TULIP (Part 4) Limited Atonement

5 Points of Calvinism

TULIP

Thirdly, the "L" or the "Limited Atonement" of Christ's death.

a‧tone‧ment  /əˈtoʊnmənt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-tohn-muhnt]
–noun

1.	satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends.

2.	(sometimes initial capital letter) Theology. the doctrine concerning the reconciliation of God and humankind, esp. as accomplished through the life, suffering, and death of Christ.

The jews would sacrifice an animal to God for when they sinned to atone for those sins. Basically a payment for their sins, Jesus Christ is the ultimate atonement for sin.

So the question you have to ask yourself here is- Who did Christ die for? There are your only three choices (and in each case you are limiting the atonement in some way).
Either: 1. Christ died for some of the sins of all men.
2. Christ died for all the sins of some men.
3. Christ died for all the sins of all men.

Election merely set out who it would that would be saved, it does not actually save anyone. There must be an atonement, and a way for depraved men to be set free of their sin. This was through the blood of Christ shed on the cross.

Romans 3
25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Sin is an infinite insult to God, and so God could not simply pass over sin as if it were irrelevant, there must be an atonement and shedding of blood for forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22). Christ bore the curse, and he was made a curse, forsaken by God, so that the ones given to Him by the Father could be justified. And now the justified are looked on by God as though they had lived the life of Christ, because He took all the sins upon himself.

The effects of this though are limited in that they are only effective for the elect. You cannot say that Christ died for every man in the same way, because then you are saying that Christ died for all mens sins, making all men savable, but did not actually save anyone.

"It did not actually remove God's punitive wrath from anyone, but instead created a place where people could come and find mercy—IF they could accomplish their own new birth and bring themselves to faith without the irresistible grace of God. In other words if you believe that Christ died for all men in the same way, then the benefits of the cross cannot include the mercy by which we are brought to faith, because then all men would be brought to faith, but they aren't." (Piper)

The Arminian is actually the one who limits the atonement, they limit its effectiveness to save souls, and only make it a possibilty for men to somehow pull themselves out of complete depravity, and make a conversion on their own apart from God.

We should not limit the power and effectiveness of the atonement, but see the cross as the plan God had for actual redemption of His children. So I believe that Christ did not just simply make it possible for people to be saved, he actual purchased all they needed to be saved.


Biblical Support
*As with all things that I say it is essential that biblical support be used. It is not important what a person thinks God should do, or that a person thinks "an all-loving God would never do that." It must be backed up with scripture or it is irrelevant.*

Okay well, limited atonement is definately one that must be explained much further, and probably not by me. Especially if you are having difficulty understanding what I am trying to say. But there are many scriptures that show that Christ died only for believers. Such as:

John 10
14 I am the good shepherd, and I know my own and my own know Me,
15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

Further in the chapter...
25 "...I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in my Father's name, these testify of Me.
26 "But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep."

I've used this before but notice Christ says, he lays down His life for His sheep. But they do not believe because they are not of His sheep (not you are not my sheep because you don't believe), thus because they are not of His sheep He does not lay His life down for them.

Jesus praying to the Father:
John 17
6 "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

9 "I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Mel for they are Yours;"

19 "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth."

He is speaking of His death to come, it is not for the world in general but for those who will believe.

John 11
51 Now he [Caiaphas] did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation.
52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of god who are scattered abroad.

Here is describing that the children of God are spread world wide, they are "the sheep" that the Father will draw to the Son.

Revelation 5
9 "Worhty are You to take the book and to break its seals, for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation."

"John does not say that the death of Christ ransomed all men but that it ransomed men from all the tribes of the world. This is the way we understand texts like 1 John 2:2 which says, "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." This does not mean that Christ died with the intention to appease the wrath of God for every person in the world, but that the "sheep," "the children of God" scattered throughout the whole world, "from every tongue and tribe and people and nation" are intended by the propitiation of Christ."
The "whole world" refers to the children of God scattered throughout the whole world.
If "the whole world" referred to every individual in the world, we would be forced to say that John is teaching that all people will be saved, which he does not believe (Revelation 14:9-11)." (Piper)

To take something from a friend of mine at my church (Phillip) If you believe that Christ died for the sins of all men, then you are forced to say that God is unjust in punishing sinners in hell. Christ already payed for their sins, and now they are having to pay for their sins in hell, the consistency is lacking.

