NO. 196 TO FALL
TEXT: REVELATION 1: 17, 19: 10, 22: 8, 9 1: 17 And when I saw him, I
fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last.19: 10 And I
fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.22: 8 And I John saw these things, and hear them. And when I had heard and seen, I
fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.9 Then said he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophet, and them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. (KJV)
Today I would like to deliver a message entitled “TO FALL.”
We would like to learn what the Bible says about phenomena of falling that are happening in the charismatic meetings.
The word “to fall” is used several times on Revelation.
The same John fell several times on Revelation. Though the same word “to fall” is used several times, we see that the action of John was not blamed on same parts but was blamed on other parts. There should be some contrast here. We would like to see it.
Let’s look at the text.
1: 17 “And when I saw him, I
fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last.”It is written that John fell at His feet when he saw Him who is “the first and the last.” And it is written that This Person encouraged him saying, “Fear not.” But what is paid attention to is that he was not blamed for his falling down at His feet. As this Person is the One who is the first and the last, that is, Christ, this is of course accepted.
19: 10 “And I
fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”It is written here that John did the same thing done to the Person of “the first and the last,” to the angel, that is, he tried to worship the angel. And this time he was blamed for that and withheld to do so. And moreover, he repeated the same on other part of Revelation, and was also blamed for that likewise. Is there any hidden message of God in this thing? It seems that there should be some thing for us who are coming into the end time, as this is written twice on Revelation.
Well, let’s think of “worshipping angels.” Angels are certainly creatures, but they are basically unseen and the existence who are not so near to us.
I believe I have been believer quite long time, but I have never seen or heard angels myself. I may not have so much direct relation to them. Well, then, is there any thing else to be told through angels? Let’s think of the word angels. The translation of the original word is an angel as the most popular one. But it is not limited to that. This same word is also translated as a messenger. This word is used as below.
JAMES 2: 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the
messengers, and had sent them out another way? (KJV)So, this word is also used to refer to a messenger. Then, this word may possibly tell warning concerning the thing of worship of men, which is, placing vessels in the position of Christ.
If we think in this way, the meaning of such saying becomes clear as, “See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus.” In short, this saying tells the danger to worship the same fellow brothers who serve God. And, worship of workers may mean something great in the end time, as it is purposefully written on Revelation.
It is now in the end time for sure, and the things warned in advance on Revelation are frequently happening.
When I became Christian (about 30 years ago), I never heard or saw such things as people falling down in Christian meetings. But such are often happening in recent meetings, especially in Charismatic meetings. Such may seem to be like the work of the Holy Spirit.
But, when we compare such things with the above word, it seems highly possible that the spirits that are working behind such phenomena are very dangerous and lead the people to sin to worship creatures instead of God, that is, idol worship. And these spirits may be the ones that have deceived people like Satan since the Garden of Eden and led them into the sin to become like gods. When people fall at the feet of vessels of God in group, these spirits may be working behind the scene. We should properly understand that these spirits of idol worship are working around us and we are in danger.
Let’s look at another passage.
22: 8 And I John saw these things, and hear them. And when I had heard and seen, I
fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.9 Then said he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophet, and the them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. (KJV)
It is written here that John “fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.” He might be moved of the angel showing this prophecy and be emotional in his mystery to worship him unconsciously. Yet, such is not the will of God but the thing to be blamed of. Well, as this angel showed the prophecy on Revelation, there may appear in the end time some workers who show prophecies and the interpretations clearly. Yes, these people will definitely appear, as it is written, “The seals are opened.
But, what we should be careful of is not to worship them or to place them as gods. We should know that His warning for idol worship is very serious.
Let us do the will of the Lord in the end time.
End.