Continued from previous post …conclusion of the Mystery …Why was the Priest by the river and what’s the 2000 year old connection to Abraham meeting a King?

Before tying all the threads together, brief reference to the origin and descendants of the Aaronic Priesthood because…

In Luke 1: 8-23, we see that God chose to speak to Zechariah through His angel Gabriel; while Zechariah is ministering before the Most High God in the Temple, burning incense at the Altar of Incense.

Does this reveal additional clues to our mystery?

Vs. 8 reminds us that he is ministering before God, which again is inferring, that Zechariah belongs to the seed of Zadok. Is this possible? Maybe…because for God’s angel to speak to Zechariah means positively that he had to be a son of Zadok, for God will not violate His own Holy Word. Ex. 30:7 tells us that the Altar of Incense was the position of the high priest Aaron, and of Aaron’s future sons who would serve before God as high priest.

So for angel Gabriel to also speak to Zechariah while he is ministering
 at the Altar of Incense, may mean that God was secretly telling us that Zechariah was the mystery high priest of the family of Zadok. 

Different priests had served at this position daily, twice a day, for 160 years, all done in direct violation of the Word of God, bringing corruption of the Temple priesthood.

King David had two high priests, one was Zadok who was descended from Eleazar, the son of Aaron.. 

(meaning Righteous, Justified).

King Solomon continued keeping Zadok on as his only high priest. That was around 1000 B.C. and from 1000 B.C. to 160 B.C., the Zadok’s were God’s high priests of the Aaronic priesthood and of the Temple in Jerusalem, when not in exile.

Around 160 B.C., in direct violation of the Word of God, the Macabees removed the Zadok’s from being the high priests of the Jerusalem Temple.

From 160 B.C. to the opening scene of the New Covenant, the Aaronic priesthood was corrupted.

How would God restore the Aaronic priesthood for the Messiah to be able to come to earth through the Zadok Priesthood?

(Some possibilities:)

God had foretold us in Jeremiah 33:17-19, that the Messiah would be coming from two families, that David would never lack a Man who would reign as King over the House of Israel, and also that Aaron would never lack a Man who would represent the Aaronic priesthood, making a Sacrifice 
that would be “for all days”, an Eternal Sacrifice. Jer. 33:18

Another of the last of the Old Covenant prophesies was that the Messiah would come from the family of the high priest. Yeshua of Zadok of Aaron; (not only from king David). See Zechariah 3:1-10 and 6:11-13

This righteous elderly Aaronic priest couple, (Zechariah and Elisheva/Elizabeth); who were well advanced in years and walked in all the ordinances
 of the LORD, (blameless) … (and who we now also know are possibly the mystery Zadok high priest family;) and with Zechariah’s wife Elisheva now 6 months pregnant; suddenly they invite an unwed pregnant young Miriam/Mary in, to stay/live with them, for the next 3 months!

This is really telling us a lot! What is their relationship to young Mary/Miriam? The only possible answer is they had to be Miriam’s closest blood-kin family! Miriam/Mary is not only from Judah but she is also from this family, she and Elizabeth are cousins!

When Miriam of Judah is told by the angel Gabriel that she will give birth to a Son who will be Great and who will be called the Son of the Highest, and that the LORD God will give Him the Throne of His father David (Luke 1:32), she is then told next by the angel Gabriel about her ‘karov’, (Hebrew), her close relative Elisheva, of the family of Aaron.

The virgin Miriam (Isaiah 7:14) had a father & a mother. Both Miriam and her mother had to come from this same family as Elisheva of Aaron. What was this relationship? Why has it been kept a secret? Many Scripture prophesies clearly reveal the Messiah would be coming from the family of Aaron [Zadok], besides coming from the family of David!

This great high priest family secret seems to be the key to understand this whole story, and the great mystery of our LORD, Jesus/Yeshua being the very fulfillment of the Aaronic priesthood.

If Zechariah was the mystery Zadok high priest, and as priesthood was passed by God from father to son, it would follow that Yochanan was to be the next mystery Zadok high priest.

But why did God specifically say that their child had to be called Yochanan?

