What is going on with Marriages today?

Mike here….

So what is going on with marriages all around us?

All around me marriages are in trouble much like the current housing situation. So many marriages are in various stages of distress, pre foreclosure, or have already been abandoned and left for someone to pick up the pieces.

So, I find myself asking the question , “What is going on with Marriages today?”

While certainly we could look at the earthly pressures and reality of the American society and culture on marriage I first want to look to scripture for some answers.

Marriage is the analogy Christ uses to explain His second coming and our re-union with our Heavenly Father.

Revelation 19 (New American Standard Bible)

Marriage of the Lamb

7"Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."

8It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

9Then he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb '" And he said to me, "These are true words of God."

10Then I fell at his feet to worship him But he said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

So, how does this question fit into the possibility that we are living in the end times?

Let’s look at the “Apostasy”…

1 Timothy 4 (New American Standard Bible)

Apostasy

1But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

2by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,

3men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.

4For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;

5for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

While we see that during the apostasy men will forbid marriage I believe the first two versus are even more telling of the spiritual battle that will/is taking place and one of the direct casualties is marriage.

For me personally I’m watching all types of deceitful spirits and pressures pull on marriages. Unfortunately, we don’t often learn of all the challenges until a marriage is so damaged that one or both parties are no longer interested in fighting to repair the relationship.

So, what do we do? Well first and foremost we must hold on to the teachings of the entire Word of God. As believers strive to be Christ like, healthy relationships and marriages will result. I believe first and foremost that selfishness is at the core of all of our sin. It is not hard to see how selfish behavior pulls at the fabric of relationships and marriage either.

I encourage believers to press on to the goal. Continue to read your Bible but also be on guard for deceitful spirits placing selfish ideas and motivations in front of you to pursue.

Our marital commitments are very important to God.

Hebrews 13:4 (New American Standard Bible)

Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Let me be clear, our marriages are often the first battle field in this Spiritual Battle that is only getting more and more intense.

Hold fast and stay dedicated to one another in prayer.

Mike

Paul Washer -Ten Indictments

Curt here...

Here is an amazing sermon by Paul Washer, that exposes the problems with today's churches and today's Christians. It is both sobering and convicting.

It is very long, but I would recommend that you take the time to fully view it, even if it takes you a couple of days to get through it.

Curt

UK's Brown: Now is the time to build global society

Curt Here...

The article posted below states that Gordon Brown, Prime Minister from the UK believes the current "international financial crisis has given world leaders a unique opportunity to create a truly global society." If find this statement to be very interesting because if your a student of Bible Prophecy than you know from scripture that at some point there will be a final global society that will be born from within the Revived Roman Empire or as I believe, this final empire will come from within the EU.

The Book of Daniel clearly states this final global kingdom will be very powerful. Here is a description of it from Daniel 7.

Daniel 7:7
7. "After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

From this final empire that will have 10 horns we know that a little horn will come up from among the 10. Here is the next scripture.

Daniel 7:8
8. "While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.

This little horn is of course the AC. He will reign for 3 1/2 years over this global society and will make war with the Saints and overcome them.

Daniel 7:23-25
23. "Thus he said: `The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it.
24. `As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.
25. `He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.

This final global empire will also control the monetary system and through the False Prophet will institute the Mark of the Beast.

Revelation 13:16-17
16. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,
17. and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

I believe much of the final prophetic landscape is already in place, and we are heading towards the fulfilling of ancient prophetic scripture in the not so distant future. The headlines are everywhere and many point to this end. Please take some time to review a link that I have at the top of my blog titled "Herb's Overview". Here is the link...http://www.fulfilledprophecy.com/page/overview/ Herb does an excellent job of summarizing were we might be at.

We could be much closer than many think.

Curt


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UK's Brown: Now is the time to build global society

LONDON (Reuters) - The international financial crisis has given world leaders a unique opportunity to create a truly global society, Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown will say in a keynote foreign policy speech on Monday.

In his annual speech at the Lord Mayor's Banquet, Brown -- who has spearheaded calls for the reform of international financial institutions -- will say Britain, the United States and Europe are key to forging a new world order.

