It is often said that “it doesn’t matter what Christ looks like” and from a surface level this sounds great, you might even say it’s a perfectly reasonable thought…
…but the fact is, the most important thing is what the scriptures say. And when we read the scriptures it tells us, that those that don’t acknowledge Christs physical existence are of the Antichrist (1 John 4:2-3).
1 John 4:2-3
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
This statement alone calls into question what Christ actually looked like, which takes into account his visual appearance and the actual colour of his skin as well as his nationality.
When we search Google and type in “What Christ looks like” what we find are the images below, let’s talk about why…
In the book of Maccabees we find and that the Romans drew themselves into the book of the law. With this in mind it would be silly to dismiss Christ’s physical appearance.
If Christ already looked like a European Caucasian, what would be the point of the Romans drawing their own likeness into the book of the law?
1 Maccabees 3:48
47 Then they fasted that day, and put on sackcloth, and cast ashes upon their heads, and rent their clothes,
48 And laid open the book of the law, wherein the heathen had sought to paint the likeness of their images.
You could say they just changed their clothing, but as you read you’ll find out more was changed…
Paul made it clear that he was a Roman citizen and he also made it clear he was an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5, Acts 16:36-38).
Romans 11:1
1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
Above we see Paul proudly declaring his nationality, as well as making it clear that the Most High is still interested in saving Israelite’s. This all lays greater credence to why we should know what the Messiah and his people looked like.
Does It Matter What Jesus Looks Like?
A popular and deliberately overlooked topic is what Christ looked like.
Today we see in the dominant status quo of society, that everything that relates to a white or fairer complexion is considered good and black/brown not so good.
When we look at the history and origin of these beliefs, we see that it has shaped the way people think.
Scientific Racism And Israel
Scientific racism is the formal term for the line of thinking above. It was in play from the 1600’s to the end of World war II (1945).
Scientific racism claimed that Negros had smaller brains and were just above chimpanzees intellectually.
It’s clear that the side effects of this reasoning are still in play, proven by the fact that the United Nations challenged and officially denounced this line of reasoning in their statement issued on 18th July 1950 called “The Race Question“.
To prove that this is, and was still an issue subsequently the statement has been revised three times since, in 1951, 1967 and 1978.
The fact that the topic was discussed by the UN is proof enough to be honest… Because this is a scripture based article I will be looking at this topic through the lens of the biblical scriptures. The explanation here was to make you aware of this glaring issue of race that is always so convenient swept under the rug.
What Do The Scriptures Say About Christ’s Physical Appearance?
We are expressly told in scriptures, that it is important that we believe Christ came in the flesh. This is so important, that the scriptures say anybody that denies it, is the Antichrist.
Here’s a look at those scriptures…
1 John 4:2-3
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
This is important because to say that it doesn’t matter what Christ looks like is to be in direct conflict to faith.
So this clearly highlights the importance of the Messiahs appearance.
Brief History Of Christ’s People
When you read the Maccabees Bible you see that the Romans Conquered the Israelite’s.
Knowing that Christ was an Israelite helps us understand what he looks like.
It is historically understood that the Romans referred to people who are black or brown as Ethiopians and Egyptians.
We find in Tacticus Histories that the Israelites were described as Ethiopians or Egyptians.
Some say that the Jews were fugitives from the island of Crete, who settled on the nearest coast of Africa about the time when Saturn was driven from his throne by the power of Jupiter. Evidence of this is sought in the name. There is a famous mountain in Crete called Ida; the neighboring tribe, the Idaei, came to be called Judaei by a barbarous lengthening of the national name. Others assert that in the reign of Isis the overflowing population of Egypt, led by Hierosolymus and Judas, discharged itself into the neighboring countries. Many, again, say that they were a race of Ethiopian origin, who in the time of king Cepheus were driven by fear and hatred of their neighbors to seek a new dwelling-place. Tacticus histories
I could end this article here, because there’s no arguing that Christ looked like his people, who were different shades of brown commonly called “black”, but more accurately Negro.
Nobody will argue that the Greeks and Romans, who took over Israel, in 300 BC and destroyed the temple in 70 AD were Caucasians commonly called white.
Just as not all Caucasians are the Romans not all Black people are Negroes or Israelite’s, this seems to be a common misunderstanding. When people mention black people they tend to group them all together.
