Who is Melchizedek?

[Guest Thomas]

I have seen this entity all over the message boards. So I hope everyone puts their information on Melchizedek here.

[Guest Psalm 110:4]

The Lord hat sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a Priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.

[Guest Widow's Son]

The capital of Judea, and memorable in Masonic history as the place where was erected the Temple of Solomon. It is early mentioned in Scripture, and is supposed to be the Salem of which Melchizedek was King. At the time that the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the city was in possession of the Jebusites, from whom, after the death of Joshua, it was conquered, and afterward inhabited by the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The Jebusites were not, however, driven out; and we learn that David purchased Mount Moriah from Ornan or Araunah the Jebusite as a site for the Temple. It is only in reference to this Temple that Jerusalem is connected with the legends of Ancient Craft Freemasonry.

 

http://www.masonicdictionary.com/jerusalem.html

[Guest Winged Sun]

“You are a priest forever, according to what I said about – על דברתי Melchizedek.”

 

The Lord (Melchizedek) – אדני is at your right hand; he shall crush kings in the day of his wrath.

He shall judge among the nations, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies;

he shall shatter heads over many countries.

He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore he shall lift up the head.

 

Text ‎26-53: 11Q13:13

 

ומלכי צדק יקום נקם משפטי א[ל וביום החואה יצי]ל[מה מיד ] בליעל ומיד כול ר[וחי גורלו]

13 But, Melchizedek will carry out the vengeance of El's judgments [on this day, and they shall be freed from the hands] of Belial and from the hands of all the sp[irits of his lot].

14 To his aid (shall come) all “the gods of [justice”; he] is the one [who will prevail on this day over] all the sons of El, and he pre[side over] this [assembly].

15 This is the day of [peace about which God] spoke [of old through the words of Isa]iah the prophet, who said: Isa 52:7 “How beautiful

16 upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, of the mess[enger of good who announces salvation], saying to Zion: ‘your Elohim [reigns’”].

17 Its interpretation: The mountains are the pro[phets ...]

18 And the messenger i the anointed of the spir[it] [mashiach haruach] about whom Dan[iel] spoke {Dan 9:25, 26} [...until the time of (the/an) Anointed Prince [mashiach nagid] there will be seven weeks ... after sixty-two weeks, (the/an) Anointed shall be cut off. ...and the messenger of

19 good who announ]ces salvation] is the one about whom it is written that [he will send him[

[Guest Think Speak]

The Rub el Hizb (Arabic: ربع الحزب‎ rubʿ al-ḥizb) is a Muslim symbol, represented as two overlapping squares, which is found on a number of emblems and flags. In Arabic, Rubʻ means "one fourth, quarter", while Hizb means a group or party. Initially, it was used in the Quran, which is divided into 60 Hizb (60 groups of roughly equal length); the symbol determines every quarter of Hizb, while the Hizb is one half of a juz'. The main purpose of this dividing system is to facilitate recitation of the Qur'an.

 

The symbol is used as a marker for the end of a chapter in Arabic calligraphy. It is represented by two overlapping squares as in the Unicode glyph ۞ at U+06DE.

 

An eight-pointed star was used as a symbol of Tartessos, an ancient civilization based in Andalusia. As the region was ruled by Islamic dynasties for eight centuries, this may suggest a possible origin of the Rub el Hizb.[citation needed]

 

The Star of Lakshmi is a similar symbol, based on the same geometric star figure, which figures in Hinduism, where it represents Ashtalakshmi, the eight forms, or "kinds of wealth", of the goddess Lakshmi.

 

The Free Masons referred to an extended eight-pointed star, a very common derivative of the Seal of Melchizedek, as the Signet of Melchizedek. Hence, the name is not by any means unique to “Mormonism.” (Interestingly, in Islam, the symbol is referred to as Khatim or Khatim sulaymon…the “Seal of the Prophets.”)

 

http://sealofmelchizedek.com/2012/01/20/the-story-behind-sealofmelchizedek-com-last-page/

 

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

The Basilica of San Vitale is a church in Ravenna, Italy and one of the most important examples of early Christian Byzantine art and architecture in western Europe. The central section is surrounded by two superposed ambulatories. The upper one, the matrimoneum, was reserved for married women. One of the series of mosaics in the lunettes above the triforia depict sacrifices from the Old Testament: The left wall, central lunette depicts Abel and Melchizedek bringing their offerings to the altar.

 

 

http://www.templestudy.com/2008/09/09/the-seal-of-melchizedek-part-2/

 

I recommend clicking on the above link for more information on the subject.

[Guest Julia]

In the early days of Christianity, "priests" functioned as gurus and not just preachers. Century later, the priesthood lost the keys to heaven because of corruption and atrophy. They then grew jealous of those that had the keys, gnosis or spiritual knowledge, esoteric. It was one of the factors that encouraged the attack on the orthodoxy of the Christian sects called Gnostics. Gnostics were observant in Jewish mysticism, esoteric, spiritual Essene Master Jesus and other divine avatars.

