About “Worship” in the Book of Revelation

Q: “Worship” is mentioned frequently in the book of Revelation. How does the worship portrayed in Revelation inform our meetings?

TRW: Short answer: I think Revelation provides very few insights that affect the Christian gathering.

Longer answer: The Greek word προσκυνέω appears in Revelation 24 times. Even though most English Bibles translate προσκυνέω as “worship” throughout the book, the lexical evidence indicates that the word refers to prostrating oneself. (See my answer to the previous question.)

In modern English culture, the word “worship” commonly connotes ideas of singing, praying, or conducting liturgy in a so-called “worship service.” However, in the 265 times the word is used in the Septuagint and the NT, the context gives no indication that προσκυνέω connotes singing, praying, or the conducting of liturgy. There are four times in the Septuagint when προσκυνέω appears in the same context as singing, but the context indicates that the two activities (prostrating and singing) are separate and distinct.

Whenever προσκυνέω is being performed before deity or in the context of a deity’s temple, dozens of passages clearly indicate that the word refers to prostration. Frequently, in the LXX and the NT, the context surrounding προσκυνέω includes several additional terms indicating that the word connotes prostration. I call these words “prostration indicators.”

In Revelation, these prostration indicators continue to be used with προσκυνέω. For example, πίπτω (to fall down) and προσκυνέω (to prostrate) appear together before the throne in Rev. 4:10; 5:14; 7:11; 11:16; 19:4; cf. 5:8; 19:10; 22:8-9. An additional prostration indicator is found in two of these verses, where those performing προσκυνέω are also “on their faces” (Rev. 7:11; 11:16). Four of these verses in Revelation mention that they are “before” the throne, which is a prostration indicator showing their prostrated position in front of the deity (Rev. 4:10; 7:11; 11:16; 15:4; cf. Rev. 3:9; 4:4-5; 5:8; 7:9, 15; 8:2-4; 9:13; 11:4; 14:3; 20:12).

Rev. 11:1 is a good example. Throughout Revelation, those who surround God on the throne (a likely temple reference) are described five times as “falling down” (πίπτω) and performing προσκυνέω, which is the standard way of describing prostration throughout the Septuagint and NT. As John explains a few verses later, in Rev. 11:16, “The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and prostrated to God” (προσεκύνησαν τῷ θεῷ). Here, the text includes “fell,” “on their faces,” and “before God,” which often accompany the idea of prostrating in a temple.

So, even though all the major English Bibles (KJV, NIV, ESV, NASB, NRSV, etc.) ignore these obvious prostration indicators and translate προσκυνέω in Rev. 11:1 as “worship,” the word clearly means prostration: “measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who prostrate in it.” This understanding is consistent with the common picture of temple prostration throughout the LXX and NT.

So, as you asked, “How does the worship portrayed in Revelation inform our meetings?” Actually, all these 24 references to προσκυνέω have nothing to do with Christian gatherings in the first century. Rather, they simply indicate that the common obligatory gesture when someone approached a deity in a temple was perform ritual prostration.

Revelation draws a distinction between those who prostrate (προσκυνέω) before the Beast and those who prostrate (προσκυνέω) before God. Revelation was written at a time when the Roman emperor had designated himself as a god, which was a blasphemous act to Jews and Christians. Assuming the role of deity, the emperor was requiring people to prostrate before his statue in the imperial temples that had been erected throughout the region of the seven cities of Revelation (Pergamum, Sardis, Thyatira, Philadelphia, Ephesus, Laodicea, Smyrna). For Christians, the act of prostrating to Caesar or offering him a sacrifice was idolatry and an abominable betrayal of the one true God (Rev. 13:15-17; 20:4; cf. Ex. 20:5; et al.).

For more on this topic, see my video on The Real Meaning of Worship and my video on The Temple That Changed Everything.