The truth is during the transatlantic slave trade other black tribes conspired with the British and other Europeans to sell predominantly the Negroes into slavery…
This would be the equivalent of Scottish Caucasians selling Irish Caucasians, they may look the same at first glance, but both have their own distinct features, mannerisms and cultures.
What Christ Looks Like To The World
To answer this question we have to ask who the popular picture of Christ we see everywhere today is?
So, who is it we see in the churches today representing Jesus Christ?
Firstly let’s use the process of elimination to set the stage, when we do it can easily be concluded that the Israelite’s were not Roman, and therefore could never have been according to Roman historian Tacticus Caucasian.
The Roman writer Tacticus described Israelite’s as being dark in complexion. You can read about Shem, Ham and Japtheth here and what they looked liked.
That being said it can also be safely concluded that it’s highly unlikely Christ would have posed for a picture, especially not wearing a Roman toga, considering he was a devout Hebrew.
Leonardo Davinci’s Depiction Of Christ
The depiction of Christ that we see most commonly is that which is drawn by Leonardo Davinci see below:
When we look at this image and compare it to the scripture description of Christ it’s easy to see that it is a false and biased depiction.
Firstly Christ had woolly hair, and Secondly he had skin which was Bronze and burnt in a furnace.
The obvious complexion of such skin would be dark brown, especially if it was burnt.
We can find this description of Messiah in the book of Revelations when John describes his encounter with the Messiah:
Revelation 1:13-15
13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
The BBC’s Depiction Of Christ
Another popular depiction of Christ that needs to be mentioned is the BBC’s attempt to create a more palatable looking Christ, for the status quo (scientific racist) mentioned above.
When we look at the image above that is apparently reconstructed from the bones of people in that area, it is none other than an attempt to create a more believable Christ.
Europeans know that they never lived in that region of the world. And before roman invasion into Israel in 300 BC, the people in Israel were black negro skinned people, and the so popular olive complexion, but they’re ruled out because they clearly dont have woolly hair.
As explained previous the Roman writer Tacticus described Israelite’s as “Egyptians and Ethiopians” i.e. Negros, so there really is no argument about what the Messiah looked like. This is a clear case of “Scientific racism”, still in play unfortunately.
Paul warned the gentiles of this very thing. He told them that they should not “boast against the natural branches” (Romans 11:18) nor to be “Highminded” (Romans 11:20).
I will expand upon this in the following section…
The obviously attempt in regards to the image above is to satisfy both black and white people with an image of a man that might have a brown like complexion but clearly has some Caucasian influence with darker skin.
There’s also an attempt to make the man’s hair somewhat woolly but not completely Afro in texture, very sad indeed.
It really is unfortunate to see the huge lengths that major organisations, as well as the eurocentric biblical world go through to give us a palatable Caucasian looking Christ.
Not To Boast Against The Natural Branches
We discussed “Scientific racism” and as is to be expected the bible already foresaw this problem.
Paul tells the Gentiles in Romans (Caucasian Europeans) that they were not to boast against the natural branches (Negro Israelite’s) or become highminded as mentioned above.
Here are the scriptures so that you can understand the hearts of men:
Romans 11:12-22
13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.
20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
When we see a white Christ drawn by Leonardo davinci, and an olive skin Christ created as a pseudo counterbalance by the BBC.
This leads us only to one conclusion, which is that they were both created to protect the sensibilities of the dominant Gentiles societies status quo. If you haven’t got the memo the complexion of the dominant societies is of a Caucasian persuasion or light olive complexion. A term that is incidentally used to describe Christ, to dismiss the fact Christ was Black (Negro). When the Gentile nations of the Hamitic (Black Africans) and Shemitic (Black Arabs) nations ruled having a lighter complexion was less of a concern. This shift which has involved systematic vilification of darker complexions starting in the 1600’s was allowed by God to become prominent.
This occurred while prophecy was being fulfilled due to Israelite’s disobedience of breaking the commandments of the Most High (Deuteronomy 28). These curses put them at a social and economic disadvantage, making them subject to all the Gentile nations. It was not just Caucasians but also African black races who worked with Europeans to sell the Negro Israelite’s to the Americas and Europe.
