It is a good and right thing to be terrified, that is to say, have a great awe-inspiring fear of the Lord. That’s what happens when His people see His glory. That’s what happened with Peter, James, and John. On that Mount of Transfiguration they saw a preview of what all who are in Christ shall see when we are with Him face to face. They saw Jesus changed and they heard the voice of the Father. They fell down on their faces and “were terrified.”
The word translated “were terrified” is from the word by which we get phobia, which in English uses describes types of fear, depending on the prefix. In the New Testament it is used to describe different types of fear as well, but very notably, upon the disciples seeing Jesus do something or seeing something happen to Jesus, such as this transfiguration, it seems to describe the awe-inspiring fear I am talking about.
What kind of emotion or attitude is produced in you when you encounter God in His word? What does the revelation of truth to you through the Scriptures cause you to do? If it is anything less than worship, anything less than fearing God in a good way, then we fall short of where we should be falling… on our faces to the ground.
God is glorious, and as that glory is revealed to us in many different ways throughout the course of our lives we are duty bound to respond to Him the right way, with a good kind of terror.
Facebook
Twitter