Chronicles of the End Times
Occasionally, people say, are we really in the last days? How do we know? Does it matter one way or another? We will try to answer these questions and many others in this study. But the most important question may be, how can we reach others with hope in these changing times? One part of prophecy is often emphasized over another, causing us to lose perspective and miss the blessing and beauty of prophecy in scripture. I have taken the information in this study from many authors and teachers who have their lives studying God's word. I have added some insight that the Holy Spirit taught me. With God's help, I have endeavored to keep the whole counsel of the word of God in full view to give us an accurate picture of Christ and His great love for a lost world. I pray that this will challenge you and cause you to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, as it has me preparing it. Let's begin!
Chronicles of the End Times
The Unforgivable Sin. The Sin unto Death.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has troubled believers for centuries, yet many misunderstand what Jesus actually meant by this "unforgivable sin." Drawing from Matthew 12 and 1 John 5, we confront head-on the controversial question of whether certain sins truly place someone beyond redemption.
The true nature of this sin isn't a momentary lapse or spoken words against God—it's a persistent, willful rejection of divine truth that hardens the heart to the point where repentance becomes impossible. When the Pharisees attributed Jesus's healing miracles to demonic powers rather than God, they weren't merely misunderstanding—they were deliberately calling what was manifestly good and holy "evil."
What makes this exploration particularly eye-opening is how it intersects with centuries-old traditions about praying for the dead and concepts like purgatory. The Apostle John's warning against praying for those who commit "sin that leads to death" directly challenges practices that had already begun developing in the early church. Quotes from significant historical figures like Augustine and Gregory reveal how deeply these unbiblical concepts penetrated Christian thinking.
The good news remains that all sins can be forgiven during our lifetime. As long as we have breath and retain sensitivity to right and wrong, the door to reconciliation with God remains open. The blood of Jesus is sufficient; no amount of suffering or posthumous prayers can accomplish what Christ's sacrifice already provides. This understanding frees us to focus where Scripture directs us—on reaching the living with God's transformative love.
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Speaker Names
Speaker 1
00:00
Welcome everyone. This is Russ Scalzo. Chronicles of the End Times. Thank you for being with me today.
00:17
Today we're going to discuss a couple of controversial scriptures, ones that have been analyzed a million times, I'm sure, over the centuries. We're talking about the sin of blasphemy, the unforgivable sin. In our group tonight we're going to be looking at 1 John 4-5. And in chapter 5, the Apostle John gets into this a little bit from a different angle. So, let's pick it up in Matthew, chapter 12, where Jesus is having one of his many confrontations with the scribes and Pharisees. We'll pick it up in verse 22.
00:57
Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed and said Can this be the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said it is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons. Knowing their thoughts, he said to them whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, let them be your judges, but if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather scatters. Therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. That's quite a statement by the Lord and this has been debated over the years.
02:32
What is the sin of blasphemy that is not forgiven? Because obviously Jesus talks about blasphemy against him, against God himself. That can be forgiven. You can repent from that and turn from that. But what is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? Well, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is disbelief, calling God a liar. There are many people who, through the years, have continued to harden their hearts and there's some place where they get so hard and so seared over, as Paul says, that they've lost all feeling. They can't sense any longer the spiritual things because they have hardened their hearts so much against God, calling God a liar.
03:23
Remember that Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth, not just a truth or some truth or the spirit of a truth. He is truth. Everything that comes out of the Holy Spirit's mouth, if you want to put it that way, is truth. He cannot lie, he cannot tell a falsehood. Everything that comes out of his mouth is a revelation, is truth. That's what makes this so serious, because the Bible is a testimony about Jesus Christ glorifying God, about his coming. Jesus Christ glorifying God, about his coming, about God's plan for humanity, about his grace, about his faithfulness, his mercy, his love, his tender, loving, kindness, his gentleness.
04:06
When someone decides, well, I don't believe that the Bible is not the word of God. I mean, who is God? He could be the trees, he could be the sun, the stars, the universe itself and disregards God's testimony. These writings are lies, fables, and they live their lives by that and unfortunately, their hearts get so hard that they die in that condition and that is extremely sad, because that is the only sin that's unforgivable. If you're out there today and you're listening to this podcast, you say, geez, I've done this, I've done that. God is forgiving. He will forgive all sin as long as there is breath in your body and as long as you have a sensitivity to right and wrong, a sensitivity to the Spirit of God, even if you're not saved. God has put his Spirit in the world, and we know when we're doing things we shouldn't do and we can run in different directions to try to appease ourselves and hide what we're feeling, but we still feel it, so we can be saved. But there are those that make the decision the other way and it becomes a permanent decision.
05:12
The Apostle John talks about it in his first letter in chapter 5. He talks about how the Word of God is a testimony, is God's testimony. You know, we have our own testimony about how God has saved us and what he's done for us and the things that have happened in our lives. We testify to these things. God has testified to us and to the whole world of who he is and what he wants to do for us and what his plans are for us. That's the Bible, that's his personal testimony.
