Revelation 22:9; Thy Fellowservant

Revelation 22:9 (KJV)  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. 

At verse 9 the same angel resumes the speaker’s role in response to John’s action – Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. 

The words “then saith he unto me” indicate the angel’s resumption of the speaker’s role. One of the angels who had the seven bowls, perhaps the same one as here, earlier issued the same corrective to John as here – “See thou do it not”.

He also follows the corrective with “I am thy fellowservant”, words that exalted especially John’s prophetic office in Revelation 19:10. But here they exalt the prophetic office in general because of the addition of “and of thy brethren the prophets”, an addition that differs slightly from the wording of Revelation 19:10 which has no explicit reference to other prophets.

Revelation 19:10 (KJV)  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 

A further extension adds a third group whom the angel joins as a fellowservant – “and of them which keep the sayings of this book”. This makes a distinction between John’s brethren who were prophets and his brethren who were not prophets but who keep the words of this book. The prophets are those with the special gift of prophecy, and the rest of the faithful compose the second group of brethren. This distinction between brethren has the effect of exalting the authority of John the prophet and consequently of this book which he is currently bringing to its conclusion (Lee, Beckwith, Beasley-Murray).

The angel’s further command – “worship God”, is a repetition of Revelation 19:10 also. The bewildered prophet for the moment has lost his bearings, and needs this reminder of something that he already knew well (cf. John 4:21-24).

John 4:21-24 (KJV)  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

[Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody 1995, 500-501]