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Introduction by Dr. John Lee, johnkhlee at fastmail.fm Many Christians believe that marriage is for this world and this life only. When we enter into the new heaven and new earth, there is no marriage, for Jesus says, “In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.” (Matt 22:30)[1] Some thought that since there is no marriage in heaven, Christians resurrect and transform into a neutral or a unisex gender; everyone lives a separate and single life in heaven forever. Is it true that we will forever live a single life without a spouse in heaven? Why then did God create male and female in the very beginning? Why did He marry them as husband and wife? Why did God also say, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him” (Gen 2:18)? God decided to make Adam a helper on the sixth day of creation, which was before the fall. Moreover, why did God observe that everything that He made, including husband and wife relationship, and was indeed very good at the beginning? Will God abolish marriage in the new heaven and new earth? If with careful study, is it possible that marriage is eternal, and that everyone will accompany his/her own spouse in a loving and wonderful relationship? Could the husband and wife relationship God established in the Garden of Eden once again be restored in the new heaven and new earth? After all, can this be wonderful news to every faithful believer? Marriage Is Created by God At the beginning, God created Adam and Eve and matched them as husband and wife. The Bible says, “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Gen 1:28). Again He said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen 2:24). Also note that God not only gave man and woman relationship and companionship but He also made males and females of animals, birds, insects, fishes, and other living things. Ellen White said, “After the creation of Adam every living creature was brought before him to receive its name; he saw that to each had been given a companion.”[2] Even until the great Flood, animals and birds were brought into the ark two and two, male and female. She said, “Angels went before these animals and they followed, two and two, male and female, and clean beasts by sevens. These beasts, peacefully and solemnly marched into the ark. The sky seemed clouded with birds of every description. They came flying to the ark, two and two, male and female, and the clean birds by sevens.”[3] Aside from animals, other living creatures were also in pairs. Even flowers, trees, plants, vegetables, and grains need male and female counterparts to fertilize its seeds for its kinds. It is the creation of God, nothing to do with sin. Systematically, non-living things work in opposing yet complementary forces. Take for instance, the magnetic force arises from differential gradients of the South Pole and the North Pole magnetic fields. In an atom or molecule, it is necessary to have same number of protons and electrons to be stable. Similarly, electric force needs differential positive and negative charges to activate the flow of electric current. All these examples reveal the intricate and intrinsic design that God has preordained at the beginning of creation; these physical principles are operational in the universe constantly and are unaffected by the introduction of sin to this planet Earth. Relationship and Principle in Eden In the beginning, God created Adam and Even, made them husband and wife, and bless them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen 1:28). Ellen White said: After the creation of Adam every living creature was brought before him to receive its name; he saw that to each had been given a companion, but among them, “there was not found a help mate for him.” Among all the creatures that God had made on the earth, there was not one equal to man. And God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help mate for him.” Man was not made to dwell in solitude; he was to be a social being. Without companionship the beautiful scenes and delightful employments of Eden would have failed to yield perfect happiness. Even communion with angels could not have satisfied his desire for sympathy and companionship. There was none of the same nature to love and to be loved.[4] If Adam and Eve were faithful to God, they would have been husband and wife forever, producing children as other un-fallen worlds. When those children became adults, they would marry as husband and wife and continue to populate the earth, according to God‘s plan for the creation. This earth would have been fully developed with wonderfulness, happiness, beauty and perfection without sin and sickness as other un-fallen worlds in the universe. As Ellen White said, “Limited to the earth, he (Satan) will not have access to other worlds to tempt and annoy those who have never fallen.”[5] Since the people of the un-fallen worlds are faithful to God, no sin enters into those worlds to taint any relationships between a husband and his wife. So, relationships are wonderfully perfect forever. Again, Ellen White said, “Christ came in human form to show the inhabitants of the un-fallen worlds and of the fallen world that ample provision has been made to enable human beings to live in loyalty to their Creator.”