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An
Addendum:
For those
who are still confused!
"The Blasphemy
of the Holy Spirit"
Part 2 by
Tom Gaston
I
have decided to write an addendum on the subject of "The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit"
due to the "feed back"
that I am getting from those who seem to still have problems with this subject,
and who for some reason? cannot seem to "grasp" the Biblical truth
which lies within
the very pages of the Bible itself. The Lord Jesus Christ
Himself gives the "unmistakable, clear, and precise answer to
the questions that are still floating around out their in Christian circles
concerning "Can the blasphemy
of the Holy Spirit still be committed
today in the Church age by an unbeliever,
or by a believer in Christ, AND can it be committed during
the tribulation period?"
Before
I get started I want to share with you a "classic example"
which the Holy Spirit brought to my attention today, of how Too many times
Christians "Overlook"
Bible truth while studying the Bible. This is easy to do
for any of us if we are not careful. For instance, I am a
garage door installer, and while I was installing two garage door
openers this afternoon I became agitated because I couldn't find the
piece in the box that I was looking for. When I install door
openers I always open the box and separate all the larger items
of hardware from the smaller ones. Then I dump all the fasteners
of nuts, bolts, pins, cotter keys, etc. into the box so I won't
kick them around on the floor and lose them.
Well, as I was looking inside this box
where I had dumped all the small items, I found myself becoming agitated
because I could not find the item that I was looking for. I kept looking,
and looking, and looking, when I finally said to myself, ”For
crying out loud, I know that silly thing is in their, where in world is
it!" Well finally I found it. The object lesson is
this. I was too busy with "rapid eye
movement" in the box while trying to find this item. This rapid
eye movement "distracted"
me from really focusing on the item that I was looking for. It
was "right there in front of me
all the time", BUT despite this I still could NOT SEE IT because I was NOT focusing nor paying
attention to the "detail"
of each item which would help me to identify what I was looking for. It wasn't
until I slowed down my rapid eye movement and literally "Focused" on every item more
carefully, that I found what I was looking for.
Now, this authentic example that I have shared with you above
is the same kind of thing in "principal" when it comes
to studying the Bible. Too many times Christians "Overlook Bible truth" due
to their lack of paying attention to the "Fine detail" in the text
which they are reading. This neglect on our part of not paying attention to
"fine detail"
creates much confusion and has negative results for the one, and others
who are trying to extract from
the context of scripture the correct
interpretation. They cannot see the correct
interpretation due to "over
looking" the finer
detail. And they also fail to take the whole Bible in
its "whole context." Comparing scripture with scripture.
Another
problem is this. Too many people when studying the word of God
approach it for the purpose of trying to find scriptural support for
their "pre-indoctrination
teachings and
passionate opinions
which many times are NOT
derived nor based upon good sound Biblical
interpretation. This kind of disastrous approach will "drastically"
affect the final outcome of how one will perceive and interpret a particular
passage on a particular doctrinal subject. And the Holy Spirit, if they
possess Him? will NOT be able to teach them due to these distorted
influences, distractions, and wrong motives. This is exactly what is
happening all around us in Christian circles, as well as
in "religious non-Christian circles" today, as
people try to interpret the Bible.
So, I have decided to write more on this
subject of "The
blasphemy of the Holy Spirit" in order to help those
who are approaching God's word for the wrong reasons, in that they are
going to God's word in order to seek out an interpretation which will
support their "pre-indoctrination
teaching", which has created and generated their
"passionate opinions" and
"emotional religious
experiences" which many times CANNOT be supported in scripture
when confronted with the "rightly dividing the word of truth"
(2Tim. 2:15).
I implore you
all that while
you read this addendum on this subject of the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit", that
you "think" for a change. God gave
you a brain, "Use it." I want you to examine and reason
out the scriptures with me in your spirit and in your mind. I want you to Stop reacting
and combating
for once and pay attention to God's word, and let the Holy Spirit who is the
author of it teach it to you. Lay aside all your "preconceived notions and personal interpretations" which
many times "blinds your
understanding." For once let God's
word speak and be the authority in what it teaches, and stop trying
to defend and teach that which has NO Biblical support from the
pages of scripture.
