Q.  In one of your articles in your magazine you mentioned tithing. I have been told that tithing is a fallacy today because there is no Levitical priesthood functioning.  Is this so?

A.  The first time tithing is found in the Bible is in Genesis 14:20, where Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, priest of the Most High.  This was long BEFORE any Levitical priesthood was established.  Yet, we discover that the man called “the father of the faithful” is tithing.
            The writer of Hebrews (7:1-28) establishes the great importance of Melchizedek, who resembles the Son of Elohim in many respects, including the references “King of Salem (peace),” and “priest of the Most High,” without beginning of days or end of life.  Abraham gave tithes to the priest Melchizedek hundreds of years before there ever was a Jew or a Levitical priesthood.
            The progenitor and the very one from who would come the Levitical priesthood and to whom all the promises were first made was Abraham.  And he tithed to Melchizedek.  Therefore, the great Abraham is thus subordinate to Melchizedek, because from the loins of Abraham came both the future Levitical priests and those who tithed to them.
            Furthermore, the Levitical priesthood is inferior to Melchizedek’s.  The Levites who took tithe were mortal, but the Melchizedek priesthood is without beginning of days nor end of life (Heb. 7:3).  Yahshua remains a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, Psalm 110:4.  The argument of Hebrews is that Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek through Abraham, which implies that both Levi and his descendants are also subordinate to Melchizedek.
            The Levitical priesthood is now in abeyance and will not function until a Temple or Tabernacles again comes into existence.  Ezekiel shows that in the coming Kingdom rule of Yahshua the Levitical priesthood will again function in the Millennium.  Beginning with 40:39 we read of two tables on each side for slaying the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.  Verse 46 speaks of the priests, the sons of Zadok of the tribes of Levi, who will minister to Yahweh at that time.  “Chambers” or storerooms will be there for the priests and Levites are for the tithes and offerings.
            This is not to say that the Messiah will have to be put to death again.  He has died for the sins of the world once already.  We who will be spiritual beings in the Millennium keep Passover today through Yahshua’s “spiritual” sacrifice.  Those in the Millennium who will be physical will be required to keep physical sacrifices to learn the spiritual lesson of the Savior’s sacrifice.  We should be careful that we are not deliberately disobedient.  Through rebellion we impale Him all over again, Hebrews 6:4-6.
            Thus, we see that the priesthood will be established in the Millennial reign of the Messiah, which means that tithes will be taken by the Levitical priesthood.  Notice Isaiah 66:20, “And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto Yahweh out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters and upon mules, and upon swift beasts to My holy mountain Jerusalem, says Yahweh, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of Yahweh.”
            Jeremiah 33:14-20 also tells of the establishment of the Levitical priesthood (which means tithing as well).  Malachi 3:3-4 speaks of this same time.
            It is clear that the tithing principle is from antiquity, going back to Genesis 14, and extends to the future as well, to be kept in the Kingdom.  We are presently under the Melchizedek priesthood, which is an older and higher priesthood under the Messiah.  He Himself, speaking of tithing, told the Jews, “These things ought you have done and not left the other undone,” Matthew 23:23.  The tithing principle is still with us today.
            Tithing is the fairest form of giving.  Each of us is to give according to our means, adding offerings as we are blessed.  Just as ancient Israel gave tithes to glorify Yahweh, we today give tithes to those who are proclaiming His holy Name Yahweh, and teaching His Sabbaths and laws.
            As we reveal Yahweh’s way of life, sincere seekers of truth become footstep followers of Yahshua the Messiah and become immersed into His Saving Name.  It is only those who have become a part of His body who will inherit the promises given through Abraham, “And if you be Messiah’s, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise,” Galatians 3:29.
            Helping others find the true way of salvation through learning of Yahweh’s way of life is part of the great commission of Matthew 28:19-20.  We must do all that Yahweh expects of us for a place in the Kingdom, John 14:2.  Tithing is certainly one of the neglected truths practiced in the Old Testament and part of Millennial reign of the Messiah –therefore necessary today.
            We know that 90 percent of our income with Yahweh’s blessing will go further than 100 percent without it.  If ours is the Kingdom, then we will be expected to teach tithing to others (Rev. 2:26-27).  Can we openly and honestly teach others to do something in the Kingdom that we ourselves have never practiced?

 
                   
         
     
                   
               
                         
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