The Priesthoods of God and the Priesthoods of Man

The Priesthoods of God

The Old Testament Priesthood

Old Testament Priesthoods Are Types; Jesus is the Antitype

Doctrine of the Priesthood (Ballinger, Thieme)

Christian Traditions Regarding Priests

The Priesthood and Politics

The Bible speaks of priests, high priests, and at least 3 priesthoods. Therefore, we need to get these things differentiated in our minds.

The Priesthoods of God

1.     There are a number of priesthoods spoken of in the Bible, and they are certainly interrelated.

2.     A priest is a man who represents man to God. We have similar representative relationships throughout our society: an attorney represents us in a court of law; a real estate agent represents us in a real estate transaction; etc. It is someone who acts in our behalf in an arena in which we are not fully qualified to represent ourselves. Num. 15:15, 28

3.     The first priesthood is named here In Gen. 14, and it refers to a priesthood which existed after the Flood and before the Mosaic Law was established.

        1)     We know precious little about this priesthood. We know only one man who acts in this capacity, which man is Melchizedek. We might argue that Noah acted in this capacity as well. However, we have precious little information delineated here as to how this priesthood as organized, how a person became a priest, what the duties of the priest were, etc. There appears to be two rituals connected with this priesthood: the offering of animal sacrifices (an assumption we make, based upon Noah bringing clean animals on the ark and sacrificing some of them when exiting the ark); and what appears to be a pre-communion ritual with bread and wine (although, this could simply represent a meal shared by Melchizedek and Abram). Gen. 8:20 14:18–20

        2)     Abram will pay a tithe (a tenth of his possessions) to Melchizedek. Gen. 14:20

        3)     Our Lord’s priesthood is said to have its origins in this priesthood. Psalm 110:4 Heb. 6:20

        4)     Even though this post-diluvian priesthood could be very well-defined, God the Holy Spirit intentionally does not define it for us, but presents this priesthood as being one man, without mother or father, and without genealogy. The idea is, Melchizedek is the best one, in this way, to be a type of Christ.

4.     The next priesthood is known by most as the Levitical priesthood. However, the Levitical priesthood is a misnomer, but this is how it has come to be known throughout the ages. It is properly the Aaronic priesthood, as all priests are descendants of Aaron. Ex. 28:1 Num. 3:10

        1)     Throughout most of Israel’s history, there was one high priest with clearly defined duties. Ex. 27:21 28:41–43 Lev. 1:5–8

        2)     The priests were all descended from Aaron, and one man, in each generation, would act as high priest. Ex. 28:1 29:44 30:30

        3)     Aaron was from the tribe of Levi, and the Levites were not a part of the land ownership of the other tribes of Israel. All families of Israel receive a plot of earth which was theirs, but not the Levites, who were involved in the spiritual growth of Israel. They were to inherit a spiritual kingdom and therefore, they did not participate in ownership of land on earth. Deut. 18:1 Joshua 18:7 21:3–4

        4)     The priests officiated in all of the religious holidays and they offered up animal sacrifices on behalf of the people of Israel. Num. 18:1–8

        5)     The priests were to encourage the people in war. Deut. 20:1–4

        6)     The high priest, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, entered into the Holy of Holies (a room of the Tabernacle that no one went into apart from the high priest), and sprinkled blood on the Ark of God, a piece of furniture which represented Jesus Christ; a piece of furniture which every Israelite knew about, but was almost never seen. Ex. 26:34 Heb. 9:25 13:11

5.     We are told in the New Testament that the offerings of the Aaronic priesthood could never take away sins (Heb. 10:11). However, this is a point we ought to be able to reach with logic, because those is the Aaronic priesthood are mortals, as are we, and first had to offer up sacrifices for their own sins.

6.     In the time of Jesus, the priesthood had become corrupted and the high priests had become evil in their thinking, leading the Lord of Glory before the courts to be crucified. John 19:6 Acts 4:1–10

7.     These same priests persecuted Paul. Acts 23:1–2, 12–15

8.     Jesus, our High Priest:

        1)     These various priesthoods look forward to Jesus Christ; each ancient priest is a type of Jesus Christ. Heb. 8:1–5

        2)     The priests of old—even the high priest of Jehovah worship—were imperfect and had to offer up sacrifices even for themselves. Heb. 5:1–3 7:27–28

        3)     Jesus, on earth, became our High Priest, the true High Priest, after the order of Melchizedek. Heb. 7:1–5, 17, 21 9:11

        4)     Jesus is not a Levitical priest, as He is from the tribe of Judah, not the tribe of Levi (from which is the family of Aaron); and there is nothing spoken about Judah and the priesthood. Heb. 7:11–14

        5)     Jesus is able to intercede on our behalf before God, as would a priest. Heb. 7:21–26

        6)     He offered up Himself one time for our sins, taking them away, as the sacrifice of animals could not do. Heb. 2:7 9:12 10:19–22

        7)     It is by His blood (His spiritual death on the cross) that we may boldly enter into the Holy of Holies (which is representative of coming directly before God). Heb. 9:24 10:19

9.     In the Church Age, we are all priests before God; we are able to represent ourselves directly to God because we are in Christ Jesus. Being in Christ Jesus, we share all that He is. Therefore, we can go to God directly in prayer and we can go to Him to restore our fellowship (by naming our sins to Him). These are priestly functions. 1Peter 2:5, 9 1John 1:9

10.   The priesthoods of the Old Testament always looked forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Melchizedek priesthood, the Aaronic priesthood and the office of the high priest, all spoke of Jesus Christ. When the reality came (the fulfillment of these types), then there is no need to continue on with the types. Just as we no longer sacrifice animals to ceremonially take away our sins, we no longer have a specialized priesthood.

