Information Related to "Who Was Melchizedek?"
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We have already seen that Jesus Christ is the Mediator between God and man. His willing sacrifice for our sins uniquely qualified Him for this crucial role. Yet the preexistent Word also prefigured this sacred office during the time of Abraham.
He did so in the person of Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God. The book of Genesis only briefly mentions this mysterious person. But King David, and especially the New Testament book of Hebrews, does not miss His deep significance.
To understand Melchizedek's identity, we must again let the Bible interpret the Bible. Our breadth of understanding is augmented enormously when we join these three accounts together and consider them as a whole.
First let's look at the Genesis account. After rescuing his nephew Lot from military capture, Abraham encountered Melchizedek. "Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High who has delivered your enemies into your hand.' And he [Abraham] gave him a tithe of all" (Genesis 14:18-20).
It is interesting to note that Melchizedek greeted Abraham with bread and wine, later to become the symbols of Christ's Passover sacrifice of His body and blood. Also, Melchizedek addressed God as "Possessor of heaven and earth." Around 2,000 years later, Jesus Christ addressed the Father as "Lord of heaven and earth."
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