Adoration

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

the act of rendering divine honours; or of addressing God or any other being as supposing it to be God. ( See Worship . ) The word is compounded of ad, "to," and os, "mouth;" and literally signifies to apply the hand to the mouth; manum ad os admovere, "to kiss the hand;" this being in eastern countries one of the great marks of respect and submission. To this mode of idolatrous worship Job refers,  Job 31:26-27 . See also  1 Kings 19:18 .

The Jewish manner of adoration was by prostration, bowing, and kneeling. The Christians adopted the Grecian, rather than the Roman, method, and always adored uncovered. The ordinary posture of the ancient Christians was kneeling; but on Sundays, standing.

ADORATION is also used for certain extraordinary acts of civil honour, which resemble those paid to the Deity, yet are given to men.

We read of adorations paid to kings, princes, emperors, popes, bishops, abbots, &c., by kneeling, falling prostrate, kissing the feet, hands, garments, &c.

The Persian manner of adoration, introduced by Cyrus, was by bending the knee, and falling on the face at the prince's feet, striking the earth with the forehead, and kissing the ground. This was an indispensable condition on the part of foreign ministers and ambassadors, as well as the king's own vassals, of being admitted to audience, and of obtaining any favour. This token of reverence was ordered to be paid to their favourites as well as to themselves, as we learn from the history of Haman and Mordecai, in the book of Esther; and even to their statues and images; for Philostratus informs us that, in the time of Apollonius, a golden statue of the king was exposed to all who entered Babylon, and none but those who adored it were admitted within the gates. The ceremony, which the Greeks called προσκυνειν , Conon refused to perform to Artaxerxes, and Callisthenes to Alexander the Great, as reputing it impious and unlawful.

The adoration performed to the Roman and Grecian emperors consisted in bowing or kneeling at the prince's feet, laying hold of his purple robe, and then bringing the hand to the lips. Some attribute the origin of this practice to Constantius. They were only persons of rank or dignity that were entitled to the honour. Bare kneeling before the emperor to deliver a petition, was also called adoration.

It is particularly said of Dioclesian, that he had gems fastened to his shoes, that divine honours might be more willingly paid him, by kissing his feet. And this mode of adoration was continued till the last age of the Greek monarchy. When any one pays his respects to the king of Achen in Sumatra, he first takes off his shoes and stockings, and leaves them at the door.

The practice of adoration may be said to be still subsisting in England, in the custom of kissing the king's or queen's hand.

Adoration is also used in the court of Rome, in the ceremony of kissing the pope's feet. It is not certain at what period this practice was introduced into the church: but it was probably borrowed from the Byzantine court, and accompanied the temporal power. Dr. Maclaine, in the chronological table which he has subjoined to his translation of Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, places its introduction in the eighth century, immediately after the grant of Pepin and Charlemagne. Baronius traces it to a much higher antiquity, and pretends that examples of this homage to the vicars of Christ occur so early as the year 204. These prelates finding a vehement disposition in the people to fall down before them, and kiss their feet, procured crucifixes to be fastened on their slippers; by which stratagem, the adoration intended for the pope's person is supposed to be transferred to Christ. Divers acts of this adoration we find offered even by princes to the pope; and Gregory XIII, claims this act of homage as a duty.

Adoration properly is paid only to the pope when placed on the altar, in which posture the cardinals, conclavists, alone are admitted to kiss his feet. The people are afterward admitted to do the like at St. Peter's church; the ceremony is described at large by Guicciardin.

Adoration is more particularly used for kissing one's hand in presence of another as a token of reverence. The Jews adored by kissing their hands, and bowing down their heads; whence in their language kissing is properly used for adoration. This illustrates a passage in Psalm it, "Kiss the Son lest he be angry;"—that is, pay him homage and worship. It was the practice among the Greek Christians to worship with the head uncovered, 1 Corinthians xi; but in the east the ancient custom of worshipping with the head covered was retained.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

ADORATION . The word is not found in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] or RV [Note: Revised Version.] , and even for the verb RV [Note: Revised Version.] substitutes ‘ worship ’ in Bel 4; but both the idea and its expression in act are frequent.