11.   There will be another priesthood in the Millennium of those who survive the Tribulation. This will be in memory of the great plan of God, a plan which spanned the ages. Rev. 5:9–10 20:6

We depend upon the intercession of Jesus Christ on our behalf because He is the perfect priest before God.

The Complete Doctrine of the Priesthoods of Man and God (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

The concept of what a priest is has been thoroughly distorted—particularly by one particular branch of Christianity—so we need to touch upon the idea of what a priest in the Jewish era was:

The Old Testament Priesthood

1.     Jacob had 12 sons, and one of them was Levi. Levi became the spiritual branch of the Jews. The Levites did not own land, as they were only in the world, but not of the world.

2.     The Levites were involved with all the spiritual activities of the Jews.

3.     Moses and Aaron (his brother) were both Levites. Aaron became the first High Priest and only those in his genealogical line were considered priests. Therefore, the common name, the Levitical Priesthood is somewhat of a misnomer; it should really be called the Aaronic Priesthood. All priests were Levites but not all Levites were priests. However, since the priests are descendants of Levi, it is called the Levitical Priesthood, even in the Bible (Heb. 7:11).

4.     Priests were in charge of the spiritual services first at the Tabernacle (a semi-permanent tent) and later at the Temple—a permanent edifice marking Israel’s permanent control over the land of Palestine and, ideally speaking, indicating their submission to God in the land.

5.     Their church service, so to speak, was quite a bit different than ours. Jews would bring their prize animals to the priests, and these animals would be slaughtered on the altar, blood spurting out in all directions. After a typical service, there would be blood everywhere—on the altar, all over the ground, all over the priest’s clothing.

6.     One man would be High Priest, who would be over all the other priests. For every high priest taken from men is appointed in service to God for the people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins (Heb. 5:1).

7.     The meat of the sacrificed animals was eaten by the people and by the priests, as this symbolized faith in the sacrifice and in the Revealed God.

8.     This priesthood was perpetuated by birth. There were no celibate priests in the Old Testament. Priests married, had children, and their male children were priests. The idea of some sort of specialized priesthood as being a bunch of guys who wear funny clothes and don’t have sex is not anywhere close to a Biblical concept (except for, the High Priest did have a uniform).

9.     Old Testament priests were unable to forgive sins. The blood of the animal sacrifices covered the sins of Old Testament saints, but did not provide them with absolute forgiveness. If, then, perfection [a complete cleansing from sin] came through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another Priest [that is, Jesus] to arise in the order of Melchizedek, and not to be described as being in the order of Aaron? (Heb. 7:11). Now every priest stands day after day ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins (Heb. 10:11).

10.   The primary function of a priest was to represent man before God. In this way, the priest was a type of Christ. The High Priest in particular was an Old Testament picture of Jesus Christ.

        a.     The High Priest was the chief priest, and he went into the Holy of Holies once a year and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat, which was over the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant represented Jesus Christ, as did the High Priest. The blood sprinkled on the mercy seat was representative of Jesus’ spiritual death for our sins.

        b.     For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if He were on earth, He wouldn't be a priest, since there are those offering the gifts prescribed by the law. These [the priesthood and the animal sacrifices] serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things [that is, they are types], as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the tabernacle, he was instructed by God, saying, "See that you make everything according to the pattern [= typos (type)] that was shown you on the mountain." (Heb. 8:3–5).

        c.     We get our technical term type (typology) from the Greek word tupos (τύπος) [pronounced TOO-poss], which means, an archetype serving as a model, type, pattern, model (among other things).

11.   The priest stood before God with the animal sacrifice of the sinner and asked for the blood of the animal to cover the sinner. Jesus Christ stands before God with His blood (i.e., His spiritual death) to cover our sins. Therefore He [Jesus Christ] had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful High Priest in service to God, to make propitiation [= the act of placating or appeasing God; the act of conciliating ourselves to God] for the sins of the people (Heb. 2:17). Therefore since we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to the confession [of our faith] (Heb. 4:14).

12.   Believers today (in the Church Age) are called priests, as we are now able to represent ourselves before God, as our Intermediary, Jesus Christ, has paid for our sins in full. But you [believers in the Church Age, to whom Peter addressed his letter] are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1Peter 2:9; Ex. 19:5b–6a; emphasis mine).

        a.     In this verse, Peter is drawing parallels between believers of the Church Age and believers of the Age of Israel. Peter calls Church Age believers a chosen race, a royal priesthood and a holy nation.

        b.     He is teaching that, in this dispensation, all believers (including female believers) are priests; and we all represent ourselves directly to God because we are in Christ (one of the most important phrases found in the epistles (this phrase is found 93 times in the NT; and 89 times in the Pauline epistles).

        c.     Similarly, believers in the Church Age are a chosen race and a holy nation.