Because God would keep His Word that He had made to Israel and given to the Zadok priests; (found in five places in Ezekiel, from chapter 40 to 48!)

What does all that mean?

Remember that around 160 B.C., the Zadok priest’s were removed as high priests of the Jerusalem Temple by the Macabees, and because of this, the Aaronic priesthood was then corrupted
 for the next 160 years, until the opening scene in the book of Luke in the New Covenant and why there is precise geneology recorded, as there had to be proof they were eligible for the position. Every ‘begat’ is significant! Proof of Bloodline was required.

 The answer to that mystery is that, the name of the last Zadok high priest of the Jerusalem Temple, just before the Macabees removed the Zadok priests, was Yochanan/John!

God was making sure that this son who would be born to Elisheva and to Zadok high priest Zechariah, would be called Yochanan; the name of the last Zadok high priest, around 160 B.C. [Art Scroll Publications, Yoma Edition, Volume 9, Section: ‘Kohanim Gedolim in 1st and 2nd Temples!]A closer look at the name Melchi-zedek

Malki-tsedeq: From melek and tsedeq;

“my king is right,” an early king of Salem Palestine/Israel

מַלְכִּיצֶֿ֫דֶק  proper name, masculine; king of Salem שָׁלֵם 

Strong’s Hebrew 4442

Original Word: מַלְכִּי־צֶ֫דֶק

Transliteration: Malki-tsedeq

Phonetic Spelling: (mal-kee-tseh’-dek)

Short Definition: Melchi-zedek

 מַלְכִּי   Malki

־צֶ֫דֶק     tsedeq

מלך The noun מלך (melek) is usually translated as king  (מלכי, meaning kings of)              

The verb מלך (malak), to be or become king.

In the Greek New Testament the name Melchi-zedek is spelled Μελχισεδεκ (Melchi-sedek).

The use of a hyphen in a name is quite unusual, and although Melchi-zedek seems a personal name, it looks more like a title. It consists of two elements, the first one taken from the noun מלך (melek), meaning king:

Note that theTorah includes rules and restrictions specifically for the king, which in itself is highly unusual if not wholly without precedent in the old world. A king had to be chosen by Adonai and not by the people. (Deuteronomy 17:15).

The one and only thing the King of Israel was supposed to do was to create a copy of the Law/Torah, with his own hands, and meditate on his copy all the days of his life. (17:18-19).

צדק The verb צדק (sadeq) means to be just or righteous. HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament confidently assures that: “this root basically connotes conformity to an ethical or moral standard,” also connotes synchronicity with the natural laws by which creation operates and by which mankind functions most fully and most satisfactorily for all parties involved (humans, animals, plants and the Creator.

The individual paleo hebrew letters have meanings:

Melchizedek, the King of Salem and Priest of El Elyon  (Genesis 14:18). He has a small but far stretching role in the War of Four against Five Kings. (In the aftermath of which Abraham’s nephew Lot is abducted by the survivors of that war and subsequently freed by Abraham and his coalition.)

So our Messiah as a priest/king in the Order of Melchizedek has dual offices or authority.

David had written that the Messiah would be both a king and a priest just like Melchizedek had been.

From Genesis 14:18 we learn that Melchi-zedek, whose name means King of Righteousness, was both a priest of the Most High God and the King of Salem, (from Shalom = Peace), a Jebusite city that later became known as Jerusalem.  When David conquered the Jebusites he made Jerusalem the capital of Israel, and purchased the land on nearby Mount Moriah where Abraham had sacrificed Isaac several hundred years earlier for the Temple location.

Click links for more on Mount Moriah

https://www.minimannamoments.com/what-lies-beneath-ancient-urusalima/ 

https://www.minimannamoments.com/i-will-put-my-name-here/

Never since the founding of Israel had one man been both a king and a priest.

It was forbidden.

Kings came from the tribe of Judah, while priests were descended from Levi. 

Some prophets were also priests, (e.g. Ezekiel and Zechariah), and David was a king and a prophet; 

 however, no one was ever both a king and a priest in Israel.

