It is desirable to believe in the idea that I am a nice person who believes in a nice god so I instinctively understand God without actually submitting to and learning from Him. Unfortunately this is actually our prideful sin nature (yes, “nice” people have one!) deceiving us into believing whatever appeals to us. All believers of Christianity must develop their understanding with frequent prayer and Bible study (2Pet 1:3-11). The letter What Is The Bible at the website PeaceAndGodWill.com goes into great detail about the issues with translating the Bible and how easily we can mis-interpret it if we don’t let God’s Spirit guide our study. This letter instead focuses on a few topics that the Bible should not be used as a support reference for, no matter how popular the ideas may be. This information should not be used to cause fear in people that are new in Christ or considering a relationship with Him. All believers start off as babes limited to Milk-Of-The-Word understanding and will believe in some of these errors. But as already mentioned, God REQUIRES His children to develop their relationship with Him and not be lured by these distractions (Heb 2:1; 1Cor 3:1-2; Heb 5:12-14; Heb 6:1a; Col 2:8; 2Tim 4:3-4). This list merely describes some meatier topics to either avoid or be careful with.
The Bible is NOT a geology or astronomy textbook to debate the age of the Earth or the length of the first days or where fossils come from or why the universe is so big with. God is intentionally vague about certain aspects of what He did with the world and universe before He made the garden to start us off in. He knows that people need a set and setting to orient their thoughts while they study and are inherently curious about how He does things (Gen 3:6a). So He gave us a few chapters about topics like how He started and will finish the age and what the next age may look like. But we shouldn’t try to resolve questions that He didn’t include answers for. What He has actually told us in the Bible is the complete truth that He wants us to be content with.
The Bible provides lots of details about how this age will end, but we do not know the exact order of events and should not be attempting to place our current existence into an “End Times” timeline or even decide where in the process the “Rapture” will occur. Jesus said the end will come as a surprise (Matt 24:36-42,44) so we should always be ready (Matt 25:1-13; Luke 12:35-38) and know what is required of us (Matt 22:11-14). He has not laid out an early warning system that we can use to decide when to get ready to meet Him.
The Bible is NOT a reference tool that males can use to downgrade female roles in family and society. The section about wives being told to serve their husbands (Eph 5:22-33) also requires husbands to sacrifice more for their wives than many men would consider. There are also many examples of successful women in the Bible that were approved by God in their traditionally male roles: Deborah in Judges 4-5 as judge and military leader; Huldah and Miriam and others as leading prophets in the Old Testament; Lydia as a business owner in Acts 16:14-15; the tentmaking couple Paul referred to as Priscilla and Aquila as equal partners (naming the wife first) who later formed a local church with the wife as a teacher correcting males in Acts 18, Rom 16, and 2Tim 4; Junia in Rom 16:7 as a prominent apostle; Phoebe in Rom 16:1 as a deacon managing local church affairs; Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis in Rom 16 praised by Paul for aiding his ministry in major ways; Euodia and Syntyche in Phil 4:2-3 who strived to assist Paul; Chloe in 1Cor 1:11 as a key mediator between Paul and businesses and households; Nympha in Col 4:15 who hosted a local church in her home; Lois and Eunice in 2Tim 1:5 who raised Timothy to be faithful to the Old Testament covenant which prepared him for service in the Church; the “quite a few prominent women” joining Paul in Acts 17:4 etc.. However careful study about how the book of Acts defines local church roles for elders and how Paul prefers limiting women’s voices DURING a church SERVICE (1Cor 14:34, refer to multiple translations) and if 1Tim 2:12 means women can “teach” but not dominate men should be done before deciding if women can be pastors or should be limited to bishop or deacon roles.
