Worship is the Core Issue as we see in Revelation

[Hobie]

We look and worship is the central theme of Revelation. It is the key to understanding Revelation as no other book of the Bible contains so many worship scenes. Time and again John is shown heavenly and earthly beings praising God and worshiping Him..

Revelation 4:10
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

Revelation 5:14
And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Revelation 7:11
And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

Revelation 9:20
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

Revelation 11:1
And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

Revelation 11:16
And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

Revelation 14:7
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Revelation 19:4
And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

Revelation 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.

Revelation 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Then we see in contrast those that worship the evil power and its earthly entity...

Revelation 13:4
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Revelation 13:8
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 13:12
And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Revelation 13:15
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Revelation 14:9
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

Revelation 14:11
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Revelation 15:4
Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

Revelation 16:2
And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

Revelation 19:20
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

The verb "to worship-proskuneo" occurs 24 times in Revelation and represents almost half of the New Testament occurrences. The worship of God and the Lamb radiates from the epicenter of the throne room of God and we see it goes from the living creatures, twenty four elders, to all the nations, and mankind and connects up to the Creator

Revelation 14:7
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

We see that that worship is for the Creator who made heaven and earth, and the sea which one needs to compare with Exodus 20:11...
Exodus 20:11
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

 

[Hobie]

The reason that worship is so central in Revelation is because John was shown in vision that worship is the root cause of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. In Revelation 12, John describes how that the conflict over worship began in heaven when Michael and his angels fought and defeated the dragon (Satan) and his angels, both of whom were thrown down to the earth.
Revelation 12:7-9
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

After he was cast out from heaven, Satan made this earth his place for his spiritual darkness, using all his resources to suppress the worship and worshippers of the true God, promoting instead the false worship of himself.

The conflict comes to a climax in Revelation 13, where Satan, represented as the Dragon, empowers the Beast to enforce its false worship by placing its mark, on the foreheads and hands of their followers, which represents the nature of the false worship promoted by Satan.

Revelation 13:1-8
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

So who would bring in this false worship since scripture does teach is that false teachings would arise even from among church leaders and that Christians were to compare the church to Gods Word and see if it had strayed. We see clearly that only God is to be worship and not man, and yet the leader of the apostate church which is the beast, is worshiped by the world. We find where Peter, who they claim as the first leader, puts the lie to the notion of the worship of any man for any reason, much less of himself. We see it in Acts..
Acts 10:25-26
25 And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.

In the Roman Empire, the Supreme Pontiff or 'Pontifex Maximus', was the highest officer in the pagan state religion and directed a College of Pontiffs. Julius Caesar and other Roman Emperors, whom the citizens of the Empire were commanded to worship as gods, held the title of Supreme Pontiff, and this was passed on to the Pope, which it holds to this day. So we see there is a conflict between the true worship of God and the false worship promoted by the papacy, and it brings false teachings to deceive and use to enforce this system of false worship.....

The Catholic Church teaches the false doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (that Mary was born of a virgin birth), so it takes what shows the divinity of Christ and shifts it to Mary, to allow her to be worshiped as a god. We see it teaches the false doctrine of Transubstantiation, (that the bread and wine actually turn in to the literal physical body and blood of Jesus when we take the Lord’s Supper) so they can continue the false worship of these objects.

It teaches the false doctrine of Original Sin, that we are born already accountable for the sin of Adam. This false doctrine was created to explain another false doctrine, which is infant baptism. Infant baptism is not taught or practiced in the Bible. It makes no sense since it is to repent and put faith in Jesus, which is clearly impossible for an infant. And we see the false teachings of Purgatory, Worship of idols, saints, and Mary, Last rites, Confession to priests, Lent, etc…. None of these are biblical, and it just goes on and on to support what is clearly a false system of worship which is in conflict with Gods Word..

