The Bright Lion Podcast: EP 19 - Hebrews, Christians and Christ

Summary

The Bright Lion Podcast: EP 19 – Hebrews, Christians and Christ
Host: SSG Bright
Date: July 18, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode tackles the often-misunderstood and debated topics concerning Hebrew Israelites, modern Christianity, and the biblical Christ. SSG Bright approaches these subjects with fearless conviction, referencing biblical texts to address misconceptions, historical identity, and the authentic relationship between faith and heritage. The episode is a challenge to both Christians and critics — urging listeners to consider historical, scriptural, and cultural truths, especially surrounding the identity and practices of the Israelites and how these relate (or don't) to modern Christianity.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Challenging Stereotypes of Black Hebrew Israelites

• Context: SSG Bright opens by confronting "prejudice, stereotypical and racial undertone" discussions about Black Hebrew Israelites in workplaces and online.
• Question Raised: Why are criticisms disproportionately directed at black Israelites? Are others subjected to the same?
• Quote:

  “Are there any other red, yellow, tan or brown Israelites out there that can get negative comments spewed upon them, negative connotations against them?” (02:06)

2. Biblical Definitions and Origins of the Hebrews

• Scripture Reference: Exodus 7:16 — "The Lord God of the Hebrews."

• Teaching: The Israelites descended from 70 souls in Egypt to a nation speaking Hebrew.

• Scattering of the Tribes:

  • Referred to Deuteronomy 28:64 — "The Lord shall scatter thee among all people."
  • Explained through historical context: transatlantic and sub-Saharan slave trades, resulting in the dispersion of Hebrew descendants to the Americas, Africa, and other continents.

• Cultural Retention:

  • Language and customs: Haitians, for example, speak a Creole variation of French due to colonial history.
  • Emphasizes the biblical heritage passed from ancestors.

• Quote:

  “That’s why you have brothers and sisters that look like me and you that live in Brazil, the same brothers and sisters to live in South Africa. They are oceans apart. Through the transatlantic slave trade, the sub Saharan slave trade, we have been scattered throughout the lands.” (05:27)

3. The Heritage of the Israelites and the Law of Life

• Scripture Reference: Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 17:10–11 (from the Apocrypha)

• Teaching: God gave the Israelites "the law of life for inheritance."

• Explanation:

  • Heritage defined by biblical, not political, statutes: modesty in dress, avoidance of tattoos, dietary laws, prohibitions on immorality, etc.
  • Distinction made between cultural practices (inheritance) and faith.

• Quote:

  “The law of life—that’s our heritage. The commandments—that is what makes us who we are. It’s not political, it’s biblical.” (07:48)

4. Distinction Between Hebrew Israelite Identity and Christian Faith

• Biblical Usage:
  • “Christian” is used rarely in the Bible (thrice), whereas "Israelite" is used ~468 times.
  • The first use of “Christian” in Acts 11:26 — was a new label, attached to disciples after a year.
• Critique of Modern Christianity:
  • Claims modern Christianity has little connection to the Christ of the Bible.
  • Points out prevalent depictions of Jesus as Caucasian in Africa and elsewhere; argues this is inaccurate and contributes to confusion.
• Quote:

  “Modern day Christianity, with all due respect, has nothing to do with the Christ of the Bible… Modern day Christianity… believe[s] that Jesus Christ was a Caucasian... It is simply not true.” (11:01)

5. What Does it Mean to Follow Christ?

• Scripture Reference: John 14:15 — "If you love me, keep my commandments."

• Conditional Requirement: Salvation and authentic faith are linked to following God's commandments (not just belief in Christ).

• Jesus’ Mission: John 7:16, Jesus clarifies: His doctrine is not his own, but from God. Emphasizes obedience to God’s will.

• Quote:

  “So if we say we love Jesus, we keep the commandments. The commandments were not his. He came to do the will of the Father.” (14:25)

6. The True “Will of the Father”

• Scripture Reference: Psalm 40:8 — “I delight to do thy will… thy law is within my heart."
• Teaching: Christ’s doctrine centers on fulfilling God’s laws (his “will”), not abolishing them.
• Critique: Modern Christianity’s emphasis on love sometimes ignores the requirement of keeping God's laws, with the notable exception of the sacrificial system (fulfilled by Christ).

