"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
Leave a Reply. |
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 |