THE WAR CRY/MARCH 17, 2012
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In the face of this onslaught, Jesus told them to
"endure patiently" (vs. 10). The believer is not
removed from trial, not given a special pass to
escape the hardship that comes. But the assurance is
that the Lord will keep us through the trial. Our
hope through it all is His promise found in vs. 11, "I
am coming." You are not abandoned or forgotten. I
am coming, Jesus says, with you in mind.
Jesus further admonishes them, "Do not lose
your crown." In the midst of all that is faced, do not
become bitter, do not turn your back, do not forget
how far grace has brought you. It is a reminder that
those who start out well can lose the most precious
gift of salvation if they fail to cling to the Lord.
The Lord then promises that those who overcome
will be "made a pillar in the temple of my God" (vs.
11). In this earthquake region, pillars were needed to
keep walls and roofs from collapsing. Strong pillars
provided a measure of safety. In looking at the ruins
of the old city of Philadelphia we find that to this
day the only thing left standing are the pillars.
An example of the importance of pillars is found
in London's St. Paul's Cathedral. When the Ger-
mans bombed London during the First World War,
people realized that the great cathedral might fall
victim to this kind of attack. In the years between
the First and Second World Wars, the main pillars
of St. Paul's were filled with concrete. During the
German blitz of WW2 when bombs rained down on
London, some not only came near the cathedral but
actually hit it. Yet the great dome remained stead-
fast over the smoke and fire and ruin of the city
because of the strength found in the pillars.
This promise of safety and strength had to be wel-
come to the people who often fled the city when
tremors shook it. To those who had to run in terror,
Jesus pledged in verse 12 that
"Never again will he have to leave
it . . ." The eternal city will not
collapse, no tremors will shake it,
no storms blow against it.
Finally, Jesus said, "I will also
write on him a new name."
Philadelphia had actually
changed its name to Newcae-
serea following the earthquake
because of all the aid given by
Rome. But once the emperor
died the new name fell into dis-
use and the old name of Philadelphia was revived.
But here Jesus promises that the believer's new name
will last forever, not something to be forgotten with
the passage of time.
In the musical, Man of LaMancha, the misguided
knight meets a prostitute named Aldonza, calling
out to her, "My lady! And I give you a new name �
Dulcinea." But things do not go well for her. Later
in the play she enters an empty stage following a
brutal rape. The knight calls to her, "My lady! Dul-
cinea!" Recoiling, she screams out to him, "Don't
call me a lady. I was born in a ditch by a mother
who left me there, naked and cold and too hungry to
cry. I never blamed her. I'm sure she left hoping I'd
have the good sense to die. Look at me. I'm no lady.
I'm only a kitchen slut, reeking with sweat. A strum-
pet men use and forget. Don't call me Dulcinea. I
am only Aldonza and I am nothing at all!" Cloaked
in shame, racked by guilt, with no shred of decency
left, she then runs off into the darkness.
The knight calls out, "But you are my lady, Dul-
cinea!"
As the curtain raises on the last act the knight lay
dying, heartbroken, condemned as a crazed outcast.
To the bed comes a beautiful lady, exquisitely
dressed. She kneels by his bed to pray and then he
opens his eyes. "Who are you?" he asks.
Standing erect, she answers, "My name? My
name is Dulcinea!"
On that last day when the faithful stand with their
triumphant Lord, we shall say that we were not what
we once were but we are now known by the new
name given us by Christ.
Major Allen Satterlee is Editor in Chief and National Literary
Secretary.
The Lord then promises that those who overcome
will be "made a pillar in the temple of my God."
dc
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