It is also VERY difficult for casual readers of the Bible to learn most of the details about gender roles or actual vs perceived male superiority over women. Ancient Hebrew and Greek frequently used masculine plurals such as adelphoi (“brothers” and “mankind”) to address entire mixed-gender communities and households, meaning words like “brotherhood” often intentionally include both women and men. Words that sound exclusively male in traditional English translations often lack gender in the original languages, such as the Greek anthropos (meaning “human” or “person” but frequently translated as “man”). The Greek word huios/uioi is usually translated as son/sons but in Bible usage can refer to gender neutral heirs with legal standing. In Galatians 4:4-7 Paul uses it to make the bold statement that males and females equally are adopted heirs of the gifts their new Father offers them as they take on His likeness (this concept also means that each spouse is required to have their own relationship with their Savior. 1Cor 7:14 is about sanctifying a home even if one spouse is an unbeliever, not getting them a back door into Heaven. 1Pt 3:1-2 and Acts 16:31-34 are about how a spouse can influence the family into believing, not getting them an exemption from Judgment). Finally, because the older version of English used “man” generically while modern English is obsessed with gender definitions, translating these terms requires careful attention so as not to infer that a gender reference is intentional.
The Bible does describe how peoples’ roles in Heaven may differ (Matt 6:19-21 vs 1Cor 3:11-15) but it does not describe what our daily lives in Heaven will be like (other than being completely satisfied and undistracted in our newly perfected relationship with God!). We don’t know what our bodies will look like or even if we will eat solid food or not. Just because there are witness descriptions in the Bible of Christ’s resurrected human body rising during the Ascension does not mean that is the body He still has now, or indicates the design of the bodies and its needs we will have. Maybe we will form friendships and have jobs that include trading in needed physical things with each other without conflict, or maybe we will just be content with worshipping our beloved Creator as peers or possibly with a “treasures received” based heirarchy.
John’s Revelation in the Bible included a vision he described as including streets of jade (which implies we must be walking around) and buildings of pearl to do stuff in. But after God remakes all the elements at the end of this age (2Pt 3:5-7,10,12b) we can’t perceive what the next ones will be like or even know if there will be gravity that will hold our new bodies to a surface or not. In John 14:2 Jesus tells us He is making a “place” for each of us, but most English translations use a physical building type word instead, which is misleading.
We don’t know if the people that have passed on to be with Him already can see us or not, (the “cloud of witnesses” that Paul mentions in Heb 12:1 actually refers to the people of God who went before us as the “expert witness” examples we should learn from and live up to, not people who can see us now as “eyewitnesses”).
There is no evidence in the Bible that indicates our beloved pets and other possessions will be with us in Heaven. False religions do frequently mention enjoying these things in their versions of eternity which is a good indicator it is not true (these ideas pander to the desires of our corrupt sin nature). We will be in God’s actual presence and may not even desire any companionship or need comfort from them. We don’t even know what memories of loved ones we may retain from our life on Earth (we certainly won’t be married any more; Luke 20:34-35, Matt 22:30, Mark 12:25).
The Bible does include some information about what God’s angels are. But the verses referring to angels as being above humans (Psalm 8:4-5) are only about how we are currently trapped in an earthbound body while they can interact with God in His Heaven now. We are God’s ultimate creation, the only beings made in His image (Gen 1:27 with many other verses referring back to this one) that He continually refers to in the Bible as His beloved children. His angels are never referred to this way; they are more like God’s loyal pets with no actual free will. The one choice they had originally was to join together and reject God or not (and therefore be banished from Heaven). The angels that did that then became the feral spiritual animals that can harrass and tempt us here on Earth now (Jude 1:6; 1Pt 5:8, Eph 6:12). Referring to a beloved and perceived as innocent child as an angel actually means they are either less than human (no free will), or maybe an angel trapped here on Earth that would actually be a demon. The image of a soft and smiling “cherub” we picture the children as actually comes from false artwork created much later than the Bible era. Angels including cherubim are fearsome beings that you want on your side but would never want your child to be like. Admiring angels because they are spiritual beings that can commune with God is fine, but respecting them or desiring to be like them is not, and may actually be a type of blasphemy (because you are rejecting what God designed you to be). God has assigned some of them as protectors for us (Matt 18:10; Ps 91:11–12; Ps 34:7; Heb 1:14; Acts 12:7-11) but thinking about them excessively or assigning specific roles and identities to them on our own terms would actually be idol worship that distracts us from focusing on Christ as our Lord.
