SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT

THOSE WHO ARE IN THE MEMORIAL TOMBS

The Greek word mnemeion “memorial tomb” does not refer to holes that are dug in the ground where dead bodies are buried. But it refers to tombs that are constructed by men where dead bodies were placed. In ancient Israel, graves were often cut into cliffs.

Jesus spoke Hebrew, and the word he used was qæbær (“grave”). The Greek word mnemeion is related to mimnēskomai (“to remember”). The Hebrew word qæbær is not connected with a word meaning “to remember”. However, in Ezekiel 32:18, 22, 25, 26 qæbær is connected with the word sheōl (Greek; hadēs). And according to Revelation 20:13 all those who are in hadēs (sheōl) will get a resurrection. This probably was the view of godfearing Jews as well (John 11:24). When John translated qæbær with mnemeion, including an element of “memory,” It may indicate that the dead were in the memory of God and would get a resurrection. So, “memorial tombs” is a good rendering.

All those who are in the memorial tombs will get a resurrection, and two groups are mentioned, “

A comparison between John 5:21-29 and 3:16-21 may help us identify the two mentioned groups:

²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead up and makes them alive, so the Son also makes those alive whom he wants to. ²² For the Father judges no one at all, but he has committed all the judging to the Son, ²³ in order that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He that does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴ Most truly I say to YOU, He that hears my word and believes him that sent me has everlasting life, and he does not come into judgment but has passed over from death to life.

²⁵ “Most truly I say to YOU, The hour is coming and it is now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who have given heed will live. ²⁶ For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted also to the Son to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to do judging, because Son of man he is. ²⁸ Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming) in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile (faulos) things to a resurrection of judgment.

 

¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God sent forth his Son into the world, not for him to judge the world, but for the world to be saved through him. ¹⁸ He that exercises faith in him is not to be judged He that does not exercise faith has been judged already, because he has not exercised faith in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ Now this is the basis for judgment, that the light has come into the world but men have loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were wicked. ²⁰ For he that practices vile things (faulos) hates the light and does not come to the light, in order that his works may not be reproved. ²¹ But he that does what is true comes to the light, in order that his works may be made manifest as having been worked in harmony with God.”

The words of Jesus can only be understood if we understand the purpose of God. I recommend that you read my article “Getting Adam’s Chance” as a background for understanding the words of Jesus. God has chosen 144,000 humans to be changed and receive divine nature and to reign with Jesus Christ in heaven. Judgment Day is one thousand-year-long. All Adam’s descendants, except the few that have sinned against the holy spirit, will be resurrected on Judgment Day to get the chance to accept or reject the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

I will now try to sort out the different points in the quotations above:

THE WORLD

The Greek word kosmos is translated as “world” in John 3:17. It has a few references, 1) all humans, 2) the humans outside the Christion congregation, 3) the environment in which the human family lives, and (4) adornment. When Jesus said that God loves “the world,” the reference is to all human descendants of Adam. Therefore, when Jesus said that he came to save the world, this means that he came to save all Adam’s descendants. And Jesus would, of course, achieve this goal.

THE JUDGING

Jehovah God is in the Bible shown to be the supreme judge. But according to 5:22, he has “committed all the judging (krisis) to the Son.” Many times, Jesus spoke about the resurrection on Judgment Day, and this Day is one thousand years long.

THE SYMBOLIC RESURRECTION 

The symbolic resurrection means that humans who are viewed as dead because they practice sin will be viewed as living. I quote verses 5:24, 25 (above) and 3:16, 18 (below):

²⁴ He that hears my word and believes him that sent me has everlasting life, and he does not come into judgment (krisis) but has passed over from death to life.

²⁵ “Most truly I say to YOU, The hour is coming and it is now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who have given heed will live.”

¹⁶ everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.

¹⁸ He that exercises faith in him is not to be judged.

The important point here is that 3:16-21 speak about exactly the same things as 5:21-29. And by a comparison between these verses, we can identify those who will get a resurrection to life and those who will get a resurrection to judgment.

Verse 25 shows that the dead will hear the voice of God’s Son now and in the future. The perspective for the symbolic resurrection is retrospective: The dead will hear the voice of the Son — and then looking back — those who have given heed will get the reward.

