Worship God
Today’s passage: Revelation 22:7–11
Focus verse: “Worship God!” (Revelation 22:9)
John identifies himself as the author of Revelation in the opening sections of the book. In case we forgot, he reminds us that he’s still here and this is his vision, which he’s dutifully recording for us to read.
Overwhelmed by what he’s experiencing and learning about God’s new heaven and new earth, John falls at the feet of the angel to worship him. This is the second time he does this.
The first time occurred three chapters ago in Revelation 19:10. The angel chastised John and told him to stop. The heavenly being called himself a fellow servant, just like the apostle, trusting in Jesus’s good news.
Then the angel instructed John to “Worship God!”
You’d think John would have learned from his first attempt at angel worship. But he didn’t.
Though it’s a different angel this time, John again falls at his feet to worship him and pay him homage.
This angel gives John the same rebuke. He tells John to not worship him since they’re both servants of God. As such they should worship the Almighty.
Worship is an ongoing theme in the book of Revelation. Throughout John’s vision, we see the example of the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures who sit around God’s throne and devote themselves to praising him.
We also see a negative form of worship in Revelation through the people who revere the beast and receive his mark. This disrespects God. These people (along with the beast) received punishment for their misplaced worship.
These are two clear-cut examples of worship, one right and the other wrong, but John’s repeated attempt at angel worship gives us a third consideration.
Though few of us would ever physically bow down to worship anything other than God, we may effectively do this through our attitudes and our priorities.
Today’s world elevates sports heroes, movie stars, and politicians, placing them on a lofty pedestal. We effectively worship them through the devotion we give to them and the attention we place on their words.
They don’t deserve this. They’re people just like us.
We should instead worship God.
Aside from these secular examples of false worship, it also occurs within the church.
We elevate ministers too, putting them on high pedestals and giving them more attention than they warrant or is wise. We admire them too much for their charisma, their ministry, and what we wrongly view as success.
We, in effect, worship them instead of the God they serve. They are just like us, servants of God who follow Jesus.
May we place all our worship on the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Questions:
- Who do we give too much reverence to at God’s expense?
- More pointedly, who do we worship here on earth today?
- What might we worship?
- How should we reform our worship of God to what truly honors him?
- How might our worship of God in heaven differ from our worship of him now?
[Discover what else John writes about worship in John 4:19–24, John 9:38, Revelation 14:7, and Revelation 15:4.]
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Read more in Revelation Bible Study: Discover Practical Insights from John’s Epic Vision.
Discover practical, understandable insights from the book of Revelation.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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