Marriage in Heaven and Beyond

[AlexDTX]

In Matthew 22 the Saducees (who don't believe in a resurrection) tried to entrap Jesus with their question (regarding 7 brothers dying and the wife being passed down the line until she died) whose wife would she be in the resurrection? Jesus bypassed the trap by saying they did not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.

Mat 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.​

He did not say we were angels, but that we were "as" the angels in neither marrying nor being given in marriage.

For the longest time I considered this a settled question. We not marry in the Kingdom of God. However, I have recently rethought the issue. Three points instigates my reconsideration.

1. When we marry in this life, we become one flesh. Obviously, apart from intercourse, we are not physically one flesh. This must mean we are joined in spirit and soul. (Eph. 5:31)
2. When a believer is born again, we become come joined to the Lord in our spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). This is the essence of true marriage. And is stronger than biology, since the spirit is greater than material since God is a Spirit.
3. So, being married in the Lord to our spouse makes us one spirit, can this union be broken. Romans 7:2 talks about the covenant of marriage being broken when a spouse dies, but spiritual union is not the same as legal union.

So the point of reconsideration is this: Jesus said we are neither marry nor are given in marriage, but he did not say those who are married are no longer married in the new life.

I am not convinced yet of my own reasoning, but I am still meditating on the topic and would love to hear what other's have to say about it. Thank you for your feed back.

 

[PloverWing]

Jesus was responding to a story in which a woman would, seemingly, be the wife of seven husbands in the new life. He seems to be saying that no one is married in the new life. If that's not what he's saying, then his response doesn't answer the Sadducees' question. That is, if he was just saying that she'll have seven husbands but isn't allowed to take an eighth, then I would have expected the Sadducees to press their question further, since they seem to be assuming that polyandry isn't a good thing.

 

[Rigatoni]

Before the fall of mankind, God divided Adam into two beings, a masculine being (Adam) and a feminine being (Eve). They were two lovers who fellowshipped with God in paradise - this is the order God established for us since the very beginning. Heaven will be a restoration of this divine order: two lovers who were made for each other, who have fellowship with God in paradise.

Based on my understanding, Jesus wasn't saying there wouldn't be companionship between two lovers in Heaven, He was saying the law of marriage is no longer necessary there. Jesus was also confounding their narrow understanding, and basically telling the Pharisees questioning Him that they had no idea what they were talking about.

I personally believe there will be something like marriage in Heaven, but instead of two lovers being bound by the law, they'll be united by the very declaration of God Himself (a spiritual union, as you said). Procreation / physical intimacy won't be necessary in Heaven, but there may still be something similar to it in a spiritual sense.

 

[AlexDTX]

Jesus was responding to a story in which a woman would, seemingly, be the wife of seven husbands in the new life. He seems to be saying that no one is married in the new life. If that's not what he's saying, then his response doesn't answer the Sadducees' question. That is, if he was just saying that she'll have seven husbands but isn't allowed to take an eighth, then I would have expected the Sadducees to press their question further, since they seem to be assuming that polyandry isn't a good thing.

Yes, this is what I tended to think in the past, but my reconsideration is based upon a metaphysical assumption that we are joined in the spirit through marriage and the question of permanency .

 

[AlexDTX]

Before the fall of mankind, God divided Adam into two beings, a masculine being (Adam) and a feminine being (Eve). They were two lovers who fellowshipped with God in paradise - this is the order God established for us since the very beginning. Heaven will be a restoration of this divine order: two lovers who were made for each other, who have fellowship with God in paradise.

Based on my understanding, Jesus wasn't saying there wouldn't be companionship between two lovers in Heaven, He was saying the law of marriage is no longer necessary there. Jesus was also confounding their narrow understanding, and basically telling the Pharisees questioning Him that they had no idea what they were talking about.

I personally believe there will be something like marriage in Heaven, but instead of two lovers being bound by the law, they'll be united by the very declaration of God Himself (a spiritual union, as you said). Procreation / physical intimacy won't be necessary in Heaven, but there may still be something similar to it in a spiritual sense.

This is what I am thinking. Obviously, there will no longer be procreation, but the union of companionship in this life should carry over into the next life, too.