The reward is that those who have been counted as dead now “have passed over from death to life,” and each one “has everlasting life.” We must keep in mind that those in the first century CE who heard the voice of the Son of God, or later the preaching of the Christians, were called to the heavenly kingdom. They were baptized with holy spirit, were declared righteous, and became new creatures. All other Adam’s descendants had to wait for a resurrection on the thousand-year-long Judgment Day, and the ransom sacrifice would be applied to them at that time.

Those who have experienced the symbolic resurrection and had become new creatures would not “come into judgment.” They would not get a resurrection on Judgment Day, so they could show that they were sincere people who would serve God. They had already proven this and had become new creatures, and they will continue to prove that by their way of living. Therefore, they will be judges on Judgment Day.

THE FUTURE RESURRECTION

In order to make it easier to follow the arguments I state the conclusion now: Those who “did good things” and who will get “a resurrection of life” are all the 144,000 new creations who lived in the time of Jesus and later who had believed in his words and had become new creatures with the hope of reigning with Jesus Christ in heaven. Those who “practiced vile things” are the world that Jesus came to save, i.e., all Adam’s descendants that did not have the heavenly hope, whom Jesus bought when he died.

The 144,000 with the heavenly hope gets a resurrection “during his presence.” (1 Corinthian 15:23) All others will get a resurrection during the thousand-year-long  Judgment Day.

THOSE WHO DID GOOD THINGS

What are the good things according to the context? I quote 5:23, 24 (above) and 3: 16, 18 (below):

²³ all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father ²⁴ He that hears my word and believes him that sent me.

¹⁶ everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. ¹⁸ He that exercises faith in him is not to be judged

Both chapter 5, verse 23 and chapter 3, verses 16 and 18 show that believing in the Son of God is the same as doing good things. And both 5:24, 25 and 3:16 say that those who do this have everlasting life.

THOSE WHO PRACTICED VILE THINGS

What are the vile things according to the context? It is to do the opposite of the good things. I quote 5:23 (above) and 3:18, 20 (below):

²³ He that does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

¹⁸ He that does not exercise faith has been judged.

²⁰ For he that practices vile things (faulos) hates the light and does not come to the light, in order that his works may not be reproved.

Not honoring the Son is a vile thing, as 5:23 says, and not exercising faith in him is the same, as 3:18 shows. Such a person “has been judged.” He or she has been rejected by God as one practicing vile things.

The word that is translated as “vile” is faulos. It is a rare word because it is only used six times in the Christian Greek Scripture. The word faulos is used in 5:28 in the expression “those who practiced vile things.” That this word also is used in 3:20 in the expression “he that practices vile things” shows yet another word that links 5:21-29 and 3:16-21 together.

The vile things mentioned in 3:20 is that a person “hates the light and does not come to the light, in order that his works may not be reproved.” The good things that lead to a resurrection of life during the presence of Jesus Christ is to exercise in Jesus Christ. The vile things that lead to a resurrection of judgment, i.e., a resurrection on the thousand-year-long Judgment Day are not to exercise faith in the Son of God and to practice bad things against the law of God, which all humans do.

The requirement for getting everlasting life is to exercise faith in Jesus Christ. All those who lived before Jesus came to the earth did not have this chance, and most people who have lived after Jesus have not had this chance. All these will get this chance by a resurrection on Judgment Day. Even persons who have hated the light will be present on Judgment Day. As Jesus said, he came to save the world, all Adam’s descendants, and this he will do on Judgment Day.

Table 1.1. The resurrection of life and the resurrection of judgment

Those who did good things.	The 144,000 anointed Christians who have been declared righteous.
The good things.	Believing in and honoring Jesus Christ.
Resurrection of life.	A heavenly resurrection during the presence of Jesus.
Those who practiced wile things.	All Adam’s descendants except the few who have sinned against the holy spirit.
The vile things.	Not honoring and believing in Jesus; practicing actions that are against the laws of God.
Resurrection of judgment	A resurrection on Judgment Day with the chance of accepting or rejecting Jesus Christ and Jehovah God.

THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN

As we have seen, Jesus said that every sort of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, but not blasphemy against the holy spirit. Exactly which sin is this?

The ransom sacrifice of Jesus covers all sins that have been committed because of human imperfection caused by a person’s inherited sin. Sins that are not committed because of inherited sin but because of a person’s own wickedness are not covered by the ransom sacrifice and cannot be forgiven.

SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT BY UNBELIEVERS

The word sin is generally understood, but why does Jesus also include “blasphemy,” which is one special kind of sin? The Greek word blasfēmia has the meaning, “to speak against someone in such a way as to harm or injure his or her reputation.” (Louw and Nida). Jesus used this word because of the situation. We read in Matthew 12:22-29

²² Then they brought him a demon-possessed man, blind and dumb; and he cured him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw.  ²³ Well, all the crowds were simply carried away and began to say: “May this not perhaps be the Son of David?” ²⁴ At hearing this, the Pharisees said: “This fellow does not expel the demons except by means of Be·elʹze·bub, the ruler of the demons.”

²⁵ Knowing their thoughts, he said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself comes to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ In the same way, if Satan expels Satan, he has become divided against himself; how, then, will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ Moreover, if I expel the demons by means of Be·elʹze·bub, by means of whom do YOUR sons expel them? This is why they will be judges of YOU. ²⁸ But if it is by means of God’s spirit that I expel the demons, the kingdom of God has really overtaken YOU. ²⁹ Or how can anyone invade the house of a strong man and seize his movable goods, unless first he binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. ³⁰ He that is not on my side is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters.

According to Matthew 12:27, the son’s (disciples) of the Pharisees could expel demons. In this case, the demons cooperated with the disciples of the Pharisees, in order to mislead those who saw the demons being expelled. When this expelling of demons occurred, the Pharisees evidently used this as an argument that God was on their side. Jesus expelled demons on a much greater scale than the disciples of the Pharisees. But in his case, the Pharisees said that Jesus expelled the demons with the help of Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons (verse 24).

The actions of the Pharisees were not caused by human weakness, by the sin they had inherited from Adam. Because their disciples expelled demons to a limited degree, they knew that Jesus’ much greater actions could not have been caused by Beelsebub. That is why Jesus said that their disciples should be their judges. The actions of the Pharisees, therefore, were based on a conscious decision, which revealed their own wickedness. Jesus threatened their position, and therefore they wanted to slander him. Because the holy spirit was behind the actions of Jesus, the words of the Pharisees represented blasphemy of the holy spirit.

But some may have problems seeing the seriousness of the Pharisees’ words compared to the seriousness of murder, sexual immorality, and other sins from which forgiveness is possible, according to Jesus’ words. To understand the difference, we should keep in mind that it was not the words in themselves that were unforgivable but what was behind them.

Verse 25 says that Jesus was “knowing their thoughts (enthymēsis).” The word enthymēsis has the meaning “the act of thought, reflection, the result of thought, invention, device.” (Mounce), “inborn idea, esteem, thought.” (UBS lexicon). We must understand that Matthew is not speaking of thoughts that came up in the minds of the Pharisees when they saw Jesus expelling demons, but that Matthew was speaking of the characteristics of these Pharisees, their innermost inclinations. I quote Acts 17:29 (above) and Hebrews 4:12 (below):

²⁹ “Seeing, therefore, that we are the progeny of God, we ought not to imagine that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, like something sculptured by the art and contrivance (enthymēsis) of man.

¹² For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints and [their] marrow, and [is] able to discern thoughts (enthymēsis) and intentions of [the] heart.

In Acts 17:29, enthymēsis is translated as “contrivance” (NIV: “design”), and it stands parallel with “art.” This shows that the Greek word enthymēsis refers to much more than abstract thoughts in the mind. In this verse, it refers to actions that are caused by the thoughts.

In Hebrews 4:12, the noun is translated as “thoughts,” and it stands parallel with “intentions, “the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The “word of God” in this context refers to God’s promise to let Israel enter the promised land and experience rest together with God. The reference also is to God’s promise to let people enter the new earth and experience rest together with God. How the Israelites reacted to this “word of God,” and how other servants of God react to the promise to enter the new earth, reveal their innermost “thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

When we understand the meaning of the Greek word that translated the Hebrew word Jesus spoke regarding the Pharisees, we ascertain that Jesus was aware of their innermost motives, the motives of their hearts, and how these motives caused them to react. This is elucidated in Matthew 12:33-35 (above), and the parallel passage in Luke 6:33-45 (below):

³³ “Either YOU people make the tree fine and its fruit fine or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten; for by its fruit the tree is known. ³⁴ Offspring of vipers, how can YOU speak good things, when YOU are wicked? For out of the abundance of the heart (perisseuma kardia) the mouth speaks. ³⁵ The good man out of his good treasure (agathos thēsauros) sends out good things, whereas the wicked man out of his wicked treasure (ponēros thēsauros) sends out wicked things.

