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Ross Warnell's avatar

Richard, that's why you and I choked up at Sam's return to Rosie and Elanor at the very end of The Lord Of The Rings.

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Roy Doorenbos's avatar

There's an interesting thing in the English language: something is awesome if we want it to experience it again, but something that is full of awe, that is, awe-full, our response is rather different. Some awe is wonderful but the fullness of awe is awful, overwhelming and even fearful. Yet for the Christian that awe-full-ness is what we were made for; to someday see God face-to-face.

The image of the appearance of angels as cheerful innocent little cherubs is rather dispelled when the Bible reports that angelic appearances are often accompanied by fear. Luke 2:9-14 reports that the angel appeared to the shepherds announcing Jesus' birth with "Be not afraid!" and goes on to bring on "a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God" reminiscent of the image of the heavenly worship in Rev 4. It's hard to imagine what that must have felt like for them!

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