 

[Mathetes66]

While it would be nice to say that marriage on earth to a physical spouse will continue into the new age to come, but your first thoughts were correct. It will not. And here again are the contextual reasons why this is so. It is nice to re-visit passages & verify the truths as taught & passed down.

What Jesus said to the Sadducees He says to us all: we know NEITHER the Scriptures nor the power of God. We are mistaken. We are wrong. The reason we are wrong is that she will not have any of the seven as husband in the resurrection & in the age to come. That was Jesus answer to the Sadducees. And in the synoptical texts, Jesus made it plain.

Now let is investigate further so we will not be accused of not knowing the Scriptures. We must do a THOROUGH study of all harmonizing Scriptures. In order to fully understand a passage of Scripture (you only brought up Matt 22:23-33), one must also be a good Berean (Acts 17:11) & look at ALL correlating passages on this very topic, seeing ALL that the Scriptures are saying & in harmonizing them.

That means we must also look CLOSELY at Luke 20:27-40 & Mark 12:18-27 for starters.

One must also be careful of pulling passages out of their contexts & mixing these isolated verses, to make a pretext, that is not found in the contexts. That is doing things isogetically not exegetically.

So as we examine the three synoptical passages concerning this discussion of the Sadduccees with Jesus, we notice all three repeat the same thing that is a very important truth as to HOW Jesus answered the Sadduccees' question:

Luke 20:31,32 ...All seven DIED, leaving no children. And LAST OF ALL, the woman DIED...Whose wife will she be?

Matt 22:25-27 The 1st married & DIED & having no offspring left his wife to his brother. So too, the 2nd & 3rd, down to the 7th. AFTER THEM ALL, the woman DIED...Whose wife will she be?

Mark 12:20-23 There were 7 brothers; the 1st took a wife & when he DIED left no offspring. And the 2nd took her & DIED, leaving no offspring. And the 3rd likewise. And the 7 left no offspring. LAST OF ALL the woman also DIED... Whose wife will she be?

If the Sadduccees had known the Scriptures & the Law, as they were supposed to know, they would already have had their answer without asking Jesus. She was not the wife of ANY OF THEM. According to the Scriptures & the Law, each time a husband died, she was free from the Law of bondage to a husband as LONG AS HE LIVED.

Romans 7:1-3 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is BINDING on a person ONLY AS LONG AS HE LIVES? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband WHILE HE LIVES, but if her husband dies she is RELEASED FROM THE LAW OF MARRIAGE.

3Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is ALIVE. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, & if she marries another man she is NOT an adulteress.

So after the 7th husband died, the woman was FREE & RELEASED FROM THE LAW OF MARRIAGE. She was no longer married to any of them. She could have married again but she died.

I Cor 7:39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

So Jesus answered their question. Be He went further because the Sadducees' didn't believe in a resurrection or angels & He taught about what would happen in the age to come, in the regeneration.

This is where the correlating passage of Luke 20 comes in. It adds additional information that Matt 22 & Mark 12 didn't include.

Luke 20:34-39 Jesus answered, “The sons of THIS AGE marry & are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy to share IN THE AGE TO COME AND IN THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD will NEITHER marry NOR be given in marriage. In fact, they can NO LONGER DIE, because they are LIKE the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.

37Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac & the God of Jacob.’ {long after they died} He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him ALL ARE ALIVE.”

39Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well!” 40And they did not dare to question Him any further.

So again Jesus addresses not only their question, 'whose wife she will be' but addresses the issue if they are married, marrying or being given in marriage in the age to come & in the resurrection.

They are not. Married people dying in this age are no longer married! They go into the resurrection NOT MARRIED to a former spouse or spouses. Death releases them from the law of marriage. And as Jesus said, in the resurrection they are NOT TO BE MARRIED, nor will they be given in marriage.

They will be like the angels, who cannot die. People in the resurrection (both believers & unbelievers) are given indestructable, incorruptible & immortal bodies that cannot die anymore. Their souls & spirits re-unite with these new spiritually resurrected bodies, which as Jesus said, no one can 'kill' the soul. As a person, those resurrected are to exist forever & cannot die.

This teaching also negates the teachings of universalism, annhilationism & temporary punishment.

One other additional point needs to be made. Believing people married in this life, upon dying are no longer married to their former spouse(s). But spiritually WHO ARE THEY MARRIED TO in the age to come?