⁴³ “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings forth good out of the good treasure of his heart (thēsauros kardia), but a wicked man brings forth what is wicked out of his wicked [treasure]; for out of the heart’s abundance (perisseuma kardia) his mouth speaks.

The use of Greek words in the two passages is similar. The noun thēsauros means “a room for the storage of valuables.” (Louw and Nida). And the word perisseuma means “that which exists in abundance.” (Louw and Nida) Both words are connected with the heart by Matthew and Luke. So, the meaning is that the heart is a storage room of valuables, and the valuables in this storage room are abundant. What is in this storage room, either good or bad, causes the mouth to speak and the person to act.

Jesus applied the situation mentioned above to the Pharisees, and I quote Matthew 12:34 (above) and Matthew 23:33 (below):

³⁴ Offspring of vipers, how can YOU speak good things, when YOU are wicked? For out of the abundance of the heart (perisseuma kardia) the mouth speaks.

³³ “Serpents, offspring of vipers, how are YOU to flee from the judgment of Ge·henʹna?

Jesus calls the Pharisees “offspring of vipers,” and he says that they were wicked because of “the abundance of their heart.” The word “Gehenna” referred to the strongest existing punishment, and it seems that the people in the days of Jesus connected Gehenna with eternal annihilation of those who came there. The Pharisees had blasphemed the holy spirit, from which there was no forgiveness, according to Jesus. And therefore, they deserved the strongest form of punishment.

SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT BY BELIEVERS

I have already stressed that no person who has not sinned against the holy spirit will get a resurrection. Sin against the holy spirit can be done by Christians and by worldly people. Hebrews 6:4-6 desribes sin against the holy spirit made by Christians:

⁴ For as regards those who were once enlightened and who have tasted the heavenly free gift and who have become partakers of holy spirit ⁵ and who have tasted the fine word of God and powers of the coming system of things, ⁶ but have fallen away (parapiptō), it is impossible to revive them again to repentance (metanoia), because they nail the Son of God to the stake again for themselves and expose him to public shame.

The expression “have fallen away” is translated from the Greek verb parapiptō with the meaning “to abandon a former association, or to disassociate (a type of reversal of beginning to associate).” (Louw and Nida). This verb only occurs one time, and therefore, we cannot define the verb on the basis of different contexts. The one context where the verb occurs shows that a person who “has fallen away” is beyond repentance, and this means that he has sinned against the holy spirit.

According to 1 Corinthians 5:1, a member of the congregation was guilty of sexual immorality by living with his father’s wife. Paul writes that this man had to be disfellowshipped (5:13). Some time later, the man was reinstated and again became a member of the congregation, something Paul agreed with. (2 Corinthians 2:5-8) Because he continued to have sexual relations with his father’s wife, his sin was grave. But he was not beyond repentance. In connection with the behavior of the Corinthians, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:9, 10:

⁹ now I rejoice, not because you were just saddened, but because you were saddened into repenting (metanoia). For you were saddened in a godly way, so that you suffered no harm because of us. ¹⁰ For sadness in a godly way produces repentance (metanoia) leading to salvation, leaving no regret; but the sadness of the world produces death.

Paul shows that sadness in a godly way leads to repentance, but that is not the case with the sadness of the world. The person who had “fallen away” (parapiptō) according to Hebrews 6:6 was not able to show sadness in a godly way that would lead to repentance.

The situation of “falling away” (parapiptō) is also described in Hebrews 10:26-31:

²⁶ For if we practice sin (hamartanō) willfully (ekousiōs) after having received the accurate knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, ²⁷ but there is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a burning indignation that is going to consume those in opposition.

²⁸ Anyone who has disregarded the Law of Moses dies without compassion on the testimony of two or three.  ²⁹ How much greater punishment do you think a person will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God and who has regarded as of ordinary value the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has outraged the spirit of undeserved kindness with contempt (enybrizō)? ³⁰ For we know the One who said: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again: “Jehovah will judge his people.” ³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The adverbial ekousiōs (“willfully”) in verse 26 has the meaning, “pertaining to being deliberately intentional — ‘intentionally, purposely, deliberately.’ (Louw and Nida) The adverbial occurs only one other place, namely in 1 Peter 5:2, where NWT84 translates it as “willingly.” There is one example of the corresponding adjective ekousios in Philemon 14. The NWT84 translates this adjective as “willingly,” and the contrast to this is “under compulsion.”

