Marriage was divinely established in Eden and affirmed by
Jesus to be a lifelong union between a man and a woman in loving companionship. For the
Christian a marriage commitment is to God as well as to the spouse, and should be entered into
only between partners who share a common faith. Mutual love, honor, respect, and
responsibility are the fabric of this relationship, which is to reflect the love, sanctity, closeness,
and permanence of the relationship between Christ and His church. Regarding divorce,
Jesus taught that the person who divorces a spouse, except for fornication, and marries another,
commits adultery. Although some family relationships may fall short of the ideal, marriage
partners who fully commit themselves to each other in Christ may achieve loving unity through
the guidance of the Spirit and the nurture of the church. God blesses the family and intends that
its members shall assist each other toward complete maturity. Parents are to bring up their
children to love and obey the Lord. By their example and their words they are to teach them
that Christ is a loving disciplinarian, ever tender and caring, who wants them to become
members of His body, the family of God. Increasing family closeness is one of the earmarks of
the final gospel message. (Gen. 2:18-25; Matt. 19:3-9; John 2:1-11; 2 Cor. 6:14, Eph. 5:21-33;
Matt. 5:31, 32; Mark 10:11, 12; Luke 16:18; 1 Cor. 7:10, 11; Ex. 20:12; Eph. 6:1-4; Deut. 6:5-9;
Prov. 22:6; Mal. 4:5, 6.)

Just as baptism here on Earth is a token of the real bapitsm in the River of Life, so too is life-long marriage to one partner a token act. In the next life, though, there won't be husbands and wives because, according to Jesus, we will be like the angels, who apparently don't marry.

Instead, we will team up with the angelic being who recorded our own, unique, life history, then presented this information during Judgment Day. Following our resurrection, we will be little children, gaping in wide-eyed wonder at what lies before us.

Our mentor/trainer/teacher/companion will introduce us to our new life and guide us into our new role as servants of the LORD. We will never have another angelic companion because this relationship will last forever. That's why we must not leave our spouses in this life, but instead take good care of them despite their faults. Marriage on Earth is just training for permanent relationships in the life to come.

Where do you interpret the scriptures as saying that there will not be husbands and wives in the New Earth? The scriptures say "At that time there shall be neither marriage nor giving in marriage..............." Might be referring specifically to the Second Coming................................

Hi Gladusee,

I found this:

Maranatha (1976), page 308, paragraph 1
Chapter Title: Families will be Reunited
Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border. Jeremiah 31:16, 17.


Christ is coming with clouds and with great glory. A multitude of shining angels will attend Him. He will come to raise the dead, and to change the living saints from glory to glory. He will come to honor those who have loved Him, and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them nor His promise. There will be a relinking of the family chain. The day of God will reveal how much the world owes to godly mothers. . . .

When the judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened; when the "well done" of the great Judge is pronounced, and the crown of immortal glory is placed upon the brow of the victor, many will raise their crowns in sight of the assembled universe, and pointing to their mother say: "She made me all I am through the grace of God. Her instruction, her prayers, have been blessed to my eternal salvation."

With joy unutterable, parents see the crown, the robe, the harp, given to their children. The days of hope and fear are ended. The seed sown with tears and prayers may have seemed to be sown in vain, but their harvest is reaped with joy at last. Their children have been redeemed.

Oh, wonderful redemption! long talked of, long hoped for, contemplated with eager anticipation, but never fully understood. To His faithful followers Christ has been a daily companion and familiar friend. They have lived in close contact, in constant communion with God. Upon them the glory of the Lord has risen. In them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ has been reflected. Now they rejoice in the undimmed rays of the brightness and glory of the King in His majesty. They are prepared for the communion of heaven; for they have heaven in their hearts.

Off topic (somewhat) but I don't know where better to post this question.

This is a serious question, not pertaining to me personally, but to the currently "looser" sexual mores of the postmodern generation.

My question: Where in Scripture do we find instruction that sexual intercourse be reserved only for marriage?

I realize it's not acceptable in the Adventist church to have sex prior to marriage, or outside of marriage -- but where in Scripture are we told that sexual activity between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman must never take place, under any circumstance?

Believe me, this question is not for myself. But I just listened to a tape of an Adventist Forum meeting in which John Brunt was the speaker. He told the experience he had with a young woman who wanted to be baptized, knew all the doctrines, and was so eager to take that step. So he scheduled her baptism for a certain Sabbath. While going with her ahead of time to show her the baptistry (to prepare her for what she'd feel and see when going into the water) she casually mentioned that her boyfriend would be there for the occasion. Then she mentioned that they'd been living together for a year, and planned to wait another year before marrying. But she clearly implied they were having a sexual relationship.

Dr. Brunt kindly told the woman at that point that the baptism would have to be postponed until after her marriage; that he could not baptize a candidate who was living in a sexual relationship without benefit of marriage.

I've never heard of that type of thing happening before, though I'm sure there is that rule in many churches. (It had just never occurred to me until I heard him tell this experience.)

As Dr. Brunt points out, in this current generation, there is often a 20-year time period between the time young people reach the age of puberty and the time when they are educationally and financially ready for marriage. Thus there is a lot of living-together going on, during that 20-year period. He said he himself could not condone that by baptizing that young woman, though he realizes that a lot of people who are already SDA are living together without benefit of marriage, it's just not being talked about.

I'd really like to know where in Scripture do we get the rule of no sex before marriage (or after widowhood, etc.)
Such a relationship would not be violating the Seventh Commandment ["Thou shalt not commit adultery"] because adultery is only when a married person violates his/her sexual marriage vows with someone not his/her spouse. My question refers only to unmarried persons.


Which leads me to comment: Sometimes at "that certain age" it would be more of a sin to marry than to live together. But that's a topic for another thread.

"While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord's anger burned against them. The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the Lord's fierce anger may turn away from Israel."


"For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
These are the things which defile a man.."

Without quoting chapter and verses I believe that the Lord/God condemned fornication more than he did adultery...
Fornication - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Open in New Window
Fornication is a term which refers to consensual sexual intercourse between two
persons not married to each other.

When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

"For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell."

"And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings."

The term "strange woman refers to one who is NOT YOUR WIFE. Simple.. Premarital sex involves someone who is not your wife.