The Lord! They are all now the children of God. It is the time of the marriage supper of the Lamb! The bride of the Lamb, the church, the dwelling place of God in the Spirit, of Jew & Gentile, are united in One Spirit to the Lord as their HUSBAND. So for eternity, there will be only one marriage, only one bride & only one Husband.

I hope that these thoughts will be of help to you in your meditations on the Scriptures.

 

[eleos1954]

In Matthew 22 the Saducees (who don't believe in a resurrection) tried to entrap Jesus with their question (regarding 7 brothers dying and the wife being passed down the line until she died) whose wife would she be in the resurrection? Jesus bypassed the trap by saying they did not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.

Mat 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.​

He did not say we were angels, but that we were "as" the angels in neither marrying nor being given in marriage.

For the longest time I considered this a settled question. We not marry in the Kingdom of God. However, I have recently rethought the issue. Three points instigates my reconsideration.

1. When we marry in this life, we become one flesh. Obviously, apart from intercourse, we are not physically one flesh. This must mean we are joined in spirit and soul. (Eph. 5:31)
2. When a believer is born again, we become come joined to the Lord in our spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). This is the essence of true marriage. And is stronger than biology, since the spirit is greater than material since God is a Spirit.
3. So, being married in the Lord to our spouse makes us one spirit, can this union be broken. Romans 7:2 talks about the covenant of marriage being broken when a spouse dies, but spiritual union is not the same as legal union.

So the point of reconsideration is this: Jesus said we are neither marry nor are given in marriage, but he did not say those who are married are no longer married in the new life.

I am not convinced yet of my own reasoning, but I am still meditating on the topic and would love to hear what other's have to say about it. Thank you for your feed back.

Mankind was given the ability to procreate ... this is not necessary in heaven because all ... millions, billions? have eternal life.

However, when He creates the new earth children are mentioned ... so possibly then ... I think it's going to be like Eden restored before the fall. Could be children will be conceived and born though the Holy Spirit ... hard to figure ... we just don't have much info ;o)

 

[JustRachel]

What if one is married to an unbeliever? How would your theory work if they only had one shared spirit?

 

[AlexDTX]

While it would be nice to say that marriage on earth to a physical spouse will continue into the new age to come, but your first thoughts were correct. It will not. And here again are the contextual reasons why this is so. It is nice to re-visit passages & verify the truths as taught & passed down.

What Jesus said to the Sadducees He says to us all: we know NEITHER the Scriptures nor the power of God. We are mistaken. We are wrong. The reason we are wrong is that she will not have any of the seven as husband in the resurrection & in the age to come. That was Jesus answer to the Sadducees. And in the synoptical texts, Jesus made it plain.

Now let is investigate further so we will not be accused of not knowing the Scriptures. We must do a THOROUGH study of all harmonizing Scriptures. In order to fully understand a passage of Scripture (you only brought up Matt 22:23-33), one must also be a good Berean (Acts 17:11) & look at ALL correlating passages on this very topic, seeing ALL that the Scriptures are saying & in harmonizing them.

That means we must also look CLOSELY at Luke 20:27-40 & Mark 12:18-27 for starters.

One must also be careful of pulling passages out of their contexts & mixing these isolated verses, to make a pretext, that is not found in the contexts. That is doing things isogetically not exegetically.

So as we examine the three synoptical passages concerning this discussion of the Sadduccees with Jesus, we notice all three repeat the same thing that is a very important truth as to HOW Jesus answered the Sadduccees' question:

Luke 20:31,32 ...All seven DIED, leaving no children. And LAST OF ALL, the woman DIED...Whose wife will she be?

Matt 22:25-27 The 1st married & DIED & having no offspring left his wife to his brother. So too, the 2nd & 3rd, down to the 7th. AFTER THEM ALL, the woman DIED...Whose wife will she be?

Mark 12:20-23 There were 7 brothers; the 1st took a wife & when he DIED left no offspring. And the 2nd took her & DIED, leaving no offspring. And the 3rd likewise. And the 7 left no offspring. LAST OF ALL the woman also DIED... Whose wife will she be?