What Does Jesus Really Look Like Now
What Race Was Jesus (Yahusha)?
First of all we know that there’s only one race and that’s the human race.
The scripture makes this clear by talking about nationalities, which we can all attest to.
What is evidently clear, is that Yahusha (Jesus) came from the nation of Israel the tribe of Judah to be exact.
Hebrews 7:14
14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
As mentioned previously, we can rule out that Yahusha (Jesus) looked like a Caucasian.
The importance of nationality is definitely of great significance in scriptures given that Apostle Paul told us that he was an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin.
The real question should be, do the scriptures give us a description of Jesus? When you read the Book of Revelations, we get a description from John. We are told that Christ’s skin look like it was burnt in a furnace, and that he had hair like wool.
Revelations 1:13-15
13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
This means Christ had Brown skin and Woolly hair which are both features found only in so called black people.
We know that Hamitic nations also fit this description, but we can rule them out, because Israel come from the seed of Shem not Ham.
The Bible Dictionary makes the distinction between black Africans, and Negro Blacks. This distinction can be found in the Zondervan bible dictionary.
You can find this distinction when you search the word “Ham”.
This bible dictionary distinctly tells us that Negroes are not Hamitic, i.e. Africans.
It proves that Caucasian biblical scholars know that there is a distinction between different black peoples.
No one can argue against the meaning of the word “Negro”, which means “Black”.
Further more when we read scriptures we find evidence that one of the disciples was called “Niger”, which is also a Latin word meaning “black”
Acts 13:1
1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Who Is The Picture Of Jesus?
When we read the book of Maccabees, it tells us that when the Romans came into Israel, they drew their images in the scriptures.
There is no better example of this than the modern-day depiction of Jesus Christ. Further investigation, says that there is a theory that this picture of Jesus Christ, was a murderer who committed incest. The picture was drawn by Leonardo Davinci, who was allegedly his lover. The man in the painting was said to be named as Ceasre Borgia, and he was the son of the fourth Pope of Rome.
All of this is important because it proves that the Romans had already attempted to put their images in scriptures in the past.
A Real Description Of Jesus
We can find the description of Christ quite easily when we read the scriptures in the Book of Revelations. We are told that he has a skin tone which is the same as burnt brass making him a man of colour.
We are also told that he has white woolly hair, again hair which is found only on black people, in this case specifically Negros.
The same can be said for the Most High when he’s described in the book of Daniel we are given a description in regards to his hair, but here it is woolly and his garment is white.
Daniel 7:9
9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
If you look at the image below you can see a depiction of the Israelite’s when they were in Egypt this picture comes from the Beni Hassan Tombs in Egypt and can be found on the hieroglyphs.
Christ’s Hair Like Wool?
Having hair like wool may not seem like anything but it’s a very significant factor when determining what Christ actually looked like.
Again it can safely be said that Caucasians do not have hair like wool.
A look at the Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia definition clearly describes this hair as being related to so-called black people.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
4.(n) wool The short, crisp, curly or kinky hair of the head of some persons, as negroes; humorously, the hair of any person’s head.
Here’s a look at what wool looks like from a sheep…
and here’s a look at a black woman’s hair when you compare the two you can see that her hair looks just like wool.
Profile of serious mixed race woman
In the older dictionary definition above one of the wool definitions for wool is the hair of a negro.
This point has to be made to show that, it is is evident whose hair is like wool, and it is not the Caucasian, modern day Arab, Middle Eastern or Oriental man.
Conclusion
This article has been put together to show you that the people of the scriptures who are God’s people are of a brown complexion ranging from a very dark brown to a lighter shade of brown. Keep in mind not all black people are Israelite’s, there are those that are Hamitic who are commonly called (Hamitic) Africans. They can be distinguished from and those that are shemitic and Negroes. Sadly biblical scholars know the identity of the real Israelite’s even though they choose to perpetuate a depiction of Christ that looks like a Caucasian. This act of depicting Christ as a Caucasian, can be seen as one of the acts which constitutes “boasting against the natural branches” (Who are Negro Israelite’s) as written in scriptures.
Changing Christ’s complexion and nationality to appease the Roman Catholic hierarchy is totally contrary to scriptures and it needs to be rectified.
Share this with someone that needs it! Shalom