 

[Hobie]

Now you have to understand how worship will be the conflict at the end, and lead to the final battle. The evangelicals Christians hold fervently to the claim that Christ will appear in the Holy Land, and go to Jerusalem, and not just the city but specifically a Jerusalem controlled by the Jewish people and a deception of seven years of tribulation. In essence, the belief is that the Jewish people will experience a great spiritual rebirth and rebuild a third temple in Jerusalem prior the messiah showing up and then they can go see the messiah and worship this messiah.

Now, Christ gave us clear warning of what would come at the end, that would if possible, deceive even the saints.

Matthew 24:24
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Mark 13:22
For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

But Satan as a 'angel of light' can show himself as such a false christ or messiah and the impersonation takes place, and even the most devouted Christian to say nothing of the evangelicals, would be hard pressed to see through this deception.

2 Corinthians 11:14
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Christians have long awaited the Second Coming of Christ, but now the deceiver himself shows up as the 'angel of light' and shows himself in the desert or in different parts of the earth, then goes to get worship and what place are the evangelicals and many others expecting. Yes, the city of Jerusalem where many will flock to worship this being. So Satan comes and will manifest himself as the ultimate false christ, as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description but only able to wander about on earth and show himself in the city to be worshiped as he deceives, and prepares for a battle....

 

[ziapueblo]

We look and worship is the central theme of Revelation.

As an Orthodox Christian, I agree 100%

 

[EarlyActs]

We look and worship is the central theme of Revelation. It is the key to understanding Revelation as no other book of the Bible contains so many worship scenes. Time and again John is shown heavenly and earthly beings praising God and worshiping Him..

Revelation 4:10
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

Revelation 5:14
And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Revelation 7:11
And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

Revelation 9:20
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

Revelation 11:1
And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

Revelation 11:16
And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

Revelation 14:7
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Revelation 19:4
And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

Revelation 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.

Revelation 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Then we see in contrast those that worship the evil power and its earthly entity...

Revelation 13:4
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Revelation 13:8
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 13:12
And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Revelation 13:15
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Revelation 14:9
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

Revelation 14:11
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Revelation 15:4
Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

Revelation 16:2
And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

Revelation 19:20
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

The verb "to worship-proskuneo" occurs 24 times in Revelation and represents almost half of the New Testament occurrences. The worship of God and the Lamb radiates from the epicenter of the throne room of God and we see it goes from the living creatures, twenty four elders, to all the nations, and mankind and connects up to the Creator

Revelation 14:7
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

We see that that worship is for the Creator who made heaven and earth, and the sea which one needs to compare with Exodus 20:11...
Exodus 20:11
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Worshipping the enthroned Lamb is the same as the 1st messages in Acts 2-4, and no wonder!

 

[EarlyActs]

Now you have to understand how worship will be the conflict at the end, and lead to the final battle. The evangelicals Christians hold fervently to the claim that Christ will appear in the Holy Land, and go to Jerusalem, and not just the city but specifically a Jerusalem controlled by the Jewish people and a deception of seven years of tribulation. In essence, the belief is that the Jewish people will experience a great spiritual rebirth and rebuild a third temple in Jerusalem prior the messiah showing up and then they can go see the messiah and worship this messiah.

Now, Christ gave us clear warning of what would come at the end, that would if possible, deceive even the saints.

Matthew 24:24
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Mark 13:22
For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

But Satan as a 'angel of light' can show himself as such a false christ or messiah and the impersonation takes place, and even the most devouted Christian to say nothing of the evangelicals, would be hard pressed to see through this deception.

2 Corinthians 11:14
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Christians have long awaited the Second Coming of Christ, but now the deceiver himself shows up as the 'angel of light' and shows himself in the desert or in different parts of the earth, then goes to get worship and what place are the evangelicals and many others expecting. Yes, the city of Jerusalem where many will flock to worship this being. So Satan comes and will manifest himself as the ultimate false christ, as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description but only able to wander about on earth and show himself in the city to be worshiped as he deceives, and prepares for a battle....

You have the theme of the Rev correct, but the modern stuff is nothing but misguided, and it could take on a misguided life of its own. See my thread 'All eschatology terms have 2 senses, but the old is abandoned.'