“All sins shall be forgiven”

Jesus did come into the world to save sinners. He also accomplished this (John 19:30). Unfortunately, however, this does not help in every situation, according to some. A specific Bible verse is quoted for this purpose. This is one of the arguments used to doubt the “salvation of all men, especially of believers” (1 Tim 4:10). It is one of the arguments against an “all atonement” (Col 1:20) and for a doctrine of heaven and hell.

One refers to the following Bible text:

“… But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness forever, but is guilty of eternal sin.”
Mark 3:29 (Rev. Elbf.)

This, according to the argumentation, can probably not be surpassed in clarity and is a clear indication that God does not forgive everything, the wrath of God remains on some people and this person is then cast out by God for eternity. The last is then the embellished description of what is considered “eternal torment in hell”. But is this the correct and only interpretation? That’s what we want to check here now.

Let us first read the verse immediately before:

“Verily I say unto you: All sins shall be forgiven the children of men, even the blasphemies wherewith they blaspheme: but whosoever blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost hath no remission for ever, but is liable to everlasting judgment.”
Mark 3:28-29

Jesus first says something quite remarkable here:
“All sins shall be forgiven the children of men”.
This statement has a tremendous scope. Do we understand them? If we grew up with the image of an angry and punishing God, such statements were rarely illuminated. I have had encounters with people who have been directly denied God’s grace through narrow views. How different this statement sounds: All sins shall be forgiven the children of men!

“All sins shall be forgiven the children of men”.

However: According to some teachings there is an exception to this comprehensive statement, which is based on the second part of the verse: “But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness in eternity”. With this second part of the sentence fear is stirred up. Quite apart from what this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is exactly, it is clear that the great multitude of sins precisely does not prevent forgiveness. Only one thing seems to stop it – everything else can be forgiven. The first statement is tantamount to liberation, even if the second point deserves further attention.

All sins shall be forgiven the children of men! “Shall” here is not in the sense of “must,” but in context it is about comparison. The problem is not with all sins, but with a particular blasphemy. The focus in the text is on this one blasphemy, which only takes on meaning and significance in context.

Text in context

It is amazing that proponents of a doctrine of hell always quote only the second part of the statement, never the first part, even more rarely the entire context. How is it that Jesus clearly states that all sins are to be forgiven for people, and we never hear about it?

A text only acquires its own meaning in context. There the connection takes place at the understanding of the listeners at that time.

This is the story:

“And the scribes that came down from Jerusalem said: He hath Beelzebub! And: By the chief of demons he casts out demons! Then he [Jesus] called them to him and spoke to them in parables: How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom is divided within itself, such a kingdom cannot exist. And if a house is divided within itself, such a house cannot stand. And when Satan stands against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he comes to an end. No one can enter the strong man’s house and rob his household goods unless he first binds the strong man; only then will he rob his house. Verily I say unto you: All sins shall be forgiven the children of men, even the blasphemies wherewith they blaspheme: but whosoever blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost hath no remission for ever, but is liable to everlasting judgment. For they said, He has an unclean spirit.”
Mark 3:22-30

This is about a conversation between the scribes and Jesus. The scribes had already tried earlier to accuse Jesus of a transgression of the religious laws (e.g. Mark 3:2). Religiosity has this tendency in it. It is the same ones who now discredit the ministry of Jesus and claim: “He has Beelzebub!” (the highest of the demons). A few verses further on, Mark explains this when he refers to it again, “He has an unclean spirit.”

The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

Now let’s try to complete the picture from the context. Jesus’ statements are aimed at these scribes who claim that He is possessed. They misjudge God’s work through Jesus. That’s where the impetus lies. It was God’s Spirit working through Him, not an unclean spirit, not a demon. The statement of the scribes was not merely an unfortunate false estimate, but a willful attribution. Thus it became a blasphemy of the work of the Holy Spirit.

“Verily I say unto you: All sins shall be forgiven the children of men, even the blasphemies wherewith they blaspheme: but whosoever blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost hath no remission for ever, but is liable to everlasting judgment.”

The connection is clear. But how could it have been different? There is another story that speaks to this. The disciples of John the Baptist once asked: “Are you the one to come, or should we wait for someone else? And Jesus answered and said to them: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense at me!” (cf. Mt 11:2-6). So it could have been reinterpreted. The scribes, however, took offense at Him, specifically by saying that Jesus had an unclean spirit.

No forgiveness for eternity

There is one more point that deserves observation. It’s about the perceived “severity of punishment,” specifically the duration. The statement reads, “But whosoever blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost hath no pardon for ever, but is liable to eternal judgment.”

