Old Testament
Prophecy---
Melchizedek’s
Legacy
1
The Urantia Book has many of the missing pieces to a grand puzzle
about our world and our place in it. So
much that was previously covered up is now revealed in the light of day. Consider Melchizedek and his entrance into
world history approximately 4,000 years ago. For those unfamiliar with The Urantia Book, our world has
undergone intense deprivation and disarray as a result of the Lucifer rebellion
and the failure of Adam and Eve. The
disastrous results of these events have only been partially remediated by the
activities of Melchizedek and Jesus. The Urantia Book tells us that:
UB (Urantia Book)
1014 …revealed truth was then
threatened with extinction…following the
miscarriage of the Adamic mission on Urantia
(Earth)… The concept
of God had grown
dim and hazy in the minds of men… Machiventa
Melchizedek, one
of twelve planetary receivers, volunteered to do
that which had
been done only six times in the history of all Nebadon (our section
of the cosmos); to
personalize on earth as a temporary man of the realm, to
bestow himself as an
emergency Son of world ministry.
UB
1015 It was 1,973 years before
the birth of Jesus that Machiventa Melchizedek
was bestowed…
Like Jesus, Melchizedek attended strictly to the
fulfillment of
the mission…. He came to achieve two tasks: to keep
alive…the truth
of one God and to prepare the way for the subsequent
mortal bestowal
of a Paradise Son of that Universal Father.
(Jesus, the Son of Man).
UB
852 The supramaterial
government of Urantia …continued, but
direct physical contact with the
evolutionary races had been
severed
since the death of Adam.
UB
853 Physical representatives of the universe government had
been
stationed on the
planet . . . over a period of more than four
hundred and
fifty thousand years and now had this come to an end.
UB
853 Angelic helpers continued to struggle in conjunction with
the
thought
adjusters, both working heroically for the salvage of the
individual; but
no comprehensive plan for far reaching world
welfare was promulgated to the mortals of the
earth until the
arrival of
Machiventa Melchizedek, in the time of Abraham,
who, with the
power, patience and authority of a Son of God, did
lay the foundations for the future uplift and
spiritual rehabilitation
of unfortunate
Urantia.
The quotes
above describe the reasons and purposes of Melchizedek’s incarnation on our
world. Let’s step back a little bit and
review the information we have to date about this mysterious and important
figure of Melchizedek, who interacts with Abraham during the dawn of the
Judeo-Christian experience. Also a note
of explanation, Nebadon is our section of the cosmos.
For those readers not familiar with
Melchizedek,
The
Bible tells us:
1.
Melchizedek
was King of Salem (Genesis 14:18) which
later developed
into Jeru(salem).
2.
He
was Priest of the Most High (God).
(Genesis 14:19)
3.
Is before and above Abraham. Blesses Abraham and
receives
tithes from Abraham. (Genesis 14:20)
4.
He is an immortal being: a ‘priest forever’
(Psalms
110), ‘without
record of father and mother or ancestral line, neither with
beginning of days nor ending of life.’ (Hebrews 7:3)
5.
‘resembles
the Son of God’ (Hebrews 7:3)
6.
Is
on a similar divine status as Jesus.
Jesus is ‘a High Priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews
6:20)
The Urantia
Book tells us that:
1.
Melchizedek is a Son of God below the order that Jesus is from
(UB 335)
2.
After
the failure of Adam and Eve he was sent here to begin
restoring the divine plans for our world. (UB 853)
3.
He
was here on our world, beginning around 2000 B.C., for
approximately 100 years as an adult physical being of the
realm. (UB 1015)
4. His main goal was to prepare a people, Israel, that would
understand and recognize Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man.
5. He first had to establish monotheism, the concept of the One God,
so that
the Son of the One God, Jesus, could be understood. This
was
accomplished mainly through the Patriarchs and Prophets of
Israel,
especially Elijah whose successful campaign established the
One God over and above the multitude of
tribal gods (Baals)
previously
in existence. (UB 1062)
6. He
brings God’s covenant to Abraham (UB); he is the‘messenger’
of God’s covenant with Abraham. (Malachi 3:1)
7. He
collaborated with the Prophets to bring God’s plans and
perspectives to man (Israel). (UB 1024). In addition there is a
multitude of
other
information about Melchizedek in The
Urantia Book which fills
out our
knowledge of this previously mysterious figure.
The
Dead Sea Scrolls tells us:
1.
Melchizedek is one and the same as ‘the Lord’ in the Old
Testament (when not referring to God
Himself.) (DSC 11Q13) This
agrees
with statements in The Urantia Book.
2.
Melchizedek is the Lord/Messiah who comes in the last days when
"all
the nations" come against modern Israel as prophesied by the
Old
Testament Prophets (11Q13) This agrees with
The Urantia Book
statements to the effect that Melchizedek is
soon to be our Planetary
Prince, a
World Messiah in residence. (UB 1025 and 1251)
The correlation of the information in the
Dead Sea Scrolls, the Prophets, and The Urantia
Book is a very important observation that suggests a connection to a common
source. That source can only be the
source of all truth, the divine kingdom of heaven, from which God Himself is
directing the revelation of truth to his evolving sons and daughters of the
material world.