All persons are sinners, and most violate God’s laws of their free will. As shown above, the lexical meaning of the adverbial ekousiōs in Hebrews 10:26 is general. But the general meaning of “willingly,” that imperfect humans are sinning by their free will, cannot be what the writer of Hebrews had in mind. Therefore, we need to look at the context in order to pinpoint its exact meaning.

Verse 28 speaks about the one who “has disregarded the law of Moses.” The verb atheteō has the meaning “to refuse to recognize the validity of something,” (Louw and Nida) and “to reject; to rebel against.” (Accordance Lexicon) The parallel to the example of rebelling against the law of Moses is that a Christian “has trampled on the Son of God” which means that the person “has regarded as of ordinary value the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified.” This means that the person has refused “to recognize the validity” of the blood of Jesus; he has rejected this blood or has rebelled against the ransom sacrifice.

The last part of verse 29 is particularly important. We read that the person “has outraged the spirit of undeserved kindness with contempt.” Literally, the Greek text says, “and the spirit of undeserved kindness has insulted.” The verb enybrizō has the meaning, “to speak against someone in an insolent and arrogant way.” (Louw and Nida), and “insult; mock.” (Accordance Lexicon) These last words in verse 29 show that “willingly” includes a conscious insult to the holy spirit.

What the writer of Hebrews presents in 10:28, 29 is a description of sin against the holy spirit. This sin can be defined as “an intentional wicked course of action that continues despite the fact that the actor knows that his or her course is wrong, and it is done because of pure wickedness.” Supporting the view that the verses describe sin against the holy spirit, is the use of the verb hamartanō (“to sin”) as present participle active. This verb is correctly translated by NWT84 as “practice sin.”

As I have shown, all the sins that are caused by the sinfulness we have inherited from Adam can be forgiven. But sins that a person does because of his own wickedness, which are not caused by the sin he has inherited from Adam, cannot be forgiven. The adverbial ekousiōs (willingly”) refer to such unforgivable sins. And the present participle of the verb shows that these sins continue, they are practiced.

Only God can read the hearts of humans, and only he knows when a sin is caused by inherited sin and when it is caused by personal wickedness. If a person has done something serious and he asks himself: “Have I sinned against the holy spirit?”, he most likely has not done the unforgivable sin. Just asking this question indicates that he is not guilty in the unforgivable sin. If that was the case, he would not have asked the question because his conscience would have been hardened, and he would not be able to feel regret according to Hebrews 6:6.

The Awake! magazine of May 22, 1963, page 28, contained an article with the theme, “Resurrection — for whom?” Regarding those who will not get a resurrection, it gives an excellent definition of sin against the holy spirit, and it shows that these are extreme sins that very few people have committed, as we see in the quotation in red letters:

There will not be a resurrection for the willfully, deliberately, incorrigibly wicked, those without the slightest spark remaining of conscience or love of righteousness.

SINS THAT CAN BE FORGIVEN

I have stressed that all kinds of sins that are caused by our inherited sin can be forgiven. Paul was an experienced Christian who worked hard to follow the principles of God. But he also had to fight against the sin he had inherited.

THE SIN IN THE FLESH

Paul described how the inherited sin is at work in all humans in Romans 7:14-25:

¹⁴ For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am fleshly, sold under sin. ¹⁵ For what I am working out I do not know. For what I wish, this I do not practice; but what I hate is what I do.  ¹⁶ However, if what I do not wish is what I do, I agree that the Law is fine. ¹⁷ But now the one working it out is no longer I, but sin that resides in me. ¹⁸ For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, there dwells nothing good; for ability to wish is present with me, but ability to work out what is fine is not [present].  ¹⁹ For the good that I wish I do not do, but the bad that I do not wish is what I practice.  ²⁰ If, now, what I do not wish is what I do, the one working it out is no longer I, but the sin dwelling in me.

²¹ I find, then, this law in my case: that when I wish to do what is right, what is bad (kakos) is present with me. ²² I really delight in the law of God according to the man I am within,  ²³ but I behold in my members another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sin’s law that is in my members.  ²⁴ Miserable man that I am! Who will rescue me from the body undergoing this death? ²⁵ Thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So, then, with [my] mind I myself am a slave to God’s law, but with [my] flesh to sin’s law.

