Family relationships in heaven

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwellings; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

(John 14:1-3)

We have already seen that the saints in heaven are asleep. It is therefore self-evident that when new saints arrive there, the family members who preceded them will not be waiting to welcome them.

So, who then welcomes the saints into Paradise when they depart from this life? In this passage, Jesus declares that He Himself is the one who receives the new saints to be with Him in Paradise.

As an aside, the dwellings Jesus mentioned in this passage refer to the New Jerusalem, which—as already noted—the saints will only occupy at the end of the age.

Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 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."

(Luke 12:51-53)

This brings us to a subject that is not clearly understood in the church—namely, family relationships in heaven. In teaching about what happens to families that encounter the kingdom of God in this life, in this passage the Lord Jesus provided valuable insight into this matter.

Jesus taught very clearly that family relationships in this life no longer apply in the kingdom of God. Within the same family, some members will choose the kingdom of darkness while others will choose the kingdom of light, thereby nullifying those earthly relationships.

This annulment of family ties extends into eternity, for the members who choose the kingdom of light are taken into heaven, while those who choose the kingdom of darkness are cast into hell.

Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

(Mark 12:24-25)

Although many in the church recognize the truth that, at the end of this life, family relationships are severed between those who choose the kingdom of darkness and those who choose the kingdom of light, most do not realize that the same principle also applies among family members who choose the kingdom of light.

Jesus emphasized this truth in the passage above when He taught that there are no marriages in heaven and that the saints are like the angels in this respect.

In other words, Jesus taught that the husband-and-wife relationships that exist in this life are annulled when the saints enter heaven. This is why, when one spouse dies, the surviving spouse is free to marry again.

The next question that arises is this: if there are no married couples in heaven, what about the relationships between parents and children? The answer is that, just as there are no husbands and wives in heaven, neither are there fathers, mothers, sons, or daughters. All family relationships that exist in this life no longer exist in heaven, for in that regard the saints become like the angels.

Angels do not have spouses, parents, children, or siblings. Likewise, the saints in heaven have no spouses, parents, children, siblings, or any other form of extended family relationships such as grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, or nephews.

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You." But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."

(Matthew 12:46-50)

In the passage above, the Lord Jesus once again confirmed the truth that family relationships in this life do not apply in the kingdom of God, for He referred to His disciples as His family rather than the earthly relatives with whom He had grown up.

This is not to say, however, that we disown our earthly family members when we are born again, for Scripture instructs us to honour our parents in this life. We are therefore to continue acknowledging our earthly family members, even those who choose the kingdom of darkness rather than the kingdom of light.

Nevertheless, in this section we are dealing specifically with what transpires after this life, and it is this truth we must understand: only believers make up the family of God.

But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

(Matthew 23:8-9)

If family relationships from this life are no longer recognized in heaven, what relationships do the saints share? Jesus answered that question in the passage quoted above, teaching that the saints experience only two types of family relationships in heaven: all saints are brethren, and all have one Father—God.

Therefore, all saints in heaven recognize one another only as fellow sons and daughters of God. Scripture makes it abundantly clear that the family relationships of this life do not continue in heaven.

Michael E.B. Maher

Resurrection of the Dead

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