The Mysterious Melchizedek

There was a tradition in Jerusalem of Melchizedek, a king in ancient Hebrew days, who was also a priest to "El Elyon" identified with YHWH. Melchizedek, the King, the Priest, was the head of an order of priesthood and kingship that affects the body of Moshiach now and forever. This priesthood order also affects the Nation of Israel. Melchizedek or Malki-tzedek "My king is righteous" is called "king of Salem" which is believed to be ancient Jerusalem.

The first mention of Melchizedek is in B'resheet/Genesis 14:18-20(AMP), "Melchizedek king of Salem (later called Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine [for their nourishment]; he was the priest of God Most High, And he blessed him and said, Blessed (favored with blessings, made blissful, joyful) be Abram by God Most High, Possesser and Maker of heaven and earth. And blessed, praised, and glorified be God Most High, Who has given your foes into your hand! And [Abram] gave him a tenth of all [he had taken]." There are several interesting things in this passage but I will only focus on a few having to do with Melchizedek.

Why should Abram tithe one-tenth of all the booty? The answer may lie in the provision of food. It may also lie in the element of covenant between Melchizedek and Abram. As King and Priest, Melchizedek would have most likely had territorial rights which Abram observed through covenant.

Melchizedek was the king of Salem which means "peace". He brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram. The bread prophetically represented the Divine Matzah, the body of Yeshua HaMashiach and the wine of the third cup of Pessach representing the atonement of the blood of Yeshua HaMashiach. It is implied that Melchizedek brought out the bread and wine for physical nourishment, however it is my belief that it was not for physical but spiritual nourishment as a blessing was the result.

Abram tithed to Melchizedek which made Mechizedek the spiritual superior of the two. With the act of tithing, Abram indicated that he recognized Melchizedek as a fellow worshiper of the one true G-d as well as a priest who ranked higher spiritually than himself. Melchizedek's existence shows that there were people other than Abraham who served the one true G-d.

B'resheet/Genesis 14:22 identifies YHWH with El Elyon, the title of the Deity as worshipped at Jerusalem. "But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand and sworn to the Lord, God Most High, the Posessor and Maker of heaven and earth," Being Priest and King, Melchizedek would have been the mediator of the blessing, as Abram lifted up his hand and swore to the G-d Most High before Melchizedek.

It seems that Mechizedek is a dual office holder being the priest of G-d Most High and King of Salem. He was both priest and king. Yechezk'el/Ezekiel was given a picture of these dual anointings in the vision of the "two sticks" in Yechezk'el/Ezekiel 37. Both sticks were united to become one in his hand. Zechariah saw the two olive trees feeding two flows of oil into a single bowl in Z'kharyah/Zechariah 4.

King David, under inspiration of the Ruach Ha'Kodesh said in Tehillim/Psalm 110 while speaking of the Messiah to come, (v. 4) "The Lord has sworn and will not revoke or change it; You are a priest forever, after the manner and order of Melchizedek." The king-priest who is addressed is a virtual successor of Melchizedek. Melchizedek is seen as a type of "Moshiach". Melchizedek was a royal priest who presided over all parties as the superior, seen as having special privilege before G-d, but not offering sacrifices. King David would have had in mind the Davidic kingship. The people of Jerusalem always saw themselves as separate from Israel and Judah. Thus he would have had conferred upon him by the people of Jerusalem the royal priesthood of Melchizedek. This is why G-d swore an oath that David's unique privilege as representing His people in a special way before G-d would stand forever.

The use of the title "priest after the order of Melchizedek" shows that it was a recognized part of the Messiah's royal status and making him very much someone who would be close to G-d in a unique non-sacrificing priesthood. It would be a special religious status before G-d with access in prayer, both on his own behalf and on behalf of the people without necessarily offering sacrifices.

Chapter 7 verses 1-3 of Mashiakim Yehudim/Hebrews gives more enlightenment about Melchizedek, "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem [and] priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he returned from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. And Abraham gave to him a tenth portion of all [the spoil]. He is primarily, as his name when translated indicates, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, which means king of peace. Without [record of] father or mother or ancestral line, neither with beginning of days nor ending of life, but resembling the Son of God, he continues to be a priest without interruption and without successor."

The concept presented by the author of Mashiakim Yehudim/Hebrews is not that Melchizedek lacked a literal mother, father or geneaology but that there is no record because he was not a Levitical priest under the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law required that all priests be descendants of the tribe of Levi. Under the Mosaic Law, Melchizedek would not have been qualified to be a priest. Unlike the Aaronic priesthood, Melchizedek had no traceable descent and there is no record of his birth or death. He was a type of the Moshiach to come. Being without a traceable lineage or record of birth and death made Melchizedek an alpha omega personality with an unchangeable priesthood.

