Hebrews 7 Why Introduce Melchisedec? - Hebrews #61

i have a diversity of teaching to do nights  all pertaining to melchizedek i'm going to   start with the wacky and the outrageous  and we'll get to the more serious as we go   um i want to get the nutty stuff out of the way  just it's it's way well i don't know wait a minute   i don't know that i'd clap about that the this  is i'm start i told you i'm starting with the   nuttiest stuff so this is this is pretty  wacky this is the gnostic stuff pista sophia   and uh i really don't want to read too much of  it because some of it just i mean i tried to   read a good portion of it and i thought  oh this is it's horrible it's um if you're not familiar with the gnostic  stuff count yourself on safe ground so this is just um as i said you know   there's a connection here you're going to hear  this over and over again so i'm going to say this   at the beginning they call melchizedek in this  writing the great paralympia or receiver of light um and there's all kinds of regions of light  when i say this is nutty i mean it and if you're   listening on radio friends who are listening  on radio i am not this is not bible i'm reading   right now you can't see that i'm i've got a book  called piece to sofia in my hands but i'm reading   out of something that is not what i would like  you to follow but i'm reading it for the sake   of the whole study that i've been doing so in  section book 1 and section 25 under melchizedek   melchizedek is now introduced whose  concern is the education of the soul   in relationship to the purification  of the light of the region of the left in terms of higher physics we are designed as  living organisms and organisms that process light   all life performs a transformation exchange  designed to develop pure light from mixtures   by means of the process of evolution in its process of education the soul is thus  able to purify light which is then out of the   greater love turned over to melchizedek  the great paralympia or receiver of light   who works with the order of michael another m  which is concerned with protection of the seed   and the thought forms from the treasury of light  that are sent out into the region of the left now i want you to know that you know  in the third or fourth century when   somebody was writing this a.d i think they were enjoying some substances a third m metatron greek the one who is closest to  the throne known in hebrew as el shaddai the lord   god almighty works through powers like you that  is y eu and there's a whole book that designated   the book of you which somebody out there will  say wow that fits perfectly into this generation   works through the powers like you that is not y  o u but y e u to initiate the region of the left all three m's are concerned with the process  of positive soul progression and together they   form a trinity force one of the multiple triple  powers with a fourth m for mary as the quadrity or   quaternary power of the left however in the  local life space their efforts were limited in fact it's really hard to even read that in  fact it is the work of melchizedek to coordinate   the separation of light from matter okay light go  tell that the people with that big collider there   in cern that he's the one that coordinates  the separation of light from matter light   the result of soul advancement in coordination  with melchizedek is affirmed as co-essential   with that of christ was the first mention of  christ there in a very freaky way i'm sorry   i'm just telling you it's just crazy in fact the  scroll of hebrews which is the book of hebrews   verses 5 10 and chapter 5 10 and 6 20 tell  us that jesus was a priest according to the   order of melchizedek and what they've done here is  they've capitalized order large o order all right   just for your information and then they have  some type of a quote here and he melchizedek   sets in motion the accelerator who is over them  and causes their circles to turn more rapidly i just want to know what type  of ink this guy was using he's probably inhaling a lot of it i'm going to try and get through this melchizedek  initiates an acceleration of the cycles in order   to change the vibrations in preparation for  the bringing forth of divine metamatter you   know where this would sound really good there's  a station there's a channel across town they   talk about stuff that is just sounds more jive  when they say it you know it just kind of just these cycles are like the spheres within spheres  of a myriad of the myriad of stars and the vortex   of powers of multi-dimensional movements and you  thought i had done a lot of work on melchizedek   here's another quote and he the accelerator takes  away the power which is in them along with the   breath of their mouths and the water of their eyes  and the sweat of their bodies and melchizedek the   paralympia of light purifies those powers and  brings their light to the treasury of light   but all the matter from all of them is gathered  together by the servitors of the archons this is the processing of light in the lower  worlds a vast positive recycling system they   were really advanced for their day and age those  are talking about a recycling system go green all   right it is melchizedek who receives the final  light from the lower realms of purification   the scroll acknowledges however that this process  did not function as it was originally designed   for it required several levels of cooperation  amongst the archons in order to form the souls   of intelligences like humanity and remake them  without the thought forms of the treasury of light   i told you it was like when it gets worse  this is just this is the light stuff here the archons in their orders the servitors or  servants have been in charge of the power of   the lower spheres continually forming  and managing the souls of humankind   i commentary right now that just my mind just  leaped to the current government but we'll save   that thought although instructed to put  the whole substance of their lives into   new life their creations they have refused to  do this not only do they not give themselves   in terms of their substance or their life  substance but they withhold their conscious   knowledge from their creations and very  little light is passed on to melchizedek   in order to evolve the thought forms of humanity  have been blocked by the power of the 13 eons that   lack a conscious conscious awakening must reach  out even farther to to to that of the right and   to the treasury of light on the inner levels i'm  sorry i can't even make sense of this on the inner   levels only then can the harmony of the realms  be established so that it is below co-shares   with that which is above anyway uh so i don't  know how you could even get out of reading this   let me jump down to the first mention where  they have christ and melchizedek in the same   sentence christ and melchizedek are here to  increase the evolutionary process of bringing   light into spheres of creation by means of  introducing new configurations of light realities this is not a mechanical process but an  intentional process of bringing light and love   to all consciousness levels in so doing physical  form acquires the ability to become spiritual   and the forces the forces of michael and  melchizedek have been given the power over the   angels who have renounced the sharing of light and  love with all creation anyway it's it's just a lot   of that which i mean i had to read it and then  afterwards i did go take a cold shower because   it was just it was i'm the whole book is full of  this type of stuff where you're just kind of going   and what what was said i'm not quite  sure um so let's leave that for now   um and let's go to something that is  kind of more interesting this is the   panerion see i i was reading his name and i was  calling him epiphanies but it's not it's ius   of salamis books two and three de feti  the panerai on is the medicine chest   and there's this is history now this  is not out there stuff this is history so in this writing we have a section  called against the melchizedekians   a real group real people okay uh it is  believed by the way that these people   being referred to as such and these are historical  real people that they weren't necessarily known   by that name but they were followers of  theodotus both the banker and the tanner and he starts here by saying this others that  call themselves melchizedekians they may be   an offshoot of the group who are known  as theodosians or theodians they honor   the melchizedek who is mentioned