Join us as we unpack the profound symbolism behind the ‘hidden manna’ and the ‘white stone’ referenced in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation. Learn about the critical call to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the true Bread of Life, who offers nourishment that transcends earthly needs. Listen, introspect, and be inspired to align your life with the eternal truths as shared by Bible teacher David Hawking.
He says, to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna. The Hebrew word manna, the letters, means what is it? There’s no multi-flavors, not raspberry manna and, you know. This stuff comes down, the first thing you say is, what is it? So God, the rest of the way, says, okay, that’s it. What did you have for breakfast today? What is it? Forty years of what is it? And you read the book of Revelation, oh, we have a wonderful encouragement for all of you overcovers. I’m going to give you the hidden manna. Look, this is worse than you even thought. You know what the hidden manna is referring to, don’t you?
SPEAKER 04 :
This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. And we’re diving back into one of the most unsettling messages Jesus ever gave to a church. In Revelation 2, verses 14-17, the church at Pergamum, or sometimes called Pergamos, the church is called out, not for what they believed, but for what they tolerated. False teachers, sexual sin, compromise that corroded their witness. Jesus doesn’t tiptoe. What he does is confront. And the warning still stands today. So if you think this is just a history lesson, think again. Open your Bible and get ready for the rest of a message called Religious Compromise. Before we start, if you haven’t seen it yet, head over to the homepage at DavidHawking.org. When you’re there, download your free copy of a very special booklet called Revival Now. This is a powerful resource for any believer who needs a fresh start, clear, biblical, and totally free. Download your free copy of Revival Now at DavidHawking.org. And let’s join David for today’s study.
SPEAKER 02 :
Number four, we said there are four things. Pergamos was a dangerous environment. They heard a serious evaluation. They received a strong exhortation. But in verse 17, overcomers were given a wonderful encouragement. Aren’t you glad that in the midst of a lot of heavy judging type talk that there is a sweet word of encouragement? Amen? Our hearts need it. overcomers were given a wonderful encouragement. It says, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is saying unto not just this church, but to the churches, plural, to everybody. But notice the next word again, because instead of using the plural representing the churches, it says to him, to the individual. In every letter, the special encouragement of God goes to individuals in the church. Just let me back up and say this. When we speak about the true church of Jesus Christ, we are only talking about individuals who’ve come to know the Lord. If you don’t have a personal relationship with God, no matter what church role your name is on, you are not in the true church. You’re not in it. If you never put your name on anybody’s church role, but you have come to know the Lord personally, you are already in the church. Aren’t you glad of that? I think that’s really wonderful. And when God writes to the believers, he says to him that overcomes. You say, well, what if I don’t overcome? All believers are overcomers. Turn to 1 John 5 again. We’ll refer to it several times until we get its message. 1 John 5. All believers are overcomers. There are no other kind. Overcomers are forever. In 1 John 5, 4, whatever is born of God… overcometh the world. You know, it’s really refreshing to just read the Bible. You know what I’m saying? The Bible gives such wonderful insight to all the commentaries you have. Just read the Bible. Who’s an overcomer? The ones who are born of God. Keep reading. This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our continuing performance. What does it say? Even our faith. Look at the next verse. It’s almost like God wants to make sure everybody gets this. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. Amen. Praise the Lord. Go back to Revelation 2 again. Now you talk about encouragement. All you overcomers, listen to this. This is great. I love this. He says, To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna. And right away, everybody with kosher blood says, you’ve got to be kidding. That’s a blessing? Look, the first time God dropped that stuff out of the sky, the reason it’s called manna is because the Hebrew word manna, the letters, means what is it? This stuff comes down, the first thing you say is what is it? So God, the rest of the way, says, okay, that’s it. Every time you look at it, you’re going to say, what is it? Forty years of what is it? And you read the book of Revelation, oh, we have a wonderful encouragement for all of you overcomers. I’m going to give you the hidden manna. You know what the hidden manna is referring to, don’t you? It’s referring to that little golden pot inside the ark of the manna they saved there. Now, wait a minute. I don’t know where the ark is. I really don’t. But I’m telling you, I’m not real thrilled about having lunch on the manna that’s in the ark. It’s been in there a long time. You understand? It’s