One of the big verses on the description of Christ's death is found in Ephesians chapter 5:
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
26 so that He might santify her, having cleansed her by the washin of water with the word.

The whole purpuse of the death of Christ is for the sanctification and glorification of His church, His sheep, His elect. Simimlarly in Titus 2:14 it expresses the same idea.

Conclusion

I do not deny passages in the bible that say things like:

1 Timothy 4:10 ..."God , who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers."

John 3:16 ..."For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

1 Timothy 2:4 ..."who desires all me to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

I do believe all men are intended benificiaries in some sense from the cross, but they are not all in the same way as those who believe. There is in fact mercy given to unbelievers, that they are not dropped straight into hell ,the only thing holding them back is the mercy of God. Every breath an unbeliever takes, every sunrise he sees is another mercy of God.

It leads us back to the three choices:
1. Christ died for some of the sins of all men.
This simply is not true as the scriptures clearly point out.

2. Christ died for all the sins of some men.

3. Christ died for all the sins of all men.
If you say this then you must answer then why are not all men saved? A: Because they did not believe. But if you say that is not unbelief one of the sins Christ died for? A:Yes. Then why are not all men saved?


Two, is the only answer left.
I think though the best way to put it is the way that I once heard John MacArthur put it: "Christ death on the cross was sufficient for the whole world's sin, but it is only effecient for the elect (or those who believe)."

Once again if there are questions about this feel free to ask me, or better yet find a website like the website that I got alot of this information off of (www.desiringgod.org). That will explain it much better than I could.

I pray that you would search out these issues for yourself, read your bible and pray. And may the Holy Spirit open you up to the word.

This post made brighter by request from my roommate who complains that its not easily readable.
citing:
*NASB Lockman Foundation
*John Piper "What we believe about Calvinism"

TULIP (Part 3) Unconditional Election

5 Points of Calvinism

TULIP

Moving onto the second letter of the TULIP, the "U" or "Unconditional Election"(predestination). The doctrine which teaches that God, in eternity, chose out of all mankind those whom He would save by means of Christ's death and the work of the Holy Spirit, for no other reason than His own wise, just, and gracious purpose. The believers believe because they are the elect.

Unconditional meaning that there is nothing that man did to earn their election, it is all placed in the sovereignty and grace of God. Man is dead in tresspasses and sin, totally depraved, and there is not human merit that can earn them the grace of God.

Here is one way it is outlined, by a Micheal Bremmer, to help me define it...
By unconditional election Calvinists mean:
(1) Out of fallen humanity God chose certain persons unto salvation. God elects people.
(2) The number of God's elect is fixed.
(3) God does not elect individuals based on foreseen merit of any kind (Unconditional), including faith. Election is an act of God's sovereign choice.
(4) God's election and calling are invincible.
(5) The purpose and motive of God's election are His glory, "To the praise of His glorious grace!"

I think that is a pretty good summary of it.

"If all of us are so depraved that we cannot come to God without being born again by the iressistable grace of God, and if this particular grace is purchased by Christ on the cross, then it is clear that the salvation of any of us is owing to God's election." (John Piper)

(I realize that that last quote touches on irresistable grace and limited atonement a bit, Piper did it in a little different order, but I am just trying to do it in order of the TULIP, if you are actually keeping up with these posts then you can piece it all together.)

Biblical Support
*As with all things that I say it is essential that biblical support be used. It is not important what a person thinks God should do, or that a person thinks "an all-loving God would never do that." It must be backed up with scripture or it is irrelevant.*

A hard concept to accept I know, believe me it was not an easy thing for me to accept. So where is it backed up in scripture?

Romans 8
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

These verses are very important, and not verses touched on to often in the church today.
Okay well maybe you think that is taken out of context or perhaps that text doesnt apply to us (because there are those who would say that)...

Ephesians
4 Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

I added verse 6 (and keep reading on for a few more verses) don't miss out on the grace of God. I will continue to repeat that, because I believe it is something important.
11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counself of His will,
12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

You'll notice that after every time something like this is mentioned it relates to the grace and the glory of God.

2 Thessalonians
13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

2 Timothy
10 For thise reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.

1 Peter
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen
2 According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood...

Okay now, maybe those don't apply to us either, or maybe thats not what Paul or Peter are talking about. Okay well let's see what the Gospels say, or better yet what Jesus says himself.
In John chapter 10, Jesus is giving the good shephard speech (keep in mind the "sheep" are the elect, read the whole chapter it is a very good one.) But there were those in the crowd who did not believe anything Jesus said,

John 10
25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me.
26 "But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep.
27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch tem out of My hand.
29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."

