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Despite our fervent prayers, the gay agenda has won a victory in the rapidly degenerating land of the free, as the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

DOMA is a 1996 law blocking federal recognition of gay marriage. With that ruling, and because the high court decided not to give its opinion on a challenge to a ban on gay marriage in California known as Proposition 8, the road is paved for same-sex marriage in the Golden State. And that may open the floodgates.

Clearly, our nation is seeing Romans 1 play out before its very eyes because although we know God, we have chosen not to glorify Him (Rom. 1:21).

Exchanging the Truth for a Lie

Our Supreme Court has “exchanged the truth of God for the lie” (v. 25). A growing number of our citizens are fine and dandy with the fact that women exchange "the natural use for what is against nature,” and more are accepting of the fact that men have left "the natural use of the woman" and have "burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful” (vv. 26-27).

Many of our nation's leaders have given in to a “debased mind” (v. 28). Our nation is marked by “all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness” (v. 29). Many of our citizens are “full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful” (vv. 29-31).

Our Supreme Court just opened the door to more of the same. Could it be possible that one day marriage as an institution could be outlawed altogether? I believe that is part of Satan’s end-time strategy.

Recognizing the Signs of the Times

Paul hints at this in a prophetic letter to his spiritual son, Timothy, more than 2,000 years ago. Paul wrote, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry” (1 Tim. 4:1-3).

We are in the latter times. We are in the end times even now. And many are indeed departing from the faith. Less than 1 percent of 18- to 23-year-olds have a biblical worldview, according to a recent Barna Group survey. Seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30 who went to church regularly in high school said they quit attending by age 23, LifeWay Research reveals. And the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life reports that half of former Protestants who left the church said they turned away from their childhood faith because they stopped believing in its teachings—and about 40 percent said they did so because they do not believe in God.

We are in the latter times. We are in the end times even now. And some are indeed giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. Look at the likes of Rob Bell, with his “no hell” theology; John Crowder, with his distorted hypergrace messages; and Carlton Pearson, with his universalistic “gospel of inclusion.” Then there’s the false justice movement that talks about Jesus while holding Bible studies, worship meetings and performing good works—but it’s a different Jesus at the center. These are just a few of the doctrines of demons circulating through the church today that are leading us toward the end-time harlot church.

Forbidding to Marry?

We are in the latter times. We are in the end times even now. And some are indeed speaking lies in hypocrisy. Some are indeed living with a seared conscience. So the question is, Will 1 Timothy 4:3 be the next part of this prophetic Scripture to come to pass? Will we see governments forbidding marriage? I believe it’s inevitable as we get closer to the Second Coming of Christ. I believe the institution of traditional marriage will come under attack in parts of the earth as the deceptive gay marriage agenda continues to gain momentum.

Today’s rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court are about more than allowing gays to tap into federal benefits that, until now, were reserved for couples in traditional marriages. Today’s rulings set into motion a dynamic that could mainstream gay marriage in this nation sooner than later—and forward the satanic agenda to eventually end a godly institution that’s almost as old as the world itself.