a little stiff. We need to nuke it in the microwave. You know what I mean? So here it is in Revelation, trying to encourage our hearts and say, guess what? I’m going to give you the hidden manna. Great! What other blessings do you have? But like so many things, first look at it. It’s not… The real look at it. There’s something more here. Turn to John chapter 6. John chapter 6. Here’s two interesting verses for you to kind of put down a margin of your notes somewhere. In Psalm 78, 24, it calls it the corn of heaven. Isn’t that interesting? In Psalm 105, verse 40, it calls it the bread of heaven. Keep that in mind. In John chapter 6, beginning at verse 26, we got overcomers here. This is for you. God says, I’m going to give you the hidden manna to eat. I think it’s interesting that this is contrasted to Pergamos’ compromise. They’re eating things sacrificed to idols. God says, I’m going to give you to eat hidden manna. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. In John 6.26, we have this fabulous understanding of manna taught by our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 26, Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, you seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves. Remember the feeding of the 5,000 and were filled. Labor not for the food which perisheth, but for that food which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he has sent. Verse 31, Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Quoting Psalm 105, verse 40. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, But my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, How could you miss this? I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Beautiful. Verse 47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread that cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Is that great or what? God’s going to give you the hidden manna to eat. In the book of Deuteronomy, we are told, In chapter 8, verse 3 and verse 16, that God gave manna in the wilderness to humble the people so that they would have a craving for God, that they would learn that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God. The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The hidden manna to eat is nothing other than Jesus Christ our Lord. And when you have him, you have it all. Christ is all in all. To every overcomer, I give you Jesus. What more do you need? If you’ve got him, he’s the shepherd that will cause you to say, I shall not want. He’s the water so you’ll never thirst again. He is life. He’s all that we need. To all overcomers, I give you Jesus Christ. What is the book about? The revelation of Jesus Christ. The whole book is exalting and revealing the glory of Jesus Christ, so we will never want anything more. We’ll never want anything else. We’ll never reduce the Christian experience down to something less than the person of Jesus Christ. All the systems, all the disciplines, all the methodology, all the seminars, all the books, all the lessons, all the group meetings, all the church services, all of it fades into insignificance in the light of the glory of the one who has saved us by his own precious blood. It’s Jesus. Christianity stripped of him is nothing. It becomes religious paganism without Christ. And sometimes, folks, I have found, maybe you have found, that the manna I’m feeding on is what Christians have invented for me to do, rather than the Lord himself. I need to feed on the Lord himself. How about you? He is the one who satisfies us. He’s the one who never fails. He’s the one who will never leave you nor forsake you. He’s the one that will meet all your needs, for my God will supply all your needs according to his glory in Christ Jesus, the riches of his glory. Back to Revelation 2 again. Don’t settle for anything short of Jesus Christ himself. Overcomers are given a wonderful encouragement, hidden manna to eat, and finally, a white stone with a new name on it. I like this. This is great. Look at chapter 3, verse 12. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out. And I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God. And I will write upon him my new name. You may like your name, but you’re getting a better one. I’m going to put a new name on you, God said. I’m going to put the name of my new city on you. Songwriter said there’s a new name written down in glory and it’s mine. Praise the Lord. Look at chapter 19, verse 12. Chapter 19, verse 12. Speaking of our Lord, when he comes in power and great glory, it says his eyes were like a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns. That’s a Greek word, diadems. And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. Interestingly, same thing said of us. We’re going to get a new name, but we don’t know what it’s going to be. You say, well, what’s my new name going to be? I do know that the new city, heavenly Jerusalem, will be on you also. You’re bound for the promised land. Amen. You’ve been stamped by the precious blood of Christ. The devil has his mark of the beast and God has his. Stamp a new name on him. Stamp the name of the new city on him. But go back to Revelation 2 again and I want to give you four possible viewpoints just to mess you up a little bit. Revelation 2, verse 17 says, What’s this talking about? Four views. Number one. Stones were used to render a verdict. White