Furthermore, prophecies in Ezekiel 21:25-27 and  Zechariah 6:9-13 tell us the two offices will eventually be united when Messiah comes and that He will be both a king and a priest.   And of course in the Book of Hebrews Jesus is called our King (Heb. 1:8) and Our High Priest (Heb. 4:14).  This is possible because Jesus is not a priest in the Levitical sense but in the higher order of Melchizedek.  All of Hebrews 7 is devoted to this.

In Exodus 19:6 Israel is called a kingdom of priests but in 1 Peter 2:9 we read, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

He was speaking to the Church, calling us a royal priesthood.   Only kings are considered royalty.

And in Revelation 1:5-6 it’s even clearer. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (KJV)

Some of the modern translations prefer the word kingdom over kings in the passage above, and it’s true, the Greek word there can be translated either way. They try to compare the Revelation passage with Exodus 19:6 to bolster their replacement theology bias, making the Church look like Israel. But to most conservative scholars it’s clear that both the context and the grammatical structure of the passage require that the Greek word be translated kings. (The same is true in Revelation 5:10 where the same phrase is repeated.)

Kings Of What?

The Bible doesn’t have a specific answer for this, but in Ephesians 2:6-7 Paul wrote,  “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” 

The “coming ages” alludes to the time of the Millennium and beyond where we’ll serve as living examples of the incomparable riches of God’s grace, seated with our King and High Priest on His throne.

First, ‘Lord’, is a title one uses in addressing a superior, and only two were superior to the King. One was God the Father, represented by LORD and the other was God the Son, called Lord.  In effect Jesus reminded the Pharisees that David would have referred to a merely human descendant as his son, not as his Lord.

And second, in Hebrew the “word” translated LORD is YHWH, the four initials of the unpronounceable name of God, and used only of Him, while the one translated Lord is a different word, Adonai.

Melchizadek from king and zedek meaning righteousness or the right use of consciousness!

He was born in Salem, in Canaan, which later became Jerusalem. In an era of paganism and idolatry, Melchizedek clung to God Most High and served him faithfully.

Melchizedek worshiped God Most High, the one true God.

Understanding Jesus’ status as our high priest is a key point in Hebrews.

Just as Melchizedek was not born into the Levitical priesthood but was appointed by God, so Jesus was named our eternal high priest, interceding with God the Father on our behalf.

Hebrews 5:8-10 says: “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.”

He was the great high priest who lived at the time of Abraham.

His name means king of righteousness.

Lived 2000 years before Jesus.

He was a man of faith and magnified his holy office.

As a child he stopped the mouths of lions and quenched the violence of fire.

He ordained a high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch. Gen. 14:28.

He was placed in charge of the Lord’s kingdom as the keeper of the storehouse of God and who God had appointed to receive tithes for the poor.

Abraham gave tithes to him and he gave Abraham the Melchizadek priesthood.

The Melchizadek priesthood was named after him.

Melchizedek gives Abraham bread and wine and blesses him, and Abraham gives Melchizedek a tenth of the goods that he retrieved from the looters.

This action gave rise to the law of tithing (via Genesis 28:22, via Leviticus 27:30 to Deuteronomy 14:22-29; also see Hebrews 7:1-10).

The Order of Melchizedek Is Seen in David and His Seed. 

Beginning with 2 Samuel 8:17 until Ezek. 48:11, we see 52 references in the Old Testament (TaNaKh)_ (to the Zadok (Tzadowq) priesthood. As Strong’s Concordance explains they were:

#6659 Tsadowq tsaw-doke’ from 6663; just; Tsadok, the name of eight or nine Israelites:–Zadok.

The Brown’s Driver-Brigg’s Lexicon gives a brief history of the Zadok (Tzadowq) priesthood: #H6659 Zadok = “righteous.”