[Guest Julia]

Cerinthus (Greek: Κήρινθος) — (c. 100 CE) was a gnostic and to some, an early Christian, who was prominent as a "heresiarch (heretic)" in the view of the early Church Fathers. The earliest surviving account of Cerinthus is that in Irenæus' refutation of Gnosticism, Adversus haereses, which was written about 170 CE. According to Irenæus, Cerinthus, a man educated in the wisdom of the Egyptians, claimed angelic inspiration. Cerinthus believed Jesus was a natural-born man, Cerinthus agreed with the Jewish Christian Ebionites. In portraying Christ as a spirit that came from heaven, undertook its divine task in the material world, and then returned, he anticipates the fully developed Christian Gnosticism in later decades. Cerinthus believed that Christ would establish a 1,000-year earthly kingdom prior to the general resurrection and the spiritual kingdom of God in heaven. A 2nd- or 3rd-century heretical Christian sect (later dubbed the Alogi) alleged Cerinthus was the true author of the Gospel of John and Book of Revelation. According to Catholic Encyclopedia: Caius: "Additional light has been thrown on the character of Caius's dialogue against Proclus by Gwynne's publication of some fragments from the work of Hippolytus "Contra Caium" (Hermathena, VI, p. 397 sq.); from these it seems clear that Caius maintained that the Apocalypse of John was a work of the Gnostic Cerinthus."

 

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03144a.htm

[Guest wiki]

Ebionites, or Ebionaioi (Greek: Ἐβιωναῖοι; derived from Hebrew אביונים ebyonim, ebionim, meaning "the poor" or "poor ones"), is a patristic term referring to a Jewish Christian sect or sects that existed during the early centuries of the Christian Era.They regarded Jesus as the Messiah and insisted on the necessity of following Jewish law and rites. The Ebionites used only one of the Jewish Gospels, revered James the Just and rejected Paul of Tarsus as an apostate from the Law. Their name suggests that they placed a special value on voluntary poverty.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Ebionite Community are strick monotheists worshiping Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel in a renewed covenant but Torah observant way through the teachings of Yahshua ben Yosef.

 

We want everyone to know immediately that the Ebionites are not Christians or messianics. Jesus of Nazareth is/was not the messiah, a savior, or part of a godhead. Thinking so is evil and blasphemy. His teachings do not constitute a new or different way to God. It is our goal to show that Judaism is the religion of God, and that worshiping Jesus is a grave sin, but also there is no historically legitimate reason for Christianity. Christian religion was never the intention of Jesus. We see Christianity as a horribly evil religion. We are not a "church" or competing movement within Judaism. Contact a local non-messianic synagogue for regular guidance and worship. Our view regarding theology is based on historical Jesus studies.

 

http://ebionite.org/

[Guest wiki]

Eupolemus is the earliest Hellenistic Jewish historian whose work survives only in five fragments (or possibly six fragments) in the Eusebius of Caesarea's Praeparatio Evangelica embedded in quotations from the historian Alexander Polyhistor and in the Stromata of Clement of Alexandria. Eupolemus states that Abraham received gifts from Melchizedek in the Holy

City of Hargerizim, or of Mount Gerizim.

 

"Eupolemus", translated by F. Fallon, and "Pseudo-Eupolemus", translated by R. Doran in The Old Testament Pseudepigraphia: Volume 2, edited by James H. Charlesworth, Doubleday; New York, 1985. ISBN 0-385-18813-7.

 

Lucius Cornelius Alexander Polyhistor (Ancient Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Πολυΐστωρ; flourished in the first half of the 1st century B.C.; also called Alexander of Miletus) was a Greek scholar who was enslaved by the Romans during the Mithridatic War and taken to Rome as a tutor. After his release, he continued to live in Italy as a Roman citizen. He was so productive a writer that he earned the surname polyhistor. The majority of his writings are now lost, but the fragments that remain shed valuable light on antiquarian and eastern Mediterranean subjects. Among his works were historical and geographical accounts of nearly all the countries of the ancient world, and the book Upon the Jews (Ancient Greek: Περὶ Ἰουδαίων) which excerpted many works which might otherwise be unknown.

[Guest BF79]

The tractate Melchizedek (IX, 1) id presented as a redeemer-holy-war figure.

[Guest Morbonzi]

(CE:1583b-1584a)

 

MELCHIZEDEK, a priest in the Old Testament and various other Jewish, Christian, and Gnostic sources, who is sometimes regarded as a prefigure of Christ. A fragmentary codex in the NAG HAMMADI LIBRARY (IX. 1-27.10) is given the title Melchizedek, which suggests that the supposed author is none other than the biblical figure. This tractate may be described as a Gnostic apocalypse, or book of revelation, and in fact its contents are designated as "these revelations" (27. 3-4). In addition to the title itself, the opening words of the tractate refer to "Jesus Christ, the Son [of God]" (1. 2-3) and establish the text as unmistakably Christian.

 

Typical of apocalyptic literature, revelations predominate in Melchizedek. Initially an interpreting angel, probably Gamaliel, informs Melchizedek of Gnostic truths having to do with the salvation of "the congregation of [the children of] Seth" (IX. 5. 19- 20). Most remarkable in this revelation is the polemical passage directed against those Docetists who deny the reality of the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus: "They will say of him that he is unbegotten although he has been begotten, he doesn't eat even though he does eat, he doesn't drink even though he does drink, he is uncircumcised although he has been circumcised, he is unfleshly although he did come in flesh, he didn't come into suffering [although] he did come into suffering, he didn't rise from the dead [although] he did rise from the dead" (IX. 5. 2-10). This first revelation comes to a close with the angel warning Melchizedek not to disclose the secrets to the profane.

