There is a scripture that has baffled me for months now? Well, not so much the scripture but rather the Christian communities zeal to claim its interpretation as gospel without regard to scripture contrary.

Matthew 22:23-32, Time and time again, people have felt the need to remind me that Matthew 22 states " there is no marriage in heaven". And here lies my issue with DEFINITIVE statements of "so called" fact regarding scripture. Two thousand years and countless translations/interpretations later, how can anyone say with finite confidence that their interpretation of the scripture is without flaw?

Matthew 22:23-32 " That same day the Sadducee's, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. Finally, the woman died. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?” Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[b]? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

So here is what I know....

God loves love. And so it was that he created the union of man and woman (Genesis 2:18). A union made as a part of his original creation on the perfect earth as it was BEFORE the darkness came in the Garden of Eden.

Revelations 21 tells us that God will one day create a new earth. By this, earth will be restored to His original creation. So my question is then why would the new earth not once again include the union of man and woman? If it was good (Genesis 1:31) then why would he change the plan when the new earth is created? When earth was first created, there was NO DEATH. Yet He still created the union of man and woman as a part of His perfect plan. He didn't create an earth that centered only in worship of Him as individuals. But rather He created human relationships that TOGETHER, worshipped and honored Him through their love for one another.

In Matthew 22, a reference is made regarding ignorance of scripture. By this, I am reminded of Matthew 19:6 "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate". In other words, regardless of what Moses says, GOD said in His SCRIPTURE that a woman is not to marry over and over again as a matter of fulfilling Moses command. Rather,of those seven marriages, only that which God has put together, is eternal.

In 1 Corinthians 7:8 we are told "Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried". So the scenario the Sadducee's brought to Jesus is not one with scriptural foundation, hence their ignorance. Perhaps a woman who marries seven times, for the sole purpose of fulfilling Moses commands and producing children will not see heaven at the resurrection?

I don't understand why so many Christians choose to follow scripture that bind man and woman and makes them ONE (Genesis 2:24) ONLY WHEN OUR BODIES ARE ALIVE. But are quick to point to Matthew 22 upon death, as if the beautiful gift of marriage ends in an instant upon physical death. Just like that....with a flip of a switch, all the scripture that labors about love and marriage becomes obsolete simply because Matthew 22 hints of it? Because of a group of non believers (Sadducee's) created a mock scenario, counter to scripture, in an attempt to fool Jesus?

And still some say, "what about divorce. If you divorce and remarry then go to heaven, who would be your spouse". Again I go back to scripture Matthew 19:6 "What God has put together, let no man put asunder". So many marriages are created by the free will of man and not by the divine hands of God. As a result, we see divorce. But what God has created, divorce can not destroy. When God truly binds two hearts to one, this is His creation. A perfect creation with eternal consequences.

If marriage is just a game we play while we walk this earth then why are the book shelves littered with Christian writers swooning over the important Bible principles of marriage? Why are so many preachers laboring hour after hour preaching how to live a Godly marriage. Why so much effort, if according to many, at the blink of an eye, our marriages, (AKA mortal life partners) is eternally complete.

I have prayed over this for months. I have prayed for discernment and that the truth, His truth, be revealed to me without taint of mortal confusion and will. I keep trying to see what so many others see in this verse. That marriage ends when bodies die. But He keeps encouraging me with beautiful confirmations. Many of you will never understand what I am saying. But he patiently keeps leading me to the same conclusion. The conclusion that marriage does not end just because one of the two co joined hearts stops beating. Marriage was in the beginning and is in the end, an intricate part of His perfect plan.

In Christ.....