Who was Melchizedek?

These are my notes from Wednesday night’s message, which are kinda lengthy. Just so you know.

We’re going to continue looking at the Lord’s millennial reign and the fact that Israel will fulfill God’s destiny for them to become a kingdom of priests. Not only that, but they’re a kingdom of priests under Christ as High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.

What does that mean?

How come dead people need a priest?

We’ll also ask the million-dollar question: Who is Melchizedek? We’re totally going to answer that question. There’s only one solution that makes any sense, and I’d argue, it’s impossible to choose anyone else.

But, like most minor Bible topics, I’m not dogmatic about it, and I’ll always be open to other thoughts.

Exod. 19:1-6

Exo 19:1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. Exo 19:2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. Exo 19:3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Exo 19:4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: Exo 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a (what?) kingdom of priests, and an (what?) holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

I’m sure everyone reading this article, all seasoned grace believers, are familiar with Exod. 19. This is God telling Moses to tell the people of Israel His intent and design for them as a nation.

Here’s a question.

When God told Moses to tell the people, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me… And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, was he talking about being a kingdom of priests starting right then and there OR was he prophesying that they’d be a kingdom of priests thousands of years into the future?

YES.

From that very moment God established the Mosaic covenant, they were to forever become a kingdom of priests, and their success fulfilling God’s purpose for them was conditional: if ye will obey my voice indeed, if ye will honor the covenant you made with me, then awesome things are going to happen to you. You’re going to be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people. You’re going to be special. You’re going to be unique compared to other nations. You’re going to be the apple of my eye. You’re going to be a treasure that is my possession just as all the Earth is my possession, even though Satan has temporarily hijacked it.

When you get to vs. 6, it begins with the word And. It’s a continuation of his thought in the previous verse. In addition to what I just said, ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests.

When the Lord said, ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, what did He mean by that? After they got the law, they were going to be His priests. As a nation, they’ll be priests who were to make intercession between the Lord and all those unsaved Gentiles out there. If there are Gentiles out there who want to get right with God and have a relationship with Him, then they have to do it through the mediation of God’s kingdom of priests. They’ll need faith to be justified and they’ll need to become proselytes so they can enter into a covenant relationship with Him and have a worthy walk and be blessed.

Being a kingdom of priests wasn’t simply what they would eventually become in the kingdom. Being a kingdom of priests was what they were always supposed to be from the moment God established the Mosaic covenant with them. Just as Israel never fully occupied the Promised Land, Israel also never fully lived up to God’s design for them as priests.

Now the phrase, kingdom of priests, does that phrase mean Israel corporately or individually?

YES.

When we hear kingdom of priests, I suspect most of us visualize a nation of people and they’re all priests. And that’s okay. Nothing wrong with that. The individuals, all part of a royal priesthood, make up a nation.

But there’s also a corporate aspect to keep in mind.

In 1 Pet. 2:5,9, Peter spoke of Israel in a corporate sense, a holy priesthood, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people… The entire nation was supposed to be a holy, royal, order of priests so they can be a witness and a testimony to the world. If you were born into the nation of Israel, you were born into that royal priesthood.

Bullinger would make the point that what Peter meant in the corporate sense was that the nation of Israel, as a whole, would be a holy order of priests in which that entire nation as one unit would acts as a priest to other nations. The nation, as a whole, would serve as a testimony to the existence of God and the rightness of all His ways. Israel would function as an intercessor, the means of gaining access and being reconciled to God. The royal priesthood was both individual and corporate, and that began in Mount Sinai when God established the Mosaic covenant with His people.

I always thought it was interesting that the royal priesthood began at Mt. Sinai when they got the law. And yet, this kingdom of priests had its own set of priests, and those were the Levites. The kingdom of priests had its own priests to make intercession for all of them.

I make that point because the same will be true in the kingdom.

In the kingdom with the saints all resurrected in their glorified bodies freed from sin and filled with the Spirit, they will be everything God ever wanted them to be as a kingdom of priests. Isaiah would write in Isa 61:6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. They will be everything God had always intended for them to be.