13.   Therefore, all remaining priestly functions are done by believers in the Church Age; and not by people who have some special office of priesthood. You are a priest; and I am a priest. When I want to go to God, I go to Him directly, on all matters. The same is true for you.

14.   There is no such thing as a specialized priesthood today or an intermediary priesthood (someone you go to who has a special in with God). No one has an in with God. Now, if you want to gather with like-minded believers and pray together for something, that is great. But don’t think that you can depend upon someone else to get through to God when you can’t. If you are in fellowship, then God is listening. If you are not in fellowship, don’t ask someone else to pray for you; just get back into fellowship (1John 1:9) and pray directly to God.

15.   Today, in the Church Age, there is no such thing as priests, nuns or monks as legitimate positions in the modern church. Those specialized offices do not exist in the Church Age. They are found nowhere in the Bible and there is no similar office defined in Scripture. In fact, most of the time, those offices are quite unnatural, due to their celibacy vows. As a result, over the years, some of them have done some very bad stuff.

As an addendum, because the Aaronic priesthood was a matter of biological lineage, Jesus Christ is called, on several occasions, a priest after the order of Melchizedek. This is because Melchizedek was chosen by God to be a priest; and this was not a matter of birthright (those descended from Aaron have a birthright claim to the priesthood; Jesus was not descended from Aaron). Jesus, instead, was descended from Judah, the ruling tribe. Therefore, Jesus was not a priest after the pattern of Aaron but after the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus has entered there [into the Holy of Holies] on our behalf as a forerunner, because He has become a "high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek." For this Melchizedek--King of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham and blessed him as he returned from defeating the kings, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything; first, his name means "king of righteousness," then also, "king of Salem," meaning "king of peace"; without father, mother, or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God--remains a priest forever (Heb. 6:20–7:3; Psalm 110:4 Gen. 14:18b, 20b). See also Heb. 7:1–17

Now, quite obviously, Melchizedek did have a mother and father and a genealogy, but these things are not recorded in Holy Writ, making him a better type of Christ. The key to the Levitical priesthood was their genetic link to Aaron. Since Jesus lacked this link, He was considered a Priest after the order of Melchizedek.

The weakness of the Levitical Priesthood is, these priests were unable to truly forgive sins, as they were just as human as those for whom they offered up animal sacrifices. Jesus is both our High Priest and our sufficient sacrifice. So Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office. But because He remains forever, He holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them. For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He doesn't need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do--first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all when He offered Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, who has been perfected forever (Heb. 7:22–28).

This doctrine is taken from Luke 1 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Essentially in this table, we will review huge sections of the book of Hebrews, but the intention is to focus in on Jesus as our High Priest, as our sacrifice for sins. As a result, there is no more a need for animal sacrifices to be offered on our behalf; nor is there a need for some sort of specialized priesthood.

From Exodus 2 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Unless otherwise noted, the ESV; capitalized is used below.

Old Testament Priesthoods Are Types; Jesus is the Antitype

Scripture

Commentary

Heb. 5:1–5 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Those descended from Aaron were priests, and, at any given time, there was one man chosen from among them to be the High Priest. Here, the writer of Hebrews tells us the purpose of the High Priest, to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. The priest represents us to God. The priest stands between us and God.

He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.

The High Priest is a man beset by sins, so he also offers up a sacrifice to God on his own behalf. The animal sacrifices were designed to symbolically take away sin.

And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by Him who said to Him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten You"; as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 2:7 110:4)

Jesus was not a member of the Levitical priesthood. Because He was from the tribe of Judah, He was in the royal line, but not the priestly line.

Jesus was called in eternity past by God the Father to be a priest. He became a priest after the order of Melchizedek, who was the priest to whom Abraham deferred in Genesis.

Heb. 7:11–17 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron?

If we could have attained true forgiveness of sins by the Levitical priesthood, then Jesus would not have needed to offer Himself for our sins.

During the time of Christ, the Levitical priesthood had become incredibly corrupt.

For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

The tribe of Judah was the royal tribe (Gen. 49:10 Psalm 60:7 2Sam. 2:7 7:8–16); the tribe of Levi was the priestly tribe (Exodus 38:21 Num. 3:6–10). Jesus is descended from the tribe of Judah. Judah became the royal tribe, but it was never the priestly tribe.

Moses and his brother Aaron were Levites; and the priesthood began under Aaron (it is his descendants who are specifically priests).

This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him, "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 110:4)

Jesus was not a Levite; he was not descended from a Levitical priest. Jesus was descended from David, not from Aaron.

Melchizedek is a priest and a type of Christ. Jesus is a priest forever (He represents man before God forever) after the order of Melchizedek—and that Jesus was a priest according to the order of Melchizedek comes to us from the OT. .

Heb. 7:22b–28 Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but He holds His priesthood permanently, because He continues forever.

Levitical priests were constrained by death. As one generation died off, a new generation had to rise up in their place. However, Jesus is the High Priest forever because He has eternal life in His humanity. Jesus and His priesthood are forever.

Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

Jesus, at any time, can save any man who believes in Him. His priesthood is forever; and He is always there to make intercession for us. Jesus stands between God and man.

Jesus is our true priest, as He is holy, innocent and sinless; yet exalted from the heavens.

