It can be relatively easy to read, misread, misunderstand or take a different view of almost anything where an individual may feel that his or her opinion is the right one. However, when we talk about the Bible, there is a clear statement in Deuteronomy 4:2 where we read:
“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”
What must also be uppermost in our minds is that Satan will try his best to confuse and redirect the people of God away from the Truth. His influence is everywhere to be seen. He is described in the Bible in Ephesians 2:1-2 as follows:
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience…”
We also read in 2 Corinthians 4:4:
“… whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
Satan is currently the god of this world and his influence is apparent for those with eyes to see. One of Satan’s key roles is to tempt humans to sin. In John 8:44, we read that “he is a liar and the father of it.” 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that he is “like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
He is truly a hugely significant enemy of God, His people and His ways.
Biblehub.com has this to say about man’s adversary:
“The Bible depicts Satan as an intelligent, active being, focused on deceit, temptation, and opposition to God’s purposes. Though he possesses real power, this power remains limited by God’s sovereign will. From Eden’s garden to Christ’s victory at the cross and the promise of his future judgment, Scripture consistently affirms that Satan’s role is that of a defeated foe whose end is certain. Believers are called to stand firm, relying on divine truth and power rather than living in fear.”
We all grow up in different ways but the one factor that affects most of us is the teaching we received from our parents. What they say is taken as fact when, in fact, it may not be. But such is the influence that parents have, that beliefs and understanding are instilled in us from a very early age. Of course, some parents can be negligent in these ways, and their children will form their ideas and ways via school, their peers and social media.
Aristotle is credited with the saying, “Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man,” which is very similar to the biblical injunction found in Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Training in the right ways from a very early age will produce much better persons than those who receive little or no correct training.
We say the following in our free booklet, “The Keys to Happy Marriages and Families”
“We read in Proverbs 22:6, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.’ The Ryrie Study Bible comments, ‘[It says,] in the way he should go. Lit. according to his way, i.e., the child’s habits and interests. The instruction must take into account his individuality and inclinations, and be in keeping with his degree of physical and mental development.’
“Our children grow up too quickly. We give them hardly any time to play and to enjoy their childhood. We don’t let them pursue their interests as children, but want them to be young men or young women far too early. This is especially true in the entertainment industry, but this wrong concept has permeated our entire society and thinking. It is customary in the U.S. and in many other Western nations to place a child at the age of five, or even younger, in a preschool for the convenience of the parents. Many educators warn against such practice, saying that this is far too early to be separated from parents.
“When we look at our societies, especially in the Western world, we find a totally different way of life than what God intended. We read about the kind of family life that God intended, where the father would be present and available to teach his son or his daughter. But in our modern world, the father is basically gone all day, working somewhere away from home.
“In addition, children are being handed over to preschools at an early age, thereby being separated further from the benevolent teachings of their Christian parents. And when, on top of it, young mothers go to work and place their kids in day care centers, then even the last remaining positive influence of the Christian parents on their children has been abolished as well.”
In addition, we state the following in our Q&A, “Why do so many children of Godly parents depart from God’s Way of Life, even though Proverbs 22:6 says that they will not depart from it when they are old?”
“In light of the fact that the Bible emphasizes individual responsibility, it must be concluded that Proverbs 22:6 does not intend to impress the idea that the righteous teaching of parents will automatically lead to the conversion of a child. It is true, of course, that parents are to teach their children about God and His Way of Life (Deuteronomy 11:18-19). But this does not mean that converted parents can bring about the conversion of their children…
“Proverbs 22:6 does not contain an unconditional promise that the training of a righteous parent will bring about the conversion of his or her children. The chances may be greatly increased, but the actual calling to conversion and salvation is still subject to God’s Will and the child’s reaction in the matter. But what an unspeakable joy and blessing it is when righteous parents see their children follow them in their paths of righteousness.”
In this series of Q&As, we will see how much Satan has influenced humanity with wrong thinking and understanding. Many, if not all of the false assumptions addressed, should not be particularly new to long-time Church of God members but may seem strange to those who may be new to the Truth that the Bible has to offer.
And so, let us look at a number of examples.
