On our quest for God and the afterlife some people start from ground zero with no religious teachings at all. Some people are born into a family that takes them to church putting them at a different level of starting out searching for God and the acceptance into His heaven of eternal life. Others could be born into a religious family that make a career out of studying after God and eternal life. No matter your place in life we are all “Below the Bible“.

As I was meditating upon the Lord He dropped a simple thought into my spirit “All Are Below the Bible“. He took me to every person that I would encounter speaking about the Bible and He showed me how that all of us are below the full level of the Bible. There are different levels of the Bible from which people speak about God and eternal life.

You and I know people who talk about God and the afterlife that know nothing of the scriptures. They are speaking from ground zero with only their fleshly opinions and ideas, but acting as though what they are saying is gospel. We know people speak from only certain places in the Bible. Some people believe only the Old Testament and not the New Testament with others believing the reverse. These are levels “Below the Bible“.

After God dropped the thought into my spirit He then showed me how we as mankind have our levels we believe to be Bible truths and how His Bible has levels of truth all alone. I quickly understood that it is not my level of the Bible that matters, but the level of the Bible I have reached. It is more like us going to the Bible instead of bringing the Bible down to us.

We are educated from babies and our knowledge levels are like steps on a ladder. We start out with no knowledge, ground zero, and we progress up to the first step of learning. This is an education for the physical things of this life and not the spiritual things of God and His life. The Bible has its own ladder of spiritual education for us to discover ascending closer to God and eternal life.

The Lord quickly brought me back to the apostles and Jesus on the thoughts of “Below the Bible“. The speaking level of the apostles were still “Below the Bible“. Jesus is the only One who is one hundred percent equal to the level of the Bible – the Word made flesh. Now, I could feel the excitement of the thought God was sharing with me. It was easy to understand all of us speak from a level “Below the Bible“. We speak from a level that is far from perfect, but Jesus was different. He spoke exactly what the Spirit of God wanted to say.

The body of Jesus was formed inside the womb of a virgin girl formed by the level of the Bible and not by mankind. “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Is. 7:14. The body of Jesus was born at the level equal with the Bible.

The Spirit of Jesus was equal with the Bible being the Spirit of God placed inside flesh. “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “And the Word was made flesh…” Jn. 1:1, 14. “…God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1 Tim. 3:16.

Jesus is equal with the Bible and more because God only put in the Bible the levels needed for us to reach Him and receive His gift of eternal life through the man Jesus Christ. Here is the next challenging thought God took me to see. You have Jesus at the top level of the Bible for us to climb up the Bible ladder of knowledge and actions to reach that way, that truth, that life, that no one can come to the Father, but by Jesus (Jn. 14:6).

Now, I began to see this Bible ladder with many people at different levels building their lives at the step they chose to stop at without going any further. It is like seeing people on a path climbing the mountain of God towards His heavenly light, but people stopping and building their homes far below the entrance at the top of the mountain with satisfaction of seeing God’s glow and just being on the mountain, but still short of what God wants.

The tragedy is stopping at a level in the Bible based on a fleshly opinion and not based on the Bible’s decision. To stop growing in God’s knowledge is a death sentence to your spirit. We all should live to move and move to live at the level God has laid out before us. I, seeing down the Bible ladder people contented with no desire to climb up the next step in the Bible. You and I know people who are content knowing nothing about the Bible, but speaking their words about God and eternal life as though what they are saying is the absolute truth and you are stupid to believe different from them.

We can look down the Bible ladder and people camped below the New Testament refusing to leave the level of the Old Testament. It started to become really scary to look down the Bible ladder at all those preaching their level is the salvation level and you need to go no further realizing they had stopped short of what the Bible says is salvation.

The Lord was showing me a terrifying thing for all us to examine ourselves. A good question to ask is “where are you on the ladder of the Bible?” Not your ladder of understanding, but the level of what the Bible claims we should be. Our own understanding can say this is all I need to do to know God and have His eternal life, but is that understanding equal to the Bible’s level of understanding? A tough question, but a needful question.

Some say good works will get you into heaven, but that is at their level. What does the Bible say about getting into heaven? How far down the Bible ladder is that kind of thinking? We all are in danger of stopping short of what God wants in our lives in lining up with the Bible levels.

The Lord took me to see those gathered around Him yelling, “…Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in they name?” They were “Below the Bible” at such a distance they believed they were saved prophesying in His name, but they stopped far below as to what Bible level they were to reach to be able to enter into heaven. Others began to say, “…in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” These people were doing some amazing things, but still to far down the Bible ladder and not at the level of entering into heaven. The Lord said unto them, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Mtt. 7:21-23.

