As the Iraqi War draws to an end, once again we see that it is
difficult for Westerners to understand the Muslim mind. Fanned into
fanaticism by weekly sermons at their mosques, Muslim men are extremely
willing to do that which American men try to avoid: They are eager to
die.
They gladly run toward the American and British troops with small
arms and even handguns, until they, the Iraqis, are gunned down. They
gladly wear special vests to blow themselves up as so-called
"martyrs."
Suicide, or death at the hands of the enemy, is considered a great
way to leave this life. The reason is that, in common with other
Muslims, from their youth Iraqi men are taught that to die in battle
against the enemy will ensure them an eternal life in heaven with all
the sex they can indulge in, day after day, forever and ever.
Oddly enough, Samuele Bacchiocchi has a similar teaching which, as a
representative Seventh-day Adventist thought leader, he is presenting
over the internet to Adventists and non-Adventists. He brags that he has
over 20,000 eager readers. We are beginning to understand why.
Astounding though it may seem, Bacchiocchi believes that the redeemed
will spend eternity having sex! All the sex they want.
And there is more: He says the angels have sex all the time too!
Elsewhere in his Endtime Issues web studies, Bacchiocchi has said
that he has studied extensively into Muslim teachings. Apparently it has
affected his thinking. They also look forward to lots of sex in heaven.
WHAT THE SCRIPTURES TEACH
As we will learn below, Bacchiocchi is going to tell us that there
will be marriages in heaven. But Jesus said quite the opposite:
No marriage in heaven "In the resurrection, they neither marry
nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels in heaven."
Matthew 22:30.
Bacchiocchi says that earthly marriages will be continued in heaven.
But that is not true either. Here is what we are told in the Spirit of
Prophecy:
In heaven, no continuation of earthly marriages nor the beginning of
new marriages "The Sadducees reasoned that if the body is to be
composed of the same particles of matter in its immortal as in its
mortal state, then when raised from the dead it must have flesh and
blood, and must resume in the eternal world the life interrupted on
earth. In that case they concluded that earthly relationships would be
resumed, husband and wife would be reunited, marriages consummated, and
all things go on the same as before death, the frailties and passions of
this life being perpetuated in the life beyond.
"In answer to their questions, Jesus lifted the veil from the
future life. 'In the resurrection,' He said, 'they neither marry, nor
are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.' He
showed that the Sadducees were wrong in their belief. Their premises
were false. 'Ye do err,' He added, 'not knowing the Scriptures, nor the
power of God.' He did not charge them, as He had charged the Pharisees,
with hypocrisy, but with error of belief." Desire of Ages, 605.
We are told that the words of Christ in Matthew 22:30 are too plain
to be misunderstood. No marriage in heaven and no births-
"There are men today who express their belief that there will be
marriages and births in the new earth, but those who believe the
Scriptures cannot accept such doctrines. The doctrine that children will
be born in the new earth is not a part of the `sure word of prophecy.'
The words of Christ are too plain to be misunderstood. They should
forever settle the question of marriages and births in the new earth.
Neither those who shall be raised from the dead, nor those who shall be
translated without seeing death, will marry or be given in marriage.
They will be as the angels of God, members of the royal family. [The
inference here is that the angels do not marry; and, since we will be
like them in heaven, we will not have marriage relationships there
either.]
"I would say to those who hold views contrary to this plain
declaration of Christ: Upon such matters silence is eloquence. It is
presumption to indulge in suppositions and theories regarding matters
that God has not made known to us in His Word. We need not enter into
speculation regarding our future state.
"To my ministering brethren I would say, `Preach the Word; be
instant in season, out of season.' Do not bring to the foundation wood,
and hay, and stubble your own surmisings and speculations, which can
benefit no one.
"Christ withheld no truths essential to our salvation. Those
things that are revealed are for us and our children, but we are not to
allow our imagination to frame doctrines concerning things not revealed.
"The Lord has made every provision for our happiness in the
future life. But He has made no revelations regarding these plans, and
we are not to speculate concerning them. Neither are we to measure the
conditions of the future life by the conditions of this
life."-Medical Ministry, 99-100 (MS 28, 1904).
We are not to think that, in heaven, we will have sexual relations
with someone we knew on earth. No marriage in heaven and no births-
"The enemy of souls has gained much when he can lead the
imagination of one of Jehovah's chosen watchmen to dwell upon the
possibilities of association, in the world to come, with some woman whom
he loves, and of there raising up a family. We need no such pleasing
pictures. All such views originate in the mind of the tempter.