The high priest, son of Ahitub of the house of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, and 11th in descent from Aaron; joined David after Saul’s death and supported him against Absalom and Adonijah; anointed Solomon as king a priest, son of Meraioth, father of Meshullam of the house of Ahitub; apparently a nephew of father of Jerusha, the wife of king Uzziah and mother of king Jotham of Judah son of Baana and repairer of the wall of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah son of Immer and repairer of the wall of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah. A leader of the people in the time of Nehemiah; a scribe appointed by Nehemiah as one of the treasurers over the storehouse; a valiant warrior of the tribe of Benjamin who joined David at Hebron. 

The Zadok /Tzadowq priesthood were a “type and shadow,” a precursor to the final resurrected ones who will be part of the priesthood of Messiah in his Millennial Reign. (Rev. 1:6; 5:10). 

So why does YaHuWaH say to David in Psalm 110:4 “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek?”

King David was from the Tribe of Judah, and the Messiah was prophesied to come through his “seed.”

Miryam, the earthly mother of Jesus/Yeshua was from the Tribe of Yahuwdah (Judah) and so was His earthly father, Yahuwceph (Joseph).

Even though Jesus/Yeshua was conceived by the Holy Spirit/Ruwach ha’Qodesh, His physical body was human, of the seed (lineage) of King David.

Israel/Yisra’el has not had an earthly king since the Roman Siege in 70 C.E., Messiah is the one who will carry on the throne of David as prophesied:

1 Kings/ Melakiym 8:25 Therefore now, YHWH Elohiym of Yisra’el, keep with your servant Dawiyd (David) my father that you promised him, saying, There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Yisra’el; so that your children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as you have walked before me.

1 Kings/ Melakiym 9:5 Then I will establish the throne of your kingdom upon Yisra’el forever, as I promised to David (Dawiyd) your father, saying, There shall not fail you a man upon the throne of Yisra’el.

If there would not fail to be a man on the throne of King David’s lineage, then why is there not an earthly king today in Jerusalem? Where is the throne of King David today? 

Matthew/Mattithyahuw 26:64 Jesus/Yeshua said unto him, You have said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall you see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Mark/Marqos14:62 And Jesus/Yeshua said, I AM: and you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Hebrews/ Ibriym 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

1Peter/Keefa 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of Elohiym; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Revelation/Chazown 5:5 And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Yahuwdah (Judah), the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of Elohiym sent forth into all the earth.

It is important now to note the difference between the high priest “Melchizedek,” who is referred to as an individual, and those priests who are “after the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews/Ibriym 7:7 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high Elohiym, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;

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;

3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of Elohiym; abides a priest continually.

4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils

We can see from the above verses, that Melchizedek is one single individual, but he does have an “order” of priests who will follow in his foot-steps.

Who are they who belong to this order of priests?

The next few verses were addressed to those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Rev. 14:4) who also have the name of the Father, (Emet/Truth), written in their foreheads.

When those who are a part of the remnant of the “seed of the woman” (mother from above Jerusalem), are caught up to meet YaHuWaH in the air (1Thess. 4:17), they will be changed into incorruption or immortality (1 Cor. 15:42-53). This it seems is when they will serve in the priesthood of Melchizedek during the Millennial Reign of Messiah here on earth (Rev. 20:4):

1^st Keefa (Peter) 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should shew forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;

Chazown (Revelation) 1:6 And has made us kings and priests unto Elohiym and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

Chazown (Revelation) 5:10 ‘And has made us unto our Elohiym kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.’

This has everything to do with us because it is written. ‘you are a chosen people a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for his own possession.’

So if we belong to God, we are a priest, we are one of His cohanim and every priest and holy vessel must be separated from everything else, set apart to God.

Under the renewed covenant, He separates His priests by other means, by what ever it takes to separate them from everything else and bring them to Himself. He will use everything to bring you to Himself, to separate you from the rest of this world, the rejection of man, disappointment, heartbreak, crisis, hurt, sorrow, disillusionment, lack of fulfillment, discontentment, trouble, abandonment and failure. Whatever it takes to separate His priest from the world and bring them to Himself.

That which is separated to God is Holy.

Ex.28:1–2; Ez.44:16; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter 2:9

The key people involved in delivering Messiah to His death where the Sanhedrin.Led by the high priest including the chief priests of the temple, the sons of Aaron the same ones ordained by God to offer up the sacrifices.

