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name and the name of the New Jerusalem and His own new name will be written upon them. If you know the book of Revelation, you know what's coming shortly. Everyone who does not have 666 written upon him will not be able to buy or sell. Everyone else is going to have a name, a number, written on them. But those who are faithful to the Lamb of God are not going to take that number. Jesus is saying to all the beleaguered saints, "The world will have its number, but you will have 'God' written across you. And when they inherit the wrath of God, you will inherit the Kingdom of God."
The Church Of Philadelphia
Then And Now
The message that the Spirit of God spoke to the church at Philadelphia has a special relevance to us today. What is
that message? The message is that in many ways people today feel small and insecure and overwhelmed by their adversities. And many who are seeking to be serious disciples of Jesus Christ and live for Him are getting tired in the battle and are feeling like members of the little Philadelphian church - we only have a little power and we can
see the darkness descending and the problems continuing and worsening. Many today can identify with the little Philadelphian church.
Some who are trying to be faithful to the word of God and the name of Jesus are feeling like they have little power because of intense personal problems. I am not speaking of those suffering adversity who live selfish,
world-centered lives hardly distinguishable from worldlings around them. Such are the Philadelphians. Some are under Satanic attack DESPITE their faithfulness to the Lord. They're not under attack because they've been unfaithful, but DESPITE
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remaining faithful. Yet their future does not seem as secure as it once did. And if our theology says to us that we're never going to have a problem if we're faithful to Jesus, then we've got a bad theology. There's not a verse in the Bible to support that kind of theology. How can we read chapters like Hebrews 11 - the great faith chapter - and believe such things?
Others feel they have only a little power because of what is happening all around us in the churches. Jesus said, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of many will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12). How many Philadelphians are left today in the Church, people who say they will be faithful to God's word and Jesus' name, and who won't compromise either one? Answer that question in your own heart. Are you a Philadelphian, having little power and feeling small, yet remaining faithful to your Lord?
And finally, people today feel small and of little power because of the present onslaught of evil in our nation and around the world. The evil we see in our society today will increase from this point to the end of this decade, making
our present pain seem trivial. The problem with America is not economic - it is moral and spiritual because we no longer want God in this country - except for the little Philadelphians. We have not seen the half of it when this juggernaut of evil comes down the pike. Serious believers are going to increasingly sense that they are small with little power when the invited evil invades our entire house and is glorified.
We are even now identifying with the Philadelphians of the first century. The darkness is descending. The party is over. The time will test us and only the spiritual Philadelphians will stand. Today's Philadelphian has to seriously ask the questions: "What
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The Church Of Philadelphia
Called To Stand Fast To The End
Then Jesus encourages them by saying, "I am coming quickly." He doesn't necessarily mean, "I am coming immediately." What He means is, when He makes His move, events will happen decisively. There will no longer be any hesitation. And as we see more prophecy being fulfilled in our midst, Jesus is saying to us, "When I put My hand on the doorknob of heaven, I will come quickly - it will be decisive - and events will immediately fall into place and there's not anything that's going to stop it from happening." So He says to us as He said to the early Philadelphian church: "Hold fast to what you have, in order that no one take your crown" (v. 11).
The Church Of Philadelphia
Powerless, Yet Holding
Onto A Promise
Despite their faithfulness, Jesus didn't promise He'd remove
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the bad circumstances they found themselves in at the moment. But He promised they would be rewarded with what escapes them in this present life - stability, safety, rest, security - when He returned. In verse 12, Jesus promised the Philadelphians, "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name."
When you think of a pillar, you don't think of something insignificant and insecure. You think of strength and stability and permanence. And here's this little church and Jesus says, "I know you have little power and I know you're threatened on all sides, but to those who overcome, I'm going to make you a pillar in the temple of My God." He's promising them stability and rest if they will remain faithful. And He promises them that God's
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