Will there be marriage in heaven?

The Lord's Verdict

Jesus Answers the Sadducees Concerning the Resurrection

At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

Matthew 22:30 (NIV)

Jesus explicitly declares that the institution of earthly marriage does not exist in the resurrected state.

In Matthew 22:30, the Lord Jesus settles the matter with absolute clarity: "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." The Sadducees, who rejected the resurrection of the dead entirely, came to Christ with what they assumed was an inescapable dilemma (Matthew 22:23-28). They constructed a scenario under the Mosaic levirate law in which seven brothers successively married the same woman as each died childless, demanding to know whose wife she would be in the resurrection. Jesus immediately exposed the fatal flaw in their thinking: they were mistaken because they knew neither the Scriptures nor the power of God (Matthew 22:29). They imagined the resurrection merely as an endless continuation of physical, temporal life under current earthly structures.

Christ dismantled their premise by revealing that the resurrected state fundamentally transcends the social orders of this fallen world (Mark 12:24-25). In Luke 20:34-36, Jesus expands on this distinction, explaining that "the children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: but they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." Human marriage is bound to mortality and succession; where death is swallowed up in victory, marriage no longer serves its earthly function. Furthermore, Jesus demonstrated that the Old Testament itself testified to this enduring life when God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, calling Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matthew 22:31-32; Luke 20:37-38). God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, guaranteeing that our resurrection life is anchored directly in His immortal presence.

The Earthly Boundary

Scripture Bounds Human Marriage to This Present Life

For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.

Romans 7:2 (NIV)

Paul shows that the binding covenant of marriage is legally and ontologically tied only to physical lifespan.

The Apostle Paul makes the legal and ontological boundaries of human matrimony explicit in Romans 7:2: "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband." God established marriage in the Garden of Eden as a holy, exclusive, one-flesh covenant between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24). It was uniquely designed to provide companionship, establish order, and fulfill the creation mandate to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28). Yet from its inception, God designed this sacred bond specifically for the temporal parameters of this earthly existence (Matthew 19:4-6).

Because marriage belongs to this present age, physical death brings a total and final dissolution to the marital covenant (Romans 7:3). Writing to the Corinthians, Paul reiterates that a wife is bound by law only as long as her husband lives; if he dies, she is completely free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:39). This legal freedom exists precisely because death severs the earthly covenant completely, leaving no marital obligations that carry over into eternity. Paul further cautions the church that "the time is short" and "the fashion of this world passeth away" (1 Corinthians 7:29-31). Earthly marriage is an honorable, temporary institution crafted for mortal pilgrims walking through a passing world, not an everlasting structure intended to govern our resurrected state in the world to come.

The Power of God

The Bodily Awakening to Everlasting Satisfaction

As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

Psalms 17:15 (NIV)

David anticipates waking in the resurrection to complete soul-satisfaction in the presence and likeness of God.

In Psalms 17:15, David declares the true longing and final contentment of the redeemed soul: "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." The Sadducees stumbled because they underestimated the infinite power of the Almighty, the God for whom nothing is too hard (Jeremiah 32:17; Luke 1:37). From antiquity, the Scriptures revealed that those sleeping in the dust of the earth will awaken to everlasting life, shining like the brightness of the firmament (Daniel 12:2-3). The early disciples themselves were slow to grasp what the Scriptures foretold concerning the resurrection (John 20:9), yet the written Word stands as an unwavering anchor of hope and comfort (Romans 15:4).

Resurrection is not a mere resuscitation of earthly flesh, but an astonishing transformation wrought by divine power. In 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, Paul explains that what is sown in corruption, dishonor, and weakness is raised in incorruption, glory, and power; the natural body gives way to a spiritual body fitted for heavenly communion. The Lord Jesus Christ will transform our lowly, mortal bodies to be conformed to His own glorious body by the very power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself (Philippians 3:20-21). When He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). In that exalted state, the human heart will not suffer any void from the cessation of earthly matrimony, because every longing will be fully swallowed up in the unhindered contemplation of God.