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Heritage & Truth:

  “We don’t put our trust in men. It is a biblical heritage that we were given. We are related to Moses, to Peter, Paul and James. Those are our biological relatives.” (06:44)

• On Cultural Deception:

  “If the Arabs in Yemen said that Nelson Mandela is an Arab man from Yemen, the people of the African continent will be upset… because that’s just not simply true.” (09:38)

• SSG Bright’s Call to Action:

  “So my final thoughts: if we say we love Jesus, we keep the commandments… Unleash the spiritual gangster.” (14:24)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:16] Opening prayer and framing the core questions about race, identity, and stereotypes concerning Hebrew Israelites.
• [03:40] Discussion of Hebrew identity through Exodus; Moses and the Levite heritage.
• [05:04 – 06:44] Scattering of the twelve tribes; slavery; cultural implications in the diaspora.
• [07:34] Apocrypha reference: the “law of life” as inheritance.
• [08:40] Details on specific heritage laws: dress, tattoos, conduct.
• [10:24] Defining “Christians” biblically; first use in Acts and modern misconceptions.
• [12:05 – 13:23] Teachings of Christ: true requirement is keeping commandments, not abolishing God’s law.
• [14:24] Summary of authentic discipleship and closing thoughts.

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Tone and Language

• The episode is passionate, unapologetic, and direct.
• SSG Bright blends scriptural citations with lively rhetorical questions and challenging assertions.
• The language emphasizes empowerment, cultural pride, and reclaiming scriptural authenticity.

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In essence, this episode is a clarion call for both Hebrew Israelites and Christians to return to scriptural roots, examine inherited beliefs, and live out a faith defined by obedience to God’s laws rather than tradition or stereotype.

Transcript

[A]

I was down in the dark down in the dark I was down in the dark Now I'm living with the truth God broke the chain yeah I'm walking in proof I'm rowing like a line I ain't playing the same Crouching down on the mic putting fear in his place I'm smelling the freedom I'm smelling the freedom my friend Be dripping means I'll never be Slipping a bright line bold with the Bible tag I speak the booth and the truth Leading the pack SSG Bright Bringing light to the fight. Tune in now as we roll through the night Bright Live podcast with SSG Bright. Rich in faith, courageous debate as brave as a lion and I'm telling you now ferocious doubt don't let me find out I'm smelling the freedom I'm smelling the freedom my friend Be dripping means I never be sipping Bright line BO with the Bible attack Speak the truth in the boot Leading the pack bright line.

[B]

Oh yeah. Good day everyone and welcome back to the Bright Line podcast. I'm your host, SSG Wright. Let us pray. Dear Father, all praises, glory and honor and worship to the most high, our God that most of us depend on our God Jehovah, that we are ashamed, we're not ashamed of our God who is omnipotent from the heavens. And we do so by the way of our high priest, our advocator, the arbitrator, the abolitionist in which the world in a inadequate exploration calls Jesus Christ. All praises, amen. All right, today we have various topics about the Hebrew is lights, Christians and the apostles and Christ. There's Hebrew islies, Christians and Christ. So often you hear online or colleagues at work speaking and projecting seemingly prejudice, stereotypical and racial undertone about the so called black Hebrew Israelites, as if so and I asked myself, are there any other red, yellow, tan or brown Israelites out there? Any others out there that can get negative comments spewed upon them, negative connotations against them? Or if any others out there that can draw some parallel comparisons, somebody to draw, draw comparisons against? Just let that sink in for a moment. If so, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. If not, who and why are the Hebrews that are allegedly misbehaving? Where do they come from? Where's the origin of them? Who's the progenitor of the so called black Hebrew Israelites that the people are referring to? So in order to, to get some clarity, to get to some clarity on the accusation, let's go to some biblical resources in the book of Exodus, chapter 7, verse 16 in the Bible, verse 16. And thou shall say unto him, the Lord God of the Hebrews.

[C]

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[B]

So in the book of Exodus, remember when they were down, when they went down to Egypt, the Hebrews, there was 70 souls. And when they came out of their Egypt, there was a nation. And that nation spoke Hebrew. Back then, Moses was from the tribe of Levi. So, so he's a, he's a Levite. So Moses came out of the Levites. Okay, continue with verse 16. And thou shall say unto him, the Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me unto thee, saying, let my people go.

