In every Christian denomination I know of, it’s always been taught that there is no marriage in Heaven. I’ve always accepted this at face value, partly because the Bible verses quoted to support this teaching seemed to verify it, but mainly because it just didn’t matter much to me, so I didn’t think it about very often.
I have a friend, however, who thinks about it a lot because it matters to him. He refused to accept the typical Christian teaching at face value and chose, instead, to dig into the Bible and find some answers for himself. After months and months of research and study, he has come to the conclusion that there IS marriage in Heaven and, as a favor to him, he has asked me to write about his conclusions here to see what others will have to say about it.
His conclusion that there is marriage in Heaven begins with the verses concerning a new heaven and a new earth found in Isaiah 65: 17. At the beginning of creation, before the fall of Adam and Eve, humans were created for eternal life without pain or sorrow. If Adam and Eve had not fallen into sin, they would have remained eternal. They were man and wife, although never “married” in the sense that people were married in future generations, and they were instructed by God to reproduce before sin ever entered the picture. My friend believes that at the end of this world, God will recreate heaven and earth to be what it was originally intended to be before sin ruined it, and that included having a partner and families. He believes that Isaiah confirms this when it mentions “not bearing children in vain” and having decendants in the new heaven and the new earth.
My friend also believes there will be marriage in Heaven because of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the Law of God and, like God, His Law is eternal. God’s Law existed before the creation of man and will continue to exist throughout eternity. Therefore, marriage MUST exist in eternal life, otherwise, one of the Ten Commandments is rendered useless because it will apply to a situation that doesn’t even exist any longer. For that matter, the commandment concerning obedience to parents will also be rendered void because there will be no children or parents, and God would not create eternal laws that will eventually apply to nothing.
Finally, my friend addresses what he believes the verses concerning marriage in Heaven really mean, verses such as Matthew 22: 23 - 33, Mark 12: 18 - 27, and Luke 20: 27 - 36. The Sadducees did not believe in the Resurrection and were trying to challenge Jesus about the resurrection using the example of a woman who had been passed to many eartly husbands based on the traditions of that time. My friend believes that Christ’s reply was a challenge to their understanding of what the new world would be like. There will be no death or pain in the new world. We will “be like the angels” meaning we will be eternal and therefore our partnerships will be eternal. We will never have to worry about death or divorce and, therefore, never have to worry about being married and given in marriage the way widows and new brides were customarily given in those times. In a sin-free world, marriage will simply not be like anything we know in this world.
This is what my friend believes based on his own research and study of the Bible. I honestly don’t know what I believe concerning marriage in Heaven. In truth, it still doesn’t matter to me the way it does to him. To me, Heaven will be Heaven and, since there will be no pain or sorrow or hurt or anything negative, marriage or no marriage, we will be happy and content with the world we live in. Everything will be perfect and that’s all that matters to me.
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