The author of Hebrews goes into great detail to link the Melchizedek priesthood with Jesus. Chapter 7 acknowledges that Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, "and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests." (verse 14) The author examines the priesthood of Levi, which had been established by Moses when he named Aaron and his descendants (the tribe of Levi) to minister to the people and to keep charge of the tabernacle of witness. (See Hebrews 8:2.) They were to offer sacrifices for their own sins and the sins of the people, but Hebrews 10:4 points out: "For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins." Hebrews therefore emphasizes the inadequacy of the Levitical priesthood; a new and better covenant was needed between God and man. "For he finds fault with them, when he says:'The days will come, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah...... (Hebrews 8:8) This superior covenant is found through the Melchizedek priesthood in Christ Jesus, "Who has become a priest, not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent but the power of an indestructible life." (Hebrews 7:16)
The pre-eminence of the Melchizedek priesthood is arrived at in yet another manner:
One might even say that Levi himself who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor, when Melchizedek met him. (Hebrews 7:9-10)
By this rationale of Levi paying tithes to Melchizedek and by Melchizedek being more than a mere representation between God and man of carnal sacrifices, Melchizedek is recognized in the New Testament as a priest of a higher order than that of Levi. His is a priesthood of sufficient rank to accommodate the Son of God.
Hebrews also recognizes Jesus as the Messiah described in Psalm 1 1 0. In first referring to the Levitical priesthood, it is said:
For they were made priests without oaths; but this one was made a priest with an oath, as it was said concerning him by David, The Lord was sworn, and will not lie, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. All these things make a better covenant because Jesus is its surety. (Hebrews 7:21-22; Lamsa translation)
Verse 21 contains an actual verbatim quote of Psalm 110:4, discussed earlier.
There are a number of interesting parallels between Melchizedek and Jesus:
1. Both were characterized as priests ordained specifically by God, rather than by man. Neither was eligible under Jewish law and tradition to be considered priests: Melchizedek was a Gentile, and Jesus was not of the priestly tribe of Levi. Both represented a dimension above the law with divine ordination.
2. King of Salem means King of Peace, and Jesus was heralded and proclaimed the Prince of Peace.
3. Melchizedek was both a priest and a king. Jesus' priesthood is documented in Hebrews, and he was known by the sign on his cross as "King of the Jews."
4. In giving his blessing to Abram, Melchizedek brought forth bread and wine, traditional memorials of offering and sacrifice. Similarly Jesus, in blessing his disciples before his trial and crucifixion, offered bread and wine as symbols of his body and blood and of the sacrifice he was to make.
5. In tablets excavated at Tell el Amama dating back to 1400 B.C., Jerusalem is referred to as Uru-Salem, and in Psalm 76:2 (a psalm written by Asaph, who incidentally the Cayce readings say was another incarnation of the Master soul) Jerusalem is simply called Salem. Most scholars have concluded, as did first century Jewish historian Josephus, that Jerusalem was originally known as Salem. If so, then Melchizedek was king of the city where Jesus eventually was crucified and ended his ministry. Jesus'lamentation over the error of Jerusalem's ways and its imminent destruction thus takes on special and poignant meaning:
"0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold your house is forsaken and desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." (Matthew 23:37-39)
6. Two Biblical stories stand out as tales with profound symbolic significance for the spiritual evolution of humanity. Each is considered a masterpiece of allegory and esoteric meaning and a complete sermon within itself One is the parable of the prodigal son in the New Testament; the other, the Old Testament story of Job. The prodigal son parable, of course, belongs to Jesus, and, according to Cayce, Melchizedek wrote the Book of Job. Cayce also says that Job was not an actual, historic person, but a symbolic figure-as is the case with the prodigal son. While modern scholars are unsure of the authorship of Job, some do place the book in the historical period of the patriarchs and the Abrahamic covenant-and thus in Melchizedek's time.
Three chapters in the Epistle to the Hebrews (5, 6, and 7) discuss at great length the equality and similarity of Jesus and Melchizedek. The author of Hebrews stops short of saying they were one and the same entity, but he does hint at a mystery. Hebrews 5: 1 0 and I 1 states that, although Jesus was "called of God an high priest after the order of Melchizedek," there is more to be said, but it is difficult" seeing ye are dull of hearing." The author continues: For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need some one to teach you again the first principles of God's word. You need milk, not solid food; for every one who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:12-14)
This same language also appears in 1 Corinthians 3:1 and 2, where Paul indicates his audience is not ready to hear the full story.
In a similar vein, Cayce stated that the belief in previous lives of people, or reincarnation, was dropped by the early Church to create a "shortcut." This deletion was apparently aimed at simplicity and mass acceptability. The "babes" were not ready for "solid food" and the learning of the mysteries of the soul.
Some early Christians did apparently understand the full implication of the connection between Melchizedek and Jesus. A footnote to Genesis 14:17-26 in the Jerusalem Bible states that several of the early Church Fathers "even held the opinion that Melchizedek was a manifestation of the Son of God in person.112
The name "Melchizedek" has generally been translated, from Josephus to modern scholars, to mean King or Lord of Righteousness.' With this meaning in mind, the following messianic prophecy by the great Hebrew prophet Jeremiah becomes very significant:
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