was positive, black was negative. Very simple system in Rome. So when he says, I will give him a white stone, it meant thumbs up, good news. If he gave you a black stone, you’re in big trouble. That’s one view. Number two, some say it’s referring to the stones in the breastplate of the high priest, representing the 12 tribes. And the white stone would be reserved for believers, for he is our great high priest. Nice thought, but I felt the men who were arguing it were struggling. Here’s another one. Stones were used in ancient time as counters to calculate. But what does that mean? You know, to me, I don’t know if you have a mind like I do, but I read these things, and good men, and I just… So what? I mean, I read it, and I tried to get the impact of it with an open heart. Lord, teach me, and there’s nothing there. What are we talking about, just counting people? Lord wants to make sure he’s got them all in there? No, he knows who’s going to hit. I don’t understand this view. You know what I think is a possibility? I don’t know. I don’t know. This is the fourth view, but this is just a suggestion. I’m kind of a fan of Roman history, and after all, these letters were written in that time. And you know that the Romans used stones to grant admission to the games. They’re like tickets. And they also were used to receive free food. And what they gave were white stones with your name on it. Not somebody else’s name. You had to have your own white stone. And if you had that, you’d get free food and get admitted to the games in their program for appealing to the masses. And I cannot help but believe that as they saw that all the time, we got these amphitheaters, we got these stadiums, we got them all over the empire where God was planning his church. I can’t help but believe that these white stones… with your name on it, to get the free food, the manna to eat, to get into the stadium. This is the way we get into the New Jerusalem. This is the way we have the food that lasts to everlasting life. God’s going to give you a white stone with your name in it. It’s a new name. You say, I don’t like that. Well, come up with your own view. Turn to Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. In Luke chapter 10, will you look please at verse 17 to 20. Luke 10, 17. The 70, remember Jesus sent the 70 out two by two according to chapter 10, verse 1. Verse 17, the 70 returned again with joy saying, Lord, even the devils, even the demons are subject unto us through your name. They were so excited. You think that same excitement would happen to you? Wouldn’t you be a little excited? But what did he say? He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. That’s all true. Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. If this is it, folks, if the Lord’s coming tonight, if this is it, when all’s said and done, you better make sure your name’s written in heaven. Whatever else you want to do, whatever else you’re planning, whatever’s on your agenda, you better make sure of one thing. Is your name written in heaven? Are you an overcomer? Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? We need to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts. There’s not a person here, no matter how long you’ve known the Lord, no matter how strong you think you are in the Lord, that can go one day without the Lord. Let’s close with prayer. Father in heaven, we are so thankful for your word. What joy comes into our heart as we realize we have the hidden manna, our Lord Jesus, the bread from heaven. He is all we need. To all who are believing in him, we have a new name written in heaven. We belong to you. We’re going to be in your heavenly city and share the glories of the future with you. And some of us have been searching in all the wrong places. We need to come to the Lord. And Lord, you know the hearts of people here. You know how many are not sure that if they died now, they’d be in heaven forever. They’re not sure their names are written in heaven. They’re not sure they’ve ever made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, believing that he is everything he claimed to be, the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but through him. Lord, by the power of your Holy Spirit, draw them now to realize the seriousness of this moment, that they might put their faith and trust in Jesus alone. God, help us to settle this, the most important issue of life, And it’s in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
A lot of people ask us about our objectives as a radio broadcast. Well, one of the great objectives is to proclaim the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior. We believe in repentance. That’s getting right with God and confessing our sin. The Bible teaches repent and believe the gospel. Our Lord said that. Sometimes we ask the question, whatever happened to repentance? And a lot of times people want a ticket to heaven without getting right with the Lord. That’s not the way to do it. Let’s come clean with God. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Folks, we need to do it the way the Bible says it. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But Peter also told us on the day of Pentecost to repent, and he said it a few days later. Repent and be converted. It’s very important to get right with the Lord by acknowledging our sin.
