Will We Be Married in Heaven?, Part 1

The afterlife is a mystery.

Yes, the Bible gives us a sneak preview that reveals glimpses of heaven, but since none of us have ever experience what it's like to step into eternity. Our curiosity has generated a long list of questions that linger on answer today on Insight for living Chuck Swindoll's teaching from Matthew chapter 22.

In this passage Jesus filled with a trick question from religious leaders, and in his response, we find an answer to the question at hand today. Chuck titled this message will we be married the gospel, Matthew chapter 22 and I'll be reading verses 23 through 33 from the new living translation. That same day Jesus was approached by some said you see religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question teacher, Moses said if a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother's name. Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children so his brother married the widow but the second brother also died and deferred brother married her.

This continued with all seven of them. Last of all, the woman also died so jealous whose wife will she be in the resurrection for all seven were married to her. Jesus replied your mistake is that you don't know the Scriptures and you don't know the power of God for the dead rise we will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven, but now as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead. Haven't you ever read about this in the Scriptures long after Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had died. God said I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, so he is the God of the living, not the when the crowds heard him they were astounded at his teaching, listening to Insight for living to study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll.

Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to Insight world.org/studies and now the message from Chuck that he titled with a question. Will we be married in heaven. Most people I know were fascinated over the life after death issue. First of all, were intrigued by death itself.

When we are with one that we love and it has been a long life and those eyes are closed for the last time were there trying to imagine what it is that that person is now going through as his own soul and spirit is removed from him invisibly and instantly and taken to be with the Lord and the body remains for us to deal with this body with dignity and gratitude that is intriguing is a huge mystery since we've never been there, we've never talked to someone who is gone there and has returned from it. We can only imagine, and imagination of people mixed with superstition is all over the page I read this past week about one who truly believed that angels give guided tours of heaven all people who enter the portals of heaven. There are people who visit cemeteries to talk to gravestones.

My mother led the lady across the street from us to Christ, Mrs. Roberts said married later in life and she dearly loved her husband. The two of them. Mr. Mrs. Roberts were delightful people, he suddenly was taken by a heart attack and she buried them in her heart was broken, my mother's heart went out to this lady across the street and she said to me one day I'm going to take some lemonade and cookies. And I'm going to talk to Mrs. Roberts because I understand she's been regularly going to the cemetery and trying to connect with her husband. I want to help her know what death is all about and what life is about.

Beyond this life.

As the Bible teaches. So pray for me and I remember as a little boy praying for my mother. She walked across the street. She came back all smiles.

Cookies were gone. I also noticed that and eliminated bit enjoyed. She had led Mrs. Roberts to Christ and Ms. Roberts had from that moment on bait. Her last visit to the cemetery. Or maybe I should put it like that. She did return, but she returned to talk to people other people at the cemetery who were trying to connect with the dead, and she regularly and faithfully as far as I remember, almost to the last of her own life. She faithfully told others about Christ as a set of form. She's the only cemetery evangelist I've ever met. She regularly talked about Jesus with those who would go on with their hearts broken superstition has appealed a with the whole subject of life after death. Did you know that the ancient Greeks often place a coin in in the mouth of the corpse to pay his fair across the Mystic River of death into the land of immortal life Norsemen of old were often buried with their horse so that they might ride proudly through the gates of heaven and along the streets of gold on their horses. Eskimos in Greenland for years when their children died would often bury the child with the doll that the child that the child had loved so that the dog would help guide them through what they called gifts code wasteland. All of the superstitious none of it referred to in the Scriptures, but all in a matter of tradition that was believed by a number of people over the years and I've only scratched the surface. The whole idea being raised from the dead and changed so that our bodies live forever is intriguing to us because we are so riveted to this earth, everything around us is based on life on this earth. Of course, and we can hardly even imagine life beyond this earth. Eternity will not be like this earth and all life beyond the grave will not be like life before the great and when you attempt to study that subject your left to all kinds of human opinions and ideas. And as I stated earlier, superstition. One of the larger books and I brought in my library is a book titled simply heaven by Randy Alcorn Randy as a reliable author's written a 516 page book on that one subject and admitting all the way through. It is not an exhaustive work much more could have been written because there is much to be learned from the Scripture and the whole subject of reincarnation is adding to our confusion. Some believe that you don't really pass from the site you return in another body, adding to the chaos of the subject. Scripture does not teach reincarnation.

