Epistle to the Hebrews

“Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.”This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.” Hebrews 12:25-29

Once again, our author wants to stress on the danger of heedlessness. Our churches are plagued by lethargy. What does that mean? It means that many hearts are hardened to God’s warning. There’s overconfidence and negligence. There’re many warnings the bible gives about obedience, holiness and faith and these were not given to just to fill up space on papyrus. For example, one who has a hardened heart is  someone who reads the verses 25-29 of Hebrews 12 and it brings not the soul to self examination.  Our author mentioned several times in previous chapters about the danger of heedlessness. Once again he insists “Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking“. If there was no danger there would be no warnings.

Moses was just a feeble and sinful man like us. Moses gave the law and had much authority.

Jesus said:

“Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me.” John 5:45

However, an Israelite could perhaps stand before God’s throne and discredit Moses as a witness because Moses was also a sinner.  But how will you do that if you stand face to face with the Son who testifies that you rejected Him?

We know that Jesus will stand as advocate for those who have put their trust in Him. But behold! God has also appointed the Son as Judge.

“In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him… And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face,and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you.” John 5:22,38

Do you understand that there will be no appeal when the Son will judge? The Son has been appointed by the Father and He will be a blameless judge. One can try to discredit Moses as witness but no one will be able to discredit the Son’s authority.

The Son’s mission on earth was not to judge but to save. However, His blood, Word and scars will stand as witnesses against those who rejected Him. God will ask “I have given you my Son, why did you reject Him?”

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. The bible tells us that we are already judged for not believing in the Son. The issue here is not about all the sins we did but about this gross sin of rejecting the Son.

 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.” John 3:18

The Son purged out the sins of the whole world(John 1:29 , 1 John 2:2) no matter how big they were. But if there’s a sin which could not and cannot be removed, it is the rejection of God’s Son as Lord. Ignoring Jesus’ work on the cross or turning away from Him is equal to judgement. There was no escape when the Israelites disobeyed the Mosaic law. They were punishments which went as severe as stoning. How do you think you’ll escape the Son’s wrath (see Book of revelation)?

God provided Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  If you have not been able to reach green pastures whilst others did, will you be able to stand before God and say that the Shepherd was not capable to feed you? You are either His sheep or not.  If you’re His sheep you will follow Him.

Jesus said: “The sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.” John 10:4

Moses was an imperfect leader but not so with God’s appointed Shepherd. A mercenary does not owe the sheep and will not care for them as the owner would. Moses and Joshua were servants God appointed to take care of His flock. But they were like hired hands, they were not the shepherd of these sheep. Jesus is the owner and He  even gave His life for them.

“The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.” John 10:14

We have seen that it was terrible event when God spoke from Sinai. The final judgement will come and heaven and earth will pass.

“I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood. Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind. The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places…And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb ” Rev 6:12,16

Everything that is temporary will be removed. This world we are living in is soon going to be shaken (Rev 8:5). At God’s voice, the earth foundations will be removed and it will crash everywhere. This is a recurrent reminder in our epistle. The new Jerusalem of Revelation 21 is where God dwells and will never last (Rev 22).

Our author ends this chapter with these strong concluding words:

“Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire”

Let us consider the glory and holiness of our God. Our God is a holy God, he is a devouring fire and His holiness will consume His enemies. So let’s worship God with holy fear. He is calling us to come to Him to Mount Zion with a heart of worship.

Epistle to the Hebrews

“No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering.You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-24

Our author wants to talk about a spiritual mountain – Mount Zion as being the place where God symbolically dwells.

Mount Zion is mentioned in Revelation as being the place where the Lamb stood with 144000 blameless souls.

“Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together.” Revelation 14:1

In Psalms we read:

“It is high and magnificent;the whole earth rejoices to see it!Mount Zion, the holy mountain, is the city of the great King!God himself is in Jerusalem’s towers,revealing himself as its defender.” Ps 48:2

The book of revelation represent Mount Zion as a place of glory and as God’s holy city – Jerusalem:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ..So he took me in the Spiritto a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” Rev 21:1,10

Mount Zion symbolically represents Jerusalem, it’s stronghold. It is where God reigns (Is 24:23) while Mount Sinai even though is a very important place represents God’s law. Our author probably wants the Jews to turn their eyes from the Law to God’s dwelling place. The glory of Sinai is gone, look at the everlasting glory on Zion. Mount Zion (Ps 125:1) is synonymous to security and glory. It is difficult for me to expose how significant these mountains are for the Jews, but from what I read from the scripture, I understand mount Zion as being the place where God is calling us to be. Mount Sinai was a fearful and terrible place which made the Jews want to run away. Sinai is a place where God wants to put a barrier between Himself and sinful man. But Mount Zion is a place of refuge.

The author wants to contrast Zion and Sinai as such:

• You have come to God’s dwelling place where angels joyfully worship God. This is God’s permanent dwelling place.
• In this place, God’s people are gathered to freely worship the Lamb. No more fear and trembling at God’s voice.
• You have come to God Himself and have part in His glorious presence. No more exclusion like Sinai. Zion is representative of God’s glory in it’s fulness.
• You have come to Jesus. This is the reason why Zion is not a fearful place like Sinai. Jesus stands as mediator and invites us. It is not Moses who stands as mediator but God’s Son Himself. Sinai brought fear and said woe to the murderers. Abel could cried out vengeance when pointing to the 6th commandment “Thou shalt not murder”. But the Son’s blood was shed for forgiveness says come to Mount Zion to worship.

Do you understand dear readers that God wants us to come to Him? The Israelites saw God under the law and were so terrified. Through Jesus, we are now called to come to this Holy God. God’s wrath is satisfied. Jesus has cleansed us from our sins and God is no longer hostile to us. This is grace. No more exclusion and fear of death if approaching God.  Let us go in God’s Holy presence without fear but with assurance because of the Lamb who stands there.

5 times our author says “You have come” and not “you will come”. The Israelites also came near Mount Sinai and but could not come closer. But you have already been brought to Mount Zion by our new Mediator, come closer to God’s presence. This is not terrifying Sinai. Come closer and worship the Holy God without fear.

Epistle to the Hebrews

“You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.” Hebrews 12:18-21

In my opinion, this is the most fearful verse of the bible. God’s presence requires absolute holiness and perfection. When Moses saw the burning bush at mount Sinai and wanted to get closer, God told him:

“Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.” Ex 3:5

No mortal man can understand what it means to stand in God’s holy presence. Those who experienced a glimpse of God’s glory all felt face to ground and were like dead  (Rev 1:17, Daniel 8:18, Eze 1:28, Isaiah 6:5 ). Words cannot describe this feeling of being in God’s holy presence. The Israelites, Moses and our author tried to describe this situation as terrible, frightening, terrifying and trembling. Others fainted and thought they were doomed when found in God’s presence. When human ears heard the awesome trumpet blast and God’s voice, they were such in terror that they even begged God to stop speaking! They could no longer take it. This was God’s presence on mount Sinai. Now just imagine how heaven is! The seraphim and cherubim for instance were high profile angels who had exclusive closeness to God. They could not look at God’s glory either.

When Moses asked God to see His glory, God told Him “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh,before you… But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live. he Lord continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock.As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen” Ex 33:21-33

What Moses asked at this moment was probably the highest request God ever heard from a mortal man. God could not let Moses see the fulness of His glory, it would have been fatal otherwise. Moses had the audacity to make such a petition because God considered him his friend. My communion with God is not enough intimate and I’m so unworthy that I lack faith to make such a request. But when I look at the Son, I believe He wants me to approach with confidence to the throne of grace (Heb 4:16). God Himself arranged for Moses to see part of His glory. Moses faith was really built up after this encounter with God.

Moses’s face was even radiant when he left God’s presence. The Israelites were afraid to come near him.

“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.” Ex 34:29

We read in Psalm 97:

“The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;let the distant shores rejoice.Clouds and thick darkness surround him;righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.His lightning lights up the world;the earth sees and trembles.The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,before the Lord of all the earth.”

This description overwhelms me. This is not science fiction dear readers, this is YAHWEH. Consider God’s holiness !

