Debunking "RACISM" From a Biblical Perspective

Without question or controversy Christ and the original Hebrew people were dark skinned people, but that has nothing to do with salvation or racial superiority. In fact people aren't actually as dark as the true color of "black" or even as light as the true color of "white". These descriptions have been used as subtle racist misnomers in reference to people to show that anything white was pure & good while anything black was sinful & evil. "Black" people are actually brown skinned with more varied hues than just about any other people on the earth, and can be found on every continent where civilization is established. "White" people don't look like snow nor are they naturally pure, good, and better than everyone else either.

We all look like God made us and should accept one another for who we are. You are a child of God before you are anything else, and you didn't choose your skin color or national heritage so you have no reason to boast nor to feel bad. It's an insult to your Supreme Creator to be ashamed of who you are or to try and make someone else feel ashamed because of who they are.

Let's examine a few brief points on the issue of race & color in the Holy Bible to debunk the arguments of racial superiority from a scriptural  perspective:

1)  The first human being, "Adam", was neither black nor white but he was of a dark hue. In fact, Adam's name in the Hebrew language means "red" or "ruddy" similar to blood which is dark inside the body and brightens outside of it. He was a conglomeration of all peoples; not just one particular group. Some will tell you because he was made from the dust of the earth he was black like the soil, but soil isn't always black or dark brown; of which both the biblical record and basic geology clearly proves. Have you ever seen the red clay soil of Virginia or Georgia? It is a dark reddish color with hints of brown like Adam was.  

A similar argument is used concerning whether or not  we should use the Hebrew language or our native tongues when referencing the LORD. I like using the Hebrew language and I often intermingle it with my own native tongue of English as a personal preference, but I don't believe God is confused about the issue. He created all languages just like he did skin tones, and responds to faith in whatever language his name is called without regard to the skin color of those calling him. Where reaching out to "YAH" (the LORD) is concerned faith is the issue; not ethnicity, grammar, or linguistics.

2)  Covenant was always the issue between man and God, not color or ethnicity. This is why we have both the "Old & New Covenants" to make up the Holy Bible, and nothing about the "Old & New Colors". The LORD was never against any particular race as it relates to skin color because he made them all for his glory. He is against wicked and sinful nations that are in rebellion against his laws, rule, reign, and authority in the earth. 

The nation of Israel was whom YAH chose to use as his ensign to the world for salvation through Christ, and not because they were better than any other people. They were actually the fewest of all people and also unworthy of him, but he chose them to show the everlasting limits of his love for the least desirable of us all. He also showed through them that he is a covenant keeping God by keeping his promises to "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" in blessing Israel.

DEUTERONOMY 7:7-8; "The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8) But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt."

3)  The original Hebrews of the Bible were dark skinned people from "Mesopotamia" which extends from the southeast of Turkey all the way down to Kuwait between the Euphrates and Tigris river systems, and not from Africa. Abraham, when he was known as "Abram", is the first person mentioned in the Bible as a "Hebrew" long before Jacob was born and his name was changed to Israel.

GENESIS 14:13; "And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram."

The term "Hebrew" existed before Abraham and means "a descendant of Eber", who was also known as "Heber", and who's descendants were first known as "Eberites or Heberites". This tribal designation evolved into "Hebrew" over time due to changes in dialect, and also came to mean "one from beyond or one who crossed over"; as in crossed over the Euphrates river (which is not in Africa) as they began settling in the land of Canaan. A true "Hebrew Israelite" is a descendant of Eber via Abraham through Jacob/Israel.

4)  Certain groups try to falsely "whiten" or "blacken" up key characters in the Bible to state their case like Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus to make them either more European or more African when they are neither. The wicked white slave masters in the past history of the United States also used the Bible to try and prove the inferiority of black people so as to continually and unjustly enslave them in the name of God. This was the wickedness of men at work, not the hand of God. The Bible doesn't prove or show anywhere the inferiority of black people and it most certainly doesn't prove the superiority of white people. 

Moses did look like an Egyptian, and true born Egyptian people have remained largely unchanged down through time in spite of the heavy Arab influence because the black African "genotype" remains dominant. Their skin tone ranges from fair skinned to ruddy to bronze to dark. Israelites and Egyptians look alike because they share the same "phenotype". Shemites & Hamites have both inhabited the same regions in Eastern & Northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and throughout what is known as Middle East Asia for thousands of years. The famous verses used to say Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ) was a black man are often poorly exegeted but not altogether wrong. Here they are:

REVELATIONS 1:14-15; "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."

