Revelation 22:8 Commentary and Bible Study

There are some very important things in these two verses. John had made this mistake before. The angel, means the messenger. When the messenger showed him such great and wonderful things, he admired him, he marvelled at him. What a messenger! What truths, what astonishing things! And his instinct was to worship him. Clearly the majesty of angels is so great and the nature of the revelations concerning the future are so momentous that John is again overwhelmed with awe, in spite of the previous prohibition. God allowed both of these acts of idolatry and consequent rebukes to be recorded so close to one another, because the worship of beings other than the Lord is an error which the church will always need to watch against. But who exactly does John attempt to worship? Who is it that forbids him to do so? Verse 7 undoubtedly records the words of Christ. Could it be that the Lord Jesus continues to speak in verse 8-9? Certainly not! The Lord accepted worship on numerous occasions in his life on earth, never once preventing it with any such prohibition. Besides, the one John falls down before is explicitly called an angel. The first chapter of Hebrews, teaches us that there is no comparison between the Son and the angels. They are commanded to worship him, but they are never to worship one another. He has the name of Son which exalts him above them all. He sits upon the throne around which the angels gather to worship. He laid the foundation of the earth, while they looked on with wonder. He sits at the right hand of God, waiting for the suppression of his enemies, while they stand at a distance around the throne. How then can Christ, whose words are recorded in the previous verse be different from the angel who speaks in this verse? The explanation is that the angel is acting the part of a prophet as he has already told us, and as he reminds us again here. God speaks through his prophets, so that often in the Old Testament, it is the words of God that are recorded spoken, spoken in the first person, even though they are delivered through the mouth of his servants. The one speaking is the angel. He is one of the angels having the seven bowls. Into his mouth are put the very words of Christ. The angel reminds John that as a fellow prophet, albeit an angelic one, he has a status equal with the other prophets, whom John would not dream of worshipping. ‘See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren, the prophets, and of them, which keep the sayings of this book.’ He is an angel, mark you, but he says, I am no different from the redeemed. Worship God.