There is great confusion about the person, Melchizedek in
the Bible. Melchizedek first appeared in biblical canon when Abraham and
his seed were about to perish by the combined forces of the kings of and around
Sodom and Gomorrah. At an interlude in the war, Abraham faced his adversaries, for
a moment of tranquility, everything ceased, and then this happened:
18 And 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. (Gen 14:18-20)
What had happened right there in the Garden of the Lord? (Gen 13:10). In a previous commentary, I demonstrated that Sodom and Gomorrah were not as the Garden but was the actual “Garden of the Lord” — the southern portion that began at the Nile River and extended to the Euphrates in a bow that is now called “The Fertile Crescent.”
The Cross would become the “needle” in the midst of that Garden, and marked the center of the Garden of God. The Cross on Calvary marked the spot for many things; it marked the place where Adam was created, the “Tree in the midst of the Garden,” and where Jesus would regenerate all God’s creatures. I concluded that by finding the Garden in text of the Bible and was not even surprised when it was revealed to Enoch the same way.
Why the communion, a time of peace, in the middle of a war? “After these things the Word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward’” (Gen 15:1).
Melchizedek first blessed Abraham by giving him the “Body” and “Blood” of the Messiah. If Melchizedek was pre-incarnate Jesus, then Melchizedek served to Abram His own Body and Blood. That is imperative because the Body and Blood of Jesus, if that is true, would serve Abraham the chromosomes of Himself. Abraham would have taken the genes of the Savior! That was his blessing, but what good would it do if, unlike Noah, Abraham could not reproduce?
The Word (Jesus; John 3:1-14) blessed Abraham, “And, behold, The Word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This (Eliezer) shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir” (Gen 15:4). With that said, Isaac was born to barren Sarah. That would not be the first time that mankind had been so blessed! Not only was Isaac a peculiarity, but so was Isaac, and so was Jesus. As such, just as Abraham was chosen and made peculiar, so are Christians to this day (Deut 14:2; 1 Pet 2:9).
The “reward” of which Melchizedek blessed Abraham came from the genes from that Bread and Wine when Abraham was engendered from above through his mediation with Melchizedek: “For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure” (Psalm 135:4). Hence, not only was Abraham made “peculiar,” but his “son” Isaac was as well and so was his progeny, Jacob, who would soon be renamed “Israel” as he received the mark of God on his thigh (Gen 32:25).
Jacob was made “Israel” when Jesus, “The Angel of God,” wrestled with him, allowing Jacob to win by grace.
Jacob received the mark of God and was made in the image of Jesus, to wit: “He (Jesus) hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, ‘King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords’” (Rev 19:16).
John noticed that in his Revelation from God, but on the Cross, for the most, it went unnoticed. What did Pilate, Dismas, and Longinus (the thief and centurion, respectively) see that the others had not? “King of the Jews” was written on the sign, that was noticed and discussed, but some who were close enough saw “King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords,” written on the thigh of the Savior. Pilate must have noticed that because Jesus claimed Himself to be God, and Pilate found no fault in Him (Luke 23:14).
What made Abraham and his progeny so peculiar? The remedy was in the Bread and Wine that Melchizedek, “The Peculiar Priest, served him!
So, what made Melchizedek so “peculiar”? Eliezer, the servant of Abram, would have been the heir of Abraham, and as such a priest like his namesake, and merited it for finding Rebeccah as a bride for Isaac. Thus, the genes of God are not based on works, or merit, but who have been blessed by engendering from God above. Melchizedek was “King of Salem” or “Prince of Peace” but not the city of Jeru-salem. That city was ruled by Jebusites. Melchizedek was King Of Kings in what would be New Jerusalem in heaven — the new “foundation of peace,” as the name means.
