The India Connection
There is a place in South India that dates back to earliest antiquity that has and still bears the name of Salem.
Could it have been a Priest-King of ‘the Salem in India’ who greeted Abram after the Battle of the Kings and blessed him?
Very little is known about Melchizedek, beside the biblical references to him that have been cited above but let’s focus on the New Testament, specifically The Epistle of Paul to The Hebrews.
In this Epistle, Paul points out that Jesus Christ was not a descendent of the Levitical priesthood, having been born from the House of David, a tribe of Judah, “of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.” (Hebrews. 7:13)
Instead, Jesus was called by God to be the Highest Priest and was, therefore, superior to the priests of the Order of Aaron; i.e., the Levitical priests of the temple:
“So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made a high priest; but God hath said unto Him (Jesus), ‘Thou art My Son, today have I begotten Thee.’ As God saith also in another place, ‘Thou art a priest forever after the Order of Melchizedek... And being made perfect, Christ became the author of Eternal Salvation unto all them that obey Him; called of God a high priest after the Order of Melchizedek...”
“If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood... what further need was there that another priest should rise after the Order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the Order of Aaron?... For it is evident that Our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing regarding priesthood.”
“And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude (or likeness) of Melchizedek there ariseth another priest, Who was made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life... The Lord swore and will not repent, ‘Thou (Christ) art a priest forever after the Order of Melchizedek.’” (Hebrews. 5:5,6,9,10; 7:11,14,15,16,21)”
Paul then goes on to describe who this Melchizedek was:
“For this Melchizedek, King of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abram returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him: To whom also Abram 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;
“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. Now consider how great this Man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.” (Heb. 7:1-4)
Clearly these passages indicate the existence of a Son of God - an Avatar - that predates the arrival of Jesus Christ with whom the patriarch Abraham had contact. It is also interesting to note that the Epistle is directed not just to the tribe of Judah, but to all of the Hebrews or sons of Abraham.
Considering the link between India and the Hebrews, and also considering the abundant evidence that Abraham himself came from India as well, it has been suggested that the great Priest-King Melchizedek - this King of Righteousness and Peace of the period of Abraham - was not from the Middle East at all, but was located in India.
The closest we can come to the title/name Melchizedek in India is the name Melik-Sadaksina a Kassite who was said to be a great Indian King and spiritual giant. He and Brahma (Abram) are associated with the founding of the Hindu religion in India!
Abram was born somewhere around 2000 BCE. The Bible records the War of the Kings, after Abram left Haran (India) and after his arrival in the Palestine area.
In summary: Chedarlaomer, King of Elam (Elam was east of Mesopotamia and was the Northwestern section of ancient India) waged a war with five other kings, defeating them. For 12 years, these five defeated kings served Chedarlaomer. But during the 13th year, the five kings rebel, and during the 14th year, the great Battle of the Kings occurs.
It is as Abram was returning from the War of the kings, That Melchizedek “King of Salem and Priest of God Most High”, met with him in the Valley of Shaveh, brought him bread and wine and blessed him, to whom also Abram apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils.
A parallel to this story in The Bible can be found in what can be called the Hindu Bible - The Mahabharata.
In The Mahabharata: An evil king, along with his allies, defeats (through deception) five other kings who are then sent into exile for 12 years. On the 13th year, the five kings go “incognito” so the evil king cannot find them. And during the 14th year, a great war takes place - a Battle of the Kings - where kings and their armies are slaughtered in great numbers, this battle took place in Kurukshetra in Northwest India.
This great slaughter is said to have taken place around 2500 to 2000 BCE.
Further, according to Hindu history there was an Avatar of the One True God, on Earth during that period of time who was also a King – Krishna – a full Avatar of the One True God.
According to Hindu sources, Krishna went as a Peace Messenger to the evil king to persuade him not to go to battle, and to return all the property and goods he had taken from the five other kings. He came as an envoy of Peace and the King of Dharma or Righteousness. But the evil king, puffed with pride and ego would not listen. Hence the battle took place.
Krishna was pleased with the outcome of the war, and blessed all those who had come to the aid of the five kings.
Could Krishna of India and Melchizedek of Salem be One and the same Supreme Person?
The earlier date of the Hindu sources and the close parallel of the same story later found in the Bible would indicate that this story, like many in Hebrew history, was “borrowed” from elsewhere.
Some Hindu beliefs have Jesus listed as the tenth Avatar of Vishnu (Buddha being the eighth and Krishna being the ninth).
Some Hindu scholars consider the parallels in these stories to indicate that The Bible itself verifies that Christ was not the only Avatar of God to have visited the Earth!
