"The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters" Many African Americans often argue that Jesus was black. They like to reference the above bible scripture from Revelations and scream YOU SEE JESUS COULD NOT BE THE WHITE MAN FROM THE IMAGES! I agree, the photos that we have been shown over the years is not a possible depiction of Jesus however to take this scripture and depict him as a black man is also incorrect. Here is some information to help you guys to understand the actual context of that scripture and what should be taken from it. Before we look at this verse , it is important that we acknowledge that as a first century middle eastern man, Jesus's skin color was likely olive colored. A possible medium to dark tan, but not totally black as in the black skin we are used to on African Americans. This is simply not the complexion of middle eastern men. Anthropology aside, let’s take a look at this verse. Black Hebrew Israelite have started a movement claiming that the Messiah is actually a black man from this passage in Revelation. Hair Like Wool: The verse says his hair was white like wool, not that it was felt or looked like Wool. If the bible said that his hair was white like potatoes would we assume that his hair looked and felt like potatoes? The scripture does not say that Jesus had hair like wool rather the color of his hair was like wool, verse 14 also says that it was white like snow and we do not assume that his hair was that of a snow flake. Why was it white like wool? We see in verse 16 that his face was shining like the sun. The hair of Jesus was also radiating and illuminating the glory of God Himself. The glory of Christ was seen by some of the disciples in Matthew 17:2 during the transfiguration on the mount, where it says: "And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light" Feet like Burnished bronze? His feet were like “burnished bronze” as it says in the ESV, or “refined brass” as it says in the KJV. If we are going to look at the English translation only and assume this is a reference to skin color, we could at most say this is a dark tan, and may have been closer to a gold/light-brown. Figures in the early church understood his bronze feet could mean a variety of things including a metaphor for the apostles themselves, for the two natures of Christ, for the human nature of Christ, and for the church itself. It says in verse 14 that his eyes were like a flame of fire the end of verse 15 that his voice is like a roar of many waters. Is this saying that Jesus had orange eyes? Did Jesus’ voice actually sound like water? Most likely not, rather an artistic description of what a man seen. In 16 it says that he was holding stars and that a sword was coming out of his mouth. Was Jesus actually holding literal burning balls of gas and a actual sword coming out of his mouth? A very strong possibility is that this book is written in (Apocalypse. This fact allows us to adopt the view that this is metaphorical, poetic imagery attempting to portray aspect Jesus, just as the surrounding verses in 14 and 16 do. Summary: Jesus did not have hair like wool rather his hair was white like wool and like snow, but the hair itself is not said to be like wool. Meaning his hair was not nappy or rough such as many African Americans.
To call Jesus black based on this text is going above and beyond the true definition of the original Greek word used here (chalkolibanon) which can also refer to brass, gold, copper, and any kind of alloy. Doing such is also directly ignoring the metaphorical imagery used to word this verse. The word can mean fine brass (which is golden). Furthermore, it says in verse 16 that Jesus’s face was like the sun shining in full strength, which means his face isn’t described as being bronze like his feet are. We all know this is a reference to Jesus being the light of the world and being lit up in glory, which is the whole point. Since when do people have a face that is one color and feet that are another? At the end of it all does it really matter what color Jesus is? God is love and love is what makes his power work. let us not fall off the path of spirituality and love because we are hung up on the physical features and attributes of our lord. Let us focus on reading and understanding the word instead of manipulating it twisting it and turning it to have a context not meant for the scripture. Knowledge is power.
0 Comments
Minorities in Therapy is something that I have come up with to help promote therapy within the African American and Latin culture. In a lot of these communities we see things like: depression, acute stress, drug and alcohol abuse, obesity, cycles of bad parenting, trauma and many other mental sickness. The worst part about this fact is that most of us are raised "What goes on in this house stays in this house." We would get beatings and have bruises, or we were witnessing criminal activity all kinds of things. As children our first thought was to tell a baby-sitter, tell your school teacher hell some of us even told our other friends whom told their parents.
You would come home from school to an instant butt kicking, your parent striking you with the belt yelling and screaming at you about "Telling their business." Your a child, all you said was "My daddy doesn't live with us" or maybe you said "I did not have dinner last night" This simple thing is what created a stigma in our community where we "mind our own business" We are not talking to anybody about anything that goes on in our life. Therapy? Seriously? Why should I talk to somebody who does not know me? Why am I letting them into my life? What can this do for me? Minorities in Therapy is all about breaking the cycle. We want to promote healthy mental health. We promote spirituality and wholeness as we search for ourselves. Minorities in therapy is all about understanding it is something else out there and we were not given the tools. A lot of us do not know how too communicate, how to love or what we are trying to do with our lives. We are confused and simply existing when we should be living according to our goals and not our circumstances. A lot of us are carrying bags that are not meant for us and our mental sickness is crippling our ability to think clearly. We enter survival mode and start battling lions that were not sent to attack us; Our parents issues become ours. It is a cycle of horrible events that we can elevate above if we learned how to face what it really is that hurts us. Learning how to talk about your issues and the reasons why you do the things that you do is key. Learning how to process your troubles and unpack is essential to letting go of the baggage. Some of us argue with our parents everyday, some of us have strained relationships with our children. Some of us are spinning out of control and have no idea what we are doing with our lives. A few of us are stepping into a new season where they are trying to evolve. No matter what your situation is, talking about it helps. It comes a time in our lives where we decide that we want better for ourselves and then we activate. We say no more, we look at our life and understand it is more to it than what we have manifested. We find ourselves submitting to our faith, we give it all too the lord and say it is now or never. When you couple a legit effort to change with self discovery and faith you start to vibrate on higher levels. The key to minorities in therapy is to get our community to tap into this lifestyle of spirituality and elevation. It is like a hidden world full of great vibes and fresh fruit and water. Your body starts to reject negativity, you will get physically sick in the room of devils. The spirit inside of you will protect you and bind you from anything that is not for you. The best part of that, once you elevate to such levels your issues appear to be so small it is like you need a magnifying glass to see them. It is easier to deal with things when you are looking at them with a clear perspective rather your feelings or emotions. Soon Ghetto Gospels will be updated with some helpful information that can start a basic journey for those thinking of giving therapy a try. I hope to get as many of you getting mentally and spirituality well as possible. |
AuthorJust a creator trying to find my way to GOD and bring as many thugs with me as possible. Bring as many lesbians with me as possible. I am here for the lost and forgotten souls. Archives
December 2018
Categories |