If the Sadduccees had known the Scriptures & the Law, as they were supposed to know, they would already have had their answer without asking Jesus. She was not the wife of ANY OF THEM. According to the Scriptures & the Law, each time a husband died, she was free from the Law of bondage to a husband as LONG AS HE LIVED.

Romans 7:1-3 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is BINDING on a person ONLY AS LONG AS HE LIVES? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband WHILE HE LIVES, but if her husband dies she is RELEASED FROM THE LAW OF MARRIAGE.

3Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is ALIVE. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, & if she marries another man she is NOT an adulteress.

So after the 7th husband died, the woman was FREE & RELEASED FROM THE LAW OF MARRIAGE. She was no longer married to any of them. She could have married again but she died.

I Cor 7:39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

So Jesus answered their question. Be He went further because the Sadducees' didn't believe in a resurrection or angels & He taught about what would happen in the age to come, in the regeneration.

This is where the correlating passage of Luke 20 comes in. It adds additional information that Matt 22 & Mark 12 didn't include.

Luke 20:34-39 Jesus answered, “The sons of THIS AGE marry & are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy to share IN THE AGE TO COME AND IN THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD will NEITHER marry NOR be given in marriage. In fact, they can NO LONGER DIE, because they are LIKE the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.

37Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac & the God of Jacob.’ {long after they died} He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him ALL ARE ALIVE.”

39Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well!” 40And they did not dare to question Him any further.

So again Jesus addresses not only their question, 'whose wife she will be' but addresses the issue if they are married, marrying or being given in marriage in the age to come & in the resurrection.

They are not. Married people dying in this age are no longer married! They go into the resurrection NOT MARRIED to a former spouse or spouses. Death releases them from the law of marriage. And as Jesus said, in the resurrection they are NOT TO BE MARRIED, nor will they be given in marriage.

They will be like the angels, who cannot die. People in the resurrection (both believers & unbelievers) are given indestructable, incorruptible & immortal bodies that cannot die anymore. Their souls & spirits re-unite with these new spiritually resurrected bodies, which as Jesus said, no one can 'kill' the soul. As a person, those resurrected are to exist forever & cannot die.

This teaching also negates the teachings of universalism, annhilationism & temporary punishment.

One other additional point needs to be made. Believing people married in this life, upon dying are no longer married to their former spouse(s). But spiritually WHO ARE THEY MARRIED TO in the age to come?

The Lord! They are all now the children of God. It is the time of the marriage supper of the Lamb! The bride of the Lamb, the church, the dwelling place of God in the Spirit, of Jew & Gentile, are united in One Spirit to the Lord as their HUSBAND. So for eternity, there will be only one marriage, only one bride & only one Husband.

I hope that these thoughts will be of help to you in your meditations on the Scriptures.

Yes, these are the Scriptural reasons I've held all along, too. Excellent response. My recent re-considerations are rooted in metaphysical thoughts not easily answered in verse. Thank you.

 

[AlexDTX]

However, when He creates the new earth children are mentioned ... so possibly then ... I think it's going to be like Eden restored before the fall. Could be children will be conceived and born though the Holy Spirit ... hard to figure ... we just don't have much info ;o)

I have always thought those passages regarding children were in the millennial kingdom before the New Heaven and New Earth. Children born from mortals who have not yet accepted Christ. Frankly, tho, my study of history is bringing my thoughts to a blend between preteritism and dispensationalism, so now I have a wait and see attitude.

 

[AlexDTX]

What if one is married to an unbeliever? How would your theory work if they only had one shared spirit?

Good point. I don't know. As I said, I am not convinced of my own OP, but rather was putting it out for further discussion and clarification. Your point is very helpful. Thank you.

 

[ViaCrucis]

This is what I am thinking. Obviously, there will no longer be procreation, but the union of companionship in this life should carry over into the next life, too.

The problem here lay in what we're thinking about as it pertains to marriage as an idea.

Marriage, in its many different forms and permutations throughout history and across different cultures, has largely existed as a social institution for the purpose child-rearing and the formation of familial-tribal bonds. Marriage was done to bring families together, to unite tribes and clans, and in some cases bring together nations. Marriage has also existed to provide structure to the procreative act, to make babies, raise children, and so those children grow up, instructed, and become part of the larger framework of society.