in the scriptures  and regard him as the sword of great power he is   he is on in high he is on high in places which  cannot be named and in fact is not just a power   indeed they claim in their era that he is greater  than christ and this was actually being propagated between the bible if somebody just studied the  bible and devoted their time to studying the bible   and church history we could change the face  of christianity because of knowing what the   early fathers combated in terms of people  coming up with ideas and misinterpretations   and going back to the scripture you can't go wrong  unfortunately nobody really talks about this i i   think not that i have that much exposure to many  people but even the people that i've heard teach   on church history have not taught on some of  these things in fact in in digging through this   um i found an answer to something that  plagued me for years it's really bothered me   about the nicolaitans remember from  revelation who are the nicolaitans   and within this church history you find out  who these people are and what the issue was   and then you go back and you read revelation you  go aha so very profitable in more ways than one all right so these people they actually put  him higher greater than christ based if you   please on the literal wording of thou art a  priest forever after the order of melchizedek   they believe that christ has merely come  and been given the order of melchizedek so   remember why i just said if somebody just studies  church history in the bible you can go a long ways   because you can see where  people went off the track and   i've said this before in trying to make a proper  translation you know i used to be very glib and   kind of flipping you know king james why they  do this and but you get a little more humble   as you start to really probe and mine and  figure out that it's not as easy as it looks   and considering i take into consideration for the  king james the social time that they were doing   their work for example the position of women and  the status that women held it's no wonder that the   king james bible is preeminently even though there  are areas words that appear as one as in general   and neutral or even female in gender they're put  to masculine that was the day and age in which   that bible was produced that doesn't lessen it  for me it actually makes it more attractive to   understand that it it fit into a social time with  other issues our language was still developing   between 1604 and 1611 in the whole process you've  really got the the finesse if you will between   chaucer and shakespeare really the language  is being honed so we have words in this bible   that are archaic they're not used anymore i i  delight in that but i also delight in looking   at these things and saying this is why going back  to the hebrew or going back to the greek or going   to other languages when we don't clearly see  what the english is trying to say can spare us   all so here are these of course they said that  melchizedek was greater than christ based on the   erroneous translation of psalm 110 and verse  4 christ is thus younger than melchizedek they   okay that's an interesting one considering  that jesus is alpha and omega and he was   in the beginning whenever that was this  interesting theory there for his place   for if his place were not somehow second in line  he would have no need of melchizedek's rank wow   of melchizedek himself they say that he has come  into being without father without mother without   lineage as they would like to show from the  epistle of hebrews they also fabricate spurious   books for their own deception their refutation  comes from the text themselves when david   prophesies that the lord will be a priest after  the order of melchizedek the sacred scripture is   saying in the same breath that christ will be a  priest but we find that in hebrews it says once   made like unto the son of god melchizedek abideth  the priest continually now if he's made like   italicized like the son of god he is not equal to  the son of god there's a huge language challenge   for you right there because anybody reading the  text would be able to see the words are different how can the servant be the masters equal for  melchizedek was a man without father without   mother is not said because he had no mother and  no father but because his father and mother are   not explicitly named in the sacred scripture now  is that not plain enough because i'm going to go   on to teach out of hebrews tonight and i've done  some notes and i'll read from some of my notes   but if you want it said in the most simplistic and  easiest way to understand he says it right here   he says mother and father are not explicitly named  in the sacred scriptures they're just not named   the concern is the priesthood mind  you that's the focus not his family   and i'm going to go on to show that from the  greek tonight so it'll be clear from the text   itself i'm not asking you now to say i'd like  you to share my opinion i'd like you to share   the greek with me and see  what your eyeballs tell you   the profundities and glories of the sacred  scripture which are beyond human understanding   have confused many the natives of petra in  arabia which is also called rokham and edom   were in awe of moses because of his miracles  and at one time they made an image of him   and mistakenly undertook to worship it of course  this is all against heresies in here so he   takes out the task by the way of correcting and  addressing many of these heresies and by the way   he himself the writer of this also had some  heretical beliefs so nobody's immune i guess   let me jump down to this he says melchizedek's  father and mother are mentioned by some authors   though this is not based on the canonical  covenanted scriptures still some have said   that his father was a man called hercules and his  mother was ashtath and some the same as astorian   he was the son of one of the inhabitants of the  country at that time who lived in the plain of   save and the city was called salem and various  authors have given different accounts of it   some say that is the city known as  jerusalem although once it was called jebus   others have said it was another salem in the  plant in the plain of sushimi not sushimi but   they're spelling it like that shechem opposite the  town which is now called neapolis but whether it   was one or the other of the locations the places  are not far apart in any case the passage tells   us what happened it says he brought forth  bread and wine for abraham and at that time   he was the priest of the most high of  god most high he blessed abraham took   a tithe from him for the priest of god most  high had to be honored by the servant of god   and since the circumcised priesthood would stem  from abraham himself abraham had to offer first   to the priest who served without circumcision  and by the way that is something that all   i will talk about tonight i was going to say  i will touch on but i decided that wasn't   that wasn't a good choice of words i  will i will address that this evening because there's something very important there  that again there are all these subtle things uh   as to why christ it would be said of christ thou  art a priest forever after the order of and the   finding out of what the order of is is not in the  psalm it's in hebrews that you find that out what   the interpretation at least of the writer  of hebrews is telling us that order is okay what else is being said here if abraham  offered a tithe to melchizedek but abraham's   descendants offered to aaron and levi and next  after the priesthood had become circumcised   through aaron and his sons the scripture says  through david that the priesthood is vested in   melchizedek says this 12 generations after levi's  birth and seven generations from the succession   of aaron it is shown that the priestly rank does  not remain with the ancient circumcised priesthood   it was transferred to a priest  priesthood before levi and before aaron   the priesthood after the order of melchizedek  which is now since the lord's incarnation resides   in the church which is essentially  what peter picks up on as we are all   a whole body of a royal  priesthood picking up on that note something very interesting that he says here  which will help clarify and i i alluded to this   yesterday he says how many others of their  ancestry is not expressed expressly given   daniel shadrach meshach abednego elijah the  tishbite although in elijah's case even though   he appears you can actually trace