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s David Hawking on Hope for Today. And if you’d like to know more about a relationship with Jesus Christ, boy, he loves you and he wants you to have that personal relationship with him. Well, let us send you David’s booklet called What is Christianity? And a Bible study by mail. Now, both of these are free if you’re new to the Christian faith or if you don’t yet know him, but you want to know more. Get yours by calling 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And Bible, by the numbers, 24253. Or you can use the contact form at davidhawking.org. Well, just before David returns, Matt’s here, and we’re going to tell you about a great resource for your personal Bible study.
SPEAKER 03 :
True freedom is inseparable from recognizing God’s absolute sovereignty and his righteous standards. This belief was very much a part of America’s founding fathers, and it provided guidance to correct that which was flawed. Today, however, we face an alarming crisis. Like so many nations, we are drifting far from biblical moorings.
SPEAKER 04 :
There’s a daily onslaught, an onslaught of news showing the erosion of morality and the abandonment of God’s absolute truth.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, the prophet Jeremiah stated, for my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. That’s Jeremiah 2.13.
SPEAKER 04 :
But Matt, there is still hope. Amen. Our Lord graciously invites us to repentance and humility, and back to righteousness. 2 Chronicles 7.14. You know, this is a critical moment for spiritual renewal. To rekindle our dedication to God’s eternal commandments. Yeah, to once again shine brightly as a beacon of righteousness. That is it. That is it. Well, we strongly encourage folks to get a copy of your dad’s book, David Hawking’s book, Whatever Happened to Morality. This month, we’ll send it to you as our thanks for your gift donation of $20
SPEAKER 03 :
It provides timeless biblical guidance on reclaiming our spiritual heritage and shares hope for getting back on the path back to God and His everlasting truth.
SPEAKER 04 :
Whatever happened to morality? Our thanks for your gift donation, $20 or more this month. You can get yours by calling 875-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And Bible is 24253. You can also order at DavidHawking.org. And by the way, if you haven’t written us for a while, boy, we’d sure love to hear from you. Maybe you never have, but we’d like to hear from you as well. Whether you need prayer, or maybe you’d like to share a praise report, or you feel led to support this ministry, to co-labor with us in this ministry. Write to Hope for Today, Box 3927. Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011. And by the way, if the Lord is leading you to give, to make a donation, please know that every dollar you send is used to get the Word of God out clearly, boldly, and without compromise. Your support helps us stay on the air. It helps us offer free discipleship tools and reach people with the truth of God’s Word in places that you and I may never go. but the impact of your donation will. Give safely and easily online at davidhawking.org or by calling us at 875-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And if sending a gift by mail is easier, just use those same addresses I mentioned a moment ago. The addresses are also on the website. Well, once again, here’s David.
SPEAKER 01 :
The last verse of this message to the church at Pergamos says, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. That’s mentioned in every one of the messages. He says, To him that overcometh, I’ll give to eat of the hidden manna, give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saveth he that receiveth it. Well, that was our broadcast today. I hope you heard it all. If not, you can go to our website, davidhawking.org, and pick up a message that you may have missed and listen to it. We have sermon notes as well. Tune in for our next study.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, next time on the program, we move into one of the longest and most scathing messages Jesus gave to any church. In Revelation chapter 2, verses 18 to 29, he confronts a body of believers that looked strong on the outside, but tolerated immorality, idolatry, and a teacher who led others into sin. This isn’t just a rebuke. It’s a warning with eternal implications. Jesus sees everything and his eyes are like a flame of fire. Don’t miss this crucial message next time on Hope for Today.
