Melchizedek

Chapter 1

An Angel?

The Essenes?

The belief that Melchizedek could be a powerful angel got its roots in the Jewish Christian sect of the Essenes in the 1^st century A.D. While many of this sect considered themselves Jewish believers in Christ, this sect today would be considered cultic. Noted for its strict discipline and isolation, many who joined this "community" culture of people were those who had little or no means of support.

The Essenes had its earliest roots in Phariseeism, which formed around 175 years before the advent of Christ. They eventually broke away from Phariseeism because they had seen too much war and wanted to live in peace. Leaving the norm of society, they escaped from the depravity and corruption of city life to become celibate ascetic monks. Mixing their Christianity with Judaism, philosophies, and other religious pagan beliefs of that day, the Essenes hid out in the desert mountains of Quamran near the Dead Sea to study.

During the time of Christ, the Essenes had become a mixture of several branches of belief within Judaism and Christianity. Some of the Essenes were also Hebrew scribes who considered themselves guardians of the Scriptures of that day, having in their possession many of the ancient manuscripts of the Hebrew Canon. Their function was to preserve the Holy Scriptures of the Hebrew Canon by decoding and translating them into several languages. They were meticulous at scribing every "jot and tittle" of the Hebrew Scriptures for preservation, replecation and translation.

The Essenes were known for their careful observance of the Law of Moses, as they understood it, carrying flavors of other beliefs into their perception of understanding of the Scriptures. These beliefs were demonstrated through other writings outside of the copying of the Hebrew Canon. The Essenes believed in the worship of angels, having an exaggerated belief in them beyond what the Scriptures say. Some of their additional scroll writings told of Melchizedek as a powerful angel. One of them presented him as the eschatological angelic deliverer of the faithful Jewish remnant who did not defile themselves by serving Baal.

The Essenes claimed that Melchizedek was so exalted to where his supremacy matched that ascribed to the archangel Michael. The Word of God; however, is very specific about the worship of angels. In Colossians 2:18, the Word of God tells us not to be deceived by the worshipping of angels.

Col 2:18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath no seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.

God's first commandment tells us to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul, and mind. Worship belongs to Him alone.

The Essenes believed and expected the world to eminantly come to an end. When the threat of Roman invasion came to the desert, these scribes hid their writings in the caves of Quamran and left the area for fear of discovery. Their intentions, however, were to eventually return. With the fall of the Jewish state in 70 A.D., and Roman conquest, the Essenes disappeared. The scrolls that contained the copying of the Hebrew Canon, along with their cultic writings sat in pots undiscovered until 1947 - eighteen centuries later. When they were found, every book of the Old Testament were in the pots, with the exception of the book of Esther. All of its writings had phenomenal accuracy to the same Old Testament scriptures we read today. In addition, however, were the cultic writings of the Essenes, including the "one" scroll of their understanding of Melchizedek.

The Islamic faith?

The Islamic faith also believes strongly in angels. The Qura'n (Islamic Koran, which wasn't written until around 700 A.D.) teaches that the Holy Spirit brought down from heaven angels, representing the Spirit of truth. They were messengers sent from God to mankind. They were sometimes manifested in the form of human beings. One of these angels, in the human form of a king, meaning Melchizedek, or Spirit of Truth, appeared to Abraham near the City of Zedek, which centuries later would be called Jerusalem. This same angel Melchizedek (Spirit of Truth) also visited one of Abraham's sons, meaning Ishmael.

Gabriel, according to the Islamic fait to be an arch-angel - king over all angels. Around 622 A.D., Gabriel brought Mohammed to the City of Zedek, which by this time had long been called Jerusalem, claiming it as the city of the Spirit of Truth. Centuries after the fall of the Jewish temple in 70 A.D., the Islams built a Mosque, claiming it to be their temple in the "city of Spirit of Truth." Melchizedek, then, according to the Islamic faith, is the king over all angels, meaning the arch-angel Gabriel who became Melchizedek in the human form. [1]

The war between Judaism/Christian and Islamic over Jerusalem and "Truth" continues even today.

Everything about the Islamic faith violates the Holy Scriptures.

1. The God of the Bible - Jehovah (YWHY) - is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not the God of Abraham and Ishmael.  They are two different gods.
2. There is nothing in the Word of God claiming Gabriel to be the "king of all angels.
3. The Bible claims that Abraham visited Salem, which means peace, and Melchizedek was the king of righteousness. Nothing has been said in the Bible about the city being a city of the spirit of truth.
4. The Bible was written centuries earlier, with the Old Testament being written millennials before the writings of the Islamic Qura'n (Koran). While there appears to be some similarities throughout the writings, most of the Qura'n teaches contrary, and even viemently opposed to the writings of the Bible. Just a few differences are:

• The Qura'n teaches Mohammed was a prophet of (their) god, who was translated into heaven from Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. The Bible, on the other hand, teaches Jesus is the Son of God, Who lovingly came down to earth to suffer the pangs of death on behalf of mankind for the sacrifice of their sins. Through belief and trust in Him, one can can eternal life with Jesus forever.

• The Qura'n teaches heaven can be gained through human effort, often times violently, in the destruction of mankind to force them to submit to the Islamic faith. The Bible, on the other hand, teaches heaven is gained through trust in Jesus as Lord, living a life here on earth to love and teach the Word of God to others. The Kingdom of God can only happen through a changed heart, not forced submission to a higher power.
  
• The concept of heaven in the Islamic faith is very different than the description of heaven in the Bible. Women, who must be submissive in the Islamic faith in this life, are also a submissive pawns in the hands of Islamic men in heaven. The Bible, on the other hand, teaches that men and women are all equal in the sight of God, both here on earth and in heaven. Heaven, therefore is a place where there are no tears, suffering or pain, and eternity is spent with God, ruling and reigning with Jesus Christ forever.

Both of these understandings rule out the possibility that an angel could be Melchizedek

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