who he's related  to just a little bit so that one i wouldn't count   but the rest of them i would neither their  fathers or their mothers are found anywhere   in any of the covenanted scriptures but  so that no error arises from this it will   do no harm to say what i have learned from  tradition myself for i found that daniel's   father was was a man called sabaan and  likewise actually found elijah's lineage   i hadn't read this part i just read the first  part likewise elijah's lineage and shall trace   it in order elijah the tishbite the brother of  johad of the priest which where i was going to   go and he goes on to trace and he says but some  of these you've got to look in the scriptures   now to return to the subject the  things they imagine about melchizedek   it is plain that this righteous man was holy  he was a priest of god king of salem but   he was no part of the order in heaven and  not what has come down from heaven either   in other words he's saying he's just a man that  backs up what hebrews says chosen from among men that not what the scripture  says chosen from among men   christ qualified taking up a tent of  human flesh taking on our likeness and by the way he likes to quote this  no man has ascended up to heaven save   that he came down from heaven the son of  man he quotes this over and over again   for when the sacred scripture proclaimed and  the holy spirit expressly taught the order of   melchizedek they indicated the removal of  the priesthood from the ancient synagogue   and the physical nation to a nation which  is the finest and best which is not united   by a common physical descent it's going to get  it'll get clearer and clearer as we go because   he's saying some very important things and they're  i'm reading it because they're that crystal clear he says melchizedek had no successors but neither  did he suffer the abolition of his priesthood   i want you to think about that in the old testament just the priests just we're not talking high  priest we're just talking regular priests had   a beginning and an end to their calling 25 or  30 years of age to the age of 50 and that's it   the high priest served for life until he died  and all you have to do is take a look at aaron   and after the sin that they committed well it was   in frustration whatever you want to justify it as  of not speaking of the rock but smiting the rock   moses that you encounter both moses and aaron  are not going to be allowed to continue on in   fact moses aaron is told to go up into the mount  be stripped of his priestly garments to put to be   the garments are to be put on his son  eliezer and he dies there next right so it's very important what he says melchizedek has no successors but neither  did he suffer the abolition of his priesthood   he remained a priest himself throughout his  life and is still celebrated as a priest   in the scripture since no one either succeeded  him or abolished the priesthood which he had   during the time of his service and if i  could just push that down the pipeline   a little bit some of the things that we  read in hebrews it's like well of course of course thus our lord too though he was not a man but the holy divine word  of god god's son begotten without beginning and   not in time ever with the father but  for our sakes became man of mary and   not of man's seed our lord receiving the  priesthood offers to the father haven't taken   human clay so as to be made a priest for us after  the order of melchizedek which has no succession   it's pretty simple pretty  straightforward yes yeah i think so okay   what else can we get out of this book because  there's lots of stuff here and i i would probably   like to read the whole book to you but because  there's just some interesting stuff in here oh there's another place this is against  another heretic and it's kind of interesting   because this group is this group is called  the parasites but what it's it sounds funny   well it sounds funny but the the irony  is that the way their name is written i e in the greek is priest is the the root the morpheme for priest so these  are the priestites the priesthood sites i don't know that's their name anyway he's  combating some of the things that they have   propagated and he says as to your assertion that  melchizedek himself is the spirit in that case the   spirit came and took on flesh it cannot then be  just the only begotten who was born in the flesh   the spirit must have been too but if the spirit  was born in the flesh well it was mary who bore   the savior there's this controversy swirling  that some would like to say that melchizedek   is the holy spirit which by the way i told you  origen took up and he was one of the very few in   that band of early church fathers who felt safe  in saying that so you get a picture there's a   lot more in here there's another group they  have other issues they'll have issues but   so that gives you an idea historically then  if you want to travel just a little bit   through time you got to go to the antecedent  anti nicean fathers and the nicean and post   nicean fathers so i'm sure a lot of you have seen  these series of books this one probably has 20   20 or 30 in its series but they come in a  whole volume i have the index in the middle just it's probably everything from day one of  church fathers all right enough said about that okay because this is the section  called the refutation of all heresies all right under the section that follows very  much along the lines of what i just read that   follows this section of the heresy of theodotus  immediately following that is the melchizedekians   and in the same category the nicolaitans isn't  that interesting they're both lumped in the same   place all right i showed you it's on the heels  of theodotus because he's going to refer to   theodorus while however different questions  have arisen among them a certain heretic   who himself was also a was styled theodotus  and was by trade a banker attempted   to establish the doctrine that a certain  melchizedek constitutes the greatest power   and that this one is greater than  christ which is what i just read to you   out of the other work they allege that christ  happens to be according to the likeness of this   melchizedek they themselves similarly with those  who have previously spoken of as adherents of   theodotus assert that jesus is a mere man that was  the addition here mere man and that in conformity   with the same account already given christ  descended upon him so this doctrine actually   goes slightly to the gnostic realm because  that's what the gnostics propagated jesus just   a man that was the original core foundation  and then built upon that that he received   he became more than a man when he after he  received the spirit after he was baptized   and then we go off into outer space i don't  know so um if you're trying to follow this   there are however among the gnostic  diversities of opinions here   we have decided that it would not be worthwhile  to enumerate the silly doctrines of these heretics   inasmuch as they are too numerous and too  devoid of reason and full of blasphemy   now even those of the heretics who are of a  more serious turn in regard of the divinity   have derived their systems of speculation from  the greeks must stand convicted of these charges   and he's not going to go on to talk about nicolas  the nicolaitan and so forth so you can see   just out of what i just briefly read but there's  at least two or three different sections just   within the church fathers regarding the subject  of this heresy that was being widely propagated   and then in the nicean and post-nysean  fathers he said what do you read for fun this is actually interesting i may save this  for later because this is actually a homily   on hebrews chapter 7. and  it may it may be of interest   to read this a little later but  i think i'm going to save this   because i did come prepared with some things  that i want to get to before it gets too late um so i made uh a list how many lists do i make when i  go through the scriptures lots   now this was a this is not for you so i don't  every time i hold up a piece of paper oh no no but   i had made a list of i think it might have been  five or six pages with columns in hebrews up until   well the list that i had previously made went  straight through to the end of the tenth chapter   but this one is only through the  seventh and halfway through the seventh   one column is christ one column is levi or the  levites aaron and one column is melchizedek   to go through these are self-evident things  