On judgement day, heaven and earth will flee from His presence. Every knee shall bow before the righteous Judge. Oh what a wonderful day that will be when we’ll see Jesus face to face! Seeing God’s glory is an indescribable experience. Human eyes were not designed to contemplate such beauty and glory. Let us dare like Moses say with a heart of faith “Show me your glory”.

John said: “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure” 1 John 3:2

Moses had to hide in the cleft on the rock before God’s presence. But because of the Son, we’ll stand with confidence in God’s presence and even participate in His glory. This is amazing!

“And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.” Col 3:4

The flesh cannot inherit God’s Kingdom. This is why the Son transforms our mortal body into immortal and glorious ones.

Paul tells us that “ What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.” 1 Cor 15:50

“For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.” 1 Cor 15:53

Moses’s glory faded on his face(2 Cor 3:13) but look at what the Son and the Spirit do:

“He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” Phil 3:21

“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” 2 Cor 3:18

Do you understand dear readers that no one can stand in God’s presence with a mortal body? This means that our body needs to be transformed for us to be admitted in heaven. It is the Son who clothes us with this new robe.

“But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Mat 22:11

You and I have no idea how glorious is this God to whom we pray. So when you go in your room to spend time with the God Moses saw on Mount Sinai, let your requests be few and your mouth full of praises.

As Ecclesiastes said : “As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few. ” Ecclesiastes 5:1

In the next post, we’ll see how the author wants to invite us to another Mount. It’s not the physical mount of Sinai where the law was given and God’s presence was not in its fulness. He wants to present us Mount Zion – the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.

Epistle to the Hebrews

“Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.” Hebrews (12:15-17)

• The danger of bitterness

After exhorting believers to live at peace and living a holy life, our author now desires that the Hebrews diligently take care of each other. He wants the Hebrews to take the responsibility to oversee and not just wait for problems to happen to intervene. He’s speaking about a mutual concern for God’s family. If roots of bitterness are starting to grow, take it seriously. Do not assume it will be ok. Take preventive measures and deal with it. When conflicts occur between church members, the leadership try to intervene to bring reconciliation. However, when conflicts occur within the leadership, church members should also be sensible to it and not just assume that the leaders are mature enough to deal with it. The author describes bitterness as being poisonous. It is poisonous because conflict within the church quickly spread through gossiping. It can start from something ridiculous like a musical instrument not well tuned or the worship leader praying too long.

James tells us that a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire: “In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.” James 3:5

Our author wants each Christian to be sensible about these little roots of bitterness which sprout and act thereof. The longer we wait, the thicker and deeper this root becomes. Within the church we have people with different ideology, behavior, preference and attitude. It is bound to happen that conflicts will occur. May God grant us discernment and wisdom to deal with love whenever these poisonous roots start to grow.  I should also mention that whenever someone has bitterness or grudge in his heart, this soul is sick. This person did not have fellowship with Christ for while. The Spirit always convicts us about bitterness in our heart when we are in communion with God. Even with all the conflicts Paul faced with churches, he acted like a father and cared for the flock.

^“I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him.I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.” 2 Cor 2

Bitterness is something real in the church and needs to be dealt with.  We know that the devil’s plan is to cause division, discouragement and bitterness. Let us not allow Satan to outsmart us. Let us forgive and reaffirm our love.

Paul said in Ephesians:

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Eph 4:31-32

No one likes to confront and be confronted. However, we understand that if we are aware that there’s bitterness we should take this responsibility to bring it to attention. Peter tells us that the devil is like a roaring lion trying to devour.

“Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God…Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5

• The danger of godlessness

We have seen earlier how Esau despised his birthright for a stew. He did not value his birthright and he traded it for nothing. However, Jacob desired what Esau had and did what he could to get it.  Jacob first took Esau’s birthright and also Isaac’s blessings. Our author called Esau’s action as godlessness. This is a great lesson for us to not take for granted our salvation. Complacency and lukewarmness are great dangers in our churches. Many Christians do not realise the privilege they have to be God’s children and heirs of Christ (Rom 8:17). Give them a profitable job and here they are neglecting their communion with God. How many Christians have traded their liberty in Christ because of money, glory and worldly privileges? Consider dear readers that you were bought at high price to be given this right of becoming a child of God (1 John 3:1). It required the Holy and righteous God to die on a cross.

