The Hidden Manna and the White Stone in Revelation 2:17

By Daniel K. K. Wong

[Daniel K. K. Wong is President and Professor of Biblical Studies, Truth Theological Seminary, Alhambra, California.]

The third of the seven letters to the churches of Asia (present-day western Turkey) in Revelation 2–3 was addressed to Pergamum (Rev. 2:12–17). The believers at Pergamum had been faithful in holding fast the Lord’s name, and as a result some of them had been martyred (v. 13). Yet some in the local church held to “the teaching of Balaam” and were guilty of immorality (vv. 14–15). They were exhorted to repent, lest the Lord come and make war against them with the sword of His mouth (v. 16).[1]

This letter concludes with the enigmatic statement, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it” (v. 17). What is the hidden manna? What is the significance of the white stone? What is the name on the stone? To whom are these blessings promised? These questions are addressed in this article.

The Hidden Manna

The Background of the Blessing

The reference to manna is traceable to the Book of Exodus. In the wilderness, as Moses led the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan, God provided bread (manna) for their sustenance, and Moses placed a memorial pot of this manna in the ark of the covenant (Exod. 16:32–35; Heb. 9:4).[2] Jesus spoke of Himself as the manna or spiritual “bread” God gave from heaven (John 6:35, 48–51). Those who appropriate this “bread” will experience spiritual satisfaction and sustenance. Spiritually they will never hunger or thirst (v. 35) or die (v. 50).

The Nature of the Blessing

Some writers suggest “the hidden manna” is a figure depicting admission to the messianic feast, the Messiah’s kingdom.[3] Benedict claims it represents “the capacity to enjoy all of the manifold blessings of heaven.”[4] Others take it as “another expression for eternal life.”[5] Still others believe the manna is a symbol of Christ Himself, whom overcomers will be able to appropriate spiritually in blessed fellowship.[6] This last view is preferable for several reasons.

First, in John 6 Christ is the manna in the ultimate sense, the “food” that sustains believers eternally (v. 27).

Second, Jesus pictured Himself as bread (vv. 35, 48, 50–51) to show that He is the only resource that can fill believers’ deepest need of spiritual satisfaction. He is now “hidden” from the unsaved, who do not know Him (1 John 3:6; 4:7–8). And believers know Him only in part as yet. He is still partially hidden from believers until He reveals Himself in greater fullness in the life to come (1 Cor. 13:10, 12). Only then will believers see Him as He is (1 John 3:1–2) and fully experience Him as their “manna.”

Third, the manna for the overcomer is also “hidden” in the sense that it contrasts with the manna in the wilderness. The manna in the Old Testament was outward, material food for the stomach. Christ and His eternal values are spiritual food for innermost needs.

Fourth, in the context of Revelation 2, manna pictures Christ, the Bread of life, satisfying His people’s needs in contrast to foods associated with false gods that do not satisfy (2:14).

For these reasons the “manna” in Revelation 2:17 may be understood as a symbol of Christ, whom believers can assimilate spiritually in blessed fellowship.

The People of the Blessing

Who participates in the “hidden manna”? This promise from the Lord is for every saved person.

Manna was a blessing common to all God’s people under Moses. The same is true in John 6. Christ is manna for all believers, not just a portion of them. It follows from this that manna in the sense of a final reward will likewise be for all believers.

Christ’s words to the Pergamum church offer further clues that it is correct to associate the manna with all His people. (a) He told idolaters and immoral people that He will wage war against them with the sword of His mouth (cf. Rev. 19:11–12). These nonovercoming idolaters and immoral people are not saved people who will enter the New Jerusalem but miss out on the blessing of the manna; rather, they are the unsaved who will not be in the city (1 Cor. 6:9–10; Eph. 5:5–6; Rev. 9:20–21; 21:8; 22:14). This rules out the possibility that the manna is confined to a segment of believers. (b) The Lord described the overcomer who partakes of manna by saying, “you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith” (2:13). This profile is true of all Christians. John wrote in 14:12 that all believers persevere in basic fidelity to Christ (cf. John 10:27). This matches Paul’s teaching that all believers will be presented holy and blameless in the Lord’s presence (1 Cor. 1:8; Eph. 5:27; Col. 1:22; 1 Thess. 3:13; 5:23).

The Stone with a Name

The Background of the Stone

There are many opinions about the meaning of the “white stone” in Revelation 2:17. Some views are based on customs in the Greco-Roman world and others stem from Jewish customs.