but when you start lining them up you get a   clearer perspective on the emphasis that's being  made without really having a clue of something   that the writer was doing at the beginning we  started this trail and then you realize oh but   he started that back there this is not a new  argument so the list that i prepared basically   i condensed it to just be neat so i could hold  it up and show it to you but basically you know   we've got in 1 3 we've got christ purged our  sins sat down at the right hand of the majesty   this is not true of the levitical priesthood  and i say no of melchizedek because we don't   we don't have any record of that so all of these  i went down some of these are are temporary and   they're temporary in the sense of for example  merciful and faithful well we can we can   say that possibly for a time they were both  levi both melchizedek uh merciful and faithful   we don't know but there are things that we  cannot attribute to either of those columns um   for example the greek word ethios the source  of eternal salvation neither one of these so christ that's his column and  neither one of these other two   fits that category so kind of as you go  down you realize really from the beginning the writer is setting up something and i say that   because on another list i may hold  that up again but on another list   i put a side by side of the priesthood of  melchizedek and the priesthood of christ   so on the one side no law not according  to the law not according to the tribe of   levi and here we've got christ  from coming down from judah melchizedek it's hard for me to read at this  angle but melchizedek king of righteousness   if you read jeremiah 23 6 you've got the lord our  righteousness so making side by side observations   and the thought process is this and now i'm going  to i'm actually going to read to you my notes you   can follow my line of thinking sometimes i want to  say things and i i leave them out down the way and   they could be some of the most important pieces in  the journey so when you begin reading hebrews 7. i'm going to ask you a question and i'm  not going to give you the answer right now   don't you don't you just love  when i do that take a look at   for this melchizedek king is a small small  k right do you have small k in your bible   and then you read down in the second chapter  in the second verse verse rather where it   says being by interpretation king capital of  righteousness you ever wonder why they do that   oh i'll i might tell you later all right but  you know we you just read right by things the beginning of the seventh chapter here  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 gave a tenth part of  all first being by interpretation king of   righteousness and after also king of salem which  is king of peace let's stop you for a minute   because i i was weighing out these concepts and  if melchizedek is a prefiguration he's a prototype   remember the scripture says that he was  made like similar unto the son of god   prefiguring because this we're going to get  into a lot of pre-figuring now you know the   the the tabernacle is said in one place where he  quotes uh what is said the admonition of god to   moses see to it that you make it according to the  pattern exactly like that but then if you read up   a few verses before that he calls jesus  a minister of the sanctuary and of the   true tabernacle which the lord pitched and  not man we've got these type and antitype   going on so the this the mastery of this  is understanding the type or the prototype   and seeing what the realities are in christ  because that's all that this is pointing to so   when you just look at the words peace and  righteousness and i started looking up all of   the words that are kind of connected to peace and  righteousness and we know for example in isaiah   9 6 christ is called the peace prince of peace   another place in the scripture where it says  that when he was going to be baptized or suffered   suffer me now being baptized it it fulfills  all righteousness this in this one act is the   fulfillment thereof to fulfill all righteousness  so i'm going to read you a little bit of what i've   put together christ is not only the source  of righteousness but he's the giver of peace   in john's gospel in the 14th chapter he says peace  i live leave with you my peace i give unto you so   he's the combination of both you say well  why would you bother giving all this detail   one two three even maybe four verses  that seem to be rather unnecessary detail   because they are the undergirdings of  which are mounting to something but a   casual reader is only going to see the details  as pertaining to melchizedek and nothing else a prerequisite of this office to  be a priest is taken from among men   which settles the matter of melchizedek  being something other than human   our lord took upon himself flesh to be our  kinsmen redeemer and our great high priest   ascent one of god melchizedek delivered the  the blessing and this is important the word for   blessed and blessing that the writer here uses is  that word yology yology yology this case yologykin good words same good words that we read of in the  opening of ephesians it's not there's another word   in greek for blessing when you read the beatitudes  mccarrios that's a different word this is to speak   good words to speak good words usually of god so  we have a sent one of god melchizedek delivering   this good words blessing blessing abram one who  had already received the promised blessing by god   himself and if you kind of put these together  christ came to declare the good news himself   speaking revealing god to ordinary humanity  regarding the statement of hebrews without mother   father etc it is clear that melchizedek's  priestly lineage is being focused on and   not something else this builds the strong argument  for the priesthood of christ who didn't come from   a priestly mother or father that is fleshly  and carnally speaking if you understand the   argument all these things that we've we've toiled  with over the years are you're going to say why   why is why was i concerned with that because the  thrust of the argument is completely focused on   melchizedek and then ultimately pointing  you to christ and not to connect melchizedek   with the levites unless i'll give you a caveat  on this unless something which i'll get to   if the focus if the whole focus right now is  the priesthood and not something else clearly   we can see the connection or the symbol to those  words we highlighted in 7 3 and in 715 one is the   like and the other one is similitude the io words  those greek if you want the words they are afoy those are the exact words melchizedek was a priest free from levitical  limitations and order he was before the law   before levi was even born hence the reference  to levi being in the loins of abraham therefore   essentially paying ties levi through abraham i'm  gonna i'm gonna come back to this because there's   something there that in the order of things will  make sense why on earth mention that concept of   levi in the loins of aaron and essentially saying  not yet born but in his loins in his because they   promised seed but you know abraham to isaac to  jacob and keep going down the line so on right so and sons of sons of jacob if you will so if melchizedek is merely a  long-distance relative of abram   where is the force of the argument if  you understand what the argument is the pastor writing this letter is trying to  get these people who are pining to go back to   what they are identifying as their ancestry their  genealogical roots to go back to ceremonialism   where is the argument if melchizedek is a distant  relative of abraham where's the argument there is   none now if you can't settle that you're going  to be hard-pressed to to understand the argument   now i have to admit to you this has been  a challenge for me because i would i'd be   negligent saying i would never do anything  to um counter or go against what dr scott   believed but this is not going this is not a the  condition of whom who he is is not going to make   or break your faith but understanding  the argument could very well do that   you you if you fail to understand the pivotal  the pivotal focus on what is being said   and you focus on something else and that is what  you're focusing on the focus is in the wrong place   it's the argument that's being made now how do  you tell somebody i'm in a sticky position here   because i'm wanting to tell  you this is my research this is   it's so clear it's as plain as day