 

In the next section of the tractate Melchizedek in the first person singular responds to the revelation by participating in prayer, baptism, and liturgical praise and confession. Then another major revelation is recounted from approximately folio 19 to the end of the tractate. Unfortunately, little remains of the text of these last pages. Several heavenly messengers seem to communicate knowledge to Melchizedek and exhort him to be strong. Finally after another warning to keep these "unfleshly revelations" from fleshly persons, the text concludes with the angelic "brothers" ascending back to heaven.

 

The person of Melchizedek is portrayed in the tractate as the ancient hero, "the priest of God Most High" (IX. 12. 10-11; IX. 15. 9-10; IX. 19. 14-15; cf. Gn. 14:18). Furthermore, in Jewish apocalyptic literature (cf. 11 Q Melch) this priestly figure has a future eschatological role as well and may function as a holy warrior and heavenly commander. In the Coptic tractate Melchizedek is not only a heavenly warrior but is also identified with Jesus Christ, as he is in the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews. Thus Melchizedek, like Christ, struggles through suffering and death against his enemies and ultimately prevails over them and destroys them (IX. 26. 2ff.).

 

MARVIN W. MEYER

 

Nag Hammadi Codices: Codices IX and X. Leiden, 1977. Pearson, B. A. "The Figure of Melchizedek in the First Tractate of the Unpublished Coptic-Gnostic Codex IX from Nag Hammadi." In Proceedings of the XIIth International Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions, ed. C. J. Bleeker, et al., pp. 200-208. Leiden, 1975. ______. ed. "IX,1: Melchizedek." In Nag Hammadi Codices IX and X. Nag Hammadi Studies 15. Leiden, 1980. Pearson, B. A., and S. Giversen. "Melchizedek (IX, 1)." In The Nag Hammadi Library in English. Leiden and San Francisco, 1977.

[Guest Morbonzi]

Clementine literature (also called Clementina, Pseudo-Clementine Writings, The Preaching of Peter, Kerygmata Petrou, Clementine Romance etc.) is the name given to the religious romance which purports to contain a record made by one Clement (whom the narrative identifies as both Pope Clement I, and Domitian's cousin Titus Flavius Clemens) of discourses involving the apostle Peter, together with an account of the circumstances under which Clement came to be Peter's travelling companion, and of other details of Clement's family history. The entire literature belongs to the class of fictitious writing “with a purpose.” The Germans properly term the Homilies a “Tendenz-Romance.”

 

Chapter XXIX.—The Giants: the Flood.

 

“All things therefore being completed which are in heaven, and in earth, and in the waters, and the human race also having multiplied, in the eighth generation, righteous men, who had lived the life of angels, being allured by the beauty of women, fell into promiscuous and illicit connections with these; and thenceforth acting in all things without discretion, and disorderly, they changed the state of human affairs and the divinely prescribed order of life, so that either by persuasion or force they compelled all men to sin against God their Creator. In the ninth generation are born the giants, so called from of old, not dragon-footed, as the fables of the Greeks relate, but men of immense bodies, whose bones, of enormous size, are still shown in some places for confirmation. But against these the righteous providence of God brought a flood upon the world, that the earth might be purified from their pollution, and every place might be turned into a sea by the destruction of the wicked. Yet there was then found one righteous man, by name Noah, who, being delivered in an ark with his three sons and their wives, became the colonizer of the world after the subsiding of the waters, with those animals and seeds which he had shut up with him.”

 

Chapter XXX.—Noah’s Sons.

 

“In the twelfth generation, when God had blessed men, and they had begun to multiply, they received a commandment that they should not taste blood, for on account of this also the deluge had been sent. In the thirteenth generation, when the second of Noah’s three sons had done an injury to his father, and had been cursed by him, he brought the condition of slavery upon his posterity. His elder brother meantime obtained the lot of a dwelling-place in the middle region of the world, in which is the country of Judea; the younger obtained the eastern quarter, and he the western. In the fourteenth generation one of the cursed progeny first erected an altar to demons, for the purpose of magical arts, and offered there bloody sacrifices. In the fifteenth generation, for the first time, men set up an idol and worshiped it. Until that time the Hebrew language, which had been given by God to men, bore sole sway. In the sixteenth generation the sons of men migrated from the east, and, coming to the lands that had been assigned to their fathers, each one marked the place of his own allotment by his own name. In the seventeenth generation Nimrod I. reigned in Babylonia, and built a city, and thence migrated to the Persians, and taught them to worship fire.”

 

Chapter XXXI.—World After the Flood.

 

“In the eighteenth generation walled cities were built, armies were organized and armed, judges and laws were sanctioned, temples were built, and the princes of nations were adored as gods. In the nineteenth generation the descendants of him who had been cursed after the flood, going beyond their proper bounds which they had obtained by lot in the western regions, drove into the eastern lands those who had obtained the middle portion of the world, and pursued them as far as Persia, while themselves violently took possession of the country from which they expelled them. In the twentieth generation a son for the first time died before his father, on account of an incestuous crime.”

 

Chapter XXXII.—Abraham.

