A very common claim by Trinitarians is to claim "Jesus is God" because we find both men and angels worshiping Jesus in the Bible. This claim is misleading because the English word "worship" does by itself imply a special kind of devotion to a divine being and in Christianity, God. However, what Trinitarians often do not disclose is that the use the one English word "worship" to translate two different Greek words, proskyneo, and latreuo. The first Greek word means simply to bow down before. It carries the idea of submitting to a higher authority. The second word is stronger and refers to subjecting one's self to divine service. Most of the Trinitarian claims concern the word proskyneo and we shall soon see here that this word was not used by the ancient Greek speaking people to refer to "worship" of God, or gods, only.
Trinitarians are misrepresenting the facts. They usually do this in a variety of ways. First, they might claim that the Magi came to "worship" Jesus because he was God. The word here is proskyneo. This absurd claim must anticipate that the pagan Magi somehow came to the conclusion that a newly born King of the Jews was "God" well before any Jew or Christian could have ever conceived of such a thing. Another way they misrepresent the facts is by quoting the following passage:
"When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter raised him up, saying, "Stand up; I too am just a man." (Acts 10:25-26).
The word here too is proskyneo. Here, Trinitarians often claim, is evidence that Peter knew that nobody was to bow down before anyone but God. However, this is reading into the text. Peter is not a King nor was there any reason for Cornelius to bow down to him. Cornelius was bowing down to Peter because God had given him a vision to send men to bring Peter to his household. Hence, Cornelius was in a state where he perceived that God himself considered Peter to be a very important man. But Peter was taught by Jesus to serve and not lord over anyone. Hence, Peter was taught by Jesus to serve people and not have them bow down to him.
Another verse employed by Trinitarians in a similar manner comes from the book of Revelation:
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 brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God." (Revelation 19:10)
Again Trinitarians are misrepresenting the facts. And again the word is proskyneo. Note what the angel says, "I am a fellow servant." Servants of God do not bow down to each other. Angels are ministering servants (Heb 1:14). The idea here is that both Christians and angels serve God and not each other.
And finally, a third passage they employ comes from Hebrews chapter one:
"Let all God's angels worship him (Hebrews 1:6).
Here Trinitarians claim that angels would only worship God. But once again the word in view is proskyneo. Moreover, the Trinitarian claim violates what is being said in the context. Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels as a man, has now been exalted to the right hand of the throne of God and sits on his Father's throne (Rev 3:21). We were just told that he had become better than the angels because he had inherited a better name than the angels (1:4). God doesn't become better than angels or inherit a better name than angels. The reference here is to the resurrected man Jesus who is exalted above all angelic rule with all the angels subject to him(1 Peter 3:22). Because he had love righteousness God says to him, "God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your comrades," namely, the angels.
Now that Trinitarians are not being honest with the facts will also be plainly seen by the plethora of Biblical verses that show men bowed down before other men and even the Temple and this was not understood to be a wrong thing to do.
Proskyneo: The word proskyneo simply means "to bow down before," or to prostrate one's self before another in the sense that one is acknowledge his low estate as compared to the high estate of the person he is bowing down before. It is a gesture of submission to a higher authority. This Greek word does not come packed with the the constellation of religious ideas that we have with the English word "worship."
Latreuo. This Greek word is still not exactly the same as the English word "worship" but it is much closer and usually denotes religious worship. It carries the idea of serving a higher authority in a religious sense. While it does not itself connotate service to a divine being, the concept of serving a divine being is indeed usually implied.
Proskyneo in the Bible.
The following examples show how the Greek word proskyeno and its correlating Hebrew word shachah were understood by ancient minds. Proskyneo was the Greek word the ancient Jews used to translate the Hebrew word shachah in their Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures known as the Septuagint which we still have in our possession today.
1. Old Testament Testimony: Heb. shachah, Grk. proskyneo
Bear in mind that the word in question in the following examples is the word Trinitarians are translating as "worship" in the New Testament.
Lot "worships" two angels
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth, and said, "My Lords, turn aside, I pray you, to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise up early and go on your way. (Genesis 19:1-2).
Abraham "worships" the Hittites
Abraham rose and bowed down before the Hittites, the people of the land.....then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. (Genesis 23:7,12).
Isaac blesses Jacob to have everyone "worship" him
'Let peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be every one who curses you, and blessed be every one who blesses you!' As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. (Genesis 27:29).
Jacob "worships" Esau
And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. And he put the maids with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. He lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, "Who are these with you?" So he said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant." Then the maids came near with their children, and they bowed down. Leah likewise came near with her children, and they bowed down; and afterward Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed down. And he said, "What do you mean by all this company which I have met?" And he said, "To find favor in the sight of my Lord." (Genesis 33:1-4).
Jospeh's brothers will "worship" him
Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, Behold I had still another dream; and lo, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me. He related it to his father and to his brothers and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground? (Genesis 27:9-10).
The ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, with his brothers, for he said, "I am afraid that harm may befall him." So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also. Now Joseph was the ruler over the land and he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. (Genesis 42:3-6).
When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present which was in their hand and bowed to the ground before him. Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, "Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still living?" They said, "Your servant our father is well; he is still alive." They bowed down to the ground before him. (Genesis 43:26-28).
However one is not to "worship" anyone or anything as his God.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down before them or serve them; for I, YAHWEH your God, am a jealous God.
(Exodus 20:4-5). (Leviticus 26:1).
You shall not bow down before their gods, nor serve them. (Exodus 23:24).
They have already turned away from the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have bowed down before it and have sacrificed to it and said, `This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.' (Exodus 32:8).
You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves an image or pillar, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down before it for I am YAHWEH your God.
