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The question as to whether men and women will dwell eternally in the kingdom of heaven as husband and wife, or live as single persons without the intimacy of marriage, has puzzled theologians and troubled Scripture believers for millennia. This article will offer a Scripture-based speculative viewpoint in response to the difficult question as to whether or not there will be marriage in heaven.

MATTHEW 22:30 (NKJV):
“For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.”

MARK 12:25 (NKJV):
“For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”

The aforementioned statements of Yeshua (Jesus) regarding marriage in the resurrection have alarmed and saddened many, causing believers to be convinced that there will be no marriage in heaven, nor intimacy through sex, throughout all eternity.

The first thing to understand when analyzing Yeshua’s (Jesus’) words in the ‘resurrection and marriage’ passages is the context. He was not specifically speaking about marriage in the kingdom of heaven. Yeshua (Jesus) was responding to a question posed to Him by the Sadducees, a Jewish sect who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or the afterlife in heaven.

MATTHEW 22:23-30 (NKJV):
The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, IN THE RESURRECTION, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”
Yeshua (Jesus) answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For IN THE RESURRECTION they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.

HOW DO ANGELS LIVE IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN?
ARE ANGELS SINGLE AND CELIBATE OR MARRIED IN HEAVEN?
ARE THERE FEMALE ANGELS?

What we know about angels of God in heaven is that they are holy and exist as spirit beings (John 3:5-6). The lowest angel in heaven is more righteous than the holiest man who ever lived, John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28). It is unknown what types of intimacy angels have in heaven, among themselves – if any, other than the intimacy that they experience through God. God the Father is masculine, and so is Yeshua (Jesus) His Son. The named angelic beings mentioned in Scripture are Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer, all males.

GENESIS 1:27 (NKJV):
God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

GENESIS 5:1-2 (NKJV):
In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.

God created mankind male and female. Are the angels all male?

ZECHARIAH 5:9 (NKJV):
Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were TWO WOMEN, coming with the wind IN THEIR WINGS; FOR THEY HAD WINGS like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.

Zechariah 5:9 is a prophetic verse that describes two winged women, who are most likely female angels. “Women” could indicate women of men, mankind, but these women are carrying out angelic duties. Angels have appeared on Earth as messengers and have the appearance of human beings (Hebrews 13:2). Furthermore, human beings are never described as having wings in Scripture, but angels often are (Exodus 25:20, 37:9; 1 Kings 6:27, 8:6-7; 1 Chronicles 28:18,3:11,13; 2 Chronicles 3:13, 5:7-8; Psalm 18:10; Ezekiel 1:4-25, 3:13, 10:5-21, 11:22; Revelation 4:8).

Does ‘in the resurrection’ mean that in God’s kingdom, men and women will cease being men and women, lose their gender, and become gender-less? No.

2 CORINTHIANS 6:18 (NKJV):
I will be a Father to you and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

Mankind, throughout eternity, will retain the gender that they were created as.

Does ‘in the resurrection’ mean that in God’s kingdom, men and women will never marry, remain celibate, and never know intimacy again?

Yeshua (Jesus), said, “For WHEN THEY RISE FROM THE DEAD, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven,” (Mark 12:25). Yeshua (Jesus) more specifically stated that no one would be married upon being resurrected, and that in the resurrection, WHEN they rise from the dead, no one would marry or be given in marriage.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-53 (NKJV):
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1 THESSALONIANS 4:16-17 (NKJV):
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Messiah (Christ) will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

‘In the resurrection’ is the time period when the those of the first resurrection, those in Messiah (Christ), will be resurrected from the dead or raptured from among the living, changed into incorruptible spirit beings, and be transported to the clouds to be with the Lord Yeshua (Jesus) in the air. During this period, the saints will dwell in the clouds and wait out the great tribulation and the 7-year reign of the Antimessiah (Antichrist). During this ‘in the resurrection’ period, this time of waiting in the clouds, there will be no marriage.