With original sin, Cain was born with evil in his heart. He was of the Wicked One (1 John 3:12). Melchizedek fixed that same genetic condition that had been in Abraham because of his wicked father, Terah. As such, Jesus is not of the genealogy of Terah but He is the Progeny of Abraham. Therefore, the genealogy of Jesus, the man, was only back to Abraham, the regenned son of God (Mat 1:1). There was no need for Matthew to go back any further because Abraham was the Son of Melchizedek by adoption. “Jesus” in Melchizedek, if He is the Messiah, fixed the genes of Abram that he had inherited from his progenitor, Terah. No wonder Abram was so “peculiar”! He had become a child of God and was in Christ, the Messiah! His genes were of God just as Adam’s. Melchizedek has glorified Abram and renamed him “Abraham.”
Now consider the origin of Melchizedek — the story behind
the story — which comes from the Second Book of Enoch, which is canon in
Orthodoxy. (Please take the time to read this condensed version and ponder it,
based on the commentary thus far):
(2 Enoch) 68: Methusalam and his brothers and all the sons of Enoch hurried, and they constructed an altar at the place called Akhuzan, whence and where Enoch had been taken up to heaven… And they made a great festival, rejoicing and making merriment for three days, |praising God who had given them such a sign through Enoch, his own favored servant, even so that they might hand it on to their own sons, form generation to generation, from age to age. AMEN.
69: And on the third day, in the time of the evening, the elders of the people spoke to Methusalam, saying, “Stand in front of the face of the LORD and in front of the face of all the people and in front of the face of the altar of the LORD, and you will be glorified in your people.”And Methusalam answered his people: “Wait, O men, until the LORD, the God of my father Enoch, shall himself raise up for himself a priest over his own people.”
…Methusalam fell asleep, and the LORD appeared to him in a night vision and said to him, “Listen, Methusalam! I am the LORD, the God of your father Enoch. Give heed to the voice of these people and stand in front of my altar, and I shall glorify you in front of the face of all the people, and you will be glorified all the days of your life, and I shall bless you.” And Methusalam got up from his sleep and blessed the LORD who had appeared to him… And Methusalam came up to the LORD’s altar, and his face was radiant, like the sun at midday rising up, with all the people in procession behind him. And Methusalam stood in front of the altar of the LORD, with all the people standing around the place of sacrifice…
And it happened, when Methusalam had prayed, that the altar was shaken, and the knife rose up from the altar, and leaped into Methusalam’s hand in front of the face of all the people. And the people trembled and glorified God.
70: the LORD appeared to him in a night vision and said to him, “Listen, Methusalam! I am the LORD, the God of your father Enoch. I want you to know that the days of your life have come to an end, and the day of your rest has come close. Call Nir, the second son of your son Lamekh, born after Noe, and invest him in the garments of your consecration. And make him stand at my altar. And tell him everything that will happen in his days, for the time of the destruction of all the earth, and of every human being and of everything that lives on the earth, is drawing near.
For in his days there will be a very great breakdown on the earth, for each one has begun to envy his neighbor, and people against people have destroyed boundaries, and the nation wages war. And all the earth is filled with vileness and blood and every kind of evil. And even more than that, they have abandoned their LORD, and they will do obeisance to unreal gods, and to the vault above the sky, and to what moves above the earth, and to the waves of the sea. And the adversary will make himself great and will be delighted with his deeds, to my great provocation… “(said the LORD) Then I will preserve the son of your son Lamekh, his first son, Noe. And from his seed I will raise up another world, and his seed will exist forever, until the second destruction when once again mankind will have committed sin in front of my face.”
And Methusalam summoned Nir, the son of Lamekh, Noe’s younger brother, and he invested him with the vestments of priesthood in front of the face of all the people, and made him stand at the head of the altar of the LORD. And he taught him everything that he would have to do among the people. And Methusalam spoke to the people: “Here is Nir. He will be in front of your face from the present day as a prince and a leader.”
