in your opinion who was Mel-chiz'edek?

Question

1: For this Melchiz'edek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him; 2: and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3: He is without father or mother or genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest for ever.
\http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/rsv2www?specfile=%2Ftexts%2Fenglish%2Freligion%2Frsv%2Frsv-pub.o2w&query=Melchiz%27edek&docs=TEI2&sample=1-100&grouping=work and alsohttp://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/rsv2www?specfile=/texts/english/religion/rsv/rsv-pub.o2w&act=surround&offset=2910851&tag=Genesis,+chapter+14&query=Mel-chiz'edek

was he an angel or possibly Jesus before he was flesh?

Answer 1

Mel-chiz'edek King of Salem.

The meaning is follows:
Melchizedek = King of the elect
Salem = peace
So it is -
King of the elect King of peace.
Thou this could be another being it fits Christ to a tee.
And I believe it was (is)

Melchizedek was at the time of Abraham was king of Salem and high priest to the God of Abraham and it is the first time a tithe was made. Abraham tithed to Melchizedek.

Answer 2

This was written by Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, of www.Ariel.org:

Melchizedek was simply a human being who happened to be both the king and priest of the city of Jerusalem in the days of Abraham. The point of Hebrews 7:1 is not that he did not have a father and mother, but only that there was no record of it. Hebrews wants to stress that for the Melchizedekian priesthood, ancestry was not relevant as with the Aaronic priesthood. To be an Aaronic priest, one had to show descent from Aaron. But the Melchizedekian priesthood was by divine appointment only, and, therefore, ancestry was not necessary. That is why the Bible does not give the names of Melchizedek's parents or his genealogy. Hebrews 5:1 clearly states that one of the prerequisites for priesthood is that one had to be human. Therefore, Melchizedek could not have been a pre-incarnate Christ nor could he have been an angel. Another reason he could not have been a pre-incarnate Christ is that Old Testament theophanies came and disappeared once they gave their message and never held permanent office on earth; but Melchizedek did hold permanent office(s) as king and priest. In addition, when the Bible compares Christ to Melchizedek, it says he was made like the Son of God. It does not say Melchizedek was the Son of God, but simply “like” in the sense that Melchizedek was a type of Christ as he was both priest and king. Melchizedek was certainly a type of the Messiah, but he was not the Messiah Himself, nor pre-incarnate Christ, nor an angel, but simply a human being.
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Dr. Fruchtenbaum has long been my mentor and I trust his judgement implicitly. I hope his answer is helpful to you.

Answer 3

This is for you and Suzanne.

Suzanne, I understand that you look up to this man that you quoted. Yet right inside Hebrews, which he quotes, is also the very verse that denies what he has written.

Angels can and do take human form and can and do reside on this earth for unknown amounts of time. Be careful, for you may have entertained an angel today.

Now as for who he was, he was here to teach Abraham a bit more than he already knew. Abraham was tired and weak after an exhaustive battle. When we are tired and weak, we are suseptible to our inner person and less aware of what God wants from us. Melchizedek appears unto Abraham without being called for and ministers to him. He gives Abraham nourishment both spiritual and earthly food.

Here we have a king that is personally tending to the needs of one man, so that he will be strong when he is called to deal with the Kings which he had freed with the help of God.

In those days, you could not say no to a King. Abraham was going to have to be strong and refuse payment from the king for saving his life. Abraham was going to have to tell the King that the battle was won by God and not himself, so no payment was needed and could not be accepted.

SO, could of Melchizedek have been an angel, sent here for a specific time period for a specific job? Of course.

Geneology was important, very important, not just for the line of priesthood, but for the line of salvation. Strict records were kept of all births and deaths and family lines.

The fact that Melchizedek was important enough to write down that he had no beginning nor an end is very important for us to see, or it wouldnt have been written at all.

Just remember, Melchizedek could have been God himself also. We are simply given no more information, but I know of only one that has no beginning and no end, no mother or father, and contiues as priest forever and that is GOD.

Answer 4

He was the physical manifestation of Jesus in the old Testament.
He met all the criteria.
He was priest of the Most High God.
He was the king of Salem.
No beginning and no end.
He resembled the Son of God.

He also brought out the bread and the wine.
Interesting Jesus did the same thing at the last supper.

In the book of Hebrews Jesus is named "THOU ART A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK."

So it is my opinion that He was the physical manifestation of Jesus in the old Testament.

Answer 5

You got the Bible, what else is there to say? I don't think that was more than a figure of Jesus, roman catholics see him as that, but i wouldn't say that it was really Him, you know?
An angel? it could have been, specially if you consider that an angel is a messanger of the Lord, but not necesarily an spiritual being, perhaps a righteous and legendary priest...

Answer 6

He was a High Priest. His Priesthood is mentioned in the New Testament.

Answer 7

He was a king-priest of a town that, centuries later, became Jerusalem.
The Bible says very little else about him.
Everyone can't have a starring role.

Answer 8

Mel who? i know Mel Gibson