Melchizedek the Vegan Priest-King-Prophet. By Dr Chapman Chen

Melchizedek, King of Salem (peace), priest of God Most High, without beginning or end, blessed Abraham with a vegan meal of bread and wine (Gen 14:18-20). Melchizedek is never mentioned again until Psalm 110:4, where God says, "The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." Melchizedek is regarded by many ancient and modern theologians, e.g., Origen, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus, as a prefiguration of Christ. Because he blesses Abraham and speaks in God’s name, he can also be seen as a prophetic dimension.

The liturgical flow in Gen 14:18-20 strongly suggests an act of worship. Some commentators therefore regard the bread and wine as a thanksgiving offering celebrating God’s victory. As a prophet, Melchizedek started the vegan offering tradition of the five great OT prophets (Isaiah 1:11; Jeremiah 7:22-23 NKJV; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21-22; Micah 6:6-8). Their vegan, anti-blood-sacrifice tradition was inherited by Jesus, who famously declared, “I desire COMPASSION, not sacrifice!” (Matt 9:13, 12:7; cf. Hosea 6:6), and who actually died for liberating the animals from the Temple (Mark 11:15-18; cf. Keith Akers 2000, pp.113-134). 

Christian Fathers and theologians, like Cyprian of Carthage and Clement of Alexandria, seeing Melchizedek as a type of Christ, interpreted the bread and wine as foreshadowing the Eucharist/Holy Communion.

Like Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine, without animal sacrifice or even symbolic flesh and blood, Jesus’ Eucharist is also vegan—a preview of the vegan heavenly reunion banquet, a vegan feast of bread and wine (grape juice) in anticipation of the reunion feast in the Kingdom of God.

It is only Paul, the anti-vegan apostate, who distorts Jesus’ vegan communion into a cannibalistic meal of His own flesh and blood. Paul says that “without father or mother… resembling the Son of God, he (Melchizedek) remains a priest forever” (Heb 7:3), that “in the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 7:17), “Jesus lives forever… has a permanent priesthood” (Heb 7:24). Using this as a pretext, Paul then turned Jesus into the very thing He (Jesus) was protesting – a sacrificial lamb (cf. Dave Thompson 2024). “He sacrificed for their (the people’s) sins once for all when he offered himself,” alleged Paul (Heb 7:27)  

In conclusion, from Melchizedek through the five great vegan prophets to Jesus and James the Just, there is a long tradition of vegan worship and communion in the Bible. Unfortunately, this tradition has been thwarted for two thousand years by Paul, the anti-vegan apostate (cf. https://www.vegantheology.net/post/the-vegan-eucharist-turned-into-a-cannibalistic-cult-by-paul-revised-dr-chapman-chen ). It is high time that we cast aside Paul and return to the Vegan Christ.

Full text: https://www.vegantheology.net/post/melchizedek-the-vegan-priest-king-prophet-by-dr-chapman-chen