The Death of Marriage

Jeremiah16:9 NKJV 

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

Revelation 18:21-24 NKJV 

Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. 22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. 23 The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”

Dear Lord,

Both Jeremiah and John utter frightening prophecies describing the death of marriage. Both prophecies pertain to Babylon. Jeremiah connected the death of marriage to the destruction of Jerusalem and 6th century B.C. Babylonian captivity. John's first century A.D. prophesy foretold the death of marriage in connection to the final destruction of end-times Babylon. 

I'm certain that I don't understand all of the implications of the times and seasons of these prophecies, but I can bear witness to the death of marriage in our land. Divorce has slayed many marriages. Pervasive sexual immorality has bypassed the blessing and commitment of marriage and family, substituting the impermanence of cohabitation. Children of these unions are born into instability and often cursed with poverty and abuse. We have legalized same-sex marriages, and exchanged the truth of marriage between one man and one woman, for a false and unproductive substitute that mocks the divine design. 

It seems to me, that the saddest implication of the death of marriage is the loss of an eternal lesson of hope. Jesus has gone to prepare a place in heaven for the Church, His soon to be bride. He has promised us a marriage in the land of eternal life. Jesus, the Bridegroom, will be married to the Church. The loss of marriage in our world today is a loss of hope. We need a shadow of that hope to come. Earthly marriage points to the hope of heaven, a new creation, and the marriage of Christ with His bride. Beyond the social, the familial... we need the spiritual hope of marriage.

Father, encourage husbands and wives today. Encourage them to fidelity to each other and to You. Help my marriage to be a blessing and motivation to someone that they, too, may enjoy this earthly spiritual and physical symbol of holy marriage, as preparation for heaven with Jesus, Your Son. Protect children who are born into homes with unmarried parents. Protect children who suffer the revolving door of false fatherhood, in the form of mother's boyfriends.  

Help us to point people to a better way. Your way. Holy marriage.

In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Amen.