Below, is a song I wrote about my studies:
Genesis 14:18 NKJV [ Abram and Melchizedek ] Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
The name "Melchizedek" literally means "King of Right". And Salem means "Peace". So this priest is king of Righteousness and also of Peace. This office has been quietly passed down through the generations until it reached Jesus. It existed long before Levi and continues into eternity. God never forgot this priesthood. He planned from the start to use it to bring fulfillment with Jesus as the King and Priest!
Psalm 110:4 NKJV The Lord has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 6:19-20 NKJV
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Revelation 5:9-10 (NKJV)
9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”
Here are eight reasons why Melchizedek is better than Levi (but this list is not exhaustive):
1. Our High Priest, Jesus Christ, lives forever. The Melchizedek priesthood is based on eternal life. Levitical priests died and had to be replaced.
2. Levitical priesthood was exclusive. You had to be a Levite (Levi was only ONE of the 12 tribes of Israel) in order to be a Levitical priest. Melchizedek is INCLUSIVE. ALL who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ can be made into a Melchizedek priest! But it must be by faith in Jesus Christ. ALL may come by the ONE WAY.
3. Melchizedek priesthood is based on RIGHTEOUSNESS and BLESSING. Jesus our High Priest is completely RIGHTEOUS, with NO sin, and has atoned perfectly for the sins of the world using His own perfect sinless blood. The Levitical order was based on covering SIN, both the sin of the people, and the sins of the Levitical priests as well. The Melchizedek order completely wiped sin out, while the Levitical order could not fully eliminate sin.
4. Melchizedek is a ROYAL priesthood. Jesus is both KING and PRIEST. He is both LORD and SAVIOUR. He holds a Bivocational role in the office and order of Melchizedek. As a result, all who follow Jesus are joined into the same bivocational role of kings and priests. That is why Jesus is called KING OF KINGS. He is the Big King, and we believers are all His little kings! The Levites were NOT royal. They had no authority to rule in civic circles, only the authority to carry out the priestly duties as prescribed in Moses' law. But on the other hand, Melchizedek has ALL authority and power in ALL spheres and circles of influence in life and in the nations, in heaven and in the earth! The Name/Title of "Melchizedek" literally means "King of Right" and he is described in the Bible as the King of Shalom (King of Peace). Jesus Christ is the Righteous King and the Peace-bringing Priest. He brings peace between God and humans.
5. Melchizedek's office is based on divine eternal OATH, not lineage. God swore an oath to His Son Jesus Christ calling Him a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. The Levites' office is based on lineage.
6. The Melchizedek priesthood's past, present and FUTURE is eternally secure through Jesus Christ. Jesus lives forever. Thus the Melchizedek priesthood brings a balanced emphasis to both the single lifestyle (examples: Jesus on earth, The Apostle Paul, the Prophet Ezekiel (became a widower), and the Prophet Jeremiah) and the married lifestyle (examples: Peter had a wife, and Priscilla and Aquilla were married to each other). Single people, and married people can BOTH join the Melchizedek order, through Jesus Christ, the only Door to Heaven. As created by God and ordained in the Garden of Eden, Marriage is sacred, and natural children are a natural blessing. So are spiritual children. Through adoption in Jesus, we are all made spiritual children of GOD!
SO the Melchizedek order WELCOMES natural children but CONSISTS of Spiritual children.
Melchizedek does not depend on natural childbirth for its existence, in the way that the Levitical order did. Melchizedek has ALWAYS existed, and always will. The ONLY WAY to be a Levitical priest was to be naturally BORN to a LEVITE. But the ONLY WAY to be a Melchizedek priest is to be BORN FROM ABOVE (Born in the Spirit) through faith in JESUS CHRIST! (John 3:3) Natural lineage/natural birth does not earn you the right to become a child of God or a Melchizedek priest, nor does it secure the Melchizedek line.... it is already eternally SECURE!
ONLY by GRACE through FAITH in Jesus may we become a child of God and a Melchizedek priest. Even if you die without children, the Melchizedek order continues! And by Jesus Christ, you will be resurrected! So your future is secure and so is the Melchizedek priesthood! There is no pressure for you to get married or to stay single. The choice between these two seasonal gifts is yours, take whichever blessing you would like to take in Jesus Christ! This blessed choice is yours because of the nature of the Melchizedek order.
Because death is defeated by Jesus, (Heb. 2:14-15) He lives forever. And even when we die a natural death, as His followers, that is not the end for us. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. If we believe in Him, we WILL rise again, regardless of natural heritage or lineage.
We WILL be resurrected in POWER by His Spirit at His return! Marriage and Natural children are always a blessing. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, by special miracle of God. And Jesus built His priesthood using 12 spiritual sons. Jesus Christ alone is who secured the Melchizedek order, and it is perpetually secure and final in the Heavens and earth!
7. The Levitical order existed as a temporary measure until the Messiah, Jesus Christ, came to earth and accomplished the perfect atonement for all our sins. The Melchizedek order is a PERFECT and PERMANENT solution and is fixed in place FOREVER.
8. The Melchizedek order is ETERNAL. It had no start, and it has no end. It has no mother or father, it has no genealogy. It exists from before the earth began and it will continue to exist eternally in the New Heaven, the New Earth and in the New Jerusalem. The Levitical order had a start and an ending. It was finished when Jesus died on the cross and finished the work of atonement. The veil was split in two and the way to the Most Holy Place was now made available through Jesus Christ. All who want to come, may come by the way of Jesus, to meet with God. Isn't that just AWESOME!
------------------Have a look at Hebrews chapter 7 below to learn more! God bless and Happy new Year 2018!-----------------------
PC - Wed Jan 3 2017- 9:10pm EST
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Hebrews 7 (NKJV)
The King of Righteousness
7 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, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. 8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.Need for a New Priesthood
11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. 13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. 15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest 16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. 17 For He testifies:
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
Greatness of the New Priest
20 And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath 21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:
“The Lord has sworn
And will not relent,
‘You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek’”),
And will not relent,
‘You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek’”),
22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. 24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.
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