Kingdom Come

Moses did not need to define each successive leader of the Hebrew nation as “this current Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, mediator between God and man” any more than Americans need to define the many responsibilities of the President of the United States every time he is sworn into office. It’s a given based on his leadership role.

To determine the line of succession in the Order of Melchizedek from Noah onward, it is helpful to reset our visual focus from a narrow view on God’s agent of salvation to the broad view on God’s object of salvation – all the nations of the earth. The theme and plot of the Bible doesn’t change – restoring spiritual life and dominion over the earth to all humanity.

“The Lord…is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9

The dates given in the following historical graphics are approximate, as noted by c. / circa / “about”.

The first historic empire is the Akkadian, founded by Shem’s son Arphaxad. Born just two years after the end of the Flood, Arphaxad / Sargon, like Cain, is clearly another Luciferian attempt to destroy YHVH’s People. With a lifespan of 438 years, Sargon had plenty of time to create his empire before it was taken over by his cousin once removed, Nimrod who corrals the growing population to build the Tower of Babel.

• Noah is Melchizedek for an undermined length of time until he is disgraced. Since Noah imposed a sentence on his grandson, we can expect the grandson was an adult, so possibly Noah ruled over the post-flood world for about 100 years. From the perspective of an ongoing battle for control, Ham’s behavior was undoubtedly a deliberate plot to cripple God’s medium of control over the rebels.
• Noah ordains Shem “Blessed be the LORD God of Shem” (Genesis 9:26)

The old Assyrian Empire founded by Asshur, another rebel son of Shem, at the scattering of the nations from the Tower of Babel in the land of Shinar, back in the same general region as the Akkadian Empire and is clearly the replacement to that Empire. Asshur is the brother of Arphaxad, so has the same actuarial lifespan of about 440 years.

• Shem is Melchizedek.

Meanwhile, Nimrod, meaning “Rebel”, is still alive and kicking with the new title of Amraphel, indication fame for something else. Remember, Hebrew doesn’t have vowels, they are added when translated into English, so we can parse this compound word as

• Am- meaning Nation, as in Abr-am, Father of a Nation
• raph – from Rephaim, Giants
• el – meaning god, generically in the attribute of power.

In other words, Amraphel means Nation of God’s Giants.

Another interpretation with greater backing by scholars is “Amraphel, am’-ra-phel (Heb.)—keeper of the gods; keeper of the treasures; or, speaker of mysteries; enlightener of secrets.”

I don’t see an inconsistency between the interpretations. As detailed in his post, Nimrod received recessive angel genes secretly carried through the Flood by his grandmother, Ham’s wife, and developed the breeding process to reproduce the post-flood giants.

The old Babylonian Empire under Hammurabi / Nimrod. Although he was only the 3rd generation from Noah, he was born late in his father’s approximately 500 year lifetime, so gets in the game later than his generation. Also, as one of the early generations, Nimrod’s life expectancy of about 440 years and virility gives him immense advantages over his contemporaries, whose genes had undergone continuous degeneration in generational meiosis. This same strategy occurs with Abraham’s and Isaac’s offspring, by the way. Their births late in their fathers’ lifetimes also grant them the virility and lifespans of the previous legendary generations.

Abram was the 9th generation from Noah, born about 300 years after Arphaxad, and after confronting Nimrod in his Babylonian Empire, is sent to provide a haven for refugees from a host of vicious nations in the land of Canaan. This is detailed in the post One Nation Under God, briefly summarized here.

Numbers 13 is the key passage on giants in the land of Canaan... “the cities are fortified and very large….we saw the descendants of Anak there….and the Amorites…” Deuteronomy 2-3 documents Emims and Zamzummims, from the Rephaim.

• Am-raph-el [ / giants,] king of Shinar [Nimrod],
• Arioch king of Ellasar,
• Chedorlaomer king of Elam,
• Tidal king of nations;
• Bera king of Sodom,
• Birsha king of Gomorrah,
• Shinab king of Admah,
• Shemeber king of Zeboiim,
• the king of Bela, 
• the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim,
• the Zuzims in Ham,
• the Emis in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 
• the Horims in their mount Seir / Hor, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness, 
• the Amalekites
• the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar. (Genesis 14:1-10)

To give some sense of their height Og’s bedstead was a bedstead of iron, 13.5′ long and 6′ wide.  Goliath of Gath, one of the Philistine cities where Anakim remained the longest, receives the most explicit description of a giant in all of Scripture at 9’9″ tall.

