Melchizedek—
Lord of the
Old Testament
4
Before going on to the prophetic works
themselves, I would like to review the confusing designations used to denote
deity and divine personages. In the Old Testament there are a host of different
names used to refer to God. Some of these are: God, Lord God of Hosts, the Most
High, God of Israel, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord your God and Lord. The
Urantia Book tells us that many Melchizedek references were erased from the
otherwise complete scriptures regarding his activities and teachings. We are
also told that conversations between Abraham and Melchizedek were changed to
"angel of the Lord" and "Lord" in the place of
Melchizedek’s name. Moses knew the traditions regarding Melchizedek (UB) .
Otherwise, these traditions were progressively lost over time by nearly all.
The Urantia Book also tells us that many of the later Hebrew scribes and
priests thought that Melchizedek was one and the same as God. Therefore there
is much confusion regarding these various designations of deity. One solution
is simple—forget about the particular name used entirely and decide by the context of the scripture who is being
referred to. There are really only two choices in the Old Testament, i.e., the
reference is either to God or else to Melchizedek, who is often confused with
God. Jesus was depicted as a suffering servant. Consider:
Psalm
135:21 KJV Blessed be the Lord out
of Zion, who dwells at Jerusalem
Praise the Lord.
Zion is also called the City of David and
literally means "the dwelling place of the Lord". Since we know that
God himself has never "dwelled in Zion", therefore "the
Lord" must be either Melchizedek or an error of some type. The likelihood
of this being an error would seem remote, as this same "dwelling in
Jerusalem" context in association with "Lord" is used in many
places and by many different authors in the Bible. That Zion is a literal dwelling place for a divine being is supported
by many other contexts as well. For example, "the Lord" is said
to leave Zion before the Babylonian captivity because of the continued
rebelliousness and obstinance of the people. The Lord can't leave Zion unless
he previously lived in Zion. Also, Melchizedek was at the right place, at the
right time, and is known to have ministered in "semi-material" form.
(see chapter 1). We also know from the
Urantia Book that Melchizedek was referred to as "the Lord" in
Genesis—why not in Exodus, Deuteronomy, and the prophets? Moses speaks to
"the Lord" in conversational
dialogue and is described in
scripture as being observed by the people while directly speaking to "the Lord". There are dozens of
lines of scripture in a variety of different books that speak of "the
Lord" leading the Israelites and Moses from a "pillar of cloud" overhead. The cloud leads them during the day and
radiates light "like a fire" overhead during the night. Who else but
Melchizedek, in semi-material form, could conceivably fit these Biblical descriptions? We will also see later on that one of
Melchizedek’s attributes in scripture is that he is able to emit large amounts
of visible light. Most importantly
though, this same "Lord" returns in the future to "dwell in Zion"
again, to "judge the nations," and to establish peace and
righteousness in the "latter days".
The Dead Sea Scrolls identifies
this "Lord" as the Messiah figure of the future and as being none
other than Melchizedek himself. 11Q13 is a striking and tremendously important
document written in the first
century BCE. It centers on the mysterious figure of Melchizedek and is
titled ‘the coming of Melchizedek’. There are only a few references (Genesis
14,and Psalms 110) in the Old Testament regarding Melchizedek by name.
The following excerpt is a quote
from Michael Wise, The Dead Sea Scrolls
about the 11Q13, Melchizedek scroll. This excerpt is addressing "the agent
of salvation," the Messiah who comes at the end of the age and is referred
to in the Bible as Lord and even ‘God’.
Michael
Wise The author (of 11Q13)
declares that the agent of this
Dead Sea Scrolls salvation is none
other than Melchizedek, a mysterious
figure
referenced only twice in the Bible (Old Testament),
in
Psalms 110 and Genesis 14. For our
author (of 11Q13,
probably
the Teacher of Righteousness) Melchizedek
is an
enormously exalted divine being, to whom are applied
names
that are generally reserved for God alone, the Hebrew
names el
and elohim. In the author’s citation of
Isaiah 61:2,
which
speaks of "the year of The Lord’s
favor," Melchizedek
is substituted even for the most holy name of
Israel’s God,
Yahweh.
The Urantia Book tells us that
Melchizedek’s name is removed from scripture, here we see it being put back in
by the Teacher of Righteousness of the Dead Sea Scrolls sect.
