Melchizedek vs Christ

Introduction

Melchizedek is certainly one of the most mysterious figures of the bible. While some have concluded that he is a Christophany, or appearance of Jesus before the incarnation, others feel it does not matter which ever way. The concept of our salvation is based on the identity of Jesus as Christ the Lord and Son of God.

If we believe that Melchizedek is Jesus Christ, then inadvertently, when we worship Jesus Christ, we are at the same time worshipping Melchizedek.

Just as those who believe that the Angel of the Lord is Jesus Christ, what that means is that when they worship Jesus, by extension, they are also worshipping the Angel of the Lord.

If you are wrong in your understanding of who Christ is, it may ultimately affect certain areas of your faith, or serve as basis to other more dangerous doctrines. 

(I have a separate teaching called: The Angel of the Lord – You can make request for it.)

I will start by stating at the very beginning, that I don’t believe that Melchizedek is an appearance of Jesus Christ before his birth. In fact I don’t believe that Jesus Christ was ever revealed to the world before his birth in Bethlehem. I will start by exploring the reasons why Melchizedek is believed by some to be Christ, and then explain from the scriptures, why he is not.

The Argument For

Let me start by listing the reasons why Melchizedek is believed by some to be Jesus christ. It is all based on one passage of the bible. Hebrews 7:2-3.

Hebrews 7:1-5 (ESV)

1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 

2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham.

So the argument goes like this:

Hebrews 7 presents attributes of Melchizedek which can only apply to God. 

1. King of Righteousness
2. King of Peace
3. Without Mother and Father
4. Without Beginning of days or End of Days
5. Continues a Priest Forever
6. Greater than Abraham

Jesus Christ is revealed as Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6, and he is the source of our righteousness it is concluded therefore that this must be referring to Jesus.

Since the bible says, In Jesus Christ, the Godhead was pleased to dwell in bodily form, so it’s concluded that Melchizedek must therefore be God in human form, and therefore Jesus Christ. This is considered to be a manifestation of Christ before his birth, which explains why he had no Father, Mother or Genealogy.

However, Let me give 7 strong reasons why Melchizedek can not be  Jesus Christ.

1.) Jesus is ANOTHER priest like Melchizedek

The first reason is simple: I have not found a verse in the book of Hebrews or in the whole bible that actually says, Jesus is Melchizedek.    It’s a deduction made.

What we are told for certain, is that Jesus is LIKE Melchizedek. That is the purpose of the discourse, to show that the priesthood of Jesus is LIKE that of Melchizedek. Not to say that Jesus is Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:15-17 (ESV) 

15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. 

17 For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

As you can see from these verses, the author is making it clear that Jesus is another Priest in the same order of Melchizedek. God could have simply said, I will bring you back Melchizedek. That distinction is important.

2.) God did not speak to the Fathers through Jesus Christ

Before the writer of Hebrews gets to chapter 7, he starts his letter by making it clear that God did not speak to the Fathers through Jesus Christ as he has done to us in these last days.

Hebrews 1:1-2 (ESV) 

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

To believe that Melchizedek who went and blessed Abraham is Jesus Christ would require us to ignore the very first thing that the writer of Hebrews has said. So, whoever Melchizedek is, can not be the son of God, otherwise the writer of Hebrews would be contradicting himself.

As a general rule, we should not take a single vague scripture and interpret it in a way that contradicts other clearly stated scriptures. We must maintain there harmony of the scriptures.

3.) Jesus Christ Appeared ONCE at the end of the Ages

The writer of Hebrews is also very clear in his letter that Jesus Christ came ONCE at the end of the ages, and we are waiting for his second appearance.

Hebrews 9:26-28 (ESV) 

26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 

27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Jesus appeared once for all, at the end of ages, and will appear a second time for salvation. That’s why the next coming of Christ is called the second coming.

Melchizedek was a king of the city of Salaem which was a city in Canaan. If Jesus once came and became a king among the Amorites, with the name Melchizedek, then it means that when he came to Bethlehem it was now not his first coming but his second coming. It would mean the writer of hebrews has contradicted himself again.

4.) The WORD became flesh only Once.

John 1:3-14 (NIV) 

3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Before his birth, Jesus existed as God the word. He became flesh and dwelt among us only once. Once we say Melchizedek, who is cleary referred to as a man, was also the word as flesh, it means we have not only contradicted scriptures, but have created another doctrine and another Christ.

The WORD did not become flesh several times, only once. Here is another scripture…

Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV) 

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death —even death on a cross!

It is clear from this, that the only time that Christ was found in appearance as a man, is the time that he came to die on the cross.

Even if we go back to Hebrews, the writer makes it clear that the days of Christ’s flesh, where the days that he offered himself up on the cross.

Hebrews 5:5-7 (NKJV) 

5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”

6 As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek”;

7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,

That term, “In the days of his flesh” would be meaningless, if he had always been coming in the flesh for thousands of years. 

5.) If Melchizedek is Christ then so is Adonizedek.

One of the reasons sighted for believing that Melchizedek is Christ is because of the meaning of his name.

His name is Melchizedek, a combination of two words, Melech meaning King, and Tzedek meaning Righteousness.

That’s the meaning of his name. He was king of a Canaanite city named Salem or Shalim. Salem means Peace.