A Greco-Roman custom. Of the various suggestions concerning the “white stone” that derive from a Greco-Roman practice, three call for consideration.[7]

One suggestion is that the white stone refers to a white amulet that was inscribed with a name of a god and was considered doubly effective if no one except the wearer knew what was written on it.[8] This suggestion seems attractive, but it seems highly unlikely that Jesus would derive this symbolism from superstitious pagan practices. It is even more doubtful that Christ would draw from such a source when He had just warned against idolatrous pagan associations in verses 14–15.

Another suggestion is that the white stone alludes to the use of a white stone by Roman jurors. They would vote with a white stone to vindicate an accused person or with a black stone for his condemnation.[9]

A problem with this analogy is that the stone Christ promised has a new name pertaining to the overcomer, but the Roman trial pebble bore no name. Nevertheless this practice could still lie behind the picture, for the Lord could go beyond what was true in the custom by personalizing it with a name on the stone. If Christ intended His readers to see an analogy between His white stone and the trial pebble, then His reward would identify the overcomer with His favor, acceptance, and security.[10]

A third suggestion is that the white stone is analogous to the Greco-Roman custom of the tessera,[11] a small object made of glass, marble, or precious stone that represented favor or other benefits. The tessera hospitalis, for example, was a token of mutual hospitality. The tessera frumertariae and nummariae were tokens that Roman magistrates gave to the needy to use to obtain money or grain. They also served as admission tickets to theaters. A tessera was awarded to an Olympic winner and was inscribed with a caption of his victory. The tessera, presented in the athlete’s home city, was also good for honors such as esteem, money, and other gifts.[12]

The white of the stone in Revelation 2:17 is a problem, however, because the tessera stones were often of another color.[13] Yet if Christ intended His audience to see an analogy between His white stone and the tessera, the difference in color may be of little consequence. For in the Apocalypse white represents favor with God (3:4), glory (1:14), victory (7:9–10), or purity (14:4). The point is that Christ’s stone of favor is white because His perspective in promising reward is not so much from a Greco-Roman angle as from the standpoint of John’s apocalyptic visions.

A Jewish custom. In addition to the suggestions concerning the white stone derived from Greco-Roman practices, there are also explanations based on Jewish custom.

One explanation links the white stone with the platelet of gold that graced the high priest’s headdress (Exod. 28:36–37). The words inscribed on it were “Holiness to the Lord.”[14] According to this interpretation the overcomer will wear a headdress with a precious stone, “on which shall be engraved the new name which belongs to the new Lord of the new kingdom, a name equivalent in value to that of Jehovah under the Old Testament, which no one but the high priest knew how to utter.”[15]

But whereas the priest’s platelet was gold, the stone Christ promised is white. Also the platelet was part of a headdress, but Revelation 2:17 does not mention any article of dress.

Another explanation from Jewish customs is that the imagery of the white stone originated with the twelve stones in the high priest’s breastplate. The names of each of the twelve tribes in Israel were inscribed on the stones.[16] One difficulty with this view is that the stones in the breastplate were not white (Exod. 28:17–21). Another problem is that while the priest’s breastplate had twelve stones, Revelation 2:17 mentions only one stone.

However, the “white” of the promised stone could be an accommodation to the pattern in the Apocalypse of using white to refer to acceptance with God (3:4), glory (1:14), victory (7:9–10), or purity (14:4). Also the reference to a single stone might be based on the fact that in the breastplate each tribe was represented by one stone. If the Lord intended His audience to see an analogy between His white stone and the multicolored stones the high priest bore before the Lord, then His reward would be acceptance in His presence.

A third explanation for the white stone is based on the Urim and Thummim in the high priest’s breastplate.[17] The Urim and Thummim may have been stones, with names meaning “lights” and “perfections,” related to the revelation of God’s will (Exod. 28:30; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8; 1 Sam. 28:6).[18]

This suggestion seems possible for several reasons. (a) The promised stone in Revelation 2:17 could be white in the sense that it will have a whitish glisten. If Urim means lights, then it too could have had a whitish appearance. (b) Any engraving on the Urim was known only to the priest. This corresponds with the name written on the promised stone known only by the person who receives it. (c) Since the hidden manna Christ promised in the same verse is analogous to the Old Testament manna, the white stone could also be analogous to an Old Testament stone.

It appears then that if Christ intended His audience to see an analogy between His white stone and the Urim, His reward would be experiencing God’s will fully.