Lets examine this passage of Scripture more closely:

What exactly does it mean when the Scriptures describe Yeshua's appearance by saying, "His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow... his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace..."? The apostle "John the beloved" is writing a detailed description of what he is seeing, and it would be familiar to him in that it would be similar to what he saw of Christ when he saw him glorified on the Mount of Transfiguration as recorded in MATTHEW 17:2; "And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." 

John knew exactly who it was that was talking to him without any confusion and he makes it clear who it is. Christ skin tone during this appearance to John would reflect the radiance of his brilliance and no doubt a similitude of his physical appearance when he was on earth in the flesh so the scripture says it was like "fine brass" burned in a furnace which is definitely not white. "Fine brass" burned in a furnace can be almost golden or a shiny brown in color which makes it too dark to be white. His glory radiated light and brightness, not blackness or whiteness as we know it.

"His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow..." This simply means he had some curls and maybe some kinks to his hair. No problem, most cultures throughout the world have varying hair  textures with kinks & curls, and Middle Eastern people often have hair like this. His "head" being white is not actually talking about his skin tone but rather alluding to the hair on his beard. It wouldn't make sense for him to have skin like fine brass every where else on his body but have a white face. We can't be so literal in our interpretation that we become stupid. God is as practical as he is spiritual which means he also uses good common sense and expects us to do the same.

The whiteness of his hair on both his head and face also represents the purity of his person as well as his distinguished appearance as "the Ancient of days" mentioned in DANIEL 7:9; "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." Gray or white hairs represent wisdom as well as age or seniority. The Scriptures often refer to having gray or  white hairs as having a "hoary head". 

LEVITICUS 19:32; "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD." 

Notice in the above passage it references an "old man". This was a mark of distinguish recognizing experience and wisdom that was meant to be honored, and was of such high importance that it was made a law by the Lord God. This is further proven in PROVERBS 16:31; "The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness."  Furthermore, the term "hoary" is also used in reference to "frost", which is white, in JOB 38:29; "Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?" Every color has its place but one is not superior to another, and they were all created by the same GOD.

Yeshua Mashiyach (Jesus Christ) and Moses were both Hebrews of Israel which meant they were of West Asian "Afro-Asiatic" heritage also known as the "Middle East" because it is where the three continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe all converge. Israel is on the African continental plate which technically makes it part of Africa, and by default makes all Israelites Africans. The original Israelites were brown skinned people, who can also simply be called "black people", that migrated there from Mesopotamia. There were more Black people in places of the world besides just in Africa. The term "Jew" didn't originally indicate the entire nation of Israel but only those of the Southern Kingdom of Judah which consisted of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and the priestly tribe of Levi. 

Historic Israel is a mixed people who range in colors and appearances but are predominantly brown skinned. They share a common ancestry being descendants of Noah's son Shem intermixed with descendants of Ham. The "Shemitic" or "Semite" bloodline is the most prominent between the two which determines how the people are identified. Shem and Ham's descendants intermingled more than that of their other brother Japheth, so they more closely resemble one another ethnically. Japheth's descendants primarily moved to Europe and other parts of Asia like Russia and the far East. This also debunks the myth that "Esau", the Hebrew twin brother of Jacob, was the father of "white people". White people were already in existence long before Esau was born.

Let's debunk one of the white supremacists most famous age old heresies which is "the curse of Ham":

Cain was marked, not Ham. Ham had no mark, nor was there a curse on the black race. That is an age old apostate teaching promoted by racists and used by the slave masters to teach their oppression as an act sanctioned by God. In fact one of the descendants of Ham is "Mizraim" which is Egypt and was one of the world's most advanced empires. Another son was Cush (Ethiopia) which was quite possibly the world's longest lasting empire and first super power in the region. Furthermore, the curse alluded to according to the Scriptures from which it is taken has been poorly exegeted. Upon close examination we see the curse was on Ham's son "Canaan" who's descendants would settle in what would be known as the land of Canaan or the "Promised Land", and later known as Israel. 

The twisting of the Holy Bible to perpetuate a curse and justify slavery on the darker skinned races, primarily those of Africa, has been one of the greatest travesties of scriptural error and manipulation that there has ever been in history to promote a racist agenda. It is a creation of the Eurocentric mind and white European society because they couldn't handle seeing the face of God in human form as a Black/Brown man due to their own inferiority complex. Read the scriptures for yourself down below:

GENESIS 9:25-27;  "And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26) And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27) God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant."