and you can't  hold one even though holding one is so tenable in   terms of the genealogical historical setting  and the framework of genesis is so appealing   but to the argument of the writer here it's  untenable in fact it contradicts his argument so   focus on the argument while i'm going down  this line here and it'll it'll fall into place   if we assume the writer of hebrews is  trying to make the thrust of his argument   that melchizedek was not of levi which i'm  going to show you he he actually says that   then axiomatically we must conclude one of two  things on the part of this polemical development   first that melchizedek is not related to levi  as his force of statement that levi was in the   loins of abraham signifies that even if levi  was as a lion or priesthood he was and did   come through the seed of abraham through isaac  through jacob therefore if the argument is thus   then we could say also that the same seed  that was abraham that was in his loins   was paying homage to his own seed in  melchizedek if you're going to make them related it's not it's i'm going to say here one more thing  will sum this up it does not seem very tenable   that an argument could be made or won on such thin  ice now consider the people that he is addressing   they're not like us these are people who were born  and most probably raised and steeped in judaism   so now you're trying to tell these people  why they should abandon this ceremonial law   here is the here is the  whole force of the argument   would you appeal to something that could  be pierced through by alleging that   melchizedek is greater than abraham although he's  only greater by what by distance of generations   or by chronology you couldn't win the argument  on that you're trying to tell the people who   are wanting to go back to an old way that  there was another way given before the law   that has been essentially the prefiguration  that is now substance in christ if you if it starts to make sense you're  going to be on the right track to seeing   how rich not only this chapter is but  as we get into the words the athiki   law and covenant will become a supreme part of  what he's going to say and you can't it's almost   like building blocks if you don't understand  this part of the argument the rest of saying   how christ's blood is superior than the blood  of bulls and goats well that's self-evident   it's a natural understanding but what if you were  thinking that you're missing that ceremonial thing   yes the blood of christ is great but i want to  get back to something i can be seen it's a works   it's a doing it's an activity so this is what's  going on secondly if melchizedek is from the same   is is from some other parentage i'm sorry or  lineage it makes a good argument to then say   this man priest who has made like the son of god  to remain a priest without interruption because   that is essentially we can say that abideth the  priest continually which i showed in the greek   is not eternally it's without interruption  that's the best way to say it it's not   eternally though we i showed you the two  words the writer could have very well used if   he was wanting to say that melchizedek was  eternal he would have used the word ionis ion   eons he would have used the word for ages eternal  he did not use that attached to melchizedek not so   i referred to this earlier in the law the  regulations of the limitations of the priesthood   i've already covered that and if you remember we did a whole study on  psalm 2 and i touched slightly on psalm 110   the reason now we're starting to put pieces  together the reason for using psalm 2   and psalm 110 are very clear psalm 2 fortified  the declaration of sonship to christ psalm 110   fortified and by the way i should say  an and kingship psalm 110 priesthood   for that was the main goal and his kingly  function as well so if you balance these   out you've got the sonship of christ and  his eternal never-ending status we're we're   pushing in a direction to try and show christ  is superior but what is he superior to we know   he's superior to the law we know he said well then  why introduce melchizedek got to come back to that you got to remember that the writer is not  discussing the natural life of melchizedek   it's the priestly pattern and  prototype he's concerned with   now once you re-read chapter 7 and you see the  argument and you see the thrust of the argument   if you go back and re-examine the first six  chapters you're going to see them differently   you're going to see things in there  because now we're focused on the priesthood   and a better priesthood you're going to see  that right at the beginning it's kind of sneaky right at the beginning of the letter telling us that god spoke in different  times in different ways to the fathers by   to the fathers by the prophets hath in  these last days spoken to us to by his son   christ is the last revelation and here's  the the um just very sneaky weaving in of   the first pictures of what he's going to make  the argument about when he had by himself   purged our sins sat down on the  right hand of the majesty on high   right there at the opening of the  book he's beginning to make his case   about the priesthood it's it's already started  you notice the wording is very strange when he   had by himself purged our sins what a strange  way to say something but if you had in mind   from the beginning that the superiority  of christ was going to fill these pages   he didn't just started in chapter seven and he  didn't start talking about the priesthood and the   sacrificial elements of that priesthood  in chapter seven chapter eight or chapter   nine there was no chapter in verse he  started right there i read the beginning   so once you once you get what's being  said in seven and it's crystal clear   go back and reread not only the what i call  the sneaky way in which this is woven in   but you'll also see other things you'll see why  the argument the admonition and the regression   to tell the people are you are you slow of  hearing are you dull of hearing now i've got   many things to talk about regarding melchizedek  but i can't tell you them right now why   because it'll start to make sense that these would  have been concepts which is why he says you know   you need milk right now it's all you can handle   because these were going to be have some heavy  duty concepts you also have to remember in letter   writing unfortunately it's not like you write  something down and then you can elaborate on it   we're not even sure that whoever wrote  was able to elaborate beyond the letter   so what is being said we may see it in a little  lighter sense because we're not only removed   but we're not in the hebrew mindset we're  not thinking like hebrew people like   jewish minds would think so  you've got to get behind that   so if you go back and you re-read you'll  see a little bit of what's going on likewise   i've said many times that first and second  corinthians is a correctional letter of letters pointing at specific errors of things that were  going on for the most part hebrews needs to be   looked at as as the same type of instructional  uh correction regarding the the effectiveness   the um the adequacy of what christ has done and  putting away the ceremony so there's there is a   corrective sense you're going on you just don't  see it the same way but there's a there is an   effort or an attempt on the part of the writer to  make a correction not the same kind of correction   like paul in corinthians where he says it's  rumored it's reported among you that and he   goes on to say whatever he's going to correct  all right other melchizedek christ-related themes   could be seen or understood in the silence of  both genesis and psalms the very fact that this   person simply and abruptly appears and just  as quickly vanishes off the pages of scripture   perhaps was an interesting way of breathing the  question of eternity into the hearts of humankind   that's my speculation right there you know  some people have hypothesized that there were   there was there was other parts to this maybe  not but if it came to us this way in many ways   for most of us it had to have conjured up some  idea of eternity even though melchizedek himself   is not eternal in the sense as christ is but  it it should at least breathe that into our   our thinking some way and so what is equally  interesting is i've made a note of all of the   scriptures chapter and verse in hebrews  that are are connected to eternity there   they bring us to that so maybe the connection  there