FALSE ASSUMPTION No. 1:
Most people, if asked about where the Bible begins historically, would say Genesis 1:1, if they knew anything about God’s Word at all in this secular age. On the face of it, few would argue with that because it is about the creation of the heavens and the earth. Who could disagree with that, as in the very first chapter and the first verse in the Bible, we read: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
However, there are verses that precede these events as we read in the book of John. In John 1:1-3, the Bible reveals that:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
Who was the Word referred to here? Verse 14 reveals the answer:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
This obviously refers to Jesus Christ, and we read further in Colossians 1:15-17:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
These passages show that God the Father created everything, including angels and spiritual things, as well as animals and humans, through Jesus Christ. The “Word” in John 1:1 is a reference to Jesus Christ, while “God” in the same passage refers to God the Father. Both were in existence “in the beginning.” Many may be surprised by that, but it is there in black and white in the Word of God. However, we must add that neither God the Father nor His Son, Jesus Christ, had a beginning. Human beings may be able to understand eternity with things going on indefinitely and forever, but God hasn’t given the human mind the capacity to fully understand that neither the Father nor the Son had a beginning; that they have always existed. Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers observes that “The Mosaic conception of ‘beginning’ is marked by the first creative act… John places himself at the same starting point of time, but before he speaks of any creation he asserts the pre-existence of the Creator. In this ‘beginning’ there already ‘was’ the Word.” In addition, as we saw, in this “beginning” there already “was” God—God the Father.
Based on his information, any assumption that the first chapter of Genesis is the beginning of all things is false.
FALSE ASSUMPTION No. 2:
Whenever we see pictures of Jesus in paintings or in a movie, He is always shown as having long hair and a beard. He is often shown to have feminine features and a sorrowful look. But He couldn’t have had long hair because we read in 1 Corinthians 11:14, the following: “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?”
The bibleanalysis.org website observes that “The image of Jesus Christ with long hair and a beard is a familiar and iconic representation in Western art and popular culture. This depiction of Jesus has been ingrained in the collective imagination and has become a widely accepted and recognizable symbol of the Christian faith. But where did the idea that Jesus had long hair and a beard come from?
“One possible source for the portrayal of Jesus with long hair and a beard is the influence of classical Greco-Roman art and culture. During the early centuries of Christianity, artists and sculptors drew inspiration from the artistic traditions of the ancient world, where long hair and beards were commonly associated with wisdom, divinity, and authority. Greek and Roman gods and philosophers were often depicted with flowing locks and beards, signifying their status and spiritual significance.
“The early Christian artists and theologians in the Byzantine Empire and medieval Europe created images of Jesus that reflected the aesthetic and cultural norms of their time. The visual representation of Jesus as a compassionate and merciful figure, adorned with a halo, flowing robes, and long hair and beard, became a predominant iconographic tradition that has endured for centuries.”
It is interesting that in Ezekiel 44:20, we read about the laws governing priests when entering God’s sanctuary:
“They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed.”
Of course, we realise the concept of a Nazarite vow when someone voluntarily took a vow to abstain from drinking wine and when he refused to have his hair cut, to drink wine or eat grapes or to have contact with corpses for a specified period. And we also know that Samson was a Nazarite from birth for a specific reason. It appears that Samuel and John the Baptist were under a Nazarite vow as well. But apart from these situations, it is a sin for a man to have long hair! (In passing, the Nazarite vow has no longer any application for us today.)
Shunsalon.com opines: “Catholic answers to this question often emphasize that the focus should be on Jesus’ teachings and mission rather than physical appearance, though the enduring image of long-haired Jesus remains deeply ingrained in religious iconography and popular imagination.”
Jesus did not have long hair, nor was He under a Nazarite vow. We state the following in chapter 8 of our free booklet, “Do You Know the Jesus of the Bible?”:
“Jesus, however, was not a Nazarite. He grew up in the city of Nazareth and was therefore called a ‘Nazarene’ (Matthew 2:23) — which is of course quite different from being a Nazarite…. Christ was not a Nazarite, because He did many things, which were prohibited for Nazarites. Those who took the vow of a Nazirite did not cut their hair, but they were also prohibited from drinking any wine or touching a dead body (Numbers 6:4–6). Christ, however, did drink wine (Luke 22:14–18; Matthew 11:19), and He did touch dead bodies (Luke 8:51–55). If Christ had been a Nazirite, He would have broken His vow and thereby violated one of God’s laws. But He said that He had kept His Father’s commandments (John 15:10), including all ritual laws still in force and effect at His time, and we read that He never sinned…”
It is interesting that the religious people of Jesus’ time had to pay 30 pieces of silver to Judas for him to identify who Jesus was. He certainly didn’t stand out from the crowd. But He would have, if He had been wearing long hair. In our booklet, “Do You Know the Jesus of the Bible?”, we state the following:
“Christ was a Jew, and He looked like an ordinary Jewish man, without special beauty in appearance (compare Isaiah 53:2). He was able to escape on occasion, by mingling with the crowd and going ‘through the midst of them’ (Luke 4:30; John 8:59). Apart from the Bible, archeology and history also confirm as well that the Jews at the time of Christ did not wear long hair… Christ, therefore, did not either; otherwise, He would have stood out in a crowd and a special identification through Judas (who identified Him by kissing Him) would not have been necessary.