LUKE 20:34-36 (NKJV):
“The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”

Yeshua (Jesus) will return to Earth with all His saints and will establish His Millennium Kingdom (1 Thessalonians 3:13). It is at this time that marriage will resume for man. Unlike marriage man had once known, marriage in the Millennium Kingdom will be different and superior.

JEREMIAH 50:5 (NKJV):
‘Come and let us join ourselves to YHWH (the Lord) in a PERPETUAL COVENANT that will not be forgotten.’

If there is marriage in the Millennium Kingdom and afterward, marriage unions will have to be eternal marriages in perpetual covenants. In the Millennium Kingdom there will be no more death, so there will be no marriage covenant stipulation, “till death do you part,” (Deuteronomy 22;19,29; Romans 7:1-2; 1 Corinthians 7:39). There also will not be divorce in the Millennium Kingdom, because God hates divorce and cannot permit the sin of remarriage adultery to go on in His righteous kingdom (Malachi 2:16; Matthew 5:32, 19:9; Mark 10:11-12; Romans 7:3; 1 Corinthians 7:10-11,39). If there is marriage in the Millennium Kingdom and beyond, it will have to be a marriage between eternal soul partners made by a perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten.

MATTHEW 19:6; MARK 10:9 (NKJV):
“Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Many have married, but may feel that they did not marry their ‘soul mate.’ While this certainly may be true, divorce over this reason, and then to seek remarriage is not a Scriptural option. The not so blissfully married are to uphold their marriage vow and not divorce (Numbers 30; 1 Corinthians 7:12-14).

As God has loved us, even though He didn’t have to, we are to love our spouses, even if they don’t bring us joy. For there is a greater purpose other than our happiness in our marriages of this age, which is holiness through keeping our vows and being honest with God.

In marriage, we have vowed to God to be the husband or wife to our spouse, until death. If we cannot keep our vow, keep our word in this covenant promise, how can God expect us to keep a marriage vow for eternity?!

Yet many may have chosen a poor marriage partner and do not wish to spend all eternity with said marriage partner. Death ends all earthly marriage vows. God, in His wisdom, knew that people would make poor choices in marriage, so He made all marriages end in death.

Will the righteous, happily married, who had a good marriage on Earth, be able to resume their marriage if they are both desiring in the Millennium Kingdom? Yes. Will the righteous, unhappily married, be able to seek a new soul mate in the Millennium Kingdom? Yes. Death ends a marriage on Earth and in the resurrection, no one will be married. There will be some righteous saints who are married to an unbeliever, or to a spouse living in sin, and will therefore enter the Millennium Kingdom without their earthly spouse (1 Corinthians 7:12-16).

PSALM 37:3-5 (NKJV):
Trust in YHWH (the Lord) and do good; Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in YHWH (the Lord), AND HE SHALL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART. Commit your way to YHWH (the Lord), trust also in Him, AND HE SHALL BRING IT TO PASS.

Psalm 37 is a prophetic verse concerning the age to come, when the meek shall inherit the Earth and the righteous shall inherit the land and dwell in it forever (Psalm 37:11,29). The heart’s desire of most righteous human beings is to find a good, righteous, loving companion. This is worth more than treasure (Proverbs 10:31). Yet in the flesh, many have trouble finding a good, righteous, suitable companion (1 Corinthians 7:28). A good spouse is hard to find and many go through life and never find one (Proverbs 18:22, 31:10).

Many proclaim that when humans are transformed into spirit beings, one of the greatest desires of our heart, to have a righteous, loving, suitable companion, will be taken from us and we will be like angels, not marrying or having any desire to have sex. The problem with this conclusion is that Scripture proclaims there will be children being born and living inside the Millennium Kingdom.

ISAIAH 6:20-23 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; for the CHILD shall die one hundred years old [AND ENTER ADULTHOOD], but the sinner [OUTSIDE THE GATES OF THE MILLENNIUM KINGDOM] being one hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor BRING FORTH CHILDREN for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of YHWH (the Lord), and THEIR OFFSPRING with them.