Amongst the Hebrews the postures and gestures expressive of adoration underwent slight change in the course of time. Kissing the statue of a god ( 1 Kings 19:18 ,   Hosea 13:2; cf.   Job 31:27 ) was an early Arab. [Note: Arabic.] custom, and became a technical meaning of adoratio amongst the Romans; but in this usage the sense is identical with that of worship. Adoration proper was expressed by prostration to the ground, or even by lying prone with the face touching the ground (  Genesis 17:3 ,   Joshua 5:14 ,   Job 1:20 ,   Psalms 95:6;   Psalms 99:5 ,   Daniel 3:5 ). As elsewhere, this posture was not at first confined to intercourse with God. As an act of special courtesy it was adopted towards kings (  2 Samuel 14:4 ), towards strangers of mysterious quality (  Genesis 18:2 ), as an expression of close and respectful attachment (  1 Samuel 20:41 ), or with the design to conciliate (  Genesis 33:3 ,   1 Samuel 25:23 ,   Esther 8:3 ,   Matthew 18:26 ), or to honour (  2 Kings 4:37 ). ‘Sat before the Lord’ (  2 Samuel 7:18 ) may refer to a special and solemn mode of sitting, as in   1 Kings 18:42; the Arabs are said to have sat during a part of their worship in such a way that the head could easily be bent forward and made to touch the ground.

Outside the Christian sphere, prostration continued in the East to be a mark of submission and homage, rendered to such men as were for any reason or even by convention invested in thought with Divine qualities or powers. The NT, by example and less frequently by precept, confines this fullest mode of worship to God, and protests against its use towards men. Jairus’ act ( Mark 5:22 ,   Luke 8:41 ) was prompted by intense yearning, a father’s self-abandonment in the sore sickness of his child, and must not be taken as implying a full recognition of Christ’s Divinity. Like Mary’s posture at Bethany (  John 11:32 ), it was a preparation for the attitude of the disciples after their visit to the empty tomb (  Matthew 28:9 ). Whatever Cornelius intended (  Acts 10:25 f.), Peter found an opportunity to lay down the rule that no man under any circumstances is an appropriate object of adoration; and John repeats that rule twice not far from the end of Scripture (  Revelation 19:10;   Revelation 22:8 f.). The attempt to alienate from God His peculiar honours is a work of Satan (  Matthew 4:9 ); and adoration naturally follows a conviction of the presence of God (  1 Corinthians 14:25 ).

R. W. Moss.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

This word does not occur in the Authorised Version, but there are several attitudes described that form part of the outward acts of adoration which may be well considered under this title, leaving inward adoration to the article on WORSHIP. The homage given may be to God, to the Lord Jesus, to an idol, or by one man to another.

1. Bowing, bowing down. "O come, let us worship and bow down."   Psalm 95:6 . It was forbidden to be paid to images,  Exodus 20:5 , but was often done.  Numbers 25:2 . Joseph's brethren bowed down before him.  Genesis 42:6 .

2. Kneeling, bowing the knee. To God.  Isaiah 45:23;  Ephesians 3:14 . To the Lord Jesus every knee shall bow, even those under the earth.  Philippians 2:10 : it was done in mockery,  Mark 15:19; and in sincerity,  Matthew 17:14 . To Joseph,  Genesis 41:43 .  3 .

3. Falling down before. Demanded by Nebuchadnezzar in honour of his image,  Daniel 3:5; requested by Satan, at the temptation of our Lord,  Matthew 4:9; paid to the Lord when an infant by the wise men, and often in the Gospels,  Matthew 2:11;  Mark 5:33;  Luke 5:8;  John 11:32; and in heaven by the elders to God and the Lord Jesus,  Revelation 4:10;  Revelation 5:8,14;  Revelation 19:4 .

4. Kissing . In idolatry,  1 Kings 19:18;  Hosea 13:2 . To the sun and moon by kissing the hand,  Job 31:26,27 . (Tacitus, Hist. iii. 24, says that in Syria they salute the rising sun; and that this was done by kissing the hand.) All the above actions are portrayed on ancient monuments. The word 'worship' in the Authorised Version of the N.T. often signifies 'homage,' such as one man gives to another in authority, or to one he wishes to honour, rather than 'worship' in the sense which that word now conveys.

