The White Stone and the Morning Star

Carrying on from the last post, I'll explain what the two things are: "...and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." and "And I will give him the morning star." Verse 17 and 28 of chapter 2 in Revelation.

Basically, the white stone is a ticket and a reward and the morning star is another name for Jesus Christ.

FIRST off, the white stone:

According to Baker Commentary on the Bible, white stone = ticket/voting piece. "The new name on the white stone is that of being a Christian, for whom everything was made new (new covenant [Luke 22:20, 1Cor 2:25, 2Cor 3:6, Heb 8:8], new commandment [John 13:34, 1John2:8], new creature [2Cor 5:17, Gal 6:15], new man [Eph 2:15, 4:24], new heavens and new earth [2 Peter 3:13, Rev 21:1], New Jerusalem [Rev 3:12, 21:2], all things new [2 Cor 5:17, Rev 21:5]. In antiquity a white stone was used as an entrance ticket, or voting piece. Here it guarantees us entrance into God's kingdom and blessing" (pg 1205).

According to William MacDonald's Believer's Bible Commentary, "The white stone has been explained in many ways. It was a token of acquittal in a legal case. It was a symbol of victory in an athletic contest. It was an expression of welcome given by a host to his guest. It seems clear that it is a reward given by the Lord to the overcomer and expressing individual approval by Him. Alford says that the new name indicates acceptance by God and title to glory" (pg 2357).

According to MacArthur's Bible Commentary, "white stone. When an athlete won in the games, he was often given, as part of his prize, a white stone which was an admission pass to the winner's celebration afterwards. This may picture the moment when the overcomer will receive his ticket to the eternal victory celebration in heaven. new name. A personal message from Christ tot he ones He loves, which serves as their admission pass into eternal glory. It is so personal that only the person who receives it will know what it is" (pg 1997-1998).

SECOND, the morning star:

In all of the commentary's that I've read, they've all said that the morning star in this case means Jesus Christ. You can find what they have to say in the same pages i have already given you for the topic of the white stone.

The one thing that made go "eh." to that is the fact that in the beginning of speaking to that church leading up to the verse containing "morning star" (i'm looking at verse 18 if u'd like to follow along.) It clearly says, "These are the words of the Son of God..." and I thought, "why would Jesus say, 'I will aslo give him Christ' when it's already Him? Why couldn't He just say, 'I will give him Me'?"

So it made me think that the word "morning star" must have meant something else; i was confused. BUT remember the Trinity? A term for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Remembering them as one, verse 18-28 is different. Even though in verse 18 says, "These are the words of the Son of God..." it could also take in the form of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit because they are one and the same (haha i learned that from ENLI :) when we talked about the Holy Spirit [which Dave suggested that we recommend the course to everyone!! PLEASE TAKE ENLI!!! IT'S A BLAST AND U LEARN A LOT!!].

Anyway, i'm done for today. Maybe next time, I'll go over Rev. 3?? But then again, i want to talk about the animals in ch. 4 (along with Ezekiel and Daniel...it's amazing how everything in the Bible ties together and talks about the same thing but written from different times and in different books of the Bible ^.^)

"The mystery of the seven stars...and of the seven golden lampstands." Rev 1:20

So i've been reading Rev. 2 over and over and over again. What really gets to me is how holy God is and how imperfect I am. Read the chapter before you read more into my entry.

The first church he talks to vs 1-7 is where you see that the seven lampstands He stands in the midst of are the seven churches He talks to. Granted, you are given the representation in the last verse of ch 1. But it's very intriguing to me that all the verses in the Bible coorelate to each other in every way! Why? Because they all point to God :) See the connection in vs 5? "Remember the height from which 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."

Another thing that really interests me is that each introduction and conclusion are different for each church. To the 1st, intro: these are the words of him who holds the 7 stars in his right hand and walks among the 7 golden lampstands. conc: I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

To the 2nd, intro: these are the words of him who is the first and the last, who died and came to life again. conc: will not be hurt at all by the second death (meaning heaven).

To the 3rd, intro: these are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. conc: I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. (more on this white stone later)

To the 4th, intro: these are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. conc: I will give authority over the nations - he will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery - just as i have received authority from my father. I will also give him the morning star. (more on the morning star later)

There are three more, but that's covered in ch. 3. Now in between each intro and conclusion are different likes and dislikes that God has with each church. in the 1st, He didn't like how they forgot Him (vs 4). in the 2nd, He was basically encouraging them to have more faith in the midst of "...the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." (vs 9). in the 3rd, He didn't like the teachings of Nicolaitians that some of them had (vs 14-15). In the 4th, He didn't like how they tolerate Jezebel (vs 20).

Now look at the church (body of Christians/congregation) in general in America alone. Are there churches that have lost their first love - God? Are there churches in the midst of hypocrites? Are there churches that hold on to idols or sexual immorality? Are there churches that tolerate men and women who call themselves prophets and prophetess' but aren't? The answer to all these is yes.

Judgment is severe for God is just, but He is also love so repent and He will forgive. Revival is needed...enough said.