o be
found in such characters as "James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be
pillars" in the church in apostolic times. Gal. 2:9. In the last prayer
of Christ to the Father, he says concerning his disciples, "While I was
with them in the world, I kept them in thy name" (John 17:12); and since
the church promised by Christ (Mat. 16:18) has been established, we
continually bear the name of the Father, its title being the church or
city of God. We also bear the new name of Christ, as explained in
chapter 2:17, and we meet together and worship in that name (Mat.
18:20), obeying the exhortation of the apostle Paul--"Whatsoever ye do
in word or deed, do all _in the name of the Lord Jesus_, giving thanks
to God and the Father by him." Col. 3:17. A better understanding of the
manner in which we receive the name of God and of his city will be
obtained when we come to the consideration of the followers of a false,
degenerate church represented as receiving the "mark of the beast," by
which they are designated.

To inquire further into the history of this church, Philadelphia still
remains with a population of about fifteen thousand. It contains a
number of places of public worship, a resident (Greek) archbishop, and
several inferior clergy. Mr. Keith, in his "Evidence of Prophecy,"
speaks of the then presiding bishop, and says that he acknowledges "the
Bible as the only foundation of all religious belief" and admits that
"abuses have entered into the church, which former ages might endure,
but the present must put down." It is also a singular coincidence that
the modern Turkish name of the city, Ala-Shehr, signifies "city of God."

This description of the church of Philadelphia I will bring to a close
by adding the following extract from Gibbon, recorded in his noted
history entitled "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." It is of
especial value since the writer, being an avowed infidel, can not be
convicted of misconstruing historical facts in order to favor
Christianity.

"The captivity or ruin of the seven churches of Asia was consummated [by
the Ottomans] A.D. 1312, and the barbarous lords of Ionia and Lydia
still trample on the monuments of classic and Christian antiquity. In
the loss of Ephesus the Christians deplore the fall of the first
candle-stick of the Revelation. The desolation is complete; and the
temple of Diana and the church of Mary will equally elude the search of
the curious traveler. The circus and thre