A fourth explanation in Jewish custom for the white stone connects it with the stones on which God inscribed His moral will (i.e., the Ten Commandments). Rosscup, who suggests this view, points out that this connection “could be directly relevant. .. to sins at Pergamum committed against God’s moral standard (vv. 14–23).”[19] “As the overcomer received and honored the Word disclosing God’s Person and will, Christ assures [him] that he is to receive the ultimate disclosure of God’s Person and will. His symbol for this is the ‘white stone.’ ”[20]

This view is also possible for several reasons. (a) It is consistent in seeing both the manna and the stone as imageries from the same era in Israel’s history. (b) It fits with other rewards in Revelation 2 which also reach back to the Old Testament (e.g., the tree of life [2:7], from Genesis 2 and 3; the crown of life, not the second death [Rev. 2:10–11], going back also to Genesis 2 and 3; the rod of authority and the morning star [Rev. 2:26–28], from Psalm 2 and Numbers 24). (c) The idea of what “God had written” (Rev. 2:17) is also emphasized with regard to the stones of the Law (Exod. 32:15–16). (d) The Lord made His name prominent and repeated it in writing on the stones of the Law, as in Exodus 20.[21] (e) This view also suits the context of Revelation 2. Standing against the sin-darkening environment, the overcomer honors the value of God’s moral law associated with His will (2:14–15; cf. vv. 20–23). So Christ will honor him with the ultimate enjoyment that relates to knowing and doing God’s will.

The white of the promised stone is a problem, however, as it is in several other views. But again, the color of the promised stone could be an accommodation to the pattern in Revelation in which white depicts several attributes. In other words the stone Christ offers is white because His perspective in promising reward is both from the Old Testament and from the standpoint of the other apocalyptic visions given to John. If Christ intended His readers to see an analogy between His white stone and the two stones of the Law, then His reward would be the ultimate disclosure of God’s will (cf. John 14:21).

The Nature of the Blessing

As seen in the previous paragraphs, either a Greco-Roman or a Jewish background may fit the picture of the “white stone” blessing. A Greco-Roman background may relate the blessing to acceptance and favor, or the Old Testament custom means the blessing is acceptance in God’s presence as well as the privilege of knowing His will fully.

The New Name

The promised stone has a “new[22] name written” on it. This may indicate one or more of three main ideas.

First, the name might be a new name Christ will give to each believer. It will be appropriately different for each overcomer,[23] and no one except the one who receives it will know the name.

Second, the name might be the same for all believers. It will be known to all victors (all believers) just as the things of God are known (in different degree) to all believers (1 John 2:20, 27; 1 Cor. 2:15–16). This view also fits with the Lord’s promises in Isaiah that He will give to His people—all of them in common—a “new name” (Isa. 62:2; cf. 56:5; 65:15).

Third, the name might be that of God the Father or of Christ Himself,[24] a common heritage for all overcomers. In favor of this view is the parallel passage in Revelation 3:12, which says the name Christ will give is God’s own name. (Further support is in Revelation 14:1 and 22:4, which refer to God’s name on the foreheads of the 144,000 and all believers in the New Jerusalem.) This name could be a name of God that He deems appropriate for His own as an expression of the fact that they belong to Him (cf. Isa. 56:5; 62:2; 65:15). Also, as already noted, the white stone may allude to the stones of the Law on which God wrote His name (Exod. 20).

Whichever name is intended, it seems to signify Christ’s favor and conveys the idea that the overcomers belong to or are intimately related to Him.

The People of the Blessing

The view that the white stone is a reward for all Christians seems preferable, whether one chooses a Greco-Roman connotation (favor and acceptance), or a Jewish connotation (acceptance in God’s presence and the privilege of knowing God’s will fully). That the people who will receive the blessing are all believers is conveyed by the new name, which pictures their belonging to God. The promise is for overcomers (2:17), and 1 John 5:4–5 specifies that everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is an overcomer.[25] Since the hidden manna in Revelation 2:17 is for all the saved, it seems logical to see the blessing of the white stone as also applicable to all Christians. The conclusion then is that the overcomer at Pergamum, who will receive the rewards of the manna and white stone, represents every saved person.

