by Robert Robertson

Created on: January 10, 2009

Should Christians worship angels? Scripture can appear to be contradictory on this subject.

The first commandment tells us that we "shall have no other gods" before Jehovah (Exodus 20). In Joshua 5, Joshua fell on his face and worshiped the Commander of the Army of the Lord. He is then told to remove his shoes because the place he was standing was holy. In Revelation 22 the apostle John fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed him the revelation. He was rebuked by the angel and told to "Worship God".

Since there are no contradictions in Scripture how do we account for this apparent contradiction and how is this related to the topic at hand? We'll start with resolving the apparent contradiction.

Having spent 3 years with Christ Jesus during His earthly ministry, John would also have been keenly aware of the First Commandment and its prohibition. Why did John fall down to worship an angel when he would know that he is only to worship the triune god? The apostle John would have been aware of the account in Joshua where Joshua falls down to worship the Commander of the Army of the Lord. It is this account in Joshua that caused John to fall down to worship the angel. John was rebuked by the angel because the angel was not God.

Why did Joshua fall down to worship the Commander of the Army of the Lord? We read in Joshua 5: 14-15, where Joshua worships the Commander of the Army of the Lord, "Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him What does my Lord say to his servant?". The Commander of the Army of the Lord replies "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." We read in Joshua 6:2 where the Commander of the Army of the Lord tells Joshua, "I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor."

Who is the Commander of the Army of the Lord? He is the pre-incarnate Christ, the Son of God, the Eternal Word. Since he is the pre-incarnate Christ and not a "man" as the text describes Him, an Israelite would consider the account to refer to someone who resembled an angel. This is why the apostle John fell down to worship the angel he encountered in Revelation 22. He made the assumption that the angel was Christ.

What does this mean for us a Christians? We are not to worship anything or anyone except God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This includes angels.

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