1998 BMW 740IA

i have a 1998 BMW 740 IA and a few days ago i started my car and wanted to drive off to work and noticed that the gears arent working and the car is driving on one gear and i got a message on the dashboard screen saying {TRANS. FAILURE SAFTY PROG} and realized something is wrong with my transmission. i kept my car switched off and parked for a few days and now i just switched it on for the sake of seeing what might be wrong with it and noticed that the gears are working fine and i dont have that message any more on my screen. see i hvae 197,000 KMS on my car now, what could possible be the problem with it ? im not sure weather i should drive it or not ... dont wanna crack my transmission !
Thanks