[6] The Perpetuation of Relationship after the Fall The relationship of Adam and Even as husband and wife was continuous even after the fall. They still love each other and need each other for reproduction. Other living creatures are growing and producing offspring according to the reproduction principle of God. Ellen G. White said, “God celebrated the first marriage. Thus the institution has for its originator the Creator of the universe. ‘Marriage is honorable’ (Heb. 13:4); it was one of the first gifts of God to man, and it is one of the two institutions that, after the fall, Adam brought with him beyond the gates of Paradise. When the divine principles are recognized and obeyed in this relation, marriage is a blessing; it guards the purity and happiness of the race, it provides for man's social needs, it elevates the physical, the intellectual, and the moral nature.”[7] Sin entered the earth when Adam sinned; and the curse and suffering of human beings followed. However, sin did not corrupt the physical laws and principles that govern the universe. For example, the earth, the sun, the moon and the stars are still revolving in their invisible tracts since the beginning of time (see 2 Pet 3:3-7). Similarly, the principle of marriage is forever, unchanged by sin. Humans are God’s creatures. Man and woman know how to be intimate with each other, before and after the fall, as designed by God. Clifford and Joyce Penner in their book, The Gift of Sex: A Christian Guide to Sexual Fulfillment, says, “We are sexual beings by reaction. Sexuality is part of God’s plan of creation. Our maleness and femaleness, our sexuality, is not something added on, or part of our sinful natures; it is part of the original perfect creation of mankind.”[8] As the Song of Solomon says, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth--for your love is better than wine . . . we will be glad and rejoice in you. We will remember your love more than wine” (Song 1:2, 4). The attraction and affection of husband and wife are also creations by God, and are wonderful and precious gifts from God. He has designed husband and wife abilities to love and to be loved. The Bible says, “Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised” (Song 8:7). Jesus Confirmed Marriage Jesus performed the first miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-11). It showed that Jesus had confirmed marriage. Therefore, marriage is good and normal. One day, the Pharisees questioned Jesus about divorce; they asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?’ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matt 19:3-6). Obviously, Jesus does not agree to divorce. For the Bible has said, “For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence, says the LORD of host” (Mal 2:16). Likewise, Paul confirmed marriage. He said, “Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each women have her own husband. Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does” (1 Cor 7:2-4). Paul also said, “Marriage is honorable among all” (Heb 13:4). Again he said, “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself” (Eph 5:28). “No man is an island,” is an axiom that reminds all that in psychological and physical human nature, man and woman need each other to love and to be loved, and they need each other to establish a family to live a complete life in this world. We believe that the new world to come should also be the same. Marriage is Eternal God has created three principles before Adam’s fall. First, six days are for labor. Second, the seventh day is the Sabbath. Third, marriage is a husband and wife relationship. These three matters are permanent and have remained unchanged even after sin entered into the world. For instance, the Bible says that the people of God will work to build houses and plant vineyards in six days; they will worship God on every New Moon and Sabbath (see Is 65:17-22; 66:22-23). We believe that God will not abolish marriage in the world to come. Though marriage is not mentioned as clearly as the Sabbath, we know what God sanctioned as very good at the beginning will not be undone in the new world. Colin and Russell Standish put this way, “It was God’s purpose that a husband and wife should live together for eternity; and after sin separated man from God, the purpose was still the same that husband and wife should live together until the death of one of the partners.”2 Additional, Charles Crider and Robert Kistler in their book, The Seventh-day Adventist Family: An Empirical Study, affirm that marriage is permanent. They said, “It is very clear that while Adventists may had some misgivings about the marriage ceremony, its religiousness, and who should perform it, they have never deviated from the firm conviction that marriage is permanent. Once a marriage has been performed it is binding upon the two parties “as long as they both shall live.”1 As the Bible says that death is but only a dreamless sleep (see Ecl 9:5-6; John 11:11-14). When Christ returns those who are faithful to Him, He will awake them and bring them to heaven for one thousand years. In the period of millennium, by God’s marital principle, we have reason to believe that God will rearrange and match all the saints to be husband and wife as Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. At the end of the millennium, they will return as a lovely couple to the new world and live happily and lovely forever and ever. For God in Revelation says, “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev 21:5). What Adam has lost in the Garden of Eden Christ will redeem, restore and make all things new in the new world. Christ claims that He is the Redeemer; the plan of the salvation is also the story of redemption. Accordingly, the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). This heaven and earth was also new in Genesis is the same new heaven and new earth mentioned in Revelation. For the Garden of Eden has been renewed to its original status as the new heaven and new earth in Revelation. Ellen White said: In the beginning, man was created in the likeness of God, not only in character, but in form and feature. Sin defaced and almost obliterated the divine image; but Christ came to restore that which had been lost. . . Restored to the tree of life in the long-lost Eden, the redeemed will “grow up” (Malachi 4:2) to the full stature of the race in its primeval glory. The last lingering traces of the curse of sin will be removed, and Christ’s faithful ones will appear in “the beauty of the Lord our God,” in mind and soul and body reflecting the perfect image of their Lord.[9] In vision, she has seen the Garden of Eden had been restored. She said: The Son of God redeemed man’s failure and fall; and now, through the work of the atonement, Adam is reinstated in his first dominion. Transported with joy, he beholds the trees that were once his delight--the very trees whose fruit he himself had gathered in the days of his innocence and joy. He sees the vines that his own hands have trained, the very flowers that he once loved to care for. His mind grasps the reality of the scene; he comprehends that this is indeed Eden restored, more lovely now than when he was banished from it. The Saviour leads him to the tree of life and plucks the glorious fruit and bids him eat. He looks about him and beholds a multitude of his family redeemed, standing in the Paradise of God.”[10] Hallelujah! Praises and thanks to be the Lord for his wonderful redemption! Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi in his book, The Marriage Covenant, says, “If God created human beings at the beginning as male and female, with the capacity to experience an oneness of intimate fellowship, there is no reason to suppose that He will recreate them at the end as unisex beings, who will live as single persons without the capacity to experience the oneness of fellowship existing in man/woman relationship.”[11] And again he said, “If God found His creation of human beings as male and female very good (Gen 1:31) at the beginning, would He discover it to be not so good at the end? We have reason to believe that what was ‘very good’ for God at the beginning will also be ‘very good’ for Him at the end.”[12] Neither Marry nor Given in Marriage Jesus said, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven” (Matt 22:30). Many believe that since there is neither marriage nor given in marriage in heaven, there will not be any husband and wife relationship in heaven. Probably, we have misunderstood this biblical text. Initially, the disciples always misunderstand the word of Christ. Take for instance when Jesus said to the disciples, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” The disciples misunderstand as it is because they have taken no bread (Matt 16:6-7). In another instance, Jesus told Peter, “If I will that he (John) remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.” The disciples misunderstand that John would not die before Christ’s return (John 21:22-23). Other examples come to mind about how the masses misunderstood Jesus. When Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews thought Christ was talking about the temple building; actually, he was speaking of the temple of his body (John 2:19-21). During Pilate's judgment, Christ acknowledged that He was the Christ, the Son of God, but they said that He had said blasphemy (Matt 26:63-65). On the cross, Jesus cried for God, but they thought that He was calling for Elijah. In the nature which God had created, throughout all the ages people by their sight have misunderstood that the Sun rounds the Earth, actually, it is the Earth rounds the Sun. Likewise, Matthew 22:30 have been widely misunderstood. The Sadducees do not believe in resurrection, and they made a story to test Jesus, saying, “Whose wife among the seven will she be? For they all had her.” According to Luke, Jesus answered and said to them, “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 any more, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20: 34-36). Note that when Luke says, “They are equal to the angels,” he means that humans will not die but will live forever like angels in heaven. Thus, the comparison to angels is for longevity and not of marriage. When Matthew and Luke’s records are combined, a clearer image emerges. Their meanings are, “For in the resurrection, those who are counted worthy to attain that age, they neither marry nor are given in marriage at that world, nor can they die any more, for they are equal to the