The Meaning OF "The Hidden Manna"

"To him that conquers I will give some of the hidden manna," said the resurrected Jesus to spiritual Israel. (Revelation 2:17) The symbolic hidden manna calls to mind the manna that God commanded Moses to keep in a golden jar inside the sacred ark of the covenant. The Ark was kept in the Most Holy compartment of the tabernacle. There it remained out of sight, hidden, as it were. Kept as a memorial, this sample of manna did not perish while it remained in the Ark, so it would be an apt symbol of an imperishable food supply. (Exodus 16:32; Hebrews 9:3, 4, 23, 24) In giving the 144,000 the hidden manna, Jesus guarantees their receiving immortality and incorruptibility as a spirit sons of God. -John 6:51; 1 Corinthians 15:54.

"With you [Jehovah] is the source of life," said the psalmist. (Psalm 36:9) How well the provision of manna-both literal and symbolic-reaffirms that fundamental truth! The manna God gave to ancient Israel, the figurative manna he provided in the form of Jesus' flesh given in our behalf, and the symbolic hidden manna he gives through Jesus to the 144,000 remind all of us of our total dependence on God for life. (Psalm 39:5, 7) Let us humbly, modestly, and regularly acknowledge this dependence. In turn, Jehovah will 'do us good in our afterdays.' -Deuteronomy 8:16.

Next time: Why So Little Time?

Watchtower, 1999