Who Is—Was Melchisedec? #1

Fred Coulter—April 9, 2011

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Since I've covered so many things leading up to Passover, I'm going to cover one difficult section of Scriptures that's hard for people to grasp. Many times the answer is so simple and it's right smack in front of us contained in the context.

Let's go to Acts 20 and this has to do with the Feast of Unleavened Bread and also the first day of the weeks. Now we know from counting toward Pentecost that during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, on the day after the regular Sabbath, which then is the first day of the week, we have the wave sheaf offering, which is called in the New Testament, the first day of the weeks or the first of the weeks.

When reading Acts 20, because of the way the verses are aligned, it looks like that there's a mistake. In the King James Acts 20:7 says: "And upon the first day of the week..."

Then you come up here to v 6 (FV): "But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread; and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days."

So, if it were in chronological order, it would put everything out of sequence—correct? Let's see if we can unravel a seeming error and mystery in the King James and even as you read it in the Faithful Version, it's a little hard to grasp. Since it's related to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we'll go ahead with it.

Now here in Acts 20:1: "When the tumult was over..." That's after the riot they had in the coliseum where they wanted to kill Paul and they were all shouting, 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians,' because the impact of Paul's ministry after three years was so great that the idol makers were going broke. You can't have that. You can't have religion interfering with economics. And interfering, because they said, 'Well, we know that she fell down from heaven, came down from heaven, and great is Diana, the goddess of the Ephesians—Greek: 'theas megales artemis ephesion.'

You can just picture like some of the crowds that we're seeing roaring with the continuous upheaval in the Middle East, those kind of crowds all together shouting in the stadium. You support one another and there's great noise and there's great spirit. You are sure that everything you've been told about Diana is true. And who is this renegade Jew coming in here, doing miracles, causing people to burn their idols and burn their books.

Acts 20:1: "When the tumult was over, Paul called the disciples to him and embraced them; then he left to go into Macedonia." Now that's from Ephesus. So to get to Macedonia, he had to go up to Troas, take a boat across to get over to northern Greece. In those days Macedonia went from the Aegean Sea all the way to the Adriatic Sea, straight across. And the Romans had a highway that went through there.

Verse 2: "And after passing through those parts and exhorting them with much speaking, he came to Greece.... [He came south, didn't tell us where he went in Greece, but probably to Athens and the Corinthians.] ...Now after he had been there for three months, he was going to sail to Syria…." [That means he was probably going to come across from Corinth and sail east over to Syria, which then is below Asia Minor.] …But when he learned that the Jews were lying in wait for him, he decided to return through Macedonia" (vs 2-3). So the Jews have always had their Masa. If they would have had a helicopter, Paul would have been dead long ago. So he came back north into Macedonia.

Verse 4: "And these accompanied him as far as Asia... [here's a party] ...Sopater, a Berean; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and of Derbe, Gaius and Timothy; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus These went on ahead and waited for us in Troas…. [Who is the 'us'? We have Paul, his party. And his party split out and Paul left, but the others waited for the next party, Luke and his party.] …But we [the us] sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread; and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days" (vs 4-6). There is a complete break right here. So what we're dealing with is five and seven equals twelve, so we're really about close to three weeks out of the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Verse 7: "Now on the first day of the weeks, when the disciples had assembled to break bread [eat]... [It sounds like that this is after the seven days, but it's not, because this is Paul.] ...Paul preached to them... [Paul left them (v 4) and came down to where these disciples were.] ...and because he was going to leave in the morning, he continued speaking until midnight. And there were many lamps in the upper room where they were assembled. And there sat in the window a certain youth named Eutychus, who was overpowered by deep sleep after Paul had been speaking for a long time; and he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead. But Paul went down and laid himself on him, and embraced him, and said, 'Do not be anxious, for his life is in him.' And after he got up again, and had broken bread and eaten, and talked for a long time, even until daybreak, and thus, he departed. And they brought in the boy alive, and were greatly comforted. Then we... [connect that with v 6] ...went on ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, there intending to take in Paul... [It doesn't tell us how long Paul stayed there.] ...for he had so appointed, since he himself was going on foot. And after he met with us at Assos and we took him in, we came to Mitylene" (vs 7-14).