Mary (birth mother of Jesus) deserves incredible respect and compassion for accepting her assignment, and then enduring the emotional pain of watching her son treated as a pariah and ultimately rejected and tortured to death. But she did have other children after Jesus and lived a life like any other mother (Matt 13:54-56 was spoken by non-believers so their use of “brothers and sisters” meant biological siblings of Jesus, not followers. Claims that they were His cousins requires believing that two daughters in the same family were both named Mary; See Matt 27:56, Mark 15:40, John 19:25 in multiple translations). Jesus ensured she should be cared for (but not revered) after His passing (John 19:26-27) but that does not elevate her future role in any way other than being a symbol of the human side of her Son. Commonly held ideas about her include idolization and revering her like Jesus that is no different than idolizing angels and should be avoided.
The Apostle Peter was chosen by God for an incredibly difficult assignment, convincing Jews still bound to old covenant beliefs to accept the new covenant God was defining for them, while also convincing them that Gentiles received the same invitation (which meant a new Jewish believer could be under the local authority of a more mature Gentile elder who may have even been a slave). But Peter’s role in the Bible was definitely limited after he achieved God’s initial plan for him while Paul’s significance began increasing (Paul was also specifically chosen for a very difficult role because of the Jewish respect for his status as a Pharisee under Gamaliel and his status as a Roman citizen from birth, which guaranteed his right to be heard in increasingly larger venues). The Bible shows Peter starting with his Day of Pentecost speech to all hearers but then remaining mainly with Jews after he leads the first Gentile to Christ (Acts chapter 10, which was arranged a certain way by God as a symbol to Jewish believers to accept Gentiles, there is no mention in it of Peter as having any authority over any people). When Peter led this Gentile (Cornelius) to Christ, he did not say that Cornelius should see Christ through Peter or any elder. Peter referred him directly to Jesus only. In Acts 11 Peter has to defend his actions with Cornelius to the other apostles instead of just declaring his authority over them. In Acts 15 at the pivotal Jerusalum Council he presents himself as just another witness and allowed another elder to direct the meeting, then the entire group collectively approved the actions to be taken. The Bible also has no actual descriptions of Peter establishing and leading a central local church in Rome (and it does not command that all other local churches should be subservient to Rome anyway). Peter never made any statements in the Bible showing that he considered himself to be the chief and most senior of all apostles/elders, or as the new covenant version of Moses as God’s single spokesperson. He always framed himself as a peer (1Pt 5:1-4; 2Pt 1:1). Bible verses that seem to show that Peter was special (chosen to be the rock and only key holder with authority to bind or loosen, disapprove or prove) are based on specific, selective Bible translations of (Mt 16:18-19). In the original Greek, there is a distinction between Petros (Peter, a small stone/detached rock) and petra (a massive bedrock or ledge, often referring to Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, which could also include others making that profession). Additionally, the verbs for “bound” and “loosed” are in the future perfect passive form (“shall have been bound in heaven”), meaning earthly declarations align with heaven’s pre-established authority rather than creating new heavenly laws. There are also verses that show that this power was given to all apostles and even future elders (Mt 18:1a,18-19; Jn 20:22-23). Paul later points out that the Church is built on the foundation of ALL the apostles (plural) and prophets, with Christ as the chief cornerstone (Eph 2:19-22). A follower may choose to accept later Church teachings about Peter’s role, but should always be aware of the difference between what the actual Bible teaches and what people have developed it into later.
