Friday, October 24, 2014

Mysterious Melchizadek?


Christ, "an high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek". Hebrews 6:20. What mysterious priesthood is this? There are cultic religions and spiritualistic societies that will use this text to suggest that they are the remnant of some ancient secret rite. The devil loves to lead the human mind into idle speculation and specious deceptions. Yet all Paul is doing here is using a priesthood that preceeded  the levitical order to show the hebrews the falsity in their notion that the levitical order was an eternal and perfectable system. It was only a temporary shadow as were all of its feasts and ceremonies. The levitical system had been perverted by the Jews to represent the idea that sinful man could earn the merit of God by works of sacrifice. Melchizadek was a pre-levitical priest under the covenant of promise that pre-existed the siniatic covenant. For this purpose Melchizadek is selected by Paul to represent a priest who is such by faith. He has no levitical lineage to recommend him to God. Whoever is priest by faith shall be priest with Christ for etenity.The Hebrews had no record of his parents who ofcourse would not have been hebrews either. Such a people did not exist yet. In this light Paul shows that God has ways of working and appointing that are not based on the merits of Jewish flesh or lineage or established by a carnal commandment. Jesus is the great high priest of mankind after the order of Melchizadek in the sense that they both ministered by a greater authority than fleshy genetic succession. The hebrew Christians were evidently still holding on to a focus on the Jerusalem temple and its now empty levitical types and shadows (see Collosians 2:14-18, Ephesians 2:14-16). The book of acts relays the fact that they were still observing temple ritual and even Paul aquiesed to some degree in order to show respect to his brethren. The book of Hebrews was penned after Paul's arrest in the temple. In Romans 14 Paul explains his position. The Jewish festivals were not to be made a test of faith or a subject of contention during that transition period. But the observance of the temple rites and its priesthood were about to be made impossible in a few short years revealing that the true heavenly sanctuary was already in session. God in His kindness was trying to prepare the dull of hearing to look to the heavenly temple and priesthood before their earthly idol was crushed by pagan Rome. Hebrews is that book that was to aid their transition to the real ministry above. There is evidence that the people understood. The jewish Christians are reported to have escaped the destruction of Jerusalem by heeding the words of Jesus in Matthew 24. We must also heed the word. Another greater destruction awaits the world today.

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