We have three parties. Paul and his party: They came up over to Troas and the ones who accompanied him stayed there and waited for Luke and his party. Paul goes ahead down to wherever it was where he was preaching. This all occurred before Unleavened Bread. Probably there was the Passover, then the first day of the weeks, and we have the incident here of the boy who fell asleep and was taken up; he recovered.

Then Paul left, went down to Assos and then finally Luke's party, with the one's that Paul had left behind, all came in the ship to Assos to meet him. Do you follow along with that? So you have to come from v 1 all the way down to v 14. Does everyone see the three parties and how they split out? Paul was with him, left behind in Troas. Luke goes with him and they stayed in Philippi till after the Days of Unleavened Bread. Then in five days they came to them at Troas where they stayed for seven days.

Now then, it picks up the story with Paul who was alone; there was no one with him. Then they came to the appointed meeting place, v 13, met Paul, took him in and after that they went down to Mitylene. I've had several people ask me about that, to clarify that. The three groups are:

• Paul and his group, which then split up and Paul went on ahead.
• Luke and his party. Those that Paul left in Troas were waiting for Luke and his party.
• Paul went by himself, so that is the third party.

Paul went on down where he was speaking. It doesn't tell us exactly where it was that he was speaking. Then the left behind of Paul's group, joins together with Luke and his group and they come down, sail down to Assos, where it was prearranged that they would pick up Paul.

After Paul left them in v 4, he went straight on down to the place that he was to be preaching and was there probably for Passover and Unleavened Bread, because on the first day of the weeks—it mentions Unleavened Bread up here in v 6. Then this incident was so important that when Luke recorded it, he put it in there. But you have to be able to follow the three parties.

Paul and his party that split up. Paul himself alone, and then the combination of Luke's party and the remainder of Paul's group getting together, sailing down to meet Paul at Assos. So that's the explanation of what we have there. You might have to take some time to sort that out and maybe even draw yourself a little chart to see how it all comes together.

Melchisedec

Now I'm going to cover another difficult Scripture, because there are some people who say that Melchisedec was really Shem and was not the Lord God of the Old Testament who became Jesus Christ. Let's first of all come to Hebrews 6; it's important that we start here and come back and analyze it from other Scriptures a little later.

Hebrews 6:18: "So that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to lay hold on the hope that has been set before us; which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both secure and steadfast, and which enters into the sanctuary within the veil" (vs 18-19).

What he's doing, he's preparing to show how superior that the New Covenant is over the Old Covenant, that we have through Christ access direct to the Holy of Holies in heaven above. The Holy of Holies on earth was an entirely different matter, though it was patterned after what was in heaven and the high priest could only go in to the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. No one else could go in, only the high priest to make atonement for the children of Israel. Then we have the ceremony to distinguish between the true God and Satan the devil, as depicted by the two goats.

"...the sanctuary within the veil; Where Jesus has entered for us as a forerunner, having become a High Priest forever according to the order of Melchisedec" (vs 19-20). Then he explains about Melchisedec beginning in Heb. 7. In Heb. 5 he said, 'There are some difficult things I have to explain about Melchisedec, but you're dull of hearing so I'm going to have to get you up to snuff on it,' so to speak.

Hebrews 7:1 tells us an awful lot about Him: "For this Melchisedec, King of Salem, Priest of the Most High God Who met Abraham as he was returning from his slaughter of the kings, and blessed him, and to Whom Abraham gave a tenth part of all... [When they start attacking here, what they're really attacking is tithes and offerings.] ...on the one hand, being interpreted King of Righteousness... [Can that apply to any human being? No!] ...and on the other hand, King of Salem, which is King of Peace... [v 3 is really the stickler; I do not know how they try and answer this to say that Melchisedec was really Shem]: ...without father, without mother, without genealogy; having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but having been made like the Son of God, remains a Priest forever" (vs 1-3). If you say it's Shem, you're stuck with a problem, because you have the genealogy—correct?

• Noah was the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth—correct? Yes!
• Did Shem die? Yes!
• Did Shem have a beginning of days? Yes!

Can't be Shem; same way with Noah, can't be Noah. Noah had a beginning and he had an ending.