angels.” Just as on the sixth day of creation, God matched Adam and Eve as husband and wife, and then they entered the new world as a loving couple, who never marry nor are given in marriage after that. God’s match-making is far superior than the earthly marriage. Everyday people marry and are given in marriage, giving birth, divorce, and die because this is a sin-sick fallen world. But the world to come is wonderful and perfect for each has his/her own spouse; all live in pairs, faithful and loving each other forever and ever. God would have joined them together or they select their ideal spouse according to God’s will in millennium at Heaven before they enter into the new world. There will be no misunderstanding, sorrow, hatred, quarrel, and neither death nor divorce. Therefore, in such condition, Jesus simply proclaimed that in that world people will neither marry nor are given in marriage. What God has joined together, let not man separate. God Will Match-make for All the Saints Christian divorcees and spouses who cannot mutually get along are worried that in heaven, they will be stuck to the same person whom they do not like on earth. Will God re-match the same persons together again in heaven? Such persons will not even enter heaven if they hold hatred! One does not need to argue and worry about who will be one's spouse in heaven. Is it the same spouse in this world? Nobody knows, only God knows. If husband and wife are love each other so much that they desire to become an eternal couple, they may ask God to give them permission during the millennium, God may give them. This matter only God knows and make the ultimate decision. God will match the best spouse for the faithful saints during the millennium in Heaven. The marriages of this world are according to human choices and not of God’s direct match. Moreover, human’s sinful flesh, sinful nature, and sinful thoughts keep the marriage from being perfect. Many marriages have problems, such as a single having none and others having multiple wives. God who has judged and numbered their hairs knows their needs, just as He had matched Adam and Eve. He will match perfectly husband and wife for all the saints to total satisfaction. For all believers whose characters will be changed like Jesus to obey God completely, the sinful flesh, nature or thoughts are abandoned. God, who is our heavenly Father, will take care of everything that our minds cannot understand now. What God matches for everyone is the best. Each one will be perfectly happy in heaven forever and ever. The Fulfilling Plan of God Finally, God’s earthly plan will be fulfilled. The earth will be filled with saints, having dominion over the earth (Gen 1: 27-28). God has chosen his people from all ages since Christ’s atonement. Therefore, the number of people elected will be sufficient to populate the new world. Will procreation be needed in heaven? Dr. Bacchiocchi said, “In the context of the hypothetical situation of seven brothers marrying the same woman to give her an offspring, Christ’s reference to not marrying or giving in marriage but being like angels, most likely means that marriage as means of procreation will no longer exist in the world to come.”[13] However, the prophet Isaiah has prophesied that the saints in new heaven and new earth, "They shall not build in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble; for they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them" (Is 65:23). There are may same meaning translations in this verse, such as "bear children" in NIV, RSV; “beget children” in New American Version;“give birth to children”in New Century Version (also see Is 66:7-10; Gen 3:16). SDA Bible Commentary in Isaiah 65:23, Bring forth, saying, “Heb. Yalad, ‘to bring forth children.’”[14] If God has blessed them to bring forth children (or bear children, beget children, give birth to children) in the new world as Adam and Eve, then we have no double to believe that the saints will enjoy their sweet, harmony and perfect marital relationship in the new world. At the end, God will match all the saints as one husband and one wife, and bless them to produce children, establish a happy and healthy family in the new world to come. They will never part again and live with God the Father, Lord Jesus Christ, all the saints, and all the creatures lovingly and happily in the new heaven and new earth forever and ever . . . . Amen. Questions and Answers 1. In heaven there will be many fulfilling relationships. What we can enjoy the most is that we will be with God and Jesus. Spousal relationship is not our priority. Answer: Yes. In heaven, there are indeed many wonderful things to enjoy. The most wonderful thing is with God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ. However, the relationship with a spouse is one of the billion wonderful gifts of God, which is unique that no other can replace. All gifts have their functions without becoming conflicting to others. God and Lord Jesus Christ are the God and Lord of universe and they know our daily needs. They will match a spouse for us to love, to share, to accompany just as God knows it is not good for Adam to live alone. He created Eve as a wife, to stand beside him, to love and to be loved as a lover and helper for Adam. 2. Sex has been perceived by many as dirty. It brings many problems, such as AIDS, adultery, premarital sex, abortion, and murder. How can God allow sex in heaven to pollute the wonderful land? Answer: In the beginning, God designed and created sex which was good and sacred, and had nothing to do with sin. It is not only for procreation but it is also a healthy ingredient for a solid marital relationship. As Lewis Rambo in his book, The Divorcing Christian, says, “Our bodies and our sexual desires are God’s gift to us, not perverse, evil things.”