Why were they so obsessed with Messiah?

They were the priests and He was the lamb.The sacrifice.

So, (by the Law), they where the ones to initiate His death.

That was their ministry and calling.

Only they could deliver the Lamb of God to His death.

That’s why they conspired and arrested Him and handed Him over to the Romans to be crucified. It was their ministry to offer up the sacrifice. So they killed Him because they were the priests and He was the sacrifice. Although they did not know it! However they were the ones ordained by the Lord to fulfill His Plan. 

The  Cohanim’s Confession

When the priest performed the Semikah, which was the placing of the sins of the people on to the sacrifice, they also had to confess their own sins over it. Leviticus 16:21.

They had to do both, for if they did not, the sacrifice could not die for those sins. When Messiah was taken by the priests from the garden of Gethsemane the night before His death, the priests laid hands on Him and there is a record of them striking Him and hitting Him on the face and head, (Matt 26:67; Mk. 10:34; Lk. 22:63 Jn. 18:22), however there was no confession of sin. Mark 14:63–64 ‘at that Caiaphas tore his clothes and said, ‘he has spoken blasphemy,’ to which those in the council agreed that he was guilty and deserving of death.’

They condemned Him to death on FALSE charges.

The priest confessed the sins upon the sacrifice in the Semikah but the fact is that the sacrifice was not guilty of those sins.

This sacrifice could only die for those sins if it wasn’t guilty of them.

It had to be innocent and sinless without blemish spot or wrinkle. For the Semikah to be performed on the sacrifice of Messiah, the High Priest had to speak over Him sins that He was not guilty of.

Caiphas had accused Him of the sin of blasphemy speaking it over Him.

However the sin that is spoken upon the sacrifice is not the actual sin of the sacrifice but it is the sin of those who speak it.

The blasphemy He was accused of was not Messiah’s sin, it was the sin of the high priest and the priesthood.

They had in fact judged God of blasphemy against himself, God; and to judge God of blasphemy, is itself a blasphemy!

So in fact the priests were confessing their own sin! However, it wasn’t just their sin, because the priest represented Israel; and Israel in turn represented the rest of the world.

In the Semikah of the sacrifice for humanity going back to the very first sin; and the genesis of all sins, were the words that came straight from the devils mouth, ‘you shall be as God!’ which was blasphemy. Genesis 3:5

To follow the logical progression, the sin was confessed over the sacrifice by the High Priest, and the priests touched His head with their hands and by this the Semikah for the sins of man was performed.

Furthermore they confessed our sins upon Him also, for the Scriptures tell us 2 Corinthians 5:21, ‘He made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us.. That we might become the righteousness of God.

Beyond the Sanhedrin it was the high priest who alone was ordained to offer up the most holy sacrifice, the atonement by which the nation sins were forgiven. The one who that presided over the Sanhedrin and was more than anyone else responsible for delivering Messiah to His death, was none other than the high priest. 

His intention was murder yet he was the one appointed in the Law to offer up the sacrifice. Messiah was the sacrifice, so it was the high priest who had to offer Him up. Even though their actions and motives were corrupt, God used it to fulfill His purposes through it came salvation for every man who will accept Jesus’s sacrifice.

As He died He found life.

As He surrendered all, He has prevailed over all and overcome the world, so too if we walk in the footsteps of the Lamb we will prevail and overcome the world.

But now we have a renewed covenant, which obviously means there is a new priesthood. So as the covenant changes the priesthood has changed. Was there any passing of the torch so to speak between the old and the new? Was there a recognition or transference; was there a blessing from the priesthood of Aaron to the priesthood of Messiah?

And if so how could it have happened?

Caiaphas The high priest at the time and most of the priesthood was corrupt and plotting Messiahs death. There were some exceptions for example Nicodemus.However what if there was someone more of a high priest than Caiaphas? What if there was someone who represented the priesthood more than any other individual at the time?

Yeshua as the perfect sacrifice, is also from Aaron from the virgin Mary/Miriam. Miriam carried genetically the perfect fulfillment of two family lines, Aaron and David, which God had chosen, specifically stated in Jeremiah 33:24.