"…nor end of life…" which shows that when Jesus divested Himself of His glory, He never lost life. Then He was born of the virgin Mary. When it came time for the crucifixion and died, what did He do? He yielded His spirit to God the Father! That spirit, though it was not a living being, contained everything that Jesus was—correct? Yes! So this applies only to Jesus.

Verse 4: "But consider how great this one was to Whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. For on the one hand, those from among the sons of Levi who receive the priesthood are commanded by the law to collect tithes from the people—that is, from their brethren—even though they are all descended from Abraham; but on the other hand, He Who was not descended from them received tithes from Abraham... [this indicates that it was more of a regular process with Abraham than just the spoils of the war] ...and blessed him who had the promises. Now it is beyond all doubt that the inferior one is blessed by the superior One" (vs 4-7).

Could you say that Shem would be superior to Abraham even if he were alive? No, because they're both human!

Verse 8: "And in the first case, men who die receive tithes; but in the other case, He received tithes of Whom it is witnessed that He lives forever. And in one sense Levi... [this is a very important verse] ...who receives tithes... [because the temple had not yet been destroyed] ...also gave tithes through Abraham; for he was still in his forefather's loins when Melchisedec met him" (vs 8-10). Very interesting—isn't it?

400 & 430 Years

Sidebar: We're going to answer a couple of other questions concerning the things of Abraham and the 430 years, the 400 years, and so forth. Let's come back here to Genesis 15; this is another difficult Scripture, so in a sense we're going through some difficult Scriptures that pertain to the Passover and Unleavened Bread. We're not going to go through the whole thing of the sacrifices and the meaning of that and the days, we've covered that already.

Genesis 15:13: "And He said to Abram, 'You must surely know that your seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, (and shall serve them and afflict them) four hundred years." If God gives the promise, is it as good as done? Yes! God gave the promise of physical seed and spiritual seed. We've already covered that, but let's analyze this verse for just a minute and we'll look at the 400 years and then the 430 years, and we will see there is no conflict.

Verse 13 again: "…'You must surely know that your seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs... [(comma) The parenthetical statement]: ...(and shall serve them and afflict them)... [That is inserted. That does not mean they're going to be afflicted for 400 years. If you read over that inset of the parenthetical statement it reads]: ...your seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs four hundred years."

We know that they were only in the land of Egypt just a little over 200 years. And everyone comes back and says: How can that be? That cannot be true! That is not right! Remember the verse that we just left in Heb. 7. Levi tithed because he was in the loins of his forefather Abraham. In God giving the promise that he would have physical seed from himself, that was as good as done in the body of Abraham as if it had taken place. When Abraham was sojourning—guess what? So was Isaac, so was Jacob, in the loins—not yet born—of Abraham. Just like Levi tithed while he was still in the loins of his father Abraham.

Now we will look at the 400 years & we will look at the 430 years. Abraham was 85-years-old when the promise of Isaac was made. How old was Abraham when Isaac was born? 100-years—a difference of 15—correct? So we've accounted for 15 years!

Let's come to Genesis 22 and we will account for the other 15 years. Isaac was the firstborn of Sarah—correct? What did God say of all firstborn to the children of Israel later, but was true all the way down through time? The firstborn male belonged to God! They were all belonging to God, but what did God tell the children of Israel to do with their firstborn males? Redeem them with a lamb or a kid goat!

Let's read the account here and let's see there are many things that enfold out of this chapter, Gen. 22. First of all, we have Abraham as a type of God the Father. We have Isaac as a type of Jesus Christ and that's brought out in Gal. 4. Let's read and we can surmise and deduce the age of Isaac at this point. I know I've gone all the way from 30-years-old down to 12, but there's no need for that, because the key of the 430-years answers the question: Where is the other fifteen years missing? We can account for the first 15 from the time of the promise until the birth of Isaac. So now we need to account for the second 15 years, so when we get to Exo. 12 with 430 years, then we will see how that figures.

Here was a test, Genesis 22:1: "And it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham..."

• Do we all have tests that come along? Yes!
• And we have tests that are trials—don't we?
• Are we going to believe that God is true? Yes!
• Are we going to obey God under all circumstances? Yes!