…And when Methusalam had spoken to the people in front of the altar, his spirit was convulsed, and, having knelt on his knees, he stretched out his hands to heaven, and prayed to the LORD. And, as he was praying to him, his spirit went out in accordance with the will of the LORD. And Nir and all the people hurried and constructed a sepulcher for Methusalam in the place Akhuzan, very thoughtfully adorned with all holy things, with lamps. And Nir came with many praises, and the people lifted up Methusalam’s body, glorifying 〈God〉; they performed the service for him at the sepulcher which they had made for him and they covered him over…
And from that day there was peace and order over all the earth in the days of Nir – 202 years. And then the people turned away from the LORD, and they began to be envious one against another, and people went to war against people, and race rose up against race and struggled and insulted one another. Even if the lips were the same, nevertheless the hearts chose different things. For the devil became ruler for the third time. The first was before paradise, the second time was in paradise; the third time was after paradise, 〈and〉 continuing right up to the Flood.
71: Behold, the wife of Nir, whose name was Sopanim, being sterile and never having at any time given birth to a child by Nir –
And Sopanim was in the time of her old age, and in the day of her death. She conceived in her womb, but Nir the priest had not slept with her, nor had he touched her, from the day that the LORD had appointed him to conduct the liturgy in front of the face of the people.
And when Sopanim saw her pregnancy, she was ashamed and embarrassed, and she hid herself during all the days until she gave birth. And not one of the people knew about it. And when 282 days had been completed, and the day of birth had begun to approach, and Nir remembered his wife, and he called her to himself in his house, so that he might converse with her.
And Sopanim came to Nir, her husband; and, behold, she was pregnant, and the day appointed for giving birth was drawing near.
And Nir saw her, and he became very ashamed. And he said to her, “What is this that you have done, O wife? And why have you disgraced me in front of the face of these people? And now, depart from me, and go where you began the disgrace of your womb, so that I might not defile my hand on account of you, and sin in front of the face of the LORD.”
And Sopanim spoke to Nir, her husband, saying, “O my lord! Behold, it is the time of my old age, and the day of my death has arrived. I do not understand how my menopause and the barrenness of my womb have been reversed.”
And Nir did not believe his wife, and for the second time he said to her, “Depart from me, or else I might assault you, and commit a sin in front of the face of the LORD.”
And it came to pass, when Nir had spoken to his wife, Sopanim, that Sopanim fell down at Nir’s feet and died…
Noe hurried. He came with Nir his brother; he came into Nir’s house, because of the death of Sopanim, and they discussed between themselves how her womb was at the time of giving birth. And Noe said to Nir, “Don’t let yourself be sorrowful, Nir, my brother! For the LORD today has covered up our scandal, in that nobody from the people knows this. Now, let us go quickly and let us bury her secretly, and the LORD will cover up the scandal of our shame.”
And they placed Sopanim on the bed, and they wrapped her around with black garments, and shut her in the house, prepared for burial. They dug a grave in secret.
And a child came out from the dead Sopanim. And he sat on the bed at her side. And Noe and Nir came in to bury Sopanim, and they saw the child sitting beside the dead Sopanim, and wiping his clothing. And Noe and Nir were very terrified with a great fear, because the child was fully developed physically, like a three-year-old. And he spoke with his lips, and he blessed the LORD. And Noe and Nir looked at him, and behold, the badge of priesthood was on his chest, and it was glorious in appearance. And Noe and Nir said, “Behold, God is renewing the priesthood from blood related to us, just as he pleases.” And Noe and Nir hurried, and they washed the child, and they dressed him in the garments of priesthood, and they gave him the holy bread and he ate it. And they called his name Melkisedek.
And Noe and Nir lifted up the body of Sopanim, and divested her of the black garments, and they washed her, and they clothed her in exceptionally bright garments, and they built a shrine for her.
Noe and Nir and Melkisedek came, and they buried her publicly. And Noe said to his brother Nir, “Look after this child in secret until the time, because people will become treacherous in all the earth, and they will begin to turn away from God, and having become totally ignorant, they will put him to death.”
