Population Control

but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; for they cannot even die anymore, for they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.   Luke 20:35-36  NASB

Neither marry – Luke conveys Yeshua’s comment about life in the coming world with a rare Greek word, isángelos, “like angels.”  Just think about it!  The sons (and daughters) of God will be like angels.  Wow!  So cool.  But wait!  What does that mean?  Well, for one thing, it apparently means the end of population growth.  If in fact we are to be like angels, neither marrying nor being given in marriage, then there certainly will be no children born in the next world.  Apparently, the world to come will be filled with singles.  One must wonder if that doesn’t also imply the total lack of sexual desire.  And furthermore, what does this imply about basic gender identity?  Are we still going to be male and female, or is the Genesis foundation going to be completely undone?  You might ask yourself, “What would I be like without the intimacy of an opposite-sex partnership?”  Perhaps there’s a reason why the Bible never portrays angels as female.  That contains some very uncomfortable thoughts.  What will it be like to be Adam alone?  Or Havvah apart?  If you’ve spent most of your adult life married, what will happen to those determining relations if there is no marriage?  Who will you be then?  And what about the children of God who are children?  Will they just stay children?  Without parents?

I understand the idea that if no one dies then continuing population growth through normal reproduction could be a problem.  I’m not sure how it could be a problem in the ‘olam ha’ba because it seems that all the usual operating principles of this world will change.  But still?  I’m not sure I can imagine human beings without family, marriage, children, sexual commitment.  In fact, I’m not sure I want to be an angel if that’s what it means.

Of course, Yeshua’s comment might mean that our very nature will be changed, that somehow we won’t be human anymore, that we will be “like angels.”  And perhaps being isángelos means that all those desires and relationships that make us human will no longer be in effect.  But if that’s true, then the ‘olam ha’ba is going to be nothing like what we usually expect, that is, a perfect human world.  Perhaps our very being will be so changed that we will do nothing more than utter praises to the Lord for all eternity, but I can’t help but think that such a change undoes everything about the fundamentals of Genesis 1-2.  If God created us so that we are hardwired for interpersonal relationships, and being male and female is an essential element of our identities,  then I’m not sure that such an angelic state of being is really all that appealing, although it seems to be quite satisfying to angels.

I just wish Yeshua wouldn’t say such confusing things without at least some explanation.

Topical Index: ‘olam ha’ba, like angels, isángelos, marriage, Luke 20:35-36