I was shown that when God sent His angels anciently to minister or communicate to individuals, and these persons learned that they had seen and talked with an angel, they were struck with awe and were afraid that they should die. They had so exalted views of the terrible majesty and power of God that they thought it would destroy them to be brought into close connection with one direct from His holy presence. I was referred to Judges 13:21, 22: “Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord. And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.” Judges 6:22, 23: “And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.” Joshua 5:13-15: “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.” If angels were thus feared and honored because they came from the presence of God, with how much greater reverence should God Himself be regarded. {1T 410.2}

Jeg fik vist at selvom Gud i gammel tid sendte sine engle for at tjene eller bringe meddelelser til enkeltpersoner og disse personer erfarede hvad de så og talte med englen om, var de slået med ærefrygt og var bange for at de skulle dø. De havde et så ophøjet syn på den frygtelige majestæt og Guds kraft, at de regnede med at blive ødelagt når de kom nær én med direkte forbindelse til hans hellige ophøjelse. Jeg blev henvist til Dommerbogen 13,21.22: »Så forstod Manoa, at det var Herrens engel. Og Manoa sagde til sin hustru: »Vi er dødsens, thi vi har set Gud!« Dommerbogen 6,22.23: »Gideon skønnede nu, at det havde været Herrens engel; og han sagde: »Ve, Herre, Herre, jeg har jo set Herrens engel ansigt til ansigt!« Men Herren sagde til ham: »Fred være med dig! Frygt ikke, du skal ikke dø!« Josuabogen 5,13-15: »Og det skete, medens Josua opholdt sig ved Jeriko, at han så op og fik øje på en mand, som stod foran ham med draget sværd i hånden. Josua gik da hen til ham og sagde: »Er du en af vore eller en af vore fjender?« Han svarede: »Ingen af delene, jeg er fyrsten over Herrens hær; lige nu er jeg kommet!« Da faldt Josua til jorden på sit ansigt og tilbad og sagde til ham: »Hvad har min Herre at sige sin tjener?« Og fyrsten over Herrens hær svarede Josua: »Drag dine sko af fødderne, thi det sted, du står på, er helligt! Det gjorde Josua.« Når engle blev frygtet og æret på den måde fordi de kom fra Guds nærhed, hvor meget større ærbødighed skulle der så ikke agtes mod Gud selv?