Revelation Chapter 19 Verse 10

10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

John falls down to worship the angel but is told that such worship is improper. (This same thing will happen again in 22:8.) Why did John try to worship this angel? Some argue that John was confused as to the identity of the speaker and perhaps thought it was Christ himself, but others respond that John knew Christ very well and was able to recognize him elsewhere in the book. Others argue that John was perhaps so overwhelmed at what he was seeing that he impulsively fell at the feet of the angel — something he would never have done in ordinary circumstances (assuming that one could meet an angel in ordinary circumstances!). I favor this latter view, which also explains why it happens again in 22:8. Can you imagine what it must have been like to actually witness the visions in this book? I’m surprised he didn’t fall down more often!

In any event, God uses John’s reaction as an opportunity to drive home a central theme in this book: God alone is worthy of worship. No creature — be it an angel or an emperor — is to be worshiped. And if it is improper to worship this wondrous angelic being, then how much more so must it be to worship a perverted pagan emperor!

There is a stark contrast in this event with another event recorded by John. In John 9:38, John described the reaction of the man blind from birth after Jesus gave him his sight — “And he worshipped him.” Unlike this angel, Jesus accepted the worship of men. Unlike this created angel, Jesus is the eternal creator. Jesus is the great I Am! (John 8:58) Jesus is God! How else can we reconcile John 9:38 with what Jesus told Satan in Matthew 4:10? “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

What is meant by the phrase “for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” in verse 10? Some hold that this testimony is our testimony about Jesus from his Word, while others hold that it is Jesus’ testimony to us through his Word. Either could be the the intended meaning. The Word is the testimony of Jesus, and the Word is the spirit of prophecy. Barclay suggests that John may have intended the passage to carry this double meaning.

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.