Notice verse 26 it is crucial that that is read correctly. It does not say "But you are not of my sheep because you don't believe." Read it carefully. They do not believe BECAUSE they are not of His sheep. This is done more than once though. Go to Acts 13. It is reporting how the Gentiles respond to the preaching of the gospel in Antioch of Pisidia.

Acts 13
48 When the Gentiles hear this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

Same thing going on here. Again notice, it doesn't say that as many believed were chosen to be ordained to eternal life. The prior election of God is the reason some believed and some didn't.

The unconditionality of election is talked about by Paul in Romans 9:
11 for though the twins [Jacob and Esau] were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,
12 it was said to her [Rebecca]. "The older will serve the younger."


"This seems unfair, why would God do that kind of thing?"

I know that if you were to tell an unbeliever this sort of thing, they would say something along those lines.

Continuing in Romans 9:
13 Just as it is written, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated."
14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
15 For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.

20 ...who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?
21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?
22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction
23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,

Proverbs 16
4 The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil,


Basically in a nutshell, we are God's creation, who are we and what right do we have in questioning God's purpose? God created all things, God can do what He wishes. He gives life he can take life.

Conclusion

Okay, now there is something important to state before I end this. Lest you become hyper-calvinist and believe that because you are the elect you can just sit around in your pride codemning everyone and not spreading the Gospel to others. True that those who are meant to be saved will be whether it is you who gets the word to them or not, but we are commanded by Jesus himself in the Great Commission to, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

The idea of election is one that is mentioned in scripture, yes, but we do not know God's purpose. We do not know who is or isn't the elect. This does not stop the spreading of the word of God, it should not. It only helps to better understand the Glory of God, and how simple our minds are compared to His. Praise God and rejoice in knowing that He has chosen you to be His and nothing can seperate you from the love of God in Christ for ever and ever. (Romans 8:39)
Glory be to God!

***truly, if you have anything to add to this at all please let me know, i feel like there is something I may not have explained, or didn't elaborate on. thanks.***

TULIP (Part 2) Total Depravity

5 Points of Calvinism

TULIP

Beginning with the first letter of the TULIP, the "T" which is the "Total Depravity" of man. I will just restate the definition of Total Depravity as I defined it in the first post:

Total Depravity = The argument that man, in his naturally unregenerate state, does not have the ability to turn to God. Apart from God they are lost in their sin, and that it is only by the Grace of God that a man is reborn and saved, so regeneration comes before faith. Apart from the spirit there would be no faith, ever.

But to explain it further...
This is the idea that after the fall of man, via the original sin, man is completely unable to turn to God to love Him the way He requires, (heart, soul, and mind Matthew 22:37). That all of man is inclined to fulfill their own self-interests. A better way to state it is how the Westminster Confession would that, "Man is not just sick with sin; he is dead in sin." A dead person cannot love God, in fact a dead person cannot do anything unless something makes him alive.

Sinful depravity does not mean everybody is as bad as they could be. It means that anything that a person does even if it is intended to be good, is false in its motives and does not honor God, only the self (...whatever is not from faith is sin. Romans 14:23). The only reason that most humans have values is because they were created in the image of God, I like how John Piper says it, "If a king teaches his subjects how to fight well and then those subjects rebel against their king and use the very skill he taught them to resist him, then even those skills become evil." It is important to realize man's complete and utter sinfulness, with no hope, unless God's grace and mercy intervene. And it is only by God's grace that a man can be born again. This is one point in the Calvinist belief that I will not disagree with in the slightest, because if you take this point away, you completely deface the grace and mercy of God.

Biblical Support
*As with all things that I say it is essential that biblical support be used. It is not important what a person thinks God should do, or that a person thinks "an all-loving God would never do that." It must be backed up with scripture or it is irrelevant.*

So now that I have explained what it is to be totally depraved, what right do I have in saying that?

Genesis 6
5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that ever intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Romans 3
10 "...There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useles; There is none who does good, there is not even one."

And if it couldn't get more clear...
Romans 8
7 Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.
8 And those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

To top it off, this will kind of touch on unconditional election and irresistable grace...
John 6
44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws himl and I will raise him up on the last day."
It is important to realize from that last few verses that man by himself, has no ability or want to come to God (thus making him totally depraved). Making the ability to do so [come to God] no longer a choice, but only in the confines of God's grace and election.