Charles Buck Theological Dictionary

The act of rendering divine honors, including in it reverence, esteem, and love: this is called supreme, or absolute. The word is compounded or absolute. The word is compounded, of ad, "to," and os oris, "mouth;" and literally signifies to apply the hand to the mouth, "to kiss the hand;" this being in the eastern countries, one of the great marks of respect and submission.

See  Job 31:26-27 .

The attitude of adoration, however, we find has not been confined to this mode; standing, kneeling, uncovering the head, prostration, bowing, lifting up the eyes to heaven, or sometimes fixing them upon the earth with the body bending forward; sitting with the under parts of the thighs resting on the heels, have all been used, as expressive of veneration and esteem.

1. Whatever be the form, however, it must be remembered, that adoration, as an act of worship, is due to God alone,  Matthew 4:10 .  Acts 10:25-26 .  Revelation 19:10 . There is,

2. what may be called adoration human, or paying homage or respect to persons of great rank and dignity. This has been performed by bowing, bending the knee, falling on the face. The practice of adoration may be said to be still subsisting in England, in the ceremony of kissing the king's or queen's hand, and in serving them at table, both being performed kneeling on one knee. There is also

3. adoration relative, which consists in worship paid to an object as belonging to or representative of another. In this sense the Romanists profess to adore the cross not simply or immediately, but in respect of Jesus Christ, whom they suppose to be on it. This is generally, however, considered by protestants, as coming little short of idolatry.

4. See Idolatry

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Adoration. The acts and postures by which the Hebrews expressed adoration bear a great similarity to those still in use among Oriental nations. To rise up and suddenly prostrate the body was the most simple method; but, generally speaking, the prostration was conducted in a more formal manner, the person falling upon the knee and then gradually inclining the body until the forehead touched the ground.

Such prostration was usual in the worship of Jehovah ,  Genesis 17:3;  Psalms 95:6, it was the formal mode of receiving visitors,  Genesis 18:2, of doing obeisance to one of superior station,  2 Samuel 14:4, and of showing respect to equals.  1 Kings 2:19.

It was accompanied by such acts as a kiss,  Exodus 18:7, laying hold of the knees or feet of the person to whom the adoration was paid,  Matthew 28:9, and kissing the ground on which he stood.  Psalms 72:9;  Micah 7:17.

Similar adoration was paid to idols,  1 Kings 19:18, sometimes, however, the act consisted simply in kissing the hand to the object of reverence,  Job 31:27, and in kissing the statue itself.  Hosea 13:2.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): (n.) A method of electing a pope by the expression of homage from two thirds of the conclave.

(2): (n.) The act of playing honor to a divine being; the worship paid to God; the act of addressing as a god.

(3): (n.) Homage paid to one in high esteem; profound veneration; intense regard and love; fervent devotion.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

See Adore

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

(See Adore.)

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Fig. 7—Adoration by hand upon mouth

This word is compounded of ad 'to,' and os, oris, 'the mouth,' and literally signifies to apply the hand to the mouth, that is, 'to kiss the hand.' The act is described in Scripture as one of worship ( Job 31:26-27). And this very clearly intimates that kissing the hand was considered an overt act of worship in the East.

Fig. 8—Adoration

The same act was used as a mark of respect in the presence of kings and persons high in office or station. Or rather, perhaps, the hand was not merely kissed and then withdrawn from the mouth, but held continuously before or upon the mouth, to which allusion is made in such texts as  Judges 18:19;  Job 21:5;  Job 29:9;  Job 40:4;  Psalms 39:9. In one of the sculptures at Persepolis a king is seated on his throne, and before him a person standing in a bent posture, with his hand laid upon his mouth as he addresses the sovereign (fig. 7). Exactly the same attitude is observed in the sculptures at Thebes, where one person, among several (in various postures of respect) who appear before the scribes to be registered, has his hand placed thus submissively upon his mouth (fig. 8).