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[B]

So oftentimes you hear about the God of the Hebrews, or they were called Abraham because he was a Hebrew out of the seed of Eber, his father. And it was a language that we spoke now today, through slavery, the twelve tribes of Israel were scattered throughout many places. This is why we could, we do not consider ourselves Hebrew Israelites today. Why? Because many of us are scattered in different lands. And the Bible prophesies, you know, it tells you about that. For example in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 28, verse 64. 64. And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people.

[C]

Pause.

[B]

So we, the twelve tribes of Israel were scattered among all peoples. We were scattered among the French colonies. We were scattered among, among the Spanish colonies and the Portuguese colonies. Okay, continue in verse 4. 64. Let's continue on. From one end of the earth even unto the other. One end of the earth even unto the other.

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[B]

That's why you have brothers and sisters that look like me and you that live in Brazil, the same brothers and sisters to live in South Africa. There are, they are ocean apart. Through the transatlantic slave trade, the sub Saharan slave trade. We have been scattered throughout the lands. This is why Haitians speak Creole, which is a variation of French of the Spaniards. In Puerto Rico, so called black people look just like us, brown skinned people who live in Puerto Rico. That's why we say we are from the seed of the Hebrew Israelites. And we do not acknowledge in the scripture, but our forefathers were called Hebrews by the Lord God of the Bible. And they spoke the Hebrew language from the seed the offspring passed down, which is our heritage. So when people really don't understand, they said negatively. So the Israelites, the twelve tribes of Israel were given inheritance. We don't put our trust in men. It is a biblical heritage that we were given. We are related to Moses, to Peter, Paul and James. Those are our biological relatives. And we know that to be True. And some people don't believe that. And that's okay. And I'm going to prove to you today with these biblical scriptures what, what it's supposed to look like. Let's look in Ecclesiasticus in the Apocrypha, in the, in the Bible. So the Apocrypha in Great Britain, the king, the first King James Bible had the Apocrypha in it. It always had the Apocrypha in it. So we're going to Ecclesiastes and the author of it is Sarak. Some people today say, well it's not canon. It always used to be canon. So in Ecclesiasticus 17, chapter 17, verse 10 through 11, verse 10. And the elect shall praise his holy name, verse 11. Besides this, he gave them knowledge.

[C]

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[B]

Who gave who knowledge? The Lord of the Hebrews gave the Israelites and the elect the knowledge. Continue reading. And the law of life for inheritance.

[C]

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[B]

The law of life, that's our heritage. So for example, the heritage of our women is that they are dressed to be, they ought to be dressed a certain way. The heritage of our men, they ought to be dressed a certain way. The heritage of our men is they're not supposed to get print marks upon them and tattoos. They're not supposed to eat certain things, they're not supposed to commit adultery. That is our heritage. The law of life, which is the commandments, that is what makes us who we are. It's not political, it's biblical. So the reason why I'm not sure or we're not sure where my background comes from is because a lot of our brothers and sisters in the West Africa, to include Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, many of our forefathers were enslaved from the ports of, of that land like Elmina Castle, which we, we were there and Nigeria, the Igbo. So some of those people, their identity is as the Israelites. Nigeria is a country over 250 million people. So many of them are the Israelites. So that's who we are. We come from a heritage of Hebrew Israelites. Now, now does the Hebrew Israelite identity identify with the Christian faith? So in the Bible the word Christian is used very quick, frequently. It was hardly used and it's, it's rare, it was rarely used. While the Israelites is mentioned in the Bible around 468 times. So modern day Christianity is the belief that the image of Jesus is not of a Chinese man, it's not of a Arabic, is not of a black man, is not, it is of a Caucasian man. And this Is particularly true in Nigeria, Ghana, the Ivory coast and the south. And this everywhere in Africa. For example, if we said the Arabs in Yemen said that Nelson Mandela is an Arab man from Yemen, the people of the African continent will be upset. They'll be. They'll be upset with that. Because that's just not simply true. So in the book of Acts, chapter 11, verse 26, Barnabas finding Paul. That's what it's talking about, verse 26. And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass. A whole year.

[C]

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[B]

How long had passed? A whole year. Continue. They assembled themselves with the church.

[C]

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[B]

So they assembled themselves with the church. It took a whole year. Continue. And taught much people. The discipline where Christians well. And taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first.

