ISB ~ Colossians 2 v18

worship of angels:This expression can be understood in different ways. (1) Many take it to mean “worship directed to angels” (objective genitive). If, in fact, a cult of the angels was popular at Colossae, it must have been a pagan element in the otherwise Jewish piety of the Colossian opponents, for Judaism censures the worship of any creature in place of God the Creator. (2) Others take it to mean “worship performed by angels” (subjective genitive). Interest in the worship of the angels is indeed present in Jewish mystical and apocalyptic writings of the period, and perhaps the Colossian Jews, like the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls, viewed their synagogue worship as a participation in the angelic liturgy of heaven. History also knows of Jewish mystics who claimed to ascend into heaven, receive visions and revelations, and worship the Lord alongside the angels.