In His letter to the Church of Philadelphia (Rev. 3:12), Christ said: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God…and I will write upon him the name of my God, the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” When Christ writes the name of His God on the overcomer He is confirming God’s ownership of that overcomer. When He writes upon the overcomer the name of the city of His God (which is New Jerusalem), He is issuing the overcomer a passport, proof against hell that he/she has legitimate heavenly citizenship. When He writes His own new name on the overcomer, He is declaring that he/she is co-heir with Jesus Christ. These are guarantees of eternal security for those that overcome the world…. Gives you the willies, doesn’t it? The thought of going through eternity with Jesus’ signature upon you is humbling. The Philadelphia Church is fading. A remnant remains but most of the old guards have passed on. In its place the end-time Laodicean Church has risen as arrogant and as apostate as the written Word says it would. And this is why Jesus’ letter to the Philadelphia Church is so meaningful to those of us that remain. We remember the Philadelphia Church in its strength and glory – before the liberals in Congress, the Supreme Court, the UN, EU, World Banks and the Club of Rome storm troopers conspired to destroy the Word of God in America, indeed in all the nations of the world, and legislate laws to prohibit, restrict and condemn Christianity’s “offensive” influence. The Philadelphia remnant refused to bow but the Laodicean Church surrendered to these demands for tolerance and compromise. When the two very different views could find no real and solid anchor in their differences, the Church began to split from within. There is a saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Well, in time the rising Laodicean Church relaxed its levels of morality and its ancient social laws and it agreed not to judge or correct the spiritually lawless. The age of apostasy had arrived without fanfare, and if nothing else, this alone should bear witness that we are in the last days and Jesus is coming soon for His bride… Because the Laodicean Church did not adhere to the Word of God as an anchor in this storm, it gradually lost its spiritual moorings and today, the Laodicean Church refuses to acknowledge its guilt or accept its accountability for the vile offenses and betrayals they have accepted and practiced before the Lord of Hosts. I do not believe I am talking out of turn or being judgmental in speaking these things - the Scriptures themselves describe the Laodicean Church as lukewarm and nauseating. Jesus Himself said He would spew it out of His mouth (Rev. 3:16). It is no wonder Jesus explains in his teaching, “broad is the way to destruction and narrow is the way to life – and there are only a few that find it”. There are only a “few” – out of all the men, women and children that have lived on the earth these past 6,000 years. Only a “few” that have overcome the world, only a “few” that amounts to a numberless tens of thousands of thousands that lived and overcame in all the ages – and another numberless throng out of those that will overcome in the tribulation to come. And yet, these multiplied tens of thousands of thousands are a “few” compared to the countless numbers of souls we have lost to hell – all those that didn’t overcome – or didn’t want to… Overcoming the world has never been easy, but when we compare our trials and persecutions with the agony and humiliation of the Cross, there is no doubt or question as to who suffered the most for the privilege extended to us in bearing Our Lord’s ageless and eternal Name, the Name of Our God and the Name of the City of Our God, indelibly inscribed upon our persons forever... And they are inscribed by the hands of Jesus - hands that reached out to the leper, the sick, the afflicted, the oppressed, and the joyous at the wedding in Cana. Hands that held the little children, blessed the saints, lifted reverently in prayer, and drove the moneychangers out of the Temple. Hands that hold your hand and mine, hands that were opened to the world from an old rugged cross, hands that were excruciatingly pierced with spikes until his life’s blood was all poured out. These are the hands that will clasp your hands and mine when He smiles broadly and says, “Welcome home.” Precious hands…strong hands, caring hands, healing hands, hands of the shepherd, hands of the Savior, hands of God… Oh, the hands that hold me when I weep – the hands that clap with me when I rejoice, the hands that reach for me when I stumble, the hands that catch me when I fall… The gentle hands of Christ – hands that shall fasten His Glory upon my head…
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