What does it really mean to fear the LORD? Phobos (noun) and phobeo (verb) are the choice words for fear in the New Testament. These words cannot mean anything but true fear in nearly every context of the New Testament.
What about reverence? There are the Greek words, eulabeia (noun) and eulabeomai (verb), which mean "reverence." These "reverent" words are derived from eulabes, which means "devout." These two words for fear are only used four times (two each). If the writers of the New Testament wanted to say "revere the LORD," they could have done so. But they didn't; they used phobos because it is a stronger fear. In Scripture, it is obvious that reverence was not the idea. Luke records in Luke 12 Jesus saying, "Fear (phobeo) God! Because He can destroy you in Hell!" And there is more proof than that.
The fear of God is a fundamental concept in Scripture. There are few topics that more intensely covered in the Bible. This study emphasizes that fear of God is true fear, the type of fear that makes your knees tremble. There are twenty-eight strong references to the fear of God covered in this study. Please, read them and may we all truly fear the Lord.
These 28 passages will be provided shortly! Sorry for the delay.