JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT! Bible scholars refer to these mysterious appearances in the Old Testament as "epiphanies" or "theophanies" or "Christophanies" (manifestations of Jesus) and compare Melchizedek with the man who wrestled with Jacob (Gen32:24), the man with the drawn sword who appeared to Joshua (Josh5:13), the fourth man in the fiery furnace (Dan3:25), and the three men who appeared to Abraham in Gen18. Clearly, the King-Priest Melchizedek in the Old Testament was a harbinger or precept of the time (after Calvary) when believers could become both kings and priests unto the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, JESUS!

The three (3) men who came to Abraham to tell about Sarah having a baby should be compared to the three (3) men who came to Peter on the housetop in Joppa to lead him to Cornelius. Both events have striking similarities, with the three (3) an innuendo of the Trinity.

"Where did Melchisedec come from?", we all ask, and What did he do with the tithes he received from Abraham?, and where were the persons he ministered to? How large was his congregation? Was the bread & wine he served a type or precept of N.T. Communion? [Yes, of course, but the reader who hasn't yet read the four Gospels may struggle with this..]

I've found it helpful to compare Melchizedek to the man with the drawn sword who appeared to Joshua, and to the man who wrestled Jacob, and to the 4th man in the fiery furnace. Mysterious figures in the Old Testament (theophanies or epiphanies) who teach precepts of the diversity of Jesus: Lamb, Bread, Vine, Light, Door, Seed, Word, etc. 1 Corinthians 10:4 tells us "that Rock was Christ".

ARMOR OF GOD!   God told Moses to take off his shoes 'cause he was standing on Holy Ground. We assume Moses obeyed and went barefoot for a time. The swordsman who appeared to Joshua said the same; so maybe shoes are important? "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; "And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace" Eph6:15 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Eph6:12 The account of Jacob is a precept of how we wrestle The Word of God against the worldly opinions of non-believers! Eph6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God... The WORD is our Sword! Two swords are "enough", Jesus said in Lk22:38, and now we can compare the physical to the figurative -- amen?

CHRIST IS THE ROCK!
A lyric poem by Bob Smith, Ana Glyfada Greece, 7/87  

Christ is the Rock, and he's the answer,   1Cor10:4
He's the shining light..   Jn8:12
Christ is the Rock, Christ is the answer,   Gen28:18
He's the Bread of Life.    Jn6:51

They say that honey comes from bee's, but the answer's on my tongue..   Ps81:16
"I get my HONEY FROM THE ROCK, so I'm sure I won't get stung!    Rev10:10
The honey that opened Jonathan's eyes has also opened mine, and the   1Sam14:29
Word of God now tastes so sweet that I crave it all the time!   Pr24:13

They say that water comes from rain, and that it's mainly in the plain,   Hos6:3
but I get my WATER FROM THE ROCK, so I will never thirst again.   Ex17:6
It's not the water in the well; No, this comes from Galilee..   Jn4:14
It's been poured out from God above, so naturally it's free!   Ps22:14

They say that oil lubricates, and is pumped up from the ground,   Dt32:13
but I get my OIL FROM THE ROCK...it's a gusher that I've found!   Job29:6
That old oil covered up the flesh, and messed up Aaron's beard, but you   Ps133:2
need the new oil for your lamp, when the bridegroom does appear.   Matt25

They say that fire burns and kills--it's definitely HOT...but the   Judg6:21
Word of God tastes extra good with the (new) FIRE FROM THE ROCK!   Judg13:20
Don't let your sacrifice get cold; No, keep it piping hot..   Rom12:1
On the altar for burnt offerings, with fire from the Rock.   Gen22:7

Now they ate lamb, but we eat bread; as spirit succeeds flesh,
The STONE that they rejected has become our righteousness.
Follow first the fire, if you want to see the cloud; It's the
Great Light that follows the darkness that eliminates the shroud!

Samson's HONEY is in stock, for those who want it from the Rock,
and for those who'll take a stand, there's still the WATER of Naaman.
The OIL of gladness yet abounds in churches where the Rock is found..
So grab your Bible, light a shock...the FIRE still comes from the Rock!

Christ is the Rock, and he's the answer,   Ps18:31
He's the firstfruit from the dead..   Lev23:10
Christ is the Rock, Christ is the answer,   1Cor15:24
He's the Lifter of my Head.   Ps3:3

Jacob took a stone for his pillow! Maybe a rock for his head, like a diamond with many facets? Jesus is the Rock, 1Cor10:4, and the chief cornerstone, Eph2:20, and 1Cor11 calls Him the "head". We're the body, but He's the head.

Jacob's cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and spotted, because they looked upon the peeled rods. That isn't the way it happens in the natural, but if you expect to be "conformed to the image of His son", Rom8:29, you'll have to study Him in His Word. See the logic?

KING OF BABYLON - Daniel 1-4

KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR was kind of like Caesar...in Babylon he was the Head,
He ruled the people with a mighty hand, and brought them there to be fed.
Daniel and his 3 companions didn't like the food that was served at his table,
so they got special permission to eat only 'pulse'..
(at least that's what it said on the label..)

They seemed to get smarter and wiser on this special kind of food,
Except for the time they were thrown in the pot, and themselves were almost stewed!

KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR almost had a seizure when Daniel told him his dream..
The man made of metal got him very unsettled--it was a sight unlike any he'd seen!
The heads of gold and silver and brass, walked on feet of iron and clay..
It was a totally new kind of body to him, and it nearly ruined his day!
It was kind of like Humpty-Dumpty, and all on account of a Stone...
The terrible image that went all to pieces, would in the latter days be known.

KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR had all sorts of leisure, and he made a special decree,
that when he played his music, nobody could disagree.
He'd made a golden monument, sixty cubits high,
and he ordered the people to bow to it, or by fire they surely would die.
The 3 Hebrew children absolutely refused: they said to his face they would NOT,
so the king ordered the fire stoked, and for them to be thrown in the pot.

They went into the fire, but for sure they didn't burn; the fire didn't even harm their clothes!
God was with them in the pot and for them it wasn't hot, but it burned up all those other foes!

KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR was a funny old geezer; in Babylon he ruled all the land..
and finally God sent Daniel to tell him it wasn't simply by his own hand.
The ax would be taken to his roots, Daniel said..(telling the king he was a tree!)
and when he'd been taken down a notch, maybe then he would agree.

It wasn't completely hopeless, he said -- a root would still remain,
and after a period of probation, the king would be restored again.
It all came to pass like Daniel said, and to make the story short...
KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR finally took pleasure in giving God a glowing report!

Bob is duxrow at cswnet.com
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