This scripture screams out to me that we better know we are equal with the level the Bible says salvation and knowing God should be. We will never be equal in the fullness with the Bible like Jesus, but we can be in an equal agreement with what the Bible says the level we should be to enter into heaven. No one should ever be satisfied camping out down the Bible ladder until they have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt they are on the Bible level of the plan of salvation. If you don’t know it is rolling the dice for the possibility of hearing those words “…I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.“

PEOPLE BELOW THE BIBLE LADDER

For Adam and Eve to remain equal with the Bible scripture all they had to do was to NOT eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil. When they did eat of the tree they were taken off the level of the Bible’s way and were placed below on their own way (Gen. 3). When Cain killed his brother Abel he fell below the Bible’s way of learning to do better next time and that murder was not the right answer for his own ideas (Gen. 4:5-8). You can keep reading through the Bible seeing people doing things their own way under their own understanding that did not match what the Bible said was the right thing to do.

Leaping forward to the New Testament there was a man who only knew the Bible’s level of John the Baptist preaching. He was convinced and preaching at this level in the Bible. A husband and wife heard him preaching at his level and took him to the side presenting to him Jesus after John’s preaching “…the way of God more perfectly.” He could have refused and built his life at that level of the Bible with John the Baptist teachings and some have done that today, but he saw more truth and advanced his level equal with what the Bible said he should do to enter into the kingdom of God (Acts 18:24-28 and Acts 19:1-7). Apollos joined the level with what the apostles were preaching from Jesus. That is the last level of preaching in the Bible. Are you equal in the Bible as to what the apostles preached?

Apostle Paul was going through a town called Ephesus when he found a group of people settled in at a Bible level of being believers (Acts 19:1). You would think that being a believer would be the final level in the Bible to know God and to be accepted into heaven. This is where these people had settled in this stair step ladder to heaven in the Bible. Apostle Paul wanted to know what level of believing were they and where their faith had stopped.

He asked them, have you received the Holy Ghost since you have believed? At their Bible level of believing they replied that they have never heard about any Holy Ghost (v2). These believing disciples had established a place in the town of Ephesus to make their church work for all others who may believe what they were preaching. There are levels of truth according to the Bible and levels of what people “think” are final levels of Bible truth. Two different kinds of levels with the Bible being one alone and mankind’s idealism.

Apostle Paul understands they are at the Bible level of believing without the Holy Ghost and he wanted to know what were they baptized? They said, “…unto John’s baptism.” (v3) This is where you and I must examine ourselves at what level in the Bible we have stopped with our faith and created a foundation short of the Bible’s foundation with the possibility of failing our examine (2 Cor. 13:5) . You and I cannot forget the people that Jesus rejected even with their personal belief of prophesying and doing wonders in his name to depart for he never knew them. The danger of being “Below the Bible” plans has the possibility on us not making it to heaven.

Apostle Paul is now going to explain the Bible’s level of salvation he had come to know directly from Jesus (Gal. 1:16), which perfectly matched with apostle Peter from years ago (Acts 2:38). Apostle Paul explained to the believers who were without the Holy Ghost and were only baptized unto John’s Bible level was unto repentance only and they should believe on him that would come after John, Jesus Christ (v4). Nothing wrong with the Bible level they had obeyed, but there were higher steps according to the Bible for the completion of their believing.

We are all “Below the Bible” and the daily revelations and understandings of things we did not know before will be the deciding factor of our level with the Bible in comparison to our own ideas of the Bible with the danger of “…depart from me, I never knew you” reaction. When these believers heard the words of apostle Paul they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus according to Acts 2:38 and NOT in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. They accepted their believing and John’s baptism without the Holy Ghost was a step “Below the Bible” on what was required to be equal with the scriptures.

After they were baptized in Jesus name for the removal of their sins apostle Paul placed his hands upon them and the Holy Ghost came on them and how they knew they had received the Holy Ghost they had never heard of, their words of praise in their native language turned into another heavenly language of praise the Holy Ghost gave them the utterance just like those years ago on the day of Pentecost Acts 2. Some people have their own level of believing and automatically receiving the Holy Ghost without any true signs like the Bible describes, but there are Bible level signs with a promise of the experience (Acts 10:44-48).