"We have the plain assurance of Christ that in the world to
come, the redeemed 'neither marry, nor are given in marriage: neither
can they die anymore: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the
children of God, being the children of the resurrection.'
"It is presented to me that spiritual fables are taking many
captive. Their minds are sensual, and, unless a change comes, this will
prove their ruin. To all who are indulging these unholy fancies I would
say, Stop; for Christ's sake, stop right where you are. You are on
forbidden ground. Repent, I entreat of you, and be converted."
Medical Ministry, 100-101 (Letter 231, 1903).
BACCHIOCCHI'S THEORY
This amazing study by Bacchiocchi is to be found in his Endtime
Issues, #9, dated February 25, 1999. The title is Life In the World to
Come.
In the preceding study, he speculated that, in heaven, we will have
bodies just like our present ones; and, he points out, nothing that we
do with our bodies in heaven will be sinful.
"In the previous Bible study (Endtime Issues No. 8) we examined
what the Bible teaches regarding human nature in the world to come. We
concluded that the redeemed will have a physical body like the present
one, but without the liabilities of sin, sickness, and death."-#9,
p. 1.
After completing #8, in #9, Bacchiocchi speculates on how the
redeemed will conduct themselves with one another in heaven. In the
second paragraph, Bacchiocchi cleverly declares that, in heaven, we will
either have sex or we will have a dull existence of
"contemplation." He then says that, if that is so, people will
not want to go there. His point is that, if you can't have sex in
heaven, there will be nothing to do but contemplate.
"This study focuses on the actual environment and lifestyle of
the redeemed. Will there be marital relationships in the world to come?
Will the redeemed receive some kind of 'unisex' bodies or will they [be]
heterosexual like in the present life? Will the new world be a material
place like the present one or a 'spiritual' realm radically different
from this world? Will the redeemed engage in the kind of activities we
know today, or will they spend eternity in everlasting contemplation and
mediation? These are important questions that deserve carefully
consideration. After all our understanding of life in the world to come
determines whether or not we can be inspired to prepare ourselves and
others to become citizens of God's eternal kingdom."-#9, p. 1.
"Will there be marital relations in the world to come? The
answer of many sincere Christians is 'NO!’ They believe that at the
resurrection the redeemed will receive some kind of `unisex' spiritual
bodies which will replace our present physical and heterosexual
bodies."-#9, p. 1.
After quoting Matthew 22:30, Bacchiocchi undermines it by saying
that, since man was created "good" in Genesis 1, any change
from that original plan would not be good.
"Does this text imply that at the resurrection all sexual
distinctions will be abolished and that our bodies will no longer be
physical? If this interpretation were correct, it would mean that,
contrary to what the Scripture says, the original creation of humanity
as physical, heterosexual beings was not really 'very good' (Gen 1:31)
after all."#9, p. 1.
Bacchiocchi maintains that God is not permitted to make any
alterations in anything He has previously done; with the implication
that if He did so, it would be wrong. But this is the kind of
shallow-brained reasoning into which Jesuits are trained during their
years at the Gregorian University in Rome (from which Bacchiocchi
graduated "with honors" after a five-year course of study).
"Change implies imperfection. To say the least, this reasoning
is absurd for anyone who believes in God's omniscience and immutability.
It is normal for human beings to introduce new models and structures to
eliminate existing deficiencies. For God, however, this would be
abnormal and incoherent since He knows the end from the
beginning."-#9, p. 1.
To prove his point, Bacchiocchi quotes from a non-Adventist
theologian (whose book was published in Grand Rapids):
"If at the resurrection God were to change our present physical,
heterosexual bodies into 'nonphysical, unisex' bodies, then as Anthony
A. Hoekema rightly observes: 'The devil would have won a great victory
since God would then have been compelled to change human beings with
physical bodies such as he had created into creatures of a different
sort, without physical bodies (like the angels). Then it would indeed
seem that matter had become intrinsically evil so that it had to be
banished. And then, in a sense, the Greek philosophers would have been
proved right. But matter is not evil; it is part of God's good
creation.' "-#9, p. 12.
Bacchiocchi is determined to limit what God can do! Only that which
Bacchiocchi agrees to is to be permitted. He intends to reshape the
future world into a mirror of his own imaginings. And what Bacchiocchi
clearly wants is sex in heaven.
"If God found His creation of human beings as male and female
'very good' (Gen 1:3 1) at the beginning, would He discover it to be
'very bad' at the end? We have reason to believe that what was 'very
good' for God at the beginning will also be 'very good' for Him at the
end. God does not learn by mistakes as humans do."-#9, p. 2.
