Again, for the record, the Spiritual emphasis I have received in the first passage is as follows:
That is not a carte blanche for any man ever to willfully worship before the feet of another being, whether alive in the flesh or not. That behavior is expressly forbidden.
The first passage is therefore perfectly consistent with this passage from the same book:
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. - Revelation 22:8-9
To God be the glory, not man, never man!
You are much more the scholar on such things than I.
The phrase COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOUR FEET . . .
Is it crystal clear that the worship focus is the men?
Or merely that the position of worship is prostrated before the men?
Is the meaning, emphasis on the focus of the worship
or is the core meaning and emphasis on the
prostration as punishment—in a posture, physical attitude demonstrative of worship of those the guilty would ever least like to be prostrated in front of???
And, of course, arguments have to be built a step at a time. So we are told it is NEVER EVER right for one man to kneel to another creature, and yet we have an example where it SEEMS that God says it is his will that one set of men kneel to another.
So now, if that step is accomplished, then we revise the proposition to accommodate that resolution and take the next step. Patience is our friend.
And in a responsible conversation, the self-indulgence of the blanket proclamation about it's never ever being right would be abandoned.
It is fair to note that the NEVER EVER language was wrong. It is not fair to make too much of that. But SOMETHING can be made of it.
AMEN! As you so correctly point out to all those with eyes to see, “to God belongs ALL the glory.”