[C]

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[B]

And the disciples were called what? Christians first. The disciples was called Christians first. After how long? Fast. A whole year. That means after a whole year. That term Christian was a new term and only mentioned three times in the Bible. Modern day Christianity, with all due respect, has nothing to do with the Christ of the Bible. For example, modern day Christianity is for all intents and purposes believe that Jesus Christ was a Caucasian. That is what's pushed throughout the earth. It is simply not true. He loves all people and everybody. And if everybody just believe in him, you can be saved. That's not true. That's not biblical. There are conditions for salvation. We don't use the term Christian, although you know, but although we do follow Christ. Disciples means discipline students. The first Christians were the disciples of Christ, which is different from modern day Christianity. Now what we must do as followers of Christ or if we use the term Christians is read in the Book of John, chapter 14, verse 15. If you love me.

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[B]

So if. If so if is a condition. If you love me, read on. Keep my commandments. Do what? Keep my commandment. So we must keep the commandments. Now, were there Christians commandments or God's commandments? This is Jesus Christ and he's telling about the message that he came to teach in the Bible to highlight. To highlight Jesus. Yeshua. Yeshua. Direct words, they were printed in red ink symbolize his blood and making his teaching easier to find and emphasize for readers. In the Book of John, chapter 7, verse 16, verse 16, Jesus answered them and said, my doctrine is mine.

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[B]

Jesus, the Christ of the Bible said my doctrine. Doctrine is your teaching. He says my teaching is mine. Continue. But his. But his that sent me.

[C]

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[B]

Who sent Christ? The most high God. He sent Christ. Continue. If man will do his will.

[C]

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[B]

If we do his will continue. He shall know of the doctrine.

[C]

Paul.

[B]

So Christ didn't come to do his thing. He came to do the will of the Father. Now what is the will of the Father? Think about it. Does God have a will? Like for example, if I leave you at will, things I want you to do or your authority, things you want me to do? There is God, he has a plan. You know, we couldn't read when we came to this country. And if we did, we would have been killed. But not anymore. Our God doctrine, His will is our is out there everywhere in these streets. So much now that we can't ignore things anymore. We have to be obedience. And on the contrary, modern day Christianity, they ignore things because they don't want to. They don't want us to know the truth. Now let's go to another precept to explain what Christ is talking about in the book of Psalms, chapter 40, verse 8. Verse 8. I delight to do thy will.

[C]

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[B]

I delight to do thy will. Thy will meaning God's will. This is the psalm of King David. Continue. Oh my God. Yay. Thy law is within my heart. So what was the will that Christ was talking about? God's laws. That's the doctrine that Christ taught. So if we say we follow Christ as Christians, we have to do God's law. The issue in the Christian churches that they think God laws are done away with. When Christ came and died, there's one law that was done away with and that was the order of sacrificial law. That for the forgiveness of sin, no longer will we bring forth the Levites, a turtle dove, a bullock or a goat. Now Christ was that he replaced. But the obedient, but the obedience as so called Christians, they're not doing that in the Christian church. They're only saying love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love. So my final thoughts. So if we say we love Jesus, we keep the commandments. The commandments were not his. He came to do the will of the Father. So the will of the F. Unleash the spiritual gangster. Are you ready to embrace your inner spiritual gangster and conquer Life's challenges? Join Dr. Zenobia Bryant on the front lines of spiritual warfare as she guides you through a transformative self help journey like no other. In this captivating and empowering book, Dr. Zenobia Bryant explores the depth of theology and reveals the secret to achieving spiritual peace in the modern world. Each chapter delves into a different aspect of timeless struggle, equipping you with the knowledge and tools to protect yourself against spiritual attacks, overcome temptation, and tackles life obstacles head on. From the captivating history of religion to the practical strategy for navigating spiritual warfare, this book unravels the complexities of ontology, teleology, and epistemology, shedding light on the roles of God and the devil in your personal journey. With Dr. Zoe Bryant, expert guidance, you will gain a deeper understanding of the spiritual realm and unlock the keys to victorious living. All right, thank all y' all for tuning in. Don't forget to subscribe and share this episode. Until next time, listen, be a bold lion, rule like a lion. Intense like a lion. Great like a lion. Home like a lion. Trenched like a lion. Right line. Good night, everyone. SSC Bright Shalom, Sam.