to hell! That’s not merely an apparent contradiction, but utter nonsense! Not only so, but it is an insult to God, for it implies an inconsistency in his character. Moreover, these verses were certainly not written by a man who feared God’s awful sentence of condemnation, although, as we see in verses 9 and 10, by somebody who wanted to please the Lord in view of the judgement he would face as a believer. So then this fear must be a different type from what John has in mind. It is a reverential awe,