I try to understand who Melchisedec was or is, and what happened after Abraham had paid tight to him. How is he likened to, or compared, with our LORD JESUS CHRIST.
When I was a young believer, I would read Hebrews 7:3, and I believed this was speaking about Christ Himself. Learning that Melchisedec meant king of righteousness caused me to believe it even more. Today, I don't believe that way anymore.
Some believe that Melchisedec was a "Christophany," an appearance of Christ Himself in the Old Testament, because his name means king of righteousness. The only problem I see with that is that in Joshua 10:1, there's another king called Adonidedec. Adoni is lord, and Zedec is righteousness, lord of righteousness.
As for Melchisedec, it says he was the king of Salem. Salem was the city of the Jebusites. And guess what city that was later on? Jerusalem. Salem is from Shalom which means peace. So since he was the king of Salem, and king of peace.
And then the characteristics we see in Hebrews 7:3 don't help the matter much. But if I look closely at how it is translated, it doesn't say that he didn't have a father. The Greek text indicates that there is no record of a father, and no record of a mother, or descent. Obviously he came from somewhere. He was a man. But there was no record.
Then it says "having neither beginning of days, nor end of life." It sort of makes it sound like he is eternal. But that's not the case. There's just no record of his birth or his death, or who his parents were.
There's a parallel between Melchisedec and Christ. It says that he was made like to the Son of God. It doesn't say he was the Son of God. That's important. He abides a priest continually. We know that Jesus had a birth. We know who His mother is and who His Father is. But that's not the parallel. The parallel is that Jesus Christ never had a beginning, and doesn't have an end.
That's why the Lord's priesthood is according to Melchisedec, because Melchisedec is parallel to the eternal existence of Christ. If you want a reference for Salem being Jerusalem, Psalm 76:1 would give you that information. Hope this helps!
Thank you.
When I was a young believer, I would read Hebrews 7:3, and I believed this was speaking about Christ Himself. Learning that Melchisedec meant king of righteousness caused me to believe it even more. Today, I don't believe that way anymore.
Some believe that Melchisedec was a "Christophany," an appearance of Christ Himself in the Old Testament, because his name means king of righteousness. The only problem I see with that is that in Joshua 10:1, there's another king called Adonidedec. Adoni is lord, and Zedec is righteousness, lord of righteousness.
As for Melchisedec, it says he was the king of Salem. Salem was the city of the Jebusites. And guess what city that was later on? Jerusalem. Salem is from Shalom which means peace. So since he was the king of Salem, and king of peace.
And then the characteristics we see in Hebrews 7:3 don't help the matter much. But if I look closely at how it is translated, it doesn't say that he didn't have a father. The Greek text indicates that there is no record of a father, and no record of a mother, or descent. Obviously he came from somewhere. He was a man. But there was no record.
Then it says "having neither beginning of days, nor end of life." It sort of makes it sound like he is eternal. But that's not the case. There's just no record of his birth or his death, or who his parents were.
There's a parallel between Melchisedec and Christ. It says that he was made like to the Son of God. It doesn't say he was the Son of God. That's important. He abides a priest continually. We know that Jesus had a birth. We know who His mother is and who His Father is. But that's not the parallel. The parallel is that Jesus Christ never had a beginning, and doesn't have an end.
That's why the Lord's priesthood is according to Melchisedec, because Melchisedec is parallel to the eternal existence of Christ. If you want a reference for Salem being Jerusalem, Psalm 76:1 would give you that information. Hope this helps!
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