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| Rain Registered user Username: Rain Post Number: 14 Registered: 9-2011  |
My dad got some "new information" from his mom Saturday and wanted to share it with me. That always makes me nervous because they listen to some out there stuff that even makes some Adventists squirm, not because it's liberal but because it's super strict. I avoided listening to him until he kind of cornered me while I was reorganizing the kitchen (he still doesn't know I'm a former yet but he seems to get the feeling I don't like listening to him rant). It was about Hebrews 7. His proposition was that Melchizedek was in fact the Holy Spirit, not a king. I disagreed, saying that Melchizedek was in fact a king Abraham gave his war spoils to. Dad then quoted Hebrews 7:3 to prove his point: 1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is 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, he remains a priest perpetually. -Hebrews 7:1-3, NASB I feel that my father's interpretation is a little whacky and he's taking the verse out of context from how the author meant it. However, I don't understand what the verse means, which is why I couldn't really say anything back when he quoted it. What do you guys think? I mean, I could honestly be way wrong in all of this, but my gut feeling is that how he interpreted it is weird. Interestingly enough, my dad just kept on reading straight through about the covenants and Christ's sacrifice being enough; it seemed like he just didn't get what it all was really about. It kind of made me sad. I was dying to say something but was rather intimidated by his zealotry. I made a comment here or there but couldn't quite get it all out there, so to speak. As a side note, how do you make a quote box on here? | ||
| Helovesme2 Registered user Username: Helovesme2 Post Number: 2927 Registered: 8-2004  |
This page will show you how to make a text box, and many other formatting adjustments to your posts. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 13027 Registered: 12-2003  |
Rain, the Hebrews passage refers, as you said, to the Genesis passage about Abraham and Melchizedek. While people have differed over the centuries regarding how to interpret Melchizedek, most Christians agree that the Hebrews passage refers to the fact that the Melchizedek in Genesis is somewhat "mysterious" in that there is no genealogy listed, no background info about him...nothing to identify his lineage or origin. This lack of background doesn't mean he didn't have one--it just means it wasn't important to the story, and its lack made Melchizedek a perfect "type" for understanding Jesus' unique priesthood. Jesus is like Melchizedek in that His priesthood is not based on genealogy. If He were a priest according to the law, He would have had to be from the tribe of Levi. But He wasn't; He was from Judah, the kingly tribe. From a natural, genetic perspective, Jesus did not qualify to be a priest of any sort. He had no priestly ancestors nor any genetic or legal right to be a priest. In the same way, Melchizedek had no qualification for the priesthood according to the law. In fact, Mel was a priest BEFORE there was a law! The author of Hebrews is all about showing how Jesus fulfilled and supersedes and is better than the law...and Melchizedek is a perfect type of Christ because he didn't fit ANY of the law's requirements for priesthood. This is an example of God's anointing trumping the law. God Himself supersedes the law! Another interesting fact: Melchizedek was both king and priest of Salem. Jesus is king and priest, and God has promised that Jesus, the seed of David, will reign one day in Jerusalem...king and priest of Jerusalem as Melchizedek was millennia before. Colleen | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 13028 Registered: 12-2003 |
Here is a link to a sermon by D. A. Carson which he gave at this year's Gospel Coalition annual conference about Melchizedek. It's entitled, "Getting Excited about Melchizedek", and this is an absolutely amazing, fascinating sermon about Melchizedek and how he prefigured the Lord Jesus and how Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the new priest for believers. It's perhaps the best new covenant sermon I've ever heard by someone who is not a former Adventist. http://thegospelcoalition.org/resources/a/getting_excited_about_melchizedek Colleen |
