THE MYSTERY OF MELCHIZEDEK BY SHEILA VITALE

The founder of Living Epistles Ministries, Sheila Vitale has been publishing Judeo-Christian analytical texts through this organization for more than 30 years. Sheila Vitale’s latest book is The Mystery of Melchizedek.

An esoteric analysis of Hebrews, Chapter 7, The Mystery of Melchizedek examines the transfer of power from the tribe of Levi to the tribe of Judah in terms of the authoritative Priesthood of Israel. The book includes in this analysis the central New Testament figure of Jesus as an immortal high priest whom God has appointed to perfect Israel and establish it as a mediator nation that spreads the promises of God’s word to all the nations of the world.

A sub-theme of the book are the two degrees of forgiveness that the people of National Israel experienced under the First Contract, which are also being experienced by the Israel of God today. The terms of both the First and the Second Contracts are the same: The people confess their sins, i. e, admit that they are not holy, and Jehovah under the First Contract, and Jesus under the Second Contract, forgives their sins, which makes them holy, or forgiven. Some of the people expect to be forgiven because they observe the Law or perform certain acts, but others, under both Contracts, expect to be forgiven because they believe that Jehovah or Jesus, as the case may be, will keep his promise and forgive then in accordance with the terms of the Contract. The people who believe that Jehovah or Jesus forgive sin because they can be trusted to keep their word, are “forgiven by faith,” rather than by their own deeds.