intelligent, logical flow of thought. From the text, there is no possible way to conclude that Paul changed the subject from Gospel truth in verses 15, 16 and 17 to non-Gospel truth in verse 18. To interpret scripture in such a reckless fashion would render all of scripture incoherent. Paul is not writing to hide truth. He is writing to reveal truth.

The topic of all three sentences immediately leading up to the famous Romans 1:18 passage is the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Those in verse 18 were suppressing the Gospel. So, God's wrath was being revealed against them because "what is known of God is known within them" (v 19). What was known within them? The gospel! That is why God was wrathful against those who suppressed the gospel, because they had heard the gospel. How can they suppress the gospel if they had not heard the gospel? They couldn't have. I prayerfully submit to your prayerful consideration that... the Gospel of Christ was revealed within them, internally, by direct revelation, without scripture, through creation... as verse 19 and 20 read:

"19 because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them 20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse" (Romans 1:19-20).

The Gospel has been

"clearly seen",
"since the creation of the world",
"perceived through the things that are made"

Yet there is even still more...

They "knew God" (v 21), but "exchanged truth of God for a lie" (v 25). So, the truth they received in verse 19, and suppressed in verse 18, they exchanged for a lie in verse 25.

And, if the truth they received in verse 19 could not save them anyway, as some incorrectly assert, why would God be wrathful against them for suppressing truth that could not save anyway? Why would God condemn them from eternal life if the truth they received and suppressed could not bring eternal life? Why would God sow seed into man's heart that cannot bear fruit? Does God tease man? Would God say... "You rejected cardboard at breakfast, so I will not give you steak at dinner?" What is so foolish about trading a truth from God which cannot save for a lie which cannot save? When trading one thing which cannot save for another thing which cannot save, is the one making the trade worse off because of the trade? No...

Do you see? The assertion that God sowed seed that cannot bear fruit into the heart of man in Romans 1:19, if it were true, would make the remainder of the chapter pointless!

Those who assert that the internal revelation of Romans 1:19 and 1:25 could not bring eternal life but could only condemn... are essentially saying that God is like a doctor who offers poisonous medicine to the sick and then kills them for not taking the medicine. I will repeat verses 19 and 20 for your convenience:

"19 because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. 20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse" (Romans 1:19-20).

As I said before, this knowledge of God is revealed so clearly that they are "without excuse" (verse 20). If 100% of all the billions of people who never had access to scripture went to Hell... they would have the perfect excuse... their excuse would be that it was impossible for them to enter eternal life. Zero out of billions would mean that it was impossible.

I believe that it was the Gospel which they heard internally, then suppressed and exchanged. They received truth that they could benefit from.

1) Am I saying that eternal life can be received without Christ? No!

2) Am I saying that the unreached are saved if they are innocent? No! No one is innocent!

3) Am I saying that those who have heard the scriptures about Jesus and reject Jesus can be saved even if they continue in that rejection? No according to John 3:18. Note: For those who suppose that John 3:18 means that those who have never heard will go to Hell, it is helpful to reconcile John 3:18 to John 15:22 and 9:41, which say that we are not responsible for what we have not heard in regard to eternal life. The book of John was written so that people could receive life through reading it (John 20:31). Since Luke 12:47-48 results in lesser punishment than Luke 12:46, they may pertain to discipline of believers rather than judgment regarding eternal life (12:46). The one who knowingly disobeys receives more stripes (severe discipline) while the one who ignorantly disobeys receives few stripes (guiding discipline).

4) Am I saying that those who don't even know the name of Christ can be saved? Yes! Virtually all born again Christians in the English speaking world do not know His name. They think his name was Jesus. It was not. His name was Yeshua. Yet, even though they don't know His name and call Him by the wrong name, they are saved by faith.

5) Am I saying that scripture indicates that God reveals the gospel of Jesus Christ without scripture? Yes!

Romans 1:15-32, especially 19 and 25.
Romans 2:14-15, as illuminated by Galatians 3:24
Romans 10:10-21, especially 16-18, as illuminated by Psalm 19:1-4
Revelation 14:6-7, as illuminated by John 1:1-3, especially verse 3 and Hebrews 1:2

6) Am I saying that Christians don't need to share the Gospel with the lost, because God will tell them internally? No!

God decides how to take His word to all people. God decides who to send, opens the door for His word and causes His word to spread. God grants words of the Gospel to those who speak the Gospel (Matthew 9:38, Colossians 4:2-4, 2 Thessalonians 3:1, Ephesians 6:18-19). God reveals Himself internally without scripture. Should a private in the army disregard the orders of the General saying, "the General can do it himself"? I think not. Scripture is clear that all Christians should share the gospel. (Click here to read A5 in the appendix, "Is Every Christian Supposed to Make Disciples?) One scripture is very, very clear...

"Therefore be ready also, for the Son of Man is coming in an hour that you don't expect him." 41 Peter said to him, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everybody?" 42 The Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the right times? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his lord will find doing so when he comes. 44 Truly I tell you, that he will set him over all that he has. 45 But if that servant says in his heart, 'My lord delays his coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken, 46 then the lord of that servant will come in a day when he isn't expecting him, and in an hour that he doesn't know, and will cut him in two, and place his portion with the unfaithful" (Luke 12:40-46).

All Christians should be serving spiritual food, making disciples within the associations that our Lord has provided. That is what we should be doing at the time when Christ returns or at the time of our death, whichever comes first.

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Twenty Sections

1) Only Unbelievers Can Blaspheme the Holy Spirit

2) Jesus Was Not Talking to Believers in Matthew 12:31-32

3) Who is the Holy Spirit?

4) What is Blasphemy?

5) What Is Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?

6) Resisting the Holy Spirit is Forgivable

7) The Unforgivable Sin Was Not Committed in Matthew 12:22-37

8) Blaspheming the Son of Man is Forgivable

9) The Pharisees Worked to Send Men to Hell

10) Grace was Offered to the Pharisees

11) There is Only One Unforgivable Sin

12) Unavoidable Judgement: God Said, "Don't Pray"

13) Sin Leading to Death: Brief Interpretation

14) Sin Leading to Death: In Depth Interpretation

A) Physical DeathB) Spiritual DeathC) Second Death

A) SiblingB) Brother BelieverC) Brother Human

15) The Unforgivable Mark of the Beast (666)

16) Rebuttal of Other Interpretations of Matthew 12:31-32

17) Can a point of no return occur in the "day of visitation?

18) What is the Age to Come in Matthew 12:31-32?

19) Evangelism to Blasphemers: Pearls Before Swine

20) What is the eternal Gospel?

Have a question or want to share how this book has impacted your life?

A) Physical Death
B) Spiritual Death
C) Second Death

A) Sibling
B) Brother Believer
C) Brother Human