I haven't thought about this for a while, but I was recently reminded of it. I wonder if it is the case that there is marriage in the consummation. I refrain from referring to 'marriage in heaven' because there seem to be certain assumptions about heaven that make it difficult to think about there being marriage there. It seems that there is a general understanding among evangelicals that heaven is an ethereal place where we wear white tunics and walk around in a sort of fuzz. It's a non-physical place where we sit around the throne in a 'praise and worship' service singing
Shine, Jesus, Shine for all eternity.
For this reason, I speak of marriage in the consummation because I believe that in the consummation we shall be on earth. To be sure, an earth that is remade and perfected but earth nontheless. And while on earth, we shall be able to do what we were called to do in the garden, to wit, subdue the earth, take dominion, etc. This endeavour, however, will be one that won't be frustrated by sin. Our reasoning, emotions, and other abilities will have been completely redeemed and remade. No sin will hinder our understandings of the world and we shall be in a position to fulfill our mandage without hinderance (of course, we shan't be omniscience).
Given this, I find it odd that God, who saw fit to give Adam a wife in pre-fall Paradise to help fulfull the mandate, will change things all together and there won't be any familial relationships in the consummation. If marriage is a pre-lapsarian institution, why would it be any different in the consummation. This question is analagous to my finding it odd that my Baptist brothers maintain that there is no longer an initation rite for infants in the New Covenant. We find in the Old Covenant that circumcision is the initiation rite and it includes infants but when we come to the New, God makes a radical change and infants are no longer initiated into the Covenant. Odd! In short, all of that is to say, if God works through families in pre-fall and post-fall earth,
why does He change so radically in the consummation.Now, I hear many of you already saying something like, "This is not even an issue. It is a slam dunk case and the Bible speaks decisively on the question". And I hear you turning feaverishly to Matthew 23.30
For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
However, before you slam the door, and call the local heresy police, allow me a hearing. Notice what Jesus does
not say. He doesn't say they
aren't married nor that they
can't be married, just that they
don't. He simply claims that they
don't marry, which I take to mean that there won't be any singles bars in the consummation, that is, single men don't ask single women to marry them and single women aren't given away in marriage by their fathers.
Now a question I'm not sure how to answer is one brought up by a friend who never blogs. What if one is married more than once before the consummation, whice one will be the husband/wife in the consummation? I have no idea how to answer this question, but I'm equally unclear as to whether this is as problematic enough question to outweigh the aforementioned reasoning about marriage in the consummation.
What say ye?
