“Many of you sitting here beside your spouse – your soulmate. Is God really just going to erase that? It’s possible. The plain reading of Jesus’ words give us that impression. But I would like to give us a few things to think about. First, marriage is incredibly important to God. It’s the first relationship He instituted in the Garden – before the fall. He sees it as a covenant. He is very upset when that covenant is broken. He says that He joins husband and wife together and let no man separate it. Second, marriage is a major theme in heaven passages. The marriage of the Lamb. The Bride prepared for Him. New Jerusalem is described as a bride.
Now, for that reason, some commentators say, “Well, marriage in this life is just a signpost pointing to our ultimate relationship with Jesus.” And, I get it. In heaven, there’s no more temple because Jesus is our temple. There’s no more sun or moon because Jesus is our light. Isaiah 54 says, your Maker is your Husband.
But here’s the thing: Some relationships do carry over into eternity. Revelation 21-22 references nations multiple times. David expected to enter eternity still in relation to the baby son he lost.
We aren’t stripped of our identities in heaven. And in Song of Songs, speaking of marital love, we’re told love is as strong as death.
So, all this to say, I don’t think it’s quite as easy as just saying, “Marriage is erased.” I’m certainly not trying to cancel out what Jesus said here. Of course not. That would be making the same mistake the Sadducees made. But there’s a lot we don’t know about the eternal state.”
