Do marriages really end at death?
Question:
Marriage vows say, “Until death, do we part,” is this the truth? If so, I am so sad about this. I need to understand. Though, I cannot find a definite answer. I know there are things that we are not to know. Also, I understand that I am human. I am searching for a human answer. Is it even possible to gain a biblical understanding?
Is it simply that we can have a spouse here (on earth as mortals) on the other side of eternity, for a time (a lifetime, no matter how short or long), and when that person dies, is your husband and wife finished? Complete?
For me, if my husband passed away now, I wouldn’t have any desire to find another “life mate.” He is my one true love. Do these people have a different understanding than I do? Is seeking a new spouse simply based on a “need/desire” for sexual relations? I realize this is a bit blunt, but I can’t explain it any better. For me, marriage is so much more than a physical relationship. However, for others, their physical (sexual) needs require another mate(in order not to sin).
Honestly, how do I come to the understanding that when we die or our spouse dies, that our relationship is finished? I assume it is finished from a human standpoint. We won’t be sad in heaven.
Thank you for your time! I genuinely appreciate it.
Answer:
"For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man" (Romans 7:2-3).
A marriage is created when a man and woman enter into a covenant with each other (Malachi 2:14). Covenants, by definition, are limited to the life of the parties involved in the covenant. For example, a Christian living under the New Testament covenant will not be expected to keep the terms of the covenant in Heaven. The partaking of the Lord's Supper cannot be done. There is no grape juice and unleavened bread in Heaven. In the same way, a marriage cannot continue past death because people don't marry in Heaven. "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven" (Matthew 22:30). The concept of male and female are a part of this physical world. We will be in spiritual bodies in the next world.
We will know each other in Heaven (See "Will We Know One Another in Heaven?" and "Shall We Know One Another in Heaven?"), but our relationships will change because we will have changed.
People who marry again after a spouse has died, might be looking for a sexual companion, but most often they are lonely and are looking for companionship for their remaining time on earth. Some rather remain single and that is fine, but it isn't for everyone.
