The reason this false belief about JESUS having long hair came about was because of a misunderstanding of the Nazarite vow which is to be found in the Book of Numbers, chapter 6. A Nazarite vow was an oath taken by a person to serve GOD. It could be a lifetime oath, or it could be for a set number of years. It could also be the fulfilling of a certain mission for GOD in which there was no time limit, the vow being fulfilled when the mission was accomplished. The LORD set forth certain rules concerning this vow. Among them was the commandment that during this time, a man could not take a razor to his head and cut his locks. This did not mean that he was to let his hair grow long. It meant that he was not to shave his head bald. The word razor was translated from the Hebrew word "ta'ar (tah'-ar)" which means a knife or razor and it also means to shave or make bald. There is a reason a person taking the vow could not shave his head until his committment was over. In separating himself from the vow, the last thing a person had to do was to shave his head, put his hair in a basket and then have it put into a special fire which was made. A person could not take another vow until his hair grew back.

 

JESUS went to the Cross with a clean shaven head and not a thick mop of hair as depicted in paintings and drawings that have been made during the past few hundred years. Before he was crucified, He would have shaved His head in order to satisfy the separation of the Nazarite vow He had taken. The crown of thick, large thorns that was placed on His head, would not have caused too much pain on a thick head of hair. But, placing this crown on a shaved head, would have pierced the scalp and caused excruciating pain. By the way, it is against GOD's Law to make images of JESUS in any form, whether by painting, drawing or sculpting, etc. This also applies to His earthly mother, Mary and the Apostles, et al.

 

Samson was a Judge of GOD who would oversee Israel for twenty years. From his birth he was committed to a lifetime Nazarite vow. Because of this vow, he was given superhuman strength. You can read his story in the Book of Judges, chapters 13-16. He had a lot of fun tormenting his Philistine opponents. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of falling in love with a woman from the Valley of Sarek by the name of Delilah. The lords of the Philistines offered to each give her 1100 pieces of silver if she could find the secret to Samson;s strength. Three times Samson fooled Delilah about the source of his strength. This really irritated her and she kept complaining and begging him to reveal his secret. Since he couldn't find any peace with her, he finally relented and in Judges 16:17, we find that he told her about the Nazarite vow and that if his head was shaved it would end the vow and he would lose his strength. Actually, the minute he told her that, the Spirit of GOD, which was the true source of his strength, left him because he had betrayed the LORD's secret.  But, he didn't know it. Delilah caused him to to fall asleep in her lap. While asleep, she called in the Philistines who bound him and barbers then shaved his head. He woke up thinking he still had his strength and went after his foes. But, since his strength was gone, he was captured and made a slave. He did not lose his power because his head had been shaved, for if he had still retained it, he would have woken up, broke his bonds and chased the barbers away. GOD allowed his head to be shaved because Samson had broken the lifetime vow he had made and that his head had to be shaven to signify that fact, in order to obey the Nazarite Law which GOD had established.

 

While Samson was a prisoner, the Philistines decided to throw a big celebration to honor their god Dagon, who they believed had delivered their tormentor into their hands. All this while, Samson's hair had grown back sufficiently so that he could petition GOD for a favor. He asked the LORD to give him his strength back just one more time so that he could take his enemies with him. He knew that since he had sinned, he could never serve GOD again as a Judge and would stay a slave the rest of his life. His request was granted. Samson was brought out into a public area of the huge building where the Philistines were gathered. Three thousand of them were on the roof, alone. It was there that they mocked and made fun of him. Since his eyes had been put out, he asked to be lead to where the main pillars holding up the building was. He then pushed against these pillars and as the old saying goes, "brought the house down". He died along with thousands of his enemies. To any of the young men reading this site, I have some advice. Don't try and make time with some valley floosey because she's liable to clean your clock.

 

It must also be noted that JESUS did not have a beard, either.  Numbers, Chapter 8 tells of the consecration of the Tribe of Levi, who were designated by GOD to be the Priests of Israel. They had to be clean shaven before the consecration and they had to stay clean shaven.

 

In Jeremiah 41:5 we find that many men came from different places to bring gifts to the House of the LORD. They shaved their faces clean as they knew they couldn't enter the LORD's House with a beard. GOD treats all men equally. If He required outsiders to shave their faces before they entered His House, than it stands to reason that the Levi's, who were the priests of GOD, would have to have clean shaven faces, also. As as been pointed out earlier, JESUS was the Most High Priest of GOD; therefore, he would have had a clean shaven face.

 

I once read a World history book in which the professor who wrote the book pointed out that pictures depicting JESUS, found in caves, showed him as being short-haired with with a youthful looking beardless face. These drawings were not made by any cave people or so-called barbarians. They were made by Christians who had fled into caves and the catacombs (where they sometimes buried their dead) in order to escape persecution from the Romans and other peoples.

 

The Book of Revelation tells us that someday a person known as the "Anti-Christ" is going to try and take over the World. When the KJV was translated, the word "anti" meant "like" and not "against" as it does today. This person is actually going to pretend to be the CHRIST, himself. He will have long hair and a beard because that's what most people mistakenly believe the CHRIST looks like. So, if you want to know what this evil person is going to appear as, look at the so-called pictures of JESUS, which by the way are a violation of GOD's Law, because that is what he will appear as.

 

GARRY DASHNER