Offending the Holy Spirit, the unpardonable sin
Admittedly, the subject of Offending the Holy Spirit, the unpardonable sin, is a complex and difficult subject, hence this study is taking an unconventional approach.
First an introduction: Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another.
Merriam-Webster: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them.
A metaphor may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to create a likeness or an analogy.
Metaphors are often compared with other types of figurative language, such as:
— antithesis: a rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences:
“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
“Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy.”
“He who desires peace, should prepare for war.”
“If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.”
many fragments of antitheses could be found in the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:17–48
— hyperbole: excessive exaggeration to illustrate a point; often used for emphasis or effect, or sometimes, for humour. In casual speech, it functions as an intensifier: saying “the bag weighed a ton” simply means that the bag was extremely heavy:
“I have a thousand missed calls today.”
“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!”
“I’m giving it two hundred per cent.”
“Her laughter could bring an entire building crashing.”
— allegory: a story illustrating a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance:
The Tortoise and the Hare by Aesop – this story tells of a slow-and-steady tortoise in a race with an overconfident hare. When the hare in his confidence lays down to nap, the tortoise slowly passes him and wins the race.
Animal Farm by George Orwell – the story follows a farm full of tired, overworked animals as they rebel against their farmer to create a utopian community. Yet in the end, the idealism they sought to promote failed just as their tyrannical leader did.
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”
— simile: a figure of speech that directly compares two things, usually using words such as “like” and “as.” And as an example “Her face looks like a moon.” Other examples are: Strong as an ox; Fit as a fiddle; Bright as the sun; Sweating like a pig; White as snow; His heart was as cold as ice; Sleeping like a log;
Fast as lightning; Dance like no one is watching; As cool as a cucumber
“She’s as fierce as a tigress” is a simile, but “She’s a tigress when she’s angry” is a metaphor.
One of the most commonly cited examples of a metaphor in English literature comes from the “All the world’s a stage” monologue from As You Like It:
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His Acts being seven ages. At first, the infant…
—William Shakespeare, As You Like It
This quotation expresses a metaphor because the world is not literally a stage, and most humans are not literally actors and actresses playing roles. By asserting that the world is a stage, Shakespeare uses points of comparison between the world and a stage to convey an understanding about the mechanics of the world and the behavior of the people within it.
In the ancient Psalms, one finds already vivid and poetic examples of metaphor such as, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” and “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” This just doesn’t make sense: if the Lord is my fortress and shepherd, we should all want him to be that way all the time.
And now we come to the “unpardonable sin”
And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Matthew 12:32
“Verily I say unto you, all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men and blasphemies, however they shall blaspheme; but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation” Mark 3:28-29
Despite incorporating the term “Holy Ghost” or “Holy Spirit” with caps and so on, it isn’t a person; but is just a finger of God. At other times, the spirit of God could appear as an angel of God. And when John was having a vision before the Throne of God in heaven, the “Holy Spirit” as a person was nowhere to be seen, but John saw seven angels:
“And I saw the seven angels who stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.” Revelation 8:2
“And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.” Revelation 8:6
Elsewhere “seven angels” would appear as the seven eyes of God, which run to and fro through the whole earth:
For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua: upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the engraving thereof,’ saith the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. Zechariah 3:9
For who hath despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven. They are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” Zechariah 4:10
And Revelation confirms that seven angels would appear as the seven eyes (or seven spirits) of God:
And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and the four living beings, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. Revelation 5:6
As an inanimate substance, the spirit of God, or the finger of God, couldn’t express emotion to forgive or not to forgive a human. And since the Son and the Father are One, the Son could express the emotion of the Father; that is, both could forgive any transgression against either of them. Hence a sin against the finger of God as a person makes no sense: it has to be a metaphor.
Hence “whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him” is a metaphor. It means that it is a serious offence, with the consequence that the spirit would not be working with the person once he had given such an offence.
For example, if the spirit of God told a person that he or she needs to keep the Sabbath and he or she thwarts it by not following the voice of the spirit, then the spirit of God wouldn’t be working with the person any more.
“Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, ‘Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that ye may know that I am the Lord who doth sanctify you.” Exodus 31:13
For the vast majority of people the Sabbath is a test: whether the person would keep God through obeying the Sabbath. What the spirit would guide us and to keep this command is that the Sabbath should be kept, Exodus 16:4. To thwart this command would be a serious offence against the spirit; and in this sense, unpardonable — a lost chance of being called and sanctified immediately.
Cain became angry when his sacrifice wasn’t accepted. He thwarted the voice of the spirit to repent, instead, he followed the spirit of jealousy and rebellion. He killed his brother, Abel, and lost the rights of being a firstborn; and his posterity, after the seventh generation, came to nothing.
Cain had committed an unpardonable sin, so to speak. It was a serious offence, so serious that even if he would repent, which could only be possible during or after the Millennium, he wouldn’t be able to recover his rights of being the firstborn, “neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
The same is true with king Saul; he thwarted the spirit of repentance when Samuel showed him how he had sinned. Instead of repentance he found excuses for his misconduct. Consequently, his kingship was taken from him in this world, unforgiven, and in the world to come. That’s how serious it is: he would never be able to recover his lost opportunity!
Judas Iscariot, he held the bag, was greedy, and not knowing the full plan of God, was trying to force Jesus to establish the Kingdom there and then. He ended up betraying Christ by identifying him in the dark and handing him to the Romans.
Any sin against the Son of Man could be forgiven; Judas could be forgiven, resurrected during the Millennium and would be a great evangelist, but he would never be able to regain a seat as one of the original Twelve Disciples ruling the Twelve Tribes of Israel! Matthew 19:28. Matthias took his seat (Acts 1:12-26) and for Judas Iscariot, that chance was lost forever!
And now, we come to the most important point: assuming that in Matthew 12:32, the “unpardonable sin” should be taken literally—that anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come—then we should let the Holy Spirit testify for itself. Surely, we would appreciate hearing this directly from the source. Surely we would appreciate to hear this from the horse’s mouth.
Joel
A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob 