The everlasting covenant and gospel dispensations -- Part 2 (Enoch)

Part 1 introduces the everlasting covenant in the context of gospel dispensations and shows how Adam sought to establish this covenant after the fall. This is characterized by

• The creation
• Eternity or "before the foundation of the world"
• Hearkening to the word of God and receiving instruction
• Being called after His order
• Preaching and exemplifying redemption, becoming a new creation

We will see how this plays out for the heads of the other dispensations. Next up is Enoch. There is enough about him to keep him the focus of this whole post.

Enoch

There is very little information on Enoch in the Bible, but fortunately we have much more information in the Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price. Here is the from the account of Enoch's calling

28 And for these many generations, ever since the day that I created them, have they gone astray, and have denied me, and have sought their own counsels in the dark; and in their own abominations have they devised murder, and have not kept the commandments, which I gave unto their father, Adam.

29 Wherefore, they have foresworn themselves, and, by their oaths, they have brought upon themselves death; and a hell I have prepared for them, if they repent not;

30 And this is a decree, which I have sent forth in the beginning of the world, from my own mouth, from the foundation thereof, and by the mouths of my servants, thy fathers, have I decreed it, even as it shall be sent forth in the world, unto the ends thereof. (Moses 6)

Since the people have not kept the commandments from the first dispensation through Adam, there has been a fall and a new dispensation is necessary headed by Enoch. The oaths mentioned in verse 29 are the antithesis of the everlasting covenant. Generally, everything that God has in store for us, his gospel, his covenants and blessings, have a wicked counterpart designed by the devil. The desire to attain the unification of heaven and earth, the peace and rest that comes with righteousness, is always a struggle to overcome an opposing force.

Another source of information about Enoch is found in Joseph Smith's Translation of Genesis 14.

27 And thus, having been approved of God, he was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch,

28 It being after the order of the Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor the will of man; neither by father nor mother; neither by beginning of days nor end of years; but of God;

29 And it was delivered unto men by the calling of his own voice, according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name.

30 For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself; that every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course;

31 To put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of God which was from before the foundation of the world.

32 And men having this faith, coming up unto this order of God, were translated and taken up into heaven. (JST Genesis 14)

What exactly is the covenant with Enoch? We don't get many specifics, but apparently it has to do with the holy order, seed/posterity, being translated and taken up into heaven. From Moses 8:2 we also learn that one of the covenant promises was that "Noah should be of the fruit of his loins". The perpetuation of a righteous seed is a common covenant promise especially manifest in the Abrahamic dispensation/covenant.

What may seem puzzling from the quoted verses in the JST is the use of the holy order to agitate the creation ("break", "divide", "dry up") rather than uniting and creating harmony. But this is back to the topic of opposites. Covenant blessings and covenant curses, all in the hands of God and those he calls and ordains after His order. Back to the Book of Moses, we actually see this play out.

And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him. (Moses 7:13)

The enemies of the people of God come to battle and the unrest of the creation symbolizes the covenant curses. Contrast that with Zion

16 And from that time forth there were wars and bloodshed among them; but the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness.

17 The fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people. And the Lord blessed the land, and they were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish. (Moses 7)

There is a clear contrast between the turmoil of the creation when describing the enemies of the people of God and the "blessed land" of Enoch and his people. The mountain symbolism in this case deserves particular attention. A few verses earlier, Enoch is commanded to go up on the mountain.

2 And from that time forth Enoch began to prophesy, saying unto the people, that: As I was journeying, and stood upon the place Mahujah, and cried unto the Lord, there came a voice out of heaven, saying—Turn ye, and get ye upon the mount Simeon.

3 And it came to pass that I turned and went up on the mount; and as I stood upon the mount, I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory;

4 And I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face; and he said unto me: Look, and I will show unto thee the world for the space of many generations. (Moses 7)

I consider this passage an account of Enoch's temple endowment from a time when mountains functioned as temples when none had been built. After this, Enoch's people are established and blessed on the mountains but for their enemies, the mountains fled. The image of mountains feeling is weird but the symbolism makes sense from the perspective of mountains as temples with access to covenant blessings.