He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for His Own sins and then for those of the people, since He did this once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Jesus is superior to the OT priests, as He does not have to offer up a sacrifice for His Own sins.

The Mosaic Law appointed fallen men as priests (all men are fallen); but God appointed His Son—unblemished and untainted by sin—instead of these priests.

Heb. 8:1–9 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a High Priest, One Who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

The point that the writer of Hebrews is trying to make is, Jesus is our true High Priest, Who is seated on the right hand of God, which is the perfect place for Him to be to make intercession for us. With this set up, there is no need for us to go to a human priest.

For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. (Emphasis mine)

It is the job of a Levitical priest to offer up sacrifices on behalf of those who came to him. A priest offering up sacrifices is a shadow of what God has planned for the future. When the reality come, the shadow fades away.

For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, "See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain." But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant He mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. (Exodus 25:40)

Pattern is the masculine noun tupos (τύπος) [pronounced TOO-poss], which means, a form; an example; a type, i.e. a person or thing prefiguring a future (Messianic) person or thing. Strong’s #5179. This is this Greek word which is used in the Doctrine of Typology.

Jesus is the Mediator of a better covenant based upon better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For He finds fault with them when He says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in My covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.” (Jer. 31:31–32)

The first covenant refers to the covenants between God and Israel (they are taken as a whole, but in reality, it is a single covenant between God and Israel). But that was a flawed covenant because the sons of Israel were sinful, as were their priests.

The concept of a New Covenant was not invented by the disciples; it is found in the Old Testament.

The New Covenant would be permanent because it is based upon the sinless perfection of Jesus Christ.

Heb 9:6–15 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.

The Tabernacle (and later, the Temple) was divided into two sections. The public did not go into either, as we go into a church. The priests would go into the front section to perform their priestly duties; and the High Priest, once a year, would go into the Holy of Holies (the second section) and sprinkle blood on the Mercy Seat, which is over the Ark of God. This represents the Lord offering Himself once and forever for our sins.

By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age).

The Temple, at the time of the writing of the book of Hebrews, still stood. It was symbolic (that is, it was a type). We would, because of Jesus Christ, have access to the Holy of Holies.

According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

All of the Levitical ceremonies could not truly cleanse a man from his sins. These were regulations imposed until the time of the New Covenant, the time of the reformation. All of these ceremonies were types, looking ahead to us being truly cleansed by the Son of Man.

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His Own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Jesus Christ is our true High Priest, with the promise of good things which have come. Jesus, as the true High Priest, enters into the Holy of Holies (into the Throne Room of God), having offered up His own blood (that is, His spiritual death) for our sins. These secures us our eternal redemption.

Jesus entering into the Throne Room of God indicates that His sacrifice was acceptable to God.

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

All of the animal sacrifices offered before did not actually cleanse defiled man. They looked forward to the Lord Christ, Who offered Himself as a lamb without blemish to God. It is through Jesus Christ we are cleansed before God; it is because of Jesus Christ that we may serve the Living God.

Therefore He is the Mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

By His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus is the Mediator of this New Covenant. It is by this New Covenant that we have an eternal inheritance. This completely supercedes the first covenant (God’s original covenants with nation Israel).

Heb. 9:19–28 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you." (Exodus 24:8)

God, through Moses, had set up a number of ceremonial laws, the first being immortalized by the Passover.

Blood was used throughout the worship of the Jewish people from the deaths of millions of animals to represent the spiritual death of our Lord.

And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Everything was purified with blood in the Old Testament, because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Again, all of this looked forward to Jesus Christ dying for our sins.

Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

All of the Tabernacle furniture were symbolic of their heavenly counterparts. This does not mean that there is some larger, better loaf of bread in heaven; but that all of these articles of furniture and all of the rituals represent specific truths and doctrines.

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer Himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then He would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world.

Jesus, as our High Priest, does not enter into the Holy of Holies made by man, but He enters into heaven and before the Presence of God on our behalf. Jesus is the true High Priest, Who has offered Himself to God, which is represented by the Levitical high priest who enters into the holy place each year, but with the blood of animals.

But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

Jesus appears at the end of the Age of Israel, and He puts sin away forever by sacrificing Himself.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him. (Isa. 53:12)

In His 1^st advent, Jesus came and offered Himself once for our sins. He will appear the second time to deliver those who are waiting upon Him.

Heb. 10:1–14 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?

The ceremonial portion of the Law is the shadow-form of the reality. The animal sacrifices, year-after-year, could never make anyone clean. These types, these symbols, these shadows no longer have a purpose. They have been replaced by what they represent and so, there is no reason for them.

But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Offering up these animal sacrifices reminds us of our problem with sin, but they do not remove out sins from us. They are only symbolic.

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, He said, "Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but a body have You prepared for Me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings You have taken no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God, as it is written of Me in the scroll of the book.'" Psalm 40:6–8

God the Son is speaking to God the Father in this OT quote from Psalm 40.

The animal sacrifices are not what God desires; the body that God the Father prepared for God the Son would be the living sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus agrees to do God the Father’s will.

When He said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law), then He added, "Behold, I have come to do Your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second. Psalm 40:6a, 8a

Jesus is restating what has already been said, but the idea is to tie together the idea that the animal sacrifices and offerings are set aside, so that Jesus can do the will of the Father, meaning, that He will go to the cross. That being done away with are the representative animal sacrifices; that being established is Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

The priest offering up these same sacrifices cannot take away our sins. These animal sacrifices can never remove our sins. We are sanctified by Jesus Christ.

God does away with the first (animal sacrifices) in order to establish the second (the offer of Jesus Christ for our sins).

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies should be made a footstool for His feet. For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Psalm 110:1

Jesus, by offering Himself on the cross, has done what all of these animal sacrifices could not do—this was a single sacrifice for sins. Now He sits down at the right hand of God, because He is finished with that part of His ministry.

The reference to enemies being made a footstool for Jesus’ feet is from Psalm 110:1, quoted many times in the New Testament.

Heb. 10:19–22 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a Great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Entering into the Holy Place through the curtain is a reference to entering into the Holy of Holies.

Our Great Priest is Jesus Christ. We may draw near to God, as we have been cleansed by His sacrifice. Our entering into the holy places does not mean that we now can walk into the Temple and into the Holy of Holies; but that we now have access to God through His Son Jesus.

Over and over again, the writer of Hebrews tells us that the first covenant, of animal sacrifices offered up by priests (which is a type), is to be set aside in favor to the second covenant, the reality, the antitype, which is Jesus Christ dying for our sins.

Ultimately, the work for this doctrine probably came from R. B. Thieme, Jr. Unfortunately, Bible Doctrine Resource has not yet credited the authors with the doctrines that they have collected. This particular examination of the priesthood appears to be the work of Pastor Jack M. Ballinger of Maranatha Church in Oklahoma (I originally found it at Bible Doctrine Resources, but then traced it back to Ballinger). I am assuming that Ballinger received a great deal of his training from R. B. Thieme, Jr.

Doctrine of the Priesthood (Ballinger, Thieme)

I.      Preliminary considerations and terminology.

        A.     Definition: a priest is one who is authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, whether heathen (Gen.41:45; Acts.14:13) or Biblical (Mt.8:4; 1Pet.2:5,9).

        B.     The basic Hebrew word is !heko, cohen; the Greek term is i`ereu,j, hiereus; also avrciereu.j, archiereus: high priest.

        C.     Essential features of a Biblical priesthood include:

                 1.     Membership in the human race (Heb.5:1 “For every high priest taken from men”; Heb.2:17 “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things”).

                 2.     Divine appointment (Heb.5:4 “And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when He is called by God, even as Aaron was”).

                 3.     Representation (Heb.5:1 “appointed on behalf of men”). The stones on Aaron’s shoulders were inscribed with the names of the 12 tribes.

                 4.     Sacrifice (Heb.5:1; 8:3).

                 5.     Compassion for those he represents (Heb.5:2; cp. 2:18; 4:15).

        D.     Categories of priesthood authorized by God include:

                 1.     Individual priesthood – the only recorded example is that of one Melchizedek, King of ancient Salem (Heb.7:1-3; Gen.14:18-20).

                 2.     Levitical priesthood, which involved a regular priestly succession within the tribe of Levi and was authorized by the Mosaic Covenant (Ex.28:1; 32:25-29; Num.8:5-22).

                 3.     The High Priesthood of Jesus Christ, which superseded the Levitical priesthood and is patterned after the order of Melchizedek (Ps.110:4; Heb.5:10).

                 4.     Royal and universal priesthood of believers of the Church Age, which partakes of the priesthood of Christ (1Pet.2:9; Rev.1:6).

                 5.     The nation of Israel as a whole, which acted as the representative of God to the Gentile nations until temporarily replaced by the Church (Ex.19:6; Mt.21:33-46).

II.     The Levitical priesthood.

        A.     Some essential features of the Levitical priesthood include:

                 1.     They administered the ceremonial code of the Mosaic Covenant (Heb.8:4,5; 9:1-6).

                 2.     They taught the people the Law (Heb.7:11; Neh.8:7-9; 2Chr.17:8,9;

                 3.     They had to be without physical defect to serve (Lev.21:17-21), and their office ended with death (Heb.7:16,23).

                 4.     The family of Aaron supplied the nation with the high priest based on hereditary succession (Ex.28:1; 40:15).

                 5.     They had no allotted territory, but were given 48 cities within Israel (Num.35:1-8).

                         a.     This fulfilled Jacob’s dying prophecy that Levi would be “scattered” (Gen.49:7).

                         b.     Thus “scattered”, they could carry out their teaching ministry more effectively (Deut.33:10).

                         c.     Included were 6 cities of refuge, accessible to those seeking legal protection (Num.35:6).

        B.     Some factors in the selection of Levi’s descendants for their special role in Israel.

                 1.     The selection of Moses and Aaron, who were descendants of Kohath, one of Levi’s 3 sons (Ex.2:1-10; 6:14-27; Num.26:59), conferred on Levi an honor that was recognized by the other tribes.

                 2.     An event of transcending importance at Mt. Sinai (Ex.32:25-29) gave to the Levites as a tribe their place of privilege and responsibility in God’s plan. This event transmuted the curse of Jacob’s prophecy (Gen.49:5-7) into the blessing of Moses’ prophecy (Deut.33:8-11).