Notice carefully that Melchizedek’s
plans involve global welfare, are
"far reaching" into the future, and are comprehensive.
Comprehensive includes all three aspects of reality: material,
intellectual, and spiritual. A
comprehensive plan would then address the genetic-biologic level, the
concept-comprehension level, as well as the spiritual level which was addressed
by Michael’s (Christ’s) bestowal (incarnation). As we look around the world today, can we really say that the
need for "uplift and spiritual rehabilitation" has been fully
satisfied? Did the bestowal of Michael
(Christ) complete and end Melchizedek’s "far reaching, comprehensive plan"? Or is there more to come?
UB
1020 Melchizedek made a formal
covenant with Abraham at Salem.
Said he to
Abraham: ‘Look now up to the heavens and number
the stars if you
are able; so numerous shall your seed (offspring)
be!’. And Abraham
believed Melchizedek, and ‘it was counted
to him for
righteousness.’ And then Melchizedek
told Abraham
the story of the
future occupation of Canaan by his
offspring after
their sojourn in
Egypt.
Note here that the Urantia Book documents that Melchizedek
already knew about Israel’s future occupation of Canaan and tells it directly to Abraham 400 years before
it happens. What else did Melchizedek
know? The Urantia Book offers a clue.
UB
2082 Do not overlook the value of your spiritual heritage, the river
of truth running
down through the ages . . .
Could this river of truth, at least in
part, be the Judaic and Christian scriptural heritage? Have we overlooked
anything? Perhaps the re-analysis of scripture, in the new light of Urantia Book information, could reveal new
scriptural meanings not fully appreciated in times past. The
Urantia Book tells us that:
UB
1021 Melchizedek continued for some years to instruct his students
and to train the Missionaries, who
penetrated to all
surrounding
tribes, especially to Egypt, Mesopotamia and Asia
Minor. … missionaries
penetrated all of Europe, even to
the British Isles. Also, the Hebrews became loosely established
in Palestine.
…They became idolatrous and licentious and their
idea of Deity
fell far below the Egyptian and Mesopotamian
concepts of God that were maintained by
certain surviving
groups and which
were recorded in the Psalms. … The Psalms are
the work of over
a score or more authors; many were written by
Egyptian and
Mesopotamian teachers. No other single collection
covers such a
great range of time…and embraces the entire period
Amenehope to
Isaiah.
And so we have a definite pedigree that
leads from Melchizedek through his missionaries and to the psalms. Whatever the psalmists’ understandings were,
they obtained directly from their long contact with an authoritative source, Melchizedek. Is it possible that information regarding
Melchizedek’s future plans for
Urantia was revealed to the missionaries and may be gleaned from the
Psalms? Scholars of the Dead Sea
Scrolls have been surprised by the large emphasis placed on the use of the
Psalms, as a prophetic source by the Qumran community. In light of The Urantia Book information, they no longer need be surprised.
UB
1043 It was the missionaries of the period following the
rejection of
their teaching who wrote many of the Old
Testament Psalms (? 1800 B.C.),
inscribing them on stone,
where later-day
Hebrew priests (580 B.C.) found them
during captivity
and subsequently incorporated them among
collection of
hymns ascribed to Jewish authorship
(i.e., Psalms of
David).
UB
1061 And thus did the remnants of the missionaries in
Mesopotamia maintain
the light of truth during the period
of the
disorganization of the Hebrew peoples (probably from
Abraham to Moses, approximately four hundred
years) until
the appearance
of that long line of teachers of Israel
(Old Testament
prophets) . . .(my parentheses)
Next
consider that:
UB
491 When Machiventa
Melchizedek ministered in semi-material
form on Urantia,
he paid respectful homage to the Most High
Observer. …
The Urantia Book author slips in the very
important fact that Melchizedek
ministered on Urantia in
semi-material form as well as in his prior material form of 94 years. Semi-material means partly visible to
the human eye. Also:
UB
1024 This same Melchizedek continued to collaborate throughout
the succeeding
nineteen centuries with the many prophets and
seers, thus
endeavoring to keep alive the truth of until …
Michael’s
(Christ’s) appearance on earth.
We know now that not only did Melchizedek minister in semi-material
form after his physical ministry, but also that he "collaborated"
with the prophets. This semi-material
collaboration with the Old Testament prophets resulted in the prophetic Old
Testament scripture we have today. Melchizedek collaborated with Abraham, with
Moses, with Jacob, with Elijah, with Isaiah, with Jeremiah, with Ezekiel, with
Daniel, with the twelve "minor prophets" Joel through Malachi, with
the Teacher of Righteousness of the Dead
Sea Scrolls, and with Enoch. Each of these prophets have yet much to
reveal in dawning light of our 21st century. Melchizedek calls to us
through 2,500 years of time and says:
Hosea
12:11 I spoke to the prophets;
It was I
who multiplied visions,
and through
the prophets gave parables.
