Day 14 - white stone

 Revelation 2:17

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
Im running low on energy and inspiration at the moment - mad busy with Christmas stuff for church and suddenly finding myself looking at a blank page with not alot to say.  Chris reminded me of this verse earlier in the week.  And I must say when I read it I knew I didnt really understand it.  I mean, it all seems very nice that Jesus has presents for the overcomers But why manna and why a stone?
These words are spoken to the church in Pergamum.  One of the first places to have a christian congregation it was situated pretty much in the middle of the Roman empire and was a city full of pagan temples. It was the first place to have a temple dedicated to Caesar.  There was idolatry and immorality abounding - and this letter points out to the church that it has been infected and affected by the culture.  Jesus calls the people back to purity.  It will be a battle but to those who overcome the temptations of the flesh there are rewards.   Today we are all living in a culture rife with self-serving, immoral. perverse, and idolatrous tendencies.  It is so easy for us to become contaminated.  Do we tolerate what God doesnt?  Do we behave in ways that bring shame on Jesus?  Are we overcomers or have we been overcome by the world?
White stone ;  it appears that in Jesus's day it was pretty common for a jury to convict someone of a crime by placing a black stone anonymously into a jar. To declare someone not guilty a white stone would be placed in the jar. (We still have the system of ' black balling' people in some places today.)  So the white stone represents acquittal.  If we take a stand against the prevailing culture and look to Jesus to save us we are declared not guilty and are given a white stone to prove that fact.  On it is written a new name - perhaps our adopted name. Or maybe the name God called us when He imagined us before the beginning of time.  I suppose our current names are those given to us by our earthly parents.  God calls us something different.  And given that He names people prophetically. it will be mighty interesting to discover what our 'real' names actually are .   White is the colour of purity.  
As for the manna - well I suppose that represents the all-sufficient provision of God and the fact that we are to taste and see that He is good. It is the bread of heaven which represents Jesus.  He sustains us physically (manna) and spiritually (stone) 
A final thought. 
How many stones do you think God has in his collection?  'Whoever has ears' could amount to several billion people .😊 Thats a big big pile of pebbles.


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