Shem chooses Abram as his replacement: “Melchizedek king of Salem…the priest of the most high God…said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, [the true, in contrast to the opposition] possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God.“(Genesis 14:18-20), and God ordains / anointed him: “I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee…and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him” (Genesis 18) 

…Abram was clothed with the spirit of God. And he called out and said, Woe unto my father and this wicked generation, whose hearts are all inclined to vanity, who serve these idols of wood and stone which can neither eat, smell, hear nor speak, who have mouths without speech, eyes without sight, ears without hearing, hands without feeling, and legs which cannot move; like them are those that made them and that trust in them.

And when Abram saw all these things his anger was kindled against his father, and he hastened and took a hatchet in his hand, and came unto the chamber of the gods, and he broke all his father’s gods…

Make no mistake, whenever a true believer stands up for the true God there will be a fight. Basically, people take it as a real put-down to their ego when they are told they need a higher power – and authority.

And Terah, seeing all that Abram had done, hastened…to the king and he came before Nimrod and…And he said…thus has he done to my gods and thus has he spoken; and now therefore, my lord and king, send for him that he may come before thee, and judge him according to the law, that we may be delivered from his evil...

And Abram answered the king, saying…0 foolish, simple, and ignorant king, woe unto thee forever… Dost thou not know, or hast thou not heard, that this evil which thou doest, our ancestors sinned therein in days of old, and the eternal God brought the waters of the flood upon them and destroyed them all, and also destroyed the whole earth on their account? And wilt thou and thy people rise up now and do like unto this work, in order to bring down the anger of the Lord God of the universe, and to bring evil upon thee and the whole earth? Now therefore put away this evil deed which thou doest, and serve the God of the universe, as thy soul is in his hands, and then it will be well with thee…

And the king said to the princes and sages…decide what judgment is due to this man who reviled the king; who spake and did all the things that you heard. And they all answered the king saying… having despised our gods, he must therefore be burned to death, for this is the law in this matter…and the king ordered them to take Abram from prison and bring him out to be burned.

Abraham only reluctantly chose Isaac as his designated Melchizedekian heir, although at this time in history the role was essentially that of a vagabond king waiting to reclaim his throne from the rebels. The unfortunate description of this condition is “Pretender.”

“O that Ishmael might live before thee [in your palace as your right hand man] / viceroy / vizier!] And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.” (Genesis 17:18-19), and later confirmed: “And the LORD appeared unto him, and said…I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father…in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;” (Genesis 26:2-4)

Isaac was chosen over Abraham’s beloved son Ishmael, who became instead the father of the Arabs and Islam. We can deduce from what we have learned about an heir, the “the only begotten son”, that this is because Isaac, not Ishmael, reflected both Abraham’s and Yahweh’s Savior’s character of obedience unto death.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.” (Genesis 21:8-13; 22:6-10)

Isaac chooses Esau who replaced by his mother with Jacob. it.

“Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother…Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother…My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing…

Jacob wins the sibling tug of war for the appointment because he values it so much he risks his life – more than once – to grab hold of it.

And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: Therefore

• God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
• Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee:
• be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee:
• cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. (Genesis 27:11-29)

God  confirmed Jacob in this role after Jacob trusted God’s word that he would always back him up.

“messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed…And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth [fulfillment of promises], which thou hast shewed unto thy servant…Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother…thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude…

Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled [not his brother this time!] a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him…he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me….And he said unto him, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob / One Who Takes What Doesn’t Belong To Him, but Isra-el / God Strives For What Belongs To Him for as a prince / King’s Son and Heir hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. ” (Genesis 32)

Jacob proved he has what it takes. Staying power unto death.

We also don’t always recognize that Jacob was functioning as a Melchizedek, but it is because he was the greater world-wide priest-king, the Melchizedek, that humble Jacob was in a position to bless the Egyptian Pharaoh despite Pharaoh’s exalted position.

“And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.” (Genesis 47:7)

By this point in the narrative we should recognize the current Melchizedek of the whole earth when we see him in action.