                 3.     This choice was confirmed by a very similar event when an individual Levite, one Phinehas, stayed the plague of Num.25:1-13 that was about to decimate the nation.

        C.     Some of the purposes which served the divine plan in their selection.

                 1.     Their selection was a reward for their faithfulness and zeal during operation “golden calf” (Ex.32:25-29).

                 2.     The doctrine of substitution was illustrated, for although God claimed the firstborn males of all the tribes on the basis of the law of the firstborn, God graciously allowed the Levites to be substitutes for their brethren (Num.3:9,11-l4,40-51; 8:14-19).

                 3.     Israel’s separation and selection from all the nations was further intensified and illustrated by the separation of one tribe from the rest (Num.8:5-22).

                 4.     Life without an inheritance for Levi, making the Lord their inheritance, illustrates that no matter what our condition in the cosmos, the Lord is our inheritance (Num.18:20-24; 26:62; Deut.10:9; 12:12; 14:27).

        D.     A three-fold organization is discernible.

                 1.     Aaron and his sons occupied the top echelon; these alone were priests in the restricted sense. These priests belonged to the family of Kohath.

                 2.     The middle echelon included all other Kohathites who were not of Aaron’s family; to them were given certain privileges in bearing the most sacred parts of the Tabernacle (Num.3:27-32; 4:4-15; 7:9).

                 3.     The bottom echelon comprised all members of the families of Gershon and Merari; to them lesser duties were prescribed (Num.3:21-26,33-37).

        E.     Priests and Levites.

                 1.     The priests must come from Aaron’s family; the Levites came from the larger family of Levi. A priest was a Levite, but a Levite was not necessarily a priest.

                 2.     Priests were consecrated (Ex.29:1-37); Levites were purified (Num.8:5-22).

                 3.     Levites were considered a gift to Aaron and his sons (Num.3:5-13; 8:19; 18:1-7).

                 4.     A fundamental difference was that only a priest had the right to minister at the altar and to enter the Most Holy Place (Ex.28:1; 29:9; Num.3:10,38; 4:15,19ff; 18:1-7; 25:10-13).

        F.     The rebellion of Korah, a Kohathite (Num.16:1), against the uniqueness of Aaron’s priesthood illustrated, in the manner in which it was subdued, the heinous nature of attempting to enter the priesthood without the necessary prerequisites (Num.16). The choice of Aaron was further confirmed by the budding of his rod (Num.17:1-11; Heb.9:4). Other attempted intrusions included King Saul (1Sam.13:9,13,14) and King Uzziah (2Chr.26:16-21).

                 1.     The settlement in Canaan necessarily curtailed some of the Levites’ duties, as the Tabernacle no longer needed transportation.

                 2.     David introduced innovations in the service of the Levites (1Chr.23-26). Certain Levites became musicians and, like Asaph, wrote some of the Psalms (1Chr.6:39,43; 15:16ff; 16:4ff; 25:1-9; Ps.50,73-83).

                 3.     In the disruption of the United Kingdom, many Levites from the North sought refuge in Judah (2Chr.11:13-16; 13:9-12; 15:9), but some were involved in the apostasy of the Northern Kingdom (Ezek.44:10-15).

                 4.     In the post-exilic period, Levites did not return from Babylon in the same proportion as the priests (Ezra.2:36-42; Neh.7:39-45). Later a special effort was required to get the Levites to return (Ezra.8:15-19). They were still considered teachers and musicians (Ezra.8:15ff; 2:40ff; 3:10ff; Neh.7:43ff).

                 5.     Only a few Levites are mentioned in the New Testament (Lk.10:32; Jn.1:19; Acts.4:36).

        G.    Since the Levitical priesthood could not bring in perfection, it was required that another priest arise, from a different tribe and in a different order (Heb.7:11-17; Ps.110:4).

III.    The High Priesthood of Jesus Christ.

        A.     It is the subject of Messianic prophecy, establishing Christ’s priesthood in the divine decrees (Ps.110:4; Zech.6:13).

        B.     It is the principal theme of the book of Hebrews, especially chapters 5-10.

        C.     It is after the order of Melchizedek, the priest-king of Salem (Ps.110:4; Heb.5:5,6,10; 6:20; 7:11,15,17,21).

        D.     It is superior to the order of Aaron, as the patriarch Levi was seminally in Abraham when Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek (Heb.7:4-10).

        E.     It is superior to Aaronic and Levitical orders for these reasons:

                 1.     It is based on a divine oath, whereas Aaron’s was based on law (Heb.7:20-22,28).

                 2.     It is permanent because it is centered in the eternal resurrected Son of God, whereas Old Testament priests’ offices ended with their death (Heb.7:23-25).

                 3.     It partakes of the perfection of Christ who had no need to be purged of sin, as did the sons of Aaron (Heb.7:26-28).

                 4.     It continues in heaven where God Himself has erected the true sanctuary, of which Moses’ tent was but “a copy and a shadow” (Heb.8:1-7).

                 5.     It is the fulfillment of a superior and New Covenant (Heb.8:8-13).

                 6.     Its sacrifice needs no repeating, but was rendered “once for all” (Heb.7:29; 9:12).

                 7.     Its offering was not “the blood of bulls and goats”, unable to take away sins, but “the body of Jesus Christ”, through which believers are sanctified (Heb.10:4,10).