"...and said to him, 'Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' And He said, 'Take now your son, your only son Isaac... [He already had Ishmael through Hagar, but he was not counted in the promise. Isaac was his only son through Sarah.] ...your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you'" (vs 1-2). Taking the firstborn to offer.

"And Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. And he split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men... [Now notice very carefully what he says here.] ...You stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy..." (vs 3-5). The King James says 'lad.' What is the age of adulthood in the Bible? The age of adulthood is twenty! That's why in the rebellion that took place, all of those in the 40 years their lives were terminated because of their rebellion down through time on the remainder of the 40 years. Those twenty and younger were not counted as adults.

"'...and I and the boy [lad] will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.' And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son..." (vs 5-6). That's a type of Jesus carrying His cross. And the cross that He was carrying was not like it's depicted in the movies, a great big heavy, 200-300 pound cross. The way that the Romans crucified people, they found a big tree, left it in the ground, stripped it down, took off all the branches and put into it two iron hooks. Then the prisoner who was condemned to be crucified would carry his crossbar, not the whole cross. And that's what Jesus started carrying, but He was so weak He couldn't carry it, so they gave it to Simon of Cyrene and he carried it for Him.

When they got to the place, they would lay them down on the ground and put the crossbeam right behind them, and then nail through the wrists, tie their arms, and so forth. Then they would take and lift that up and they had special poles to lift them up and put them on the hooks. Then they put His feet on the foot platform and that's where they would crucify the feet. So carrying the wood was a type of Jesus carrying His crossbar for the offering of God.

Verse 6: "…And he took the firepot in his hand... [The King James says 'he took the fire in his hand.' If you do that, you're going to burn your hand. So what they did, they kept coals in a pot so they could always have a fire ready to go.] ...and a knife. And they both went together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father.' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' And he said, 'Behold the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for a burnt offering?' And Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering.' So they both went on together" (vs 6-8). Abraham had to have the faith, Isaac had to have the faith, and they both continued to do what God said.

Verse 9: "And they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. And he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the wood, upon the altar." No sign of a fight. No sign of rebellion against God. Just put in your notes there that Heb. 12 concerning this account says that Abraham did this because he counted God powerful enough to raise him from the dead, because he received him in type from his dead body. So there are a lot of profound and interesting things that are in the Bible that we really have to answer and search out and this is part of it here.

Verse 10: "And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called to him from the heavens and said, 'Abraham! Abraham!' And he said, Here I am.' And He said, 'Do not lay your hand upon the lad... [Same word as boy. We can determine from this, that he was 15-years-old and this is the other half of the 30 years.] ...nor do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God...'" (vs 11-12).

Now let's just stop here for just a minute. God promises eternal life for all of us—doesn't He? Yes! You know people who appear to stay faithful for a long time, then when difficulties come or a trial comes or problems in the church come, that what do they do? They quit! That's a test to see whether you believe God and will stand with God even if you have to stand alone. Now this is certainly true of Abraham and Isaac—isn't it? Here was the son that was promised. He waited 25 years for him—right? He was given the surety of the promise when he was 85; Isaac was born when he was 100.

When Isaac is growing up and starting to become a young man, God says take him out and offer him. At 115 and Sarah then would be 105, you think she's going to bear another son? These are tremendous circumstances to think about. So lots of times we get ourselves in a trial that we feel like we're in a corner and no place to go. Well, you can always go to God.

• God is there
• He's going to help you
• He's going to intervene for you

Here's how He intervened, v 12: "'...now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.'" The firstborn! Remember, Jesus was the firstborn of Mary, and Jesus was the firstborn from the dead. So there's a lot of significance to all of this and it pertains to the Passover, the crucifixion, etc.

Notice what God did, v 13: "And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked. And, behold, behind him a ram was entangled in a thicket by its horns.…" We don't know how it got there. We don't know if God created a special one for that event, but I'm sure it was not anywhere near when they were going up on the mountain, because I'm sure that Isaac and Abraham were looking around. Because I don't think that Abraham told him until just right at the last, 'You're going to be offered.' So here's a substitutionary sacrifice. Again a parallelism with Christ being killed for us, taking our sins upon Him as the substitutionary sacrifice for the payment of our sins.