In the modern West marriage has transformed significantly; we get married not primarily to cement bonds between families and tribes, nor do we get married primarily for the purpose of procreation. We get married chiefly out of love, to form a pairing-bond between the couple.

To that end when the Sadducees asked, "Whose wife will she be?" The question presumes the idea that the wife is the belonging of the husband, they are operating under the model of marriage as a social contract. How can a woman have that social contract with seven brothers in the Age to Come? With this they thought they could entrap Jesus. Jesus' statement is that "they neither marry nor are given in marriage" in the future age. The social contract of marriage, the social institution of marriage, being as it was a vehicle for procreation and family-making--well that doesn't exist in the Age to Come.

That, however, does not mean that the relational bonds we make with people cease to exist in the Age to Come. That the friendships, the relationships, the love which we shared and bonded with others in this life, cease or lose all meaning in the future world. That's not the case. It's not that the love shared between husband and wife, it's not that the kindness, the sharing-together of life which they experienced suddenly evaporates into nothingness.

But marriage, the social contract, that ceases to have meaning in the future life; the life, the love, the communion, the experiences we had with other people, that doesn't go away.

Nothing good gets lost.
Nothing beautiful gets destroyed.
But trying to think of the Age to Come as merely a mundane continuation of this life, that's not the case. It is so much more, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9)

-CryptoLutheran

 

[eleos1954]

I have always thought those passages regarding children were in the millennial kingdom before the New Heaven and New Earth. Children born from mortals who have not yet accepted Christ. Frankly, tho, my study of history is bringing my thoughts to a blend between preteritism and dispensationalism, so now I have a wait and see attitude.

yes ... definitely worth checking out. Depends on if one believes the 1,000 years are spent in heaven ... or earth.

So, here is a few things I have come to in that regard.

When sin entered the world it effected the animals and the earth's ecology systems. Obviously they were in harmony before the fall.

Isaiah 11:6

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all.

There can not be anyone in a mortal condition after our Lord returns.

Exodus 33:18

Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.”

Exodus 33:20

But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"

2nd Thessalonians 2:8

and then shall be revealed the Lawless One, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the manifestation (glory) of his presence,

Matthew 25

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

After the 1,000 years (spent in heaven)

1st Corinthians 6

2Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3Do you not know that we will judge angels? ...

Almost every living thing is destroyed when He returns (including the land-based animals - like in the days of Noah) The earth lays desolate for the 1,000 years.

After the 1,000 years in heaven The New Jerusalem does descend from heaven to the earth ... and the battle of gog and magog (the resurrected lost, satan and his minions) and then everything is destroyed by fire.

He then creates everything new.

When Jesus was on earth He was fully God in the form of a man ... that is why humans were able to be in His presence.

When He returns (in His glory), He changes (makes immortal) all the saved (resurrected saved and the saved living at the time) and takes them to heaven for the 1,000 years ... the living unsaved at His coming are destroyed by His glorious presence.

Again ... no one can see God (in His glory) and live.

Anyway, glad you are looking into these things, for yourself ... everyone should.

God Bless.

 

[AlexDTX]

That, however, does not mean that the relational bonds we make with people cease to exist in the Age to Come. That the friendships, the relationships, the love which we shared and bonded with others in this life, cease or lose all meaning in the future world. That's not the case. It's not that the love shared between husband and wife, it's not that the kindness, the sharing-together of life which they experienced suddenly evaporates into nothingness.

On this I agree. I know love and friendship will remain, according to 1 Cor 13. However, I wonder about the special relationship of marriage.

But marriage, the social contract, that ceases to have meaning in the future life; the life, the love, the communion, the experiences we had with other people, that doesn't go away.

On this I disagree. Marriage is the creation of God, not man. Man may view it as a social contract, but it goes beyond that. It is more than a social contract, it is a blood covenant, which is why virgins were to be married, since the night of consummation broke the hymen, thus shedding of blood.

And the Scriptures I quoted beforehand imply a spiritual union that is as real as biology since those of us with the new birth are joined as one with the Lord. 1 Cor. 6:17.

But I do appreciate your thoughtful reply and thank you for the time of your input.

 

[AlexDTX]

After the 1,000 years (spent in heaven)

I have not heard that take before. If the thousand years are spent in heaven, and you quoted that the wolf will lie down with the lam, do you then believe that animals will be in heaven, too?

