Did Jesus Have Long Hair?

The Bible clearly reveals that Jesus Christ, when He was here on earth as a human being, did not wear long hair. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:14: “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?” It would therefore be inconceivable to assume that Jesus would have worn long hair.

Some have misunderstood a passage in the book of Matthew, erroneously claiming that Christ was a “Nazirite” (also spelled Nazarite in the Authorized Version) and that He therefore wore long hair. However, Christ was not a Nazirite, but a Nazarene. The passage in Matthew 2:23 reads:

“And he [Joseph] came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, ‘He [Christ] shall be called a Nazarene.'”

Jesus was called a Nazarene, because He lived and grew up in the city of Nazareth. He was not a “Nazirite.” The sixth chapter of the book of Numbers describes the law of the “Nazirites.” Those who took the vow of a Nazirite did not cut their hair, but they were also prohibited from drinking any wine or touching a dead body (Numbers 6:4-6). Christ, however, did drink wine (Luke 22:14-18; Matthew 11:19), and He did touch dead bodies (Luke 8:51-55).

If Christ had been a Nazirite, He would have broken His vow and thereby violated one of God’s laws. But He said that He had kept His Father’s commandments (John 15:10), including all ritual laws still in force and effect at His time, and we read that He never sinned. The Bible defines sin, however, as the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version). Therefore, Christ could NOT have been a Nazirite.

Christ was a Jew, and He looked like an ordinary Jewish man, without special beauty in appearance (compare Isaiah 53:2). Judas had to identify Him to others with a kiss. He was able to escape on occasion, by mingling with the crowd and going “through the midst of them” (Luke 4:30; John 8:59). Apart from the Bible, archeology and history also confirm as well that the Jews at the time of Christ did not wear long hair. Christ, therefore, did not either–otherwise, He would have stood out in a crowd, and a special identification through Judas would not have been necessary.

Recently, Israeli and British forensic anthropologists and computer programmers got together to create Christ’s face featured in “Popular Mechanics,” a 1.2 million circulation magazine. They did not mean to imply that Christ actually looked the way the magazine cover portrayed Him, as they used the skull of a Jew from the first century — not, of course, the actual skull of Jesus. They nevertheless determined that Christ did not wear long hair. Other experts agree with that conclusion. On February 24, 2004, Reuters wrote:

“‘… Jesus didn’t have long hair, said physical anthropologist Joe Zias, who has studied hundreds of skeletons found in archeological digs in Jerusalem.’ [He also mentioned:] ‘Jewish men back in antiquity did not have long hair.’ ‘The Jewish texts ridiculed long hair as something Roman or Greek,’ said New York University’s Lawrence Schiffman. Along with extensive writings from the period, experts also point to a frieze on Rome’s Arch of Titus, erected after Jerusalem was captured in AD 70 to celebrate the victory, which shows Jewish men with short hair taken into captivity. Erroneous descriptions of Jesus in Western art have often misled film makers in their portrayal of Jesus, experts say.”

It is important to realize that virtually all depictions of Christ don’t accurately reflect His appearance as a human being on earth. He did not wear long flowing hair, and He did not look like a woman. He was a carpenter, a builder, and He was also the leader of former fishermen. Even His hair color was probably not blond — as depicted on most paintings — but black, as the Hebrew people at the time of Christ were recognized as having predominantly black hair.

In any event, Paul tells us that we are not to “know” Christ “according to the flesh.” We read in 2 Corinthians 5:16 (Phillips): “… even though we knew Christ as a man, we do not know him like that any longer.”

It is dangerous to focus on images and pictures of Christ, including portrayals of Christ by actors in movies, and think that in some way those portrayals may accurately represent how Christ might have looked. We are to focus on Christ as He is now — a powerful Spirit being! To get a correct portrayal of Christ’s present appearance, please read Revelation 1:14-16. Christ has white hair — as white as wool or snow — and His eyes are like flames of fire, while His face shines like the sun in full strength. THAT is the Jesus Christ of the Bible — God the Son, who is worthy of worship!

In Truth

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Most “Christians” would like to think that they are currently worshipping God in the right and true way. But the reality is quite the opposite.

Take, for example, the custom of Christmas. There are many resources, readily available, which attest to the fact that Christmas had its roots in paganism long before the birth of Christ. The Bible itself condemns these practices (ones still observed today) as they were extant in Old Testament times. Also, nowhere in the Bible will you find Christians celebrating Christmas. The fact that Christmas is not of Christian origins is not in dispute here.

In fact, many openly admit that Christ was not born on or near December 25th, and that it is indeed a day that originates in paganism. So, it really stands to reason that it is one of the highest forms of hypocrisy to say that we are worshipping God by taking on an irreligious observance such as Christmas. If we take a contrivance of ungodly inception and say that we are doing this in honor of God, can we not see how little this makes sense? (Compare Matthew 15:7-9)

In John 4:24 we are admonished to worship God in TRUTH. In the previous verse it states that the TRUE worshippers of God will worship Him this way. God has written down for us this way and TRUTH in the pages of our Bible. We will not find “THE TRUTH” in the teachings of man or, worse yet, of Satan. It is important to God that we study the Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15) and give all diligence to them in order that we succeed (2 Peter 1:10) in doing God’s will, the right and TRUE way.

Christmas is not the way that God wants us to glorify and honor Him. He has set aside His own holy days for a special reason. For a more in-depth look at these subjects, please read our booklets, “Don’t Keep Christmas,” and “God’s Commanded Holy Days.” In addition to the articles on Christmas, published in this Update, you may also want to review our special Update #122 on Christmas, which was published on December 19, 2003.

Life of David

On Saturday, December 25, 2004, Norbert Link will give the sermon, continuing the series on the life of David.

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

Do you teach that God commands His Church in the ancient book of Ezekiel to warn the modern United States of America, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other English-speaking nations, of impending disaster?

This is indeed the understanding and teaching of the Church of the Eternal God and its corporate affiliates in Canada and Great Britain.

First, let us realize that the message, that God gave to the ancient prophet Ezekiel, was in fact a modern prophecy for a modern “Ezekiel”:

It is critical to understand that under Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the nation of Israel became divided. Two separate nations developed, known as the “house of Israel,” with Samaria as its capital, and the “house of Judah,” with Jerusalem as its capital. We read in 1 Kings 12:19-20 (AV): “So Israel [being reigned by King Rehoboam, son of King Solomon] rebelled against the house of David unto this day. And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam [a prominent officer] was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.”

King Rehoboam of Judah tried to unite the two kingdoms (of the house of Israel and the house of Judah) by force, but God prevented him from doing so. We read in 1 Kings 12:21, 24 (AV): “And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon… Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.”

The two houses or kingdoms did not unite again throughout their history. They remained separate as two kingdoms — the “house of Israel,” consisting of the ten northern tribes, and the “house of Judah,” consisting of the southern tribes of Judah (The house of Judah was later joined by the tribes of Benjamin and Levi, compare 1 Kings 12:21, 31). We even read in 1 Kings 16:5-8 about a war between Israel and Judah or the Jews. Later, the ten tribes, led by the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, became “lost” from public view. Unbeknownst to most, they are today to be found in English-speaking nations around the world. Many people believe that the Jews are identical with the modern house of Israel, but this is simply not true. Christ spoke of the “LOST tribes of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6; 15:24). James referred to all of Israel and Judah as the “twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1; compare Revelation 7:4-8). We read that in the FUTURE, a unification of the houses of Israel and Judah will occur, under Christ’s rule, when they come out of a (future) captivity and return to the Promised Land (Jeremiah 30:3; 33:7).

In due time, the ancient house of Israel went into captivity, in 721-718 BC, by the hand of the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:5-6, 23). The house of Judah did not go into captivity until more than one hundred years later, by the hand of the Babylonians, under king Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:1-10).

This background is important to understand, if we want to comprehend the prophetic messages that God gave to the ancient prophet Ezekiel.

In a member letter, dated November 19, 1976, Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986) explained how he came to this vital understanding in the early years of his conversion and ministry:

“In those early days I was especially interested in the book of Ezekiel. A special reason was that I saw Ezekiel was first given God’s message in PROPHECY, while he was a Jewish slave, by the River Chebar in the land of Babylon. Now this was close to 120 years after the House of ISRAEL had been taken captive to ASSYRIA. My astonishment was aroused when I saw that his message was to be taken to the HOUSE OF ISRAEL. Now Ezekiel was a slave among the HOUSE OF JUDAH — not Israel. By this time many of the ‘lost sheep of the House of Israel’ had migrated north and west from Assyria. They were, by Ezekiel’s time, in Britain and Western Europe.

“… The first message, or instruction from God, comes, beginning the second chapter [of the book of Ezekiel]. ‘And He said unto me, son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation…[and they shall know] that there hath been a prophet among them’ (Ezek. 2:3,5…)… In chapter 3:1 God says, ‘… GO speak unto the House of Israel.’ Again in verse 4, ‘Son of man, GO, get thee unto the House of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.’ NOWHERE in the Bible are JEWS called ‘the House of Israel.’ This term applies ONLY to the TEN-tribe Kingdom of Israel taken into Assyrian captivity more than a hundred years before Ezekiel and the Jews of the House of JUDAH were taken to Babylon. Nowhere in the book does Ezekiel record his journey from where he was in Babylon to those of the House of Israel who were then in Britain and Western Europe. Nowhere does he record his giving of the message to them. He merely RECEIVED the message. He merely RECORDED IT IN WRITING. There is no reason to think his message was ever delivered to the House of Israel in Ezekiel’s time. The message in fact is for today — and contained a WARNING of things to happen to Britain, America and the Western European nations NOW in OUR DAY.”

What we should notice very carefully from the foregoing is that Ezekiel was in captivity, when he received messages to be delivered to the house of Israel and other nations, including the Ammonites (Ezekiel 25:2), Moab (Ezekiel 25:8), Edom (Ezekiel 25:12), the Philistines (Ezekiel 25:15), Tyre (Ezekiel 26:2-3) and Egypt (Ezekiel 29:2) — all a great distance from his location in Babylon. We need to note, too, that Ezekiel saw visions of impending destruction upon Israel “in the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity” (Ezekiel 1:2-3). Jehoiachin went into captivity in 596 B.C. The fifth year brings us to about 592 B.C. — over 125 years AFTER the removal of the house of Israel in 718-721 B.C.! Ezekiel, a young captive Jew in Babylon, was given a future prophetic message for the house of ISRAEL, including a message about future punishment and slavery, over 120 years AFTER the ancient house of ISRAEL had already been punished and gone into captivity. Ancient Ezekiel never reached the ancient house of Israel with God’s prophetic message.

As we have explained in our booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord,” the modern house of Israel consists of English-speaking nations, including the United States of America, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. And God has given His end-time Church the charge to proclaim the “Ezekiel warning message” to those peoples.

The Ezekiel warning message (Ezekiel 3:16-21) is something that we have to take seriously. It is part of the gospel message of the Kingdom of God, that has to be preached (Matthew 24:14). Before the wonderful world tomorrow can be ushered in, the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord have to be fulfilled, which will be a time of terrible trouble for the modern nations of the houses of Israel and Judah, as well as the entire world.

We find this commission from God to Ezekiel: “‘…Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God.” As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse–for they are a rebellious house–yet they will know that a prophet has been among them'” (Ezekiel 2:3-5).

Ezekiel’s message has become a part of God’s Word. This warning from God is for our day, and it MUST BE PROCLAIMED–along with many other prophecies preserved in the Bible for us! That responsibility has passed along to the Church of God!

In the book of Ezekiel, the prophet is compared with, and even called a “watchman.” But the book of Ezekiel is for our time today — and it is therefore God’s end-time Church, which is to function as “a watchman” or “watchmen.” Notice these Biblical examples:

“So you, son of man: I have made you a WATCHMAN for the HOUSE OF ISRAEL; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them of Me” (Ezekiel 33:7).

“I have set WATCHMEN on your walls, O Jerusalem; THEY shall never hold THEIR peace day or night. You [plural in the Hebrew] who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent” (Isaiah 62:6).

“Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem, That WATCHERS come from a far country And raise THEIR voice against the cities of Judah” (Jeremiah 4:16).

