Melchizedek: a major contribution to the development of consciousness

Names

• Melchizedek
• Melchi Sedec

Melchizedek founded the Essene Brotherhood

It was Melchizedek who founded the Essene Brotherhood, that is, the being who is known by this name in the Jewish tradition. There are always two names for any Melchizedek, and the Melchizedek of the Jewish tradition was actually called Aleph-Etz Melchizedek. The word “Aleph” is related to “alpha” and means “the beginning”. The word “Etz” means “tree”, and the whole name means “the beginning of the tree of Melchizedek”. So the Tree of Life was planted at that time by this great Teacher within the Melchizedek Order.

Many years later this same Teacher returns as Jesus, and Jesus is Elohenu Melchizedek. “Elohenu” is literally “the glory of God”, but it could also be translated as “the Divine creative flowering”. Hence his name means “the Divine creative flowering (of the tree of) Melchizedek”. So this great Teacher plants the Tree of Life, and returns again at the culmination of this whole process, when the Tree reaches its full flowering. In that sense Jesus can be seen as the overlighting and presiding spirit of our Order, guiding and directing the whole Essene impulse.

Aleph-Etz Melchizedek

Elohenu Melchizedek

source: The Essenes: The Children of the Light

Joanna: And the Melchizedeks are found in many places apart from this planet?

Daniel: Indeed. They are a universal Order of service, and work in many parts of the galaxy. According to the Kaloo they have made a major contribution to the development of consciousness upon this planet.

Joanna: Could you please tell us something of the qualities of the Melchizedeks?

Daniel: The Melchizedek Order is vast, and contains a wide range of beings of different ranks and skills, but I can offer some opinion as to their chief qualities. First of all, I would say compassion, because that is why they are here to help us. That is what keeps them going, to solve so many difficult problems on so many planets. When consciousness is unable to move forward on any planet, then a Melchizedek will be dispatched to see what can be done. They are like roving ambassadors of spiritual education and transformation, receiving and teaching the Light. It is the Light which really moves people forward along their chosen path, much more than structures, techniques or ideas. The Melchizedeks also have flexibility and creativeness, because they are dealing with new and challenging and difficult problems all the time. And on many occasions there is no precedent, no rule to follow. I would also say they have detachment. Many of the Melchizedeks come from the angelic line, and much of their work is quasi-angelic in nature, in that they sweep away the problems at the lower levels in order to reach the truth, and connect the ones they are trying to help with the Light. In doing so they penetrate to the heart of things and see them as they are, and not as they seem to be in this realm of illusion.

The Essenes: The Children of the Light

The Melchizedeks understood that, despite the illusion of manyness, many beings and many levels, the universe is not divided in its fundamental Reality. In this Reality, which is the deep truth of things, the universe is integrated into Oneness. This Oneness lies at the heart of our Brotherhood, and the whole of the Essene Way flows from this central cosmic fact of Oneness. And the origin of our deepest knowledge of Oneness is the Melchizedek tradition and the work of the Kaloo who taught within that tradition.

The Essenes: The Children of the Light

The Oneness of the Spirit and rise in awareness

When human beings experience the Oneness of the Spirit and rise in awareness, that will heal our consciousness and will also heal the sickness of the Earth. Then the Earth will produce a new note, not the discordant tone of a being in pain, but the joyful tone of a healed and reborn planet. When she sounds out this new note she will join her sister planets as all of Creation moves upwards into the Light and the Greater Harmony.

Humanity will rise upwards in consciousness, and we will be able to live in the Eternal Joy of which our scriptures speak. That is what we call the Triumph of the Light, and this is the whole process which the Melchizedeks have been guiding and supporting here and elsewhere in the galaxy over countless centuries.

The Essenes: The Children of the Light

Biblical Account

Genesis 14:18-20. This is the main Old Testament passage about Melchizedek. It calls him king of Salem. Salem is often identified with Jerusalem. He is also a priest of “God Most High” (El Elyon). He meets Abram, later called Abraham, after Abram defeats several kings. Melchizedek blesses him. Abram gives him a tenth of everything he has.

"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, 'Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.' And Abram gave him a tenth of everything."

Genesis 14:18-20

Psalm 110:4. Tradition gives this psalm to David. It names Melchizedek in a prophecy about the coming Messiah. It speaks of a priesthood that lasts forever. That priesthood is not like the Levitical one. Christian theology often reads the verse as pointing to Jesus Christ.

"The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'"

Psalm 110:4

Hebrews 7. In the New Testament, the Book of Hebrews spends a long passage on Melchizedek. It presents him as a type of Christ. A type is a figure who points ahead to a later one. Hebrews stresses his eternal priesthood and his righteousness. Hebrews says Melchizedek is “without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life,”

"For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace."

Hebrews 7

Significance

King of Salem. Salem is often identified with Jerusalem. As its king, Melchizedek stands for rule and for peace. His name means “king of righteousness.”

Priest of God Most High. Melchizedek served El Elyon. No family line is recorded for him. He has no tie to the Levitical priesthood, which came later through Aaron. That is what sets his priesthood apart. Christians use it as a model for the eternal priesthood of Jesus.

Foreshadowing of Christ. Christian theology sees Melchizedek as a type of Christ. He was both king and priest. He is linked with righteousness and peace. Hebrews compares his eternal priesthood with that of Jesus.

Symbol of divine worship. Melchizedek stands for a priesthood outside the established order. It points to a way of relating to God that does not depend on bloodline or tradition.

He appears only briefly in the Bible. Even so, theologians have argued about him for a long time. Most of that debate is about the priesthood of Jesus and about kingship and righteousness under God.