 

[eleos1954]

I have not heard that take before. If the thousand years are spent in heaven, and you quoted that the wolf will lie down with the lam, do you then believe that animals will be in heaven, too?

No ... the animals will be on the newly created earth.

 

[Mathetes66]

"Three points instigates my reconsideration.

1. When we marry in this life, we become one flesh. Obviously, apart from intercourse, we are not physically one flesh. This must mean we are joined in spirit and soul. (Eph. 5:31)
2. When a believer is born again, we become come joined to the Lord in our spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). This is the essence of true marriage. And is stronger than biology, since the spirit is greater than material since God is a Spirit.
3. So, being married in the Lord to our spouse makes us one spirit, can this union be broken. Romans 7:2 talks about the covenant of marriage being broken when a spouse dies, but spiritual union is not the same as legal union."

We, as human beings, were created with a mind to think & reason. However, we were not designed to 'KNOW good & evil' but to discern by the Spirit & avoid the evil & choose the good. Are are not to think on our own reasoning but to reason from the commandments of God & Scripture, to think 'as God thinks, thinking after His thoughts.'

Thus, we would LEARN to walk in His WAYS, rather than do what we consider right in our own eyes.

I appreciate your thinking more deeply on these things. You have challenged me. The Spirit searches out even the depths of God. We, as Christians, all have fellowship & a relationship with our Lord, but some just go deeper, their intimacy with Christ at a level few of us have experienced. Most of these, God just 'takes' home early, like Enoch or in my opinion, Keith Green.

Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones (saints).

On your first point though, I think you strayed from the context of Eph 5:31 & assumed the idea of one flesh couldn't apply to vs 31. It does, as the context shows.

As others have shown, in the world in general, marriage is a contractual obligation for raising children & keeping the fabric of society intact. However, in this last days, marriage has been villified, distorted & changed into something that is foreign to God's original design.

The mystery is GREAT! This is the point that Paul points out to us, in the midst of describing the marriage relationship in the physical world, he switches to the reality of the marriage relationship concerning Christ & the church as to what is coming in the next age.

Marriage on earth is simply a mere picture, a mere shadow of what is the true reality, that God has had in mine when He first instituted the marriage covenant between a man & a woman for life.

God had Christ & the Church in mind when Gen 2:24 was penned. Earthly marriage points to the reality for eternity of heavenly marriage, Christ & the church. The Bible starts with a marriage & the Bible ends with a marriage.

One flesh is not simply intercourse. What did God have in mind through this one flesh relationship? GODLY OFFSPRING! Those children were the living, literal 'one flesh' of both the husband & the wife, created as a union of the two into one. This is a shadow & picture of the reality of the children of God in the age to come, those offspring of God that are born again, born a second time spiritually & baptized into the Body of Christ in one Spirit.

Malachi 2:13-16 And this is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping & groaning, because He no longer regards your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands. Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you & the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion & your wife BY COVENANT. Did He not make one, having the residue of the Spirit? And why did He make them one? He was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit & don't be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.

Now back to the context of Ephesians 5. Look closely at what Paul SAYS.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church & gave HIMSELF for it; that He might sanctify & cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy & without blemish.

28So ought men to love their wives as their own BODIES. He that loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever yet hated his own FLESH; but nourishes & cherishes it, EVEN AS THE LORD THE CHURCH, BECAUSE we are members of HIS BODY, OF HIS FLESH & OF HIS BONES.

There it is! The Lord partook of flesh & bone, just like us. The picture of marriage on earth is a mere shadow of the GREAT MYSTERY of Christ & the Church. Paul again goes back to Genesis 2.

Gen 2:23,24 And Adam said, This is now BONE OF MY BONES & FLESH OF MY FLESH. She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. THEREFORE, shall a man leave his father & his mother & shall cleave unto his wife & they shall be ONE FLESH.

The one flesh is a reality with Christ & the church. Christ continues to have a body of flesh & bone, a spiritual resurrected BODY. There is a spiritual union that makes one flesh of the resurrected Jesus & the resurrected believers in Him. They are His body, of His flesh & His bones.

The earthly marriage is of corrupted bodies that are not immortal. The heavenly marriage is of immortal bodies united to Christ.