“Thus says the LORD: ‘Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, “We will not walk in it.” Also, I set WATCHMEN over you, saying, “Listen to the sound of the trumpet!” But they said, “We will not listen.” Therefore hear, you NATIONS, And know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O EARTH! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people–The fruit of their thoughts, Because they have not heeded My words Nor My law, but rejected it'” (Jeremiah 6:16-19).

We are to WATCH the events around us (Matthew 24:42), discerning the times, so that we can be effective WATCHMEN in God’s service (compare Amos 3:7), warning others of what will surely come to pass. Notice Hosea 5:9: “Ephraim [modern Great Britain] shall be DESOLATE in the day of rebuke; among the TRIBES OF ISRAEL I make known what is sure. Hosea 7:12 adds: “I will CHASTISE THEM [Ephraim] According to what their congregation HAS HEARD.”

Ezekiel 33:2-6 explains to us WHY God’s Church is to proclaim God’s warning message:

“When I bring the sword upon the land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their WATCHMAN, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet… [and] takes the warning will save his life. But if the WATCHMAN sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the WATCHMAN’S hands.”

God wants His Church to preach the establishment of God’s Kingdom here on earth. This includes, blowing the trumpet and warning of impending disaster. Some will listen and change their ways so that they, too, may enter the Kingdom. Many others, though, will not heed the message. Still, if His Church shrinks back from its God-given responsibility, He will have no pleasure in it (Hebrews 10:37-39).

Your Relationship with God

On Saturday, December 18, 2004, J. Edwin Pope will give the sermon, titled, “Your Relationship with God,” Part 4.

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

Preaching the Gospel & Feeding the Flock

The new booklet on tithing, titled “Tithing Today?,” has been placed on the Web.

The Global Church of God in the UK has received 374 requests for our advertised booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”

We are preparing a new member letter for the month of December, addressing the erroneous concepts associated with Christmas and “Peace on Earth.” A new booklet is being written on the topics of Military Service and War; Participation in Jury Duty; and Voting in Governmental Elections.

We are preparing for our next annual conference, scheduled to be held in San Diego during the month of February, 2005. We would like to ask you to pray for God’s guidance for the preparations. Any ideas to be discussed during the conference would be welcome.

Should only ordained ministers of the Church of God baptize, or is it sufficient to get baptized through unordained members?

In our booklet, “Baptism–A Requirement for Salvation,” we address and answer this question, as follows, beginning on page 27, under “Who Should Baptize?”

“Once a person is truly ready for baptism, a true minister of Christ should perform the baptism, though it may sometimes require a waiting period by virtue of the fact that a minister of Christ is not immediately available. We need to understand, though, that God is in charge and that when He calls someone and leads them to baptism, He will also work out the necessary details to send one of His ministers to perform the baptism. For instance, God sent Peter to Cornelius, and He sent Philip to the eunuch so that they could be baptized.

“The biblical record indicates that only ordained ministers of God should perform baptisms. The reason is that the baptism is done for the purpose of receiving the Holy Spirit. We need to remember that following baptism by immersing under water, the minister is to pray over the person and to lay his hands on their head so that the person can receive the Holy Spirit. The Bible shows that without the laying on of hands, a person normally does not receive the Holy Spirit.

“Notice this in Acts 8:12-17: ‘But when they believed Philip [one of the original seven deacons, Acts 6:5] as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized… Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He [better translated: it – the Holy Spirit] had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon [Magus] saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given…’ (Compare, too, Acts 19:5-6).

“We read later in the same chapter that Philip was sent, through an angel, to the eunuch, and that Philip baptized him. If this baptism led to the gift of the Holy Spirit, then Philip, who by that time would have been a minister, would have prayed over the eunuch and laid his hands on him. We note that Philip is called an ‘evangelist’ in Acts 21:8.

