Perspective 

By definition an institution is an established law, practice or custom. God established it in the garden of Eden when He officiated the ancient custom of marriage between our first parents, Adam and Eve. Marriage was brought into being to form the first building block of the family unit, and God said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and b joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

Adam Clarke states in his commentary this in regard to this verse: “These two shall be one flesh, shall be considered as one body, having no separate or independent rights, privileges, cares, concerns.”

From the beginning God intended marriage to be an institution of unity which would be the foundational union of the family, tribe and nation. It was to be solid, built by the love between a man and a woman.

In marriage two are one flesh

Jesus reiterated this to the Pharisees because marriages were being dissolved over frivolous things:

“The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?’ And He answered and said to them, ‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning “made them male and female,”’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:3-6).

The Pharisees then asked:

“Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” He said to them, ‘Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery’” (Matthew 19:8-9).

Hardness of the heart is an interesting evaluation of the mental state of ancient Israel. In Strong’s Concordance we find the Greek word for “hardness of heart” is “sklērokardia” and it means, “hard heartedness, that is, (specifically) destitution of (spiritual) perception.”

The Pharisees, with all of their education, seemed to be as destitute and bereft of spiritual perception and understanding about the purpose of marriage as their ancestors. Destitution of spiritual astuteness reflects the fact that the Pharisees had such an extreme lack of spiritual knowledge; they had no way to understand it on their own. Even the disciples did not understand, they said to Christ, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry” (verse 10).

Unfortunately, many in the world today are just as lacking in understanding, and marriages are readily dissolved. There is a trend not to marry. There is far less of a stigma now on those who choose to simply live together.

The New York Times published an article on October 20, 2021, “The Married Will Soon Be the Minority,” and it stated:

“When I was young, everything in society seemed to aim one toward marriage. It was the expectation. It was the inevitability. You would—and should—meet someone, get married and start a family. It was the way it had always been, and always would be. But even then, the share of people who were married was already falling. The year I was born, 1970, the percentage of Americans between the ages of 25 and 50 who had never married was just 9 percent. By the time I became an adult, that number was approaching 20 percent. Some people were delaying marriage. But others were forgoing it altogether. This trend has only continued, and we are now nearing a milestone. This month, the Pew Research Center published an analysis of census data showing that in 2019 the share of American adults who were neither married nor living with a partner had risen to 38 percent, and while that group ‘includes some adults who were previously married (those who are separated, divorced or widowed), all of the growth in the unpartnered population since 1990 has come from a rise in the number who have never been married.’ This came on the heels of data released by the National Center for Health Statistics last year, which showed that marriage rates in 2018 had reached a record low. We are nearing a time when there will be more unmarried adults in the United States than married ones, a development with enormous consequences for how we define family and adulthood in general, as well as how we structure taxation and benefits.”

New morality will change society for the worse

A change in the percentage of those who choose to marry will alter not only society, but the nation. There is a drive to cause people to doubt their sexual identity, and many of these same people see marriage as a sexist institution. Some women see their role in marriage as the one to do most of the parenting, cooking, cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping, and they think that is too much to take on. Men have been so emasculated by the society around them it is becoming more difficult for a woman to find a real man who can fulfill his role in marriage. On the other hand, society has impacted the minds of women making it hard for a man to find a woman who is willing to be a wife. King Solomon discovered a prudent wife is a gift from God (Proverbs 19:14). He also wrote in Proverbs 31:10, “Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.”

The LGBTQ movement in the United States is striving to introduce toxic ideas into the educational system of this country to cause our children to be confused sexually. Such tactics will no doubt impact the concept of marriage and family. 

In the book of Malachi God chastened Israel for the way men were treating their wives: “The Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore, take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth” (Malachi 2:14-15).

God is telling us to heed what He’s saying; get hold of your wrong attitude towards your mate. Realize, the purpose of marriage is to become one as God and Christ are one. Most importantly, a married couple should be one with God. Remember, marriage is first and foremost the joining of two Christians, and husbands and wives should treat one another as followers of Christ should.

God intended a loving unified marriage that would produce godly offspring. This means feminine, righteous, and prudent women and upright, wise young men prevalent in society. We know there will be fewer marriageable men and women in this world. We are different. We are preparing our children so there are plenty of godly young men and women in the Church. 

This is my Perspective and the current edition of the Prophetic Times follows below: 

Prophetic Times

 Kim shows off new North Korean drones, ICBMs to Russia defence minister

July 27, 2023 spacewar.com reported:

Walking past huge intercontinental ballistic missiles and previously unseen military drones, Kim Jong Un gave Russia’s defence minister a tour of North Korea’s newest and most advanced weaponry Thursday, state media reported.

After Washington earlier this year accused Pyongyang of supplying Moscow with weapons for its war in Ukraine, photographs in state media showed Kim walking Moscow’s Sergei Shoigu through a vast defence exhibition showcasing the North’s nuclear missiles and what Seoul-based specialist site NK News said were new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Shoigu and a high-ranking Chinese delegation are in Pyongyang as Kim’s first known foreign guests since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, as the country marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of the July 27, 1953, Korean War armistice, which ended open hostilities and is celebrated as Victory Day.

Kim and Shoigu visited the ‘Weapons and Equipment Exhibition 2023’, the official Korean Central News Agency said, showing photos that featured North Korea’s largest intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Hwasong-17, and the Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM. Russia, a historic ally of North Korea, is one of a handful of nations with which Pyongyang maintains friendly relations.

