14 day plan

If rocks could talk, if stones could speak...

Day 13 of 14

NIV

Revelation 2:17

17Whoever 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.

Reflection: White stone* 

This stone’s a mystery not just to me but to experts that have come up with more than a dozen interpretations. I like the analogy one of them makes to this white stone being like a puzzle piece. You know the one. You examine it intently. Not just the image itself but the one on the box, to see how it fits into the big picture. Fingering it, scrutinising each edge, you wonder, where could this mystifying piece possibly fit? 

The enigmatic white stone is buried in one of seven sequential letters dictated to John by the Living Lord Jesus; seven particular churches in Asia Minor, this one to the church in Pergamum. Had you and I been the recipients of this letter back then we’d have been proud of our capital city built on a hill with prestigious pink granite buildings. We’d have been proud to be well-informed and well-read. We boasted a world-renowned library. Though, not so proud were we to be famous for temples of ancient pagan worship and civic shrines. It’s Satan’s throne, says the letter. 

The church here, despite significant persecution, has endured. And for that it is blessed. But it’s been compromised and contaminated by teaching that doesn’t align with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s a foul infection that, if not treated/repented of, will be excised with the sword of my mouth, says Christ.  

Now comes the more cryptic part – a tender sort of cheer to hang in there. It speaks comfort and truth and we’d likely have read into it temple overtones a little like this:  

You who finish the race of faith are like God’s priests,  

only more so, because you’ve had access to the most intimate place with him.  

Spiritual nourishment – fed with manna from the Ark of the Covenant.  

Rendered pure and guiltless, signified by a white stone.  

Unified with Christ – given a new family name.  

And welcomed into God’s presence (password: Jesus Christ). 

Prayer: 

I treasure this little white stone that represents full forgiveness and my new identity in you, Jesus Christ. There’s no people or place on earth immune to the distractions and pull of the world, the flesh and the devil. So keep me/keep your church faithful to you. And keep me/keep your church vigilant. Bring us with all your people into the joy of your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord.** 

Footnotes 

*thanks to Alastair Roberts’ insights  

**Australian Prayer Book 

 

The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

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Revelation 2:1-29

To the Church in Ephesus

1“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

To the Church in Smyrna

8“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.

9I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

11Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

To the Church in Pergamum

12“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.

13I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

14Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17Whoever 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.

To the Church in Thyatira

18“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

19I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

20Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

24Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25except to hold on to what you have until I come.’

26To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28I will also give that one the morning star. 29Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.