Notes

1. Commentators differ on the spiritual condition of those who eventually would not repent. Though the exhortation to repent leaves open the possibility that some of the “Balaam followers” were carnal Christians, several considerations indicate that those who finally would not repent were unbelievers. (1) On two other occasions in the New Testament people are said to have followed after Balaam (2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11). In neither instance were they believers. The unregenerate status of those following after Balaam is indicated by the “punishment of eternal fire” as well as the “black darkness” that have been “reserved forever” for them (2 Pet. 2:9, 17; Jude 7, 13). (2) Jesus’ sword (Rev. 2:16) is mentioned four times in the Apocalypse. In 1:16 this symbol is part of the description of Christ as He first appeared to John. Then in 2:12 it is referred to in the introduction of the message to Pergamum (“The One who has the sharp two-edged sword”). In 2:16 and 19:15 the weapon occurs in settings dealing with judgment, namely, war on the disobedient. Since the war of 19:15 is the only one in which Revelation pictures Jesus as fighting with the sword from His mouth, it seems possible that 2:16 refers to the same. Further, since the war Jesus will pursue with the sword of His mouth in 19:15 is clearly against the beast, the false prophet, and their unsaved host, the guilty ones in 2:16 are likewise probably unbelievers. (3) The “coming” (2:16) could refer to the Second Advent at the end of the Great Tribulation. Elsewhere in Revelation “come” almost always refers to Jesus’ future second coming (e.g., 1:7; 16:15; 22:7, 12, 20). The letters to the seven churches also mention a future “coming” (2:5, 25; 3:3, 11). In addition the language of 2:16 is similar to the wording about Christ’s second coming in 19:11–15. Thus it seems that those who held the teaching of Balaam and remained unrepentant were unbelievers. They will one day face Christ and He will judge them at His second coming. Thus the contrast in 2:16–17 is between those who do or do not overcome, that is, between the saved and the unsaved, rather than between spiritual and carnal believers.
2. In Revelation 2:17 the reference to “manna” seems tied to the reference to Balaam in verse 14. In Balaam’s day the Lord gave the Israelites this food (Jurgen Roloff, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, Zurcher Bibelkommentare [Zurich: Theologischer, 1984], 55; Bernhard Weiss, Das Neue Testament [Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1907], 2:398; Ernst W. Hengstenberg, Die Offenbarung des heiligen Johannes [Berlin: Ludwig Oehmigke, 1850], 1:150); and George R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, New Century Bible Commentary [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992], 87).
3. Some interpreters refer to the Jewish tradition (2 Macc. 2:4–7) that the pot of manna, kept in the ark of the covenant, was rescued along with the ark by either Jeremiah or an angel, and is being preserved until the messianic times, when the manna will once again become food for God’s people. They believe the manna is “hidden” either because it was in a pot and laid up before God (Exod. 16:33), or because it is presently hidden with God. And they see the future promise of hidden manna as assuming admission into the Messiah’s kingdom (Roloff, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 55; Edward Lohse, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, Das Neue Testament Deutsch [Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1983], 28; Ulrich B. Müller, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, Ökumenischer Taschenbuch Kommentar zum Neuen Testament [Wurzburg: Echter, 1984], 114; Friedrich Bleek, Vorlesungen über die Apokalypse [Berlin: George Reimer, 1862], 177; Friedrich Düsterdieck, Die Offenbarung des Johannis [Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1887], 146; and George E. Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972], 49). Dillow also adopts this view (Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings [Miami Spring, FL: Schoettle, 1992], 556). But he makes a distinction between entering the kingdom and participating in the banquet. He says that the danger of forfeiture in Matthew 25:1–13 and in Revelation 2 is the danger of being excluded from the banquet itself, not from the kingdom. In other words he believes that while all believers will be in the millennium, only victorious Christians will be admitted to the banquet. The saved but defeated believers will be excluded from this blessing. However, Matthew 25 and Revelation 2–3 refer not to two classes of believers but to the saved and the lost (see note 1 and a detailed discussion of this in Daniel K. K. Wong, “The Johannine Concept of the Overcomer” [Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1995], 155–87). Also this view seems to overlook Revelation 19:9, which shows that every believer will be a participant in the messianic feast. It should be pointed out as well that even if the Jewish tradition (2 Macc. 2:4–7) can be substantiated, “admission to the feast” is not limited to some believers.
4. Richard R. Benedict, “The Use of Νικάω in the Letters to the Seven Churches of Revelation” (Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1966), 17. The problem with this view, however, is that the “capacity” is difficult to define. Also the manna in Revelation 2:17 contrasts with “idol food” (v. 14), not with a different “capacity.”