                 8.     Its result is full and regular access to God for all Christians, not just a priestly order (Heb.10:11-22).

        F.     It is the source of the highest motivation to hold fast to Bible Doctrine, produce divine good, and to have faithfulness under face-to-face teaching in light of the return of Christ (Heb.9:28; 10:23-25).

        G.    Its effectiveness in our lives is guaranteed by Christ’s constant intercession for us (Heb.7:25).

IV.    The universal priesthood of believers.

        A.     The Scriptures documenting it are 1Pet.2:9 and Rev.1:6.

        B.     The extent of it is that every believer in the Church Age is a priest, so it is wrong to designate only certain persons as “priest”.

        C.     Its nature is that it is a royal priesthood partaking of Christ’s high priesthood, which is patterned after Melchizedek’s (Ps.110:4).

        D.     The offerings of our priesthood are those things we are commanded to offer up to God (1Pet.2:5; cp. Rom.12:1; Heb.13:15,16).

        E.     The duration of our priesthood is forever, as we partake of Christ (Heb.3:14), who exists as high priest forever (Heb.7:17).

From http://gracebiblechurchwichita.org/?page_id=444 accessed March 22, 2016.

From http://www.versebyverse.org/doctrine/priesthood.pdf accessed March 22, 2016.

As an aside, there are several Christian denominations who have a confused view of the priesthood: Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy; Anglican or Episcopalian; Methodism; and the Latter Day Saints.

I use the descriptive term Christian not so much to speak of Jesus Christ or a legitimate churches; but simply to describe churches which see themselves as related to Jesus Christ.

Martin Luther attempted to change these false views of the priesthood.

Christian Traditions Regarding Priests

Group

Their traditions for the priesthood

Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy

In neither tradition may priests marry after ordination. In the Roman Catholic Church, priests in the Latin Rite, which covers the vast majority of Roman Catholicism, must be celibate except under special rules for married clergy converting from certain other Christian confessions. Married men may become priests in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches, but in neither case may they marry after ordination, even if they become widowed. Candidates for bishop are chosen only from among the celibate.

Anglican or Episcopalian

The role of a priest in the Anglican Communion is largely the same as within the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity...Whilst Anglican priests who are members of religious orders must remain celibate (although there are exceptions, such as priests in the Anglican Order of Cistercians), the secular clergy—bishops, priests, and deacons who are not members of religious orders—are permitted to marry before or after ordination...[but] Most Continuing Anglican churches do not ordain women to the priesthood.

Methodism

Clergy in The United Methodist Church are individuals who serve as commissioned ministers, deacons, elders, and local pastors under appointment of a bishop (full- and part-time), who hold membership in an annual conference, and who are commissioned, ordained, or licensed. The word clergy comes from the Latin clericus, meaning priest.

The Latter Day Saints (Mormons)

In the Latter Day Saint movement, the priesthood is the power and authority of God given to man, including the authority to perform ordinances and to act as a leader in the church. A body of priesthood holders is referred to as a quorum. Priesthood denotes elements of both power and authority. The priesthood includes the power Jesus gave his apostles to perform miracles such as the casting out of devils and the healing of sick (Luke 9:1)...There is some variation among the Latter Day Saint denomination regarding who can be ordained to the priesthood. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), all worthy males above the age of 12 can be ordained to the priesthood.

Lutheranism

The general priesthood or the priesthood of all believers, is a Christian doctrine derived from several passages of the New Testament. It is a foundational concept of Protestantism. It is this doctrine that Martin Luther adduces in his 1520 To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation in order to dismiss the medieval Christian belief that Christians were to be divided into two classes: "spiritual" and "temporal" or non-spiritual.

...[However.] Much of European Lutheranism follows the traditional Catholic governance of deacon, priest and bishop...In some Lutheran churches, ordained clergy are called priests as in Sweden and Finland, while in others the term pastor is preferred.

The Correct view of the priesthood in the Church Age

All believers are priests; every believer may represent himself directly to God. When we name our sins, we do not go through an intermediary; we go directly to God. Because Jesus died for our sins, we have direct access to God in Christ. We stand upon Jesus’ merit; not upon our own. Therefore, we may approach the throne of grace at any time with any prayer (as long as we are in fellowship with God, which means that we have named our sins to Him).

All of this information is not really necessary for Christian growth. However, for this study, I did not want anyone to think that I am going after the Catholic church in particular in these lessons. There are clearly some protestant denominations which misuse and even abuse the terms priest and priesthood.

Except for the information on the Methodist priesthood, the other quotations are from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priest accessed July 24, 2018.

Taken from 1Kings 2 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). (The context of that chapter might be helpful).

This leads us to some application:

The Priesthood and Politics

1.     Abiathar’s primary function was of a spiritual nature.

2.     When escaping from Nob, he had the sacred Ephod, and King David called upon him to use the Ephod.

3.     But it was not up to Abiathar at any time to back a particular candidate for political office. He was clearly a patriot and supporter of King David, but this is also because he knew that God supported David.

4.     When it appeared clear that David was dying, Abiathar backed Adonijah, and that was a mistake. As priest, he could have gone to God to determine what to do. As a loyal subject of King David, he should have gone to King David for direction.

5.     Abiathar is the illustration for exactly what a believer should not do.

6.     We as believers face the same political pull. I write this in 2014, and we have had 6 years of the most abysmal presidency in my lifetime. Obviously I would like to see a different man in office. However, my spiritual gift is writing commentary for the Word of God. Therefore, I cannot take 3 or 4 hours out of my day to advocate for political candidates. This would interfere with the function of my spiritual gift.

7.     On the other hand, the United States is a republic, where we vote for men to carry on with the doings of government, so I, as a citizen, have both the right and the responsibility to vote.

8.     Here is where it gets tricky. It might be right for believer Charley Brown to advocate for a particular candidate or to even run for office, but it might not be right for believer Lucy Van Pelt to do the same. Each one of us has a spiritual gift. Each one of us has a spiritual life. We need to attend to that first and foremost. Spiritual growth and the our function in the Protocol Plan of God is first and foremost; and what ever happens after is fine.

9.     Studying the Word of God does not engulf all the waking hours of the believer-priest. For the average believer, an hour a day is about the right amount of doctrine to take you to maturity. That leaves you with another 15 hours. As you move toward maturity, you begin to understand what your life is about, and you will be doing certain things which are in accordance with the spiritual life and/or with your spiritual gift.

10.   In some cases, this is pretty much full-time (like a pastor, evangelist or missionary); but the bulk of believers work at a normal job. However, we are all in full-time Christian service.

11.   It ought to be obvious, just like some Christians are teachers, some are firemen, and some are CEO’s; it is also possible for a believer to be a politician. It is also possible for a believer to be a political advisor, a political columnist, or sometime tied to politics in this way or that. Spiritual growth is paramount. If you do not know what the Bible teaches, you could end up being a liberal advocating for Satanic liberal causes. See Liberalism, Conservatism and Christianity (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

12.   As a believer, if you support say 2 or 3 liberal planks, then you ought not to vote at all until you get straightened out.

13.   My point is, we are going to be involved or not involved in politics; but spiritual growth and our spiritual life comes first. If you have enough time to watch the news and form an educated opinion which is in line with the Bible, then there is nothing in the Bible to stop you from doing so.

14.   Bear in mind, we are not hear to change or to fix the devil’s world. Furthermore, all political solutions are temporary at best; misguided at worst.

15.   The key is, does your interest in politics take up too much of your time? Do you listen to Rush Limbaugh for 3 hours a day but neglect your job, your family and listening to Bible doctrine?

16.   It ought to be obvious that some politicians are in it for the power, and they have no core principles. Charlie Crist is a great example—he is a man who called for impeachment hearings of Bill Clinton, and yet embraces liberal policies today (2014). So you might go door-to-door campaigning for this or that politician, and later find out, he has no foundation in conservative principles—he just thought that spouting conservative rhetoric would get him elected.

17.   A country goes in the direction of its people—how many are believers and how many of them are growing believers. It does not matter who is in office, this is still key.

18.   Britain was once one of the greatest nations of earth; and to view a map of the British Empire is mind boggling, because tiny, little Great Britain is a postage stamp country compared to all of the land that they ruled over. They brought law and order and Christian evangelism to a huge chunk of the world—and therefore, God blessed this little nation with great power. But, when the spiritual life of the citizens of Great Britain began to wain, so did its great empire. There are cities under siege in Great Britain or very nearly under siege because of Islam, which has taken over large areas in the cities of Britain. Britain and France could both go up in flames overnight (their largest cities could) because of Islamic recalcitrants; but the key problem is Christianity’s light going out in those countries. When churches start becoming mosques, that is a danger to the entire country.

19.   But the key is not changing the leadership or the immigration policies or cracking down on Muslim factions in the land; the key is the individual believer and doctrine in their soul. What will naturally follow is good policy.

20.   The same thing is true in our individual lives—as we grow in grace and knowledge of the Word of God, our effective spiritual function increases. Many of us discover our spiritual gifts and these gifts begin to function. But, what came first was spiritual growth.

21.   If your political involvement compromises your Christian growth or your Christian witness, then you need to cut back or cut out this political involvement. For some people, this might even mean no watching the news, no listening to Rush Limbaugh, no advocating for this or that candidate. In other cases, this is perfectly legitimate behavior.

22.   And, in all cases, a church is not a place for political rallies, political endorsements, political candidates, political literature, etc. It does not matter who is running for this or that office.

23.   However, it is equally legitimate for a pastor to use political illustrations from the pulpit. It is perfectly legitimate for a pastor to use various political schemes, viewpoints, individuals (historical and current) to use for illustrative purposes. Obviously, it would be illegitimate for a pastor to take a whole host of current political candidates and evaluate them from the pulpit, using them as illustrations. The pulpit is not a place from which to advocate political change.

Therefore, there is no easy blanket answer. However, missionaries ought to stay out of politics altogether. As a missionary, you are going to go to nations where the political system is corrupt or supports a myriad of bad ideas. It is your mission to convert various individuals to Jesus Christ, and then to provide for them learning opportunities—ideally through the establishment of indigenous independent churches. During your tenure as a missionary, you may live under a bad government and under a horrible government. That is not your concern.

Do you see how Abiathar and his actions directly speaks to our lives 3000 years later?