When Adam violated the law of God, he lost his good relationship with God, which is necessary in order to live a perfect life. Now Adam had become an imperfect human, and this imperfection he transferred to his children, and all of them inherited sin. In 7:18, Paul indicates that his inherited sin dwells “in my flesh,” and this seems to be a literal expression. In verse 24, he asks who can rescue him from “the body undergoing this death.” And the answer is “Jesus Christ our Lord.” I quote Hebrews 2:17 (above) and 1 John 2:2 (bottom):

¹⁷ Consequently he was obliged to become like his “brothers” in all respects, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, in order to offer propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the people.

² And he is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s (kosmos).

But what does it mean that Jesus is a propitiatory sacrifice for the whole world? I quote John 3:17 (above), John 5:28, 29 (middle), and 1 Corinthians 15:22 (below).

¹⁷ For God sent forth his Son into the world, not for him to judge the world, but for the world to be saved through him.

²⁸ Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming) in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.

²² For just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive.

1 John 2:2 says that Jesus is a propitiatory sacrifice for the whole world, which refers to all Adam’s descendants. According to John 3:17, Jesus came to save the world. The purpose of God never fails, so all Adam’s descendants will be saved. According to John 5:28, 29, Jesus said that all those in the memorial tombs will get a resurrection, and Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:22 that all who die in Adam will be resurrected in Christ.

But what about the word “all” in relation to those who have committed sin against the holy spirit and who will not get a resurrection? These people do not die because of inherited sin (in Adam) but they die because they are incorrigibly wicked, and therefore, they are not in the memorial tombs. These people are also bought by the propitiary sacrifice of Jesus. But by their wicked actions they have rejected the ransom sacrifice. As I argued in the section about the memorial tombs, all Adam’s descendants except the144,000 wo will reign with Jesus Christ, and the few that have committed the unforgivable sin, will get a resurrection on the thousand-year-long Judgment Day because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

PEOPLE WHO ARE SAID TO BE WICKED WILL GET A RESURRECTION  

After Jesus had challenged the actions of the Pharisees and implied that their actions were blasphemy of the holy spirit, from which forgiveness is impossible, Jesus answered a question from some of the Pharisees. We read Mathew 12:38-42:

³⁸ Then as an answer to him some of the scribes and Pharisees said: “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” ³⁹ In reply he said to them: “A wicked (ponēros) and adulterous (moikhalis) generation keeps on seeking for a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Joʹnah the prophet. ⁴⁰ For just as Joʹnah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

⁴¹ Men of Ninʹe·veh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; because they repented at what Joʹnah preached, but, look! something more than Joʹnah is here. ⁴² The queen of the south will be raised up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solʹo·mon, but, look! something more than Solʹo·mon is here.

Those who belonged to the wicked and adulterous generation will get a resurrection, and this shows that they had not sinned against the holy spirit. But who are these people?

THE IDENTIFICATION OF “THIS WICKED AND ADULTEROUS GENERATION”

Who does “this wicked and adulterous generation” include? Jesus spoke Hebrew, and the Hebrew word for “generation” is dōr. The Septuagint translates dōr with the Greek word genea, and this is also the word that is used for “generation” in the Christian Greek Scriptures. A clue to what “this wicked and adulterous generation” includes is found in Deuteronomy chapter 1. Verse 3 says that “Moses spoke to the Israelites according to all that Jehovah had instructed him to tell them.” We find the words “this evil generation” (dōr ra‘) (“this wicked generation,” New Living Translation) in Deuteronomy 1:35, and I quote verses 25-38, so we can see the context:

