“Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God'” (Revelation 22:8-9).
Our text from Revelation 22:8-9 contains several insights that merit careful consideration. We can begin with the actions taken by John, the author of Revelation. If John’s response to this angelic being seems familiar, it might stem from a similar error he made earlier…
“And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true words of God.’ Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy'” (Revelation 19:9-10).
John’s experience highlights the value of learning from our mistakes. But simply recognizing a mistake does not guarantee that we will avoid repeating it. Instead, we should seek God’s help in recognizing those patterns that may cause us to repeat unhealthy behaviors. If we fail to do so, we may end up replicating those same mistakes, just as John did here. We can break that cycle if we humbly and prayerfully seek God’s empowerment to guide our decision-making responsibilities each day.
This passage also reminds us that God’s people are not immune to serious judgmental errors. In this instance, John received a divine revelation and failed to respond appropriately. This portion of Scripture thus provides us with a contemporary principle that we can apply today: if God grants us insight into the people and circumstances around us, we have a corresponding obligation to glorify God and act responsibly upon that information.
Finally, we should remember that spiritual leaders (even prominent ones such as John), are fallible human beings who are vulnerable to error. In such instances, the following passage from Galatians 6:1 should guide our response…
“Brothers and sisters, if a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too” (NET).