The Mystery of MELCHIZEDEK Solved!
Mr. Armstrong's series of broadcasts on Hebrews produced thousands of requests for this intriguing article.
Few mysteries of the Bible have attracted more interest than the mystery of the identity of Mechizedek. Who is he?
You
will read in Hebrews 6:19-20 that Jesus Christ, after His resurrection,
is High Priest "after the order of Melchizedek." The plainer English of
the Moffatt translation words it: " . . . with the rank of"—that is,
equal status with —"Melchizedek."
Melchizedek Was God's Priest
First,
notice from both Old and New testaments that the man of mystery,
Melchizedek, was a priest of the Most High God. Turn now to the account
in Genesis 14. During the war between a number of ancient city-states
in Palestine and Mesopotamia, Abraham's nephew Lot had been captured.
He and his family and goods were
carted off.
One of their number escaped and brought
the news to Abraham, who armed 318 of his own servants and pursued the
invaders to Dan and beyond. Abraham rescued Lot and his family and
returned them safely to the Canaanite cities in Palestine. On Abraham's
return a man of mystery bursts upon the scene. Abraham was ministered
to by Melchizedek.
Here is the account:
"And Melchizedek,
king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was priest of God
the Most High. And he [Melchizedek] blessed him [Abraham], and said:
'Blessed be Abraham of God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth; and
blessed be God the Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy
hand. And he Abraham gave him Melchizedek a tenth of all"— that is, a
tithe of all; for a tithe means a tenth (Genesis 14:18-20).
Notice
that Melchizedek was king of Salem. That is the city of Jerusalem. In
Hebrew, names have meaning. "Salem" means "PEACE." That would make
Melchizedek the "King of Peace" (Heb. 7:2). The name Melchizedek
itself, when translated into English, means "King of
Righteousness" (Heb. 7:2).
The same individual
is mentioned again in Psalm 110:4. Speaking prophetically of Christ,
David stated: "The Eternal hath sworn, and will not repent, 'Thou art a
priest forever after the order of Melchizedek' " This verse is quoted
again in Hebrews 5:6, 10.
Before we turn to Hebrews for the
identification of Melchizedek, remember that this mystery figure is a
mystery only to us. Abraham and the King of wicked Sodom knew exactly
who he was. They must have seen him before. He could not have been a
Canaanite, for they were steeped in pagan customs. And furthermore
Canaan was a descendant of Ham, whereas God chose the descendants of
Shem to accomplish His work. When Judah did place Canaanites in the
house of the LORD, God said He would cause them not to serve in it
(Zech. 14:21).
Then who is the mystery man Melchizedek?
One
other hint before we proceed. Palestine from ancient time, before the
days of Moses, was known among the Gentiles as "The DIVINE Land"—"the
HOLY Land"—"the Land of the place of WORSHIP!" Why? Was there someone
in Palestine who was divine, holy, worthy of worship?
The Mystery Clears
Coming to Hebrews 7, we find Melchizedek identified:
"For
this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met
Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to
whom also Abraham divided a tenth of all (being first, by
interpretation, King of righteousness, and then also king of Salem,
which is King of PEACE ..." (Heb. 7:1-2).
Since God names individuals what they are, that, then is what this man is: "KING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS."
Think of it! KING of Righteousness.
Jesus
Himself said: "There is none good, but One, that is, God" (Luke 18:19).
Human self-righteousness is, before God, as filthy rags. None can be
Righteous but God—or one made righteous by God's power—Christ in a
person! And certainly none but One of the Godhead—the divine Kingdom of
God —could be KING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Such an expression, applied to any
but God, would be blasphemous. Why?
Righteousness is obedience
to God's haw. Since God made all laws (James 4:12), He is Supreme Ruler
or King. He determines what righteousness is. "All Thy COMMANDMENTS are
RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Psalm 119:172). When speaking of one of the points of
that Law, Jesus placed himself superior to it—He is LORD of the Sabbath
(Mark 2:28). No man is Lord or King over God's law. Only God could be!
