As This teaching is extracted from the book 'Eagles Fly High!' it does not have a background component to its specific presentation.

You may read the complete book, downloadable at

http://www.wwj.org.nz/eaglepts.php

to fully grasp the context within which it was written.

To him who overcomes, 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." (Revelation 2:17)

Now Jesus is starting to reveal more details of the future of this group of Overcomers. For it is as if there will be a grand graduation banquet. The white stone with a new name written on it", is a personalised invitation from Jesus to participate in His 1,000 year reign governing team.

The new name is the name given by the victor, who is Jesus. The new name signifies a new life for us, in the purposes and anointing of God. Such was the case for Jacob when he wrestled with God’s angel. (possibly Jesus)

Funny how that word "overcome" should appear here too, back in the first book of the Old Testament! Must be a coincidence!

Then on to one of my favourite subjects – food! The hidden manna. Hidden until this time and only available to those invited to the feast.

Now, that is my kind of banquet – unlimited food! Only problem is that it has more affect on my girth than it used to! Still I expect that God’s manna will be both delicious and non-fattening too! As with the Feast of Tabernacles itself, which we will look at later, this will be the greatest time of celebration in history.

However, this verse is really talking about 'hidden’, that is spiritual manna. Hidden manna is spiritual revelation that is in God’s word, the bible, but isn’t obvious without God revealing it to us.

Manna Jar similar to that in the Ark of the Covenant pictured.

and God’s nature is revealed through it. Just as we get to know our spouse better than we know other people (hopefully!) because we are committed to them, so as become more committed to God, He reveals more of himself to us. If we are prepared to make the commitment to Him of being an overcomer, He promises to reveal more of Himself to us than He does to others.

For example, some Christians may try to read this book (Eagles Fly High! Download available here) and not comprehend what is being said, while others will have a greater understanding than is being revealed here. The more we seek, the more we will find.

Do you want to participate?

"To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations – ‘He will rule them with an iron sceptre; 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." (Revelation 2:26-28)

The first part (sentence) of this 2-part promise reiterates a prophetic declaration in Psalm 2, speaking of Jesus, and written approximately 1000 years before his birth!

Isn’t it interesting and unbelievable really, that Jesus has in turn, delegated this function "to him who overcomes and does my will to the end." It is not just I making this up! That is what it really says! And confirmation? Yes! For I love confirmation, particularly in controversial areas! You may already have guessed by now where this confirmation is going to come from. Revelation, chapter 12, no less, and verse 5. "She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron sceptre. … …"

We will leave the implications of the "male child" until we look at the church as a whole. Have to leave some exciting things until later, to keep you reading! But it is quite clear that Jesus is delegating His authority to rule the nations to a group of individuals, who overcome Satan in their own lives first.

The second part of the promise confirms the first, which is most encouraging to me too! The "morning star" is of course Jesus. He says so in Revelation 22:16.

But it relates to a specific aspect of the makeup of Jesus. This is revealed in Numbers 24:17-19. In Balaam’s 4th Oracle, Baalam prophesies

Both the star and the sceptre! Amazing how such, seemingly unrelated, prophecies dovetail in with each other so perfectly. But then we shouldn’t be amazed, should we?

God’s perfect plan was conceived before our understanding of time began, and has been progressively revealed through the millenniums. This passage again confirms the authority of Jesus. And the authority of the morning star is to be given to His overcoming people. Thus the 2 promises of the verse are effectively the same, being confirmation of one another.

Do you want to participate?

Proceeding through the churches we now come to those of Sardis and Philadelphia. And the promises to the 'overcomers' continue to develop in a greater and greater way.

As we get more committed to and deeper into God, so He has greater promises, greater levels of rewards available for us, as we are seeing in this study.

The level to which we receive them though, is up to us!

THE AMPITHEATRE

Herod the Great had also built a THEATRE in the Upper City. It was a large, open-air auditorium with semicircular rows of seats ascending from a central stage. Wealthy Jews came there to watch the best of Greek and Roman drama. Most traditional Jews, however, scorned this and other outgrowths of Greco-Roman culture as immoral.

This model at the Holy Land Hotel is a Scholar's conception showing how the site may have looked in Jesus' day.