Matthew 12:32

“And whoever will speak a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him, but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.”

Jesus then takes the extremest of sins as a comparison, blasphemy against the One sent from God, the Son of Man. Though He is great beyond measure, yet blasphemy against Him can be forgiven, for men may have difficulty with the concept, or in appreciating Him, because of the dullness of their understanding. But continually speaking against the Holy Spirit and His work openly manifested and brought home to men and women, and resisting it, is something which can so harden someone that one day it will become impossible for their heart ever to soften again. For that is not difficult to understand. That is openly manifested before their eyes.

We can compare here what happened to Pharaoh in Exodus. First Pharaoh hardened his own heart in the face of the mighty works of God. Then he continued to harden his own heart, and he did it in the face of such incontrovertible evidence that he himself admitted that he was wrong. And then he continued doing it. And each time he had the opportunity to repent. But one day he had reached a position where repentance was impossible, for every act of God had resulted in his heart hardening more, until he could repent no longer. In a sense it was now God Who was hardening his heart by continually challenging him. He was now so hardened that repentance had become impossible.

‘Neither in this world (or age), or in that which is to come.' What we do and are in this world, or in this age, will affect what we are for eternity. Every one of us is at this moment shaping our eternal destiny. And how we respond to God and His Holy Spirit now will therefore shape our eternal destiny in the world and age to come.