 

“In the twenty-first generation there was a certain wise man, of the race of those who were expelled, of the family of Noah’s eldest son, by name Abraham, from whom our Hebrew nation is derived. When the whole world was again overspread with errors, and when for the hideousness of its crimes destruction was ready for it, this time not by water, but fire, and when already the scourge was hanging over the whole earth, beginning with Sodom, this man, by reason of his friendship with God, who was well pleased with him, obtained from God that the whole world should not equally perish. From the first this same man, being an astrologer, was able, from the account and order of the stars, to recognize the Creator, while all others were in error, and understood that all things are regulated by His providence. Whence also an angel, standing by him in a vision, instructed him more fully concerning those things which he was beginning to perceive. He showed him also what belonged to his race and posterity, and promised him that those districts should be restored rather than given to them.

 

 

Chapter XXXIII.—Abraham: His Posterity.

 

“Therefore Abraham, when he was desirous to learn the causes of things, and was intently pondering upon what had been told him, the true Prophet appeared to him, who alone knows the hearts and purpose of men, and disclosed to him all things which he desired. He taught him the knowledge of the Divinity; intimated the origin of the world, and likewise its end; showed him the immortality of the soul, and the manner of life which was pleasing to God; declared also the resurrection of the dead, the future judgment, the reward of the good, the punishment of the evil,—all to be regulated by righteous judgment: and having given him all this information plainly and sufficiently, He departed again to the invisible abodes. But while Abraham was still in ignorance, as we said to you before, two sons were born to him, of whom the one was called Ismael, and the other Heliesdros. From the one are descended the barbarous nations, from the other the people of the Persians, some of whom have adopted the manner of living and the institutions of their neighbours, the Brachmans. Others settled in Arabia, of whose posterity some also have spread into Egypt. From them some of the Indians and of the Egyptians have learned to be circumcised, and to be of purer observance than others, although in process of time most of them have turned to impiety what was the proof and sign of purity.”

[Guest Widow's Son]

In Biblical studies, the Pseudepigrapha are Jewish religious works written c 200 BC to 200 AD, not all of which are literally pseudepigraphical. They are distinguished by Protestants from the Deuterocanonical (Catholic and Orthodox) or Apocrypha (Protestant), the books that appear in the Septuagint and Vulgate but not in the Hebrew Bible or in Protestant Bibles. Catholics distinguish only between the Deuterocanonical and all the other books, that are called Apocrypha, a name that is also used for the Pseudepigrapha in the Catholic usage.

 

The Testament of Levi is an apocalyptic section. It is one of the longest of the Testaments, and is predominantly concerned with arrogance. Taking the theme of the Levite priesthood, the Testament explains how Levi's descendants corrupted the office by their arrogant disregard for the proper regulations.

 

Levi/Levy (play /ˈliːvaɪ/, Hebrew: לֵּוִי‎; Standard Levy Tiberian Lēwî ; "joining") was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the levites). Certain religious and political functions were reserved for the Levites, and the early sources of the Torah—the Jahwist and Elohist—appear to treat the term Levi as just being a word meaning priest; scholars therefore suspect that "levi" was originally a general term for a priest, and had no connection to ancestry, and that it was only later, for example in the priestly source and Blessing of Moses, that the existence of a tribe named Levi became assumed, in order to explain the origin of the priestly caste.

 

In the Testament of Levi, Levi is described as having had two visions. The first vision covered eschatological issues, portraying the seven heavens, the Jewish Messiah, and Judgement Day. The second vision portrays seven angels bringing Levi seven insignia signifying priesthood, prophecy, and judgement; in the vision, after the angels anoint Levi, and initiate him as a priest, they tell him of the future of his descendants, mentioning Moses, the Aaronid priesthood, and a time when there would be priest-kings; this latter point was of particular interest to the Maccabean period of John Hyrcanus, who was both a high priest, and warrior-king, though according to textual scholars this is to be expected, since the Testament of Levi was written during Maccabean rule, between 153BC and 107BC, and closer to the latter date.

 

Chapter 2-8 involves Levi being taken to heaven and promised the priesthood forever, and then seven angels physically give him the insignia of the priesthood (as described in Exodus). This part parallels the beginning and end of a vision in the Aramaic Levi Document, whence the body of the vision is now lost; and is thought to preserve that part of the text.

 

In chapters 14-18 Levi cites a "book of Enoch", describing the sins of his descendants, with the promise that at the end there will be a glorious priest who will restore the righteousness of his office. The tropes of Levi's "Book" match those of the "Apocalypse of Weeks" in 1 Enoch.

 

The Testament has an account of the raid on Shechem. Its take is that Jacob proposed a marriage between Shechem and Dinah, sincerely offering Shechem the option of circumcision. Levi opposed the circumcision from the start. Unlike Jubilees and, if Kugel is right, the Testament of Simeon: to the Testament of Levi, intermarriage is lawful in principle between Israelites and converts. Shechem was excluded for its other crimes.

 

One way in which the Testament of Levi is distinguished from the other Pseudepigrapha texts is by additional footnotes in a Greek version of the manuscript from Mount Athos. These footnotes were found to be translated from a non-apocalyptic precursor of the text in Aramaic, partially preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The find consisted of six fragments in two manuscripts from cave 4 (4Q213-214). A small related fragment was also found in cave 1 (1Q21). According to some sources, these scrolls were dated by the Oriental Institute to between 100-200 BC using Radiocarbon dating.

 

According to James Kugel at Bar-Ilan University, Aramaic Levi is a composite of two documents. One source was "a wisdom apocalypse derived from the exegetical elaboration of Malachi 2:4-7". The other, based on the same exegesis, "described Levi's actual initiation into the priesthood by angels". The narrative frame is based from the Book of Jubilees. The compiler of Aramaic Levi added that the priests would be kings. It is a Hasmonean compilation, 133-100 BCE.