…And Nir began to worry excessively, especially about the child, saying,“How miserable it is for me, eternal LORD, that in my days all lawlessness has begun to become abundant over the earth. And I realize how much nearer out end is, and over all the earth, on account of the lawlessness of the people.
And now, LORD, what is the vision about this child, and what is his destiny, and what will I do for him? Is it possible that he too will be joined with us in the destruction?” And the LORD heeded Nir, and appeared to him in a night vision. He said to him, “Nir, the great lawlessness which has come about on the earth among the multitude {which} I shall not tolerate.
And behold, I desire now to send out a great destruction onto the earth, and everything that stands on the earth shall perish.
But, concerning the child, don’t be anxious, Nir; because in a short while I shall send my archistratig, Michael. And he will take the child, and put him in the paradise of Edem, in the Paradise where Adam was formerly for 7 years, having heaven open all the time up until when he sinned.
And this child will not perish along with those who are perishing in this generation, as I have revealed it, so that Melkisedek will be the priest to all holy priests, and I will establish him so that he will be the head of the priests of the future.”
And behold, Melkisedek will be the head of the 13 priests who existed before. And afterward, in the last generation, there will be another Melkisedek, the first of 12 priests. And the last will be the head of all, a great archpriest, the Word and Power of God, who will perform miracles, greater and more glorious than all the previous ones. He, Melkisedek, will be priest and king in the place Akhuzan, that is to say, in the center of the earth, where Adam was created, and there will be his final grave. And in connection with that archpriest it is written how he also will be buried there, where the center of the earth is, just as Adam also buried his own son there – Abel, whom his brother Cain murdered; for he lay for 3 years unburied, until he saw a bird called Jackdaw, how it buried his own young.
I know that great confusion has come and in confusion this generation will come to an end; and everyone will perish, except that Noe, my brother, will be preserved. And afterward there will be a planting from his tribe, and there will be other people, and there will be another Melkisedek, the head of priests reigning over the people, and performing the liturgy for the LORD.”
72: And when the child had been 40 days in Nir’s tent, the LORD said to Michael, “Go down onto the earth to Nir the priest, and take my child Melkisedek, who is with him, and place him in the paradise of Edem for preservation. For the time is approaching, and I will pour out all the water onto the earth, and everything that is on the earth will perish.”
…“Don’t be frightened, Nir! I am the LORD’s archistratig. The LORD has sent me, and behold, I shall take your child today. I will go with him and I will place him in the paradise of Edem, and there he will be forever.
…And when the twelfth generation shall come into being, and there will be one thousand and seventy years, and there will be born in that generation a righteous man. And the LORD will tell him that he should to out to that mountain where stands the ark of Noe, your brother. And he will find there another Melkisedek, who has been living there for 7 years, hiding himself from the people who sacrifice to idols, so that they might not kill him. He will bring him out, and he will be the first priest and king in the city Salim in the style of this Melkisedek, the originator of the priests. The years will be completed up to that time – 3 thousand and 4 hundred and 32 – from the beginning and the creation of Adam. And from that Melkisedek the priests will be 12 in number until the great Igumen, that is to say, Leader, will bring out everything visible and invisible.” And Nir understood the first dream and believed it.
…And Michael took the child on the same night on which he had come down; and he took him on his wings, and he placed him in the paradise of Edom. And Nir got up in the morning. He went into his tent and he did not find the child. And there was instead of joy very great grief, because he had no other son except this one. Thus Nir ended his life. And after him there was no priest among the people. And from that time great confusion arose on the earth.
73: And the LORD called Noe onto the mount Ararat, between Assyria and Armenia, in the land of Arabia, beside the ocean. And he said to him, “Make there an ark…”
(To be continued)
(picture credit: Dreamstime.com; "Abraham and Melchizedek")
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