I
will NOT give you my
opinion, nor will I give you my personal
teaching on this subject. I am NOT interested in elevating myself in any way
here. God is my witness to this truth! But I will ONLY emphasize the importance of
paying attention to the "fine
detail" within the text which many glance
over and ignore for the most part when they study. This way NO personal interpretation will
clutter the understanding of the text. As we go along I will as
questions which will help you to "Think and reason
out" God's word. Hopefully when we get done
there will be many who will be set free from this "unnecessary fear and
confusion" concerning this sin of the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit"
which they have been taught can be committed today by a believer in
Christ, or an unbeliever, either in this age of grace, or in the coming
dispensation of the tribulation period (God's wrath) which when
concluded will have "Birthed
the Messianic Age."
By
the time you get to the end of this article you will see clearly that "what
you have been taught, and thus what you
then have embraced
through ignorance and incorrect teaching" will
"melt away" like snow on a spring day. There will be NO need to write anymore lengthy
articles on this particular subject when I get done. And the reason
is: because the very words which Jesus spoke Himself on this subject
of the "blasphemy against
the Holy Spirit" in
the gospel of Matthew 12:22-32, contain
and provide
within themselves the simple, unquestionable, clear, and precise answer to this
unsettled question of "who"
can commit this sin, and "what
Age" (or
dispensation of time) that it can be committed in, and NOT committed in.
Jesus
"Nips it in the bud"
right off the bat! And those who fail to pay attention to the "fine detail" within this
text of Matthew 12:22-32 will sadly continue to pervert and distort this text and
its teaching on the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit" over, and
over, and over again through their flawed interpretations until they
finally let the "context" mean
what it says through the method of "proper exegesis of the scripture."
The answer is in the text itself!
Now
what I want to do is go directly to the text of Matthew 12: 22- 32 where this sin of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit
is recorded, and I want to type out the scripture text below, and then examine
it.
(22).
"Then there was brought to Him (Jesus) a demon-possessed man who was blind
and dumb, and He healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw."
(23).
"And all the multitudes were amazed, and began to say, "This man cannot
be the "Son of David" can he?"
(24). "But
when the "Pharisees heard it", they said, "This man casts out
demons ONLY by Beelzebub
the ruler of the demons." (Can you believe the arrogance of these
Pharisees? Unbelievable!
)
(25).
"And knowing their thoughts (Jesus) He said to them, "Any kingdom
divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against
itself shall NOT
stand."
(26).
"And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; How
then shall his kingdom stand?"
(27).
"And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them
out? Consequently they shall be your judges.
(28). "But
if I cast out demons by the "SPIRIT OF GOD", then the
(29).
"Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his
property, unless he first binds the strong man? and
then he will plunder his house.
(30).
"He who is NOT
with Me is against Me; and he who does NOT gather with Me scatters."
(31).
"Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall NOT be forgiven."
(32).
"And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be
forgiven him; but whoever
shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall NOT be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come."
You
can see here that this whole issue of "blaspheming the Holy Spirit"
was due to Jesus personally performing a miracle of healing on a
Jewish man who could not speak,
neither did he have his "eye
sight." This miracle upset the wicked
Pharisees who hated Jesus, and they gathered themselves against
Him in order to accuse Him. They were actually calling
the "Holy
Spirit's power" which Jesus was manifesting through
His miracles "the power of
Satan." Their hatred towards Christ was
great and they wanted to destroy and humiliate Christ in order to try
and discredit his credibility and authenticity as the messiah. And
they tried to do that many, many times in the public eye! But
they were always unsuccessful in accomplishing this evil task born out of the
heart of Satan himself.
Jesus
in response to their absurd accusation exposed their foolish thinking and
basically embarrassed the pants
off of these so called "religious smart guys" who were called
the Pharisees. Jesus made these characters look like
a bunch of children who were "still wet behind their ears" in their
human intellect and their religious thinking which was grossly
flawed. These men were very arrogant. Christ in His wisdom always
reversed the tables on those evil characters who always wanted to cause
trouble. And He humiliated these so called "religious leaders of
I want you
to notice what Jesus says in 12:31
(31).
"Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall NOT be forgiven."
Jesus
makes very clear here that "any
sin" and "blaphemy" shall be
forgiven men. BUT,
He says that the "blasphemy AGAINST the SPIRIT"
shall NOT be
forgiven."
Here
it is obvious from the text that Jesus has made a "specific
distinction" and "separation" between "sin and blasphemy" in the
general usage, from the "specific
particular sin" of "blaspheming the Holy Spirit."
This verse shows clearly that there is a difference between these two categories.
Question: Can we say here then
without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus has made a "distinct separation" between
sin and blasphemy, from the specific sin of the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?"
Answer: Absolutely!
Question: Was this sin of the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit"
committed by believers?
Answer: NO!
It was committed by the arrogant, wicked, and unbelieving religious
Pharisees.
Question: Was this evil conduct which
the Pharisees demonstrated and displayed in the presence of Jesus, a
conduct which is native to "any
true believer" in either Christ's Age, The Church Age,
The tribulation wrath Age, or the Millennial kingdom Age?
Answer: Absolutely not!
Question: Did Jesus have to be "present", or "in
the presence of " these Pharisees in order for them to be able to
accuse Him "face to face" of
using the devils power to heal?"
Answer: Absolutely! Jesus
in human flesh (God incarnate) just performed a
miracle. This is why they were accusing Him. How in the world could
they have possibly called into question this miracle, and the
power by which He performed it if Christ Himself was NOT there present in the
flesh performing it before their very eyes? Impossible!
This
sin of the "blasphemy
of the Holy Spirit" is recorded as occurring ONLY ONCE in the Gospels.
It happened while
Question: Does this "isolated" and "Specific sin" of the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit"
which was committed by these unbelieving religious Pharisees in this text of
Matt. 12 have any application whatsoever then to the believer in the
Church age?
Answer: Absolutely not!
Question: Why?
Answer: Because Christ is NOT
HERE upon this earth in the flesh at this present time
in order for anyone to be able to approach Him, question Him, accuse
Him, or blaspheme the Holy Spirit's power by which He would
be manifesting and performing miracles.
Question: Would anyone in Christ's
day, who truly believed that Jesus was the messiah,
ever accuse Him of doing His miracles in the power of Satan?
Answer: Absolutely Not!
Or it couldn't possibly be said of them that they were a true believer! And neither
could anyone else be called a true believer from any other Age past, present,
or future who would dare to call the Holy Spirit's power the "Devils power." Christ
was in the "very presence"
of these wicked religious leaders demonstrating the Holy Spirit's power through
miracles of healing. Therefore they were "without excuse"
before God, since they were "eye witnesses" to God's power by the Holy
Spirit being demonstrated through Christ. To deny, accuse, and
blaspheme these works of Jesus, and attribute the Holy Spirit's power to
the power of Satan
was the "Final stroke"
that sealed their destiny of eternal damnation!
Now
let’s look at the next verse.
32).
"And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be
forgiven him; but whoever
shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall NOT be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come."
This
term "Son of Man"
is a "Messianic term" which
is always used in relationship to Christ and His earthly
ministry. It NEVER
has any application to the "Church Age" nor to the "Tribulation
period" at any time, since during both of these two different
dispensations of time Christ is "absent" from the earth. This term
"Son of Man" applies
ONLY to Christ
during his first advent and ministry to
The
"Birth Pangs"
which
Quote: "Why call these future
troubles "the birth pangs of
the Messiah"? Because travail precedes birth,
and this travail "precedes the birth of a new era"---{the Messianic age} Just as a woman must go
through a period of agony before her child is born into the world, so the world
will go through birth pangs
before the Messianic Age
is born into the world (end quote: Dr. Renald Showers / Maranatha our Lord
Come" page 21).
So
this term Son of Man
is always in reference to the "Messianic
Age" (past "Christ's first advent, or
future "Christ's second advent / kingdom Age"
Question: can any sin and blasphemy,
and any speaking against the Son of Man be forgiven?
Answer:
Yes!
Jesus stated it clearly Himself in Matt. 12:31, and here in 12:32.