The
Urantia Book also tells us that the later prophets (Isaiah through Malachi)
were more accurate than the earlier prophets such as Samuel. We will therefore focus our study on the
later prophets listed above. The Urantia Book also explains that the
prophets’ understanding of God’s motives and nature was conditioned by the
cultural beliefs of their respective times. The prophets therefore confused, at
times, God’s holiness and righteousness for anger, God’s far-seeing wisdom for
retribution, and His intense concern for the welfare of His children for
jealousy. With time, the improved understanding of God’s loving and merciful
nature progressed to a climax in Second Isaiah (Chapters 40-55), with respect to
whom:
UB
1069 No more beautiful
proclamations about the heavenly Father have
have ever been made.
As always, then, we must work with truth
and error side by side, and use the generously bestowed wisdom and information
made available to us through The Urantia
Book. Suffice it to say, for now,
that the foundation of prophetic Old Testament scripture rests squarely on the
shoulders of Melchizedek. He already
knew the future of Israel and he collaborated with the psalmists, prophets, and
servants of God to foretell, very accurately, the future history of Israel.
Also, we will come to understand the evolution of meaning that scripture
attaches to the word "Israel," which ultimately means all those who
desire to do the Father’s will. This
foretold history is a demonstration of the omniscience of God and his complete
mastery of the universe, which He has created.
In the upcoming chapters, we will
use as our sources the three major and twelve minor Prophets of the Old
Testament, the book of 1Enoch, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Daniel, the Book of
Revelation, as well as various and sundry other writings that seem
appropriate along the way. I will also introduce to you an undiscovered major
prophet. As Jesus tells us, God:
UB
1731 did not cease to minister
words of truth to the world when
the prophets of old made an end of
their utterances. And, we
ourselves should
"aspire to become the living prophets of the
Most High and
the spiritual heroes of the coming kingdom."
UB
1390 And, "Jesus had an unerring ability for the recognition of
truth, and truth
he never hesitated to embrace, no matter
from
what source it emanated.
With regard to 1Enoch, consider:
UB
1390 While in the synagogue library at Nazareth, among the
apocalyptic
books, which he had been studying, the manuscript
called the
"Book of Enoch" … proved very intriguing to him
(Jesus), and he read and re-read it many times. … No
other
scripture was so
near the truth as this story (about the son of
man) in this only partially accredited "Book of Enoch"
What other great truths might we find in 1Enoch?
The Dead Sea Scrolls are important because they provide crucial missing
information to the overall prophetic picture of the Old Testament. The leader of the Qumran community, the
Teacher of Righteousness (100-200 B.C.), is an inspired and master interpreter
of scripture. He has much to teach us,
and like the other Old Testament Prophets, the Teacher of Righteousness hints
at a revelatory experience that very likely represents further "collaboration"
with Melchizedek.
The Revelation to John will be used in bits and pieces. The Urantia Book tells us that:
UB
1555 When in temporary exile on
Patmos, John wrote the Book
of Revelation which you now have in greatly abridged and
distorted form. This Book
of Revelation contains the surviving
fragments of
a great revelation, large portions of which were
lost, other portions removed, subsequent to John’s writing.
It is preserved only in fragmentary and distorted form. Because of this information I have used Revelation sparingly and only when it
builds upon a line of prophecy already
established previously in scripture.
The "collaborator" in Revelation is no longer Melchizedek, but
instead Jesus/Michael for the first time, as the "age of the gentile
Christians" begins.
I have also included the work of
several poets because prophets are usually poets and poets are frequently
prophets. Many times poetry foresees
that which is later understood through science and philosophy. This is so because:
UB
1199 Supreme and
self-acting adjusters are often able to contribute
factors
of spiritual import to the human mind when it flows
freely in
the liberated but controlled channels of creative
imagination.
Of course, God Himself is the ultimate
source of all true prophecy. He tells us:
Isaiah 48:12
I am He—I am the First,
And I am
the Last as well.
My own
hand founded the earth,
My right
hand spread out the skies.
Isaiah 48:16 From the beginning, I did not speak
in secret; . . .
Isaiah 48:3 Long ago, I foretold things that
happened,
From My
mouth they issued, and I announced them;
Suddenly
I acted, and they came to pass . . .
Isaiah 46:10 I foretell the end from the
beginning,
And from
the start, things that had not occurred.
I say: My
plan shall be fulfilled;
I will do
all I purposed . . .
Isaiah 48:6 As of now, I announce to you new
things,
Well
guarded secrets you did not know.
Only now
are they created, and not of old . . .
Isaiah 46:13 I am bringing my
victory close;
It shall
not be far,
And my
triumph shall not be delayed.
In conclusion, God is the source and Melchizedek is the mediator of all Old Testament prophecy. (Bible quotes are from the Hebrew translation, Tanakh, unless otherwise stated.)
What secrets of the line could be buried there?