The Bible speaks of the ministry of the priesthood. This ministry consists of a group of people wholly separated from the world to serve God. They have no other occupation or duty other than to serve God. Such people are called priests in the Bible.
Beginning from the book of Genesis, we find God calling men to be priests. Melchisedec was God’s first priest. In Abraham’s time, Melchisedec separated himself and gave himself solely to God’s service.
From Genesis to the forming of the nation of Israel and thereafter, the priesthood was always present. At the time the Lord Jesus was on earth and even after His departure from the earth, the priesthood did not cease. The priesthood has been on earth for a long time. The Bible shows us that even the Lord Jesus became a priest before God after His ascension to the heavens. He is there now fully consecrated for God’s service.
The priesthood continues throughout the dispensation of the church; there is no interruption of any kind.
At the beginning of the millennial kingdom, those who share in the first resurrection will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years (Rev. 20:6). God’s children will continue to be God’s priests and Christ’s priests for a thousand years. They will be kings to the world and priests to God. This priesthood will remain unchanged; they will still serve God.
In the new heavens and new earth, the term priest will cease to exist. At that time, all of God’s children as His servants will do nothing except serve Him. In the New Jerusalem “His slaves will serve Him” (22:3). In other words, God’s children will continue to serve Him.
Here we must point out a most wonderful thing. The priesthood commenced with Melchisedec, the one who was without father, without mother, without genealogy, who had neither beginning of days nor end of life (Heb. 7:3), and it extends to the end of the millennium, which means that it extends to eternity.
According to the revelation of the Scripture, God’s purpose is not to have only one or two persons as His priests. His purpose is to have all His people as His priests.
After the Israelites came out of Egypt, they came to Mount Sinai. God charged Moses to speak to the Israelites, saying, “Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (Exo. 19:6). God told the Israelites that they would be a kingdom of priests. This expression is somewhat difficult to understand. Why did God say that they would be a kingdom of priests? He meant that He wanted the whole nation to be priests. No one in the nation would be an ordinary person; the whole kingdom would be priests. This was God’s purpose.
When God chose Israel to be His people, He set this goal before them. This nation was to be different from all other nations on the earth. It was a kingdom of priests. All the people of this nation would be priests. This meant that every person in the nation would have one unique occupation, the occupation of serving God. God delights in separating men from the earth for His service. He delights in seeing men live solely for His affairs. God wants all of His children to be priests and to serve Him.
God told the people of Israel when they reached Mount Sinai that He would make them a kingdom of priests. This is a wonderful calling. We call England “the kingdom of the navy,” the United States, “the kingdom of gold,” China, “the kingdom of manners and virtues,” and India “the kingdom of philosophers.” But here is a kingdom which is called “the kingdom of priests.” This is a wonderful thing. Everyone in this nation is a priest. Men, women, adults, and children are all priests. Everyone in this kingdom serves only God. Both adults and children have only one thing as their occupation—offering sacrifices and serving God. This is a wonderful picture.
After God promised to establish Israel as a kingdom of priests, He told Moses to go up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments which were written upon two tablets of stone. Moses remained on the mountain forty days while God wrote the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets. The first commandment says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The second says, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” (20:3-4). It seems that God was dictating the commandments one by one.