”And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him” (Hebrews 1:6).
To Christians this clear statement from Hebrews answers the question rather decisively. The fact that the command is spoken to angels is not relevant since worship from any source is to be given only to God, and never to a creature (Matthew 4:10). So, we can worship Jesus as God, the Second Person of the Trinity, God manifest among us as Emmanuel.
Not so fast, the Jehovah’s Witness will say. Since the Watchtower denies the deity of Christ they must re-interpret, or re-translate numerous passages that get in the way of their doctrine. As will be shown in this study they impose their doctrine on the text rather than the reverse. Whenever they do this it almost always leads to severe conflict with both the immediate context of a passage as well as the larger context of the whole Bible.
The Watchtower’s Position
The Bible translation published by the Watchtower Society is the New World Translation (NWT). It is without respect among Hebrew and Greek scholars. As late as the 1961 version the Society rendered the Greek word ‘proskuneo’ at Hebrews 1:6 as worship. However, in the 1971 version this word was changed to ‘obeisance’. The Watchtower wanted to communicate the idea that Jesus received the same kind of respect that nobility would receive, but that Jesus was not worthy of worship, hence they used a word denoting something less than worship. They had already translated the word proskuneo as obeisance in a number of other New Testament passages that ascribed worship to Jesus. This was the one verse that slipped through.
Definition of Pruskuneo
In his Word Studies in the New Testament, W.R. Vincent says this about the meaning and use of the word proskuneo in the New Testament. “Originally, to kiss the hand: thence, to do homage to. Not necessarily of an act of religious reverence (see Matt. 9:18; 20:20), but often in N.T. in that sense. Usually translated worship, whether a religious sense is intended or not…” (page 1096). The point from Vincent is that this word had a range of uses from respect to worship.
Dr. A.T. Robertson in his Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. 5, page 338 says of the use of proskuneo in the Hebrews 1:6 context, “Imperative first aorist active third plural of proskuneo, here in the full sense of worship, not mere reverence or courtesy.” Robertson, one of the most respected of all Greek scholars, clarifies the use of the word in this particular passage. In other words the context and person being discussed are determinative when it comes to the rendering chosen. (Underlining mine).
What is Worship?
By asking what worship is in the Bible we can determine how to translate ‘proskuneo’ when it occurs in scripture. If someone merely bows to a human dignitary we cannot call that worship. That would be what we would call obeisance. But what is the difference between obeisance and worship? A few verses from Revelation will show the difference.
Revelation 4:8-11 “And the four beasts … rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is, which was, and which is to come. And when those beasts, give glory and honor and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Thou art worthy, to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Contained in this passage are the words of adoration and confession of Almighty God’s glory and worthiness. Also, contained in it are the physical actions denoting submission to God. Let’s look at another verse that talks about Jesus.
Revelation 5:11,12 “And I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beast and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”
Again, we read the words of adoration and confession. But this time it is given to Jesus. I have underlined those words that are repeated in the two passages. To the Father is ascribed glory, power and honor, and to the Son is ascribed glory, power, and honor.
Then in the next two verses we read about the Father and the Son receiving the same words of adoration and confession together.
Revelation 5:13,14 “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.”
Such words and actions are not to be offered to any creature. Angels, when they manifest themselves to man, so awe the human mind that the first response is to bow in submission and worship. Revelation 19:10 and 22:8,9 are such passages. An angel reveals God’s plans to the Apostle John and John’s instinct is to bow in worship. The angel warns him, “See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant,… worship God.”
Context of Hebrews 1
Angels are created beings and not to be worshipped. The Watchtower believes Jesus is a created being, an Archangel. However, in Hebrews 1:6 God the Father directs ALL His angels to worship Jesus. This is unthinkable if Jesus is a created being.
There are other statements in Hebrews 1 that show why Jesus is worthy of our worship. In verse three there is a description of Jesus’ nature that is impossible to be confused with any created being. Even in the Watchtower’s New World Translation it cannot be mistaken as something that could be said about an angel.
“He is the reflection of [his] glory and the exact representation of his very being, and he sustains all things by the word of his power;…” (NWT)
Jesus is the “exact representation” of God’s nature. If God is infinite and all creatures are finite there is no logical way that such a statement could be made about a created being. No finite creature could exactly represent the infinite nature of God. Isaiah 42:8 also says God will not give His glory to another, but in Hebrews 1 He inspired the writer to do just that. That is logically impossible, unless Jesus is Himself God and the “exact representation” of His Father.
This equality of nature shared with the Father is also addressed in John 14. Philip asked Jesus, “Shew us the Father.” Jesus replied that “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” How could any creature so compare himself to God?
The Father and Son share the divine nature equally, and are, together with the Spirit, the One God. For this reason God can command His angels to worship the Son.
But the Father also calls Jesus “the God” in verse 8. “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God (Greek, ho Theos – the God), is for ever and ever:…”
Again, in verses 10-12 a passage from Psalms 102: 24-27 is quoted and ascribed to Jesus. However, in the context of Psalms those statements are ascribed to Jehovah God. The evidence of Jesus deity piles up one verse after another and it doesn’t stop here. In verse 13 God asks “to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?” This is a rhetorical question demanding the obvious answer of “none.” Therefore Jesus cannot be an angel.
Conclusion
No one disagrees on the matter of worship being given to the Father. Worship is the attitude of the heart that impels us inwardly to submit our wills to Him and follow with acts of obedience. It also includes our praise and adoration for His virtues, power, and acts in creation and salvation. The Greek word proskuneo is properly translated worship when surrounded by such actions and attitudes. This is what we find abundantly in Hebrews 1 and in Revelation 4 and 5.
Our conclusion should be that of the Apostle John when he says under inspiration of the Spirit; “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him” (John 5:23).
By David Henke