Noah's curse was actually the pronouncement of prophecy based on the foreknowledge of God who knew what the nature of Canaan's descendants would be. The Canaanites were expelled because of their wickedness and not their skin tone as stated in the verses below:

LEVITICUS 18:24-28; "Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: 25) And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. 26) Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: 27) (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) 28) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you."

Again, Ham had other descendants such as his son Mizraim which is Egypt, and many other sons. We still see the descendants of Ham's offspring in many of the African and some Asian people who made it long ago to the Americas such as the Folsom People & Olmecs; of whom many archaeologist out of racial prejudice more than they care to admit, deny their African connection. 

Ham was never cursed but Canaan's descendants specifically would bring the curse upon themselves, and to this day you have never heard of or met an ethnic "Canaanite". By the time of the New Testament the term "Canaanite" meant zealot or one who was jealous for the defense of Canaan land also known as "Israel", and wrongly called "Palestine" by the Romans to incite the Israelites by purposely invoking the memory of their ancient enemy the Philistines. 

Here are some other Bible verses that are used incorrectly & inappropriately:

JOB 30:30; "My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat."  Brother Job was talking about being sunburned, not black. The Hebrew word used refers to darkness or dimness as a result of his condition, not his nationality.

SONG of SOLOMON 1:5; "I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon."  This is Solomon's wife talking, not Solomon. She's a "sistah"; right on! That's just a little humor on the side to highlight this Biblical truth, Lol. "I'm cracking but I'm facting."

JEREMIAH 8:21; "For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me."  Jeremiah is talking about mourning and despair, not physical blackness.

LAMENTATIONS 5:10; "Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine."  The Hebrew word used here means their skin changed or shriveled as a result of the heat and famine. This is no different than if you stay in the sun too long, you get darker.

1st SAMUEL 17:42; "And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance."  David looked like Adam; reddish like the earth God used to form him. This means he would look like many other Afro-Asiatic persons or even similar to Native Americans in that his skin tone was of a darker hue more closely to a bronze or brass type of color with a reddish tint. I myself look like that and I'm a black man with some Native American ancestry in my gene pool. That still doesn't have anything to do with the salvation of my soul or how YAH sees me.

SONG of SOLOMON 5:10; "My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand."  Solomon looked like a more fair skinned version of his father King David whom is discussed above. This is not unusual for children in the same family to be born of different skin tone variations, especially if there are different mothers involved as in the case of King David's children due to his many wives. We see this in our own society today. Solomon was basically a light skinned brown/black man, not a white man.

LAMENTATIONS 4:7; "Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire."  What?! Are these white dudes or red dudes? One thing is for sure they ain't "black" dudes; or are they? Does it matter? No! It's obvious the scripture is talking of moral or spiritual purity in talking about the Nazarites who committed their entire lives to a very strict code in order to serve the LORD. The scripture goes on to make it very clear that physically they are "ruddy" like King David and the first man Adam.

Well, here you have it plain and very clear. The Holy Bible itself proves those who would debate the superiority of their race from a biblical perspective wrong using the Holy Scriptures. Historical accuracy is important in telling true history for the teaching of mutual respect among all mankind. It is also important to know the truth so as to help eliminate the lies told by those who practice racist and discriminative philosophies such as "white supremacy" against others. People of color need to know the truth so they can understand that they were never made inferior to any human being but are uniquely gifted by their Creator as a testament to his glory. 

Movie makers have gotten it wrong for years on the physical appearance of the historical Yeshua (Jesus) and the people of the Bible due to racism. It is clear Christ was of a darker hue and couldn't possibly have been white/caucasian, but that has nothing to do with the salvation of our souls. The bottom line is what Yeshua the Messiah said in the word concerning being "born again".

JOHN 3:5; "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

It doesn't matter how you were born or what color and nationality you may be in the sight of Almighty God. Unless you are "born again" according to the Holy Scriptures you will go to hell and eternal damnation. Being a racist is a sin. There is no segregation, discrimination, or racism in heaven or hell. Hell's flames will burn white, black, brown, yellow, red, and all mixes of skin colors just the same if they haven't confessed Yeshua as Lord and received salvation through him. 

Satan is an equal opportunity tormentor and uses race issues against mankind to keep us divided, ignorant, and deceived. He hates us all just the same and doesn't favor one group of people over another. In stark contrast, Christ died for us all, loves us all, and wants us all in glory with him TOGETHER for all eternity. Don't let your skin tone or nationality choose your destiny. Salvation is colorblind and so is GOD's judgment. If you make it to heaven and the LORD isn't your nationality or preferred skin color are you going to ask to leave? I think not. Shalom. ~ I.J. West 

REVELATION 7:9-10; "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10) And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb."