This lesson is based on two prophecies:
The Lord has sworn, And will not relent,
'You are a priest forever Of the order of Melchizedek'
Psalm 110:4
Behold the man whose name is Branch.
From his place he will branch out
And he shall build the temple of the Lord.
Yes, he shall build the temple of the Lord.
He shall bear the glory and shall sit and rule on his throne.
So he shall be a priest on his throne,
And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
Zechariah 6:13
The Bible begins the message,
The psalm likens this man of the future to Melchizedek, who was the king of Jerusalem long before the Jewish people existed. Melchizedek was not only a king; he was also a priest of the Most High God. On one occasion, Melchizedek blessed Abraham (forefather of the Jews) and
In giving the blessing and in receiving tithes, Melchizedek acted in both his kingly and priestly capacities. This happened when God was making the promises to Abraham
Between that occasion and another symbolic act recorded in Zechariah, there were many generations. This intervening period saw the rise and fall of the Jewish nation. Thus the other promise was fulfilled which God made to Abraham, namely the
The nation arose out of slavery and oppression to become rich and victorious. But later it divided, and eventually both divisions fell back into bondage to foreign powers. The Israelites were
By this stage the more important promise, the seed or messianic promise, was still unfulfilled, and this gave the remnant something to cling to and hope for. The prophet Zechariah then performed a symbolic act equal in significance to that which Melchizedek
There were two special men among the remnant who represented the two great families of the erstwhile kingdom. These men were regarded as the "sons of oil" that is to say anointed ones
The first man, Zerubbabel, was of the royal household, the family of David of the tribe of Judah. Had the nation remained, Zerubbabel might well have been its king, instead of governor, under Darius the Medopersian king. Yet Zerubbabel was able to shepherd his people in a kingly role, and was
The second man, Joshua, was of the priestly household, the family of Aaron of the tribe of Levi. Had the temple of Solomon still been standing, Joshua might well have been its high priest. As it was, he was officiating on an altar built amongst the rubble. Nevertheless he was able to make atonement for the people's sins. Joshua (the name in its Greek form is Jesus)
Zechariah, at God's command, made an ornate crown of gold and silver, but it never graced the head of Zerubbabel, the rightful king. Instead it was placed on Joshua the priest! Then it was put aside as an ornament
The significance of this strange coronation is announced in the prophetic speech which Zechariah made at the time. The speech commences,
The man Zechariah referred to was neither the royal Zerubbabel nor the priestly Joshua, but that Man of the future who would be more special than either
The head of Joshua within the golden crown symbolized that priesthood would be incorporated with kingship. The man of the future, the offspring of Zerubbabel, was in line not only to sit upon the royal throne of David, but also to officiate at the mercy seat in the Holiest. He would be
You and I would have no problem with this idea of a royal priesthood. It seems to be such a simple and natural thing for the Lord Jesus, that he should not only be our great King, but also
To those who knew the law of Moses, however, our Lord's royal priesthood raised a real difficulty: the law of Moses would actually
Both parents of Jesus were descendants of Judah, and David, and Zerubbabel. Since Jesus was so firmly established in the royal lineage, the Jew could accept Jesus as the Lion of Judah, who has right to the scepter and throne of David. But how could the Jew accept Jesus to also be the Lamb, who has the right to carry holy blood through the veil into the Holiest, and stand before the mercy seat? Under the law of Moses, only a son of Levi and Aaron could gain that right of high priesthood, not a son of David
This knotty problem fascinated the writer to the Hebrews in the New Testament, and he reconciles the difficulty for his Jewish brethren by drawing two radical, revolutionary, but necessary inferences.
We find the first conclusion in
The writer acknowledges that "Our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood", and from this tribe "no man has officiated at the altar"
The second conclusion is found in
The tabernacle (the portable temple) was not the true temple. When it was replaced by the great temple erected in Jerusalem, that was still not the true tabernacle of God. The earthly structures only symbolized or represented the real and heavenly holy place which is the church of Christ
Our High Priest is now enthroned at the Father's right hand in heaven and he now officiates in the true tabernacle of heaven
This conclusion demolishes the temple in earthly Jerusalem more thoroughly than ever it
We have gone into the symbolic aspects of Melchizedek's royal priesthood, and of Zechariah's strange crown, for a very good reason. For the same reason, we have pointed out certain conclusions one must draw if one comes to believe in Jesus Christ
There is a popular and widely published teaching today, that Jesus is soon returning to this earth to sit upon the throne of David, rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, reinstate the law of Moses, and bring back animal sacrifices. The point of our lesson has been to show that
The doctrine cannot be true, because Jesus, although he must be a priest on his throne, cannot be a priest according to the earthly order. Therefore his throne and his priesthood are in heaven not only throughout these last days,
Someday Jesus will gather his elect from earth and take them into his heavenly kingdom . They are a living temple that cannot be destroyed, the Lord their altar, their Lamb, their High Priest,
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