I have colored various passages along the way that matches the list of things characterizing the restoration of covenants at each dispensation. The only one missing now is the last point, "Preaching and exemplifying redemption, becoming a new creation", even though we have touched upon it with the establishment of Zion. Typically, the restorer at each dispensation seeks the covenant blessings that restores the creation and ultimately leads to exaltation. Depending on other people's willingness to hearken, they achieve this only for themselves or establish a covenant people. The latter was the case with Enoch.

19 And Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the people of God. And it came to pass in his days, that he built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion...

64 And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest...

69 And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is Fled. (Moses 7)

Notice the linguistic connection between "Zion is fled" and the mountains that fled as commented earlier.

One other thing I have noticed is the connection between the various heads of restorations. Much of Enoch's preaching in Moses 6 is really about Adam. He links to Noah through the covenant about his seed, which is also an important factor of the covenant with Abraham. He links to Moses through his experience of talking with God face to face "even as a man talketh one with another" (See Moses 7:4 and Exodus 33:11) and to Joseph Smith through the establishment of Zion, the culmination of the seventh and final restoration.

There is little specific information about the details of God's covenant with Enoch, but the elements characterizing the restoration of the everlasting covenant are present in abundance. The next post will continue considering the subsequent restorers in this context, starting with Noah.

Melchizedek -- Part 4 (Bread and wine)

I decided to study more about the somewhat mysterious figure, Melchizedek, to see what I could learn. In part 1 and part 2, we looked at the covenant explained in JST of Genesis 14 when Melchizedek met Abraham. In part 3 we saw how the title, prince of peace, connects to this covenant and the priesthood administering it. There is another post about "the covenant meal" that provides background and context for this post, where we will have a closer look at the meal and blessing that we read about as Melchizedek and Abraham meet.

As mentioned in the post about the covenant meal, there is another high priest, Alma, who

• Eats together with Amulek
• Blesses Amulek and his family
• Alma's blessing becomes the Lord's blessing upon Amulek

In Genesis 14, we see the same pattern. Verse 18 is from the original Genesis before the JST kicks in at verse 19 and adds a great deal. 

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God...

25 And Melchizedek lifted up his voice and blessed Abram...

37 And he lifted up his voice, and he blessed Abram, being the high priest, and the keeper of the storehouse of God...

40 And it came to pass, that God blessed Abram, and gave unto him riches, and honor, and lands for an everlasting possession; according to the covenant which he had made, and according to the blessing wherewith Melchizedek had blessed him. 

There is a lot between verses 25 and 37 that we have already discussed in this series. We see that these two verses have a common phrase creating a repetitive resumption. All the discussion of the covenant, peace and righteousness is therefore sandwiched between the mentions of Melchizedek blessing Abraham. I therefore think that Melchizedek played a central role in the Abrahamic covenant, perhaps formalizing the promises that God already had given him by a priesthood ordinance. Just like Alma, Melchizedek can pronounce a blessing in the name of the Lord, and representing him as high priest, Melchizedek's blessing becomes God's blessing.

We also see another example of a covenant meal as Melchizedek brings bread and wine. Paul spends much of his letter to the Hebrews to make a case for Jesus Christ as the great high priest after the order of Melchizedek. The bread and wine that Melchizedek offers Abraham surely reminds us of the bread and wine that Jesus Christ offered to his disciples who were the seed of Abraham. 

In his commentary on the Hebrew scriptures, Jewish thinker Philo points out that Melchizedek brought bread and wine instead of the expected hospitality gift of bread and water (see e.g. Deuteronomy 23:4). Based on that, Bible scholar Margaret Barker interprets Jesus' first miracle where he turned water into wine as a Melchizedek sign. This is speculative of course but an intriguing thought. By turning water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana and giving his disciples bread and wine at the last supper, Jesus is confirming his identity as high priest after the order of Melchizedek. As John 2:11 states, Jesus "manifested forth his glory" with this miracle.