One must remember there was the first Adam & there is the LAST Adam. One was of the earth, of the corruptible one. The marriage on earth is of this first Adam. However, the eternal marriage is of the LAST ADAM, Christ. There is the first, then their is the last.

We are one spirit in the Lord because He has given us union with Him in spiritual rebirth by the Spirit of God. The first Adam had a 'residue' of the Spirit. We now have the indwelling Spirit forever. This unites us to Christ & makes us HIS CHILDREN, the children of God. It is not the picture of marriage but of the 'godly offspring.' That is why Christ says this back in Luke 20 when discussing the aspect of marriage in the age to come & in the resurrection.

Just as Paul could not adequately explain this mystery--it is so GREAT, of Christ & the Church & God's vision & goal clear back in Genesis 2:23,24, was ultimately of Christ & the Church. I cannot begin to explain it either & throughout the rest of my life could still not do it justice.

As another poster put it so well, 'That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard & no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Romans 11:33-36 O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom & knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments & untraceable His ways! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?” Who has first given to God, that God should repay him?” For from Him & through Him &to Him are all things.To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

I Tim 6:16 He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

Jude 1:25 ...To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

I Chron 29:11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.

Rom 11:36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

I Tim 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor & glory for ever & ever. Amen.

Rev 4:11 You are worthy, our Lord & God, to receive glory & honor & power, for You created all things & by Your will they were created & have their being."

Psalm 108:5 May you be exalted above the heavens, God, and your glory be over all the earth. (Ps 57:5,11)

 

[AlexDTX]

We are one spirit in the Lord because He has given us union with Him in spiritual rebirth by the Spirit of God. The first Adam had a 'residue' of the Spirit. We now have the indwelling Spirit forever. This unites us to Christ & makes us HIS CHILDREN, the children of God. It is not the picture of marriage but of the 'godly offspring.' That is why Christ says this back in Luke 20 when discussing the aspect of marriage in the age to come & in the resurrection.

Thank you for your response. It is a bit too much material to understand your point clearly. I've quoted what seemed to be your point. We are his children through the new birth, for sure. Most people think the Marriage of the Lamb is to the Church, his children. However, there is the opinion of others that we are the Lamb's body therefore the marriage is to Israel I don't hold that opinion, I am merely acknowledging the view.

I don't think you have answered my question, however, by the abundance of your words. It seems, following the logic of what you said, that as we come from Christ, and Eve came from Adam, then Eve was both the "child" of Adam and his wife.

My speculation was on the mystery of what it means to be one flesh through the joining of spirits together by the marriage covenant. It seems to me that the marriage covenant is more than a social contract, instead it is a spiritual law that binds together life. We are married to the Lord by this spiritual force. Likewise, the same spiritual force binds us together with our spouse. Divorce tears apart that spiritual union, causing great damage to both spouses, just as a well glued item, will break and damage the item when trying to separate that which was joined together by the glue. Is it not possible that this spiritual bond remains in the afterlife with one's spouse.

I, of course, do not know, nor am I arguing that it is so. Rather, I am meditating on the possibility.

 

[AlexDTX]

No ... the animals will be on the newly created earth.

Then, when the Earth is recreated, will God create new animals to replace those that die in the process, or do you think the animals will survive the transition from old Earth to new Earth?

 

[eleos1954]

Then, when the Earth is recreated, will God create new animals to replace those that die in the process, or do you think the animals will survive the transition from old Earth to new Earth?

Jesus talks about ... it will be "like" the days of Noah ... so I go and compare what happen back then ... and ... compare prophetic verses with that.

so ... regarding animals .... those that did not survive the flood were the land animals. What did survive were the birds and the ocean creatures (and those on the ark).

Paul says we really don't know ...

Ecclesiastes 3:19

For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 3:21

Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?

Job 12:10

In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?

Personally, I believe He's going to recreate them ... but ... being I have always had pets and loved them all and they were and are a blessing to me ... the thought of seeing them again would be wonderful ... but if that's not his plan ... that's ok too ;o) There will be animals on the new earth ... and all of them are going to be friendly. I'm going to love that for sure! Walking around with lions and tigers and bears .... Oh My! ;o)

I don't find any scripture of animals being seen in the heavenly kingdom.