p. 438 | Melchisedek by Editor

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 4, 1883

Melchisedek.

By Editor

THE question is asked us how we reconcile our views of Melchisedek with the following words from the "Spirit of Prophecy," Vol. 2, page 396, concerning Christ: "Ask Abraham, he will tell you, It is Melchisedek, King of Salem, King of Peace." We see no difficulty in this. King of Salem is king of peace, for "Salem" means "peace." Melchisedek is formed from two Hebrew words, melek, king, and zedek, righteousness. Christ is truly Melchisedek, in the sense that he is truly the king of righteousness, but he is not that Melchisedek of Gen. 14, who was a type of Christ. He is the antitype—a priest after the order presented by him in Gen. 14. In that type Abraham saw Christ, as truly as Israel saw him in Aaron, or in the sin-offering. Because he was the Lamb of God, an offering for sin, he was not the lamb offered in the sanctuary on earth.

Ezekiel, speaking of the final restoration of God's people, more than four hundred years after the death of King David, said: "And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it." Eze. 34: 23, 24.

By this shall we conclude that David was actually Christ? and that, when the kingdom is restored, David will again reign over it, he being truly the Messiah? No; we shall not. Yet we have just as strong reason for this conclusion as we have for the belief that Melchisedek of Gen. 14 was Christ. Abraham saw Christ in Melchisedek, just as Ezekiel saw Christ in David. Melchisedek represented Christ in his priesthood, even as David represented him in his future reign and kingdom. He is a priest "after the order" of the first; he will be a king in the line of the second. We willingly rest with our readers the argument on this subject in the SIGNS of September 20.