Question: Did Jesus in the text above
give any "Hint" or "inclination" as to "what age" (dispensation
of time) in-which sin and blasphemy in its general usage
would be forgiven, which is "Outside" of
the circle of the context of the sin of the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?
Answer: NO! He
just stated that "it would be forgiven men."
Question: Did Jesus "specifically" mention
any "dispensations of time" in-which this "specific sin" of the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit"
would NOT be forgiven?
Answer: Yes He Did!
He said that this specific sin would NOT
be forgiven ".....either in this age, or in The age to come."
Now I
am going to show you the undeniable proof within the text of
this scripture itself, which was spoken by Jesus Himself, that this sin of the
"blasphemy of the
Holy Spirit" is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to commit
either in the "dispensation
of the Church age", and also the "dispensation of judgment",
which is the tribulation period which commences once the dispensation
of grace has concluded
with the resurrection/Rapture of the Church.
This
term "Age"
is ( Aion
) mentioned here in Matthew chapter 12:31,32. It is Strong's Greek concordance
# 165 which means
"A Messianic period
"present or future" (end quote). Now I want you to remember this as
we continue!
I
want you to notice once again what Jesus stated above in Matt. 12:32. He
said clearly that this sin of the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit"
would NOT be forgiven
"either in THIS AGE" meaning "His own" which was "Messianic" as Strong’s # 165 points out as being "present." And
Jesus also stated that it would NOT
be forgiven "in the age (singular) to come" (not "Ages" plural to
come), which is the "future
Messianic age"
(also Strong's # 165), which is the kingdom
Age when Christ will have returned once again to rule and
reign upon the earth (yet future).
Question: Did Jesus use the term "Age" in
the plural form as (Ages)?
Answer: NO!
Question: Did Jesus mention "Two Ages", each in
their own "singular form"
in the text of Matt. 12:32?
Answer: YES!
Question: How many "Ages" therefore
did Jesus mention in the above text in their "singular form?"
Answer: That's right, ONLY TWO.
The first "Age"
in the text being a reference to Christ's "Messianic Age" during
His earthly ministry to
Since Jesus ONLY mentions "two Ages",
or two dispensations of time which are both "Messianic" in
context in this scripture, Then
tell me,
Where does the "Church Age
of Grace" and the "Tribulation period of judgment"
fit into the text? That's right! NO WHERE! It is totally "impossible" to fit
these other two dispensations of time (Church age and the tribulation period)
into this text since they are both "outside of " the Messianic Ages of
"Christ's earthly ministry to Israel", and the Messianic Age yet to
come, which is "Christ's kingdom" yet to be established when
He returns once again to the earth to rule and reign.
So
when Jesus said the following: "either in this age, or in The age to come" He was
making a direct reference to "Both"
Messianic
Ages. The first Age here is in reference
to His present Messianic ministry to Israel seen clearly as (this Age), and the second Age mentioned, which was in
the "future tense" is in
reference to the coming Messianic Age (The Age to come), which is the
millennial kingdom Age once He has returned to the earth.
Now do you see WHY
this sin of the "blasphemy
of the Holy Spirit" CANNOT be committed, nor "scripturally supported" as
being committed in either the "Church age" or the "Tribulation
period?" Now do you understand WHY this sin can ONLY be committed while Christ is present on the earth?
There are absolutely NO LOOP HOLES
here folks! And there is NO
ROOM for error here! There is NO excuse which can be given
to anyone whatsoever for misinterpreting, misreading, conjuring up, or
extracting any other interpretation from this text of scripture other
than what the scripture clearly states and teaches in context, "UNLESS" one is foolish
enough to choose to do so "willfully"
out of disobedience
and disrespect
to God's word which Jesus Himself spoke personally. And for a true
Christian to do such a terrible injustice to the word of God after presenting
the "unquestionable
evidence"
within this scripture text itself would be to "grieve God's Holy Spirit" whom they are suppose to possess and be
sealed by" (Eph. 1:13,
4:30).