In fact the very concept of the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God appears to have its roots in India with the idea of ‘God incarnating in Human Form’ being found in the earliest Holy Scriptures known to man, The Upanishads.
According to many scholars while references to the Messiah are sprinkled throughout the Old Testament, one of the most vivid descriptions of Him - including the various titles He will bear - is to be found in The Dead Sea Scrolls in The Book of Enoch (written approximately 80 B.C.), where the entire process of His Spiritual Ascent to God in Heaven is recounted. This process of spiritual ascent, etc. is found in India in The Kaushitaki Upanishad that was composed long before The Book of Enoch or any other scripture of Judaic origin.
If Melchizedek and Krishna were one and the same it would explain a great deal about Hebrew history.
OFTEN PORTRAYED AS AN ELDERLY/WIZENED VERSION OF JESUS
Melchizedek is not so much a name as it is a title or designation. The term is a transliteration of two Hebrew words, melek and tsedeq. In Hebrew the word melek means ‘king’ and tsedeq means ‘righteousness’. So the title “Melchizedek King of Salem” is a double tile of King of Righteousness, which is what Melchizedek means, and King of Peace (peace being the translation of Salem).
Many Scholars often repeatedly and laboriously mention that he was of non-Hebrew decent, this shows a common bias throughout, as all one has to do is remember that at the time he is mentioned in the Bible, there were no Hebrews, specifically, Abram did not yet have a covenant with his God and as the progenitor of the Hebrew race did not yet have children so he was not yet father of the Hebrew nation.
This “King of Salem and Priest of God Most High”, met with Abram in the Valley of Shaveh, as Abram was returning from the war of the kings, brought him bread and wine and blessed him, to whom also Abram apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils.
Note the “Sacrament of Bread and Wine” not the usual sacrificial meal of meat.
Here we have a Priest of the God Most High, King of Righteousness and Peace that Abram willing gives a tithe to.
Not only does Abram give him a tithing, but Melchizedek also blesses Abram and in return Abram swears an oath to the “Lord God Most High”.
According to Old Testament teaching, the one who blessed occupied a position of superiority in reference to the one who received the blessing. Without any dispute the lesser offers tribute to and is blessed by the greater.
Melchizedek it seems is a very important personage of the time, but who is he?
As stated above he is a Priest of the God Most High and since Abram also swears an oath to this “God” one can safely assume that Melchizedek was a priest of the same God that Abram later made a covenant with.
Scholars can and already do argue about the superiority of Melchizedek over Abram, however, they often cite later Biblical entries mainly from the book of Hebrews as support for their point of view but in fact Abram was Abram at the time, not yet Abraham and would not become so until Genesis 17, after his encounter with Melchizedek.
We contend that Melchizedek was indeed a superior to Abram and his blessing and Abram’s oath to the “Lord God Most High” was the catalyst that later set the stage for Abram’s covenant with God.
This priestly act of blessing was the bestowal of favor or privilege. Abram had been set apart by the Lord, and given honor and privilege. God later enters into a divine covenant with him, promising prominence, possessions multitudinous offspring and eternal blessings.
It is only after this blessing that the “word” of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision in Genesis 15 and later still in Genesis 17 that God makes his covenant with Abram and changes his name to Abraham.
Some rabbinic scholars identify Melchizedek with Noah's son Shem.
Later Mention
The next allusion to Melchizedek is in Psalm 110:4 which names David as a Priest after the order or (Way) of Melchizedek. It is interesting to wonder why is it important for David to be in this order.
We do know that David comes into the picture while the formation of an Israel King was a fairly new idea.
The last great judge and head of the people Samuel, while not of the Aaronic priesthood, was the last Nazarite mentioned in the Bible. He was of an impeccable reputation, but alas his sons where not good men. The people of Israel fearing a war begged Samuel, who was quite old, to appoint a king over them. Samuel distressed at this went to pray for guidance. God sent him this message.
1Samuel 8: 7 and 8 “And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.”
So Samuel appoints Saul as the first King. But the reign of Saul was coupled by many problems. Samuel was instructed by God to anoint a new king of Israel because Saul had lost favor.
Samuel does so by finding David, who God has determined, will be the new King. Trouble erupts between David and Saul that ends in David fleeing, and Saul eventually being slain by the Philistines.
So now we have David who is inducted into the Order or Way of Melchizedek.
Psalm 110:4 “The Lord hath sworn and will not repent “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Was this a way to insure that a religious group would be given a certain degree of rights and acknowledgement under the new King of Israel? If so who were these people who followed The Way of Melchizedek - King of Righteousness and Peace?