"The alliance between Britain and the U.S. -- and more broadly between Europe and the U.S. -- can and must provide leadership, not in order to make the rules ourselves, but to lead the global effort to build a stronger and more just international order," an excerpt from the speech says.
Brown and other leaders meet in Washington next weekend to discuss longer term solutions for dealing with economic issues following a series of coordinated moves on interest rates and to recapitalize banks in the wake of the financial crisis.

"Uniquely in this global age, it is now in our power to come together so that 2008 is remembered not just for the failure of a financial crash that engulfed the world but for the resilience and optimism with which we faced the storm, endured it and prevailed," Brown will say in his speech on Monday evening.

"...And if we learn from our experience of turning unity of purpose into unity of action, we can together seize this moment of change in our world to create a truly global society."
According to a summary of the speech released by his office, Brown will set out five great challenges the world faces.

These are: terrorism and extremism and the need to reassert faith in democracy; the global economy; climate change; conflict and mechanisms for rebuilding states after conflict; and meeting goals on tackling poverty and disease.

Brown will also identify five stages for tackling the economy, starting with recapitalizing banks so they can resume lending to families and businesses, and better international co-ordination of fiscal and monetary policy.

He also wants immediate action to stop the spread of the financial crisis to middle-income countries, with a new facility for the International Monetary Fund, and agreement on a global trade deal, as well as reform of the global financial system.

"My message is that we must be: internationalist not protectionist; interventionist not neutral; progressive not reactive; and forward looking not frozen by events. We can seize the moment and in doing so build a truly global society."

http://mobile.reuters.com/mobile/m/FullArticle/CBUS/nbusinessNews_uUSTRE4A900K20081110?src=RSS-BUS

European Leaders are Lobbying Bush to Hold a Financial Summit

Curt Here....

The current European leaders are lobbying President Bush to hold a global financial summit in which the rules of international finance are completely rewritten. These European leaders are using the excuse of the current economic crisis as their reasoning as to why this must occur. The real interesting part of all this, is that President Bush's term is ending very soon, and the next president of the US is going to have to deal with this issue. Those of us who are prophecy watchers have to realize what is really going on here. It is without a doubt a global economic power grab by the EU, plan and simple. Is the next American administration going to fight this power grab or embrace it?

Who says elections don't matter?

This is a very important article and very telling as to where we are heading, please take the time to read it.

I would also encourage all to watch this news video where the reporter clearly says "the EU wants to present a blueprint for a worldwide currency system." It is about 58 seconds in. Things are happening fast people.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=10235053&ch=4226714&news

2/16/09: Updated link below as above is not working anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFs99zBTRO0


Curt

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Bush plans to host world powers at economic summit

CAMP DAVID, Md. – President Bush, who is being pressed by European leaders to sign on to global financial market reform, will host a summit of nations in the near future to discuss the economic crisis that has shaken markets around the world, a senior administration official said Saturday.

Word of the impending announcement came at Camp David where European leaders are lobbying Bush to hold a summit by year's end.

The summit will focus on ideas to prevent a crisis from recurring and to preserve the free market system, said the Bush administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has not yet been made. Bush is not expected to announce a date or site for the event.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso are trying to convince Bush that now is a good opportunity to tighten and better coordinate control of the financial markets, in response to the credit crisis.

The president has backed the steps European nations have taken to stem the downturn, and wants the summit to include the Group of Eight industrialized powers plus other emerging economies like China and India. The White House says Bush, who has just three months left in office, wants to listen to a broad range of ideas, not just from Europe, but from Asia and developing countries.

But the U.S. hasn't signed on to the more ambitious, broad-stroke revisions that some European leaders like Sarkozy have in mind for the world financial system. And with only three months left in office, reforming the global financial system likely will fall to his successor. It's unclear if the summit will be before or after the U.S. presidential election and whether the candidates, their representatives or the winner would attend.

Sarkozy and Barroso were stopping at Camp David to meet with Bush on their way home from a summit of French-speaking nations in Quebec City, Canada.

At the summit, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon offered Saturday to host an emergency G8 summit at New York's United Nations Secretariat to discuss the global financial crisis. Ban issued a statement backing Sarkozy's appeal to act aggressively and collectively to address the economic meltdown at a summit of the world's most influential nations by December.

"I strongly believe that holding the summit at the United Nations, the symbol of multilateralism, will lend universal legitimacy to this endeavor and demonstrate a collective will to face this serious global challenge," said Ban.