Gnostic Texts Featuring Melchizedek

The Nag Hammadi Library

The Nag Hammadi Library is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts. It was found in Egypt in 1945. Several of its texts mention Melchizedek.

The Melchizedek Text. This text is part of the Nag Hammadi collection. It shows Melchizedek as a high priest and a cosmic savior. Sometimes it equates him with Jesus. Sometimes it treats him as a figure who comes before Christ. In both cases he passes on divine knowledge and truth.

The Pistis Sophia. This text calls Melchizedek a heavenly priest. He serves in the highest realms and performs cosmic rites. He takes part in salvation. His job is to help souls rise through the aeons. The aeons are the layers of spiritual existence.

The Epistle to the Hebrews. Hebrews is not a Gnostic text. It did shape Gnostic thought. It shows Melchizedek as a priest with no lineage and as a model for Christ’s eternal priesthood. Gnostic readers built on that idea of a divine mystery beyond any earthly family line.

Gnostic Interpretations and Themes

1. Melchizedek as a Cosmic Priest

Gnostic thought often treats Melchizedek as divine or half-divine. He has a key place in the order of the cosmos. He is a priest who is not bound by earthly limits. He serves in the heavenly temple. He links the material world and the spiritual world.

2. Melchizedek as a Revealer of Knowledge

Gnosticism values hidden knowledge above all. The Greek word is gnosis. This knowledge leads to spiritual awakening and salvation. Melchizedek is believed to hold this hidden wisdom. He passes it to initiates and guides them toward enlightenment and freedom from the material world.

3. Melchizedek as a Prefiguration of Christ

Many Gnostic texts compare Melchizedek with Christ. Both are eternal priests. Both are saviors. In this view Melchizedek comes before Jesus and shares the same divine task: to redeem and enlighten humanity.

4. Melchizedek as an Aeon or Spiritual Being

Some Gnostic systems call Melchizedek an aeon. An aeon is a divine being inside the pleroma. The pleroma is the fullness of the divine realm. As an aeon, Melchizedek takes part in creation and salvation. He acts as a go-between in the spiritual world.

References to Melchizedek in 2 Enoch

Miraculous birth. In 2 Enoch, Melchizedek is born to Sothonim. She is the wife of Nir, a brother of Noah. Sothonim had not been with a man. Melchizedek is born as a fully developed child. Chapters 71-72 tell this story. Right after birth he speaks and praises God.

Ordination as priest. 2 Enoch names Melchizedek as a priest before the Flood. God chooses him to keep the priestly line going. Chapter 71 stresses this appointment.

Preservation by God. In chapter 71 the archangel Gabriel takes Melchizedek to the Garden of Eden. This keeps him safe from the Flood. It marks him as special in God’s plan. It also keeps the priesthood alive.

Theological Significance

Priesthood and salvation history. In 2 Enoch, Melchizedek links the world before the Flood with the world after it. His priesthood is eternal. Later readers built on this and saw him as a forerunner of Christ’s priesthood.

Sources

For deeper study of Melchizedek in 2 Enoch, see:

The Book of Enoch: New Translation by R.H. Charles. It gives a full translation of 2 Enoch, including the Melchizedek sections.

The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Volume 1, edited by James H. Charlesworth. It has a translation of 2 Enoch with commentary on how Melchizedek is portrayed.

The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism. It gives context and summaries of pseudepigraphal texts, including Melchizedek’s role in 2 Enoch.

Melchizedek in other pseudepigraphal texts

Melchizedek shows up in other pseudepigraphal texts besides the Second Book of Enoch. Pseudepigrapha are ancient writings credited to a famous figure who did not write them. These texts add to his mysterious role. Here are the main ones.

1. The Book of Jubilees

Role and lineage. Jubilees names Melchizedek as a descendant of Noah through Shem. It calls him king and priest of Salem.

Blessing of Abraham. Jubilees expands the Genesis story. Melchizedek blesses Abraham, and the text makes his priesthood important.

2. 3 Enoch

Heavenly priesthood. In 3 Enoch, Melchizedek belongs to the heavenly realm. He is a high figure who serves as priest in the heavenly Temple.

Role in eschatology. Eschatology is teaching about the end times. His place in the heavenly Temple ties him to those themes. His priesthood reaches beyond earthly history.

3. The Dead Sea Scrolls (11QMelchizedek)

Messianic figure. One Dead Sea Scroll is known as 11QMelchizedek. It shows Melchizedek as a messianic figure. He is a divine agent. He will proclaim liberty to the captives and bring the final judgment.

Role in atonement. In this scroll he is a heavenly deliverer who atones for sins. That ties him to final redemption and salvation.

4. The Nag Hammadi Library (The Nag Hammadi Codex IX)

Melchizedek tractate. In this Gnostic text Melchizedek is a priest and a prophet. He is a spiritual teacher who holds esoteric knowledge.

Gnostic interpretations. The text stresses his role as one who reveals divine mysteries. This fits the Gnostic focus on hidden knowledge and enlightenment.

Theological Significance

These texts go further than the Bible does. They shaped how several religious traditions see him.

Eternal priesthood. Many of them stress that his priesthood is eternal. They connect it with the end times and the Messiah.

Divine mediator. He often stands between the divine and human worlds. That makes him a spiritual leader and an example.

Foreshadowing of Christ. Christian readers often treat him in these texts as a forerunner of Jesus Christ. The shared themes are priesthood, sacrifice and redemption.

Across all these traditions Melchizedek is read in different ways.