Where is this theology that existed and who were the followers of it?
Melchizedek in The New Testament
If we trace Christianity back to its roots, we hit the problem of the Hebrew attitude toward history. They recorded it usually centuries after the events related, seeking to use it as a lesson and a guide to contemporary religious conduct, caring little for dates or facts. The message was the lesson that the story was being used to teach, while the story itself had to accommodate this purpose by whatever means the writer chose to use.
Melchizedek takes on a whole new personality and meaning in the New Testament. The priesthood of Melchizedek is now an “order forever”. Melchizedek was made priest without an oath and his priesthood can neither be transmitted nor interrupted by death: “this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.” In contrast, the priesthood of Aaron had a history of disruptions and termination.
The Book of Hebrews also presents Jesus as a priest after the order of Melchizedek (4:14-7:28). The author(s) draws directly from Psalm 110:4 and uses several crucial points to explain and prove that the priesthood of Christ has superseded and is superior to the priesthood of Aaron.
Hebrews 5:6 ...He also said in another place, “You will be a priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 5:10 ...and God declared him to be high priest, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:20 ...On our behalf Jesus has gone in there before us and has become a high priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7:1 ...This Melchizedek was king of Salem and a priest of the Most High God. As Abraham was coming back from the battle in which he defeated the four kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him.
Hebrews 7:2 ...and Abraham gave him one tenth of all he had taken. (The first meaning of Melchizedek's name is “King of Righteousness”; and because he was king of Salem, his name also means “King of Peace.”)
Hebrews 7:3 ...There is no record of Melchizedek's father or mother or of any of his ancestors; no record of his birth or of his death. He is like the Son of God; he remains a priest forever.
Hebrews 7:6 ...Melchizedek was not descended from Levi, but he collected one tenth from Abraham and blessed him, the man who received God's promises.
Hebrews 7:8 ...In the case of the priests the tenth is collected by men who die; but as for Melchizedek the tenth was collected by one who lives, as the scripture says.
Hebrews 7:10 ...For Levi had not yet been born, but was, so to speak, in the body of his ancestor Abraham when Melchizedek met him.
Hebrews 7:11 ...It was on the basis of the levitical priesthood that the Law was given to the people of Israel. Now, if the work of the levitical priests had been perfect, there would have been no need for a different kind of priest to appear, one who is in the priestly order of Melchizedek, not of Aaron.
Hebrews 7:15 ...The matter becomes even plainer; a different priest has appeared, who is like Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7:17 ...For the scripture says, “You will be a priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 5:10 ...and God declared him to be high priest, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:20 ...On our behalf Jesus has gone in there before us and has become a high priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7:1 ...This Melchizedek was king of Salem and a priest of the Most High God. As Abraham was coming back from the battle in which he defeated the four kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him.
Hebrews 7:2 ...and Abraham gave him one tenth of all he had taken. (The first meaning of Melchizedek's name is “King of Righteousness”; and because he was king of Salem, his name also means “King of Peace.”)
Hebrews 7:3 ...There is no record of Melchizedek's father or mother or of any of his ancestors; no record of his birth or of his death. He is like the Son of God; he remains a priest forever.
Hebrews 7:6 ...Melchizedek was not descended from Levi, but he collected one tenth from Abraham and blessed him, the man who received God's promises.
Hebrews 7:8 ...In the case of the priests the tenth is collected by men who die; but as for Melchizedek the tenth was collected by one who lives, as the scripture says.
Hebrews 7:10 ...For Levi had not yet been born, but was, so to speak, in the body of his ancestor Abraham when Melchizedek met him.
Hebrews 7:11 ...It was on the basis of the levitical priesthood that the Law was given to the people of Israel. Now, if the work of the levitical priests had been perfect, there would have been no need for a different kind of priest to appear, one who is in the priestly order of Melchizedek, not of Aaron.
Hebrews 7:15 ...The matter becomes even plainer; a different priest has appeared, who is like Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7:17 ...For the scripture says, “You will be a priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.”
For the writer(s) of Hebrews to look at these Old Testament passages about Melchizedek along Christian theological lines is in keeping with the practice of other New Testament writers. The writer's main drive is to show newly acquired Christians that they were correct in choosing Christianity over Judaism.
Jesus’ disciples called the religion that Jesus preached simply The Way, could this be the same “Way” of Melchizedek?
Now it is obvious why the author presents Jesus in this light, but why does he use the character of Melchizedek to prove his point?