[15] And Jeffrey and Pattiejean Brown in their book, The Topal Marriage, says, “It is God’s intention that sexual intercourse take place with the security of a committed marital relationship.”[16] And also they say, “Sex is a gift of God. Sex is, in fact, God’s wedding gift to every married couple and it is a gift He does not want opened early.”[17] In addition, Cleveland and Philip McDonald in their book, Creating a Successful Christian Marriage, say, "Thus the phrase 'they shall be one flesh' is evidence that sex is God-given and becomes sinful only when it is misused and perverted. God intends for husband and wife to express their love through the sexual relationship. . . . In the atmosphere of faithfulness, where the sex act is one of the expressions of love."[18] The Bible says, “Marriage is honorable among all” (Heb 13:4). God created sex for the marriage and one has to be faithful to his/her spouse. Thus, sex within the marriage is good and wonderful; it is the blessing and most precious gift of God in faithful marriage life. There is no AIDS, and other sicknesses unless commit adultery or do other lawlessness as in this world. Since Jesus proclaimed that till heaven and earth pass a way, one jot or one little will by no means pass from the Ten Commandments, therefore, we need to keep the Ten Commandments in heaven included the fifth Commandment: “Honor your father and your mother.” The seventh Commandment: “You shall not commit adultery.” And the tenth Commandment: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” (Ex 20:12, 14, 17). Therefore, there is still have parent and children, husband and wife family relationship in heaven.The birds, insects, fishes, and animals need opposite sex to produce offspring; while plants and trees need male and female counterparts to fertilize its seeds for its kinds. In heaven we will eat the fruits of life each month, it is necessary that these counterparts need to fertilize its seeds too. 3. Heaven is a wonderful place, as the Bible says, “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” (1Cor 2:9). Then how can you know there is marriage in heaven? Answer: If you read the text carefully, you will discover the text is not talking about heaven. Actually in the context, Paul speaks, “The wisdom of God in a mystery the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory" (1 Cor 2:7). This text was quoted from Isaiah, “For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him” (Is 64:4). It is talking God’s wisdom and His actions are so wonderful that we can neither think, nor hear, nor understand. In fact, heaven is neither dream-like, surreal, imagination-based, wind-like, nor shadowy, it is real. Heaven is genuine and wonderful, as God proclaimed, “Behold, I make all things new… for these words are true and faithful” (Rev 21:5). This world is the prolongation of the Garden of Eden. But because of sin, the world has become polluted and chaotic. In retrospect, more than six thousand years ago in the Garden of Eden, everything was new, beauty and perfect. God saw that Adam was not good being alone, so He created and matched Eve to Adam as a perfect couple. A Chinese proverb says, "Wishing all lovers become marriage couples ultimately." This is the desire of all human beings regardless time, nation, language, and race. In fact, in the everlasting Kingdom of Heaven, if God does not match all the saints to be husband and wife, and let them to love and to be loved intimately, and enjoy together all wonderful and beautiful things in Heaven, it will not be completely perfect, and have not reach to its original plan of God who made male and female in the beginning. Finally, God will delete sins and all its marks; He will make all things anew at the end. In other words, the new heaven and new earth mentioned in Revelation will be once again the Garden of Eden after has been made anew by God. What the first Adam had lost, the second Adam Jesus Christ will restore more abundantly including a husband-wife couple system. This is the final fulfillment of the plan of creation and redemption of God. 4. The Bible does not explicitly talk about God’s matching male with female to be husband and wife in heaven. Does the ratio of male to female who are entering heaven have to be the same for the matching to work? Answer: Let us remember all good gifts are from God who never changes. As the Bible says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). God never changes, so the truths, the principles, and His laws never change as well. All these principles are functioning in the entire universe and will continue forever. Ellen G. White said: In the instruction given in our schools, the natural and the spiritual are to be combined. The laws obeyed by the earth reveal the fact that it is under the masterly power of an infinite God. The same principles run through the spiritual and the natural world. . . . The Author of nature is the Author of the Bible. Creation and Christianity have one God. God is revealed in nature, and God is revealed in His word. In clear rays the light shines from the sacred page, showing us the living God, as represented in the laws of His government, in the creation of the world, in the heavens that He has garnished.