But we also find other prophesies revealing that the Messiah would be coming from the high priest family of Yeshua of the family of Zadok.

For the Old Testament prophesies about the Messiah indicated that He, the Branch, would not only come from the family of Aaron (Jeremiah 33: 18, 21, 24), but even more precisely from the high priest family of Yeshua of the seed of Zadok of Aaron. Zech 3:8 and 6:11-13.

 Yeshua is also from Aaron: for the virgin Miriam and Elisheva/Elizabeth of Aaron family; of king David family; of high priest Zechariah and same family as Elisheva of high priest Zadok’s family; and from high priest Zadok, family of high priest Aaron.

The relationship between Miriam (Mary), Yeshua’s mother, and her close relative (karov, in Hebrew), Elisheva (Elizabeth) of Aaron, as described in Luke 1:5, 36-56 shows how these two women were related.

God created our Messiah Yeshua, with absolute perfection, from Heaven from His Father, Almighty God. Also Yeshua is the perfect fulfillment of the two family lines which God had chosen (Jeremiah 33:24); both coming together in a virgin, Yeshua’s mother Miriam. This was prophesied in a few places in the Old Covenant Scriptures. We know that the Messiah was to come from the family of king David, of the tribe of Judah. But what was also prophesied in the Old Covenant Scriptures was that the Messiah would also be coming from the family of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi. Jeremiah 33:17, 18. Isaiah 7:14 However, God had also announced to His Zadok high priest Joshua (Yeshua, in Hebrew) something even more specific about the coming Messiah, through His prophet in the book of Zechariah.

That the Messiah (the Branch) would be coming from this Zadok high priest family of Joshua (Yeshua), of high priest Aaron of the Aaronic priesthood.  Messiah Yeshua is the perfect fulfillment of these two families, the high priest family of Yeshua of Zadok, of high priest Aaron, of the Aaronic priesthood, and also the family of king David; all from the Seed of Genesis 3:15, the Seed of Eve. God, the Holy Spirit overshadowed this Seed at the time of the conception of Yeshua in Miriam’s womb. Also, according to the Word of God in Ezekiel 43:18 & Ezekiel 44:15, 16 (& 40:46), God had said that He would only honor the blood sacrifice coming from a priest who was a son of Zadok.

Yeshua is a Son of Zadok through His mother Miriam. However, Yeshua was never, and could never have been an Aaronic priest, simple because Yeshua had no earthly father. For the Aaronic priesthood was only passed from earthly father to son. Yeshua’s Blood Sacrifice would never have been accepted by God, except for the fact that Yeshua is also a Son of Zadok through His mother Miriam.

And Yeshua is also a Priest from His Father, Almighty God. He is Priest of God Most High! Yeshua is KING and Great High Priest of Heaven! He also fulfilled the earthly line of both Aaronic high priests of Aaron and the line of kings from king David! This great Mystery is now revealed and is part of the precious and sinless Blood of our Lord Yeshua! Lord Yeshua is Heaven’s Priest coming from high priest Zadok of Aaron! Melchi Zedek: Genesis 14:18; Psalm 110:1, 4; Hebrews 7:11.

Yeshua’s cousin Yochanan (John) was also the last mystery Zadok high priest of Aaron, as was his father Zechariah (Zacharias). Luke 1:1-80 God used the Opening Scene of the New Covenant to reveal to us this Zadok high priesthood secret mystery.

The highest Ministry of the high priest was to cleanse people of their sins by performing the sacrifices on their behalf. Especially on Yom Kippur each year the day of atonement.

And this is exactly what John was doing in the Jordan River.   

He was cleansing them of their sins by encouraging them to immerse themselves in the waters as symbolic of the cleansing of their sins following true repentance.

So in reality it was John who was the highest priest of Israel, the true representative of the Aaronic priesthood.

Here we see that Messiahs ministry, His priesthood must begin with John. The two priests were standing in the waters of the Jordan River, the place of endings and beginnings, the two priesthoods. John/ Yochanan representing the priesthood of the old covenant and Messiah representing the priesthood of the renewed covenant.