Latest in Ukraine: Britain Says Russia Could Be Preparing Black Sea Blockade

July 26, 2023 voanews.com reported:

Britain’s defense ministry said Wednesday that Russia has altered its naval activity in the Black Sea, adding that there is a possibility Russian forces were preparing ‘to enforce a blockade of Ukraine.’

Last week, Russia withdrew from a nearly year-old agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that allowed for the safe passage of grain shipments from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Before the deal, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had halted the grain exports, worsening a global food crisis.

The British defense ministry said in its daily update that the Russian corvette Sergey Kotov had deployed to the Black Sea to patrol a shipping lane between the Bosporus Strait and Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa.

‘There is a realistic possibility that it will form part of a task group to intercept commercial vessels Russia believes are heading to Ukraine,’ the British ministry said.

Iran boosts navy with new ‘Abu Mahdi’ cruise missile 

July 25, 2023 jpost.com reported:

The Iranian Navy and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corp (IRGC)’s Navy both received a cruise missile that is supposed to extend their ability to strike at ships in the region. The missile is called the Abu Mahdi and is said to be a ‘high-precision naval cruise missile.’

This would give them a cruise missile with a claimed range of 1,000km, Iranian state media claimed on Tuesday. The announcement comes amid rising naval tensions as the US has sent more warplanes and ships to the Persian Gulf. Iran doesn’t have a very large navy or air force, and therefore using missiles and drones is the main way Iran can threaten ships and other naval forces. 

The announcement is important to Iran and was widely reported by Iran’s media. ‘Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said during the ceremony that the Abu Mahdi cruise missile is capable of confronting electronic warfare and evading radar systems and has utilized artificial intelligence to chart its optimal flight path,’ Iran’s pro-regime Fars News said.

Islamic Jihad: We must use crisis in Israel for war against it

July 24, 2023 israelnationalnews.com reported:

Nasser Abu Sharif, a member of the Islamic Jihad terror group’s political wing, has called on the Palestinian Arab groups to unite in a war against Israel.

Abu Sharif stressed, ‘The Zionist entity is also facing real crises and suffering from significant internal disagreements. Therefore, the Palestinian nation is facing a new stage, and standing before a historic opportunity which it must utilize for fighting and the conflict for the sake of the Palestinian problem, and to achieve victory and remove the occupation from the Palestinian land.’
Speaking to Al-Quds Radio, which is affiliated with the Islamic Jihad, Abu Sharif said that the Palestinian struggle is continuing and even intensifying in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, because the Palestinian people see the struggle as the proper way to fight the Zionist operation which executes policy of ‘Judaizing’ the land.

Computer chip with built-in human brain tissue gets military funding 

July 21, 2023 newatlas.com reported:

Last year, “Monash University scientists created the "DishBrain" – a semi-biological computer chip with some 800,000 human and mouse brain cells lab-grown into its electrodes. Demonstrating something like sentience, it learned to play Pong within five minutes.

The micro-electrode array at the heart of the DishBrain was capable both of reading activity in the brain cells, and stimulating them with electrical signals, so the research team set up a version of Pong where the brain cells were fed a moving electrical stimulus to represent which side of the "screen" the ball was on, and how far away from the paddle it was. They allowed the brain cells to act on the paddle, moving it left and right.

Then they set up a very basic-reward system, using the fact that small clusters of brain cells tend to try to minimize unpredictability in their environment. So, if the paddle hit the ball, the cells would receive a nice, predictable stimulus. But if it missed, the cells would get four seconds of totally unpredictable stimulation.

It was the first-time lab-grown brain cells had been used this way, being given not only a way to sense the world, but to act on it, and the results were impressive. Impressive enough that the research – undertaken in partnership with Melbourne startup Cortical Labs – has now attracted a US$407,000 grant from Australia's National Intelligence and Security Discovery Research Grants program.

These programmable chips, fusing biological computing with artificial intelligence, "in future may eventually surpass the performance of existing, purely silicon-based hardware," says project lead, Associate Professor Adeel Razi.

Whistleblowers Says Fox News Is Financially Supporting Satanic Temple and Planned Parenthood

July 21, 2023 slaynews.com reported:

Whistleblowers at Fox News revealed that the company is matching employee donations to the Satanic Temple, LGBT activist organization The Trevor Project, Planned Parenthood, and the SPLC.

Two current Fox News employees and a former producer told The Blaze that Fox News has set up an internal app, known as “Fox Giving,” which allows employees to donate to various charitable organizations with the company matching donations up to $1,000. The company is willing to match donations to the Satanic Temple, the Trevor Project, Planned Parenthood (and local Planned Parenthood branches), and the Southern Poverty Law Center – radical groups that go against core conservative Blaze Media’s head of programming, Rikki Ratliff-Fellman, said: 

“I watched the source physically log in to their company portal at Myfox.okta.com to confirm the giving app and to see some of the questionable charities and the donation match option for myself to verify nothing was photoshopped.”
One current employee turned whistleblower said: “Fox pretends to care about Christians, but some of the stuff they push internally suggests otherwise. 

“Glory holes, trans surgeries for kids, and potential donations to Satan are a huge slap in the face to every Christian at the company, and we resent it.

“It offends me personally that this company acts like they support Christians and yet they’re literally willing to match $1,000 donation to the Satanic Temple.”

One ex-producer said this “shows complete disregard and hatred for Fox’s core audience. 

(Fox News backtracked on this, and reversed its match policy. The Blaze reported Monday that The Satanic Temple had been removed as an option in which the company would match 100% of a donation up to $1,000 from Fox News employees, although other far-left wing groups such as Planned Parenthood, The Trevor Project, and the Southern Poverty Law Center remain as options.)