There are many myths circulating the body of Christ about angels these days. You can trace the root of most of them back to the New Age movement and various false religions, as well as pop culture’s influence on society and the church.
But there’s one troubling heresy about angels that is rising rapidly in this hour. Although it’s nothing particularly new—like Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9)—what I am seeing and hearing in some camps in Christendom is disturbing.
I have seen this for a long time, but with the roll out of my new book, Releasing the Angels of Abundant Harvest, I once again notice how many sincere believers have been taught wrong ideas about the ministry of angels.
The best way to combat darkness is with light. In other words, the best way to dispel error is with absolute Bible-based truth and scriptural proof. With that in mind, I want to explore the subject of angel worship from both sides of heaven.
Why Angels Worship God
We know the angels in heaven worship God. We see this everlasting reality several times in Scripture. We find one of the most stunning visuals of this truth as part of his commissioning.
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. One cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory'” (Is. 6:1-3).
Consider this spectacular scene of over 100 million angels worshipping the Lord as John describes in Revelation 5:11-13:
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voices of many angels, numbering ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: ‘”Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” Then I heard every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that are in them, saying: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!”
We see a similar scene in Revelation 4:8b: “All day and night, without ceasing, they were saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” Then again in Revelation 7:11-12: “All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures and fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen’.”
Angels worship God and God alone. There is no idolatry in the heavenly angelic host. They never grow weary of worship. They are not distracted in worship by the turkey in the oven at home. Even though they can’t quite comprehend the work of the cross or the redemption in the blood of Christ, they find plenty of reasons to worship God. First and foremost, I believe, is that they better understand His wisdom, His beauty, His character and His holiness.
Angels Don’t Want Our Worship
Here’s the other side of the coin: Angels should not be worshipped and indeed do not want your worship. Paul explained to the church at Colossae:
“Do not let anyone cheat you of your reward by delighting in false humility and the worship of angels, dwelling on those things which he has not seen, vainly arrogant due to his unspiritual mind, and not supporting the head, from which the entire body, nourished and knit together by joints and sinews, grows as God gives the increase” (Col. 2:18-19).
We also see John twice bowing down before angels in the book of Revelation, and the angels shunning his adoration. Let’s look at both encounters:
“I fell at [the angel’s] feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘See that you not do that. I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy'” (Rev. 19:10, emphasis mine).
“I, John, am he who saw and heard these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, ‘See that you not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!'” (Rev. 22:8-9).
We can release angels by declaring the Word of God because angels hearken to the voice of His Word (Ps. 103:20). We can cooperate with the work of angels. We can rejoice with angels. We may even be able to see angels at times. But we should never, ever worship angels. {eoa}
