After God made the Covenant with Abram, all “hell” broke out in the Promised Land. Holy land was defiled by the kings of many cities. “They” took Lot, Abram’s nephew, who by that time resided in Sodom. “They” are an alliance of pagan nations that followed Chedorlaomer the king of Elam. That king of kings was “the servant of Lagamar, a high goddess of the Elamites (Wikipedia; “Chedorlaomer”). She would have been “goddess of gods” in the Elamite pantheon.
Just who were the Elamites? Elam was the eldest son of Shem.
[i] By that time Elamites had settled the Indus
River Valley, and their language was perhaps Dravidian, according to linguists.
If that is true, it is likely that Elamites came from the area now in and
around Khuzestan Province of Iran. (See figure #1).
Figure 1: Elam Map – Wikipedia
With that background, the “King of kings” came from the
East, as kings would do so much later to honor Jesus. However, this “King”
would come to dishonor the God of Abram!
The question is: Was Jesus there to be diminished?
Did the king of kings from the East come to show Jesus just who is king of the
Jews (Shemites/Semites)? Was this a battle
between spiritual forces — Lagamar against Melchizedek to be the god of Abram and
Lot? The name “Lagamar” means “no mercy” (Behind the Name).
In ancient times, wars were for two reasons: (1) to
demonstrate which king had more power, and (2) to show which god was mightier. As
such, Lagamar, through Chedorlaomer would represent unmerciful Satan and
Melchizedek, representing the Merciful God, who had grace on Abram in his
battle with Chedorlaomer and cohorts.
Lagamar would be goddess in this war and Melchizedek, the God of Peace. Now for the key verses:
18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.” 21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.” 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich…” (Gen 14:18:23)
Many theologians suggest that Melchizedek is pre-incarnate “Jesus”
because he was King of Salem (King of Peace). Others say that he was a mere
priest. Sacred literature, depending on the source, lists different lineages.
Indeed, Melchizedek seems to be without known parents!
Let us examine just who is this “man:” From the key verses,
he said, “Blessed be Abram.” Melchizedek blessed Abram. Theologians call
blessings “beatitudes.” Jesus blessed “the poor in spirit for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:3).
Melchizedek blessed Abram, “possessor of heaven and earth.” Obviously
losing his brother would make Abram “poor in spirit.”
Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be
comforted” (Mat 5:4). Melchizedek showed up after the battle to do what?
Comfort Abram. He served Abram bread and wine, then blessed him!
Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit
the earth” (Mat 5:5). Guess what God had just done? He had made the Covenant to
deed the most precious earth anywhere to Abram. Not only that, but Abram understood
that he would inherit heaven as well!
Jesus said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Mat 5:6). And what did Melchizedek
do for hungry and thirsty Abram? He fed him with the Body and Blood from
Himself with the wine and bread.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain
mercy” (Mat 5:7). What had Abram done? He shared the inheritance with Lot. Then,
Abram rescued Lot. If he had not, then all the inheritance would have been his!
Because Abram was merciful, God had mercy on Abram. The Covenant was secured. The
Promised Land would not belong to Chedorlaomer but to Abram.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall
see God” (Gen 5:8). Abram was pure in heart. He destroyed the pagan gods of Terah,
his father, because they dishonored God. Then what happened in return? Abram
saw God! He saw God in the flesh, and then God in the Flesh, served him.
That is amazing… Jesus was there all the time, then showed Himself
as the Maker of Peace. He Comforted Abram in battle in Spirit, then He came in
the Flesh to Comfort him so that Abram could see God!
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be
called the children of God” (Mat 5:9). Abram made peace, and as such, God
heired him His Kingdom. Abram, when the Covenant was made, was deemed a child
of God, then God came down from the Place of Peace (Salem) [1] and
blessed Abram. Abram was “born again” when he trusted God, then was “baptized”
by God in the Flesh. His baptism was the blessing by the Hand of God, just as
ours is today. At his “baptism” God served Abram the Body and Blood of the
Messiah just as Jesus would with the Crucifixion.
Jesus said, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:10). What was
in store for Abram. The kings came from all around, as far as Elam, to
persecute him and his family. What was for “righteousness sake?” Abram was the
rightful heir to the land, and Chedorlaomer a mere interloper. He was a type of
Lucifer who always had his eyes on heaven and earth as his. [ii]
There it goes again; a battle between “Satan” and “Jesus”
for the Heaven and Earth! It would continue much later with Judas’s (with Satan
in him) persecution on Jesus.
Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my
sake” (Mat 5:11). In essence, according to the formats of ancient wars, Chedorlaomer
was declaring that his goddess was mightier than God. He was mocking the Name, “Jesus,”
by declaring the name, “Lagamar.” Abram was fighting for his God more so than
for himself. He won the battle for living souls because Chedorlaomer had
insulted the Name of his God. His God was then called “Melchizedek,” meaning “King
of Righteousness” (Abarim Publications).
There it is: The King of Unrighteousness in a spiritual
battle with the King of Righteousness – the arrogant king of kings against the
humble King of kings, “Jesus.”
Then Jesus even referred to Abram but not by name: “Rejoice,
and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted
they the prophets which were before you” (Mat 5:12). Abram was a
prophet. He demonstrated that when he was willing to sacrifice his only
remaining son, just as God would do two millennia later. He saw “Jesus” in the Flesh
in the form of Melchizedek, then later, when he came to sacrifice Isaac, he
would see that Spirit of that “Man” pouring out of the Body of Jesus on the
Cross.
When Melchizedek “blessed” Abram, blessings are “bliss.” It
was not the land of milk and honey, but the heavenly Paradise that Abram would
inherit. Abram’s reward was in heaven.
During the ministry of Christ, he told the story of the rich
man and Lazarus. The poor, humble man, Lazarus, was in Abraham’s Bosom. [iii] Now,
that should make sense as the key verses say, “Abram of the most high God, possessor
of heaven and earth.” Paradise is “Abraham’s Bosom” because he is the possessor
of heaven and earth. Abram possessed the Paradise on Earth and had the legal “deed”
and when he died, that “deed” was transferred and transmitted to heavenly
Paradise.
Lot was safe in Abram’s bosom on Earth, and Lazarus still
is in the Paradise of Heaven!
Lastly, Jesus said, “Ye (the blessed) are the salt of the
earth” (Mat 5:13). What had God made the seed of Abram? “I will make thy seed
as the dust of the earth” (Gen 13:16). Jesus was blessing those bound for
Abraham’s Bosom just as he had blessed Abram long before! In other words, the beatitudes
were left over from Melchizedek’s blessing to Abram. God is dependable and
trustworthy; what He did for Abram, He shall do for all the righteous!
One last mention: Abram, referring to God, said, “I will not
take from a thread even to a shoelatchet.” Does that ring a bell? It should!
John the Baptist said this about Jesus:
26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; 27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. (John 1:26-27)
Therein, John the Baptist indicated that water is ineffective. What would be? The wine and bread (Blood and Body) that Melchizedek served Abram. That was the blessing that kept Abram safe from Satan in Chedorlaomer. Abram was baptized by the Body and Blood of the King of Peace. That remains effective to this day!
This is getting lengthy, so I will continue it tomorrow.
[1] Most theologians take “Salem” as Jerusalem. “Salem”
means “Peace” but Jerusalem, “the foundation of peace.” With that said, Melchizedek,
in my opinion, was King of Salem in Heaven, or New Jerusalem, and came down,
not from the Jebusite City, but the City of God in Paradise.
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