[Guest Soldier of God]

Christ was made into the perfect high priest after the order of Melchizedek

 

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/alpha/data/aud19870218en.html

 

The name "Christ" is, as we know, the Greek equivalent of the word "Messiah" and means "Anointed." Besides the royal character, which we treated in the previous reflection, it also includes, according to Old Testament tradition, the "priestly" character. As elements pertaining to the messianic mission, these two aspects, though differing among themselves, are nonetheless complementary. The figure of the Messiah outlined in the Old Testament embraces both elements by showing the profound unity of the royal and priestly mission.

 

This unity has its earliest expression as a prototype and an anticipation in Melchizedek, king of Salem, the mysterious figure in the Old Testament at the time of Abraham. We read of him in the Book of Genesis that in going out to meet Abraham, "He offered bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, 'Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth'" (Gen 14:18-19).

 

The figure of Melchizedek, king and priest, entered into the messianic tradition, as indicated especially by Psalm 110 (the messianic psalm) by antonomasia. In this psalm, God-Yahweh addresses "my Lord" (i.e., the Messiah) with the words: "'Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.' The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your foes!" (Ps 110:1-2).

 

These expressions which leave no doubt about the royal character of the one addressed by Yahweh, are followed by the announcement: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek'" (Ps 110:4). As is evident, the one whom God-Yahweh addresses by inviting him to sit "at his right hand," will be simultaneously king and priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

 

1. Sacrifices of adoration and atonement

 

In the history of Israel the institution of the Old Testament priesthood traces its origin to Aaron, the brother of Moses, and it was hereditary in the tribe of Levi, one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

In this regard, it is significant that we read in the Book of Sirach: "(God) exalted Aaron, the brother of Moses...of the tribe of Levi. He made an everlasting covenant with him and gave him the priesthood of the people" (Sir 45:6-7). "[The Lord] chose him out of all the living to offer sacrifice to the lord, incense and a pleasing odor as a memorial portion, to make atonement for the people. In his commandments he gave him authority in statutes and judgments to teach Jacob the testimonies, and to enlighten Israel with his law" (Sir 45:16-17). From these texts we deduce that selection as a priest is for the purpose of worship, for the offering of sacrifices of adoration and atonement, and that worship in its turn is linked to teaching about God and his law.

In this same context the following words from the Book of Sirach are also significant: "For even [God's] covenant with David...was an individual heritage through one son alone; but the heritage of Aaron is for all his descendants" (Sir 45:25).

 

According to this tradition, the priesthood is placed "alongside" the royal dignity. However, Jesus did not come from the priestly line, from the tribe of Levi, but from that of Judah. Hence it would seem that the priestly character of the Messiah does not become him. His contemporaries discover in him, above all, the teacher, the prophet, some even their "king," the heir of David. It would therefore be said that the tradition of Melchizedek, the king-priest is absent in Jesus.

It is, however, only an apparent absence. The paschal events revealed the true meaning of the "Messiah-King" and of the "king-priest after the order of Melchizedek" which present in the Old Testament found its fulfillment in the mission of Jesus of Nazareth. It is significant that during his trial before the Sanhedrin, Jesus replied to the high priest who asked him if he was "the Christ, the Son of God," by saying, "You have said so. But I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of God..." (Mt 26:63-64). It is a clear reference to the messianic Psalm 110 which expresses the tradition of the king-priest.

 

It must be said, however, that the full manifestation of this truth is found only in the Letter to the Hebrews which treats of the relationship between the levitical priesthood and that of Christ. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews touches the theme of Melchizedek's priesthood in order to say that Jesus Christ fulfilled the messianic pre-announcement linked to that figure who by a higher predestination was inscribed in the mission of the people of God already from the time of Abraham.

We read of Christ who "being made perfect, became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek" (Heb 5:9-10). Then, after recalling what was said about Melchizedek in the Book of Genesis (cf. Gen 14:18), the Letter to the Hebrews continues: "His name when translated means king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest for ever" (Heb 7:2-3).

 

Using the analogies of the ritual of worship, of the ark and of the sacrifices of the old covenant, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews presents Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of all the figures and promises of the Old Testament, ordained "to serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary" (Heb 8:5). Christ, however, a merciful and faithful high priest (cf. Heb 2:17; 3:2-5), bears in himself a "priesthood that continues for ever" (Heb 7:24), having offered "himself without blemish to God" (Heb 9:14).

 

It is worthwhile quoting completely some particularly eloquent passages of this letter. Coming into the world, Jesus Christ says to God his Father: "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sin offerings you take no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God'" (Heb 10:5-7). "For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest" (Heb 7:26). "Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people" (Heb 2:17). We have then, "a high priest...who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning," a high priest who is able "to sympathize with our weaknesses" (cf. Heb 4:15).

 

Further on we read that such a high priest "has no need, like the other high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself" (Heb 7:27). Again, "when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come...he entered once for all into the Holy Place...taking his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption" (Heb 9:11-12). Hence our certainty that "the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, will purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Heb 9:14).

 

This explains why an everlasting saving power is attributed to Christ's priesthood whereby "he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb 7:25).

