Give them those things so they can offer sacrifices that please the God of heaven. And I want them to pray that things will go well for me and my sons.
You will soon hear the sound of horns and flutes. You will hear zithers, lyres, harps and pipes. In fact, you will hear all kinds of music. When you do, you must fall down and worship the gold statue. That is the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
All the people heard the sound of the horns and flutes. They heard the zithers, lyres, harps and other musical instruments. As soon as they did, they fell down and worshiped Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. They were people from all nations no matter what language they spoke.
Gabriel came close to where I was standing. I was terrified and fell down flat with my face toward the ground. Here is what he said to me. “Son of man, I want you to understand the vision. It’s about the time of the end.”
Just outside the city was the temple of the god Zeus. The priest of Zeus brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates. He and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas.
The people expected him to swell up. They thought he would suddenly fall dead. They waited for a long time. But they didn’t see anything unusual happen to him. So they changed their minds. They said he was a god.
When I heard this, I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I serve God, just as you do. I am God’s servant, just like believers who hold firmly to what Jesus has taught. Worship God! The Spirit of prophecy tells the truth about Jesus.”
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. After that, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel. He is the one who had been showing me these things.