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White Name Stone Day 18
"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)
Name Stone
In Rome, a great gladiator was the admired hero of all. Often a gladiator, either male or female for both were used, had to fight on until he or she was killed in combat. But if the gladiator had had a specially illustrious career, when he or she grew old, he or she was allowed to retire in honor.
Such men or women were given a tessera with the letters SP on it. SP stands for the Latin word "spectatus," or "a man whose valor has been proved beyond a doubt." The Christian is a gladiator of Christ and when he or she has proved his or her valor in the battle of life, he or she 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 that god. The name of a god was able to summon it to one's aid in time of difficulty and to have mastery over 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, Jesus."
White Stones
The "new white stones" that Jesus gives will provide 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, given in baptism, 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?"
Notes
1R. H. Charles (1855 - 1931)
A White Stone and a New Name in Christ
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