Hidden Manna and White Stones
Manna and White Stones
In Revelation 2 the church of Pergamum is being addressed. God knows that they are located right in the dwelling place of Satan. They live in a culture that does not follow Jesus and they are constantly under attack. God warns those who wish to distract those who follow Jesus that he is coming in judgment. He then commends those who have stayed faithful to their Savior. He promises those who have been faithful a reward. “To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it” Rev 2:17.
We live where Satan is the Prince and Power of the air. We live in a culture that is defiant against the teachings of Jesus. We live in a culture that is full of false teachers and prophets who seek to move us away from the teachings of Jesus. It is a culture, that according to Rev 2, will be judged by Jesus. It is headed, if it does not repent, toward destruction. God calls us to live differently from this culture, to be faithful to holiness and Jesus. He speaks of living this way as being conquerors. He promises rewards to those who remain faithful and thus conquer those who oppose Jesus. Our reward will be some of the hidden manna and a white stone with a new name written on it.
To be honest, we are not very sure what the hidden manna and white stone are. We will guess about these a little later in the blog. I do know, though, that to be rewarded by God is something that I truly desire. It does not matter what the actual award is, the fact that he finds us worthy to receive his reward is enough. The pull of a wicked culture to walk like them in sensuality, to join them in public festivals that had practices that pulled Christians away from the faith, that sought to subtly change the teachings of Jesus, and that sought believers to walk more like them than Christ, was infiltrating the church and pulling some away from the faith. I wonder if these temptations seemed pretty innocent on the surface? Little compromises made by believers to walk with their neighbors in a way that allowed them to be less different and thus acceptable. Little comprises that led to their light being hidden and them becoming less than conquerors? To be honest, I am not sure. I just know that it was dangerous and under the judgment of God.
I am not sure how often I think of myself as being a conqueror. I suppose that I do not want to admit that I am in a war zone. I do not often think about how Satan views me as an enemy combatant. If I was pressed, I guess I would describe my life as more of a United Nations Peacekeeper than I do as a conqueror. I would be wrong. We are in a war, albeit a war all ready won by Jesus and a war that is fought with spiritual weapons such as truth, love, mercy, justice, etc., but, nevertheless, a war for the souls of men. It is our duty to learn how to be in this world without becoming of this world. We must not capitulate but conquer. We must walk faithfully, holy, and godly. We must understand that no matter how we might try to not stick out, we are aliens and strangers, that simply by living like Jesus and loving our neighbors as ourselves, we will shine in darkness and darkness will hate us. God calls us to be conquerors. In fact, he calls us “more than conquerors”.
If we remain faithful we will be rewarded with some of the hidden manna and white rocks. Let’s take a guess or two as to what God is promising. We will start with the white rocks. The best guess seems to be that the white rocks are the white rocks that the Romans used to give to winning athletes. These rocks had their names written on them and served as invitations to the award ceremony. God gives those who conquer through being faithful to his name an invitation to the award ceremony. Hidden manna, most people guess, is a reference to Jesus. He is the one who sustains us and strengthens us to be faithful and he is our reward. It is when we hear, “Well done thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your reward” that we finally rest and are at true peace. Today is a day to conquer by faithfully living and holding fast to his name.
In Revelation 2 the church of Pergamum is being addressed. God knows that they are located right in the dwelling place of Satan. They live in a culture that does not follow Jesus and they are constantly under attack. God warns those who wish to distract those who follow Jesus that he is coming in judgment. He then commends those who have stayed faithful to their Savior. He promises those who have been faithful a reward. “To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it” Rev 2:17.
We live where Satan is the Prince and Power of the air. We live in a culture that is defiant against the teachings of Jesus. We live in a culture that is full of false teachers and prophets who seek to move us away from the teachings of Jesus. It is a culture, that according to Rev 2, will be judged by Jesus. It is headed, if it does not repent, toward destruction. God calls us to live differently from this culture, to be faithful to holiness and Jesus. He speaks of living this way as being conquerors. He promises rewards to those who remain faithful and thus conquer those who oppose Jesus. Our reward will be some of the hidden manna and a white stone with a new name written on it.
To be honest, we are not very sure what the hidden manna and white stone are. We will guess about these a little later in the blog. I do know, though, that to be rewarded by God is something that I truly desire. It does not matter what the actual award is, the fact that he finds us worthy to receive his reward is enough. The pull of a wicked culture to walk like them in sensuality, to join them in public festivals that had practices that pulled Christians away from the faith, that sought to subtly change the teachings of Jesus, and that sought believers to walk more like them than Christ, was infiltrating the church and pulling some away from the faith. I wonder if these temptations seemed pretty innocent on the surface? Little compromises made by believers to walk with their neighbors in a way that allowed them to be less different and thus acceptable. Little comprises that led to their light being hidden and them becoming less than conquerors? To be honest, I am not sure. I just know that it was dangerous and under the judgment of God.
I am not sure how often I think of myself as being a conqueror. I suppose that I do not want to admit that I am in a war zone. I do not often think about how Satan views me as an enemy combatant. If I was pressed, I guess I would describe my life as more of a United Nations Peacekeeper than I do as a conqueror. I would be wrong. We are in a war, albeit a war all ready won by Jesus and a war that is fought with spiritual weapons such as truth, love, mercy, justice, etc., but, nevertheless, a war for the souls of men. It is our duty to learn how to be in this world without becoming of this world. We must not capitulate but conquer. We must walk faithfully, holy, and godly. We must understand that no matter how we might try to not stick out, we are aliens and strangers, that simply by living like Jesus and loving our neighbors as ourselves, we will shine in darkness and darkness will hate us. God calls us to be conquerors. In fact, he calls us “more than conquerors”.
If we remain faithful we will be rewarded with some of the hidden manna and white rocks. Let’s take a guess or two as to what God is promising. We will start with the white rocks. The best guess seems to be that the white rocks are the white rocks that the Romans used to give to winning athletes. These rocks had their names written on them and served as invitations to the award ceremony. God gives those who conquer through being faithful to his name an invitation to the award ceremony. Hidden manna, most people guess, is a reference to Jesus. He is the one who sustains us and strengthens us to be faithful and he is our reward. It is when we hear, “Well done thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your reward” that we finally rest and are at true peace. Today is a day to conquer by faithfully living and holding fast to his name.
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