English
And he said to me, ‘Write: Blessed are those invited to the lamb’s marriage supper.’
And he said to me, ‘These are God’s true words.’
And I fell in front of his feet to worship him, and he said to me, ‘Stop that. I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers who hold the witness of Jesus. Worship God, because the witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’
Interpretation
The author writes a third exhortative ‘interruption’ after the ones from chapter 13 and 14. The antecedent of ‘he’ would be the angel from chapter 17. The language and style in these interruptions are most similar to the epistolary framework. The author being overwhelmed by his vision enough to fall down and worship the revelation’s mediator has comparable scenes in other apocalypses.
Parallels
Isaiah
25.6–8 On this mountain Yhwh of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up Death for ever. Then the Lord Yhwh will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for Yhwh has spoken.
1 Enoch
62.13–14 And the righteous and the chosen will be saved on that day; and the faces of the sinners and the unrighteous they will henceforth not see. And the Lord of Spirits will abide over them, and with that son of man they will eat, and they will lie down and rise up forever and ever.
Tobit
12.16–17 The two of them were shaken; they fell face down, for they were afraid. But he said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; peace be with you. Bless God for evermore.’
Ascension of Isaiah
7.21 And I fell on my face to worship him, and the angel who led me would not let me, but said to me, ‘Worship neither throne, nor angel from the six heavens’
8.5–6 And I said to the angel who led me, ‘What is this which I see, my lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am not your lord, but your companion.’
Revelation of Zephaniah
6.13–15 And when I saw him, I rejoiced, for I thought that the Lord Almighty had come to visit me. I fell upon my face, and I worshiped him. He said to me, ‘Take heed. Do not worship me. I am not the Lord Almighty, but I am the great angel, Eremiel’
Testament of Abraham
A 3.5–6 And when Isaac saw the face of the angel [...] Isaac ran and did obeisance to him and fell at the feet of the incorporeal one. And the incorporeal one blessed him and said, ‘The Lord God will bestow upon you his promise which he gave to your father Abraham and to his seed, and he will also bestow upon you the precious prayer of your father and your mother.’
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