The main responsibility of the high priest was temple service. As Paul argues, Jesus went into the holy of holies sacrificing himself (instead of an animal) of which the sacramental bread and wine were reminders. At the wedding feast in Cana, "there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews" (John 2:6). Jews had cleansing rituals where they washed their hands before meals. That is a funny thing to write since most of us also wash our hands before eating without considering it anything remotely close to a religious ritual. These same cleansing rituals where performed by the priests who entered into the temple. There were waterpots outside the temple and shewbread and wine (for libation) inside. But there is also the concept of a temple meal that Lord Wilmore wrote about and that is contextualized by the covenant meal post. 

This is another obscure source but the Testament of Levi (that is Levi, son of Jacob/Israel) tells about his vision where he finds himself in the temple visited by seven men in white raiment. He is clothed in sacred vestments, served bread and wine and promised to be a priest forever. So in a sense, the water belongs outside the temple and the wine inside. As I mentioned, this is speculative, but Jesus turning water into wine moves the wedding feast from outside the temple to inside the temple and Jesus thereby establishes his role as the high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

In any case, there is a relationship between Melchizedek, Abraham and Jesus Christ, as also the previous post demonstrated (linking "Prince of Peace" to all three). There is also a strong case to be made here for a covenant meal between Melchizedek and Abraham. This meal with associated covenants and blessings is a foreshadowing of the "meal", covenant and blessings between the priest after the order of Melchizedek and Abraham's seed. 

Today we drink water instead of wine for practical reasons at the sacrament as a reminder and renewal of our covenants. The sacrament is also administered by the Aaronic priesthood. But the Lord has promised that the hour cometh when he will drink the fruit of the vine with us once again. This is the "small meal" and "big meal" symbolism from the video in Lord Wilmore's post that I linked.

5 Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, and with Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fulness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim...

10 And also with Joseph and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, your fathers, by whom the promises remain;

11 And also with Michael, or Adam, the father of all, the prince of all, the ancient of days;

12 And also with Peter, and James, and John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles, and especial witnesses of my name, and bear the keys of your ministry and of the same things which I revealed unto them;

13 Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;

14 And also with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world. (D&C 27)

As both priests after the order of Melchizedek and Abraham's seed, we are fathers and sons, kings and princes and thereby the covenant is perpetuated throughout the generations. The covenant is renewed by a small meal at the sacrament table but will be realized in full in a grand meal in the future.

I set out to learn more about Melchizedek with this study and ended up learning little about the person and much about related doctrine and symbolism. That is fine as far as I'm concerned. With the limited information we have, Melchizedek will always remain a bit mysterious, but the priesthood that he held is among us today blessing millions of Abraham's seed. And the blessing by the priesthood holder becomes the blessing of God.

The covenant meal

I was not sure if this should be another part of the Melchizedek series or not. But I will leave it a general note that will provide context for the next part of the series but also for other topics we have discussed on this blog. In ancient Israel, covenants were often associated with a meal. This was a way to seal the deal, so to speak, or the means for reconciliation between two parties. There are no formal instructions of a covenant meal in the Old Testament, it was simply a part of the culture that went without saying. But there are numerous examples describing such events.

The covenant meal in the Bible

Two persons or groups of people could covenant (for instance a peace treaty or other promises) and would share a meal together as a sign of unity and commitment. In the Old Testament, God is frequently one of the two parties. How can you share a meal with God? It turns out that there are ways to do that. What I will get to in the next post on the Melchizedek series is the meeting with Abraham where Melchizedek brings bread and wine in Genesis 14. This is of course shared between two men, but Melchizedek as the "priest of the most high God", can also be seen as a representative for God in this case.

Later in Genesis 18, Abraham is visited by three messengers. They share a meal together as the men deliver the message that Sarah will bear a son as part of the covenant promise that Abraham will become a great nation (see Genesis 18:8-18).

Exodus 24 is another interesting example.

7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.

8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.

9 ¶ Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:

10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

In this case, they actually eat and drink in the presence of God. This is the establishment of the Mosaic covenant. Moses reads the covenant terms and the people promise to follow it after which the elders of Israel see God and have a meal in his presence. It is of course quite rare to physically eat with the Lord. But just like the Mosaic covenant (old covenant/testament) was instituted with a meal in Exodus 24, so was the new covenant/testament. As Jesus and his disciples ate the Passover lamb (another covenant meal by the way), he took bread and wine, gave it to his disciples and said.