By nature man has no ability to turn to God apart from the spirit. (I know that I continue to reiterate this point, but I believe it is important, in order to truly understand God's work in converting a human soul). So man does not have the "free-will", as it is said today, to turn to God and to live for God, apart from the Spirit's work in the person's heart.

Just in case those verses weren't enough, I'll give a few more:

Ephesians 2

3 "...[we] were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest."

Dont miss that "by nature" part, it is not in our nature to turn to God, therefore the "free-will" of man is not an option here.

1 Corinthians 2

14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

Once again the natural man has no ability.

Conclusion

Okay so in summary- man has no will, want, or care to come to God. He is totally depraved of the Spirit, and everything that person does is dishonoring to God even if the person intended good. (Because: ...whatever is not from faith is sin. Romans 14:23) The rebellion against God is completely deserving of eternal punishment.

But do note that man is "totally" depraved not "eternally" or "forever" depraved. Obviously man is not utterly hopeless, the idea of total depravity really helps one to understand better the mercy and grace of God. You can understand how we all once were, and how totally deserving we were of hell. We hated God at a point, and we hated all things spiritual. God could have left man alone, we could have been left hopeless, but God gave us something magnificent, something not even the fallen angels had a chance for. He became man, lived a sinless life, became a curse, died a murderers death (and is still being spat on today), and rose again all because he loved us enough to do so.

"I will bless the Lord at all time; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Psalm 34:1

4 points left...

"If we humble ourselves under this terrible truth of our total depravity, we will be in a position to see and appreciate the glory and wonder of the work of God discussed in the next four points." -John Piper-

TULIP (Part 1) Calvinism Intro

Calvinism...

Well I'm assuming that if anyone had actually begun reading this they most likely are not reading it anymore. Calvinism is a word that has been completely shunned in the cotemporary church today, even among baptist and reformed churches (who I would like to remind, that if you actually check out your confession of faith, you'd be suprised to learn some new things about the beliefs of your church). It's amazing how many people you talk to and as soon as that word is even brought into the picture they are scared of the heresy that may come out of your mouth.

So I have decided that I would like to do a little study on the beliefs of this theology that has been catagorized as Calvinistic. I will break down the 5 points of Calvinism and try to explain them with all the scripture I can possibly find. (I will probably break this down into about 6 parts) There is actually some things in this belief that I myself do not agree with to the fullest degree, and so for my own sake and maybe for anyone reading it, we might be able to understand what exactly Calvinism is all about and how scripturally correct it really is. Most importantly, as with all the things written on and studied about in the word of God, I pray that it might help to better understand the person of God and His glory.

Introduction to Calvinism

Who was John Calvin?
John Calvin (Jean Chauvin) was born in France on July 10, 1509. His father was an attorney and Calvin even studied law in Paris, and was a Doctor of Law at Orleans (Wikipedia).
Calvin preached in Strasbourg from 1538 til 1541, after being exiled from Geneva. In 41 he returned to Geneva where he lived out the rest of his life until his death in 1564.
John Calvin believed in sola scriptura (scripture alone) much like Martin Luther. Calvin's theology was not actually new or original, in fact most of his ideas and believes came from the early church fathers (i.e. St. Augustine) and Medieval schoolmen. Calvin believed in the absolute sovereignty and holiness of the triunal God, so he is largely accredited with the ideas of predestination and election (which may be the reason for the shunning of his name by many, but i will get into that topic another time.)
His writings included:
-Commentaries on much of the Bible.
-Institutes of the Christian Religion.

Where did the 5 Points of Calvinism come from?
The 5 points were not actually points picked out by Calvin himself. In fact the 5 points were a defense by Calvinistic believers against the accusations from the Arminian Remonstrants (Arminian was actually considered a heretic by the church). They therefore function only as a summary of the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism and are not a good summation of Calvin's writings (Wikipedia.org). In fact some of the ideas mentioned in the 5 points are not even outright discussed in any of Calvin's writings, only hinted at.

So what are the 5 Points?
The TULIP as it is known in the English-speaking world.
The TULIP will be how I will be breaking down the rest of this study in the following blogs.
But for now I'll just explain them briefly.