Yeshua is considered a priest in the order of Melchizedek because, like Melchizedek, Yeshua was not a Levite, and thus would not qualify for the Levitical priesthood. This is discussed considerably by the author of Mashiakim Yehudim/Hebrews in the Brit Chadesh/New Covenanent, listing the following reasons why the priesthood of Melchizedek was greater than the priesthood of Aaron.

a: The one who blesses is always greater than the one being blessed. Thus, Melchizedek was greater than Abraham. As Levi was yet in the loins of Abraham, it follows that Melchizedek is greater than Levi. (Mashiakim Yehudim/Hebrews 7:7-10.)

b: If the priesthood of Aaron were effective, G-d would not have called a new priest in a different order as He prophetically spoke through King David in Tehillim/Psalm 110. (Mashiakim Yehudim/Hebrews 7:11.)

c: The Aaronic priesthood was based on ancestry. Each generation presented a new Aaronic priesthood as the generations would pass away. It was therefore a generational priesthood that died off. The priesthood of Melchizedek is everlasting, having no beginning or end. There is no interruption due to the death of a priest. (Mashiakim Yehudim/Hebrews 7:8, 15-16, 23-25,)

d: Moshiach, being sinless, does not need a sacrifice for his own sins. The High Priest of the Aaronic priesthood had to make atonement for his own sins with the blood of an animal. (Mashiakim Yehudim/Hebrews 7:26-27.)

e: The priesthood of Melchizedek is more effective because it required a single one time sacrifice (Yeshua, the sinless Lamb of G-d),while the Levitical priesthood made endless sacrifices of animals. (Mashiakim Yehudim/Hebrews 7:27.)

f: The Aaronic priests served in an earthly copy, type and shadow, of the heavenly Temple, while Yeshua serves in the heavenly Temple itself. (Mashiakim Yehudim/Hebrews 8:5.)

Mashiakim Yehudim/Hebrews goes on to say that the covenant made with Yeshua is superior to the covenant made with the Levitical Priesthood. It is my belief that with the change of priesthood also came a change of Law thereby making the New Covenant superior to the Old Covenant. But isn't this what G-d promised the Prophet Jeremiah? "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, Not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was their Husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant which I will make with the House of Israel; After those days, says the Lord, I will put My law within them; and on their hearts will I write it; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. And they will no more teach each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they will all know Me [recognize, understand, and be acquainted with Me], from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will [seriously] remember their sin no more." (Yirmi'yah/Jeremiah 31:31-34 AMP)

When one considers the Old Covenant's mode of operation, it is easy to see that the Law was externally written to effect an inward change in contrast to the New Covenant where the Law was written internally on the hearts of men to effect an outward change. Literally, the reinstitution of the Order of Melchizedek reversed the operation of the Law. This is precisely why Yeshua came, to reverse the curse of the Law of sin and death by hanging on a tree and taking the curse in our place.

Yeshua is the only One who could claim the dual offices within the Order of Melchizedek. He was the spotless, sinless, sacrificial Lamb. The blood He shed at Golgotha for the sins of the world renders Him worthy to minister as High Priest. By virtue of His victory over death and Hades at His resurrection, He alone has the right to universal rule as King of Kings. Yeshua, son of David, is the High Priest of the Order of Melchizedek. What does this mean for me and you?

Through the dual offices of King and Priest, Yeshua HaMashiach rules. At the end of the age when the fullness of the Gentiles is complete and Israel is restored, the dual authorities of Yeshua will unite the Jewish nation and the Church into a single chosen people, a single elect. Moshe in Shemot/Exodus 19:6 and Kefa in Kefa Aleph/I Peter 2:9 prophesied of this time. (Shemot/Exodus 19:6 AMP) "And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation [consecrated, set apart to the worship of God]. These are the words you shall speak to the Israelites." (Kefa Aleph / I Peter 2:9 AMP) "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God's] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

The Church has been given the priestly authority of the gospel of grace through the Great Commission and the kingdom authority has been given to Jews through the royal tribe of Judah through the throne of King David. Both have their special anointings and spheres of authority. Together, they will come into unity in Moshiach in His dual offices of King and Priest. In His title, "Lion of the Tribe of Yehuda", Moshiach operates in a royal king anointing while in His title, "High Priest" He operates in a priestly anointing. During the Millennial Reign He will rule through both offices, King and Priest.

The systems of this world will be conformed to the Order of Melchizedek. As the Church and the Jewish nation are restored and reunited under Moshiach, the breach of Jereboam shall be healed. The fighting and envy which has gone on between the Church and the Jewish nation will cease. The two loaves shall finally become one. G-d's authority in religion and government shall finally become one. The glorious Kingdom of Moshiach shall be established bringing peace to the earth.

The Church and the Jewish nation do not realize their ultimate reunification and restoration because both are in partial blindness. Rav. Saul/Apostle Paul alludes to this partial blindness and the fact it shall continue in Romans 11. (AMP verses 25-27) "Lest you be self-opinionated (wise in your own conceits), I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren; a hardening (insensibility) has [temporarily] befallen a part of Israel [to last] until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob, And this will be My covenant (My agreement) with them when I shall take away their sins."

The blindness will come off the eyes of the holy nation, Israel, in both houses. Yehuda will finally see their Moshiach Yeshua. They will see Him whom they pierced and they will repent and be reconciled. The blindness will come off the eyes of the Church and they will finally recognize their true national identity. The natural olive branches will be grafted back into the olive tree alongside the wild ones that were grafted earlier. In that day, both will realize they they are in the olive tree of Israel.

The jealousy and harrassment of the Church toward the Jewish nation continues today and does so much damage through ideologies like the Replacement Theory Doctrine. It is so difficult for the Christian Church to grasp it's true identity and as a result it does not support and aid the Jewish Nation as it should. The Christian Church tends to try to create jealousy of the Jewish Nation through its own. I find it very difficult sometimes to get through to the Christian Church the precious gift of the Jewish nation. They were never created to be the same but to operate in unity through the dual offices of Melchizedek.

As the end time redemption process for Israel progresses, I look forward to the day I see the mystery of Melchizedek unfold. When the King and High Priest, Yeshua, returns in His dual offices in the Order of Melchizedek, all shall be revealed and together both houses shall rejoice in unity as one holy nation, a royal priesthood, kings and priests of the Melchizedekian Order, echad/one. Amen, be it so.