The New Testament references a post-death state of purification before a soul’s entrance to Heaven when Jesus declares every sin can be forgiven, except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, “either in this age or in the age to come” (Matt. 12:32). While Our Lord assures His followers that God forgives sins in this life, the phrase “in the age to come” implies a kind of forgiveness obtained in a future, post-death age.
