In verse 16 the Lord says, “Repent therefore; but if not, I come to you quickly, and I will war with them with the sword of My mouth.” Here the Lord says that He will come quickly and war with the sword of His mouth against some in this worldly church. This should not refer to the Lord’s coming back, but to His coming to war with the Nicolaitan teachers in the degraded church with the slaying word out of His mouth. The worldly church, signified by the church in Pergamos, issues in the Roman Catholic Church, signified by the church in Thyatira, and the worldliness and evil brought in by this degraded church will continue in the Roman Catholic Church until the Lord comes back to exercise His full judgment.
The degraded worldly church has a great need for the speaking of the Spirit. It has the Bible in dead letters, but it lacks the speaking of the Spirit. Mere Bible knowledge without the Spirit’s speaking cannot supply what is needed to a deadened Christianity. Its deadness in its degradation must be judged by the sharp sword out of the Lord’s mouth. The worldly church needs the sharp speaking with the living word by the Lord Spirit.
In verse 17 the Lord says, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it.” To overcome here means specifically to overcome the church’s union with the world, the teaching of idolatry and fornication, and the teaching of the hierarchy.
The Lord promises to give of the hidden manna to the overcomer. The promise to the first church concerned the eating of the tree of life, and the promise to this church concerns the eating of the hidden manna. The worldlier the church becomes, the greater is the need for some to stand up and testify and to maintain intimate fellowship with the Lord. These will be privileged to enjoy the Lord as the hidden manna. Manna is a type of Christ as the heavenly food enabling God’s people to go His way. A portion of that manna was preserved in a golden pot concealed in the ark (Exo. 16:32-34; Heb. 9:4). The open manna was for the enjoyment of the Lord’s people in a public way; the hidden manna, signifying the hidden Christ, is a special portion reserved for His overcoming seekers who overcome the degradation of the worldly church. While the church goes the way of the world, these overcomers come forward to abide in the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, where they enjoy the hidden Christ as a special portion for their daily supply. This promise is fulfilled today in the proper church life and will be fulfilled in full in the coming kingdom. If we seek the Lord, overcome the degradation of the worldly church, and enjoy a special portion of the Lord today, He, as the hidden manna, will be a reward to us in the coming kingdom. If we miss Him as our special portion today in the church life, we shall surely lose the enjoyment of Him as a reward in the coming kingdom.
The hidden manna was placed in a golden pot. Gold signifies God’s divine nature. Thus, placing the hidden manna in the golden pot signifies that the hidden Christ is concealed in the divine nature. The open manna is for all the people of God, but the hidden manna is for those who are intimate with the Lord, those who have forsaken the world and every separation between them and God. They come into the very intimacy of God’s presence and here in this divine intimacy they enjoy the hidden manna in God’s divine nature. This is deep. It is not outward; it is absolutely inward. It is so inward that those who eat of the hidden manna are actually in the divine nature enjoying the hidden Christ.
How can we eat the hidden manna? This is something absolutely outside of the world. While the worldly church is going down into union with the world, we are coming up from Egypt to the wilderness, from the wilderness to the good land, from the good land to the tabernacle, from the outer court to the Holy Place, from the Holy Place to the Holy of Holies. After we have entered into the Holy of Holies, we must still dive into the ark, touch the golden pot, and enjoy Christ as the manna hidden there. The more the church becomes worldly, the more we need to enter into the Holy of Holies to eat the hidden manna. The manna is in the golden pot, the golden pot is in the ark, and the ark is in the Holy of Holies. By this we can see how inward it is. If we would enjoy it, we must abide in the deep intimacy of God’s presence. We must be in His divine nature where there is nothing worldly or distracting and where there is the intimate fellowship between us and God. Here we enjoy Christ as the hidden manna. Some of us have had this experience of the hidden Christ. We have said, “Lord, I don’t care for the world. I only care for You, Lord, not for any human relationship or friendship. Lord, I am willing to drop every tie. Lord, now I’m thoroughly free, and I love You from the depths of my being. I love You without anything frustrating me.” When we say this to the Lord, we are immediately in the golden pot, in the intimacy of the divine nature, partaking of the hidden Christ. Oh, we must eat such a Christ!
This promise of eating the hidden manna is also prophecy. In the millennium some overcomers will have a special portion of Christ for their enjoyment. That special portion is what is promised here as the hidden manna. However, in principle, even today we can enjoy Christ in such an intimate and hidden way. We enjoy Christ in a way in which those who only enjoy the open manna cannot understand.