A Theological Fantasy - Continued...
"How beautiful and pleasant you are,
O loved one, with all your delights!
Your stature is like a palm tree,
and your breasts are like its clusters.
I say I will climb the palm tree
and lay hold of its fruit.
Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
and the scent of your breath like apples,
and your mouth like the best wine.
It goes down smoothly for my beloved,
gliding over lips and teeth."
- Solomon's Song -
Dear Earthling,
Duncan here, writing again from The Glory. I thought this might be my last letter, but I may pen one more to summarize "odds and ends" that don't fit neatly into a "topic."
Today's topic ought to raise some eyebrows... Sex in Heaven!
Have you just discovered this series?
Why not start at the beginning for the full impact? CLICK Here.
Romance, perfect and unbroken...
Image courtesy of frank mckenna and http://unsplash.com
Do you remember what it's like to fall in love?
If you've ever been in love, you know the wonder and glory of that experience.
It's pure magic. You feel as though you are walking on air. The world seems new and fresh. Everything smells and tastes better. Burdens are lighter. Joys are amplified. Your sense of worth is elevated.
In the old, fallen world,
these feelings were often ephemeral. All but a blessed few couples soon faced reality and disillusionment. Honeymoon over.
But picture this:
Imagine falling in love and never, ever, becoming disillusioned in the slightest...
Can you imagine your beloved, always and at all times meeting, even exceeding, your elevated expectations?
Never letting you down?
Never disappointing you in the slightest?
And yourself?
Can you imagine never failing, never disappointing your beloved?
Can you picture yourself always and under all circumstances being the true-hearted, loving, strong person you know you ought to be for your dear one?
That is the way of it here in Heaven.
Men:
Every woman you meet and learn to know —
Women:
Every man you encounter —
Every one of them is capable of being, and will not fail to become, "The One."
And you, by the kind grace of God, will not disappoint any you may choose to partner with; now, next year, next millennium, and for all eternity.
How can this be?
I know all your life you've been told "There's no marriage in heaven."
You've been told that, in the glory, we've somehow been transformed into neutered, inhuman beings.
That all romance has been left behind, relegated to the dustbin of history.
That in Heaven we have "better things to do" than engage in emotional and physical intimacy.
Nonsense!
Those are unbiblical, inhuman sophistries that were promulgated — possibly as a protective mechanism — by teachers who may have been well meaning, but who equated all God-given physical attraction with the worst of all possible sins.
Their motivations were good.
It's just that they read Matthew 22:30 and drew the wrong conclusions.
Those teachers hoped to discourage us from engaging in destructive relationships. It's true that such casual relationships were prohibited and harmful on Old Earth.
However, their hermeneutics and theology became flawed when, on the slimmest of biblical grounds, they extrapolated such thoughts into eternity. Think about it:
"Why would God throw out the pinnacle of his designs?"
In the old age of the world,
with finite lives, limited time and resources, it was all we could do to handle a single marriage.
In those days, "marriage" was a ceremonial law, a living symbol foreshadowing the age to come. It was an illustration meant to showcase the wonderful future relationship between God and his people.
The beauty of perfected love.
Image courtesy of Cristian Newman and http://unsplash.com
Thus, in those days,
marriage was restricted, tightly governed by inflexible rules. God gave us those rules to insure that there would not be abandoned, unloved children. That we would not have genetically defective offspring. That we would be able to devote our time and attention to our spouses, to care for them as well as possible during an age characterized by darkness, fear, distrust, and irresponsibility.
By dictating that marriage be a loving, life-long commitment, God displayed to the world the nature of his eternal loving care for his beloved people.
But none of those devastating risks exist here.
And, nowhere does the bible say marriage is absent here in Heaven.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
I can picture you scrambling for your concordance, sure that the bible does rule out marriage in heaven... Go ahead!
But please review the precise wording.
To be sure, the bible does tell us there is no marrying nor giving in marriage in the kingdom age. However, it speaks of our entire future as a marriage.
It is true.
Here in the Glory, there is no marrying, and no "giving" in marriage. But that's because the real marriage has already occurred.
It is because there is an eternal marriage, a permanent state of being married.
We are married, both to Jesus and to one another.
The land, the universe itself, is now married:
"You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married."
- Isaiah 62:4
The plain truth is,
physical intimacy between a man and a woman is inherently a good thing. God designed it from the beginning, and pronounced it very good.
How good?
If you are an adult who has experienced intimacy, you know that it can be very good.
Here in the Glory, it is always very good.
Together, into the future.
Image courtesy of Yoann Boyer and http://unsplash.com
How good?
As good as the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden; the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That tree and its fruit were not evil, only forbidden.