using that argument also has to do with   a little bit of stirring up those thoughts  whether it's for us or for them i'm not sure   but these references are made in the fifth  chapter sixth verse the fifth chapter ninth verse   six twenty seven seventeen twenty one and twenty  four and also in the ninth chapter verses 12 14   15 the 13th chapter verse 8 and 1320 the other  areas that clearly define a different priesthood   so i'm i'm now we're going to make some notes  and we're going to actually look at some of the   words in the text as well the priesthood of  levi was for the people of that environment   and community it was not a priesthood to  strangers nor was it a broader brush title   in the melchizedek abraham encounter we have  something very unique abraham is not part of   the community that pertains to melchizedek he's  a stranger if you re-read the text of genesis 14   he's wandering through the land even though god  has essentially promised him all that land he's   still wandering through the land and effectively  if a priest ministered to his community   abraham was outside of that community at this  point so there's some interesting things there the connection for us in terms of new testament  believers is kind of the same way we might   approach christ christ says him that comes to me  while i will in no wise cast out we have access we   have we're not part of some exclusive community  that only these people can come but it's the   outcast it's the strangers it's the downcast it's  the darkened alienated ones that come so there's   there are these unique parallels if you read  carefully you'll see them they're shadows they're   not clear cut definitive lines but they're shadows  they're connections between melchizedek and christ   in type and that's what is kind of what i'm  doing between the lines reading between the lines   um what else can i tell you all right in  the text verse 4 your king james reads now   consider how great this man was and you notice  that was is italicized yes it shouldn't be what should be italicized strangely enough is the  word man they may say what are you talking about   and i'm now i'm going to explain a little bit  of translation and i'm going to give you some   reason which i clearly see why they did this  when you read the greek text they're using a word otus this one this way you  can even say this one was this one the reason why the king james  translators did this and they   it's kind of silly they didn't want to  italicize man for a really good reason   because by the time the king james was  being produced there were enough heresies   because i'm i've only read to you like the first  i haven't even gotten to the fifth century yet   of heresies so by the time the king james is  being written there are enough heresies probably   to fill a full a few volumes so it's to me it's  very evident that the the king james translators   chose to italicize was rather than man because  italicizing man might confuse people to think then   indeed he was not a man do you understand that  so there's these there's all these interesting   components when you're it's like digging into  a mess and you realize well why is that there   and then you go check the text and you realize but  oh it's clear to me why they would have done this the greek just simply reads consider how great  this one was and the implication obviously is   referring to melchizedek and his priesthood  now there's the repetition of tithes here i   highlighted how many times we've got it in verse  2 and we've got it in verse four we've got it in   verse five and we've got it twice in verse nine  and i may have missed somewhere i think i did   uh in verse eight as well i'm sorry that's the  one i'm gonna focus on later and in verse six   so i miss them a lot of focus on the key word of  tithes the repetition of ties paid to melchizedek   becomes evident that there's another part of  the argument there's something else in here   that we need to pay attention to now to somebody  reading through this you might say well what's   the big deal what's the issue here you're going  to have to hold on with me because i'm going to   navigate this i tried to crystallize my thoughts  sometimes that's the best way to do something is   write it down succinctly so you don't travel too  far off the map so if we're trying to establish   something uniquely different about melchizedek  the first thing to hit the list is that abram father of faith if you will the one who the lord  spoke to gave a direct promise and blessing to of him we might say no  greater existed at that time turns around and recognizes the greatness of  the man of god and the person of melchizedek when you're reading hebrews 4 4  the emphasis in the english is first the italicized was but the first  emphasis in that whole thing should be   patriarch the patriarch even the patriarch  if you read the greek text there's no even   there's just this very blunt the patriarch now  we passed by that word it's fine it's really   ironic that when i sat down here at a few  minutes to seven there was a program playing   and i was sitting here thumbing through my book  and i was reading a scripture and i i didn't even   know what the festival was about but i only needed  to hear that part of what i was reading to know   i was reading from the book of acts  chapter 2 and somewhere around verse 27 because that section of the bible the book of acts  mentions the word patriarch three or four times   i believe it's three times possibly four  and the only other mention is in hebrews   and when the patriarchs are mentioned it's  focusing on jacob's sons as patriarchs abraham and david now of course  it's self-evident the word patri   arches first father high father first  father patriarch but we're so familiar with   the way that sounds that it may not be  as shocking as when you kind of go down   through this idea of what that would entail  consider the greatness of the patriarch father of what will be three  of the world's major religions   the writer even says levi descendants of levi  it doesn't mean seminally in his loins but as   a representative as a figurehead if you  will paying ties to melchizedek now why talk about the patriarch and then  jump with me into verse 6 because   verse 6 says but he whose descent is not  counted from them received tithes of abraham   and blessed him that had the promises and verse  6 a careful reading and rendering of the text verse 6 who they may which is a greek negation may not  guinea logos get our word for genealogy tracing   his descent but not but not or the one not tracing  his descent from them and the x out on from them is important see this verse 6 actually takes you  back to verse 3 where it says in your king james   without dissent which is a which puts something  in reverse or negates it a guinea logitos without   genealogy or without dissent so essentially what's  happening here in verse six a careful reading   when you read that melchizedek since he  since he is a guinea lagertos of verse 3   it should logically follow that  he cannot trace his lineage   from levi it says it right there we just  have it we have eyesight and brain trouble are you seeing what i'm saying because it's  it's it's there this is not like fabrication or   now just to show you what happens the ex otan   of verse six from them ex oton must be  referring it takes you back to levi now   if you're not clear on what i'm saying i put down  a few of the 26 translations to give you an idea   and these are four from the 26 translation but  who deriveth not his pedigree from among them   from among who the levites weymouth said in this  instance one who does not trace his origin from   them who the levites good speed but this man  whose ancestry is not connected with theirs   whose the levites moffatt but who  but he who had no levitical genealogy   so it's very clear that a reading of the  greek leads you to conclude that the author   of hebrews is convinced that melchizedek is  not in any way shape or form related to levi   now that ought to settle the matter for you not  that it matters because i'm concerned about the   purpose but for some of you who have you know  you've got pet things you've held on to over   the years and i don't mind you holding on to  them if you so wish but just don't contradict   the scriptures because that's going to take  precedence over any theory anybody has any day so what he's saying is melchizedek is  not of the line of the lineage of levi   therefore follow the thinking if levi was  representatively in the loins of abraham   levi essentially paid