 

2. An eternal priesthood

Finally, we can note that the Letter to the Hebrews states clearly and convincingly that Jesus Christ has fulfilled with his whole life, and especially with the sacrifice of the cross, all that was written in the messianic tradition of divine revelation. His priesthood is situated in reference to the ritual service of the priests of the old covenant, which he surpasses as priest and victim. God's eternal design which provides for the institution of the priesthood in the history of the covenant is fulfilled in Christ.

 

According to the Letter to the Hebrews, the messianic task is symbolized by the figure of Melchizedek. There we read that by God's will "another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent but by the power of an indestructible life" (Heb 7:15). It is therefore an eternal priesthood (cf. Heb 7:3-24).

The Church, faithful guardian and interpreter of these and other texts contained in the New Testament, has reaffirmed over and over again the truth of the Messiah-priest, as witnessed, for example, by the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431), that of Trent (1562) and in our own time, the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

 

An evident witness of this truth is found in the Eucharistic sacrifice which by Christ's institution the Church offers every day under the species of bread and wine, "after the order of Melchizedek."

[Guest John, 10:11-40]

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep:

12 he that is a hireling and not a shepherd, to whom the sheep do not belong, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf seizes and scatters them,

13 because he is a hireling, and cares not for the sheep.

14 I am the good shepherd, and know mine, and mine know me,

15 as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, one shepherd.

17 For this reason my Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.

18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. Authority have I to lay it down, and authority have I to take it again: this commandment I received from my Father.

19 There arose again a division among the Jews because of these words.

20 Therefore many of them said: He has a demon and is mad; why hear him?

21 Others said: These words are not of one that has a demon: can a demon open the eyes of the blind?

22 But the feast of dedication was held in Jerusalem; it was winter;

23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon's porch.

24 The Jews therefore came around him and said to him: How long dost thou keep us in suspense? If thou art the Christ, tell us plainly.

25 Jesus answered: I have told you, and you do not believe: the works that I do in my Father's name, these testify of me;

26 but you believe not, because you are not of my sheep.

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me,

28 and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.

29 What the Father has given to me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

30 I and the Father are one.

31 Again the Jews took up stones to stone him.

32 Jesus answered them: Many good works have I shown you from the Father; for what one of these do you stone me?

33 The Jews answered him: For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because thou, being man, makest thyself God.

34 Jesus answered them: Is it not written in your law, I said: You are gods?

35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken:

36 of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, say you: Thou blasphemest; because I said: I am the Son of God?

37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not;

38 but if I do, although you believe not me, believe the works, that you may know and acknowledge that the Father is in me and I in the Father.

39 They then sought to take him, and he went forth from their hand.

40 And he went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was first baptizing, and abode there.

[Guest Rast]

Haile Selassie was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian throughout his life.

Selassie I is the last ruler of the longest lasting Christian Monarchy,

Selassie I is 225th direct descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

Selassie I is charged with the duty to be the Defender of the Faith

"Haile Selassie", meaning "Power(or might) of the Trinity".

Selassie I is the last to ever sit on the throne of King David.

Selassie I is of the Tribe of Judah, and he is the Lion (Monarch, Leader, and Defender) of the Tribe.

The Order of Solomon

[Guest Christ Assembly]

The Order of Melchizedek is an ancient establishment going back to Adam, with varying levels of Priests and High Priests as demonstrated in scripture. Lower level members of this ancient order were all common Israelites and all common Christians who haven't exercised their powers as Royal Priests.

 

This has been a foundational doctrine of Christendom that all of God's Bride are King Priests. Even Martin Luther was famous for speaking this Biblical doctrine, as recorded in his letter to the Pope Leo X in the year 1520,

 

As Christ by His birthright has obtained these two dignities, so He imparts and communicates them to every believer in Him, under that law of matrimony of which we have spoken above, by which all that is the husband's is also the wife's. Hence all we who believe on Christ are kings and priests in Christ, as it is said, "Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter ii. 9).

 

 

The Bible does indicate there were many "High Priests" within this order. The high priests were recorded in the Apocrypha also passing from Noah to Shem. It lists that before the office of high priest passed to Abraham, that the current most high priest within the Melchizedek Order, was paid 10 percent of all the spoils of one of the greatest wars of history who Abraham had taken in a great slaughter.

 

So within the varying levels of priests, we see also the knightly nature of the order. In order to move up in the ranks there had to be Kingdom business accomplishments.

 

During the Levitical period, the priesthood was temporarily taken over only by the sons of Aaron, and his tribe because they didn't go into idolatry. That is only until the return of the head of this most ancient order, the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, God in a flesh body, who did create the heavens and earth, now reigning from His throne in the heavens. This opened back up the path for all believers in Christ to be that "Royal Priesthood" they were originally to be as the Bride of Christ, called Israel is now the church for 2,000 years called European Christendom.

 

As with any valid order it must remain in operation in every generation,

 

Psalm 110:4 YAHWEH hath Sworn, and will not repent: 'Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.'

 

Hebrews 7:3 states, Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he (Melchizedek) remains a priest forever.

 

The head of our Order is still established worldwide.

 

Governments recognize Jesus Christ, whether in their constitutions, laws, national anthems, prayers, or in the way they write the date, "in the year of our Lord, 2008 AD", etc.

 

Jesus Christ is the Sovereign of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, Israel.

