The Apocalyptic Unveiling of Marriage Through Scripture

 God first gave Adam and Eve to each other in Genesis 1:27-28, 2:22-24. The focus was very much on becoming one flesh and producing offspring. Although Adam and Eve were exiled from Eden, they were united in producing offspring.

 As we read of the Patriarch’s families, we do not see direct revelation of God regarding the husband-wife-concubine relationships. They had wives and concubines, and bore children. In Numbers 36:5-9, Moses dealt with a situation involving inheritance of property as it pertains to marriage. Later, Moses spoke God’s law regarding (Deuteronomy 22:13-30) legal rights for wives and women, with a focus on virginity, adultery, and rape. This provided the Israelites with a basis for dealing with situations where God’s initial paradigm for marriage is violated by human actions.

 In the Song of Songs which is Solomon’s, we read a tale of romance. A man and his fiancée entice, flirt, and ultimately consummate their marriage, with a few bumps in the road. This is a divine hint that the Hallmark Channel approach to relationship is part of the marriage process. Although the sensual aspect of of the marriage relationship is explicitly portrayed, it also shows the ups and downs due to misunderstandings, other commitments, and other people impacting their oneness. But the emphasis is on romantic games within the context of marriage.

 The first few chapters of Hosea reveal the symbolism of marriage for God’s relationship to Israel. Yahweh’s heart is broken over the unfaithfulness of His people by worship of false gods, as a husband’s grief over his wife’s adulteries (literally enacted in Hosea’s own marriage). Hosea also speaks to the enduring perseverance of the husband-wife relationship. Despite Israel’s betrayal of God, they are still married. In the last chapter, we see that despite all the pain that resulted from Israel’s unfaithfulness, He waits to bless them when they return to Him. Perseverance.

 Jesus laid down a terrifying standard of holiness for marriage. He told His listeners that whoever divorces his or her spouse forces them to commit adultery (Matthew 5:32), and whoever marries a divorced person commits adultery. (Mark 10:1-10) He effectively negated one of the aspects of Mosaic law regarding divorce. On the other hand, when confronted with a woman caught in the act of adultery, He declined to condemn her. (John 8:1-11) Grace triumphs over legalism.

 Jesus used  wedding as a symbol of the coming of His kingdom. (Matthew 22:1-14; 25:1-13) In this context, He warned His listeners to be faithful to prepare for His coming. Whether this refers to His intervention into our personal lives, or His second coming, the answer is both.

 That the relational aspect of marriage goes beyond the physical and sensual, child-bearing and rearing, and legal and moral dimensions is brought  out in 1 Corinthians 7:8-14. After Paul acknowledges the carnal dimension of marriage in the first part of the chapter, he expounds on the spiritual aspect. The husband or wife transmit holiness to their spouse and children. While there is a supernatural force (the Holy Spirit) at work, there are also the practical day-to-day words and actions of one who is committed to Christ influencing those in close contact. The practice of holiness and love are instruments of divine grace in the family.

 Paul repeated the analogy of  marriage to Christ’s relationship to the church in Ephesians 5:22-33. After quoting Genesis 2:24 (repeated by Jesus in Matthew 19:5), he uses the metaphor to give directions for the husband and wife to behave, focusing on the spiritual imperative for the quality and depth of the love the husband is to have for his wife.

 The final consummation of the church age is a wedding. (Revelation 19:7-9, 21:2, 22:17) We get a glimpse of God’s perspective of life on earth as a preparation for heaven. Our human marriages provide spectators a graphic metaphor of what Jesus and life in heaven are like. Is this primarily to encourage unbelievers to come to Christ, or to give believers a hint as to the depth and splendor of the glory to be experienced in heaven, or equal parts of both? The mystery of the consummation of that heavenly marriage is sometimes described by mystics in language we cannot relate to, but without doubt it will be glorious.

 What to us? First, that the marriage relationship goes far beyond the physical dimension, although that is the emphasis at the outset. It goes beyond the legal aspects. After the wedding comes a marriage. For it to succeed, it is first of all a covenant of shared faith. St. Paul elaborates on this in a few passages. We also see it symbolically in the trust in and obedience of both Christ and the church to the Father in heaven. Second, over the years marriage will be challenged. The determination to stick it out is the glue holding the marriage together. We make the vows ‘till death do us part’, but forty or fifty years later, was the promise kept? Finally, the day to day expression of agape in sacrificial giving is God’s character. Transmitting God’s very presence and essence through our actions. That is what it takes for marriage to meet His vision.