4698. 'Were bowing down to me' means worship. This is clear from the meaning of 'bowing down' as worship, dealt with above in 4689.

Spiritually, "beginning" happens when we first start new growth -- new levels of awareness and willingness to receive goods and truths from the Lord, and use them. In the Word, "beginning" doesn't just mean the beginning of something in time. In the inner sense, it means the initial phase of a spiritual state.