It teaches that we die once and after death we face the future judgment time before the Lord will give account of our deeds eternity in heaven with our heavenly father and his son Jesus and with one another.

Amazingly, in spite of all this, been written in the Bible.

Many people I would even add most people have a real serious questions about the resurrection.

Many do not believe we will be raised at all, we live, we die and that's it. But this all the Scripture says listen to these words. The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord added worded, first Thessalonians 4 verse 18 comfort one another with these words, be comforted to know that those who have died will be raised. Those who have known and love the Lord in life will not be forgotten.

They will in fact be rewarded and will have an eternal kind of life that they will live face-to-face with Jesus and with one another in a conscious, glorified state. Not only are there people today who do not believe that there were people in Jesus day who did not believe in a resurrection fact there was a whole religious group who didn't believe in life after death we we meet up with them in verse 23 Matthew chapter 22 I invite you to turn there with me. As I mentioned earlier in this series, Jesus is in his final week on earth before he is taken under arrest, declared guilty, not proven guilty. He wasn't guilty he goes through the mockery of six illegal trials. He is then tortured mail to across and left to die and he too would be resurrected three days later. But before I go there, let's go back to this final week, the Pharisees and tried again and again.

He to prove that he's not qualified to be who he claims to be the Messiah. Each time they have been knocked back on their heels. Each time they have simply gone away. Realizing that they were not able to make their point of the Sadducees decide to give it a try. We meet them here in verse 23, the same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees, and the writer adds their religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead, there you have it. The Sadducees are smaller in number than the Pharisees. They were wealthy, sophisticated liberals of that day. Let me summarize. They rejected all things supernatural, did not believe in angels, the existence of angels are any supernatural spirits. They denied it all. They did not believe there was life beyond death. Therefore there was no such thing as future judgment, future rewards, penalties or punishment. No heaven, no hell. One man writes they were mean-spirited, rude and arrogant, self righteous bigots for the Merced UC therefore they come with a clock couldn't pass it up. It's it's is laying right out there and anybody with half a sense of humor would've seen it, so there it is better come with a question that's like a word problem word problems when you're in school and you studied math and you hated him. They always said to them, like a conundrum. A boy has a sack of five apples in the gets on the bus and this is done by his friend who has 18 apples using four of his 18 and the boy gives him three of his five apples. What color is the bus that part of the word problem.

I could never figure out whomever asked the question you expected to add. Now these Sadducees think they are so smart they're going to stop the brightest mind of the century as stupid of them to think they could do it but of course when you're arrogant, self-serving, rude and mean-spirited and you have no place in your theology for the supernatural. You comment Jesus with this kind of question look at it listening to Jesus, Moses said if a man dies without children, his brother should marry her widow and have a child who will carry on the brothers night but that's too simple. Let's let's make it complicated. Suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married then died without children.

So the next brother married her and died. There were no children in the next brother married her in, died without children and goes all the way down to the seven of them.

Last of all the woman also died. Which one will be her husband in heaven. Now the thing that makes this so weird is that that they they don't believe in heaven they don't believe in the resurrection, but there asking him about this so-called life after death with her eyes rolling thinking they could probably stump him if they add the number of brothers and the got this woman who was finally the widow of all of these men, and ultimately she goes to heaven who is going to be your husband.

There for them to think they could stop Jesus just as enough to make you smile the sky like my stepping in the ring with Mike Tyson or baby play little hoop with Lebron James who am I kidding, I couldn't hold a candle to either one of the they come arrogantly, but they look stupid Jesus. Listen to the question, by the way, he knew where they were going.

He was already with an answer, but he let them finish the question and then he what I would call comes to terms with the whole issue with his opening comment.

It's in verse 29. Look for yourself.

You are deceived or your Bible may read USAir. This news of living translation renders it your mistake is that when he goes on to tell him. The word is plum OPL AMA oh we get a word planet from it is the idea of wandering going astray getting off course you gotten way off course, you're out to lunch, we would paraphrase it because you do not know the Scriptures and you do not know the power of God. I give you a little tip here that might help you in your your own walk. This is a verse worth memorizing this in the summary explains why most people are confused spiritually. That's it in a nutshell is not meant to be insulting. It's meant to be informing the fact is Sadducees you know what you're talking about. You don't know what the Scriptures teach.