The Bible is clear about the structure of the Church on Earth and the authority of its human leaders. It is human nature to try to add extra rules and higher management to force everyone onto the same page, but God is fine with small differences in individual worship and local churches like music styles, allowing a sanctuary building to be used for other ministries or not, the value of fasting and the symbolism of food, or preferring some days as holier than others. Paul clearly taught that believers should focus on unifying in Christ rather than letting human preferences, the prestige of a local church’s leaders, or other minor details tear them apart (1Cor 1:12-17; Rom 14:1-6; John 4:23-24). Instead of setting up a worldwide human hierarchy to control every church, biblical leadership relies on local and regional elders who know their congregations personally, watching over them and one another as peers guided by God’s Spirit within them (1Tim 3:1-13; Acts 20:17-18a,28-31; Titus 1:6-9; Acts 6:3-6). The Bible sets no human authority higher than these local leaders; the only true Head above them is Jesus in heaven serving as our eternal High Priest (Heb 4:14-16; Heb 7:23-28; Heb 8:1-2).
There is Bible evidence that some of the unborn and children that die before they reach the age of accountability go to Heaven without accepting Christ as their personal Savior. But these references are always specifically about children of God’s favored characters in the Bible. There is no perfectly simple and complete verse that says ALL children that die are taken to Heaven. There are plenty of verses that describe the sin nature a child is born with, and it is hard to imagine the sinful behavior of willfully rebellious children being forgiven just because they have not reached a specific developmental milestone yet. It is far more likely that God sees the heart of a child that has at least begun to understand what an authority figure is and how they have good and bad options to choose from. He would know how they will use their free will later to make decisions about Him. So He would know where to place them in eternity if they die early. The unborn and infants who die may be exempt from Judgment as sheep or goats entirely, God may even mercifully avoid giving them a soul with its’ accompanying burden to eventually choose if He knows they will not survive long enough to begin making any kind of decisions. The Bible in English is not specific enough about terms like “little ones” and “child” and “the young” to make informed decisions about a specific point when God makes a child accountable for their actions. Studying the original Hebrew helps, but it uses multiple words for “child” to describe the physical developmental stages and different words and terms to describe a child that has reached a maturity level that understands a “moral” authority (the beginning of free will maybe with vague spiritual depth vs just making knee-jerk decisions to get what it wants). There are no specific Bible verses that tie a maturity level to a specific age. It isn’t like how human authorities just abitrarily decide that 16 can drive, 18 can vote, 21 can drink, 13 can get a bar or bat mitzvah, 7 or 8 for first communion.
It is OK to pray about and get curiosity-quelling answers about dinosaurs and possible sentient life on other planets or if we can or will even want to eat donuts in Heaven without getting fat or sick etc.. It may even be OK to share those understandings with others as personal beliefs clarified for that person by God. But it is wrong to declare them to be facts that mature Christians have learned as part of God’s absolute truth. It just causes distractions and divisions in the still-earthbound Church about topics that have nothing to do with us developing personal relationships with our Creator and each other. That is why the Bible rushes through the early formation of the Earth then starts providing great detail when Adam and Eve start interacting with Him and His world. This is why He arranged for us to have a Bible, so we can learn about Him and ourselves and other people and how to form God-approved relationships. People that attempt to “teach” others their personal understanding about the topics in this letter (and others) may honestly believe they are comforting or warning others. But they should instead focus on directing people to get their own answers and comfort from God personally. Remember, God wants direct, “vertical” relationships with individuals that use their free will to choose repentance and submission to His authority, not people who only know God by what they hear from others (“horizontal” relationship).
When a follower that God is discipling becomes confused or worried about reconciling worldly ideas with Christianity that He knows is beyond His child’s understanding, He may provide a half-truth or overly simplistic type of answer (maybe even a “white lie”!) to calm them, so they can get back to focusing on the things God is trying to teach them. It would be similar to the idea that a parent may tell their child that storks bring babies. The parent is just trying to resolve their child’s curiosity with an answer that avoids the details that the child isn’t ready to understand yet. These answers can be helpful to the one God is sharing them with, but they are the chief cause of the problems described in this letter when they are shared in an authoritative way.