12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practise sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
'Hidden manna' and 'a white stone' are promised to those who overcome in Pergamos. What do these signify? In the first place, the hidden manna is the reward of those who refuse to eat 'things sacrificed unto idols' (14). God is no man's debtor, and those who for Christ's sake refuse the corrupting and insidious forms of worldliness which constantly tempt God's people to abandon their pilgrim character are given to taste the best delights and satisfactions of His love and grace. When believers, like Nehemiah, refuse to come down to the level of the world, God honours their faithfulness to Himself with all His resources of grace and power. As the Psalmist says, 'No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly'. The white stone and the new name refer surely to the reward of faithfulness hereafter, and have been variously interpreted. Much depends for a true understanding on whether the new name is one which the believer receives or whether it is the name of Christ. In the former, it would signify the attaining of a new status and the entering into fullness of life and joy in the Lord. If Jacob the supplanter became Israel the prince with God on earth, how much more will we receive a new name when the wrestlings of life have finished their gracious work in us and we shall be saved to sin no more! In the latter, it would mean that the overcomer will be brought into a depth of intimate fellowship with the Lord Whose sweetness only those who experience it will ever be able to appreciate, unique for each one, and exclusive to each one. Who shall say that these are not both and equally meaningful for the believer.