Genesis 14:18 (ESV) 

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)

Salem, is now called Jerusalem. Jerusalem means City of Salem, or City of Peace.

It was a city that belonged to the Amorites, and Melchizedek was their king and priest.

Years later, when Joshua returns to Canaan, he finds a king of that same city, who is called Adonizedek.

Joshua 10:1 (ESV) 

1 As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,

Adonizedek means Lord of Righteousness. Adonizedek was later killed by Joshua, because he was a wicked man.

Just because AdoniZedek’s name means Lord of righteousness, does not mean that he himself is Lord of Righteousness. In the same way, just because Melchizedek’a name means King of Righteousness does not mean that he is King of Righteousness.

Most names and titles of kings were given in honour of God.

6.) There is no Record of Melchizedek as God

Before we start worshipping Melchizedek as our God and creator, let’s keep in mind that there is not a single verse in the bible that actually says, Melchizedek is God or Melchizedek is Christ or where Melchizedek is addressed by someone as Lord or creator.

When it comes to Jesus, we can be sure he is God because God the Father Calls him God and creator in Psalms and Hebrews. The apostles call him God and creator in Colossians and John. The Holy Spirit calls him God, and he himself confirms he is God in the gospels and the book of Revelation.

But with Melchizedek, there is not a single verse. What we have is a private interpretation of one vague scripture.

I have noted that every truth of the bible, will be witnessed and c early expressed by many scriptures, from both the old and the New Testament.

7.) Melchizedek Did not claim to be God

In the only record of Melchizedek speaking, he does not claim or speak as God. We have records of Abraham speaking to Yahweh, and Yahweh speaks as God to Abraham. However Melchizedek, actually honours the God of Abraham.

Genesis 14:18-20 (ESV) 

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;

20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” 

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything

So What does Hebrew 7: 2-3 mean?

We should not take one scripture out of it’s context, and create a whole doctrine which contradicts many other scriptures. The right understanding of a scripture is the one that is consistent with it’s context and in harmony with the other scriptures.

Melchizedek is a TYPE of Christ.

The Old Testament is filled with types and shadows of the coming Christ. For example: Adam, Joshua, Isaac, David, Solomon, Elijah, Jonah etc.

Romans 5:14 (NKJV) 

4 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come

The whole bible is written in such a way as to reflect the story of Christ. 

Hebrews 10:7 (NKJV) 

7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’

When a person is looking at an Old Testament type, and revealing how it shows the life of Christ, it is called typology. This is what is happening in Hebrews 7. He is showing how the story of Melchizedek reveals the priesthood of Christ.

An example of typology is given by Jesus in these scriptures:

Matthew 12:40 (ESV) 

40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

John 3:14-15 (ESV) 

4 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

In the above instances, you can see that these were actual events that took place in the Old Testament, yet they were prophetic concerning things that Jesus would accomplish when he comes.

Melchizedek was King and Priest, Jesus Christ is also King and Priest. 

King of Righteousness

Hebrews 7:2 (NIV)

2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”

His name means King of Righteousness, this shows that he is revealing what the True King of Righteousness will do when he comes.

For example: Joshua’s name in Greek is Jesus. It means saviour. When he leads the Israelites into the promised land, his life is prophesying that Jesus Christ will lead the believers into the Kingdom of God. But Joshua, is not Jesus Christ, though he shares the same name with him.

Without Mother and Father

Hebrews 7:3 (NKJV) 

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

Take note that the scripture does not say, HE IS THE SON OF GOD, but made LIKE the son of God.

He is talking about the way the story is told. We are not given a record of His mother, his father or even his birth and his death. God did this on purpose. The purpose is to show, that he is typing the priesthood of the Son of God which is eternal. He is being made to resemble the son of God. 

Hebrews 7:3 (NIV) 

3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

A few verses later, The writer of Hebrews actually distinguishes that Jesus has a Father and a genealogy.

Hebrews 7:14-15 (ESV) 

14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek,

The writer of hebrews is not contradicting himself. Jesus has always had a father. So God did not put a record of Melchizedek’s birth, genealogy or death in order to show that the priesthood of Christ will not be numbered. It will not have an end. It is everlasting.

A Summary In Conclusion

Scriptures make a clear distinction between Melchizedek and Christ. Jesus is ANOTHER priest in the likeness of Melchizedek. 

Scriptures are also clear that the first appearance of Christ was his birth in Bethlehem, and that God spoke to the fathers through other means and not through the son. Scriptures are also clear that the word became flesh once, and Christ took upon human form at the time when he was going to the cross.

Melchizedek was a great man, a king and priest, but a man none-the-less. He was a type of Christ, and God told his story in a way that would reveal the greatness of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. The next time the descendants of Abraham returned to Canaan, they did not find Melchizedek, but they found his successor, Adoni-Zedek who was a type of the antiChrist. And he was killed by Joshua, who was also a type of the coming Christ.

Today there are many people who are regarded by their followers as Christophanies, manifestations of Jesus Christ in the flesh. It is an error, and believing that the man Melchizedek is also Jesus Christ when he is not, falls in the same category. Let us be careful.

In the end I say this, if one chooses to teach that Melchizedek is God, then they should know that they are telling people to give worship and prayer to Melchizedek. Are we ready to introduce people to a new God, based on a private interpretation of one vague verse, in contradiction to so many other clear verses of the bible. I think NOT.

Amen.