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

an act of worship to a superior being; strictly due to God alone, but performed to other objects also, whether idols or men. The word "adore" may be derived from (manum) ad os (mittere), or the custom of kissing the hand in token of respect. The Greek term Προσκυνεῖν implies the prostration of the body as a sign of reverence. (See Worship).

1. The Hebrew forms of adoration or worship were various; putting off the shoes, standing, bowing, kneeling, prostration, and kissing ( Exodus 3:5;  Joshua 5:15;  Psalms 2:12;  Genesis 41:40-43;  Genesis 43:26-28;  Daniel 2:46;  Matthew 27:9;  Luke 7:38;  Revelation 19:20). (See Attitudes). In this last sense the term (in its Latin signification as above) is descriptive of an act of worship alluded to in Scripture: "If I had beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon, walking in brightness; and my heart had been secretly enticed, or my mouth had kissed my hand; this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge" ( Job 31:26-28); a passage which clearly intimates that kissing the hand was considered an overt act of worship in the East (see Kiesling, in the Miscell. Lips. Nov. 9, 595 sq.). (See Astrology). So Minutius Felix (De Sacrific. cap. 2, ad fin.)

remarks, that when Caecilius observed the statue of Serapis, according to the custom of the superstitious vulgar, he moved his hand to his mouth, and kissed it with his lips." The same act was used as a mark of respect in the presence of kings and persons high in office or station. Or rather, perhaps, the hand was not merely kissed and then withdrawn from the mouth, but held continuously before or upon the mouth, to which allusion is made in such texts as  Judges 18:10;  Job 21:5;  Job 29:9;  Job 40:4;  Psalms 39:9; in which "laying the hand upon the mouth" is used to describe the highest degree of reverence and submission; as such this posture is exhibited on the monuments of Persia and of Egypt. (See Salutation).

The acts and postures by which the Hebrews expressed adoration bear a great similarity to those still in use among Oriental nations. To rise up and suddenly prostrate the body was the most simple method; but generally speaking, the prostration was conducted in a more formal manner, the person falling upon the knee, and then gradually inclining the body until the forehead touched the ground. The various expressions in Hebrew referring to this custom appear to have their specific meaning: thus נָפִל ( Naphal ’ , To Fall down, Πίπτω ) describes the sudden fall; כָּרִע ( Kara ’ , to Bend, Κάμπτω ) , bending the knee; קָדִד ( Kadad ’ , to Stoop, Κύπτω ) , the inclination of the head and body; and, lastly, שָׁחָה (Shachah ’ , to Bow, Προσκυνεῖν ) , complete prostration; the term סָגִד (Sagad ’ , to Prostrate one ’ s self,  Isaiah 44:15;  Isaiah 44:17;  Isaiah 44:19;  Isaiah 46:6) was introduced at a late period as appropriate to the worship paid to idols by the Babylonians and other Eastern nations ( Daniel 3:5-6). Such prostration was usual in the worship of Jehovah ( Genesis 17:3;  Psalms 95:6); but it was by no means exclusively used for that purpose; it was the formal mode of receiving visitors ( Genesis 18:2), of doing obeisance to one of superior station ( 2 Samuel 14:4), and of showing respect to equals ( 1 Kings 2:19). Occasionally it was repeated three times ( 1 Samuel 20:41), and even seven times ( Genesis 33:3). It was accompanied by such acts as a kiss ( Exodus 18:7), laying hold of the knees or feet of the person to whom the adoration was paid ( Matthew 28:9), and kissing the ground on which he stood ( Psalms 72:9;  Micah 7:17). Similar adoration was paid to idols ( 1 Kings 19:18); sometimes, however, prostration was omitted, and the act consisted simply in kissing the hand to the object of reverence (as above) in the manner practiced by the Romans (Pliny 28:5; see Smith ’ s Dict. Of Class. Antiq. s.v. Adoratio), or in kissing the statue itself ( Hosea 13:2). The same customs prevailed at the time of our Savior ’ s ministry, as appears not only from the numerous occasions on which they were put in practice toward himself, but also from the parable of the unmerciful servant ( Matthew 18:26), and from Cornelius ’ s reverence to Peter ( Acts 10:25), in which case it was objected to by the apostle, as implying a higher degree of superiority than he was entitled to, especially from a Roman, to whom it was not usual.