Furthermore, you don't know anything about the power of God all at this little sidebar before I go further if you want to trace areas of chaos in your own walk. You can trace the chaos back to one of these two reasons may be both. Either you got off course away from what Scripture teaches, which is easy to do if you don't know the Scriptures or you were not aware of the doctrines that relate to the power of God, a knowledge of the truths of God mixed with the knowledge of the word of God is put it this way, they didn't know the word of God, and they didn't know the God of the word you are and that no man's land here me you were at the mercy of anyone who comes knocking at your door or leaning across your desk at the office or some neighbor well-meaning neighbor who says I've gotta I got a real insight regarding life as it ought to be considered in the offer you some thoughts regarding new age of the whole movement of whatever may be the latest fad. If you do not know the Scriptures, and you're not plugged into the power of God, you are at the mercy of that individual. But I'll tell you if you know both you are calm and deliberate in your response. You are discerning and able to see through it all and able to give an answer that makes sense as Jesus does. Now let's look at his careful explanation look for yourself. By the way he reverses the order for some reason when he answers the question. He first answers the power of God. Issue and Billy turns to the Scripture issue regarding the power of God, look at what he says in verse 30. Let's take our time when the dead rise. They will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven look at the verse. If you were sitting at your kitchen table or in your study at your desk, you'd be able to take that verse apart and make three significant statements about because that's what Jesus does. He's addressing the power of God. Please observe first how much he believes in the resurrection, not if the dead will be raised, but from the dead riots stop right here and assure you when your loved one who is known the Lord Jesus through life passes from this life to the next.

You can be sure that that body will be raised from the dead, God will see to it they will never body will never be lost overlooked or abandoned Jesus says the dead rise.

He believes clearly in the resurrection they did not didn't hold it back because he knew what the truth was theologically when the dead rise. That's first when the dead rise. Second, please notice what he says about marriage. They will neither marry nor be given in memory so in eternity future there will not be wedding ceremonies. There will not be dad's giving daughters away there will not be the familiarity related to the marriage life on this earth, not this a good place for me to pause and extend. This was reminder, you must discipline yourself to think outside the terms of the familiar. What's familiar to all of us is life on this earth, we, to the best of our ability pretty well understand what life is about. Oh were familiar with weddings were familiar with people falling in love were familiar with the dad to go through a giving away daughters and moms who were at the wedding were familiar with that seen that's very earthly has nothing to do with eternity okay when you're thinking about life after this life, you must remove from your mind, and discipline yourself to think outside the realm of the familiar, as you focus on the unfamiliar K salicylate Jesus won't stand.

They will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Now let's get very practical.

You mean I will know my wife in heaven doesn't say that you mean you won't be close to your spouse. You're married on earth you will be clued. It doesn't say that this is talking about the act of marriage and giving people into the commitment of marriage and by the way, remember in the valves that you take when you're married till death at death is a party obviously a party on this earth, and there is a different kind of relationship. When we step into eternity. We've only scratched the surface today and I'll urge you to keep listening when Chuck Swindoll digs deeper looking at Matthew chapter 22.

In answering the question. Will we be married in heaven. To learn more about Chuck and this ministry. Please visit us online@insightworld.org if you would like to continue tackling the subject right now rather than waiting for Tuesday's delivery of insight for living. I remind you that every sermon of trucks is complemented with searching the Scriptures study notes. This resource is free and is made available online. You can type your own notes right into the online document or if you prefer, feel free to download and print out the study notes to access the searching the Scriptures guide for Chuck's daily teaching go to insight.org/studies the world of podcasting is growing every day and you might be surprised to learn that insight for living was an early adopter of this technology making it very simple to optimize your listing experience every day. You can also stream these daily programs directly from our website or download the insight for living at take advantage of a wide variety of helpful resources and tools on your mobile device.

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Now for my friend Dave Speicher ship sure to join us again Tuesday to hear insight for living with Chuck Swindoll the preceding message will we be married in heaven was copyrighted in 2017 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R.

Swindoll. All rights reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited