Revelation 2:16-17 - Pergamum

16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

What is the correction to compromise? REPENT. Stop the direction you’re going and turn away. Recognize the sin, confess the sin, and change your actions. This is an urgent command! Do not delay! Do it now! Do not debate or justify. Simply believe the Words of God over your or anyone else’s words and repent. He is God and we are not. His Word does not need your approval and is not up for discussion.

If they do not repent and refuse to tolerate those in the church who follow the Balaam or Nicolaitan ways then Jesus Himself will “fight against them”. This is a powerful consideration that we need to understand today. Where there is compromise in our life or in our church’s life and we do not seek to heed the calling of the Spirit to repent, Jesus Himself will fight against those parts with His Word. The same Word that created all that is, the same Word that gave life to the dead, the same Word that comforts us in our pain. Do we want Jesus fighting against any part of us? If not, we need to find our compromises and begin repenting.

John MacArthur says, “Sinning believers should be made to feel miserable in the fellowship and worship of the church by being confronted powerfully with the Word of God. Neither is the goal of the church to provide an environment where unbelievers feel comfortable; it is to be a place where they can hear the truth and be convicted of their sins so as to be saved. Gently, lovingly, graciously, yet firmly, unbelievers need to be confronted with the reality of their sin and God’s gracious provision through the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Error will never be suppressed by compromising with it.”

17 Whoever 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.

There are three things here: hidden manna, white stone, and a new name.

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” – John 6:32-33

Manna as given to the Israelites in the desert is paralleled with Jesus in many ways. 

1. It is the free unmerited gift of provision from God to His people. It is provided because of man’s helplessness and misery. The manna in the desert provided for the physical body but the gift of Jesus provides for the spirit. No human effort could provide the way God has and did. 
2. The gift was and is to preserve life. The Israelites told Moses, “You have brought us into the wilderness to kill everyone with hunger.” The desert couldn’t support the Hebrews and the world can’t support our spirits. We will die without the life provision of the Lord. 
3. The gift is given to everyone equally. There is no status of man that provides favor.

All the Israelites who ate manna in the desert died. The hidden manna is the One who provides life for evermore. He is the bread of life and He is promised to the church that doesn’t compromise.

The white stone has been interpreted to mean many things.

1. Like the names written on the white stones outside the medical temple to Asclepius there in Pergamum, it could be a reference that He would provide for them their own stone and name on it so all would know that they had been cured of their sin disease. 
2. It might be a reference to the stone of acquittal at a trial, since Pergamum could announce capital punishment it could see someone as innocent and give them a white stone, whereas a black stone meant guilt and condemnation. 
3. One of the better-accepted explanations of the white stone is in regard to the high priest’s breastplate, which contained twelve stones. Each of these stones had the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel engraved on it (Ex 28:21). As he ministered in the temple, the high priest bore the names of God’s people into God’s presence. In the same way, the “white stone” with the believer’s name written on it could be a reference to our standing in God’s presence. Our high priest, Jesus, carries our name into God's presence.
4. There is also the ancient Roman custom of awarding white stones to the victors of athletic games. The winner of a contest was awarded a white stone with his name inscribed on it. This served as his “ticket” to a special awards banquet. According to this view, Jesus promises the overcomers entrance to the eternal victory celebration in heaven. 

Either way, it is a gift of Christ and it won’t be taken away.

On the stone is a new name. Greg Beale comments in Revelation on the significance of a new name in these times.  “In the ancient world and the Old Testament, to know someone’s name, especially that of God, often meant to enter into an intimate relationship with that person and to share in the person’s character or power. To be given a new name was an indication of a new status.”

More significant than a name given at birth occurs when God changes a name. Abraham, Sarah, (Jacob) Israel, and Peter are a few of the new names the Lord gave to people. When God changes a name, it indicates that something new has happened or will happen to that person—a new relationship, a new character quality, or a new phase of life. For example, Jesus changed Simon’s name, which means “God has heard”, to Cephas (Peter), which means “rock” (Jn 1:42) well before Peter’s declaration at Caesarea Philippi.

Jesus and only Jesus says that He will be our food now and in eternity; He will be our entrance into heaven as our home; He will give us a new name that will not be taken away; if only we become victors over compromise and follow Him and His Word alone.