2. The adoration performed to the Roman and Grecian emperors consisted in bowing or kneeling at the prince ’ s feet, laying hold of his purple robe, and then bringing the hand to the lips. Some attribute the origin of this practice to Constantius. Bare kneeling before the emperor to deliver a petition was also called adoration. It is particularly said of Diocletian that he had gems fastened to his shoes, that divine honors might be more willingly paid him by kissing his feet. And this mode of adoration was continued till the last age of the Greek monarchy. The practice of adoration may be said to be still subsisting in England in the custom of kissing the king ’ s or queen ’ s hand.

3. Adoration is also used in the court of Rome in the ceremony of kissing the pope ’ s feet. It is not certain at what period this practice was introduced into the Church; but it was probably borrowed from the Byzantine court, and accompanied the temporal power. Baronius pretends that examples of this homage to the popes occur so early as the year 204. These prelates, finding a vehement disposition in the people to fall down before them and kiss their feet, procured crucifixes to be fastened on their slippers, by which stratagem the adoration intended for the pope ’ s person is supposed to be transferred to Christ. Divers acts of this adoration we find offered even by princes to the pope, and Gregory XIII claims this act of homage as a duty.

Adoration properly is paid only to the pope when placed on the altar, in which posture the cardinals, conclavists, alone are admitted to kiss his feet. The people are afterward admitted to do the like at St. Peter ’ s church; the ceremony is described at large by Guicciardini.

4. In the Roman worship it is said that "to adore the cross, the saints, relics, and images, is to prostrate one ’ s self before them, and to pay them a lower degree of worship, inferior to that which is due to God alone." Adoration is paid to the Host (q.v.) on the theory that Christ is bodily present in the Eucharist. (See Images).

In the Greek communion they pay, says Dr. King, a secondary adoration to the Virgin Mary and the saints, but they deny that they adore them as believing them to be gods; the homage paid to them is, as they define it, only a respect due to those who are cleansed from original sin and admitted to minister to the Deity. (See Dulia); (See Hyperdulia).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ad - o - rā´shun  : Though this word never occurs in English Versions, it represents aspects of worship which are very prominent in the Bible.

I. Etymology

The word is derived from Latin adorare = (1) "to speak to," (2) "to beseech," "entreat," (3) "to do homage," "to worship"; from the Latin, os (oris), mouth. Some have supposed that the root os points to the Roman practice of applying the hand to the mouth, i.e. kissing the hand to (a person or thing), as a token of homage.

II. Meaning

Adoration is intense admiration culminating in reverence and worship, together with the outward acts and attitudes which accompany such reverence. It thus includes both the subjective sentiments, or feelings of the soul, in the presence of some superior object or person, and the appropriate physical expressions of such sentiments in outward acts of homage or of worship. In its widest sense it includes reverence to beings other than God, especially to monarchs, who in oriental countries were regarded with feelings of awe. But it finds its highest expression in religion. Adoration is perhaps the highest type of worship, involving the reverent and rapt contemplation of the Divine perfections and prerogatives, the acknowledgment of them in words of praise, together with the visible symbols and postures that express the adoring attitude of the creature in the presence of his Creator. It is the expression of the soul's mystical realization of God's presence in His transcendent greatness, holiness and lovingkindness. As a form of prayer, adoration is to be distinguished from other forms, such as petition, thanksgiving, confession and intercession.