“Recently, Israeli and British forensic anthropologists and computer programmers got together to create Christ’s face featured in ‘Popular Mechanics,’ a 1.2 million-circulation magazine… They… determined that Christ did not wear long hair. Other experts agree with that conclusion.
“On February 24, 2004, Reuters wrote: ‘… Jesus didn’t have long hair, said physical anthropologist Joe Zias, who has studied hundreds of skeletons found in archeological digs in Jerusalem.’ [He also mentioned:] ‘Jewish men back in antiquity did not have long hair.’ ‘The Jewish texts ridiculed long hair as something Roman or Greek,’ said New York University’s Lawrence Schiffman. Along with extensive writings from the period, experts also point to a frieze on Rome’s Arch of Titus, erected after Jerusalem was captured in AD 70 to celebrate the victory, which shows Jewish men with short hair taken into captivity…’”
It appears from the biblical description in Isaiah 53:2 that Jesus was an ordinary looking man, not particularly handsome, probably had a beard (compare Isaiah 50:6), but someone who would certainly have charisma (personal magnetism and charm) to be followed, listened to, fed at times, with many being healed.
As one writer opined: “The real Jesus epitomised what God would look like as a man – well-groomed but not affected, well dressed but not clothes-conscious, clean but not antiseptic, dignified but not distinguished.”
We don’t have any pictures of Jesus to see what He looked like. The Shroud of Turin has been used many times to try to show what Jesus may have looked like but today very few, if any, believe this to be true. The Independent wrote in August of 2025:
“A newly uncovered medieval document is the earliest known to suggest that the Shroud of Turin, widely believed to have been used to wrap Jesus’ crucified body, is not authentic. The findings, published in the Journal of Medieval History, add evidence that even in the Middle Ages, people knew that the Shroud was fake. In the document, medieval theologian Nicole Oresme rejected the Shroud as authentic, with the future bishop claiming it as a ‘clear’ and ‘patent’ fake that was the result of deceptions by ‘clergy men.’”
A further headline in the Independent headlined “628-year-old fake news: Scientists prove Turin Shroud not genuine (again).”
However, as the Smithsonian magazine recently reported on April 9, 2026, “new evidence” in the form of plant, animal and human DNA was allegedly discovered “showing” that the cloth was “genuine.’ This is utter nonsense. The article shows convincingly that that “evidence” is not compelling, pointing out that “radiocarbon dating suggests the shroud was made sometime between 1260 and 1390—more than a millennium after Jesus was said to have been crucified.”
We conclude chapter 8 of the above-mentioned booklet, “Do You Know the Jesus of the Bible?”, with the following cautionary remarks:
“In any event, Paul tells us that we are not to ‘know’ Christ ‘according to the flesh.’ We read in 2 Corinthians 5:16 (Phillips translation): ‘… even though we knew Christ as a man, we do not know him like that any longer.’
“It is dangerous to focus on images and pictures of Christ, including portrayals of Christ by actors in movies, and think that in some way those portrayals may accurately represent how Christ might have looked. We are to focus on Christ as He is now—a powerful Spirit being! To get a correct portrayal of Christ’s present appearance, please read Revelation 1:14–16. Christ has white hair, as white as wool or snow, and His eyes are like flames of fire, while His face shines like the sun in full strength! THAT is the Jesus Christ of the Bible—God the Son—who is worthy of worship!”
Again, everyone should beware of making false assumptions about Jesus’ appearance.
(To be continued)
Lead Writers: Brian Gale and Norbert Link