Ruth "worships" Boaz
Then Ruth fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to Boaz, 'Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?' (Ruth 2:10).
Abigail "worships" David's servants.
When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, 'David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.' She arose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, "Behold, your maidservant is a maid to wash the feet of my lord's servants. (1 Samuel 25:40-41).
Saul "worships" the dead man Samuel
And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground before him. (1 Samuel 28:14).
A man "worships" David
Now after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David remained two days in Ziklag. On the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And when he came to David that he fell to the ground and bowed down before him. (2 Samuel 1:1-2).
Mepibosheth, the son of Jonathan, "worships" David
And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came unto David, and fell on his face, and bowed down before him...And he bowed down before him, and said, What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I am? . (2 Samuel 9:6-8).
A woman "worships" David
And when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the King, she fell on her face to the ground, and did bowed down before him, and said, Help, O King.... And the King said to Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing. Go therefore, bring the young man Absalom back. And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed down before him, and blessed the King
(2 Samuel 14:4).
The sons of the prophets "worship" Elisha
And when the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, 'The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.' And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. (2 Kings 2:15).
The Israelites "worship" the host of heaven
And they turned away from all the commandments of YAHWEH their God, and made molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and bowed down before all the host of heaven, and served Baal. ( 2 Kings 17:16).
David "worships" the Temple
But as for me, by the abundance of your lovingkindness I will come into your house. In your fear will I bow down before your holy temple. (Psalm 5:7).
Now we can see quite clearing that bowing down before a higher authority does not thereby indicate that higher authority is divine. In the Bible, the Israelites were commanded to not bow down before other gods. They were not to regard other gods as higher authorities. The only divine being they were to bow down before as a higher authority was God himself. However, that did not mean they were not to bow down to anyone but God as we can clearly see. It was quite acceptable to bow down to anyone who was a higher authority. Indeed, David even bowed down before the Temple. When God commands Israel to have "not other gods before me," it is a command not to bow down to anyone else as Trinitarians falsely claim. It is a command not to bow down to anyone else as their "GOD." In fact, to bow down to the King was to honor God since he placed those authorities (Romans 13:1-2) There is a reason the faithful people of God bowed down before other people and things in addition to God in the Old Testament. There was nothing wrong with it as long as they were not bowing down to them as a god, or gods, in place of YAHWEH. Bowing down to the King was not replacing YAHWEH. No matter what you do, these faithful people of God were doing it and the the context shows that there was absolutely nothing wrong with what they were doing.
2. The New Testament Testimony: proskyeno
King of Israel, King of the Jews.
Now the Magi also bowed down (proskyneo)before the man Jesus. And of course this was just as acceptable here as it was in the Old Testament. He was the King of the Jews. God promised David he would put his seed on the throne. In fact, we are told that this is why the Magi bowed down before Jesus. They came to "worship" the King of the Jews. The very fact that these Magi came to bow down before (proskyneo) the King of the Jews. They did not come to "worship" God as if these pagan men were the first Trinitarians. They came to bow down before, and to, the King of the Jews clearly demonstrating that this kind of proskyneo "worship" was very befitting human beings. In fact, it was Peter who first confessed that Jesus was the Son of the Living God, not the Magi, and so to presume they knew they were bowing down before God is just a bit ridiculous especially in light of the fact they were not looking for God but the human King of the Jews.
Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him. (Matthew 2:2)
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his Kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. (2 Samuel 7:12-14).
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end. (Luke 1:32-33).
Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel. (John 1:41).
And over his head they put his charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus the King of the Jews. (Matthew 27:37)
And Herod sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and bow down before (proskyneo) Him." After hearing the King, they went their way and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. (Matthew 2:8-11).
Angels are subject to the risen Jesus.
The Trinitarian claim at Hebrews 1:6 is highly misleading. Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels as a man, has now been exalted to the right hand of the throne of God and sits on his Father's throne (Rev 3:21). We were just told that he had become better than the angels because he had inherited a better name than the angels (1:4). God doesn't become better than angels or inherit a better name than angels. The reference here is to the resurrected man Jesus who is exalted above all angelic rule with all the angels subject to him(1 Peter 3:22). Because he had love righteousness God says to him, "God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your comrades," namely, the angels.
Now the Trinitarian may decided to ignore all these facts and point to the fact that this verse refers to the angels worshiping Jesus when he had "come into the world." And here we have even more misleading words by the Trinitarians. The word which they translate as "world" here in this verse is not the normal Greek word for "world", kosmos. The word here is the Greek word oikoumene and it means something like community of residents. The idea is that ther resurrected man Jesus has come into the community of heaven where God and his angels reside, and has ascended to the right hand of the throne of God. This means he has ascended to being King of all creation at God's right hand. Hence, this is why the angels are to bow down before him.
Conclusion
When we have all the facts before us the truth is plain to see. People all over the Bible are bowing down before higher authorities. The Israelites were not allowed to bow down before other gods since doing so would be a gesture that they were submitting to the authority of these gods and not to Yahweh their God. And when we come to the New Testament, we find people appropriately bowing down before the higher authority Jesus because he is the King of Israel and because he is the Son of God Most High. He was royalty and humans bow down before royalty and rightly so. God has appointed all authorities in heaven and on earth. And when the man Jesus is resurrected and ascends to the very throne of God, all creation is subject to him. We are told this resurrected man is above all other authority and rule with all the angels subject to him. Indeed, we are told that God made him "Lord" in his resurrection (Acts 2:30-36) and have given him all this authority (Matthew 28:18) having sat down at the right hand of God until he puts all his enemies under his feet. The Trinitarian claim is a farce.
