Revelation Now :
Daily Devotional Bible Studies in Revelation
Next | Previous | Contact Ron | Introduction | Foreword | Index | Tellout Home
Christ will Give a New Name : Day 11 
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it." (Revelation 2.17)
Manna's Spiritual Nourishment
We all need spiritual nourishment in our lives. Here hidden manna is given to support their physical needs. As the Israelites traveled toward the promised land, God provided manna from heaven for their physical strength. Jesus, as the bread of life, provides bread that satisfies our deepest hunger. The hidden manna is our food of life.
Names on White Stones
It is unclear what the white stones are or exactly what the names on each will be. It could refer to the white stones used as tickets to gain admission to a banquet. In the ancient world objects called tesserae were much used. A tessera was a little tablet made of wood or metal or stone; it had writing on it; and, generally speaking, the possession of a tessera conferred some kind of privilege upon a man. Three of these tesserae add something to the picture.
In Rome, the great houses had their clients, dependents who every morning received from their patron food and money for the day. They were often given a tessera or white stone by which they identified themselves as having the right to the free gifts. This would mean that the Christian has the right to the free gifts for life which Christ can give. To win a victory at the games was one of the greatest honours the ancient world could give. Outstanding victors were given, by the master of the games, a tessera which in the days to come conferred upon them the right of free entry to all public spectacles. This would mean that the Christian is the victorious athlete of Christ who is a sharer in the glory of his Lord.
New Stones
In Rome, a great gladiator was the admired hero of all. Often a gladiator had to fight on until he was killed in combat. But if he had had a specially illustrious career, when he grew old, he was allowed to retire in honors. Such men were given a tessera or white stone with the letters SP on it. SP stands for the Latin word "spectatus", which means a man whose valor has been proved beyond a doubt. This would mean that the Christian is the gladiator of Christ and that, when he has proved his valor in the battle of life, he is allowed to enter into the rest which Christ gives with honor.
One of the commonest of all customs in the ancient world was to carry an amulet or charm or small white stone. It might be made of a precious metal or a precious stone but often it was nothing more than a pebble. On the pebble there was a sacred name; to know a god's name was to have a certain power over him or her, to be able to summon god to one's aid in time of difficulty and to have mastery over the demons. Such an amulet was thought to be doubly effective, if no one other than the owner knew the name that was inscribed upon it. Most likely what John is saying is: "Your heathen friends - and you did the same in your heathen days - carry amulets with superstitious inscriptions on them and they think they will keep them safe. You need nothing like that; you are safe in life and in death because you know the name of the only true God."
White Stones
The new white stones that Jesus gives will give entrance to the heavenly feast. They may be symbols of the believer's eternal nourishment, or eternal life. In Greek there are two words for new. There is "neos", which means "new in point of time." A thing can be "neos", and yet exactly like any number of things. On the other hand there is "kainos", which is "new not only in point of time but also in point of quality; nothing like it has ever been made before."
The white stones are significant because each will bear the new name of every person who truly believes in Christ. The words white and new are characteristic of the Revelation. In Revelation "white is the color and livery of heaven." (1) The word used does not describe a dull, flat whiteness but one which glistens like snow in the winter sun.
They are the evidence that a person has been accepted by God and declared worthy to receive eternal life. A person's Christian name represents his or her character. God will give us new names and new hearts. A white amulet was literally a white stone on which was written a magical name, whose power could be tapped by one who knew the secret name. New name is a reference to the Christian's spiritual rebirth marked by baptism.
It has been suggested that the white stone is the actual person; that the Risen Christ is promising his faithful ones a new self, cleansed of all earthly stains and glistening with the purity of heaven.
Meditation
Do you have a "white stone" bearing your new name "Christian?"
Prayer
"At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow"
Notes
(1) R. H. Charles
"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place."
