Revelation 2:17
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
To him that overcomes, Jesus Himself will give to eat of the hidden manna and will give a white stone with a new name written that no one knows except the one who receives it. The hidden manna is God's life-giving provision in Christ, who came from God to give life to the world as the manna that sustained Israel sustained them, continuing into the future life and the heavenly land. The new name is Christ's personal mark of victory for each overcomer, given at His return when He receives His faithful waiting, watching and working servants into the kingdom prepared for them and crowns them with glory that does not fade. Overcoming is possible because Jesus fought with Satan and overcame in behalf of humanity, yet it requires determined overcoming in His name and strength in probationary time, forming a character that stands in the book of life through the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony. The call to hear what the Spirit says to the churches is repeated because Christ places great value on heeding it, for hearing means receiving sacred truth and becoming laborers together with God, and the messages extend in force to the end of time as a call to self-examination, reformation and present truth.
Setting and Call to Hear
The promise stands in Christ's messages to the churches in the first three chapters of Revelation, given as message after message to John on the Isle of Patmos to reveal heavenly things about the last days under the command to write what was seen and what is present and what is to come hereafter. Within that series it stands in the message to Pergamos, between the message to Ephesus on the one side and the messages to Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea on the other. Revelation is not too mystical to be understood, but is to be understood and taught.
The call to hear what the Spirit says to the churches is repeated over and over to all the churches because Christ places great value on heeding it. The repetition warns of the danger of neglecting God-given work, foretells what is coming upon the churches, and prepares them for the trying times before them. It shows that all the churches need reformation and need present truth, rather than suppositions and vagaries and spiritualistic ideas that have no scriptural foundation.
Hearing means more than merely having ears; it means receiving sacred truth and becoming wise in it. Those who truly hear take up the burden of the message and say to others, Come, inviting them to the water of life, and thus become laborers together with God. Yet some who have ears will not hear and will not receive and will not become wise, and some who make crooked paths depart from the faith.
In its setting the promise is an earnest warning to prepare to meet the Lord coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. It reproves indifference to the signs He foretold that give evidence the end is right upon us, and calls to advance and not receive the grace of God in vain but to let its effect save day by day. Christ commands repentance under warning that He will come quickly and fight with the sword of His mouth. Watchfulness and prayer in faith bring the rich blessing through the gift of the Holy Spirit as strength. The command and promise apply while every case comes in review before God as He measures the temple and the worshipers therein, at the time when everything that can be shaken is shaken so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
The messages to the churches in Asia portray the state of things existing in the churches of the religious world today. The names of the churches are symbolic of the Christian church in different periods of the Christian era, and the number seven indicates completeness, showing that the messages extend to the end of time and are in force today. The figures used are symbolic of God's professed people as wheat developing among tares, with truth standing on its own eternal basis in contrast with error. Christ weighs the character of all who take His name, with every individual under His supervision, for He knows the thoughts and intents of the heart as well as every word and act and all about religious experience and whom each loves and serves, calling for close self-examination. Heeding the second chapter means understanding what it means to lose first love and humbling the heart before God, and when hearts are humbled He sees it is safe to work with and for His people.
Hidden Manna and New Name
Revelation 2:17 gives one of the oft-repeated promises to him that overcometh, conditional and personal, to be decided for and claimed by determined overcoming. Jesus Himself will give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give a white stone with a new name written that no one knows except the one who receives it. It is not to one who is overcome by any perverted appetite, but to those who overcome in the name and strength of Jesus on their own account by practicing the example of their Substitute and Surety. He came and fought the battles with Satan and overcame the foe, making it possible for every soul to overcome, to grow spiritually, to form a character in probationary time that places the name in the book of life as an overcomer, and to march steadily forward until the record is overcome through the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony.
The hidden manna is God's life-giving provision continuing into the future life for those who overcome. The manna that fell from heaven to sustain Israel was a type of Christ who came from God to give life to the world, and the hidden manna continues that provision into eternity. It is reflected in manna among the foods on the table in the heavenly land, where those who eat of its fruit return to earth no more. The faithful will later eat from the tree of life and drink from the fountain, though the one shown the vision must return to earth to share it. The gift shows Jesus' care for the suffering believer, with promise of life to those faithful unto death.
The new name known only to the one who receives it is given by Christ at His return, after He went to prepare mansions in the heavenly city. Then He receives with honor into the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world those servants who in His absence honored Him by waiting, watching, and faithfully doing with full purpose of heart the work He placed in their hands. It belongs with inheriting the kingdom and with a crown of glory that does not fade, also called the crown of life. It awaits the Christian who continues to grow and move steadily toward the heavenly home, who follows Christ in this life and will then follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
Each overcomer receives the new name from Christ as a personal mark of victory. Before the redeemed enter God's city, at the entrance to the holy city, Jesus places a crown on the head of each victor. Every crown bears that new name, together with the inscription declaring holiness to the Lord.
Overcoming in Daily Life
Overcoming is made possible because Jesus came to this world and fought the battles with Satan in behalf of humanity and overcame the wily foe, so that every soul may overcome in the name and strength of Jesus on his own account and in his own behalf by practicing the example of his Substitute and Surety. Receiving the hidden manna and the white stone requires being determined in the name of Jesus to be an overcomer, for there is no spiritual growth until that determination is made. That determined overcoming marches steadily forward, growing spiritually and forming a character in probationary time that places the name in the book of life as an overcomer, until the record stands as overcome through the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony. The promise is conditional and personal, to be decided for and claimed, and it is not to one who is overcome by any perverted appetite.
It is not easy to overcome, because hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong make the struggle hard while self is masterful and strives for mastery and victory. The Lord presents the right way but compels no one to obey, leaving those who have been given light to receive it or despise it, while their course of action is followed by sure results because cause must produce effect. The promise to him that overcometh is to be fastened upon with faith by the sick and by youth and children, calling them to fasten their hopes upon Jesus and come to Him as a precious Redeemer. He will then be their strength and righteousness and will clothe them with His salvation, giving moral power to withstand and resist temptation, with grace to be ever cheerful, ever hopeful, and full of joy.
The promises to the overcomer and the rewards to those who are faithful are to be set before children to keep the standards of God's Word before them, calling them to please the Lord and obey His requirements and encouraging them to do differently after they have done wrong. Overcoming includes right habits of eating and drinking, and parents are under solemn obligation to set before children simple, wholesome food and to avoid everything stimulating. A meat diet makes nervous children peevish, irritable, passionate, and impatient of restraint, so that virtuous practices are lost and corruption destroys mind, soul, and body.