Marriage in Heaven

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TK
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Marriage in Heaven

Post by TK » Sun Dec 04, 2011 3:21 pm

Mt. 22:29-30

Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. 30 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven. (NLT)

Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. NKJV

“You are very wide of the mark,” replied Jesus to them, “for you are ignorant of both the scriptures and the power of God. For in the resurrection there is no such thing as marrying or being given in marriage—men live like the angels in Heaven. (Phillips)

Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. (NIV)
I apologize if this has been discussed here before, but I did a quick search and couldn'd find it if it was.

The above verses are usually quoted for the proposition that there is no marriage in heaven.

However, the verses don't really say that; they say there is no "marrying" in heaven.

But what if two Christians are already married when they die?

I kind of like to think that my relationship with my wife will continue in that vein in heaven (or to be more exact-- the new earth). God seems to value family. Will there not be family units in the new creation?

TK

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mattrose
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Re: Marriage in Heaven

Post by mattrose » Sun Dec 04, 2011 5:51 pm

I kind of like to think that my relationship with my wife will continue in that vein in heaven (or to be more exact-- the new earth). God seems to value family. Will there not be family units in the new creation?
I've thought about this some too. I don't see why we wouldn't feel a special connection, on the new earth, with our earthly loved ones from the previous age. I think our deepest relationships will continue to flourish AND the hindrances which prevent us from trusting others/strangers will be removed. I think there is some evidence that there will be some sort of grouping.

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steve
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Re: Marriage in Heaven

Post by steve » Sun Dec 04, 2011 7:36 pm

God only knows what our relationships with others—especially spouses—will look like. As far as the distinction between "no marriage" and "no marrying", while the terms are not synonymous, it seems that, in the context of the woman who had had seven legitimate husbands, Jesus' words would have to do with the continuance of marriage, rather than the establishing of new marriages.

The Sadducees had asked which of her earthly husbands would have her in the resurrection. For Jesus to answer that new marriages will not be contracted there would not seem germaine to their question—unless He is assuming that everyone gets a fresh start in the resurrection, without former attachments from this world. Then He might be saying that none of her former husbands would have the right to marry her again in the resurrection, since there will be no marrying going on there.

If marriages on earth would automatically continue into the resurrected life, but no new ones would be allowed, this would involve eternally unpleasant circumstances for several groups: 1) those who always wished to be married in this life, but were deprived of that pleasure; 2) those who, at the time of death, are in a very unhappy marriage that they look to death to free them from; 3) Those who (like the woman in the example of the Sadducees) have had multiple marriages—the last of which might not have been as happy (or as legitimate) as the former one(s)—or who have loved more than one legitimate spouse.

I think that, just as I could not imagine enjoying females when I was seven-years-old (but "when I became a man, I put away childish things"), so also, we might not presently be able to imagine finding ultimate fulfillment in celibacy and singleness, as we shall when we enter an entirely unimaginable mode of existence.

While pairing up is a desirable arrangement in the circumstances of this age, especially for the benefit or having and rearing offspring, it may be that in the next age a different arrangement may be more suitable. Nonetheless, I can hardly doubt that those who have been special to us in this age will also be special to us in the next.

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