In order to destroy the meaning of Matthew 22:30, Bacchiocchi says
that the idea that a man, while living on earth, could have had several
wives is "hypothetical"; i.e., something that does not
happen.. In other words, no men in this world ever have more than one
wife!
"A study of Jesus' statement in its own context provides no
support to the view that at the resurrection the redeemed will receive
non-physical, unisex, angelic bodies. The context is a hypothetical
situation created by the Sadducees in which six brothers married in
succession the widow of their brother."-#9, p. 2.
In a further wresting of Scripture, Bacchiocchi theorizes that Jesus
was not talking about marriage in heaven (even though that is what He
said in Matthew 22:30). Instead, the verse was only talking about having
children.
"In His answer, Jesus did not deal with the immediate question
of the marital status of a woman married seven times, but with the
larger question of the procreational function of marriage."-#9, p.
2.
Bacchiocchi's hoped-for opinion is that there will be an abundance of
"marrying and giving in marriage" in heaven, without producing
offspring.
But read again Matthew 22:30. It specifically rejects "marriage
and giving in marriage" in heaven. Jesus says not one word about
childbirth in heaven! Matthew 22:30 is not talking about offspring. (Of
course, without marriage, no births could result.)
Bacchiocchi handles Christ's statement about "given in
marriage" by saying that only children raised in heaven could be
"given in marriage"; and, since there will be no children,
they cannot be given in marriage. More shallow thinking. Obviously, many
people who were single on earth will be in heaven. If marriage existed
there, they could get married. Here is his statement:
"Christ's reference to not marrying or giving in marriage but
being like angels, most likely means that marriage as a means of
procreation will no longer exist in the world to come. It is evident
that if no new children are born, there will be no possibility of
marrying a son or of giving a daughter in marriage."-#9, p. 2.
Here is the way Bacchiocchi annihilates Christ's statement that, in
heaven, we will not have marriage but "be like the angels."
"The cessation of the procreational function of marriage will
make the redeemed 'like angels' presumably because they do not reproduce
after their own likeness. There are no indication in Scripture that
angels have babies."-#9, p. 2.
Bacchiocchi then explains that none of the redeemed will be
"single" in heaven. They will all spend their time having sex
with one another.
"Single in the World to Come? Does the cessation of the
procreational function of marriage imply the termination also of its
relational function? Not necessarily so. If God created human beings at
the beginning as male and female, with the capacity to experience a
oneness of intimate fellowship, there is no reason to suppose that He
will recreate them at the end as unisex beings, who will live as single
persons without the capacity to experience the oneness of fellowship
existing in a man/woman relationship."-#9, p. 2.
Bacchiocchi goes so far as to say that to deny sex in heaven would be
to deny the truth of the Sabbath!
"For Christians like Seventh-day Adventists who believe in an
original perfect creation and who celebrate through the Sabbath the
perfection of God's original creation, it is impossible to imagine that
at the end God will radically change the structure and nature of the
human body."-#9, pp. 2-3.
But now, it gets worse! Bacchiocchi suggests that angels have sex
too! Read the following paragraph: According to it, even the two
cherubim in the Most Holy Place regularly have sex together (he cites
Exodus 25:18 and 1 Kings 6:23)! They are homosexual!
"Jesus' reference to our being `like angels' (Matt 22:30) at the
resurrection does not necessarily imply the termination of the
relational function of marriage. Nowhere does Scripture suggest that the
angels are 'unisex' beings, unable to engage in an intimate
relationships similar to that of human marriage. The fact that angels
are often mentioned in the Bible in pairs (Gen 19:1; Ex 25:18; 1 King
6:23) suggests that they may enjoy intimate relationships as
couples."-#9, p.-3.
So for millions of years, angels have been "coupling up"
and having sex all they want; and now we will go to heaven and indulge
ourselves to the limit as they do.
What a view of heaven! We have here a Muslim view of the afterlife.
Muslims are willing to die in battle to obtain it. Bacchiocchi believes
many will become Christians if they learn about the sensual delights of
heaven.
"Will there be marital relationships in the world to come? . .
Our understanding of life in the world to come determines whether or not
we can be inspired to prepare ourselves and others to become citizens of
God's eternal kingdom."-#9, p. 1.
And he is certain that many Christians will be more interested in
going to heaven, if they learn that it will not be "too
chaste."