"...And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide... [I want you to understand how important that is. Never forget that under any circumstances, even the most trying that there are, God will provide! Many times we won't see how it's going to happen, but God will provide!] ...so that it is said until this day, 'In the mount of the LORD it will be provided'" (vs 13-14).

Notice the confirmation of everything that God promised Abraham and Isaac, v 16: "'By Myself have I sworn... [That goes right back to Heb. 6 where we began—right? Yes!] ...because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son; that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens... [spiritual seed] ...and as the sand which is upon the seashore.… [physical seed] ...And your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. And in your seed... [Paul was inspired to apply this directly to Christ in Gal. 3.] ...And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice'" (vs16-18).

That's quite a lesson for us coming up to the Passover time. It's important to understand.

(go to the next track)

I hope everybody's following along on this. Isaac also showed perfect faith in Abraham, which was a type of Jesus' perfect faith in the Father. I hope you understand how we come to the 430 years. The promise was given when Abraham was 85-years-old. Isaac was born when Abraham was 100—there's 15 years. When we come to Exo. 12 we find a very interesting statement too, which looks like another contradiction, even though we solved the problem of the 430 years. Because

• You take 400 years as stated in Gen. 15
• You add to that 15 years until Isaac was born—that's 415 years

Then we come to Exodus 12:40: "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years." That means that we can deduce from the 430, since we've already accounted for 415, that

• Isaac had to be 15-years-old when the offering of Isaac as the firstborn took place with the substitutionary sacrifice.

That's how we get 430.

But we have another problem here, v 40: "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years." How could that be when they didn't go in there and were not there for only about 200 years? The answer is the same as Levi tithing while he was still in the loins of his father Abraham.

If Isaac was in the loins of his father Abraham then also we can say the children of Israel of whom Abraham was the forefather were likewise in his loins, because the genetics passed on to Isaac, came from Abraham and Sarah, came to Jacob and Esau, came to the twelve sons of Israel. And if you take each generation and just do it from genetic conception to genetic conception, you're just dealing in virtually no time at all. The time is because we have to grow, we have to develop as human beings. So that can be the only explanation for the children of Israel sojourning in Egypt that long, because they weren't in Egypt that long. You to have to account for it some way because the Bible cannot lie. Does that make sense to you?

Just like the promise of the Seed to save the world went clear back to Eve—correct? So that means the genetics leading up to that time, God would account for, and when He spoke it, it was as good as done. There was another promise to add to it, which was it was to come from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and it was to come from Jacob to Judah, and from Judah to David, and from David to Nathan. Nathan then was the line that came down to the father of Mary. The prophetic genealogy of Jesus was in Matt. 1. The legal and literal genealogy of Jesus Christ was in Luke 3. Some scholars have it figured out correctly. But in Luke, this is the line coming to Mary. So this is the literal genealogy, the physical genealogy. You had to have the prophetic genealogy. Now you have the literal genealogy. It could not come from Joseph. Why? Because it was said back in Gen. 3:15, be the seed of the woman. So you have to account for the woman, that is the virgin Mary.

So she has to have a genealogy, and it is right here, Luke 3:23: "And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years old, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph the son-in-law of Eli…. [That's why we have it in italics, the son-in-law, otherwise there is no way to determine the genealogy.] …the son of Matthat, the son of Levi..." (vs 23-24).

Verse 31: "The son of Meleas, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David." Why did it go through the son of David—Nathan—instead of Solomon? Because of Solomon's sin!

Verse 38: "The son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God." So, it goes all the way back. The prophetic genealogy is accounted for. The legal genealogy is accounted for. And so far with our illustrious President we haven't been able to figure out the legal genealogy. We can for Christ, but not for him, so that means he can't be the Messiah.

The Account of Melchisedec

We'll pick up the account of Melchisedec. Then we will look at some expressions in the Bible concerning the Most High. Now we also know that the Hebrew word for God is Elohim—isn't that correct? Yes! Elohim means more than one. The Bible reveals that there are two.