Joseph is chosen by Jacob: Joseph’s famous special coat was undoubtedly the means by which Jacob / Israel publicly proclaimed his heir to the Melchizedekian priest-kingship. 

“Now Israel loved [merged himself / identified with] Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his [maturity, wisdom] old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved / felt one with him more than all his brethren [i.e. as the LORD God had when he made Jacob his heir over Esau] they hated / repudiated identity with him.” (Genesis 37)

This is also consistent with the fact that, in keeping with

• Shem’s sons Arphaxad and Asshur,
• Abraham’s sons Ishmael and most of those from Keturah,
• and Isaac’s son Esau,

Joseph’s older brothers don’t act any better than the heathen nations around them.

Archaeologists…discovered the remains of a 6,000-year-old massacre that…was likely carried out by “furious ritualised warriors”.

The Neolithic group appeared to have died violent deaths, with multiple injuries to their legs, hands and skulls. The way in which the bodies were piled on top of each other suggested they had been killed together…

“They were very brutally executed and received violent blows, almost certainly from a stone axe,” said Philippe Lefranc, a specialist on the period for Inrap.

“two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi…took each man his sword, and came upon the city [of Shechem] boldly, and slew all the males…and spoiled the city [ruined it for habitation by breaking down the walls, filling up the wells to curse it], because they had defiled their sister. They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field, And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house [furnishings].

And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house…

This is precisely the conditions demanding a Melchizedek. Jacob leads the worship, praise and testimony service.

Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, [note, this is not just his immediate family] Put away the strange gods that are among you…And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. 

And they journeyed…So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.  And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.” (Genesis 34:25-35:3)

And it was into this exact dangerous and lawless condition that Jacob sent Joseph to check on his erratic 10 older brothers.

“And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them…

If you’ve ever been assigned leadership responsibility you understand that “it’s lonely at the top.” We already know that Jacob had picked Joseph to be his royal priest-king heir by the garment he had given him, confirmed by the dream God had given him. Jacob was acting on his appointment, providing leadership training, especially trust in Almighty God.

Jacob had no idea just how much leadership training Joseph would be getting when his brothers human trafficked him into Egypt.

And when they saw him afar off…they conspired against him…Come, and let us sell him…Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.” (Genesis 37:13-28)

The 13th Egyptian dynasty, beginning around 1786 BC, marked the beginning of a chaotic period in Egyptian history. This is consistent with population growth, the expansion of warring nations and even the hybrid giant nations contributing to famine. Just a dry spell would completely wreck the ecology.

As it turned out, Joseph was literally a God-send when he became Prime Minister around 1750 BC., “to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” (Genesis 50:20).

“And Joseph was thirty years old when he…went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt…in the seven plenteous years…and laid up the food in the cities…..And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the storehouses…

• And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands…And Joseph gathered up all the money…and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 
• And when money failed…Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle…
• When that…was ended, they came unto him…buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate. And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; 
• Then Joseph said unto the people…here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land…ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. 

And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” (Genesis 41:46-46, 47:13-26)

Notice that the long-lasting dire circumstances of this disaster brought many nations under Egypt’s protection. These people willingly submitted themselves to Pharaoh – wait, no, that’s Joseph’s – rule.

“And the seven years of dearth began to come…in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread…the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do…And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.” (Genesis 41:55-57)

“God…hath made me a father / spiritual authority to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house [including his priests], and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 45:8)

Joseph is unquestionably the next in the series of Melchizedeks.

Over the multicultural but monotheistic Hebrew nation. 

“And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar…an Egyptian, bought him…And the LORD / YHVH was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man…And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And…he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.…his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me…how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against [note the singular] God?…And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife…spake unto them, saying, See, he [master of the house] hath brought in an Hebrew to mock us. ” (Genesis 39:1-14)

This concept of a Hebrew mocking the Egyptians becomes significant when we apply the fact that all nationalities were identified by their religion. To some extent this is still true today – Italians are for the most part Catholic, Arabs are Muslim, etc. The Hebrews were identified by their priest / father Abraham who taught them to worship only “the most High God, possessor of heaven and earth.” The other nations’ experience with their lesser gods led them to understand, correctly, that each of their gods had only finite power, so they needed many gods to cover all their bases for food, fertility, and fighting. Joseph’s master acknowledged that Joseph was empowered by his God, and his wife was blame-shifting her disrespect for her husband onto him as disrespecting their gods for doing so.