All human beings have sinned and broken that Law of Righteousness.
To
continue with Hebrews 7. Note, too, that this man was King of PEACE.
Salem—from which Jeru-SALEM was named—means "Peace." And remember,
Jesus is called the Prince of peace! No human being could be King of
Peace. Men know not the way of peace. Read Romans 3:10 and 17: "None is
righteous, no, not one . . . And the way of peace have they not known."
Observe
further: Melchizedek was "without mother,
without father, without descent," or as the Panin Numeric translation
renders it: "fatherless, motherless, pedigreeless." He was not born as
human beings are. He was without father and mother. This does not mean
that Melchizedek's records of physical birth were lost. Without such
records human priests could not serve (Ezra 2:62). But here Melchizedek
had no genealogy—He must not have been an ordinary mortal. He had no
descent or pedigree from another, but was self-existent—notice Paul's
own inspired interpretation of this fact: "having neither beginning of
days nor end of life" (Heb. 7:3). Therefore He has always existed —from
eternity! He was not even created, like angels. But is now eternally
self-existing. And that is true only of GOD—deity, not humanity!
Not the Father Nor the Holy Spirit
Yet
Melchizedek cannot be God the Father. He was the "priest of the Most
High God." Scripture says no man has ever seen the Father, but Abraham
saw Melchizedek. He cannot be God the Father, but rather, "made like
unto the SON of God, abideth a priest continually" (Heb. 7:3).
And
there it is! In the days of Abraham, He was not the Son of God, for He
had not yet been BORN of the virgin Mary—but He was made like unto the
SON of God in His manifestation to the ancients.
Notice again:
Melchizedek, this Scripture reveals, ABIDES—that is, remains
permanently, continually, a PRIEST. God the Father is not the Priest of
God, but Christ the Son is! Yet, in the days when the apostle Paul
lived and wrote, shortly after Jesus ascended to heaven as High Priest,
the Scripture states that even then Melchizedek "abideth"— which means
does now abide—"a priest continually." The Moffatt translation states
it: "continues to be priest permanently"—even while Jesus Christ is
High Priest!
And notice that the order of Christ's Priesthood is
named after Melchizedek. It is the High Priest's name that is placed
upon an Order—just as Aaron's name was upon the Aaronic priesthood.
Thus Melchizedek was then High Priest, in Paul's day, and even now, and
He will be forever! And
at the same time
CHRIST was, is today, and shall be forever High Priest!
Are
there two High Priests? No! IMPOSSIBLE! The conclusion is inescapable.
Contrary to many cherished man-thought-out ideas, Melchizedek and
Christ are ONE AND THE SAME!
Some people have stumbled on the
statement that Melchizedek has no "end of life." They contend that
since Christ died, He had an end of life! If that be true then Christ
is still dead! But Christ is NOT dead. He is alive. It was not possible
for Christ to be held of death (Acts. 2:24). Melchizedek would never
have fulfilled His office of High Priest if He had not died for the
sins of the people and rose again. It is the function of the High
Priest to lead the way to salvation.
Melchizedek Was Worshipped Continue verse 4 of Hebrews 7: "Now consider HOW GREAT THIS MAN WAS."
These
words constitute WORSHIP! Notice a Bible definition of worship in Rev.
13:4—how men worship the "beast"—the Roman Empire—by saying, "Who is
like unto the Roman Empire? Who is able to make war with it?" Such
words constitute worship—"and they worshipped the beast."
But in
Hebrews 7, inspired by the Holy Spirit in Scripture, we find this
exaltation—this WORSHIP—accorded Melchizedek! Such language could be
used in Scripture only of one of the Godhead. Christ is worthy of
WORSHIP—even the angels worship Him! But neither angels nor archangels
may be worshipped. So Melchizedek is greater than an archangel—He is of
the same rank, or station, as Christ!
Yes, of course! For He and Christ are One and the same Person!
by Herbert W. Armstrong The PLAIN TRUTH June, 1956 