"At a time when many Christians are losing interest in the world
to come because they find it too chaste, too disinfected, too unreal,
and too boring, it is imperative to recover the Biblical wholistic and
realistic vision of the new earth."-#9, p. 8.
Bacchiocchi next implies that the Godhead also live in a similar kind
of "intimate relationship."
"God has revealed Himself, not as a solitary Being who lives in
eternal aloofness, but as a fellowship of three Beings so intimately
united that we worship Them as one God. If God Himself lives in a most
intimate relationship with the other members of the Trinity, there is no
reason to believe that He would abolish at the end the unitive function
of marriage that He, Himself, established at creation. Support for this
conclusion is provided also by the fact, already noted, that the sexual
distinctions of maleness and femaleness are presented in Scripture as
reflecting the 'image of God' (Gen 1:27)."-#9, p. 3.
In heaven there will be no exhaustion. Our bodies will be powerful
and full of energy all the time. In accordance with Bacchiocchi's view,
the redeemed will be able to have sex repeatedly. Since none will need
sleep, they "will not be bored," but will be able to have it
almost unceasingly.
In addition, because there is no sin in heaven, such unlimited
sensual activity will not be sin.
"Absence of Evil. A most notable difference between our present
life and that of the new earth will be the absence of all the things
which now limit or harm our lives. The Devil, who is the ultimate source
of all forms of evil, will be destroyed in the lake of fire (Rev 20:10).
Consequently, there will be no more manifestation of evil within us or
around us."-#9, p. 6.
So, in accordance with Bacchiocchi's theory, unlimited sex will not
be sin in heaven, and we can better understand the meaning of the
"marriage supper" in Revelation 19.
"The symbol of this grand fellowship is the great wedding
banquet of the Lamb."-#9, p. 8.
IN HEAVEN CROWDED INTO A CITY
Later in #9, Bacchiocchi informs his readers that, in the New Earth,
the redeemed will all live packed into a crowded city. After quoting a
non-Adventist author, to prove his point about how very much like
earthly "urban areas it will be, he says:
"The vision of the Holy City conveys the image, not of a
mystical, monastic life in a heavenly retreat, but of urban life of
intense activity on this renewed earth.
"Life in the Holy City will not be one of isolation and
loneliness, but of communion, excitement, and action. The New Jerusalem
will be a complex, cosmopolitan place where all kinds of people of
different races, cultures, and languages will live and work together in
peace. Life will not be static and boring, but dynamic and
creative."-#9, p. 4.
In the above statement, notice that Bacchiocchi says that, in the
Holy City, there will be "different races, cultures, and
languages." Apparently, translation did not change people very
much.
"Urban Life Sanctioned by God. The Biblical vision of the Holy
City in the new earth suggests that the structure of urban life is
sanctioned by God. For many it is difficult to accept this
view."-#9, p. 5.
"The present state of urban life should not cause us to reject,
in principle, urbanization as a sinful social structure. The fact that
urban life will continue on the new earth tells us that it will be
possible for people to live together in a complex urban system of
interrelatedness and interdependence." #9, p. 5.
Bacchiocchi then goes on to explain that, in view of the fact that we
will live in a city in heaven, we should not try to leave them here on
earth!
"Moreover, this vision of living together in the future City of
God should challenge us as Christians not to abandon the cities en masse
by fleeing to the country, but to work in and for the cities by offering
our Christian influence and help to solve the many complex
problems."-#9, p. 5.
The truth is that, if you will carefully read Great Controversy,
646:1 and 647:3-648:1, you will find that, before it is brought down to
Earth, in heaven Christ opens the gates and leads the redeemed into the
Holy City. We are then shown a view of what is inside-and guess what? It
is a gigantic garden, either the Garden of Eden or an enlargement of it!
It is not a city of avenues, intersections, and houses. The
"streets" in Revelation 21:21 probably should be translated
"paths of transparent gold." They probably wind their way
among the gardens and woods.
CONCLUSION
For some reason, Bacchiocchi is looking forward to the endless
sensuality of heaven, and he is anxious that others also begin relishing
the idea. He concludes #9 by saying that, when Christians learn the
exciting news of what heaven will really be like, they will definitely
want to go there.
"At a time when many Christians are losing interest in the world
to come because they find it too chaste, too disinfected, too unreal,
and too boring, it is imperative to recover the Biblical wholistic and
realistic vision of the new earth."-#9, p. 8.
Bacchiocchi's theory lowers, rather than raises, the moral standards
of those Christians who accept it; and it opens the floodgates to
grosser sins among God's people on earth. --vf
RETURN TO BOOKS