This remarkable document (11Q13)
tells us several things. First, that the Qumran sect interpreted scripture as
we are doing right now. They
substituted Melchizedek’s name for "the Lord" designation used in the
original scripture. This sect must have
still retained at least some of the truth about Melchizedek and his role in the
history of Israel. Second, this document confirms the statements in the Urantia
Book pertaining to the Lord/Melchizedek confusion, i.e., "Lord" is
erroneously used instead of "Melchizedek." The Dead Sea Scrolls reverse the process and puts Melchizedek
back in place of the ‘Lord’ designation in scripture. This correspondence between
the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Urantia Book mutually validates both sources, as
neither source could have had access to the other. (Urantia Book published in
1955 before 11Q13 had been made public.
Lastly, the document, by its truth, indicates that the Qumran group is
an heir to the "river of truth running down through the ages" in the
form of sacred scripture.
Elsewhere in the Scrolls the
Teacher of Righteousness is said to have had revelatory experiences that
enabled him to accurately interpret scripture.
As many other prophets, he gathered in much truth, but his timing was
wrong, as he expected the "messianic period" to occur close to his
immediate period (around 100 B.C.). Nevertheless 2000 years later, modern
Israel is born in 1948, thus setting the stage for the potential fulfillment of
prophetic scripture regarding the "latter days". As if on queue, the timely arrival of the
Urantia Book and the Dead Sea Scrolls now make possible a new and deeper
reading of the Old Testament scripture, which is so crucial to the
understanding of the confusing world of today.
In conclusion, the deity
designations of the Old Testament are usually either references to Melchizedek
or references to God. The prophetic usage, "the Lord says" and many
similar phrases now take on a new connotation altogether. From the context of
any particular designation, one can usually infer whether the reference is to
God or Melchizedek. The psalmist
writes:
Psalm 110 The Lord said to my lord,
I will make your enemies your footstool…
Your people will
come forward willingly on your
day of battle (The
Day of the Lord)…The Lord has sworn and
will not relent;
you are a priest forever, a rightful king by My decree.
This somewhat confusing passage becomes
simple when you understand who is talking to whom. Consider the same text with
the appropriate designations of deity filled in:
Psalm
110 God said to Melchizedek, sit at
My right hand while I make
your enemies your
footstool. Melchizedek’s people (Israel)
come forward
willingly on your day of battle (the Day of the
Lord). God has
sworn and will not relent ; Melchizedek is a
priest forever, a rightful king by My decree.
Melchizedek’s very name means King of Righteousness in Hebrew and he
is Priest of the Most High, as illustrated below.
Genesis
14:18 King Melchizedek of brought
out bread and wine ;
he was Priest of
God Most High. He (Melchizedek) blessed
him (Abraham),
saying,
"Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your foes
into your hand."
Notice in Psalm 110 that God has made
Melchizedek "a priest forever" indicating that Melchizedek is a
divine being who has an immortal existence as did Jesus. This divine being
offers bread and wine just as Jesus does two thousand years later indicating an
association of some sort between these two personalities. Also, Melchizedek through his blessing of
Abraham tells us that the Most High acts beneath the surface of the historical
event to "deliver your (Abram’s) foes into your hand." "Someday
civil rulers will realize that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men."
(UB 1488).
Melchizedek is the psalmist’s Lord,
and God is Melchizedek’s empowering Agent. In Enoch, an analysis of the
attributes and actions of the one called the Elect One, strongly indicates that
this is also Melchizedek by another title. God says this about the Elect One in
1Enoch :
Enoch
54 :5 O ye Kings, O ye mighty
who inhabit the world, you shall
behold My
Elect One, sitting on the Throne of My Glory…
This stanza implies that it is God
Himself who selects and authorizes the Elect One’s sovereignty that is implied
by the throne. 1Enoch also tells us that:
Enoch 48:4
The Elect One is in the presence of the Lord of Spirits,
according
to his own pleasure.
Therefore, the close, personal relationship
between God (Lord of Spirits) and Melchizedek (Elect One) is well described in
the Psalm just considered where "The Lord said to my lord, I will make
your enemies your footstool…" And so, Melchizedek has devoted thousands of
years to a group of human beings, and they are indeed his people. And, conversely, Melchizedek is indeed their
Lord. The Jewish people know him as the Lord of their historical experience but
they know not his true name. The
Israelites remain lost to history. And
so, Melchizedek knows and awaits the day when he will gather up and rejoice
with his peoples, who yet know him not.
In summary, the Old Testament Biblical
references to "The Lord" are often designations that belong to
Melchizedek.
Next, we begin our chronologic
journey through the Old Testament prophets.
The-Kingdom-of-Heaven-is-at-Hand