In the —– community, they did this quiz which asked whether or not the respondent believed that they would still be married to their spouse in heaven. Obviously the answer was generally “no” (Luke 20:35), but with an addendum saying something to the effect of “I think it’s really sad, but God knows best and I guess I won’t be unhappy about it when I get there.”I was thinking about it tonight.
Marriage is an illustration of Christ’s relationship with the Church and of God’s relationship to Israel. Abraham’s attempted sacrifice of Isaac was an archetype of Christ’s sacrifice, but to limit the meaning of the story to a mere foreshadowing of later truth would leave out many valuable things (such as God’s faithfulness to Abraham and His promise, for instance). Similarly, saying that the be all and end all of marriage is to prefigure God’s relationship to the elect would miss other important points. Nevertheless, I find the typological relationship to be very strong. This is not an incidental, quasi-relevant part of the institution; it’s at the very heart.
With that in mind, the question of “dissolved” marriages in heaven: when Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, the people who looked on it were saved from death. That’s a Big Thing. It’s also obviously something they wanted to hold onto; in 2 Kings 18, we see that the serpent was still in existence, treasured through the years. They’d made it into an idol; instead of valuing God for the grace His gift represented, they valued the gift itself.
Believers should have no comprehension of that; for us, the serpent is replaced by Christ. The type has been fulfilled in the truest and highest sense, and the person who would hesitate at the loss of the serpent when Christ Himself stands as Savior is, for lack of a better word, foolish. Why grasp at the shadow when the reality is standing before you?
To apply this to marriage: marriage has, as I said, other purposes than pure typology. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7, “but because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.” This doesn’t have a parallel to Christ and the Church; Christ is obviously not going to indulge in any sort of immorality. But, a critical thing to note here is that this other purpose will cease entirely and absolutely in heaven. Other aspects of marriage — fellowship, leadership, joy, etc. — are represented by Christ and the Church and thus participate in the type. They are imperfect for us, but will be fulfilled and complete in Christ.
We won’t be sad about the lack of marriage in heaven — and we shouldn’t be sad about it here — because marriage is kind of like the serpent. It is a great and wonderful thing, enjoyable and treasurable, and a very wonderful demonstration of grace and love from our Heavenly Father. It is a good gift. Yet the glory is God’s alone in all things, and so the ultimate focus of believers where marriage is concerned must be Him. It is a gift that leads us to value God, not to value the gift for itself. Marriage is a foreshadowing, of this infinitely great marriage that is enacted in Revelation 19: “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.” This is the marriage we anticipate in heaven. God will take His gift to us now and multiply it until it is as immeasurably distinct from the original as Christ is from the serpent. There is no loss; only grace.
It’s a concept that I think is important to understand and rejoice in now. We are observing or participating in something wonderful, but all its wonderfulness pales in comparison to the eventuality it represents. It’s an awesome thought, actually; however good it is, that which is to come is infinitely better.
I can’t wait.