For this is my blood of the new testament [or covenant, depending on the translation], which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:28)

This is another example of the Lord himself sharing a covenant meal with his people. Both the old (Mosaic) covenant and the new covenant were associated with a meal shared between the physically present Lord himself and his elders/apostles.

Another more common way to share a meal with the Lord is through sacrifice. See for instance this instruction in Leviticus.

14 And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the Lord, before the altar.

15 And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the Lord.

16 And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it. (Leviticus 6)

Here, the sons of Aaron are instructed to burn the offering "before the Lord" and then "eat the remainder thereof". Offerings would usually consist of a part that was burnt and a part that the priests, who made the sacrifice, ate. This can be viewed as a meal with the Lord where they give him his share in the form of "a sweet savour" ascending to heaven. Sacrifices were done in temples (or tabernacles) and Lord Wilmore has recently written about the meals in the temple. 

There are several other examples of such covenant meals in the Old Testament, like Moses and Jethro in Exodus 18:12, Jacob and Laban in Genesis 31, etc. but I will not get into all of those. But I will bring up a well-known verse in Psalm 23 that I think is worth re-reading in this context.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

This is not just the Lord assuring the psalmist that he will have enough to eat and drink. It is the concept of reconciliation and covenant associated with a meal. ("in the presence of mine enemies" and "dwell in the house of the Lord"). There is a Middle Eastern concept of "sulha" (coming from the Hebrew word, "shulchan" – meaning table) where two rival groups come together in discussion over a big meal and at the end of the meal are fully reconciled. This is described in more detail here.

I will include the Book of Revelation as a final example from the Bible. In Revelation 3:20, we read

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

This leads our thoughts to the last supper and a meal with the mediator of the new covenant. "I...with him, and he with me" indicates a two-way covenant, where each party makes promises. But it may also hint at the future supper at the great wedding feast described in Revelation 19. Or at least that chapter describes another covenant meal. In the grand feast of tabernacles described in this post, the Lord reunites with his covenant people. 

The covenant meal in the Book of Mormon?

There are not many descriptions of meals in the Book of Mormon at all. The only one I could think of (except for the sacrament in 3 Nephi) was Amulek sharing a meal with Alma. But this example does fit the context as discussed. Alma had been cast out of Ammonihah by a people hostile to him. Eating with one of its inhabitants later would signify reconciliation and unity with at least one of its inhabitants, even though many others would still reject him. After the meal, Alma the high priest also pronounced a special high priestly blessing on Amulek and his household. 

7 As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a chosen man of God; for he has fasted many days because of the sins of this people, and he is an hungered, and thou shalt receive him into thy house and feed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the blessing of the Lord shall rest upon thee and thy house...

11 For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake. (Alma 10)

Notice that after they have eaten together, "a chosen man of God" and the high priest, Alma, gave a blessing that became the blessing of the Lord. This is exactly what we see when the high priest, Melchizedek, blesses Abraham, but we will look into that in detail in the next post.

Melchizedek -- Part 3 (the Prince of Peace)

Here are links to part 1 and part 2. I am quoting the same verses multiple times in this series because there are multiple aspects to discuss and we need to focus on one at a time. Here is another item from the JST of Genesis 14 that I have not highlighted yet but want to discuss in this post

33 And now, Melchizedek was a priest of this order; therefore he obtained peace in Salem, and was called the Prince of peace...

36 And this Melchizedek, having thus established righteousness, was called the king of heaven by his people, or, in other words, the King of peace.

Why was Melchizedek called both king of peace and prince of peace? Alma 13 gives a possible clue

But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he did reign under his father. (Alma 13:18)

He literally was the king of peace since he was the king of a city named Salem (meaning peace in Hebrew and which most scholars agree was Jerusalem). But since he simultaneously was a king and reigned under his father, he was both king and prince. We know little about Melchizedek but absolutely nothing about his father. We can reasonably assume that he was righteous based on what we know about Melchizedek and the fact that he reigned under him.

