Dr Paul Allen

God presents Melchizedek as a mystery on purpose.   No origin. No lineage. No ending.  He appears, blesses Abraham, and vanishes—  Yet Hebrews won’t let us ignore him.  B ecause in the mystery… God is revealing something greater.  “For it is witnessed of him, ‘You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.’” – Hebrews 7:17 Melchizedek shows up out of nowhere, blesses Abraham, and disappears just as quickly, but Hebrews refuses to let us ignore him. Who is this prophet-priest-king without beginning or end, without family or origin? His name means righteousness; he rules over peace, and he brings bread and wine long before communion. Melchizedek matters because he points us straight to Jesus. Hebrews 7:1-3, a New Testament commentary on Genesis 14, says: “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham… He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness… then king of Salem, that is, king of peace… resembling the...

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Psalm 110 is one of the kingship or royal psalms. It is one of the most frequently quoted psalms in the entire New Testament (cf., Matt. 22:44; 26:64; Mark 12:36; 14:62; 16:19; Luke 20:42–44; 22:69; Acts 2:34–35; Rom. 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:25; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3, 13; 5:6; 7:17, 21; 8:1; 10:12–13; 12:2). According to its title, David was the author of this psalm, a fact that is crucial to its interpretation within the New Testament. 110:1 Yahweh says to my Lord : "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." These introductory lines are important because of what they say about the Messianic king. The first words of the verse following the title are:  ne'um yhwh  indicating that this is an oracle of the Lord. The words  la'doni  are translated "to my Lord." It is significant that David speaks of the king in this psalm as "my Lord." Another translation of these words is: "my...

Image via Wikipedia But this man … received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises” ( Heb. 7:6 ). -  Hebrews 7:4–6 Thus far in the book of Hebrews, we have seen that the greatness of Christ ’s priesthood guarantees the hope of our salvation (6:19–20). And one of the things that makes Christ’s priestly office so great is that He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek (5:6; 7:17). Hebrews 7 gives an extended discussion of the Melchizedekian priesthood. We have seen that Melchizedek resembles Christ because he is a king of righteousness and a king who has neither beginning nor end (vv. 1–3). We have noted that the comparison between the two priest-kings is to be understood in terms of typology and not as a literal, exact equivalence. Though typologies are not to be understood in a strictly literal sense, that in no way renders them foreign to the original context from which they are drawn. Typologies always take seriously the original contexts of t...

Image via Wikipedia But this man … received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises” ( Heb. 7:6 ). -  Hebrews 7:4–6 Thus far in the book of Hebrews, we have seen that the greatness of Christ ’s priesthood guarantees the hope of our salvation (6:19–20). And one of the things that makes Christ’s priestly office so great is that He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek (5:6; 7:17). Hebrews 7 gives an extended discussion of the Melchizedekian priesthood. We have seen that Melchizedek resembles Christ because he is a king of righteousness and a king who has neither beginning nor end (vv. 1–3). We have noted that the comparison between the two priest-kings is to be understood in terms of typology and not as a literal, exact equivalence. Though typologies are not to be understood in a strictly literal sense, that in no way renders them foreign to the original context from which they are drawn. Typologies always take seriously the original contexts of t...