The Meaning of Mark 12:25 Explained

Mark 12:25

KJV: For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

YLT: for when they may rise out of the dead, they neither marry nor are they given in marriage, but are as messengers who are in the heavens.

Darby: For when they rise from among the dead they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels who are in the heavens.

ASV: For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as angels in heaven.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For  when  they shall rise  from  the dead,  they neither  marry,  nor  are given in marriage;  but  are  as  the angels  which  are in  heaven. 

What does Mark 12:25 Mean?

Study Notes

from the dead Lit. from amongst; cf., Philippians 3:11 Here it is the first resurrection. (See Scofield " 1 Corinthians 15:52 ") .
angels .
angels
Angel, Summary: Angel, "messenger," is used of God, of men, and of an order of created spiritual beings whose chief attributes are strength and wisdom. 2 Samuel 14:20 ; Psalms 103:20 ; Psalms 104:4 . In the O.T. the expression "the angel of the Lord" (sometimes "of God") usually implies the presence of Deity in angelic form.; Genesis 16:1-13 ; Genesis 21:17-19 ; Genesis 22:11-16 ; Genesis 31:11-13 ; Exodus 3:2-4 ; Judges 2:1 ; Judges 6:12-16 ; Judges 13:3-22 (See Scofield " Malachi 3:1 ") . The word "angel" is used of men in; Luke 7:24 ; James 2:25 ; Revelation 1:20 ; Revelation 2:1 ; Revelation 2:8 ; Revelation 2:12 ; Revelation 2:18 ; Revelation 3:1 ; Revelation 3:7 ; Revelation 3:14 In Revelation 8:3-5 . Christ is evidently meant. Sometimes angel is used of the spirit of man.; Matthew 18:10 ; Acts 12:15 . Though angels are spirits; Psalms 104:4 ; Hebrews 1:14 power is given them to become visible in the semblance of human form. Genesis 19:1 cf; Genesis 19:5 ; Exodus 3:2 ; Numbers 22:22-31 ; Judges 2:1 ; Judges 6:11 ; Judges 6:22 ; Judges 13:3 ; Judges 13:6 ; 1 Chronicles 21:16 ; 1 Chronicles 21:20 ; Matthew 1:20 ; Luke 1:26 ; John 20:12 ; Acts 7:30 ; Acts 12:7 ; Acts 12:8 etc.). The word is always used in the masculine gender, though sex, in the human sense, is never ascribed to angels.; Matthew 22:30 ; Mark 12:25 . They are exceedingly numerous.; Matthew 26:53 ; Hebrews 12:22 ; Revelation 5:11 ; Psalms 68:17 . The power is inconceivable. 2 Kings 19:35 . Their place is about the throne of God.; Revelation 5:11 ; Revelation 7:11 . Their relation to the believer is that of "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation," and this ministry has reference largely to the physical safety and well-being of believers.; 1 Kings 19:5 ; Psalms 34:7 ; Psalms 91:11 ; Daniel 6:22 ; Matthew 2:13 ; Matthew 2:19 ; Matthew 4:11 ; Luke 22:43 ; Acts 5:19 ; Acts 12:7-10 . From; Hebrews 1:14 ; Matthew 18:10 ; Psalms 91:11 it would seem that this care for the heirs of salvation begins in infancy and continues through life. The angels observe us; 1 Corinthians 4:9 ; Ephesians 3:10 ; Ecclesiastes 5:6 a fact which should influence conduct. They receive departing saints. Luke 16:22 . Man is made "a little lower than the angels," and in incarnation Christ took "for a little "time" this lower place.; Psalms 8:4 ; Psalms 8:5 ; Hebrews 2:6 ; Hebrews 2:9 that He might lift the believer into His own sphere above angels. Hebrews 2:9 ; Hebrews 2:10 . The angels are to accompany Christ in His second advent. Matthew 25:31 . To them will be committed the preparation of the judgment of the nations. Matthew 13:30 ; Matthew 13:39 ; Matthew 13:41 ; Matthew 13:42 . See Scofield " Matthew 25:32 ". The kingdom-age is not to be subject to angels, but to Christ and those for whom He was made a little lower than the angels. Hebrews 2:5 An archangel, Michael, is mentioned as having a particular relation to Israel and to the resurrections.; Daniel 10:13 ; Daniel 10:21 ; Daniel 12:1 ; Daniel 12:2 ; Judges 1:9 ; 1 Thessalonians 4:16 . The only other angel whose name is revealed Gabriel, was employed in the most distinguished services.; Daniel 8:16 ; Daniel 9:21 ; Luke 1:19 ; Luke 1:26 .
Fallen angels. Two classes of these are mentioned:
(1) "The angels which kept not their first estate place, but left their own habitation," are "chained under darkness," awaiting judgment. 2 Peter 2:4 ; Judges 1:6 ; 1 Corinthians 6:3 ; John 5:22 .
(See Scofield " Genesis 6:4 ")
(2) The angels who have Satan Genesis 3:1 as leader.
(See Scofield " Revelation 20:10 ") .
The origin of these is nowhere explicitly revealed. They may be identical with the demons.
(See Scofield " Matthew 7:22 ") . For Satan and his angels everlasting fire is prepared. Matthew 25:41 ; Revelation 20:10 .