Now it is obvious why the author presents Jesus in this light, but why does he use the character of Melchizedek to prove his point?
Four reasons come to mind:
· Melchizedek is relatively unknown so it was easy to use this figure.
· Jesus is traced back to the line of David and since David was of the Way or Order of Melchizedek so too is Jesus.
· The Way or Order of Melchizedek was still in existence at the time of Jesus.
· Jesus may have been connected to or from the group of people who still used the “Melchi figures” in their theology (at that point in history probably the Sabeans through John the Baptist) and thus it was easy to connect him to Melchizedek.
Melchizedek blessed Abram who in turn takes an oath to this god, the “Lord God Most High” and shortly thereafter makes a covenant with this God. Melchizedek’s priesthood is given to David, the second King of Israel and later Jesus is also claimed to be of this priesthood.
Could the Way or Order of Melchizedek be a thread from a belief system that existed before the time of Abraham, and if so what system?
Hebrews 7:3 in the New Testament refers to Melchizedek as a king “without father or mother or genealogy”, a reference which some Christians take as referring to Melchizedek's true nature as an angel or even as Jesus himself, appearing thousands of years before his Earthly incarnation.
The accounts of Melchizedek given in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library has divided scholars into several camps, some that tout his existence as a mortal man, some that identify him with the Archangel Michael, and others still who identify him with Yahweh.
What does all of this have to do with Jesus?
Certain Christian denominations use the story of Melchizedek as proof of their contention that Jesus “pre-existed” himself. This contention stems from their assertion that Jesus and Yahweh are one and the same, usually used in the concept of the eternal Holy Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (many scholars believe that the Trinity was also borrowed from Hinduism).
This contention however, and probably not an intention of those who point to Melchizedek, is basically saying that Melchizedek was Jesus in an earlier incarnation!
The step-by-step comparison of Jesus to Melchizedek brings to mind the Hindu contention that Jesus as described in the Bible is a very similar figure to Krishna.
Similarities in just the names of 'Christ' and 'Krishna' have enough fuel for the curious mind to prod into the proposition that they were indeed one and the same person. It is hard to ignore a host of likenesses between Christ and Krishna.
Christ comes from the Greek word 'Christos', which means “the anointed one”. The word 'Krishna' in Greek conveys the same meaning as that of 'Christos'. A colloquial Bengali rendering of Krishna is 'Kristo', which is the same as the Spanish for Christ — 'Christo'.
· Both are believed to be sons of God, since they were divinely conceived.
· The birth of both Jesus and Krishna and their God-designed missions were foretold.
· Both were born at unusual places — Christ in a lowly manger and Krishna in a prison cell.
· Both were divinely saved from death pronouncements
· Evil forces pursued both Krishna and Christ in vain.
· Christ is often depicted as a shepherd; Krishna was a cowherd.
· Both appeared at a critical time when their respective countries were in a torpid state.
· The teachings of all are very similar — emphasizing love and peace.
Perhaps Jesus was a later incarnation of Melchizedek, this makes sense only if the true historical identity of Melchizedek is Krishna!
Some Quotes from some source references follow:
2 Enoch for reconstruction of beliefs in antiquity. We find two versions of a strange story of Melchizedek in the manuscripts of this work. He is born posthumously of Sophanim, wife of the priest Nir, and his mother conceived him in her dotage without intercourse. The precocious infant looks like a three-year-old child and begins to speak immediately. He is made a priest by his family and is later taken to the Garden of Eden (“Edem”) by the archangel Michael.
“But he who first built it was a potent man among the Canaanites, and is in our own tongue called [Melchisedek], the Righteous King, for such he really was; on which account he was [there] the first priest of God, and first built a temple [there], and called the city Jerusalem, which was formerly called Salem.”
- Flavius Josephus, War of the Jews, Bk VI, Ch X, Sn 1
“…Melchizedek is king of what Salem (or Shalom) means in Hebrew: he's king of peace in the sense of integration, wholeness. He's the 'royal man,' one who's conquered and unified his upper and lower natures, becoming perfect. Such men are called kings. He's also the only high priest in the Old Testament whom no one seems to have ordained.”
- Paul William Roberts, Journey of the Magi (1995) p. 273
“This non-Israelite priest-king appears in two places in the Hebrew Bible: Genesis 14:18-20 and Psalm 110:4. My own reading of the texts is that Genesis is drawing on traditional material from the Judean royal cult (or perhaps even from pre-Israelite traditions) to tie the more recently introduced figure Abram to Jerusalem (Salem) and its temple cult. Psalm 110 seems to indicate that there was a priesthood of Melchizedek tied to the Davidic king in the temple cult.”