ISAIAH 11:6-9 (NKJV):
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a LITTLE CHILD shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The NURSING CHILD shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the WEANED CHILD shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of YHWH (the Lord) as the waters cover the sea.

ZECHARIAH 8:3-5 (NKJV):
“Thus says the Lord:
‘I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, The Mountain of YHWH (the Lord) of hosts, The Holy Mountain.’
“Thus says YHWH (the Lord) of hosts:
‘Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. The streets of the city shall be FULL OF BOYS AND GIRLS PLAYING IN THE STREETS.’

There will be no death for the first fruit saints who inherit and dwell in God’s Millennium Kingdom (John 11:26; 1 Corinthians 15:54-55; Revelation 20:6). It is prophesied that children will be brought forth, nursed, and will play in the streets of Jerusalem during Yeshua’s (Jesus’) Millennium Kingdom reign.

Children will be born of parents and these parents MUST be married in order that they bring forth righteous children. Yet these parents have now become immortal beings, so parents MUST be paired together in marriages that will never end. There can be no divorce in the Millennium Kingdom or afterward.

THE BARREN AND RIGHTEOUS DIVORCEES WILL BEAR CHILDREN

ISAIAH 54:1-7,13 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
“Sing, O barren, you who have not borne [CHILDREN]! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are [WILL BE] the children of the desolate [THE BARREN, RIGHTEOUS DIVORCED WOMAN IN THE MILLENNIUM KINGDOM] than the children of the [UNRIGHTEOUS] married woman* [DURING THE AGE OF THE RULE OF MAN],” says YHWH (the Lord). *(Galatians 4:27). “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities [OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION] inhabited.
Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame [SINS] of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
For your Maker is your husband, YHWH (the Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One [YESHUA (JESUS)] of Israel; He [YESHUA (JESUS)] is called the God of the whole earth.
For YHWH (the Lord) has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused [PUT AWAY / DIVORCED],” says your God. …
“ALL YOUR CHILDREN shall be taught by YHWH (the Lord), and great shall be the peace of YOUR CHILDREN.”

Isaiah 54 is a prophetic chapter of Scripture proclaiming the reward of the righteous, virtuous, divorced, or barren woman. Such women, during the course of their lives, surely often longed for children. If the case was that they were put away and divorced, yet kept their marriage vow and did not remarry as their husband lived, and being childless, God will not let this injustice stand and will fulfill the desires of their heart to have children in the age to come. In the Millennium Kingdom, barren and childless divorced women will bear more children than the married did during the age of man’s unrighteous rule over the Earth.

Women bearing children in the age to come requires them to be married in order to have righteous children, who are not bastards born out of wedlock.

Although Isaiah 54:5 proclaims, “For your Maker is your husband,” this does not mean that God is going to be the biological father of the children born to women in the Millennium Kingdom. Yeshua (Jesus) will be our spiritual husband, caretaker, provider, and God (Hosea 2:16; 2 Corinthians 11:2;
Revelation 19:7-9).

GENESIS 2:18 (NKJV):
And YHWH (the Lord) God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

Yeshua’s (Jesus’) words stating that there would be no marriage in the age to come, is more than likely a reference to there not being “till death do you part” marriages in the age to come. There will be children born to women in the Millennium Kingdom and unless all these children are conceived of the Holy Spirit, as Miriam (Mary) bore Yeshua (Jesus), there will be fathers who impregnate these women, and thus there will need to be some type of eternal marriage, even if called by another name, without the “till death do you part” clause, since there will be no more death. And perhaps there are some saints who do not wish to be married, or soul mated, and it is unlikely that God would force anyone into a union against his or her will in the Millennium Kingdom. Whatever the future holds, God wants to give us the desires of our hearts, according to His promise, and not take the desires of our hearts away from us (Psalm 37:4).

1 CORINTHIANS 2:9 (NKJV):
But as it is written*:
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” *(Isaiah 64:4).

While God may not have revealed all of His plans for us in the age to come, have faith that everything, including human relations, in the age to come will be better than the current age. God saves the good wine for last! (John 2:10).