III. Outward Postures

In the Old Testament and New Testament, these are similar to those which prevailed in all oriental countries, as amply illustrated by the monuments of Egypt and Assyria, and by the customs still in use among the nations of the East. The chief attitudes referred to in the Bible are the following:

1. Prostration

Among the Orientals, especially Persians, prostration (i.e. falling upon the knees, then gradually inclining the body, until the forehead touched the ground) was common as an expression of profound reverence and humility before a superior or a benefactor. It was practiced in the worship of Yahweh ( Genesis 17:3;  Numbers 16:45;  Matthew 26:39 , Jesus in Gethsemane;  Revelation 1:17 ), and of idols ( 2 Kings 5:18;  Daniel 3:5 ,  Daniel 3:6 ), but was by no means confined to religious exercises. It was the formal method of supplicating or doing obeisance to a superior (e.g.  1 Samuel 25:23;  2 Kings 4:37;  Esther 8:3;  Mark 5:22;  John 11:32 ).

2. Kneeling

A substitute for prostration was kneeling, a common attitude in worship, frequently mentioned in Old Testament and New Testament (e.g.  1 Kings 8:54;  Ezra 9:5;  Psalm 95:6;  Isaiah 45:23;  Luke 22:41 , Christ in Gethsemane;  Acts 7:60;  Ephesians 3:14 ). The same attitude was sometimes adopted in paying homage to a fellow-creature, as in  2 Kings 1:13 . "Sitting" as an attitude of prayer (only  2 Samuel 7:18 parallel   1 Chronicles 17:16 ) was probably a form of kneeling, as in Mahometan worship.

3. Standing

This was the most usual posture in prayer, like that of modern Jews in public worship. Abraham " stood before Yahweh (Jehovah)" when he interceded for Sodom (  Genesis 18:22 ). Compare  1 Samuel 1:26 . The Pharisee in the parable " stood and prayed" ( Luke 18:11 ), and the hypocrites are said to "pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets" ( Matthew 6:5 the King James Version).

4. The Hands

The above postures were accompanied by various attitudes of the hands, which were either lifted up toward heaven ( Psalm 63:4;  1 Timothy 2:8 ), or outspread (  Exodus 9:29;  Ezra 9:5;  Isaiah 1:15 ), or both ( 1 Kings 8:54 ).

5. Kiss of Adoration

The heathen practice of kissing hands to the heavenly bodies as a sign of adoration is referred to in  Job 31:27 , and of kissing the idol in  1 Kings 19:18;  Hosea 13:2 . The kiss of homage is mentioned in  Psalm 2:12 , if the text there be correct. Kissing hands to the object of adoration was customary among the Romans (Pliny xxviii.5). The New Testament word for "worship" ( proskunéō ) literally means to kiss (the hand) to (one). See also Attitudes .

IV. Objects of Adoration

The only adequate object of adoration is the Supreme Being. He only who is the sum of all perfections can fully satisfy man's instincts of reverence, and elicit the complete homage of his soul.

1. Fellow-Creatures

Yet, as already suggested, the crude beginnings of religious adoration are to be found in the respect paid to created beings regarded as possessing superior claims and powers, especially to kings and rulers. As instances we may mention the woman of Tekoa falling on her face to do obeisance to king David ( 2 Samuel 14:4 ), and the king's servants bowing down to do reverence to Haman ( Esther 3:2 ). Compare Rth 2:10;  1 Samuel 20:41;  2 Samuel 1:2;  2 Samuel 14:22 .

2. Material Objects

On a higher plane, as involving some recognition of divinity, is the homage paid to august and mysterious objects in Nature, or to phenomena in the physical world which were supposed to have some divine significance. To give reverence to material objects themselves is condemned as idolatry throughout the Old Testament. Such an example is the case with the worship of "the host of heaven" (the heavenly bodies) sometimes practiced by the Hebrews ( 2 Kings 17:16;  2 Kings 21:3 ,  2 Kings 21:5 ). So Job protests that he never proved false to God by kissing hands to the sun and moon in token of adoration ( Job 31:26-28 ). We have reference in the Old Testament to acts of homage paid to an idol or an image, such as falling down before it ( Isaiah 44:15 ,  Isaiah 44:17 ,  Isaiah 44:19;  Daniel 3:7 ), or kissing it ( 1 Kings 19:18;  Hosea 13:2 ). All such practices are condemned in uncompromising terms. But when material things produce a reverential attitude, not to themselves, but to the Deity whose presence they symbolize, then they are regarded as legitimate aids to devotion; e.g. fire as a manifestation of the Divine presence is described as causing the spectator to perform acts of reverence (e.g.   Exodus 3:2 ,  Exodus 3:5;  Leviticus 9:24;  1 Kings 18:38 ). In these instances, it was Yahweh Himself that was worshipped, not the fire which revealed Him. The sacred writers are moved to religious adoration by the contemplation of the glories of Nature. To them, "the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handiwork." (Compare especially the "nature Psalms"  Psalm 8:1-9;  Psalm 19:1-14;  Psalm 29:1-11; 104.)

