Jesus Christ places these same words at (or near) the end of each of these seven letters. The word he directed to each church is his word (as Revelation 2:1 indicated), yet now this word is described as “what the Spirit says.” The Spirit prompts prophecy (see 2 Peter 1:21; Revelation 19:10). Indeed, it was by the Spirit that John was able to see and hear the vision (Revelation 1:10). With this exhortation, Christ calls for every hearer to pay extra attention to what the reader is reading from this letter (see Revelation 1:3), precisely because the letter comes from God. The call to pay extra attention is not limited to the Christians of Pergamum, but goes to all who hear this letter, no matter where or when they live.
17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’