All other sin and blasphemy which is recorded throughout the rest of the
Bible from the book of Acts to the book of Revelation 19:10
fall under the category and the context of what Jesus has already
clearly stated concerning sin committed "outside" of the context of
the sin of blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit. Concerning
the forgiveness of "all
other sin" He has set "No boundaries" limited to
any specific Age or dispensation of time, which therefore would allow
"all dispensations of time" past,
present, and future to be included for the forgiveness of any sin and blasphemy. This is
clearly seen by His own words and instruction "Therefore I say to you, "any sin" and "blasphemy" shall be forgiven men....etc"
(Matt. 12:31).
The Greek term "Aion" Strong's # 165 clearly reveals that this
term "Age" which was used twice by Jesus in Matt 12:32 is
in direct reference to the Messianic Ages which
Jesus spoke of in the text. Therefore when Jesus
said "The
Age (singular) to come", it can ONLY have reference to the Messianic Age of the millennial kingdom which once again "excludes" the Church Age and the tribulation period (dispensation,
or time period of God's Wrath).
Question: Do you all know what this
does? Or I should say, "Do you all know and understand what the words of Jesus and
His teaching here in Matthews gospel has just done?"
Christ's clear emphatic teaching has just "destroyed every perverted interpretation" which people in their
ignorance have improperly extracted from the gospels out of context concerning
this subject on the blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit. And Christ's
words also have destroyed every
false interpretation
which has been extracted out of
context from scripture texts in the New Testament
epistles from Acts 1
to Revelation 19:10 as
well, which people are using in order to try and support their false
teaching that a Christian or unsaved individual in this Age of grace, as well
as in the tribulation period can commit this sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. According to the scripture, this is impossible!
After carefully examining Matthew 12:22-32 on this subject of the sin of the
"blasphemy against the Holy Spirit", it is thus clear to me
that those who are teaching another interpretation are "out of context" with
what Jesus Himself has clearly stated and taught here in Matthews
gospel. Those who continue to teach and extract another
interpretation "out of context"
with these scriptures frankly do not have one scriptural leg to stand on!
Closing comments:
Well
as you can see folks we didn't have to go searching all over the
"south forty"
of scripture in order to find the answers to these important
questions revolving around the subject of the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit."
The answers to these questions were right
there within the text itself of Matthew
12:22-32. Jesus spoke clearly and plainly on this
subject. This simple term "Age" (Aion - in the Greek #
165) in the text means "Messianic Age / present or future." This
identifies "Which
Ages" Jesus was referring to (His age / and the future
Messianic kingdom Age). Many times when studying the Bible the answers
to our questions are usually there within the "immediate text", and if not
there, then the answers can be obtained in other parts of
scripture by a good working knowledge of the word of God,
along with the Holy Spirit who is our teacher who reveals God's
divine truth to us (1Cor 2:7-16; 1John 2:25-27).
I
hope that this short study has encouraged and enlightened those who were
confused on this subject. Hopefully I have reached a
few to the glory of God. Studying God's word requires "careful study" on our
part. Think of it! We have been entrusted with the "Eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ." That
is a "huge responsibility" which
God through Christ has entrusted to us. It is "His eternal word."
Let
us therefore embrace humility and learn from Christ and His
word. And may we be brave enough, and humble enough to admit
our "error"
in our doctrine whenever God's word "exposes it" through proper exegesis of the
scriptures. And then out of love and respect to God's word, and to
Christ who has saved us, may we then correct that "error" in our teaching by
conforming to sound doctrine (2Tim. 2:15; Titus1:9), and
thus we will be pleasing to our God, and the whole body of Christ will be
edified (Eph. 4:11-16).
Reject sound doctrine, or Conform to sound doctrine!
That's the real big question here isn't it in this day and age where sound
doctrine is hard to come by! And it is up to every
one of us who claim the name of Christ to make that
choice!
I myself have already made this decision
to conform
to sound Bible doctrine many, many years ago early in my
Christian life. Even when it hurts my
pride to do so! So my challenge to all who have read this
article and who still are "gritting
their teeth." My question to you
is this:
"What are you
going to do with this sound doctrine that has been presented to you
clearly and plainly from the pages of God's word?
The ball is in "your court", and
God is waiting for your Answer!
God bless you all.
In Christ, Tom Gaston
bravenet.com