The True Bridegroom

Earthly Marriage Shadowing the Marriage of the Lamb

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

Ephesians 5:31-32 (NIV)

Paul reveals that the creational one-flesh union was from the beginning a mystery pointing to Christ and the Church.

Paul unveils the grand, eternal purpose behind the institution of human marriage in Ephesians 5:31-32: "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Earthly marriage was never meant to be the ultimate reality; it was always an earthly picture pointing toward an eternal, heavenly union. Throughout the Old Testament, God revealed Himself as the true Husband of His people, promising through the prophets that He would betroth them to Himself forever in righteousness, lovingkindness, and faithfulness (Hosea 2:19-20; Isaiah 54:5; Isaiah 62:5).

What the prophets foresaw as a promise finds its climactic fulfilment in the New Testament, where the church is presented as a pure, betrothed virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2). When the history of redemption reaches its appointed end, the shadow yields entirely to the substance. In Revelation 19:7-9, heaven erupts with thunderous praise because the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready, clothed in the fine linen of the righteous deeds of the saints. John beholds the holy city, New Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, establishing God’s everlasting dwelling among men (Revelation 21:2-3; Revelation 21:9). In eternity, earthly marriage ceases not because love diminishes, but because the shadow is consummated in the eternal embrace of the Bridegroom, where the Spirit and the Bride say, "Come" (Revelation 22:17).

Where in the Bible

The story in order

1. God institutes marriage (c. 4000 BC) · Genesis 2:24 · Establishes the one-flesh union for earthly life.
2. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob live (c. 2000 BC) · Matthew 22:31-32 · God is God of the living, affirming resurrection.
3. Moses at the burning bush (c. 1450 BC) · Luke 20:37-38 · Proves God's people live to Him, hence resurrection.
4. Lord betroths Israel (c. 750 BC) · Hosea 2:19-20 · God promises eternal union with His people.
5. Daniel's prophecy of awakening (c. 550 BC) · Daniel 12:2-3 · Foretells resurrection to life or shame.
6. Jesus answers Sadducees (c. AD 30) · Matthew 22:30 · Resurrected do not marry, like angels.
7. Jesus affirms lifelong marriage (c. AD 30) · Matthew 19:4-6 · Distinguishes earthly marriage from the age to come.
8. Paul on marriage and death (c. AD 55) · 1 Corinthians 7:39 · Death releases from marital bonds.
9. Paul on present world passing (c. AD 55) · 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 · Earthly arrangements, including marriage, are temporary.
10. Paul on Christ and church (c. AD 60) · Ephesians 5:31-32 · Human marriage pictures Christ and the church.
11. Paul on resurrection bodies (c. AD 55) · 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 · Bodies raised spiritual, immortal, heavenly.
12. John sees New Jerusalem (c. AD 95) · Revelation 21:2-3 · City prepared as bride; God dwells with men.
13. Marriage Supper of the Lamb (c. AD 95) · Revelation 19:7-9 · The consummation of Christ and His church.

Key words

Resurrection (Greek: anastasis (ἀνάστασις))

The bodily awakening of the dead to everlasting life or judgment. · Matthew 22:31

Marriage (Hebrew: 'ishshah (אִשָּׁה) and 'ish (אִישׁ))

The union of a man and woman, instituted by God for earthly life. · Genesis 2:24

Age to come (Greek: ho aiōn ho mellōn (ὁ αἰὼν ὁ μέλλων))

The future eternal state of believers in resurrection glory. · Matthew 22:30

Spiritual body (Greek: sōma pneumatikon (σῶμα πνευματικόν))

A resurrected body, transformed and immortal, suited for heavenly existence. · 1 Corinthians 15:44

Bride of the Lamb (Greek: numphē tou Arnou (νύμφη τοῦ Ἀρνοῦ))

The Church, eternally united with Christ in glory. · Revelation 21:9