T. Total Depravity = The argument that man, in his naturally unregenerate state, does not have the ability to turn to God. Apart from God they are lost in their sin, and that it is only by the Grace of God that a man is reborn and saved, so regeneration comes before faith. Apart from the spirit there would be no faith, ever.
U. Unconditional Election = The idea that God knew from the beginning who would called to Himself. That it is unconditional, that there is no human merit or work that can earn a person the mercy of God.
L. Limited Atonement = Christ's death actually takes away the penalty of sins committed by those upon whom God has chosen to have mercy. His death, is limited to the elect for the taking away of sins. (As opposed to Christ's death making redemption merely a possibility that we can perform).
I. Irresistable Grace = The saving grace of God can not be resisted. The saving grace of God is applied to those whom he has determined to save (the elect) and, in God's timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to a saving faith in Christ.
P. Perserverance of the Saints = Those whom God has called into communion with Himself through Christ, will continue in faith and will increase in faith and other gifts, until the end.

I hope to expound on each of these a little more, so you get a better understanding. But until the next blog I will leave you with a quotes I like:

'I have my own opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified unless we preach what is nowadays called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism. Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else.'
-C.H.Spurgeon-
The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach to-day, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox’s gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again. (and America)
-Spurgeon-

The Order of Melchizedek

Genesis 14:

18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.
19He blessed him and said,
Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possesor of Heaven and earth;
20And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your
hand."
He gave him a tenth of all.

Melchizedek is an intresting guy. Not a whole lot is said about him. In fact he is not mentioned before this passage, and after he does this to Abraham he is not mentioned again...In Genesis.

The premise here is that Abram has just gotten through killing the fleeing kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, and getting Lot back from them. Melchizedek now comes to bless Abram. The important thing to note is the parts highlighted in Yellow from the passages. King and Priest, Melchizedek was both of them.

According to Jewish Law given by Moses, the same person could not be a king and a priest. Priests were to be descendants of Levi, they were not allotted land because their inheritance was the Lord:

Deuteronomy 18

2They shall have no inheritance among their countrymen; the Lord is their inheritance, as He promised them.

And kings were to be descendants of the tribe of Judah.
There is only one other person besides Melchizedek who was a priest and a king, and of course that is none other than Jesus Christ.

Psalm 110

4The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,
"Your are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."

Now basically Melchizedek was a prefiguration of the person of Jesus Christ, who is both king and great high priest. It is very interesting, and just to take it to the next level we also see Joshua as a type of Christ. In Zechariah:

Zecheriah 6

12Then say to him, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, "Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord.
(The Branch being Christ, and the temple is the millennial temple that will be constucted from which Christ will rule.) Continued:
13Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the cousel of peace will be beteen the two offices.'"
(The two offices being king and priest that the Messiah will occupy. But only Levi's can be priest right? No, because Christ is of the Order of Melchizedek not a descendant of Levi. But he is a desecendant of Judah, which means he has right to the throne.)

It speaks more of the Order of Melchizedek in Hebrews...

Hebrews 7

1For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
2To whom also abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.
3Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he reamains a priest perpetually.
4Now observe how great this man was to whom abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils...

12For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.
13For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar.
14For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests.
15And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek,
16Who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.
17For it is attested of Him,
"You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek."
18For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness
19(For the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

21(For indeed became priest without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him,
"The Lord has sworn
and will not change His mind,
'You are a priest forever'")
22So much the more also Jesus has become the guarentee of a better covenant.
23The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing,
24But Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood forever.
25Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

28For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.

Heres a basic point to get from all this.. because its starting to get late and I got to be up early. To understand the superiority of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Are you depending on an earthly priesthood to bring you eternal salvation? The truth is that only one priesthood can bring you eternal salvation and it is an eternal priesthood. The only eternal priesthood that exists is that of Christ, the king and high priest. When you acknowledge your sin before Him, and trust in His person and work on the cross, you will instantly be brought into a enternal relationship with Him, completely cleansed of your sin.
Melchizedek is simply a figure of Christ in the Old Testament, he had no beginning of genealogy and no end. We know nothing about him except the person that he symbolized. Christ is appointed by God as King and High Priest enternally according to the Order of Melchizedek. There is plenty more on this subject, it's still something that I am looking into, i merely wrote this to spark a slight interest perhaps in the person of Melchizedek, but more importantly in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord, who is the eternal King, Priest and Savior. Praise God for that.



Citation
*Sermon given by Gil Rugh in 1978
*Wikipedia.org
*NASB Bible