5. For example Alfred Wikenhauser, Die Offenbarung des Johannes (Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 1959), 142; F. F. Bruce, “Revelation,” in International Biblical Commentary, ed. F. F. Bruce (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 1602; Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 88; and Siegbert W. Becker, Revelation (Milwaukee: Northwestern, 1985), 56.
6. Those who hold this view are Charles Brütsch, Die Offenbarung Jesu Christi (Zurich: Zwingli, 1970), 1:149; Hengstenberg, Die Offenbarung des heiligen Johannes, 1:150; David Hocking, The Coming the World Leader (Portland OR: Multnomah, 1980), 65; Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, The Book of the Revelation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 46; Hanns Lilje, Das Letzte Buch der Bibel (Hamburg: Furche-Verlag, 1955), 83; Henry M. Morris, The Revelation Record (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1983), 59; John Phillips, Exploring Revelation: Revised (Chicago: Moody, 1987), 55; Frederick A. Tatford, Prophecy’s Last Word (London: Pickering & Inglis, 1947), 147; and John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chicago: Moody, 1966), 70; and many others.
7. Other Greek or Roman customs are cited to explain the white stone. But they are regarded by interpreters as very unlikely (Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John [reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1919], 262–63; Brütsch, Die Offenbarung Jesu Christi, 149–50; Colin J. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting [Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1989], 96, 103; and Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 1–7: An Exegetical Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1992], 199–200).
8. William Barclay, Letters to the Seven Churches (New York: Abingdon, 1957), 54; Wilhelm Bousset, Die Offenbarung Johannis (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1906), 215; Lohse, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 29; Müller, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 115; and Roloff, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 55.
9. Bleek, Vorlesungen über die Apokalypse, 178; Brütsch, Die Offenbarung Jesu Christi, 1:149–50; R. H. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: Clark, 1971), 1:67; and Weise, Das Neue Testament, 2:398.
10. Some have challenged this by asking how the verdict of acquittal is an appropriate reward for a person who has already been “acquitted” (redeemed) by Christ (Thomas, Revelation 1–7: An Exegetical Commentary, 201). However, the point is that the overcomer, having faith in Christ (1 John 5:4–5), is accepted by God now and will also be accepted in the final day. The two aspects are complementary, not contradictory.
11. Johannes G. Eichhorn, Commentarivs in Apocalypsin Johannis (Göttingen: Jo Christ Dieterich, 1791), 1:105–6; Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting, 103; Lilje, Das Letzte Buch der Bibel, 83–84; Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 99–100; Thomas, Revelation 1–7: An Exegetical Commentary, 201; and Wikenhauser, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 42.
12. James Yates, “Tessera,” in A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, ed. William Smith (Boston: Little, Brown, 1870), 1112–13; and Oskar Seyffert, “Tessera,” in Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, ed. Henry Nettleship and J. E. Sandys (London: William Glaisher, 1891), 621. Cf. Eichhorn, Commentarivs in Apocalypsin Johannis, 1:105–6.
13. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting, 98; and Smith, “Revelation,” 1112.
14. Moses Stuart, “The White Stone of the Apocalypse,” Bibliotheca Sacra (1843): 473-76.
15. Ibid., 473.
16. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John, 462–63.
17. John R. W. Stott, What Christ Thinks of the Church (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1958), 65–66.
18. Yoma 73b, in Hebrew-English Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, new edition, trans. Leo Jung, ed. I. Epstein (Jerusalem: Soncino, 1974). Cf. C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, The Pentateuch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1956), 2:198; Nahum M. Sarna, Exodus, JPS Torah Commentary (Jerusalem: Jewish Publication Society, 1991), 181–82.
19. James E. Rosscup, “The Overcomer of the Apocalypse,” Grace Theological Journal 3 (Fall 1982): 280.
20. Ibid.
21. See the following discussion on “the new name.”
22. The καινόν (“new”) probably means new qualitatively, not new in the sense of being recent (G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament [Edinburgh: Clark, 1950], 226).
23. Düsterdieck, Die Offenbarung Johannis, 148; Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting, 103; William R. Newell, The Book of the Revelation (Chicago: Grace, 1941), 52; Thomas, Revelation 1–7: An Exegetical Commentary, 202; and Wikenhauser, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 42.
24. Charles, Revelation, 1:67; Jacques Ellul, L’Apocalypse, architecture en mouvement (Paris: Desclee, 1975), 133; Hengstenberg, Die Offenbarung des heiligen Johannes, 1:153; Lilje, Das Letzte Buch der Bibel, 83; Lohse, Die Offenbarung des Johannnes, 29; Müller, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 115; A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville: Broadman, 1933), 6:307; Roloff, Die Offenbarung des Johnannes, 55; and J. B. Smith, A Revelation of Jesus Christ (Scottdale, PA: Herald, 1961), 74.
25. For a detailed discussion of 1 John 5:4–5 and related passages, see Wong, “The Johannine Concept of the Overcomer,” 132–49.