There is where the transference of the priesthood was completed in plain and public view.

As the two high priests stood face-to-face, (Hebrew: al pene); the old priesthood bore witness of the new.

That all righteousness be fulfilled!!

It was here in the Jordan River that John/ Yochanan bore witness of Messiahs ministry and declared it to be greater than his own. Saying ‘I must decrease He must increase’. Here the blessing was spoken and the authority and Ministry was transferred and with the audible and visible affirmation by Adonai as Holy Spirit descended upon Him.

We better understand what He meant by His words, ‘this is My beloved Son in Him I am well pleased,’ because it was heavens confirmation that the old has gone and the new has come. That the priesthood had been given to Messiah and it was all part of God’s will and plan and purpose; and to those who are His, we are called to be priests. ‘Royal priesthood, a holy nation’, as all Israelites were called to be in the first place at Sinai. Then in fear, they changed their minds asking Moses to communicate to the Lord God for them. It is our calling today to be His priest and minister to His will and purposes on the earth.

When Jesus/Yeshua came to John/Yahuwchanon to be baptized: think of the scene, and their knowledge and understanding of the events unfolding before them in real time. It was the custom then that immersion of an individual, required that person to put themselves under the water, completely submerging their whole body.

These two cousins were 6 months apart.

At 30 years old, (legal age for a priest), Yochanan began his ministry by the Jordan river,
 around Passover time, in fulfillment of the prophesies related to Eliyahu in Mal. 4.

His cousin Yeshua began His ministry 6 months later, which would have been during the fall feasts. Now look at the words of Yochanan, but from a whole new angle; that of priest, understanding what he spoke to his disciples when he saw Yeshua walking …”Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the whole world.”

When did he say this? During the fall feasts!

As the (mystery Zadok high priest and) prophet, what would have been on Yochanan’s mind? Was he thinking of what he would have been doing during this special high holiday season? That he would have been serving in his rightful position as high priest in the Temple, if the priesthood had not been corrupted?

[Herod’s had two imposter high priests in the Jerusalem Temple]. 

He would have been doing the Yom Kippur atonement offering in 
the Temple, which would have been done for himself, for all the other priests, and for the people of Israel.

Now look again at the words he speaks and just see what God had done through him…”Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world.”

As the true Zadok high priest of Israel, God was now using him to make a brand new declaration about the Atonement of this Yom Kippur Lamb, that this was not just for himself, and for the other priests, and for the people of Israel, but now that this Atonement of the Lamb of God would be for all peoples of the world.

John was the true High Priest (a Levite) that was to offer the “sacrificial goat” that year while Caiaphas, the High Priest was an impostor who was an Edomite appointed by Rome. 

John immediately recognized that Adonai had selected the sacrificial goat that year for Yom (pronounced Yowm) Kippur:

Yahuwchanon (John) knew that Jesus/Yeshua was about to become the “sacrificial goat” and that he would be “sent” into the wilderness also as the “scapegoat” to “take away” the sins of the world into the wilderness!

John probably placed his hand on Jesus/Yeshua’s head just as the High Priest did to the scapegoat.

The scriptures tell us that the second goat is to be offered to “Azazel,” which is a Hebrew word that literally means the following in the Hebrew Strong’s Concordance: #5799 ‘aza’zel az-aw-zale from 5795 and 235; goat of departure; the scapegoat:–scapegoat.

In Ezekiel 43:19, 20 and 44:15, 16, we are told that God will only accept the Blood offering coming from a priest who is a son of Zadok!

Yeshua’s Blood Sacrifice had to meet these specific requirements from the Word of God, or His Blood offering for sin would not qualify!

Exactly how did this divine Son of Judah qualify?

  Because … (final recap)…

Yeshua is a Priest through His Father,
 but He is also a Son of Zadok through His mother Miriam!