But there might be deeper underlying truths to this idea of being a prince of peace. There are three persons in the scriptures that are referred to as prince of peace. In addition to Melchizedek, only Abraham and Jesus Christ get this title. Interestingly, the father/son or king/prince duality is a recurring theme. Notice for instance the extensive use of "father/fathers" in the beginning of the Book of Abraham where Abraham seeks to become a prince of peace

1 In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence;

2 And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers.

3 It was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the beginning of time, yea, even from the beginning, or before the foundation of the earth, down to the present time, even the right of the firstborn, or the first man, who is Adam, or first father, through the fathers unto me.

4 I sought for mine appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of God unto the fathers concerning the seed.

To become a follower of righteousness and prince of peace, Abraham needed to be appointed unto the Priesthood. This priesthood was a patriarchal order, transmitted from father to son, creating kings and princes, like Melchizedek who became the archetype of a holder of this priesthood. In the original language, Abraham, means "father of a multitude".  The wordplay is evident: "In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Father of a Multitude...sought for the blessings of the fathers".

The only other passage of scripture containing the title "prince of peace" is Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Again we see the pattern of father and son (implied by prince). We know that Jesus Christ is both the father (in more than one sense) and the son. Some people trip over the oddity of that passage to our modern ears, but I find it beautiful

1 And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.
2 And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son—
3 The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—

4 And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. (Mosiah 15)

What we have seen so far is that there are three persons with the title, Prince of Peace in the scriptures: Melchizedek, Abraham and Jesus Christ. In each case, there is a father-son theme. I think it has much to do with the priesthood. The Melchizedek Priesthood is not dependent on a tribe like the Levitical Priesthood. It's a pattern of Father-Son family priesthood. Paul spends much of his letter to the Hebrews that this is the priesthood that Jesus came to restore

5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.

6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

There is no coincidence that Abraham, the father who sought for the blessings of the fathers, is mentioned so much in D&C 132. We get too hung up on plural marriage sometimes that we miss the beautiful truths about the priesthood and the everlasting covenant.

28 I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee the law of my Holy Priesthood, as was ordained by me and my Father before the world was.

29 Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne.

30 Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins—from whose loins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph—which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the world they should continue; both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them.

31 This promise is yours also, because ye are of Abraham, and the promise was made unto Abraham; and by this law is the continuation of the works of my Father, wherein he glorifieth himself.

32 Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved.

As we enter into the law of the Melchizedek Priesthood, we like Joseph Smith, are the seed of Abraham and the same promises apply to us. That is, as Abraham's seed, our seed will also perpetuate into the eternities. This is how the priesthood and the covenant are preserved, from father to son becoming kings and princes. It is perhaps confusing then that Paul states:

Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. (Hebrews 7:3)

From the context, it seems like Paul describes Melchizedek here. But Joseph Smith clarifies and explains that this does not apply to the person, Melchizedek, but rather his priesthood.

For this Melchizedek was ordained a priest after the order of the Son of God, which order was without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life. And all those who are ordained unto this priesthood are made like unto the Son of God, abiding a priest continually. (JST Hebrews 7:3)

Early Christian extra-Biblical sources show that there was a great deal of confusion back then as well. Some considered Melchizedek as a divine figure and perhaps even the pre-mortal Christ himself. Others considered him just a mortal man, although a righteous high priest. I think the confusion comes from the fact that Melchizedek became the archetype of a priesthood holder after the order of the Son of God. Epitomizing this order, the man and the priesthood got confused as the tradition was passed down, scriptures were lost and perhaps deliberately changed. This is just my theory anyway.

The point is that the priesthood itself is eternal, without father and descent, while those who enter into this order become part of an eternal chain of father and descent. They are the seed of Father Abraham (who sought the blessings of his fathers) and receive the promise that their seed shall continue "out of the world". They become princes of peace and kings of righteousness, like Abraham and Melchizedek, receiving all these promises that are too great to fully comprehend.

Let me just add as a final note that I think princess, queen and priestess applies just as much. Despite the technicalities of the patriarchal order where men are ordained at least here on earth, the promises and blessings apply in equal measure and women obviously have a sacred role in the "continuation of the seeds for ever and ever" (D&C 132:19).