Lest you think I am like the serpent who persuaded Eve to eat; I am not at all suggesting that you disobey God while living in the Old Age of the world. I'm merely pointing out that intimacy between non-spouses on Old Earth was a "malum prohibitum offense" - wrong because God prohibited it.
Intimacy between man and woman has never been "malum in se" — i.e. inherently wrong — for if that were so, it would be wrong everywhere and in all circumstances. The very existence of marriage demonstrates that is not so.
In our New Universe, male/female intimacy is no longer prohibited. It's as simple as that.
We're one big, happy family — one big, happy marriage.
Our entire life here is a celebration of that fact. Always, now, and forever. Believe it.
God has designed us all to become one with each other as well as with him. This is the ultimate unity, the final unification of humanity that God intended from the beginning.
"How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
O noble daughter!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the work of a master hand."
- Song of Solomon 7:1
"Your belly is a heap of wheat, encircled with lilies."
Image courtesy of Yoann Boyer and http://unsplash.com
To be sure,
the unity of Heaven is not the "unity of the Borg" of Old-Earth Star Trek fame. We have not been "assimilated." We still maintain the beautiful uniqueness of our individual personalities, our personal identities, our individual bodies.
But a significant part of God's design was literally embodied when, at creation, God differentiated the human race into man and woman. The union of man and woman constitutes the greatest possible act of "oneness" in the physical realm.
We are united with the LORD and with all his people in purpose and in our goals. Likewise, we are no longer restricted from physical union.
Love never fails. We know even as we are known. Truer now than ever.
Since landing on "this shore of the river,"
I've delighted in getting to know a number of wonderful women. Each new friendship has opened a world of joy, revealing new and exciting insights into myself and God's great universe.
Each of my new beloveds has drawn out something new, helped me to become more than I was before, and vice-versa. We've complemented one another in new and exciting ways, to our mutual benefit and to God's glory.
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the universe...”
Image courtesy of Colin Maynard and http://unsplash.com
With the new and perfect bodies the LORD gave us on resurrection day, intimacy has transcended anything we ever knew on Old Earth. And together, we've brought a handful of new lives into the world, sons and daughters we'll treasure forever.
Perhaps as you start to take this in, you're worrying about the implications.
Are you married to a believer now on Earth?
Here in the Glory, your marriage will not only continue, but will achieve a level of perfection that you've only dreamt of on Earth. Your relationship, begun on Earth, will only improve as eternity progresses.
Thoroughly enjoying one another's company.
Image courtesy of Pablo Heimplatz and http://unsplash.com
But it won't be your only relationship with the opposite sex. Your relationships will no longer be limited.
Given infinite space and eternity,
there will surely be "time enough for love," as much and with whomever you wish to spend any portion of your life. Jealousy will no longer exist. The possibilities of every human, interpersonal relationship, will be unrestricted and unlimited.
Don't you recall God's very first command?
"And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”"
- Genesis 1:28
That "creation mandate" is still in full force. It has never been rescinded. It was in fact reiterated to Noah and his sons. The "earth" God spoke of in that command is the vast, and possibly infinite, universe. We have a whole lot of "filling" to do.
Try to imagine - if you can - raising a family of beautiful, happy children in a perfect setting? I know it's hard for "old Earthers," but give it a try...
Far be it from us to disparage God's first command. Let's fill the universe!
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the universe...”
Image courtesy of Kelly Sikkema and http://unsplash.com
Perhaps this series has surprised, or even shocked you.
I hope so.
I hope it at least has you thinking, revisiting your bible. God really does have a lot to say about the future...
Have my letters have raised more questions than they've answered?
That's a good thing.
Since you'll be spending infinitely more time here in the Glory than you ever have or will on the old, fallen, flawed Earth, wouldn't it be a good idea to focus some of your attention and thought on the world to come? Get out your bible and read about it. The adventure's just beginning!
Mumford and Sons - "Not With Haste (Learn Me Right)"
Is my story now over? Is this the end?
Have I finished describing eternity? No, not by a long shot.
Nevertheless, this "major series" of letters in which I've outlined some of the surprising elements of life here in the New Heavens and New Earth is drawing to a close.
But don't worry...
From time to time, I'll send you a "Postcard from the Glory." I expect those will be brief glimpses of our day-to-day life here. I hope one or more of them may whet your appetite and get you looking forward to Heaven in a more realistic, more concrete way than you ever have before.
Watch for one more letter to "tie a bow on it."
Next time.
© 2017, Duncan Cary Palmer. All rights reserved.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” - Revelation 21:4
>>>CLICK HERE for the final installment in this series.<<<
=FIN=