On Friday, Sarkozy repeated his call to overhaul the global financial system so that it can be better supervised in the wake of the crisis.

"Together we need to rebuild a capitalism that is more respectful to man, more respectful to the planet, more respectful to future generations and be finished with a capitalism obsessed by the frantic search for short-term profit," Sarkozy said

Sarkozy has floated the idea of reforming rating agencies and even exploring the future of currency systems. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who engineered a British bank bailout that inspired U.S. and European rescues, is proposing radical changes to the global capitalist system, including a cross-border mechanism to monitor the world's 30 biggest financial institutions.

In his weekly radio address, Bush on Saturday sought to reassure Americans about the cost and scope of the nation's financial bailout plan and said that in the long run "our economy will bounce back." He acknowledged that people are concerned about their finances and, while he offered assurances about an eventual recovery, he did not say when that would happen.

Since Oct. 9, 2007, when the Dow topped 14,000, investors have lost $8.3 trillion from pension funds, college savings plans, 401(k)s and other investments. Congress gave Bush a $700 billion plan to buy bad assets from banks and other institutions to shore up the financial industry.

"The federal government has responded to this crisis with systematic and aggressive measures to protect the financial security of the American people," Bush said in the radio broadcast.

"These actions will take more time to have their full impact. But they are big enough and bold enough to work."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081018/ap_on_go_pr_wh/meltdown_bush

European Leaders Seek `One Voice' to Counter Crisis

Curt Here...

Europe is seeking one voice to counter the current economic crisis. This latest headline should catch our attention, because we know that some day, and it appears that some day soon, Europe will speak with one voice and one man will be in charge.

The ultimate goal of this man will be to make war with the Saints.

Keep looking up.

Stay tuned

Curt

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Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- European leaders met to forge a new set of measures to combat the credit freeze after their failure to act a week ago contributed to the worst sell-off in the region's stocks in two decades.

``I want Europe to speak with one voice for Europe and for the world because this is a global crisis,'' French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters as he greeted European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Sarkozy said he's seeking ``an ambitious, coordinated plan.''

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose government earlier this month rejected French suggestions to form a joint bank- rescue fund, said yesterday the euro region will implement ``the same toolbox of instruments.'' Merkel, Sarkozy and their counterparts in the 15-nation euro region are being forced to shift stance as a deepening slide in financial markets has threatened to tip Europe into a prolonged recession.

``Measures by euro-area governments to end the financial crisis have been uncoordinated and insufficient,'' said Juergen Michels, a Citigroup Inc. economist in London. ``Increasing risks of an economic disaster might force governments to set up more coordinated and more comprehensive measures.''

U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown met Sarkozy, Barroso and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet. The leaders of the euro nations then gathered at 5 p.m. local time. The talks come after finance chiefs from the Group of Seven nations established guidelines on Oct. 10 for combating the credit crunch, while falling short of adopting new initiatives.

For more click the link...http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=alhRZSkR0E3o&refer=worldwide

Berlusconi Says Leaders May Close World's Markets

Curt Here....

Sorry for my absence, but it is very nice to be back posting on this blog. I wish I had better news to be talking about, but sadly I don't.

If you have at all been paying attention then you realize that the global financial world is in complete chaos. Governments from across the globe have been trying for several weeks now to halt the world wide stock sell off. Nothing has worked as we slowly but surely creep towards financial disaster.

The newest idea that seems to be breaking this morning is a complete and total shut down of all world markets as the global powers that be rewrite the rules of the international financial world. This is about the scariest idea that I have heard yet, and without a doubt has extreme prophetic implications.

You see, I have often wondered, how do we get to the point in human history where people willingly accept the Mark of the Beast and then turn around and worship the beast as if he is god. I understand some of the new age groups out there that have been waiting for this "savior" to appear on the world scene, but I could never understand how "normal" people get to that point. I know a lot of people that are not at all religious, and have no interest in religion of any kind. What makes these people take the Mark and worship the AC? After watching the current financial mess unfold, I think I have found the answer and I believe it is fear. Fear is what is going to drive these end times and the AC will appear to have an answer to all these fears. I think this current economic situation sheds light on where the world is heading.

The good news for us believers is that we should not have fear, but hope. Christ is our hope and because of His work on the cross for our sins, we will soon be with Him. This is good news and should not scare us but excite us.