This is the only Bible—The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version—to have the correct translation from the most authentic scholar concerning Hebrew and the meaning of this verse, Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel. Our one God is the LORD, the LORD." God is Elohim, They are one! 'I and My Father are one'; but they're two distinct individuals, but they are one together spiritually. 'Our one God is the Lord, the Lord.' And the King James says, 'The Lord our God is one Lord.' That is the single theism or monotheism of Judaism.

But they've never answered the question in Genesis 1:26 where it says: "God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness…"—after Our kind as the rest of the Bible. The Jews have never been able to figure out 'Us,' because they've rejected the New Testament. And the 'Us' is clearly defined, so let's look at it. If you reject the New Testament you are not going to understand God. That's the problem with the Jews. If you reject the Old Testament, as does the Protestants and the Catholics reject almost all of it—Old and New—you're not going to understand about God.

John 17:5, here's Jesus' prayer just before He was arrested: "And now, Father, glorify Me with Your own self, with the glory that I had with You before the world existed." How are you going to handle that if you profess that Jesus did not exist until He was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary?

Verse 20: "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who shall believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, even as You, Father, are in Me... [with the power of the Spirit] ...and I in You... [by the power of the Spirit] ...that they also may be one... [by the power of the Spirit and resurrection] ...in Us..." (vs 20-21).

So this goes all the way back to Gen. 1:26 to answer the question: Who are the 'Us'? So here it is revealed. You can read concerning Deut. 6, we have an appendices which covers all of that showing the two Jehovahs. I don't have time to go into it here, but it is amazing that Mark 12:28 agrees. That's all covered in the appendices in the Bible. The technicality of the Greek agrees with Deut. 6:4.

I was talking to Ron Carey and he gave a New Testament to his father—and this was about three-five years ago—who is now 93. He has read through the entire New Testament with all the commentaries and he told Ron Carey—who is our webmaster—'I never knew we were so deceived,' because he's taken all this time to read through it.

One thing you can count on—the religions of the world have parts of the Truth and lots of error, just the way it goes. Even if they use parts of the Bible, the parts of the Bible they use correctly, God will bless them for it. But salvation is another question. Salvation is a matter of calling of God and answering the call and obeying what Jesus said, which we won't get into all of that here.

Let's come to Genesis 14 where Abraham tithed to Melchisedec. Remember how it was described there in Heb. 7. He was called King of Righteousness. You're not going to call any man King of Righteousness. To Abraham, how did God appear? He appeared in human form! He talked to him, He walked with him, He also appeared in vision. And did not Sarah and Abraham and the Lord and the two angels eat? As a matter of fact, Sarah prepared the meal and for all of the kosher addicts, they had meat and milk together. So much for the traditions of men—right?

Genesis 14:18: "And Melchizedek the King of Salem brought forth bread and wine.… [Someone's going to say, 'There we have the mass.' No, you can have a bread offering and a wine offering.] ...And He was the Priest of the Most High God…. [Very interesting term—isn't it? Priest of the Most High God.] …And He blessed him, and said, 'Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be the Most High God, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.' And he gave Him tithes of all" (vs 18-20). This has to be referring to the One Who became God the Father, the Most High God.

Let's look at another Scripture here in the New Testament and let's see what we find there. So if he's talking about the Most High God, which is the Father, then Melchisedec, who was King of Righteousness and King of Peace, had to be the One Who became Jesus Christ, because we are given no genealogy here concerning Melchisedec.

Mark 5 is when Jesus was going to cast the demons out of the man who had the legion and He was talking with the demons. Demons are what?

• demons are fallen angels
• demons are spirit beings
• demons were created before the earth was created

Here in dealing with Christ they're forced to admit the Truth.

Mark 5:7: "And crying out with a loud voice, he said... [the demons within the man] ...'What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of God the Most High?….'" What does that also tell us? Again, it verifies two Who are God—correct? The One Who became Jesus and the One Who became the Father! So that adds to it. You can find the same reference there in Luke 8 and also the account in Matthew.

Let's come back to Psalm 110, and this brings in another important point concerning Melchisedec and also concerning God. Bullinger's Companion Bible shows the 137 places where the scribes changed the four-letter word YHVH, pronounced Yahveh, Yahweh, Jehovah, whatever. They changed it to Adonai. You can find all of those verses listed in Bullinger's. And here is one of the places.

