Matt 22:23-33 ; Psalm 119:57-64

I am going back to the New Living Translation for a while!

Matthew 22:23-33
In this passage, Jesus gives us a glimpse of what heaven will be like. The Sadducees were a religious group that did not believe in the resurrection. Like the Pharisees, their real purpose in questioning Jesus was to trip Him up. However, in the process, they revealed their own ignorance. The question they asked was referring to an Old Testament Jewish practice which provided for the family name to be carried on and for property to stay in the family. If a man died without a male heir, it was the responsibility of his brother to marry the widow and raise a family in his brother's name.

The question reveals that the Sadducees assumed that life in heaven would be much like life on earth, only better. Jesus says that this is not true. For one thing, our resurrected bodies will apparently be "sexless" like the angels, and we will not marry. Notice that Jesus does not say we will BECOME angels, but that we will be LIKE the angels in this respect.

Jesus goes on to remind them that according to the Scriptures, God said, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Obviously, there is a resurrection, or God would have said, "I was the God Abraham..." He is the God of the living!

We should not speculate about things the Bible does not specifically teach. We are not told everything about the future, including exactly what heaven will be like. But we know we have a loving heavenly Father who has promised us eternal life with Him in a beautiful place.

Psalm 119:57-64
  vv. 57-58  "Lord, you are mine! I promise to obey your words! With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful as you promised." God is merciful, and He keeps His promises!
  v. 62 "I rise at midnight to thank you for your just regulations."  We may not rise on purpose at midnight, but if we wake during the night and can't sleep, we should surely use the time to thank God for His love and mercy and grace. And then we can pray our requests too!
  v. 64 "O Lord, your unfailing love fills the earth; teach me your decrees." God's unfailing love fills the earth! Just think about that for a minute. We are never away from God's love! We are never unloved! And if we listen by meditating on His Word, He will teach us.