God spoke to Miriam through His angel Gabriel in Luke 1:32, telling Miriam that she would give birth to a Son who would be called the Son of the Highest, and who would Reign over the throne of His earthly father (and ancestor) king David. Since there was no human male involved in this conception process of Yeshua (Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:18,20),

God was also recognizing that this Seed of Genesis 3:15, this Seed of woman that was carried by Miriam would be the Seed that God would use to produce this divine Child who would Reign on the throne of His father David as our King, forever.

The writer of Hebrews 7, verses 11-18, clearly states that the Priesthood of Yeshua is from His Father’s side, for the writer specifically refers to the Melchi- Zedek Priesthood of Heaven; and he also says that this divine Son is from the tribe of Judah (but only through Miriam [not through Joseph]), of which tribe Moses spoke nothing of priesthood. However, what was not mentioned, perhaps not even known at the time, was that Miriam was also
 of this same high priest family of Aaron as her close relative, Elisheva.

Miriam carried genetically the perfect fulfillment of two family lines, Aaron and David, which God had chosen, specifically stated in Jeremiah 33:24. But we also find other prophesies revealing that the Messiah would be coming from the high priest family of Yeshua of the family of Zadok.

For the Old Testament prophesies about the Messiah indicated that He, the Branch, would not only come from the family of Aaron (Jeremiah 33: 18, 21, 24), but even more precisely from the high priest family of Yeshua of the seed of Zadok of Aaron. Zechariah 3:8 and Zechariah 6:11-13.

John the Baptist standing on the bank or in the waters of the river Jordan was the true High Priest.

Caiaphas was the imposter.

John recognized and witnessed the Messiah being immersed and prepared to become the scapegoat for all mankind. The Lamb of God, knowing the history and discerning the future! John by his declaration knew Jesus was the Messiah and would become the King of Kings and the eternal great High Priest after the order of Melchizadek.Gods promise fulfilled.

Jeremiah 31:31 – 33; Matthew 3:13 – 16; Hebrews 7:11 – 17

What tribe were the four sons of Aaron from?” Most people would answer, Levi! But when we look deeper into this question, and ask, “Whom did Aaron (the brother of Moses, and sister of Miriam) take for his wife?” We discover his wife is Elisheva.

But who was Elisheva, and what tribe was she from?

Elisheva was the sister of Nahshon, the daughter of Ammnadab.

And who were they?

They were the leaders of the tribe of Judah. (Exodus 6:23, Numbers 1:7 and Matthew 1:4)

What does all that mean?

It means that all the four sons of Aaron and his wife Elisheva were really from two tribes, Levi and Judah. However, history records the Aaronic Priesthood as being just from the tribe of Levi. Why? Because the Aaronic Priesthood was named only after the father’s lineage. [Notice the names Miriam and Elisheva appear twice, the first time in the formation of both the Aaronic priesthood, and then in the divine mystery concerning Yeshua and His Aaronic priest family of the New Covenant!]

Perhaps in a similar way, Yeshua’s Priesthood is through His Father (the Melchi Zedek Priesthood). But God relates Yeshua’s earthly Kingship and His Throne from His father king David through His mother Miriam.

So this most important revelation that Yeshua is also from the high priest family of Aaron, of Zadok, through His mother Miriam was perhaps never revealed, since priesthood was named from father’s side. However, even more importantly, this mystery was not to be revealed and could not be revealed especially in those days, and was deliberately kept top secret.

Why?

Because Herod, if he had known the real identities of the Zadok priests and high priest family, would have killed this whole family.

There would have been no Miriam and no Yeshua!

For Herod had already killed many people, and he had placed his two phony high priests in the Temple.

Yeshua, in the flesh, is the physical fulfillment of both the family line of king David and also high priest Yeshua of Zadok
of high priest Aaron, through the Seed carried by His mother Miriam.

For Yeshua’s Blood Sacrifice on the Cross provided a Perfect Atonement of both the line of kings and also of the line of Aaronic Zadok high priests. Completing the mystery connection of the threads: why the Priest (John) was in the water, to Abraham meeting a King, (Melchi-zedek), to Messiah and God fulfilling His Promises!

Shalom!

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…Don’t put it off one more moment…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You are now Born Again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and you are part of the ever growing family of believers. You will never be the same again!