 

Membership in the order of Melchizedek have been so multitudinous, they cannot be counted, overflowing and abounding in numbers, only multiplying throughout the ages. That is all with the exception of the period of the Levite Priesthood.

 

The phrases in regards to all Christians (The Church Globally) frequently occur in the Bible, the same translation of Melchizedek:

 

"Kingdom of Priests", a "Royal Priesthood", "and God has made us kings and priests", etc. The Melchizedek Priesthood being the Church, that is those who are alive and active to their duties,has been one of the most well known doctrines, taught by thousands in every generation. We've even demonstrated Martin Luther who sent this Biblical doctrine to the Pope.

 

On delegation and usage of powers within the order. All authority comes from God. He divided His power to all Christians to be King-Priests, and if (or at the times when) they follow His commandments. When they are obedient, Christians multiply in greatness in every realm of life, making their family a sovereign government and making their children so strong and multitudinous that they become a great tribe.

 

All institutions of the world came, especially all knightly and religious orders, and all power in this world does come out of the rights given them by those within the Melchizedek Order, God's Bride in the earth.

 

John 19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

 

As in every generation this is the most exercised order known to this earth. This Royal Priesthood being all obedient Christians worldwide.

 

The Bible teaches that each Christian should make his family into a great tribe, and have their own self government so they have no need of so-called government benefits, but only be of benefit to all.

[Guest Morbonzi]

Connecting another thread to this one.

 

Blasphemy is a sin against the virtue of religion by which we render to God the honour due to Him as our first beginning and last end.

 

He that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him die" (Leviticus 24:15-16).

 

[Gr. Melchisedek, from the Hebrew meaning "King of righteousness (Gesenius)] was King of Salem (Gen. xiv, 18-20) who, on Abraham's return with the booty taken from the four kings, "bringing forth bread and wine, for he was the priest of the most high God, blessed him", and received from him "the tithes of all" (v. 20).

 

In the Hebrew Bible Melchizedek is called the High Priest of El Elyon, YHVH, the Most High One.

 

The compound name Ēl 'Elyōn 'God Most High' occurs in Genesis 14.18–19 as the god whose priest was Melchizedek king of Salem. The form appears again almost immediately in verse 22, used by Abraham in an oath to the King of Sodom. In this verse the name of God also occurs in apposition to Ēl 'Elyōn in the Masoretic text but is absent in the Samaritan version, in the Septuagint translation, and in Symmachus.

 

Tetragrammaton (from the Greek τετραγράμματον, meaning '[word of] four letters' (tetra "four" + gramma (gen. grammatos) "letter"), [1] refers to יהוה, one of the names of the God of Israel written with four letters, as written in the Hebrew Masoretic Text where it appears over 6,800 times.

 

יהוה is the four-letter name of God , which is referred to in Josephus, by the Church Fathers, and the Jerusalem Talmud.

 

In the study of Western occultism, the Tetragrammaton rules (amoung other things) the Zodiacal Forces and its four Elements. The four letters of the Name are taken as Elemental Powers:

 

Y = Fire

 

H = Water

 

V = Air

 

H = Earth

 

The silence of Scripture about the facts of Melchisedech's birth and death was part of the divine plan to make him prefigure more strikingly the mysteries of Christ's generation, the eternity of His priesthood.

 

Jesus the Christ is identified as a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek quoting from Ps. 110:4. Melchizedek's (Jesus') priesthood is superior to the Aaronic priesthood, and the Temple in Jerusalem is now unnecessary.

 

He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30; in the Roman rite his commemoration is August 26.

 

The Gnostic scriptures refer to him as Melchizedek the Supreme Paralemptor, which means Light-Bringer or Light-Maker.

 

Until the discovery of the Qumran texts, the earliest Hebrew manuscripts were dated from the 9th and 10th centuries AD. Consequently, it was natural to suspect that uncomfortable words or phrases featuring in the original texts had been defaced, lengthened or modified.

 

Qumran did not have any influence upon the origins of Christianity, for the minority Dead Sea Sect had cut themselves off from society, while Jesus and the first Christians were immersed in the Jewish society of their time and were in touch with the people.

 

Follow only those that struggle to be holy and to live out the Gospel.

 

Want to expand on an explanation of the Tetragrammaton.

 

“In the Sephirothal scheme, the Divine Name of the Sephirah of Malchuth was ‘Adonai.’ The Gnostics taught that Iurbo and Adonai were names of Iao-Jehovah, who is an emanation of Ilda Baoth. According to Origen the Gnostics considered Adonai the genius of the sun. Blavatsky writes: ‘Both Aidoneus and Dionysius (Dionysus) are the bases of Adonai, or ‘Jurbo Adonai,’ as Jehovah is called in Codex Nazaraeus... Baal-Adonis of the sods or Mysteries of the pre-Babylonian Jews became the Adonai by the Massorah, the later-vowelled Jehovah’ (SD 1:463).” (Theosophy Dictionary, “Adonai”)

 

http://watch.pair.co...agrammaton.html

[Guest A Thought]

The only three individuals in the Bible bestowed with the title of the "Son of God" are Jesus, Adam and Melchizedek. Although the Cayce revelations are that Enoch and Melchizedek were the same spirit.

 

Jesus: "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.

"You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham?"

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" (John 8:56-59)

[Guest Pistis Sophia]

Before I made proclamation to all the rulers of the æons and to all the rulers of the Fate and Of the sphere, they were all bound in their bonds and in their spheres and in their seals, as Yew, the Overseer of the Light, had bound them from the beginning; and every one of them remained in his order, and every one journeyed according to his course, as Yew, the Overseer of the Light, had established them. And when the time of the number of Melchisedec, the great Receiver of the Light, The coming of Melchisedec. came, he was wont to come into the midst of the æons and of all the rulers who are bound in the sphere and in the Fate, and he carried away the purification of the light from all the rulers of the æons and from all the rulers of the Fate and from those of the sphere--for he carried away then that which brings them into agitation--and he set in motion the hastener who is over them, and made them turn their circles swiftly, and hecarried away their power which was in them and the breath of their mouth and the tears of their eyes and the sweat of their bodies.

 

Of the fashioning of the souls of men.

 

"And Melchisedec, the Receiver of the Light; purifieth those powers and carrieth their light into the Treasury of the Light, while the servitors of all the rulers gather together all matter from them all; and the servitors of all the rulers of the Fate and the servitors of the sphere which is below the æons, take it and fashion it into souls of men and cattle and reptiles and wild-beasts and birds, and send them down into the world of mankind. And further the receivers of the sun and the receivers of the moon, if they look above and see the configurations of the paths of the æons and the configurations of the Fate and those of the sphere, then they take from them the light-power; and the receivers of the sun get it ready and deposit it, until they hand it over to the receivers of Melchisedec, the Light-purifier. And their material refuse they bring to the sphere which is below the æons, and fashion it into souls of men, and fashion it also into souls of reptiles and of cattle and of wild-beasts and of birds, according to the circle of the rulers of that sphere and according to all the configurations of its revolution, and they cast them into this world of mankind, and they become souls in this region, as I have just said unto you.

 

"This then they accomplished continuously before their power was diminished in them and they waned and became exhausted, or powerless. It came to pass then, when they became powerless, that their power began to cease in them, so that they became exhausted in their power, and their light, which was in their region, ceased and their kingdom was destroyed, and the universe became quickly raised up.

 

"It came to pass then, when they had perceived this at the time, and when the number of the cipher of Melchisedec, the Receiver of the Light, happened, then had he to come out again and enter into the midst of the rulers of all the æons and into the midst of all the rulers of the Fate and of those of the sphere; and he threw them into agitation, and made them quickly abandon their circles. And forthwith they were constrained, and cast forth the power out of themselves, out of the breath of their mouth and the tears of their eyes and the sweat of their bodies.

 

The rulers devour their matter so that souls may not be fashioned.

 

"And Melchisedec, the Receiver of the Light, purifieth them, as he doth continually; he carrieth their light into the Treasury of the Light. And all the rulers of the æons and the rulers of the Fate and those of the sphere turn to the matter of their refuse; they devour it and do not let it go and become souls in the world. They devour then their matter, so that they may not become powerless and exhausted and their power cease in them and their kingdom become destroyed, but in order that they may delay and linger a long time until the completion of the number of the perfect souls who shall be in the Treasury of the Light.

[Luke_Wilbur]

The Melchizedek are the Royal Priesthood mentioned by the Apostle Peter.

 

1 Peter 1

 

2:4 So as you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but chosen and priceless in God’s sight,

 

2:5 you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

 

2:6 For it says in scripture, “Look,I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and priceless cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame.”

 

2:7 So you who believe see his value, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,

 

2:8 and a stumbling-stone and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

 

2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

 

2:10 You once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy, but now you have received mercy.

 

 

 

Walking in the will of God and reflecting the love of Christ is an attitude of the heart. When you're praising God and being thankful for all the blessings He has given you, your attitude, your smile and joyful heart will give you away every time and others will pick up on that quickly. - Bob Goulding

 

http://www.walk-by-faith.com/PrayerSeries/divineappointments/divineappointments.html

[Luke_Wilbur]

Hebrews 7

 

7:11 So if perfection had in fact been possible through the Levitical priesthood – for on that basis the people received the law – what further need would there have been for another priest to arise, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in Aaron’s order?

 

7:12 For when the priesthood changes, a change in the law must come as well.

 

7:13 Yet the one these things are spoken about belongs to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever officiated at the altar.

 

7:14 For it is clear that our Lord is descended from Judah, yet Moses said nothing about priests in connection with that tribe.

 

7:15 And this is even clearer if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek,

 

7:16 who has become a priest not by a legal regulation about physical descent but by the power of an indestructible life.

 

7:17 For here is the testimony about him: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

 

7:18 On the one hand a former command is set aside because it is weak and useless,

 

7:19 for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

 

7:20 And since this was not done without a sworn affirmation – for the others have become priests without a sworn affirmation,

 

7:21 but Jesus did so with a sworn affirmation by the one who said to him, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever’”

 

7:22 accordingly Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

 

7:23 And the others who became priests were numerous, because death prevented them from continuing in office,

 

7:24 but he holds his priesthood permanently since he lives forever.

 

7:25 So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

 

7:26 For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

 

7:27 He has no need to do every day what those priests do, to offer sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, since he did this in offering himself once for all.

 

7:28 For the law appoints as high priests men subject to weakness, but the word of solemn affirmation that came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever.

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

Hebrews 7:12 has so much meaning. It will take time for me to fully understand it.

7:12 For when the priesthood changes, a change in the law must come as well.