²⁵ They took some of the fruitage of the land and carried it back to us, and they brought word back to us, ‘The land that Jehovah our God is giving us is good.’ ²⁶ But you refused to go up, and you rebelled against the order of Jehovah your God. ²⁷ You kept grumbling in your tents and were saying, ‘It was because Jehovah hated us that he brought us out of the land of Egypt to hand us over to the Amʹor·ites to annihilate us. ²⁸ What kind of place are we going to? Our brothers made us lose heart by saying, “They are a people greater and taller than we are, and their cities are great and fortified to the heavens, and we saw the sons of the Anʹa·kim there.”’²⁹ “So I said to you, ‘Do not be struck with terror or be afraid because of them. ³⁰ Jehovah your God will go before you and will fight for you, just as he did in Egypt before your very eyes. ³¹ And you saw in the wilderness how Jehovah your God carried you just as a man carries his son, everywhere you went until you came to this place.’³² But despite all of this, you did not put faith in Jehovah your God, ³³ who was going ahead of you on the way, to spy out a place for you to camp. He appeared by fire at night and by a cloud in the daytime to show you the way you should walk. ³⁴ “All the while Jehovah heard what you were saying, and he became indignant and solemnly swore, ³⁵ ‘Not one of these men of this evil generation (dōr ra‘) will see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, ³⁶ except Caʹleb the son of Je·phunʹneh. He will see it, and I will give the land on which he walked to him and to his sons, because he has followed Jehovah wholeheartedly. ³⁷ (Jehovah even became angry with me because of you, and he said, “You too will not go in there. ³⁸ Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, is the one who will enter into the land. Make him strong, for he will cause Israel to inherit it.”)

The Jewish nation consisted of about 3 million people, men, women, and children, and all these people constituted “this wicked generation” that did not put faith in Jehovah and would not enter the promised land.

Only Joshua and Caleb would be allowed to enter the promised land. The word “generation” refers to persons who live at the same time. In this case, “generation” referred to the 3 million children, men, women, and old persons, who lived at the time when Moses spoke his words.

Luke is the only one who connects “this adulterous and wicked generation” with someone, and in Luke 11:29 we read:

²⁹ When the crowds were massing together, he began to say: “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jo’nah.

In this case, Jesus used “this generation” that is “wicked” with reference to the crowds that were massing together. We must remember that on the day of Pentecost in the year 33, after Jesus had preached the good news of the Kingdom for three and a half years, there were only 120 believers who were gathered. So, in accordance with the meaning of “generation” (genea), all the Jews who lived in the country were Jesus preached, children, men, women, and old persons, were included in “this wicked and adulterous generation.” And Jesus said that all these will get a resurrection on Judgment Day together with the inhabitants of Nineveh and the queen of the south. And the purpose is that they will have the chance to accept or reject the ransom sacrifice.

Paul said according to 1 Corinthians 15:22:

²² For just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive.

Persons who do not believe that all Adam’s descendants who die because of their inherited sin, will get a resurrection on Judgment Day to get a chance to accept or reject the ransom sacrifice, have tried to water down the words of Jesus. Some of them have said that the only conclusion we can draw from the words of Jesus is that “this wicked and adulterous generation” will be condemned by the example of the repentant Ninivites. Because of the Greek grammar, this is an impossible conclusion. In verse 41 we read:

“Men of Ninʹe·veh will rise up (anistemi, ‘stand up’, future middle indicative) in the judgment with (meta) this generation and will condemn (katakrinō, ‘condemn’, future active indicative) it.

Both the action “will rise up” and “condemn” are Greek futures. The grammar requires that the condemnation of “this wicked and adulterous generation” occurs after the men of Nineveh have risen up with this generation.

So, we see that people who were wicked but who had not sinned against the holy spirit will get a resurrection. Some of these had heard the preaching of Jesus and seen his miracles, but had refused to believe in him.

TIMES OF IGNORANCE

Paul had an intimate knowledge of the sacred secret of God. And he has given more instructions to his Christian brothers and sisters than anyone else. In connection with sins that can be forgiven, he introduced a new element. According to 1 Timothy 1:13, 14. Paul wrote:

¹² I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who imparted power to me, because he considered me faithful by assigning me to a ministry, ¹³ although formerly I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man. Nevertheless, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance (agnoeō) and with a lack of faith. ¹⁴ But the undeserved kindness of our Lord abounded exceedingly along with faith and the love that is in Christ Jesus.

The verb agnoeō has the meaning “not to have been informed about” (Louw and Nida) and “be ignorant; fail to understand; disregard.” (UBS Lexicon) Because Paul was ignorant, he was forgiven. This will also apply to other people than Paul, and we read in Acts 17:30 (above) and Acts 3:13-18 (below):

³⁰ True, God has overlooked the times of such ignorance (agnoia), yet now he is telling mankind that they should all everywhere repent.

