Translation
And I fell down on my face before his feet
to worship him.
Go to footnote numberBut he said to me, “See that you don’t do that. I am a servant along with you, and alongside your brothers who
hold firmly the testimony
Go to footnote numberconcerning JESUS.
Don’t submit to me, submit to GOD!
For the testimony of JESUS is the spirit of prophecy.”
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
Then I fell down on my face before his feet because I was overwhelmed with the invitation and my immediate response was one of great gratitude. But he told me, “Stop! Make sure you don’t do that. I am a servant along with you, and a servant alongside your brothers who hold firmly and steadfastly to the testimony concerning THE SAVIOR. Don’t submit to me, submit only to THE CREATOR AND OWNER OF ALL THINGS! For the testimony of THE SAVIOR is the essence of prophecy.”
Footnotes
1
Why did John fall down to “worship” at the feet of the angel? John was so struck with joyful thanksgiving and relief that he felt he must express that emotion to the one bringing such an encouraging message. I cannot envision John ever worshipping another being the way one worships God. So I think this situation is not what it appears. John fell to his knees out of shear emotion.
The Greek word for “worship” means “to kiss the feet.” Interestingly, it comes from the preposition “toward” and the noun “dog.” It seems to paint a picture of a dog licking (kissing) the hand of his master. From there it changed to the meaning of “kissing the feet.” The kneeling and kissing the feet of someone, could be done for various reasons; it could show submission, supplication or to also show gratitude, the latter of which is what I think was going on here.
The angel stopped him from even showing gratitude because he is just the carrier of the message, not the originator of it. He made clear to John that he was on a similar spiritual plain as John was, not a higher one. He will have no commands for John that do not come directly from God Himself. The angel’s words remind John that he too has access directly to God, although we know it is a different kind of access than that of an angel.
John fell to his knees as a response to the invitation to attend the wedding feast of the Lamb, an honor he was not sure he deserved. The angel made it clear that he indeed had proven himself true and was not some kind of lesser servant of God.
2
In Revelation, whenever we see the word “testimony” we must remember that it is also the word for “martyr.” If we are true witnesses for Christ we must be willing to give our lives in support of that witness, if that would be required.
3: “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”
Being a prophet is being a mouthpiece for God, it is seldom about predicting the future. This also ties in with what the angel just said about the faithful ones who held steadfastly to their testimony about Jesus. We could say that the martyrdom of Jesus is the essence of prophecy; We could also say that the martyrdom of believers is the essence of prophecy because they obviously “get it” and their life and death are a true testimony of what following Jesus means. The angel includes this as part of his explanation for why John should not submit to him as the bearer of the invitation because they are both on the same footing, engaged in the same type of work—communicating God’s words.