“We cannot reach a different conclusion by virtue of the fact that Christ’s apostles baptized others before they received the Holy Spirit themselves. The twelve apostles were in quite a different position than the rest of us are today, having been specifically chosen by Christ for a very unique and particular purpose. They were sent out by Christ to heal the sick, cast out demons and preach the gospel, prior to their conversion (Luke 22:32, AV; compare regarding conversion, 1 Samuel 10:6, 9). These activities, especially healing the sick and casting out demons, are reserved today for God’s ordained ministers. You may want to read the stirring account in Acts 19:13-16, reporting about the futile and unsuccessful attempt of unordained people to cast out a demon.

“The fact that Christ allowed His apostles to baptize does not mean that unordained people have the authority to do so today. This would also include ministers from churches that do not teach and practice the law of God, including the observance of the Sabbath and the Holy Days. (Note that in unusual circumstances, God might grant His Holy Spirit to someone who is baptized by a minister outside the Church of God, or by an unordained person within the Church, if the baptized person fulfills all the requirements for proper baptism, as discussed earlier in this booklet. There is no promise, however, that God would grant the Holy Spirit under those circumstances, especially when the person to be baptized understands the role and function of God’s true ministers in His Church.)

“Every example pertaining to the New Testament Church identifies Christ’s chosen ministers as those who would baptize people, pray over them and lay their hands upon them, so that the Holy Spirit could be given to them. We find, for instance, that only God’s ministers were given special authority from God to pray for the sick and to lay their hands upon them (while anointing them with oil). Notice it in James 5:14-15: ‘Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.'(This is not to say that God might not give power to heal to some other people, but how sure can we be of that? We can be sure, however, that the elders of God’s Church have the authority and power to pray for healing of the sick.).”

Some have questioned this teaching, claiming that repentant Saul, whose name was changed to Paul, was baptized by Ananias. They state that Ananias was not an elder, and that it is therefore acceptable that unordained Church members baptize.

However, we must understand that the Bible interprets the Bible, and that God’s Word cannot be broken (compare John 10:35). This means, the Bible does not contradict itself. Each passage on a given subject must be read together with all the other passages, and they must be understood as complementing each other in harmony, rather than creating disharmony and confusion.

We already saw that baptized people did NOT receive the Holy Spirit, UNTIL the ministry laid hands on them. A letter from the Letter Answering Department of the Worldwide Church of God sets forth the long-understood teaching of the Church in this regard:

“The laying on of hands is a symbolical act which sets individuals apart and signifies the imparting of spiritual blessings, authority, and power… In the New Testament, a newly baptized person had laid hands on him for the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Notice in Acts 8:16-17 that after God’s ministers had baptized repentant converts, then [they] ‘laid… hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And… through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given.’… The laying on of hands also accompanies an ELDER’s prayer for the afflicted. We read in Acts 9:17: ‘And Ananias… putting his hands on him said, [Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus… has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit].'”

We then read, in verse 18, that “Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.”

The Bible describes Ananias as “a certain disciple in Damascus” (Acts 9:10), a “devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there” (Acts 22:12).

Some commentaries claim that Ananias was a lay person. But even if that were the case, then this episode could still not be used for a carte-blanche authority, given to unordained members to baptize. Please note that Ananias received a direct order from Christ Himself, in a vision (Acts 9:10-12), so that Paul “may receive [his] sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17). However, based on other Scriptures, as discussed above, the conclusion in the above-quoted letter of the Letter Answering Department seems to be correct that this disciple Ananias was an ELDER, when he laid his hands on Paul to heal him, and when he baptized Paul (The Bible does not specifically say that it was Ananias who baptized Saul, but this seems to be highly probable).

As our previous comments have shown, only ELDERS of God’s Church are charged to anoint the sick with oil, lay their hands on them, and ask for God’s healing. Since Ananias did just that, it appears that he was an elder.

The above-cited letter of the Letter Answering Department concluded: “The laying on of hands, then, serves to show that God works through His MINISTERS. This ceremony is mentioned as one of the basic doctrines of His church in Hebrews 6:2.”

Unordained members who decide to baptize others and “lay hands on them” (Acts 8:17-18; 19:5-6) should realize that they would not have a Biblical basis to justify their action. This would be true, even if their particular Church organization, or a particular minister, may “authorize” such behavior, as it would not be supported by God’s written Word, and we must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29; 4:19).

This Life

On Saturday, December 11, 2004, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “This Life.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

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