¹³ The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified his Servant, Jesus, whom YOU, for YOUR part, delivered up and disowned before Pilate’s face, when he had decided to release him. ¹⁴ Yes, YOU disowned that holy and righteous one, and YOU asked for a man, a murderer, to be freely granted to YOU, ¹⁵ whereas YOU killed the Chief Agent of life. But God raised him up from the dead, of which fact we are witnesses. ¹⁶ Consequently his name, by [our] faith in his name, has made this man strong whom YOU behold and know, and the faith that is through him has given the man this complete soundness in the sight of all of YOU. ¹⁷ And now, brothers, I know that YOU acted in ignorance (agnoia), just as YOUR rulers also did. ¹⁸ But in this way God has fulfilled the things he announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer.

The words of Paul to the Greek philosophers about the times of ignorance show something that is obvious to those who believe in the Bible. No one who lived before Jesus Christ came to the earth knew anything about him. And faith in him is a requirement to gain everlasting live. So, just as Paul was forgiven his serious sins because of his ignorance, all the humans who lived before Jesus came to the earth, except those who were incorrigibly wicked, will get a resurrection on Judgment Day.

The same is true with the people who have lived until this day, and the eight billion people who live on the earth today. Most of these are ignorant about Jesus Christ and the purpose of God. So, the facts on the ground, so to speak, support the words of Jesus that he came to save the world. Most of Adams descendants who have lived and died and who live today will get a resurrection on Judgment Day, so they no more will be ignorant.

IS IT DIFFICULT TO BE SAVED? 

There are a number of texts that seemingly contradict what has been presented above. I quote Luke 13:23-27:

23 Now a certain man said to him: “Lord, are those who are being saved few?” He said to them: 24 “Exert yourselves vigorously to get in through the narrow door, because many, I tell YOU, will seek to get in but will not be able, when once the householder has got up and locked the door, and YOU start to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Sir, open to us.’ But in answer he will say to YOU, ‘I do not know where YOU are from.’ 26 Then YOU will start saying, ‘We ate and drank in front of you, and you taught in our broad ways.’ 27 But he will speak and say to YOU, ‘I do not know where YOU are from. Get away from me, all YOU workers of unrighteousness!’

How can the conclusions above be true that billions of people who have done wicked actions will get a resurrection on Judgment Day without doing anything good, when Jesus said that people must exert themselves vigorously to be saved and that many will try to get through the narrow door but will not be able to do it?

This is an excellent example of the importance of reading texts in their contexts. The situation was that fleshly Israel were God’s people on the earth. The purpose of God was to call 144,000 humans who should reign with Jesus Christ in heaven. The Jewish nation was invited to fill the number of 144,000 anointed followers of Jesus. But they refused to do so.[1] Individual Jews could become a part of the group of the anointed ones, but in that case, they had to exert themselves vigorously.

I quote Matthew 23:43 (above) and Matthew 21:43 (below):

¹³ “Woe to YOU, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because YOU shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men; for YOU yourselves do not go in, neither do YOU permit those on their way in to go in.

⁴³ This is why I say to YOU, The kingdom of God will be taken from YOU and be given to a nation producing its fruits.

As for the Jewish nation, the kingdom of God was taken from it. And the religious leaders made it difficult for individual Jews to become a part of the anointed group of the followers of Jesus.This was one reason why individual Jews had “to exert themselves vigorously” to become members of the mentioned group.

The important point is that we always must ask to whom certain words are directed, and what the situation is. Many of the passages in the Christian Greek Scriptures about the judgments of God are often misunderstood, to the point where the readers believe that God will annihilate great numbers of humans forever.

But as I over and over have stressed. Only those who have sinned against the holy spirit will not get a resurrection. But all the other descendants of Adam will get a resurrection on Judgment Day.

[1]. See my article, «Fleshly Israel and spiritual Israel according to the letter to the Romans,” and “Lord, are those being saved few (Luke 13:23):”

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Every sort of sin will be forgiven when the basic reason is the sin that we all have inherited from Adam. Sins that are committed because of our own wickedness will not be forgiven. Only God can read our hearts and can distinguish between the different kinds of sin.

However, different expressions in the Bible indicate that most of the descendants of Adam will get a resurrection on the thousand-year-long Judgment Day, and this shows that only a few people have committed unforgivable sins.

If we have done something very bad and we ask ourselves if we have committed sin against the holy spirit, most likely we have not done that. Those who have committed sin against the holy spirit, have a hardened conscience and are not able to feel remorse. Therefore, just by asking the question we show that we have not committed unforgivable sins.