It has to do with Melchisedec, Psalm 110:1: "The LORD said unto my Lord..." Now in the Hebrew text today it reads Yahweh or Jehovah for the first Lord, and Adonai for the second Lord. But all of the scribes, in making any change, had to note the change. So it's noted that this was changed.
"The LORD said unto my Lord... [Both of them YHVH in the original.] ...'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies as Your footstool.'…. [we know that's talking of Christ] …The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion saying, 'Rule in the midst of Your enemies.' Your people will offer themselves in the day of Your power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning; Yours is the dew of Your youth. The LORD has sworn and will not repent, 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek'" (vs 1-4). This also tells us that Melchisedec was one of the two who are called Lord! Both referred to in the singular word Elohim. Both referred to as Us. So that's interesting. The order of Melchisedec was already in use before with Abraham, probably also with Isaac and Jacob.

Verse 5: "The LORD at Your right hand... [the other Lord] ...shall strike through kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill them with dead bodies; He shall shatter chief men over the broad earth. He shall drink of the brook by the way; therefore He shall lift up the head" (vs 5-7). There we have a reference to Melchisedec.

Now, let's go back to Hebrews 5 again so we can put all of this together with the New Testament. If we are going to be given access to God the Father in heaven above, as we started out, then we need a sacrifice that permits that and that sacrifice is Jesus Christ. We also need a high priest. Hebrews 5 explains about a priesthood of men and why then the priesthood of Christ is after the order of Melchisedec, because that's what He was before He became a human being.

If you don't have our series on Hebrews, be sure and get it. It's very detailed, verse-by-verse, going through every verse and you'll find it a really very enlightening study. Now it's going to take you time to go through it, because each one of the studies is an hour and a half long, so that's 60 hours of study, plus the study material and things that go with it.

This is Paul now reiterating what we find in the Old Testament. This is why we have to understand the Old Testament and the New Testament so we can understand the transition from the covenant of Israel to the covenant of the church.

Hebrews 5:1: "For every high priest, being taken from among men to act in behalf of men, is appointed to serve in the things pertaining to God in order that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins… [we know that was Aaron and the Levites] …and he is able to deal gently with those who sin in ignorance and those who have been led astray, since he himself is also encumbered with many weaknesses. And because of these weaknesses, he is obligated also to offer sacrifices for his own sins, exactly as he does for the people…. [Then on the Day of Atonement, special ones, of course.] …Now no man takes the honor of the high priesthood upon himself, but only he who is called by God, in the same way as Aaron also was called.... [then he switches over to Christ]: ...In this same manner also, Christ did not glorify Himself to become a High Priest, but He Who said to Him, 'You are My Son; today I have begotten You.' Even as He also says in another place, 'You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchisedec'… [forever—that goes back and that goes forward] …Who, in the days of His flesh..." (vs 2-7).

It's talking about the days of the flesh of Christ. What does this tell us about Melchisedec then? Though if He appeared to Abraham as if He were human, He was not. Just like He appeared to Adam and Eve as if He were human, but He was not. No man or woman can be in the presence of God and live because He is so powerful, you'd be burned to a crisp immediately. That's why when Moses wanted to see the glory of God, God told him, 'You can only see my back parts.' And He put him in the cleft of the rock and told him, 'No man can look upon My face and live.' Then He passed by and he proclaimed the glory of the Lord there. So He was a Priest forever.

Verse 7: "Who, in the days of His flesh... [We're talking about Christ, meaning that being a priest of Melchisedec He was not in the flesh at that time, which then also tells us and confirms what? Melchisedec was not a fleshly human being; therefore, could not have been Shem!] ...offered up both prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to Him Who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because He feared God. Although He was a Son, yet He learned obedience from the things that He suffered... [The type of what Abraham and Isaac went through with the sacrifice was just a fore-type of what Christ was going to go through in His life.] ...and having been perfected, He became the Author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him. After He had been designated by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchisedec" (vs 7-10). You see why it's vital that we understand the things in the Old Testament and especially those things relating to Abraham and to Isaac and to Melchisedec, etc.

