Luke 12:51-53 “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. (52) For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. (53) Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
There is a truth about relationships in heaven that is not really understood by the church in this life. Our Lord gave us some insight into this concept in the above passage of scripture, when He taught us what would happen to families in this life that encountered the kingdom of God. Our Lord has taught us very clearly that family relationships in this life no longer apply in His kingdom, for in the same family there will be some members who will choose the kingdom of darkness while other members will choose the kingdom of light, thus annulling those family relationships. The annulment of those family relationships obviously carry over into eternity, as the family members who choose the kingdom of light are taken into heaven while the members of the same family who choose the kingdom of darkness are cast into hell.
Mark 12:24-25 “Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? (25) For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”
Although many in the church recognise the truth that at the end of this life, family relationships are terminated between those who choose the kingdom of darkness and those who choose the kingdom of light, most however, do not understand that the same principle is applicable even among family members that choose the kingdom of light. Our Lord Jesus highlighted this truth to us in the above passage of scripture, when He taught us that there is no marriage in heaven and that the saints in heaven are just like the angels in that respect. Clearly our Lord has taught us in this passage that the husband and wife relationships that exist in this life are annulled when the saints enter heaven. And so if there are no married couples in heaven, how does that affect their relationships with the children that they had in this life? The answer to that question is that just as there are no husbands and wives in heaven, so it is that there are also no fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in heaven. In other words, our Lord has taught us that all the family relationships that exist in this life do not exist in heaven, for Jesus has taught us that we will become just like the angels in heaven. Angels do not have spouses, parents, children or siblings. And so in the same manner, the saints in heaven do not have spouses, parents, children, siblings or any other forms of extended family relationships such as grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
Michael E.B. Maher
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