ties to melchizedek now that may not seem like much to you except  for the fact that a priesthood which was vested   in purity and holiness and sanctification  essentially did obeisance to the uncircumcised that's a thought for you furthermore if  we're going to try and make some family tree   reading of this x out to between verses 3 and  verse 6 lead you to a strong improbability that   if the writer's intent is to separate melchizedek  from levi then he is not related to abraham   that kind of settles the matter i'm  talking about regarding his argument   i don't know you know i read all of  the apocryphal literature and i do read   all of it i mean i i consume books and  things like people drink water so i know that first of all for some of you who are genealogy  fans be really careful when you go and read some   of these books because some of their reckonings  are wrong in fact you'd be surprised at how   many have calculated the chronologies just  in the book of genesis that when you read   their scholarly work you go huh they may be  good at reading greek but they can't count so just you know put it out there now  there's another sidebar to all this   if you know what numbers 18 7 says no stranger can have any part of the priesthood not  just that the priest would not minister   to strangers but that there is a prohibition of  appointing priests outside of the levitical realm so now we're going to see why you keep reading  why the writer points out that our lord sprang   out of judah there's this there's this type or  prototype or prefiguring to tell these people   that this time of ceremonial  religious rituals had come to an end   now i love prophecy prophecy is amazing i love  prophecies that have been fulfilled i like the   prophecies that are yet to come i like prophecies  of every kind the whole book is chock full of them   it really when you start to get  into prophecy it makes you really   it makes you trust god if you didn't trust  god enough already to trust him more because   he's so faithful to his word to make things  happen the things he said he would he did but one of the reasons why i say i like prophecy  is when you begin to understand what is told at   a future time regarding the saints and their  co-reigning with christ then it really does it   almost it's like putting a thread through the eye  of a needle that peter would declare as a royal   priesthood that in the book of revelation  we're called kings and priests under god   and that we are co-reigning ruling and reigning  with him returning with him functioning with him and without some of these pieces being clear  you're going to have a muddled view of what it is   that is essentially the representation  or the point of the argument   even regarding future time which  is why i believe a lot of the   things that i read to you where melchizedek is  in the temple and he's the uh the one who is   meeting out justice and so forth i think that is  a a complete confusion on the part of people who   did not understand the scriptures and while  they were very quick to read about the one   who should come they put the one who should come  basically on oh melchizedek well it must be him so somewhat interesting now you remember what paul  did in romans 5. he said by one man's disobedience one sinned essentially we all sinned the whole  creation plunged into darkness because of adam's   sin and by one man's obedience speaking of  christ so it's this figurehead if you will   adam to humanity adam sinned we all sinned  christ died we are redeemed because of his death   there's there's a similar principle being spoken  of regarding levi in the loins of abraham i'll   leave that up to you to figure that out because  it's very clear once you get the idea the general   principle that's being said it's pretty clear  so um what else can i share with you here   the last thing that i'm going to touch on which  is kind of an interesting one verse eight this   will be enough stuff we've covered tonight because  there's so much stuff in here to cover verse eight oh boy this one everybody has  butchered and bludgeoned so   and here men that die receive tithes but there he  receiveth them italicized of whom it is witness   that he liveth now this is the verse that  has made many people get very confused that must mean that he's eternal  because one testified that   he lives right his witness that he liveth  there's a play on words here and here but there   so let me read what i've noted on this i'd say  first off notice the italics which we've done   the here could be aimed at the levites  or the descendants more literally the   men who are dying or the dying men  those that are the representatives of   the group of people he's speaking of the  priesthood the current priesthood the levites   whereas there the reference is clearly the  melchizedek and now when it is really carefully   so there they are received by  or a better way to say that is   received from abraham he is the one abraham  recording melchizedek's existence that he lives   now you may not see how subtle that is but it's  very subtle because if you translate this properly   it is not saying of whom it is witnessed that  he liveth because that sounds like it's saying   that he yet liveth like in verse 25 where it  says that he ever liveth to make intercession   it sounds like he's still alive but that's not  what's being said so it's it's very interesting   what what can be done what damage can be done  so i'm going to repeat this just for the sake of   so they're referring to the levites or the  descendants or literally men who die or dying men   here there in reference to melchizedek that  the tithes are received from abraham he's   the one testifying that is abraham recording  telling us who has let us know melchizedek's   existence that he lives he lived during his  time now there's no record of his death so   two observations will be made here nothing is said  of his death so it is the testimony of abraham   saying this thing this person this event that  actually happened and a notable person makes a   comment on this thomas aquinas said of this it is  testified uh or in the king james it is witnessed   that he lives that is no mention of his  death not because he did not die but he   symbolizes a priesthood without interruption  no record beyond that that's thomas aquinas   this will come back to what was said earlier  it could have been intended by the writers now   you've got to follow this line of thinking  to suggest that abraham was paying tithes   along with levi as i've just summed up in a  typological way like paul's example of all   have sinned because adam sinned and all have  been saved by one man's obedience and so forth   the concept of of typologically globally uh  projecting this on the basis of all of this   there's a few interesting things and that is i  alluded to them if you're going to be bold do it   boldly essentially i covered this melchizedek was  tithing levi was tithing to melchizedek through   abraham and you may say wow that's a stretch  but this priesthood then is of another order   if you separate the focus of the priesthood from  the person and you begin to see the purpose and   that's what i said from the beginning the  person will start to become less and less   important to you but the purpose will come to  the forefront i said at the beginning if some   of you remember i said the purpose is what is  key and that is what should crystallize here   the achievement of the levitical order now how  matter whatever scriptures you want to quote the   greatness there will be people that will argue  and say but god said it was forever back then   okay let's try this one then because  god said a lot of things were forever   the sabbath and yet when we  encountered jesus in the new testament   he's lord of the sabbath they call his disciples  on the mat because they were plucking corn on   the sabbath and they were eating don't you know  it's not lawful to do that it's the sabbath now   back there in the old testament said  the sabbath is the lord's sabbath   it's the lord's sabbath well it's still  the lord's sabbath in the new testament   if you think about it jesus is the lord of the  sabbath the sabbath is forever but jesus is the   lord of that sabbath now he makes up the rules  you see he tells the people he says well now   one of you has a an animal that falls in the  ditch on a sabbath you're going to leave it there if you see what i'm saying it's pretty bold  but nothing of the levitical way people make an   argument say well god said it was forever there's  a lot of things