- James Davila, “Melchizedek as a Divine Mediator”
Recent discoveries near Qumran have brought another heavenly figure to light: Melchizedek, who was considered an elohim (literally, 'a god'). The Son of Man was even said in the Similitudes to have been created before time(lEn 48:3).”
- Paolo Sacchi, “Recovering Jesus' Formative Background” in Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls (James H. Charlesworth, Ed. - 1992), p. 131
For the author of scroll 11Q13, the Melchizedek Text of Cave 11, “Melchizedek is an enormously exalted divine being, to whom are applied names that are generally reserved for God alone, the Hebrew names el and elohim. In the author's citation of Isaiah 61:2, which speaks of 'the year of the Lord's favor,''Melchizedek' is substituted even for the most holy name of Israel's God, Yahweh. Yet more remarkably, Melchizedek is said to atone for the sins of the righteous and to execute judgment upon the wicked - actions usually associated with God himself. By the power of Melchizedek, dominion on earth shall pass from Satan...to the righteous Sons of Light.”
- Michael Wise, Martin Abegg, Jr., and Edward Cook, The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation (1996) p. 455
“[He shall pro]claim this decree in the fir[s] [wee]k of the jubilee period that foll[ows nine j]ubilee periods. Then the 'D[ay of Atone]ment' shall follow af[ter] the [te]nth [ju]bilee period, when he shall atone for all the Sons of [Light] and the peopl]e who are pre]destined to Mel[chi]zedek. [...] upo[n the]m [...] For this is the time decreed for 'the year of Melchiz[edik]'s favor' (Isa. 61:2, modified), [and] by his might he w[i]ll judge God's holy ones and so establish a righteous ki[n]gdom, as it is written about him in the Songs of David, 'A godlike being has taken his place in the council of God; in the midst of the divine beings he holds judgment' (Ps. 82:1. Scripture also s[ays] about him, 'Over [it] take your seat in the highest heaven; A divine being will judge the peoples' (Ps. 7:7-8).”
- 11Q13 2:7-11
“And Melchizedek will avenge the vengeance of the judgments of E[l ...from the hand of Be]lial and from the hand of all...”
- 11QMelchizedek (2nd c. BCE)
“...In the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter seven is entirely devoted to employing Melchizedek (whose name means 'my Lord is justice') in an attack on Jewish priesthood and the Law. A prophetic figure of Christ, Melchizedek has 'no father, mother, or ancestry' according to this epistle. Therefore he's outside time, like a Son of God, exercising an eternal priesthood, thus superior to that of the Jewish priests. Not only are the latter mortal, but in the person of their ancestor Abraham they gave tithes to Melchizedek and received his blessing. Like Melchizedek, Jesus is not of priestly descent but is described by the Pauline philosophy as 'a priest of the order of Melchizedek' (Hebrews 7:11-19).”
- Paul William Roberts, Journey of the Magi (1995) p. 273
The author of Hebrews “says...that Melchizedek was a priest of a lineage superior to that of the Levitical priests, since even Abraham paid him homage (7.1-6). Furthermore, Melchizedek continues to serve as a priest forever, in some sense as if he were the Son of God himself (7.3).”
- Norman Golb, Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? (1995) p.380
“['Zi]ion' is [the congregation of all the sons of righteousness, who] uphold the covenant and turn from walking [ing the way] of the people. 'Your di[vi]ne being is [Melchizedek, who will del]iv[er them from the po]wer of Belial.”
- 11Q13 2:23b-25
In the Melchizedek Tractate (NHC IX, 1) “from the Gnostic library discovered in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, is found in a single, exceedingly fragmentary Coptic MS of the fourth century C.E. Birger Pearson hazards a guess that the work was composed in the late second or early third century C.E, probably in Egypt, and it seems to have been written originally in Greek. In any case it must be later than the rise of Christianity. The contents of the work can be roughly summarized as follows: an angelic messenger brought a revelation to the high priest Melchizedek (known from Genesis 14), which described, inter alia, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This address concluded with instructions on to whom to reveal the message. Melchizedek arose with joy and carried out a number of rituals and invocations to Gnostic divinities. Then more heavenly messengers granted him another revelation that appears to indicate that Melchizedek himself will be incarnated as Jesus Christ (p. 25 of the codex). He will also defeat his enemies, the archons, in battle. After admonishing him not to reveal this knowledge without permission, the messengers ascended into the heavens.”
- James Davila, “Melchizedek as a Divine Mediator”