ONE FEAR, TWO MEANINGS
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell”
(Matthew 10:28).
Today’s text, Matthew 10:28, speaks of two different fears. The word translated here as “fear” is the Greek work p6oéeo, where we get the word “phobia” from. Phobeō can define either the fear of someone or something that makes us tremble and flee, or the reverent fear that leads us to venerate and obey. Phobeō appears between 93 and 110 times in the New Testament, depending on the version. While in Hebrew there are two different words for common fear and the fear of God; in Greek there is just one word that refers to both concepts. Did the original audience understand the difference between the two meanings? Would they know when phobeō is used for what is not divine, causing alarm and a desire to flee, and when—on the other hand—we feelp6oéeo for God, which leads us to worship and to obey? God is the only one who merits both meanings of phobeō: fear that makes you tremble, and fear that makes you reverent.
Only God can destroy the body and the soul. The word used for soul, psujé, appears 102 times in the New Testament and can be translated as breath, life, soul, heart. It is never used to refer to a conscious entity that survives death, nor is it insinuated that it might be immortal or able to exist outside the body (see SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 378). Hell, in the original Greek geenna, is the place of future punishment. It was originally the name of the Valley of Hinom, to the south of Jerusalem, where dead animals were thrown and burned, an adequate symbol of the future destruction of the wicked. The eternity of hell refers to the effect, not the process.
As followers of Jesus, we have two options: to make a commitment to God, or not make a commitment to Him.
‘Those who are true to God need not fear the power of men nor the enmity of Satan. In Christ their eternal life is secure. Their only fear should be lest they surrender the truth, and thus betray the trust with which God has honored them. It is Satan’s work to fill men’s hearts with doubt. He leads them to look upon God as astern judge. He tempts them to sin, and then to regard themselves as too vile to approach their heavenly Father or to excite His pity. The Lord understands all this. Nota sigh is breathed, not a pain felt, not a grief pierces the soul, but the throb vibrates to the Father’s heart’’ —The Desire of Ages, ch. 37, p. 356.
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Taken from: Devotional Thoughts for Women 2023
“DAUGHTER OF MINE” Do Not Be Afraid
From: Arsenia Fernandez-Uckele
Collaborators: Angelica Cuate & Esteban Cortes