But that doesn’t mean the Levites will be going away.

They’ll still be around because they’ll still be needed to fulfill their God-given duties in the temple, which will include sacrifices for sin in the kingdom. Ezekiel is very clear about that. We’ll cover that in a few weeks.

But in the kingdom, the order for the royal priesthood for Israel will be different. It won’t be like it was under Aaron. It’ll now be after the order of Melchizedek.

That’s a big deal.

We’re going to try to show in this article, that Christ, now resurrected, now declared by the Father to be the high priest after the order of Melchizedek, He’s now the head of a new order of royal priesthood for Israel. It’s a totally new program, a new royal priesthood that God had designed for resurrected saints.

It’s a priesthood for dead people.

When they’re in the kingdom and there are all these glorified resurrected saints walking around, they can’t function under the old order of Aaronic priesthood. They need a new Melchizedekian priesthood. They need a whole new order of priesthood designed for dead people, for all those resurrected saints.

Why would dead people need priests?

Two reasons.

1) Because the entire nation of Israel will act as priests, as intercessors on God’s behalf, to all the Gentile nations in the kingdom. There will be lots of unbelievers in the kingdom who’ll need priests to get saved. So there needs to be an order, a structure to that royal priesthood in the kingdom. And 2) later, in the eternal state, Christ as High Priest will be nothing more than an intercessor between the Father and all the resurrected saints.

Melchizedek in Genesis 14

Turn with me to Gen. 14. Who is Melchizedek? One book I read said that Jewish tradition pronounces Melchizedek to be a survivor of THE FLOOD. I think we can safely scratch that one off the list.

Let’s look at the story.

I’m sure many of you remember the context. Abraham and Lot had separated. Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. Abraham remained up in the highlands in the central part of what we now know as Israel. After Lot was settled in Sodom, some kings from other tribes in the east came in, overran Sodom, took everyone captive with them, and headed north. Abraham got wind of this. He gathered all his trained servant/warriors, a small army of about 318 men. They went out, pursued those terrible tribes. And they slaughtered them. Abraham rescued his brother, Lot. Plus, he took all the spoil. Now Abraham’s returning home, and the king of Sodom and some guy named Melchizedek meets up with him. So look at…

Gen 14:17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale (valley). 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

Let’s stop right there. Lots to say.

We first encounter the name Melchizedek, which we know means King of Righteousness. We’re told He’s King of Salem. Salem means peace. Salem also sounds pretty familiar to us, because it’s similar to Jerusalem, which means Foundation of Peace.

So the first question we may ask ourselves is, “Was Melchizedek a mortal human who was king of Salem, which was the territory that would eventually become Jerusalem?”

It’s impossible that he was a mortal human.

We’ll read later tonight in Heb 7:3 that Melchizedek is Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God. Some books argued that, well, the Bible simply doesn’t record when He was born or when He died, thus we don’t know who His father or mother is and we don’t know when He was born simply because the Bible doesn’t tell us. That’s not what Hebrews tells us. Heb. 7:3 states as a matter of fact that Melchizedek is without father and without mother. He did not have parents. He was not born in this world. God didn’t create more men out of the dust of the Earth after Adam. Not only that, Hebrews tells us He does not have a beginning of days, nor end of life. He was never created, never born, no kids, and He will never die.

This means He’s eternal.

Now, suddenly, all of our candidates for Melchizedek have dwindled to three. There are only three beings who match that description. It’s Father, Son, or the Holy Spirit.

That’s it.

He has to be a member of the triune Godhead.

So how do we explain King of Salem? A lot of books suggested He was king over the same territory that would eventually become Jerusalem. My question would be, how do we know Salem isn’t Jerusalem, which is above and free, which is the mother of us all (Gal. 4:26)? There is a heavenly Jerusalem. Who is the king of that Jerusalem? Who is the king of Heaven?

Do you remember the throne room scene in Rev. 4? Who is the King of Heaven?

God the Father.

The Son sits at His right hand and serves Him.

Now we have one possibility.

Then we read in vs. 18 that Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine. Bread and wine! How can we not think of the Lord’s supper and the significance of the bread and the wine?

Now we have another possibility.

Then we learn in this verse that he was the priest of the most high God.

This raises all kinds of questions.

First, we’re told he was the priest of the most high God, past tense. You mean He’s no longer the priest? No. Why not? Because know now that Christ is declared the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Second, this is the first time we read the word priest in the Bible, and this is before the nation of Israel is even created. It’s not until the next chapter that God would make a covenant with Abraham.

Why would God need a priest?

Plus, we have in this verse the first reference in the Bible to the most high God. In Scripture, both the Lord and the Father are called the most high God. In fact, Abraham calls the Lord the most high God in vs. 22. Gen 14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth… Most high God can also be a reference to God the Father. You may recall in Mar. 5:7 when the demon talked back to Jesus. He said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God?

So who was Melchizedek talking about? The Father or the Son?

I’d argue He was talking about the Son based upon Abraham’s comments in vs. 22. Melchizedek and Abraham were both talking about the Son.

Much ink has been spilt over that expression the most high God. I’ll just quote Jordan from his book on Daniel. He cites what Abraham said, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth and then he writes “that title [of most high God] is the relationship of God as possessor of heaven and earth. The most high God ruleth in the earth. In Isaiah 14:14, the adversary, Satan’s plan was to be like the most High. Satan wanted to be the possessor of heaven and earth… in the book of Daniel, when the gentiles begin to take over and begin to run things, God is going to demonstrate that He is the possessor of heaven and earth. He is the one that rules in the earth as well as in the heavens. God’s purpose with the nation [of] Israel is to restore His authority on the planet earth. To restore His headship, His kingship, His authority, His ruler ship on this planet through the instrumentality of a kingdom vested in and given to the nation of Israel. God’s purpose in the nation Israel is to execute His authority, the authority of the most high God, who is the possessor of the earth. God is the rightful king and the possessor of the heavens also.” I love that.

I want to ask again, Why would God need a priest at the point in time?

One thought that comes to mind is the Holy Spirit. Before the flood, the Spirit, like a priest, acted as intercessor or mediator between God and man. Remember how the Lord said in Gen_6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. In those days, the Spirit acted as intercessor between God and man. He was striving with all the corrupt people, contending with them, begging them to turn from their ways. He held a sacred office and carried out a sacred function as mediator of God before the flood.

So I would suggest that in this one verse, in Gen 14:18, we already have evidence of the entire triune Godhead operating through this being called Melchizedek. The Father as King of heavenly Jerusalem. The Son through the offer of bread and wine foreshadowing His own sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit acting as priest, as a sacred intercessor between God and man, before the flood, and before Israel was even born.

Look at Gen 14:19 And he [Melchizedek] blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: Gen 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

So this eternal priest of God blesses Abram of the most high God and then He blesses the most high God. Was he talking about the Father or the Son? I’d suggest He’s talking about the Son because Abraham was talking about the Son in vs. 22.

So, right off the bat, Melchizedek cannot be the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ would never come down to this Earth in preincarnate form and heap praise and blessings upon Himself. He certainly never did that when He appeared as the Angel of the Lord.

I think we can safely scratch the Lord Jesus Christ off the list of candidates.

In all the references we’ll read about Melchizedek, I’m consistently left with the impression that Christ and Melchizedek are separate beings.

Plus, we can see here that Melchizedek is a type of Christ, prefiguring Christ’s future reign in Jerusalem as both king and priest. Since when was Christ ever a type of Himself?

The only thing we’re told about Abram’s reaction to the appearance of Melchizedek is that he gave him tithes of all. How did Abram know who He was? How did He know to give Him tithes before tithing was ever introduced to Israel, which still hadn’t come into existence yet?

Abram’s reaction was not dissimilar from how people reacted to the preincarnate Christ as the Angel of the Lord. People looked at Him, and they just knew.

Why did Abram give him ten percent of all? Who received tithes back then? Priests. Melchizedek was a priest of God. As a way of showing honor and respect to God’s priest, he tithed ten percent of all that he had, which would set an example for Israel. Abraham instinctively knew who He was and what to do by just being in His presence.

Melchizedek in Heb. 5

Turn with me to Heb. 5. We’re going to get a few more details about Melchizedek. We’re going to do quick exegesis verse-by-verse.

Look at Heb 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: And here we get an idea of the Biblical definition of priest, one who deals with man about the things pertaining to God, acting as an intercessor, with these examples given of offering gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Heb 5:2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. This is talking about a human priest in the Jews’ religion, and I love what the writer says God looks for in a priest – compassion while at the same time recognizing his own limitations. He himself also is compassed with infirmity, meaning the priest also recognizes his sin in the flesh.

Heb 5:3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. In other words, what he does for the people he should do also for himself.

Heb 5:4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. In other words, no man gives himself the honor of being a priest in the Jews’ religion. He is called of God. How did that work in time past? A calling of God was God articulating His will for your life. For us, God’s calling is the gospel. But for the Jews, God was very specific. He told Moses, take your brother Aaron and his sons, and they’re going to be priests. After that, God set the tribe of Levi apart to serve as priests. So if you were born into that tribe, you were called of God to serve in some function as a priest.

Heb 5:5. These verses are key. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. Heb 5:6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

Notice what’s going on in these verses. He’s saying in vs. 5 that Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest. Christ didn’t go out of His way to speak of His qualifications to be a high priest after the order of Melchisedec. He just did God’s will. He suffered humiliation by coming into this world as a man to die for man. At the beginning of His ministry, God called Him His Son. The He learned obedience through the things He suffered. Great tears and anxiety preceded His crucifixion. Then He was made perfect. He was resurrected. He became the author of eternal salvation unto all. Then… the Father declared Him to be a high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

It was the Lord’s victory over sin and death at Calvary that moved the Father to declare Him a high priest after the order of Melchisedec. Christ was not Melchizedek because Christ had to go through that torturous victory at Calvary in order to be given this role from the Father of high priest after the order of Melchisedec. He is going to serve as High Priest in the dignity and function of that role as it was designed by Melchizedek.

So after the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection, He was given by the Father, a new role He never had before. He’d be leader of the new order of royal priesthood for Israel in the kingdom for the saints, which is after the order of Melchisedec because it was designed to be a priesthood for saints who are now resurrected, glorified, freed from sin.

In other words, it’s a priesthood designed for dead people.

And now their future resurrection is guaranteed because of the Lord’s death and resurrection. Now He can be high priest of a new order of priesthood designed for resurrected saints because He was the one who attained eternal life for all of them.

Melchizedek in Heb. 7

So who is Melchizedek? Flip over to Heb. 7. More details emerge for us in this chapter.

Look atHeb 7:1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; Heb 7:2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Heb 7:3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.

We talked about verse 3 earlier.

Isn’t it fascinating?

Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but notice… He’s made like unto the Son of God.

How do you explain that?

How can the Son of God be made like unto the Son of God if He is the Son of God? Again, that expression tells me that Christ and Melchizedek have to be separate beings. He is not the Son of God, but He was made like unto the Son of God. How can one being who is eternal be made like unto another being who’s also already eternal? (There is a simple answer to that question, and it’s a really good one. I’m going to save it for later.)

Heb 7:4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. Heb 7:5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: Heb 7:6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. That’s an interesting verse. He says he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham. In other words, Melchizedek wasn’t human. He never descended from humans. He was never a Levite. And yet, He took tithes from Abraham as a priest of God and blessed him. It’s almost as if the writer is taunting the reader. Come on, how do you explain this?

Heb 7:7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. I love this line. And without all contradiction. In other words, nothing impossible, nothing illogical, took place here. God’s not pulling anyone’s chain. This is a mystery that can be solved. And he says the less is blessed of the better. In other words, Abram was blessed by a priest who was a superior being because He was divine. He was truly of the better, which couldn’t be said of human priests, because we just read in Heb. 5 that human priests have to do sacrifices for themselves as they would for all the people because they are as fallen and sin-cursed as everybody else.

Heb 7:8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. What an awesome sentence. Priests in the Jews’ religion received tithes and then they died. But the one who received tithes from Abram never died, and many can still testify to the fact that He is still alive. Who could that be?

Heb 7:9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. I’m not sure I fully understand this verse. The point may be that when Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, all his descendants paid tithes in Abraham. In other words, Abraham gave the tithes and the honor to Melchizedek on behalf of the entire future nation of Israel.

Then we read in Heb 7:10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him. This is perhaps a reference to Levi himself. Abraham was the forefather, or the ancestor, of Levi.

Jesus Compared to Melchizedek, Heb. 7 Cont’d

We’re going to read the last half of this chapter, and in this section Jesus is compared to Melchizedek, which would again lead me to think they are separate beings. Most of these verses are pretty straightforward.

Heb 7:11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? This is a pretty obvious statement. If the law, and the priesthood after the order of Aaron, was already perfect and could take away sin and make everybody perfect, then why the need for a new royal priesthood after Melchizedek?

Heb 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. If the priesthood needs to change, then the law needs to change. And why should the law and the priesthood change? Because Christ accomplished what the law and the priesthood could never accomplish! Christ has, through his sacrifice literally achieved victory in taking away the sins of His people, and now they can live a new glorious, resurrected life in the kingdom. Now that all of that is an absolute certainty, hey, it might be time for a New Covenant, which is what Hebrews is all about: preparing the Hebrews for the New Covenant.

Heb 7:13 For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. Heb 7:14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. In other words, Christ wasn’t even a Levite and now He is the new high priest of Israel after the order of Melchizedek. Do you know what this means for Israel? This means that everything needs to change. They need a New Covenant.

Heb 7:15 And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, Heb 7:16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. These are powerful verses. Christ arose in the likeness of Melchizedek, which again is a strong statement indicating that Christ and Melchizedek are separate beings. What this verse is saying is that Christ arose in the likeness of Melchizedek and in His resurrection, He was made after the power of an endless life. His resurrection life and His glory is an eternal life, a life that Melchizedek already possessed.

Who could that be?

The point here is Christ was the firstfruits of an eternal life following His resurrection after paying for our sins, which made Him the author of our salvation, and His resurrection was after the similitude of Melchisedec in that His resurrection was in the likeness of Melchizedek in that Christ was given the eternal life and all the glory Melchizedek already possessed.

Heb 7:17 For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. We read this also in Heb. 5. We’re going to read this again in a couple of verses. These are all references to Psa. 110:4, and that verse is kind of a head-scratcher. Psa 110:4 says, The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. You can’t help but wonder, is the Lord saying this to someone? Is He saying this to the people of Israel? What’s going on in that verse? But it’s not until we get to Hebrews that we learn that that sentence is a declaration of the Father to the Son rewarding Him with the office of High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. And notice He says, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. Christ assumed that office the moment the Father declared it, probably after His ascension, and that is an office He will hold for the rest of eternity.

Heb 7:18 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. Heb 7:19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. Heb 7:20 And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: Heb 7:21 (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:) Heb 7:22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.

What phenomenal passages we have.

When Levites became priests, there was a process involved, but nobody swore by an oath as to the character of that priest or how long he’d be a priest. Yet, the Father swore by an oath about the character of His Son and the duration of His priesthood when He declared Him to be high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Then the writer of Hebrews tells us By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. Christ was the guarantee of the New Covenant – guaranteed by His own blood and resurrection.

Heb 7:23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: 7:24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. 7:28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.