Apostle Paul found “Below the Bible” twelve believers in John’s baptism only established in the town of Ephesus. He presented to them the Bible’s higher level of the way of God more perfectly and they stepped up in obedience equal to the Bible’s level of true salvation instead of writing him off believing they were established enough. They removed the rolling of the dice of their belief and lessening the danger of hearing “…depart from me, I never knew you” from Jesus.

HOW FAR “BELOW THE BIBLE” ARE YOU?

The Bible is all about us climbing the ladder of God’s word in understandings and perceptions He offers through scriptural revelations and connections from His Holy Spirit. We cannot afford in our “Below the Bible” state to reject truths from the Bible that does not match our own ideas. This is why apostle Peter was given the keys of the kingdom of heaven with the power to bind things on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever he loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven (Mtt. 16:19).

Jesus asked, Peter who do you think that I am? Peter answered, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter had allowed himself to open up to the inspiring revelation directly from the Spirit of God to see Jesus for who he truly was. Peter’s “Below the Bible” level just leaped up to the standard that Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Mtt. 16:15-19) to be spoken at the birth of the church (Acts 2:1-39).

We all should be leveling up according to the Bible and the teachings of the Holy Spirit of God and not settling down the mountain “Below the Bible” with the danger of having the less perfect way of God. How far “Below the Bible” are you? How would you answer apostle Paul’s questions like in Acts 19? If you find anything not matching do you need to make a change?

As hard as it may be have you been baptized in Jesus name that has the power of the blood in the name to wash away all your sins or have you been “Below the Bible” in being baptized traditionally in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost? No one in the Bible was ever baptized in the titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This is a “Below the Bible” level teaching that a group of people stopped down the mountain at the gospel of Matthew 28:19. There are further steps up the mountain the believers traveled to equal out with the Bible’s level of salvation and not man’s level.

Matthew 28:19 verses Acts 2:38

Matthew 28:¹⁹ “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” stops at the resurrection of Jesus Christ, whereas Acts 2:37-39 “³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? ³⁸ Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. ³⁹ For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” continues on to the born again of the water and of the spirit of the church until the Lord Jesus returns.

The gospel of Matthew along with the other gospels stop “Below the Bible” ladder’s level with the biographies of Jesus, which are great. The book of Acts is the starting point of climbing the Bible ladder all the way to heaven and knowing God. I had stopped at Mtt. 28:19 and was baptized in the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost as a public confession, but I was like others in the Bible when exposed to the way of God more perfectly (Acts 2:38). I was rebaptized in the name of Jesus Christ applying the blood of the lamb that is in that name of Jesus and receiving the Holy Ghost as God gave me the utterance. I am equal to the Bible’s level of salvation and no longer “Below the Bible” with man’s traditional teachings.

SUMMARY

God said in His Bible, Is. 55: ^v8“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” ^v9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.“

We are all “Below the Bible” in many different ways because we are still learning from Holy Spirit guided revelations that we can accept or deny. The decision is up to us, but we may find ourselves stopping short on the Bible’s ladder of truth and camping on man’s ladder of interpretation. If we change with the Bible then we shall level ourselves up with the equal agreement with the Bible raising the likelihood of entering heaven and knowing God. Writing off and denying things in the Bible will leave us so far “Below the Bible” that a higher probability we may hear “…depart from me, for I never knew you“.

Jesus is the only one who is one hundred percent equal with the Word of God. His apostles are next in line walking in agreement with the plan of salvation along with behavioral teachings. All other generations after the apostles are reaching for that walking together in agreement with the Bible. History shows mankind has developed their own ladders from the Bible that does not equally line up with the Bible’s ladder started in the book of Acts, hence different religions.

Mankind’s religious ladders are missing and have skipped over some rungs/steps that the Bible has in place. Scripturally, we all are held accountable to read the Bible, pray, and study with the Holy Spirit of God directly deciding for ourselves the rungs/steps in the Bible we need to obey above the missing rungs/steps of the traditions of mankind.

The apostles are below the Bible, but right below Jesus speaking of the plan of salvation. All religions are below the apostles. To level up with the Bible is to preach the same thing as the apostles or your level is way below what is acceptable unto God and under a curse (Gal. 1:9). Do not follow men who are below the Bible in the plan of salvation, but the ones who have leveled themselves up with Jesus and the Word. Everyone is below the Bible, but how far away are you from the level of the apostles and Jesus who is the only one fully equal with the Bible and God?

It is time to be equal with the Bible through Jesus Christ. “…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” ³⁹ “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” God is calling you to level up no matter if you are zero or to having something in religion – level up. God bless your journey.