Yes, it is going to get very bumpy and soon there will come a day when we will be forced to decide who's side we are on, but do not lose heart because Jesus is coming soon. So keep looking up and keep your eye on the prize.

Stay tuned.

Curt

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Berlusconi Says Leaders May Close World's Markets (Update1)
By Steve Scherer

Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said political leaders are discussing the idea of closing the world's financial markets while they ``rewrite the rules of international finance.''

``The idea of suspending the markets for the time it takes to rewrite the rules is being discussed,'' Berlusconi said today after a Cabinet meeting in Naples, Italy. A solution to the financial crisis ``can't just be for one country, or even just for Europe, but global.''

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as much 8.1 percent in early trading and pared most of those losses after Berlusconi's remarks. The Dow was down 0.5 percent to 8540.52 at 10:10 in New York.

Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers are meeting in Washington today, and will stay in town for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings this weekend. European Union leaders may gather in Paris on Oct. 12, three days before a scheduled summit in Brussels, Berlusconi said today, while Group of Eight leaders may hold a meeting on the crisis ``in coming days,'' he said.

Berlusconi didn't give any details about what kind of rules leaders were looking to change, except to say that leaders are ``talking about a new Bretton Woods.''

The Bretton Woods Agreements were adopted to rebuild the international economic system after World War II in a hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The aim of the agreements was to establish a monetary management system, initially by pegging currencies to gold. The IMF was set up later to help manage the international financial system.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aP5mpMUORBWM

Rice Visit: PA State Closer than Ever

Curt Here...

Negotiations continue between Israel and the Palestinians on a two state solution at a very rapid pace. According to the article posted below we could have an nearly complete agreement in principals within a few weeks and a signed agreement on all principles by the beginning of next year.

As the pace of current events and possible fulfillments of Biblical prophecy are rapidly increasing I am finding it difficult to keep up with it all.

Things are getting very interesting.

Stay Tuned.

Curt

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Rice Visit: PA State Closer than Ever

by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) Negotiations between Israel and PA continue at a "crazy" pace, agreement on dividing Jerusalem is "closer than ever," and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is pushing for a nearly-complete agreement on a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria by January. So reports Aaron Klein of WorldNetDaily (WND).

Secretary Rice, completing a visit to the region today (Tuesday), has been pressing Israel to sign a document by the end of the year that would divide Jerusalem. Rice says Israel must agree to a Palestinian state capital in Jerusalem - Israel's own capital - and a full Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

Despite official Israeli government denials, Jerusalem is thus very much on the negotiating table. The Shas Party, which has said it would quit the government if Jerusalem were to be negotiated, remains firmly in the government coalition.

The Rice Compromise: Israel Remains in Jerusalem for 1-5 YearsKlein quotes top diplomatic sources involved in the talks as saying that Rice has been pushing for a "compromise" between Israel and the PA that would involve Israel's withdrawal from eastern Jerusalem, including most of the Old City, within one to five years.

The Israeli team, led by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, is willing to conclude an agreement on a Palestinian state by the end of the year, but wants to leave talks to decide the fate of Jerusalem for a later date. The PA team, however, wants a deal by January on all core issues, including the Holy City.

The Rice compromise, the sources told WND, asks Israeli leaders to bend and agree to promise sections of Jerusalem to the PA - but not to actually withdraw before one to five years have passed. U.S. President George W. Bush would then, just days before his term in office ends, issue an official letter guaranteeing U.S. support for the agreement.

High Intensity TalksWND's Klein quoted an unnamed Palestinian Authority negotiator saying that the intensity and frequency of Israeli-Palestinian talks in recent weeks have been "crazy," and that the sides have been meeting on a daily basis, usually at the highest levels. The negotiator further said Jerusalem is being discussed by both sides, and that the two teams are "closer than ever" on coming to an agreement on the status of the city. "This claim was verified to WND by other diplomatic sources involved in the negotiations," Klein wrote.

Reports of the past few months say that the Olmert-Livni negotiators are prepared to give up well over 90% of Judea and Samaria, as well as land for a "safe passage" between those areas and Gaza. This, despite the results of the withdrawal from Gaza three years ago, which include the takeover of the area by Hamas and incessant rocket attacks on nearby Israeli areas.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/127351