Marriage will indeed continue on the Earth during the Millenial reign of Messiah, just not among those that are resurrected from the dead that reign with Him.
That'd be something I'd still say is in need of further addressment. Some of this was shared more in-depth elsewhere, as seen in #
31
Matthew 22:30
At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.
Mark 12:25
When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.
Luke 20:35
But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage
Those scriptures have been debated often when it comes to understanding the
entirety of scripture and what Christ said on the issue of marriage. I agree with others who've often noted that not all stages shown in Genesis were ever fully reflective of how God meant things to be...in the same manner that seasons of life occur.
The scriptures coming immediately to mind are the following:
Mark 12:18-26
Marriage at the Resurrection
18Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19"Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. 20Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23At the resurrection[a] whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?"
24Jesus replied, "Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26Now about the dead risinghave you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
Luke 20:34-36
34Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection.
Other versions of the instance are in Matthew 22:23-33.
With the Luke version, that one seems to be much more direct on the issue.....and for another description of "that age", one can go to Acts 4:2 and I Peter 1:3.
And on the issue, it goes without saying (IMHO) that what life will be like after the resurrection is far beyond our ability to understand or imagine fully (Isaiah 64:4, I Corinthians 2:9, etc)----so I want to be careful as to avoid making formula out of anything where full details are not given. Some of my thoughs are that "being like the angels in heaven" means living without an exclusive lifelong marriage commitment to one person. With Jesus' statement, it doesn't necessarily mean that people won't recognize their partners in the coming kingdom...as our relationships in this life are limited by time/sin and death.....and surely people will know their loved ones in heaven ( Matthew 8:11, Luke 9:30-33). It seems that Jesus' statement deals with how God's new order will not be an extension of this life and that the same physical/natural rules will not apply in all instances as here/before.......and that the joy/love of close relationships in heaven will be more rather than less than it is here on the Earth.
Jesus' reference to the "power of God" suggest that God is able to establish relationships of even deeper friendship, joy, and love in the life to come....for although God has not revealed anything more beyond this, what we do know is that the Word declares that the eternal glories awaiting the redeemed will be more splendid than anyone can begin to ask or think (I Corinthians 2:9, Ephesians 3:20). For if we can imagine it, God can go beyond it.
I agree with others who say that Jesus' comment in verse 25 was not intended to be the final word on marriage in heaven....as who knows if something far grander than the way marriage was set up before is to come instead. Some of it I've discussed before when it came to the possibility that Jesus's words on marriage were more so about correcting the idea of marriage the Sadducees had in mind where it was focused on contracts/unfaithfulness rather than marriage the way that God saw] it.
And with Jesus's answer, it was more so a refusal to answer the Sadducees' riddle/fall into their trap..as their real question was not about marriage as much as it was about the doctrine of the resurrection--which they already were against. They tried to trap him theologically because they assumed that those believing in a resurrection life think it is like the present life fully....suggesting that a woman who has been married more than once will be found guilty of incest after the resurrection...and hoping to show the idea of the resurrection absurd. But their error flowed from their lack of knowledge, of course, on the Power of God to create a much more wonderful than anyone can now imagine.
And as Jesus told them, to know what heaven will be like is not as important as to know God's power (I Corinthians 15, Philippians 3:5-11).
I don't see any other way to renconcile what Christ said on marriage in the beginning - from Matthew 19 onto the rest of the OT - and what is said in the future if the Lord meant what He said when He blessed the Institution of Marriage. Of course, there's one possible way of renconciling the permanence of marriage with what CHrist said if considering things from the perspective of SEASONS - systems instituted for a time.
If marriage was not meant to be a pernmanent fixture----as much as it may seem odd, it can make sense in a myriad of ways. My friends and I used to battle on the issue all the time---with one of my bros always saying that there'd be none of the things we experience in the earthly realm with marriage like the joy of passionate sex or companionship...as in his view, that's only to reflect the relationship we..the church.. have/will consumate fully with Christ in the Heavens and the Wedding Banquet according to Ephesians 5:22-33, Matthew 22:1-14 and Revelation 19:6-8 ..and though marriage/man not being alone was something God said was "good" in perfection (Genesis 2:19-24), there's a view that holds to the concept of man at that time not being made complete....beliving that the Perfection Account was an issue of man being glorified rather than being fulfilled---with that being interupted, the image of God being tarnished...and Christ restoring the process/making it even more wonderful.
In example, consider what was said before when the Bible shows man on a DIET with eating trees/food that God had outlined. As the Bible already makes clear that man was not made immortal/was in a process of going toward immortality, as seen in Genesis 3 when man is forbidden to eat from the Tree of Life.
On the issue of things not being "fixed"/adjusments being made, Connecting that all back with the theory behind temporary marriage, man having a diet to sustain him for the time he had on the EARTH WOULD MAKE SENSE.....as there were still things missing that God took note of---when the Lord said, "Its not good for man to be alone".....and according to the view, as man was in a process of transformation, at that time having a mate was necessary....if for no other reason, for a time of multiplying/being fruitful ( Genesis 5:2-4 ) and having the ability to reflect the Lord fully ( Genesis 5:1-3 )
God said in Malachi 2:10-16 and other passages ( Proverbs 2:17, Ezekiel 16:8-14, Matthew 19:1-12, etc) that marriage is a Divine covenant, a three-way relationship between a couple and the Lord, that was meant to glorify Him by producing GODLY OFFSPRING.......in line with Gods original mandate to man to be fruitful/multiply in Genesis 1:26-31. Jude 1:13-15 echoes the same thought when it comes to the prophesy that many in God's name would come forth after Him----an expansion of God's Heart to have a LARGE FAMILY of others who'd reflect him......children of faith.
The motif of "being fruitful and multiplying" recurs throughout Genesis with association with Divine Blessing (Genesis 9:1-7, Genesis 17:20, Genesis 28:3, Genesis 35:11, Genesis 48:4, ec)==serving as the basis for the worldview that raising Godly Children is apart of God's creation for mankind.....as his plan was that the whole earth be populated by those who know Him/serve wisely as his vice-regents or representives. And with the charge to "subdue the earth/have dominion", the idea is that man/woman are to make the earth's resources beneficial for themselves, which implies that they would investigate/develop Earth's resources to make them useful for human beings generally, responsibily using things with the same sense of care that God has toward the whole of his creation (Psalm 8, Genesis 2). And "Dominion/Subdue" mandate provides the the foundation for wise/scientific and technological development and reflecting God by creating as He does.
With that in mind, one factor to consider is that being fruitful/multiplying does not necessarily mean that it was meant to be done FOR ALL TIME----as its possible for a LIMIT on multiplication occurring once something has been effectively filled....with enough made to subdue to it according to God's designs. Hence, why its possible that even in the Creation Account God could have made marriage then with a starting/ending point somewhere........with the time of its institution being something that would reflect his heart/relationship with man and then, once being fulfilled at one stage, opening up the door to go into another phase/ something far more grand than can be imagined.
And in the time Adam had to be fruitful/multiply, He had to be given SOMETHING to eat in the meantime before he went up..
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