Context Summary

Mark 12:1-27 - Jesus Silences His Enemies
Our Lord reviews the history of the theocracy. He recounts the long roll of God's servants who had been persecuted and misused from the first to the last, including Himself. In doing so, He openly implied that He was the Son of God and made the Pharisees realize how clearly He foresaw the fate which they were preparing for Him. They were accustomed to apply Psalms 118:22 to the Messiah, and recognized at once what Jesus meant, when He claimed it as an emblem of His own rejection.
How admirably our Lord defined the relations of His Kingdom to the civil power! If we accept Caesar's protection and ordered government we are bound to maintain it by money payment and such other service as conscience permits. This indeed is part of our duty to God; and with equal care we must give Him the dues of the spiritual world.
Jesus silenced the Sadducees by a quotation from the Pentateuch, whose authority they admitted. God could not be the God of persons not in existence. Therefore since He used the present tense of His relationship with the patriarchs in speaking to Moses three hundred years after their death, they must have been still in existence. [source]

Chapter Summary: Mark 12

1  Jesus tells the parable of the tenants
13  He avoids the snare of the Pharisees and Herodians about paying tribute to Caesar;
18  convicts the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection;
28  resolves the scribe, who questioned of the first commandment;
35  refutes the opinion that the scribes held of the Christ;
38  bidding the people to beware of their ambition and hypocrisy;
41  and commends the poor widow for her two mites, above all

Greek Commentary for Mark 12:25

When they shall rise from the dead [οταν εκ νεκρων αναστωσιν]
Second aorist active subjunctive with οταν — hotan Matthew 22:30 has it “in the resurrection,” Luke 20:35 “to attain to the resurrection.” The Pharisees regarded the future resurrection body as performing marriage functions, as Mohammedans do today. The Pharisees were in error on this point. The Sadducees made this one of their objections to belief in the resurrection body, revealing thus their own ignorance of the true resurrection body and the future life where marriage functions do not exist. [source]
As angels in heaven [ως αγγελοι εν τωι ουρανωι]
So Matthew 22:30. Luke 20:36 has “equal unto the angels” “Their equality with angels consists in their deliverance from mortality and its consequences” (Swete). The angels are directly created, not procreated. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Mark 12:25

Galatians 1:8 Angel from heaven [ἄγγελος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ]
The phrase only here. “Angels in heaven or the heavens,” Matthew 22:30; Mark 12:25; Mark 13:32. “Angels of the heavens,” Matthew 24:36. [source]

What do the individual words in Mark 12:25 mean?

When for out from [the] dead they rise neither do they marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in the heavens
ὅταν γὰρ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστῶσιν οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμίζονται ἀλλ’ εἰσὶν ὡς ἄγγελοι ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς

ἐκ  out  from 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐκ 
Sense: out of, from, by, away from.
νεκρῶν  [the]  dead 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: νεκρός  
Sense: properly.
ἀναστῶσιν  they  rise 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἀναπηδάω 
Sense: to cause to rise up, raise up.
οὔτε  neither 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: οὔτε  
Sense: neither, and not.
γαμοῦσιν  do  they  marry 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: γαμέω  
Sense: to lead in marriage, take to wife.
οὔτε  nor 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: οὔτε  
Sense: neither, and not.
γαμίζονται  are  given  in  marriage 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Plural
Root: γαμίζω 
Sense: give in marriage.
ὡς  like 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ὡς 
Sense: as, like, even as, etc.
ἄγγελοι  angels 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἄγγελος  
Sense: a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God.
οὐρανοῖς  heavens 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.