that god said would be forever   and they were for that time i'd like you to  think about this god said make me a tabernacle   so i can dwell among the people do you  really think if you only had the pentateuch it's a bad way to phrase a question but do you  really think that god would this would be a   permanent plan the tabernacle after all even  the word tabernacle suggests something quite   temporary prefiguring something that was yet to  come a greater tabernacle jesus christ but in   the time that that tabernacle was erected and then  put down and then moved again i'm sure the people   thought this was forever and for generations  to come regard this another way the passover   keep the passover forever into every generation  and man those words are just so right because   our passover is christ so when you begin to see  some of these concepts and they're right here you   understand that the levitical concept could never  do in fact when i look at the tabernacle i think   i'm sorry what was anybody thinking that was  designed to keep men away from god it wasn't   designed to draw them near the whole concept of  only one person being able to go into the holy   of holies one time a year and that's why this  particular book becomes so important because we   read we have access he pierced the veil he's  the prodromos his type of priesthood is so   unique in that when he goes through the veil  as he did as projomos as the first one going   with others to follow we will go behind him where  in the levitical priesthood that was impossible   forbidden so when you begin to put this all  together it begins to be quite clear the argument   for the writer of the book of hebrews  beginning really to crystallize to take   shape in the seventh chapter but he's  been saying it all along and the focus must be on the purpose why introduce  melchizedek we've already covered   christ is the last revelation christ is better  than the angels he even makes a reference to   christ between christ and moses if you think about  it why introduce some other person unless this   other person represents a type a prototype and  then here's the law and the levitical priesthood   and here is now the fulfillment  of what was said in the scriptures   thou art a priest forever according or after the  order of melchizedek well then what is that order   you find the order laid out nice and neatly right  here in the book of hebrews in the seventh chapter   for some of you that were looking for the answer  and we did that exercise which i'll probably   we'll finish it this week because it's something  now that needs to be addressed in light of this   it means that martin luther's uh great leap to  what he said he thinks it would be equally okay   to use the idiomatic meaning of in the words of or  for the sake of the word can't stick because the   after the order of melchizedek is what is being  prefigured by something that is infinitely greater   than the law a concept that is woven in here i  mean when you begin to unfold all this you say   why didn't anybody else think of this i  mean took the this one person to write this   passage why didn't anybody else think of this in  combating the early church's desire to go back to   ritual and ceremony so i'm hoping that this is  going to take away some of the confusion there's   still a lot to chisel away and there's there's  some interesting translation that needs to be done   as we get into the probably the  11th verse weighs it out just evenly   if therefore perfection or completion were  by the levitical priesthood for under it the   people received the law what further need was  there that another priest should arise after   the order of melchizedek and not be called after  the order of aaron and here's where two things   are being weighed out in the argument for those  people that are listening if if this is so which   way will the scales tip and in order for them to  tip in the right direction for them to move on for them to move on because what he tells them about in  that kind of digression or regression   just before the sixth chapter when he says leaving  therefore the principles of the doctrine of christ   let us go on to completion not laying again  the foundation of repentance from dead works   and of faith towards god doctrine of baptisms the  laying on of hands and of the resurrection of the   dead and eternal judgment and this will do if god  permit for it is impossible for those who were   once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly  gift who were made partakers of the holy ghost   and have tasted of the good word of  god and the powers of the world to come   if they shall fall away to renew them again  to repentance seeing they crucified themselves   the son of god afresh and put him to open  shame now why do you think he says this   because this admonition is working its way  towards this argument and the idea of falling   away remember the whole i preached a message on  people saying one saved always saved or you know   well these weren't these weren't believers no  that's the mistake because in perfect context   of the seventh chapter which is i said it's  pivotal to understand the book in that framework   what he's saying is if you desire  to go back and do those ceremonial   performances and start doing those things christ  is dead in vain he's of no avail to you and   he'll go on in the later chapters to say uh the  blood of christ is essentially trodden underfoot   you've done despite to the spirit of god  essentially it's not to unbelievers but to people   who had received but desire to go back to the  old way which represents death and being cursed   now i close all this by saying i got  off on attention to talk about prophecy   and then i stopped because i  interrupted my thought process   to go down another pattern here another  way but don't you find it interesting   i believe this letter was written before 70  a.d i think almost all the bulk of the writings   except for revelation which i believe happens  at a much later date in the 90s 96 98 possibly i find it interesting that this argument is going  on where the people would like to go back to   the ceremonial worship and if indeed  the temple was still standing and   we were talking about pre-70 a.d i think it's  remarkable that god made sure you might say   well but it wasn't god that destroyed the temple  no was the heathen but a lot of times god uses   the chaldean method to accomplish his purpose  and i'm i look at that and i think to myself   well god could have let that alone he could have  protected it he could have let the temple stand   they could have seen the temple as they came  into sack well we can't we can't we can't do that god let it be so because that  dispensation had come to an   end and this is the greatness of this book  when you recognize there are still people today   they're not steeped in judaism and in legalism  of of the law but they're steeped in jamesian   mentalities of works and demonstrations of  goodness and of see my righteousness and see   what i can do and i must surely your church must  do something because it can't just be preaching   the word of god and telling you to have faith  surely that's not the church of jesus christ that's why this is so important and has  struck such a deep cord with me that   in many ways this is the missing message not being  put out there celebration is pointed to christ   his final sacrifice not being relived and  re-sacrificed every day in the mass but in   a living victory over the devil and over the power  of death which the writer so conveniently puts in   here as well that we have someone that has gone as  the first goer and we will go with him which the   levitical purpose the levitical law the levitical  way could never do now you want to go back to that   way that represents death and dying i'm choosing  life and life in christ jesus get on the telephone big is

Channel: Pastor Melissa Scott, Ph.D.

Views: 974

Rating: 4.9298244 out of 5

Keywords: Hebrews 7, Why Introduce Melchisedec?, Melchisedec, priest, priesthood, Levites, Understand the Bible, teaching faith, Faith Center Church, pastor, Pastor Scott, Pastor Melissa Scott, Pastor Melissa Scott PhD, Pastor Melissa, Melissa Scott, Dr Scott, Doctor Scott, Dr Gene Scott, Gene Scott, Doctor Gene Scott, God, Christ, Jesus, God's love, God's promise, truth, the truth, the word, the word of God, love of God, salvation, savior, redeemed, joy, praise, worship, faith, grace, spiritual, trust

Id: NjNvKjjLGmc

Length: 89min 35sec (5375 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 23 2021