At this time, despite having 4 wives, Jacob and his 12 sons were simply a family, not yet a nation. To put this in perspective for that polygamous era, Gideon had 70 sons.

The nation of Israel did not start when Jacob was given the name Israel. This simply means, well, not simply, the name Isra-el can be translated a number of ways.

The main thing to understand about Jacob being given a new name by God is God’s recognition of his conversion from a dishonorable / sinful person to an honorable based on his repentance from self-reliance to utter reliance on God. He went from being “His Brother’s Supplanter” to being identified with God himself as “Upright One, The Fighter Who Never Gives Up, The Contender.” Yep.

We can also understand this “in earth as it is in heaven” as The British Peerage. In both cases, both land and lordship are involved. Exactly as the Melchizedekian grant by God to Adam: “Let them have dominion.”

After the Norman Conquest in 1066, William the Conqueror divided the land into manors which he gave to his Norman barons…

The five ranks of nobility [granted for service to the king] are listed here in order of precedence:

1. Duke (from the Latin dux, leader). This is the highest and most important rank.
2. Marquess (from the French marquis, march). This is a reference to the Marches (borders) between Wales, England and Scotland.
3. Earl (from the Anglo-Saxon eorl, military leader).
4. Viscount (from the Latin vicecomes, vice-count).
5. Baron (from the Old German baro, freeman). Always referred to and addressed as ‘Lord’;

So even with the new name Israel, Jacob and his family continued to be identified, along with all others who chose to do so, as members of the Hebrew nation spiritually fathered by Eber, not Jacob.

“and the sons of Israel and came into Egypt… all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten  (70).” (Genesis 46:5-7, 26-27)

Joseph was 57 years old at this time and had trained for 27 years as Prime Minister of the world-wide empire. Some time later, at Jacob’s death:

Joseph is publicly confirmed:“And Jacob called unto his sons…

1. 1. Joseph is fruitful...and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob… 
   2. the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee…The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.” (Genesis 49)

“All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six; And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten  (70).” (Genesis 46:5-7, 26-27)

The numerical data given for Jacob’s offspring is not extraneous. As in scientific research, or a mortgage application, numerical data “reveals hidden mysteries” about important activities, like COVID resurgence for a hospital administrator, or erratic employment on a loan application. This subtle but highly significant background information is useful as we track who inherited the position of the Hebrew Melchizedek from Joseph.

Using 30 years as the age of starting a family, therefore an approximate “generation“, we can calculate a good estimate of 60 years for these two generations born in Egypt after the 2nd generation entered Egypt. I’ve rearranged the text slightly without changing the wording to create a database out of the narrative.

• 1st generation from Jacob arrives in Egypt: Jacob’s sons includes Joseph 
• 2nd generation includes Ephraim and Manasseh [born before Joseph was 37 yrs old]
• Ephraim’s children and Machir the son of Manasseh [using the typical time frame of 30 years between generations, when Joseph was about 67 yrs old 
• 4th generation from Jacob: the children of Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s children [born when Joseph was about 97 years old]. (Genesis 50:22-23)

Another text lists the genealogies of the other sons of Israel, one of them being Levi.

1. “the years of the life of Levi were an 137. 
2. Gershon, Merari and Kohath [entered Egypt]: and the years of the life of Kohath were 133. 
3. Izhar, Hebron, Uzziel and Amram: and the years of the life of Amram were 137. And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him
4. 4th generation from Jacob; Aaron and Moses:  (Exodus 6)

Using these figures, Moses would have been born during Joseph’s lifetime and would have heard all about it when Joseph, like his father before him, gave his dying declaration:

“And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring YOU out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

There is a good reason why Jacob’s body was taken shortly after his death for burial in the promised land but Joseph’s burial could wait until the entire group left for good. Joseph knew that he was relaying the promise of occupying the promised land to the very generation to whom this promise applied.

“Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them…But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again.” (Genesis 15:13-16)

So the only question is, WHO would be the Melchizedek to lead them after Joseph’s death?