Abraham was overjoyed to see Christ. Was this Melchizidek?

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claninja

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John 8:56
Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

Genesis 14:18-20
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19and he blessed Abram, saying,“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,Creator of heaven and earth.20And praise be to God Most High,who delivered your enemies into your hand.”Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Hebrews 7:1-4
This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!
 
GandalfTheWise

GandalfTheWise

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I've heard things like this before. It is stretching it a bit in my opinion. For example, John 8:56 doesn't necessarily say that Abraham saw Jesus, but his day. Also, if Abraham did indeed see Jesus, why only in the person of Melchizedek and not Genesis 18 or other times scripture says he was talking with God?

My take on it is that a large section of Hebrews is contrasting the Aaronic priesthood with that of Christ. For one to be a high priest in the order of Aaron, one's father must have been high priest (or related to the high priest) and mother from the appropriate tribe, and in the right genealogy. Without the right father, mother, and genealogy, you could not be high priest. The high priest became priest on a particular day and his priesthood ended when he died and the next high priest started. I'm not convinced this is a direct reference that Melchizedek was an immortal being, but rather that there was a priesthood that Abraham recognized that did not meet the requirements of the Aaronic priesthood. The author of Hebrews seems to be making the case that the priesthood of Christ supersedes that of the Law. A part of that is showing that even the OT shows that there was another priesthood acknowledged by Abraham.

This is one possible take on it. I know people who come down on both sides of it.
 
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claninja

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GandalfTheWise said:
I've heard things like this before. It is stretching it a bit in my opinion. For example, John 8:56 doesn't necessarily say that Abraham saw Jesus, but his day. Also, if Abraham did indeed see Jesus, why only in the person of Melchizedek and not Genesis 18 or other times scripture says he was talking with God?

My take on it is that a large section of Hebrews is contrasting the Aaronic priesthood with that of Christ. For one to be a high priest in the order of Aaron, one's father must have been high priest (or related to the high priest) and mother from the appropriate tribe, and in the right genealogy. Without the right father, mother, and genealogy, you could not be high priest. The high priest became priest on a particular day and his priesthood ended when he died and the next high priest started. I'm not convinced this is a direct reference that Melchizedek was an immortal being, but rather that there was a priesthood that Abraham recognized that did not meet the requirements of the Aaronic priesthood. The author of Hebrews seems to be making the case that the priesthood of Christ supersedes that of the Law. A part of that is showing that even the OT shows that there was another priesthood acknowledged by Abraham.

This is one possible take on it. I know people who come down on both sides of it.
Click to expand...
I can definitely agree with this. It's just such a weird little Tidbit thrown into genesis 14. God had a king and high priest before there was even a nation of Israel?
 
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Sanoy

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GandalfTheWise said:
I've heard things like this before. It is stretching it a bit in my opinion. For example, John 8:56 doesn't necessarily say that Abraham saw Jesus, but his day. Also, if Abraham did indeed see Jesus, why only in the person of Melchizedek and not Genesis 18 or other times scripture says he was talking with God?

My take on it is that a large section of Hebrews is contrasting the Aaronic priesthood with that of Christ. For one to be a high priest in the order of Aaron, one's father must have been high priest (or related to the high priest) and mother from the appropriate tribe, and in the right genealogy. Without the right father, mother, and genealogy, you could not be high priest. The high priest became priest on a particular day and his priesthood ended when he died and the next high priest started. I'm not convinced this is a direct reference that Melchizedek was an immortal being, but rather that there was a priesthood that Abraham recognized that did not meet the requirements of the Aaronic priesthood. The author of Hebrews seems to be making the case that the priesthood of Christ supersedes that of the Law. A part of that is showing that even the OT shows that there was another priesthood acknowledged by Abraham.

This is one possible take on it. I know people who come down on both sides of it.
Click to expand...

That is interesting. One of the reasons why the Jews can't build the Temple is because of this very thing. There is no priest left to the lineage. In fact when they tried to rebuild it back in the Roman era the earth rejected it. Given that the third Temple was built by Christ, to which we are bricks, it makes sense of the "order of Melchizdek" replacing the Aaronic order because there will only be one priest ever for all of time.
 
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