Now notice v 11: "Concerning Whom we have much to say and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing." And when you read Heb. 7-10, they are difficult to understand. Doesn't mean they can't be understood. They're just difficult. Some things are not easy.

Now let's come over here to Hebrews 7:1: "For this Melchisedec, King of Salem, Priest of the Most High God, Who met Abraham as he was returning from his slaughter of the kings, and blessed him, and to Whom Abraham gave a tenth part of all; on the one hand, being interpreted King of Righteousness... [could not have been a human being] ...and on the other hand, King of Salem, which is King of Peace… [That has to be Christ. He's also called Prince of Peace in other places.] …without father, without mother, without genealogy; having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but having been made like the Son of God, remains a Priest forever" (vs 1-3).

Micah 5, a prophecy of Christ where He would be born. And didn't the high priest know that when Herod gathered them and said, 'Where's the King of the Jews to be born?' In Bethlehem! And they quoted Micah 5:2 to them. So they knew the times and seasons. They knew when He was to be born.

Micah 5:2: "And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, you being least among the thousands of Judah, out of you He shall come forth to Me, that is to become Ruler in Israel. He Whose going forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity." Again, verifying Christ was the Lord of the Old Testament; Christ was also Melchisedec. Couldn't have been any other, otherwise how could He be of the order of the priesthood of Melchisedec forever?

Since we read the genealogy of Christ, how could He not have a genealogy? That genealogy only follows through to His being made the Son of God. He existed before then, Hebrews 7:3: "...without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but... [interrupting that] ...having been made like the Son of God, remains a Priest forever." And says 'remains' so that shows that He was Melchisedec before. So the phrase 'made like the Son of God' the genealogy for His physical life is what answers that question. But before then there was no genealogy. After that there is no genealogy.

2-Timothy 2; let's see why this verse applies to these difficult questions. It says there in Isa. 29 when the book is delivered to the one who is learned, he says, 'I can't read it. It's too hard to understand.' It's delivered to the one who is not learned, and he says, 'I've never been educated, how do you expect me to know it?' This is why, then, in Isa. 28 it also says the way that you understand the Bible is 'line upon line, precept upon precept, a little here, a little there.' You have to put it all together.

Another complicating thing in the Old Testament is this: it'll go along, it'll talk about a prophecy of the Millennium. Then it will talk about a prophecy of current history in the very next verse. Then it will jump ahead and will talk about a prophecy of Christ. Then it will talk about Him living forever. Then it will talk about Him dying. So in order to really understand the Bible, it has to come from God and His Spirit. And He can do that with every one of us who have the Spirit of God. No problem.

2-Timothy 2:14: "See that they remain mindful of these things, earnestly charging them in the sight of the Lord not to argue over words that are not profitable in any way, but which lead to the subverting of those who hear." Now that's talking about the difficult things to understand.

Verse 15: "Diligently study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of the Truth." That's how we are supposed to study the Bible and comparing spiritual things with spiritual things, verses with verses, understanding what it says.

(audience question): How then, if Melchisedec had no genealogy, did we read the genealogy of Christ, now how do you account for that? Because of the phrase 'having been made like the Son of God.' And it only applies to His physical life—which was what? Way past the time of Melchisedec—right?

All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter (except where noted)

Scriptural References:

• Acts 20:7, 6, 1-14
• Hebrews 6:18-20
• Hebrews 7:1-10
• Genesis 15:13
• Genesis 22:1-14, 16-18
• Exodus 12:40
• Luke 3:23-24, 31, 38
• Deuteronomy 6:4
• Genesis 1:26
• John 17:5, 20-21
• Genesis 14:18-20
• Mark 5:7
• Psalm 110:1-7
• Hebrews 5:1-11
• Hebrews 7:1-3
• Micah 5:2
• Hebrews 7:3
• 2-Timothy 14-15

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Galatians 4
• Hebrews 12
• Galatians 3
• Matthew 1
• Genesis 3:15
• Mark 12:28
• Luke 8
• Hebrews 8-10
• Isaiah 29, 28

Also Referenced:

• Book: Companion Bible by E. W. Bullinger
• Sermon Series: Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews

FRC:lp
Transcribed: 4-15-11
Formatted: bo—4-17-11