It is about the meaning of eternity (noun) and everlasting (adjective). This is often interpreted as “endlessness”. This is where the real threat comes from.

“Eternity,” however, is a very selective translation and not at all thought of context. This can be deduced both from more accurate translations and from a comparison with parallel texts.

Interpreted in this way, he who receives “no forgiveness for eternity ” never receives forgiveness. That is the question here now. Is it about endlessness? And what is an eternity?

The Revised Elberfelder Translation cited here has the solution in the footnote:

The word “eternity” is translation for the Greek aion. It is translated in countless places as “age” and selectively as “eternity”. However, the two translations are mutually exclusive. Something cannot be limited and unlimited at the same time. The translations here are confusing.

An eon in the Bible is not an unlimited time, but basically and always a limited time. Although the time is long, but not without end. It is what is described as the age understandable. Check the other posts > here.

For example, the disciples asked Jesus what was the sign of His presence and the end of the current age (eon)? (Mt 24:3). When this time is over, the next time will come, the next eon (Mark 10:30). Jesus showed the powers of this future Messianic age (cf. Heb. 6:5). They were signs and wonders that pointed to this age and its Messiah. An endless eternity is out of place here.

In the Concordant New Testament, the passage is rendered as follows:

“But he who blasphemes against the Spirit, the Holy One, has no remission for the eon, but is liable to the eonic consequence of sins.”

Aeonian is that which concerns the aeon just described. Eternal, then, is not longer than the eternity to which it refers. The statement is clear: Whoever sins against the spirit has no remission for the eon, but has to bear the consequences during this said eon. Without going into detail: The scribes who blaspheme against the Spirit will have no part in the future eon. That this is so can be deduced from a parallel passage in Mt 12,32:

“Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be remitted unto him: but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be remitted unto him, either in this eon, or in that which is to come.”
Concordant New Testament

“And if any man speak a word against the Son of man, he shall be forgiven: but if any man speak against the Holy Ghost, he shall not be forgiven, neither in this age [Gr. aion], nor in that which is to come.”
Revised Elberfelder Translation

In this passage it becomes particularly clear that the word “eternity” has the meaning of age, and the current age is replaced by the future one. Whoever now speaks against the Holy Spirit will neither be forgiven in this age nor in the age to come. Remarkable: What happens afterwards is not part of the statement!

The unchangeable endlessness, which is interpreted into this passage, is not contained in the text. A statement is made about this and about the Messianic time to come. This is the horizon of the Gospels. The horizon is limited and what happens after that is out of sight. It is not a theme in the Gospels.

Will the blasphemy be forgiven?

So far we have collected a lot of data. Now it’s time for an assessment. Will this blasphemy never be forgiven? Is this the only sin that can never be forgiven? This cannot be proven on the basis of the passage mentioned. On the contrary, the idea of an endlessness is not preserved.

In many texts it is like describing the first and the next village on a long route. But what lies further along the way need not be the subject of this description. So while on the one hand we have the promise of Jesus that all sins will be forgiven, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not forgiven either in the current eon or in the future eon. Thus, those who participate in it miss out on the blessings of the messianic age. Others, however, will receive the aeonian life in this coming aeon (Mark 10:30). The contrast cannot be greater. However, an endless eternity is not the issue.

From the text in the Gospels alone, we cannot draw any conclusions about the final fate of these people. Indeed, this is not about the final destiny of all people, but only a direct consequence of the blasphemy of the scribes, in the context of Jesus’ proclamation about the messianic kingdom. Nothing further can be derived.

For this post, it should suffice to state that this is not about a sin that could never be forgiven, because that was the argument.

Let’s go back to the first quote from this article, wherein Paul said that Christ came into the world to save sinners. He goes on to say that of all sinners, he is the first in rank. Even to him grace happened, as an example for all who come to faith after him.

“But overwhelming is the grace of our Lord,
with faith and love that is in Christ Jesus.
Credible is the word and worthy of every welcome,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
of which I am the first.
However, for that very reason, I obtained mercy,
so that Jesus Christ may be the first to me,
show all patience,
as a pattern to those who believe in Him in the future,
to aeonian life”
1Tim 1,14-16 KNT

Summary

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a very specific response to claims made by some. Jesus formulated a very direct answer. Freely translated, this means in the context of that time: Whoever blasphemes God’s work will not be in the messianic kingdom. However, what happens afterwards is not part of the statement. It is terrible when this text is misused to terrify believers, as is happening.