Was Melchizedek a Christophany?

…for there is only one name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12); and there is one name above every other name (Eph 1:21; Phil 2:9), at which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord of all (Acts 10:36).

The main argument presented by the author of the book of Hebrews is that Jesus Christ is superior to everyone and everything. When the author refers back to Genesis 14 and Psalm 110 to bring Melchizedek into view, it is for the same purpose he had with the reference to angels (chapters 1–2), to Moses (3), and to Joshua (4). In Hebrews 5–7, we learn that Jesus is greater than Melchizedek, who is greater than Abraham, who is greater than Levi. The antitype is greater than the type.

There are many types of Christ in the Old Testament: Adam; Noah; Abraham; Joseph; Moses; Joshua; David; etc. None of these “named” historical characters are considered a Christophany, that is, a pre-incarnate visit from someone who resembles the Son of God in the flesh. So, why do some speculate that the man Melchizedek was Jesus?

Abraham entertaining three men at Mamre (Gen 18); Jacob wrestling with a man at Peniel (Gen 32:24–32); Joshua bowing down to a man at the River Jordan crossing (Jos 5:13–15); the three Jewish boys in the fiery furnace (Dan 3:25); Samson’s parents (Jdg 13:22); and maybe more experienced very brief encounters with unnamed Christ-like characters. Because Christ is God, I am not inclined to differentiate a theophany from a Christophany. The point is that God showed up, albeit temporarily, in His own story, in the likeness of a man in the flesh.

So, is Melchizedek, king/priest of Salem during the days of Abraham (Gen 14), like the other character types named in the Bible; or is he God in the flesh? Let us consider both views.

First, no one disputes Melchizedek being a type for Christ. During the days of father Abraham, who was himself a type of Christ, we have a king/priest in Salem, that is, Jerusalem. It is King David, one thousand years after Melchizedek and Abraham, who picks up on the king/priest type when he wrote Psalm 110 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:19–21).

Psalm 110 is a prophecy of Jesus Messiah who appeared 1000 years after King David. David was a type of Christ, too. Was David, Jesus in the flesh? No one promotes that idea at all, despite the significant link between David and Jesus (2 Sam 7). Moses (1446 B.C.) wrote about the historical king/priest (2000 B.C.); and David (1000 B.C.) wrote about a future king/priest, Jesus Christ, who, as the antitype, would fulfill the prophecy and the type.

The author’s reference to Melchizedek in Hebrews clearly points to Jesus Christ. We see Jesus better by looking at someone who was named with a title and who foreshadowed Messiah and the work Messiah accomplished and is accomplishing, today. This is the great benefit of Old Testament character types. Adam was a federal head of a people (humanity). Noah was the patriarch and deliverer of his family. Abraham was the father of many people, who were blessed. Joshua was a conquering warrior. Moses was a leader/deliverer. Aaron was a priest for God’s people. David was king of the Jews, who put down enemy nations. These all point to the role/function of Jesus Christ for His church, the Israel of God (Is 49:1–6; Mt 16:18; Gal 6:16).

Melchizedek serves in this same pattern. He was king at Jerusalem (Heb 7:1). Righteousness and peace were ascribed to him, who brought communion supper (bread and wine) to the father/warrior/deliverer, Abraham, who himself paid tithes to this priest of the Most High God, after receiving a blessing from him (Heb 7:2).

Kings rule and reign. Priests mediate for their people with prayers and sacrifices. Jesus Christ is our great high priest (Heb 4:14), who has all authority (Mt 28:18), as Lord of all (Acts 10:36). He (in His humanity) offered Himself to God in a priestly act of self-sacrifice that we identify as substitutionary (Heb 7:27; 1 Pet 2:24). Jesus gave His life unto death for the benefit of His people (Mt 1:21; Jn 10:11, 15), whose sins are forgiven via His atoning blood (Mt 26:28; Eph 1:7; 1 Pet 1:19; 2:24).

With all of this type fulfillment, it almost feels like ancillary speculation to try and discern whether Melchizedek was Jesus in the flesh some two thousand years before Jesus was in the flesh…for sure (Jn 1:14). Was Melchizedek (Jesus incognito) divinely conceived by the Holy Spirit? Was Melchizedek born of a virgin girl? Did Melchizedek live a sinless life, during the days of Abraham? Do we need Melchizedek to be a Christophany when he serves so vividly as a type of king/priest that resembles the reality of Him who followed two millennia later?

In the context of Hebrews 7, the writer of Hebrews is answering an objection when he writes his brief biography of Melchizedek. The categories included by the writer reveal the skeptics’ objection presented against Jesus’ priesthood.

First, there is “another” priesthood after which Jesus serves as a great high priest — the Melchizedekian priesthood. This was to appease the author’s audience of Jewish Christians who were confronted with the change in priesthood and the Law (Heb 7:12).

Second, the Levites, especially the family of Aaron, had to establish their genealogy in order to serve as priest in the Temple. Nobody knew Melchizedek’s genealogy (without father or mother); and yet he served as king and priest of the Most High God, which would logically be undisputed because it is clear from both Genesis 14 and Psalm 110.

Third, the Levitical priests did not continue, nor were any of their sacrifices permanent. More priests came after more priests. More sacrifices came after more sacrifices. Melchizedek showed up, and not for a brief moment, for he continued to serve in his dual office. There is no record of a successor. In the same way, Jesus showed up, and there is absolutely no successor to Him. Jesus is the one and only priest/mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5; Heb 8:6; 9:15; 12:24). Simply put, Melchizedek had no birth certificate and no death certificate; hence, his pedigree was not essential to his holding office.

Jesus Christ, the righteous (1 Jn 2:1), the prince of peace (Is 9:6), our great high priest (Heb 4:14), forever, has offered up Himself as the one time, once for all His people, once-for-all-time sacrifice as the unblemished Lamb of God…Himself (Jn 1:29; Heb 7:27). This priest is not followed. His priesthood is permanent. This sacrifice is not followed. The priesthood changed from temporary to permanent. The sacrificial system changed from temporary/repeated, to one time/permanent with Jesus’ declaration, “It is finished” (Jn 19:30).

So, we summarize what we know from Scripture and without speculation. The antitype, Jesus Messiah is king and priest after the order of Melchizedek (Ps 110:4–7), who resembled the likeness of the Son of God (Heb 7:3), who served as king/priest at Salem (Jerusalem) during the days of Abraham, who was himself blessed by God. Levi/Aaron were in the patriarch’s loins when tithes were paid to Melchizedek who blessed Abraham.

Melchizedek, like other non-theophany/Christophany types of Christ, had a human name, which helped identify his role and function (e. g. farmer; butcher; baker; smith; taylor; etc.). His unrecorded genealogy, without a birth record or a death certificate, establishes the patten for One to come who was not of the priestly tribe of Levi (requiring genealogy), nor whose successor priest could be named.

Christian, you have a permanent priest in Jesus Christ, whose perpetual ministry continues, today, and forevermore. His sacrifice on the cross was one time, with forever effect for the beneficiaries of His work. Hebrews 5–7 is about Jesus Christ, not Melchizedek. It is about a reality explained by a shadow.

David Norczyk

Spokane Valley, Washington

January 30, 2025

Hebrews 7:1–10