“God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world” 1 Cor 7:23

There will NOT be the possibility to be restored back to repentance if you have denied Christ through the way you live. If you’re treating as unworthy your right of being a child of God, be aware that you’re in danger of losing it. There will be no way of getting back what you’ve sold even if begging with tears like Esau did.

As Hebrews 10:29 says “How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?“

Epistle to the Hebrews

“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. .”Hebrews 12:14

• Working at living in peace

Paul said in Romans:

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” Romans 12:17-19

The author of Hebrews and Paul, mentioned about the importance of not being hostile. It is about having Christ’s attitude and not causing harm to others. We often want to fight for our rights and at the end we are becoming foes to others.  As far as it depends on us we need to make our best to be peacemakers. There’re situations where you naturally because an enemy to others because you want to lift up Christ’s standards. Being at peace with everyone does not imply compromising Christ’s standards to be inoffensive. Jesus had enemies because He wanted to do His Father’s will and it naturally caused disagreements.

When desiring to follow Jesus it is inevitable that discord and opposition will occur even in families. He said: “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.” Mat 10:34

The peace we’re talking about here refers to our attitude towards man. We need to work at it in our workplace, at school and even at church. Some people won’t oppose you because of your faith in Christ so if you’re hostile to them, you’re expected to reconsider your behavior. Peace is something we need to work at to make it happen. Several times, I heard Christians saying that they are persecuted at work because of their faith but the truth is that they get into conflicts because they do not demonstrate Christ-likeness.

As Peter said:

“So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of Godrests upon you.If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!” 1 Peter 4:14

We should be the one who make our working place a healthy place to work and not a place of tension.

Jesus said in Mat 5:

“God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” Mat 5:9

• Work at living a holy life

Your ears are perhaps saturated hearing this exhortation of living a holy life. But we always need to be reminded about living a holy life because our flesh is weak and our God is Holy. We cannot have fellowship with God if our hearts and thoughts are evil. God is intransigent concerning holiness. In the old covenant, if an animal even touched mount Sinai, it had to be stoned to death (Ex 19:13). God’s anger burned against Uzzah because he wanted to give a helping hand to the ark which was falling. Even if he was a Levite, he was struck to death by God on the spot. Uzzah was a religious man whose job was to actually look after holy things. However, perhaps Uzzah became too familiar with God’s things and probably started to take lightly God’s holiness. Maybe he assumed it was permissible for him to touch God’s Holy things at that instant.

If you’re a minister of the Gospel, be careful of not treating as an ordinary thing God’s Holy Gospel and presence. No matter how a faithful servant you have been, if you ever rebel against God’s holiness, you’ll have Him as foe. For example, remember that Jesus said that the sin against God’s Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.

“I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.” Mark 3:28

No matter how innocent act it was to prevent the ark from falling, Uzzah violated God’s law and it was fatal at that very moment (2 Sam 6). We cannot approach God’s holy presence if our heart is evil. In fact without holiness no one will see God. We should not take it for granted that we are going to heaven no matter how we live. Yes we know that Jesus’ blood is powerful to cleanse our sins, that He is our advocate and the High Priest who intercedes for us. But remember that Jesus is also God. Your attitude should demonstrate that you abhor what is evil and work at it to get rid of every sin that entangles you.

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9

Job was a man who wanted to live a holy life, he said: “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.” Job 31:1

Jesus even taught us:

“So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell“ Mat 18:8

What is your attitude with sin? Do you work at getting rid of sins or are you complacent with how you are? A Christian should hate sin and not cherish them. God is love, faithful, forgiving and merciful but He is also Holy. It is because of His holiness that sinners are going to hell. It is because of His holiness that Jesus had to endure God’s holy wrath. God is righteous and sin is not something that He tolerates. The Spirit works in us to make us holy (2 Cor 3:18) because without holiness no one will see God.

“So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as “foreigners in the land.” 1 Peter 1:14

In God’s presence John (Revelation 1:17), Daniel (8:18), Isaiah (6:5) and Moses (Hebrews 12:21) were terrified and were like dead.

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead.” Rev 1:17

Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling” Heb 12:21

“While he was speaking, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.” Daniel 8:18

“Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” Is 6:5