[19] The Bible does not mention everything in the new world. Sometimes the Bible only mentions one point of a whole, leading us to think and to understand the rest. Though there is no text that mentions God would match the saints before they enter the new world, neither does the Bible mention everything in heaven. For instance, the Bible only mentions, “They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit” (Is 65:21) in the new heaven and new earth. It does not mention what other kinds of fruits to eat. Is it true that we have nothing but grapes and fruits of life to eat? The Bible only mentions a point, readers need to understand the rest, as the Bible says, “Whoever reads, let him understand” (Matt 24:15). Even Jesus Christ’s words and deeds are not all recorded in the Bible (see John 21:25). What we read in the Bible is only the most important portions. We need to think and understand other points through His unchanging principles. Jesus said, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?’ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matt 19:4-6). If we understand that the new heaven and new earth in Revelation is the heaven and earth that have been made new in Genesis, God had matched Adam and Eve, He will likewise match all the saints. It is God’s divine power and right. Think about it, since God has created and matched Adam and Eve as husband and wife at creation week, and death is but only a dreamless sleep, what happens when Adam and Eve wake up on resurrection day? Would God who hates divorce abolish their husband-wife relationship and divorce them in the new world to come? Jesus in a parable said, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good” (Matt 20:15)? In Revelation, Christ redeems His Church as the symbol of the marriage of the Lamb, a great multitude in Heaven saying with a loud voice, "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God" (Rev 19:7-9). Though this is the symbol of unity of Christ with His Church—the Holy City New Jerusalem, yet it could be manifest the marriage of the saints in millennium of heaven is true, holy, good and happy. The number of believers in this world will not be the same number of the faithful who will pass the judgment of God and be permitted to enter heaven. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matt 7:21). God will judge and match with them, male and female, two and two. It is God’s divine right and power to bestow upon a person with the most wonderful gift--a perfectly matching spouse. Even though the number of saints of male and female is different, God has a thousand ways to solve the imbalance ratio. As He used Adam’s flesh and bone to make Eve to match with him, He can create perfect spouses from ribs too. We should have faith in God who is a wonderful, kind and lovely heavenly Father. He will do everything excellent for us throughout eternity. (End)
[1]The Bible texts of the paper are quoted from New King James Version. [2]Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1958), 46 [3]Ellen G. White, The Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 3 (Battle Creek, MI: Seventh-day Adventist Pub. Assn., 1945), 67. [4]Ellen G. White, Conflict and Courage (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1970), 14. [5]Ellen G. Whit, The Great Controversy (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assn. 1950), 659. [6]Ellen G. White, Select Messages, Book 1 (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1980), 227. [7]Ellen G. Whit, The Adventist Home (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1980), 26. [8]Clifford and Joyce Penner, The Gift of Sex: A Christian Guide to Sexual Fulfillment (Waco, TE: Word Books Publisher, 1981), 35. 1Colin D. Standish and Russell R. Standish, Family Crisis? God’s Solution! (Rapids, VA: Hartland, 1994), 212. 2Charles C. Crider and Robert C. Kistler, The Seventh-day Adventist Family: An Empirical Study (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University, 1979), 50. [9]Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1939), 644-645. [10]Ibid, 647-648. [11]Samuele Bacchiocchi, The Marriage Covenant (Berrien Springs, MI: Biblical Perspectives, 1991), 87. [12]Ibid. [13]Ibid., 81 [14]Lewis R. Rambo, The Divorcing Christian (Nashville, TE: Abingdon Press, 1983), 69. [15]Jeffrey and Pattiejean Brown, The Topal Marriage (Granthan, England: Autumn House, 1999), 38. [16]Ibid., 86. [17]Cleveland Mc Donald and Philip McDonald, Creating a Successful Christian Marriage (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books House, 1975), 41.
[18]Ellen
G. White, Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students (Mountain View,
CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1943), 395. |
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