In the following verses, Moses, the great leader of Israel, hid his face from God,
because he was afraid to look upon Him.
“1Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.” (Exodus 3:1-6)
In the last book of the Bible, the last living Apostle, John, fell at His feet as dead.
“10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 11Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. 12And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. 19Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; 20The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.” (Revelation 1:10-20)
God says by the prophet Isaiah that He is God, there is none else and there is none like Him.
“9Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” (Isaiah 46:9-11)
God says again by the prophet Isaiah that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear unto Him.
“22Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. 23I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.” (Isaiah 45:22-23)
King David was called by God “a man after mine own heart.” (Acts 13:22) God had David write,
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalms 46:10)
The greatest of the Apostles, the Apostle Paul said of God,
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)
These are but a few examples, throughout God’s Holy Word, of the many times that the absolute holiness of God is brought to our attention. Men and women, even fallen angels, displayed their reverence, their respect, before a Holy God. What reverence do we show Him today? He has been called “the man upstairs,” “the old boy upstairs,” “Mr. G,” “pal,” “buddy,” “the big guy,” etcetera. Movies such as Bruce Almighty and Oh, God have mocked His supreme righteousness. It should make one cringe in fear when He is so disrespected and mocked, but do we?
In Revelation 14:7 we read these words,
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”
Notice that these words are for the hearing of every person, nation, kindred and language on the face of this earth. We are to fear God and give Him glory.
Did we become lax by looking at Jesus and thinking that God is a softie? Jesus made it clear that He and the Father are one. In other words, He is God.
“9Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.” (John 14:9-11)
“I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30)
We look at God in the flesh, Jesus, and see someone we can be close to, someone full of love, someone who died for us, someone we can talk to, and someone who became one of us. Does this mean that God has changed in some way? God says,
“For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)
Since this is in the Old Testament, perhaps it doesn’t apply to God as Jesus. In the New Testament God says,
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
The real issue here is that God is the same, whether we are reading the Old or New Testament. It is all His Word, the Bible, and He does not change. Also the word “LORD” in Malachi 3:6 is the same Jesus we know in Hebrews 13:8. Jesus said,
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39)
In Exodus God identifies Himself to Moses,
“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:14).
In John we read,
“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)
Therefore, whether we are speaking of Jesus, the Father, or the Holy Spirit, they are one. They are God, and God demands our respect. Some talk like they are going to pat Jesus on the back when they get to Heaven and get real chummy. I believe we will be so overwhelmed by His glory; we will fall to our knees in worship.
Those of the world commonly use the name of God in blasphemous ways, but at the White Throne judgment, there will be nothing but cowering reverence. What about the Bema judgment of Christians (Judgment Seat of Christ; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15)? We will not cower before Him in fear, but we will fall to our knees in reverence and love for the one who is our God.
God has more love for us than we could ever imagine, and those who are His do not need to fear Him, except in reverence. We do need to keep in mind though, He is God.
Grant Phillips
My articles are posted at “Pre-Rapture Commentary” http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com/ and many are also posted at “Rapture Ready” http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html.