05:43
But then there comes an unusual scripture in 1 John, chapter 5, beginning with verse 16. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death. He shall ask, and God will give him life, to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death. I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. Interesting scripture so the sin that leads to death spiritual death is what John's talking about is the same sin that Jesus is talking about Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, calling the Holy Spirit a liar, or calling the Holy Spirit evil, or God's word evil, or God himself. That is the sin that will lead to spiritual death.
06:36
John says if you see your brother or sister sinning a sin that does not lead to death, john says if you see your brother or sister sinning a sin that does not lead to death, pray for them. But then he says there is a sin that leads to death. I do not say that one should pray for that. Interesting he's not saying well, you know, there's a really evil person there. That person is surely nasty and terrible person, a thief, a murderer, whatever the case may be, whatever we feel is a terrible sin, betrayal, we're supposed to pray for those people. Pray that God will open their eyes and open their hearts, because if they do, God will save them.
07:09
But what is John actually saying? I can't pray for those who have a sin that leads to death, because he's talking about a spiritual death. The person is already dead, they have committed the sin and denying God to their dying breath. So why is this brought out? Why is John talking about this so specifically? Because in that time, if you look back in history and you see, some of the so-called founding fathers of faith and others of that era believed in praying for the dead. And the scripture is clear that once we die and then the judgment, so there is no coming back, there is no praying for the dead. This life is what we have to offer God.
07:51
Here are some interesting facts. This is a quote from St Augustine. There is no doubt that through the prayers of the church, through the most holy sacrifice, through the deeds of charity, we may aid the departed. Can't agree with that one. Saint Gregory, the offering of the holy sacrifice of the mass for the poor souls in purgatory is of great benefit to them and them long for it with grievous wailings. Saint Jerome the souls who are suffering in purgatory and whom the priest prays for on the altar during Mass do not feel the tortures of purgatory. During the time that the Mass lasts, they ask for nothing more. They wish for nothing more than the bloodless sacrifice.
08:37
I have to say I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school for a lot of years but never knew that until I read that today. I knew about purgatory, we all knew about that, but that to me is extremely disturbing. Thank God for the grace and the love of Jesus Christ, because my brother and I, my wife, we got saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit through the charismatic renewal that swept through the Catholic Church in the late 60s and early 70s. God is faithful, he reaches out to everyone. Whether we believe in a certain person's doctrine or whatever, God is still the God of all, and he loves people and he reaches out to them. And that's where my wife and I, my brother, we were all set free and really felt for the first time the love of God wraps around us. We understood from our childhood that God was real, hell was real, judgment was coming. That part we had down really well. But when the Holy Spirit fell upon us at those meetings, we realized that God loved us with a love that was just amazing, and it set us free, and we've been following him ever since.
09:48
So, the love of God, through the prayers of God's people, can break down the hardest heart and the most confused person, the person that is the most lost in the darkness. God can deliver them. So, I understand the doctrine of purgatory and all that, but it is not scriptural To think that a fire that God creates could wipe away sin. Unconfessed sin is foolishness. If the blood of Jesus Christ can't wash away your sin, what can the fire that he created do? And the other myth that suffering our personal suffering can pay the price for our sin, is extremely dangerous. Suffering can bring us to the place where we can hear God's word. Suffering can bring us to a place where we're open to hear from God, but it cannot remove our sin. That's impossible. So, to think that suffering in some place like purgatory is going to make us holy is sad and very misleading. So, this is what John is saying. He's saying I'm telling you not to pray for that. I'm telling you not to pray for the dead, even though there are groups of people out here who are promoting that. It's not scriptural. Don't pray for that sin that leads to spiritual death. Aim your prayers at the living that they might open their eyes and see who Jesus is.
11:07
And the Catholics are not alone in this belief, although you don't hear much about it anymore, but so are the Muslims. I had a conversation with a Muslim woman. She's a doctor, very nice person, very smart, and we were exchanging our beliefs. She asked me straight out all these different questions of what I thought when she heard that I wrote books and heard my testimony. And she believes that all Muslims will go to heaven, no matter how bad they were or the most horrible things they've done, because they're in a place they didn't call it purgatory, they called it something else where they're suffering for their sins and eventually, they will be allowed into heaven.
11:45
But it's clear the scripture says that we live this life, and this is our life. This is what we have. This is the time that we have to live for God or deny God. The scripture clearly states it is appointed to each one to die. And then the judgment.
12:01
So, although many of us like to comfort ourselves with the purgatory syndrome, we need to concentrate on the living, reaching all those who are still in a place where they could be touched by God, and I end this podcast with a warning we are not to judge people who have died. That's not our place. We are not supposed to be standing on that holy ground. That only belongs to the Lord Almighty. So, let's not think about gee. I wonder if this person's in heaven. Are they in hell or where are they? You leave that up to God.
12:33
God is merciful and kind all the time. So, let's just trust God that his loving kindness makes a way for people, whether they're laying in a hospital, in a coma or whatever their case may be. God speaks down deep into the soul, and we have to have faith that our God loves so much that he gave his only son that we could all be with him forever. Let's rejoice in the God we serve, for he is truly amazing. He is love. Forty-five times John speaks of love in those letters more than any other book in the Bible. Our God just doesn't love. He is love. This is Russ Scalzo for Chronicles of the End Times. Keep looking up. The King is coming.
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