3. Angels

On a still higher plane is the adoration practiced in the presence of supernatural agents of the Divine will. When an angel of God appeared, men fell instinctively before him in reverence and awe (e.g.  Genesis 18:2;  Genesis 19:1;  Numbers 22:31;  Judges 13:20;  Luke 24:4 ,  Luke 24:5 ). This was not to worship the creature instead of the Creator, for the angel was regarded, not as a distract individual having an existence and character of his own, but as a theophany, a self-manifestation of God.

4. The Deity

The highest form of adoration is that which is directed immediately to God Himself, His kingly attributes and spiritual excellencies being so apprehended by the soul that it is filled with rapture and praise, and is moved to do Him reverence. A classical instance is the vision that initiated Isaiah into the prophetic office, when he was so possessed with the sovereignty and sublimity of God that he was filled with wonder and self-abasement ( Isaiah 6:1-5 ). In the Old Testament, the literature of adoration reaches its high-water mark in the Psalms (compare especially the group Psalms 95 through 100), where the ineffable majesty, power and holiness of God are set forth in lofty strains. In the New Testament, adoration of the Deity finds its most rapturous expression in Rev, where the vision of God calls forth a chorus of praise addressed to the thrice-holy God ( Psalm 4:8 -11;   Psalm 7:11 ,  Psalm 7:12 ), with whom is associated the Redeemer-Lamb.

5. Jesus Christ

How far is Jesus regarded in the New Testament as an object of adoration, seeing that adoration is befitting only to God? During our Lord's lifetime He was often the object of worship ( Matthew 2:11;  Matthew 8:2;  Matthew 9:18;  Matthew 14:33;  Matthew 15:25;  Matthew 20:20;  Matthew 28:9 ,  Matthew 28:17;  Mark 5:6;  John 9:38 ). Some ambiguity, however, belongs to the Greek word proskuneı́n , for while it is the usual word for "worshipping" God (e.g.  John 4:24 ), in some contexts it means no more than paying homage to a person of superior rank by kneeling or prostration, just as the unmerciful servant is said to have 'fallen down and worshipped' his master the king ( Matthew 18:26 ), and as Josephus speaks of the Jewish high priests as proskunoúmenoi ( BJ , IV, v, 2). On the other hand, it certainly implies a consciousness, on the part of those who paid this respect to Jesus, and of Jesus Himself, of a very exceptional superiority in His person, for the same homage was refused by Peter, when offered to him by Cornelius, on the ground that he himself also was a man ( Acts 10:25 ), and even by the angel before whom John prostrated himself, on the ground that God alone was to be "worshipped" ( Revelation 22:8 ,  Revelation 22:9 ). Yet Jesus never repudiated such tokens of respect. But whatever about the "days of His flesh," there is no doubt that after the ascension Christ became to the church the object of adoration as Divine, and the homage paid to Him was indistinguishable in character from that paid to God. This is proved not only by isolated passages, but still more by the whole tone of the Acts and epistles in relation to Him. This adoration reaches its highest expression in  Revelation 5:9-14 , where the Redeemer-Lamb who shares the throne of God is the subject of an outburst of adoring praise on the part of the angelic hosts. In  Revelation 4:8-11 the hymn of adoration is addressed to the Lord God Almighty, the Creator; here it is addressed to the Lamb on the ground of His redeeming work. In Rev the adoration of Him "who sitteth on the throne" and that of "the Lamb" flow together into one stream of ecstatic praise (compare   Revelation 7:9-11 ).