D____ wrote:
Mike, I was just wondering if you could give me your interpretation of the verses below?

Mic 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

My question about Mic 5:2 was more towards the last part of the verse where it says, “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
I was wondering what your thoughts were about the last part.  Please forgive me for not being clearer about that.

Heb 7:3  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.

Thanks, Mike.
D____

Think nothing of it D____,
I’m sure the question was clear in your mind. I’ve done the same thing many times. You ask about the last part of Mic 5:2.
“Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” should read:

Mic 5:2 And you, Bethlehem Ephratah, inferior to be among the mentors of Judah, from you shall one fare forth for Me to become the Ruler in Israel; yet His farings forth are from aforetime, from days eonian.”

This, of course, refers to the fact that the “one God of whom are all things” God the Father, created the “one Lord by whom are all things.”

1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

So it can be said of Christ that He is “before all things.” And yet He is not without beginning, rather “His goings forth are from days eonian” [ Hebrew – olawm – the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek aion].

Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Christ is “before all” and yet “all consist in Him.” And why is it this way? The answer we are given again indicates that Christ was created. The answer is that “it pleased the Father” to be so.

Col 1:15 Who [ Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16  For by him [ Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Christ is not the original, but the “image of the [ original] invisible God.” That was just as true of Christ before His coming in the flesh as it is now. Christ Is, Was and Will Be “the image of the invisible God.”
Everything and everyone in heaven and in earth was created and are being created by Christ and for Christ. But at whose behest? From whom is all of this? Who has made Christ in His image? The ‘image’ is never superior to the original, and the image is never the original.
“He [ Christ] is before all [ creation] and by Him all [ creation] consist.” But the Father was never created, and there can be but one original, one supreme being. All else must come “of” that one supreme being. Who is supreme? Is it the Father, or is it Christ? The answer is that the original is superior to the image, and the one giving is always superior to the one receiving.

Joh 14:28  Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. /

Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who [ Christ] is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [ things] he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him [ Christ] to reconcile all things unto himself [ the Father]; by him [ Christ], I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

The Father could never die, so Christ “emptied Himself” of the divinity He had been given by His Father for the purpose of creating all and came and died for all, to complete that creation for which He was created. God’s purpose for creating Christ was for the express purpose of creating “the Christ.”

Heb 1:1  God, [ the Father] who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Heb 1:1 By many portions and many modes, of old, God, speaking to the fathers in the prophets,
Heb 1:2 in the last of these days speaks to us in a Son, Whom He appoints enjoyer of the allotment of all, through Whom He also makes the eons;” (CLV)

“The eons” are our lives. “Times eonian” are the times in which men live in these “vessels of clay” and are judged as spirits. That is why Christ said that he who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven neither in this eon nor in the eon to come.

Mat 12:32 And whosoever may be saying a word against the Son of Mankind, it will be pardoned him, yet whoever may be saying aught against the holy spirit, it shall not be pardoned him, neither in this eon nor in that which is impending.(CLV)

We all live an eon as vessels of clay first. A chosen few are judged while in this “vessel of clay.” The vast majority of mankind will not be judged while in the flesh. Instead most will be judged as spirits in need of cleansing, some even as “messengers of the devil.”

Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Here is the Concordant version:

Mat 25:31 Now, whenever the Son of Mankind may be coming in His glory, and all the holy messengers with Him, then shall He be seated on the throne of His glory,
Mat 25:41 Then shall He be declaring to those also at His left, ‘Go from Me, you cursed, into the fire eonian, made ready for the Adversary and his messengers.”

“Times eonian” continue through “eonian judgment” in the lake of fire. The aions continue until “God is all in all.” But even those being judged now are also judged in symbolic “fire.”

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Peter also tells us that those being judged while in the flesh are judged by fire:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

The book of Revelation tells us that Satan also is eventually cast into this symbolic ‘fire’ after the thousand years are fulfilled:

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Here’s verse ten in the Concordant version:

Rev 20:10 And the Adversary who is deceiving them was cast into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the wild beast and where the false prophet are also. And they shall be tormented day and night for the eons of the eons.”

So Satan is in the lake of fire only for “the eons of the eons.” He is not there ‘forever.’ Likewise Christ’s “goings forth” are also “from days eonian,” not ‘from eternity.’
This phrase here in Rev 20:10 “the eons of the eons”, is in God’s Word 21 times. When used in connection with Christ or His Father, it refers to all eons of all time:

1Ti 1:17 Now to the King of the eons, the incorruptible, invisible, only, and wise God, be honor and glory for the eons of the eons! Amen!”
2Ti 4:18 The Lord will be rescuing me from every wicked work and will be saving me for His celestial kingdom: to Whom be glory for the eons of the eons. Amen!
Heb 13:21 be adapting you to every good work to do His will, doing in us what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for the eons of the eons. Amen!

This oft repeated phrase in the Greek, “the aions of the aions”, is that time period referred to as the ‘great white throne lake of fire’ when those who comprise that lake are right there with all the other aions of men. All the aions from the ‘sea’ and all the aions from ‘death’ and all of the aions from ‘hell’ (Greek – hades – the grave). All men of all time will be present in that lake of fire. They will all be there either as the symbolic flames having within them the all consuming fiery Word of God, or they will be there as fuel for that symbolic ‘fire.’ Having all men of all time raised to judgment, the lake of fire will thus be “the aions of the aions,” or to use the English words, “the eons [ each individual life] of the eons.”
Here are a few more of the twenty- one times this phrase appears in the New Testament.

Gal 1:5  To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.(KJV)
Gal 1:5 to Whom be glory for the eons of the eons. Amen! (CLV)
Php 4:20  Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (KJV)
Php 4:20 Now to our God and Father be glory for the eons of the eons! Amen! (CLV)

When used in connection with Christ alone, the phrase “eons of the eons” still means all “times aionios.”

Rev 10:6 and swears by Him Who is living for the eons of the eons, Who creates heaven and that which is in it, and the earth and that which is in it, and the sea and that which is in it, that there will be no longer a time of delay,

Again, it bears repeating that when used in connection with God’s elect, the phrase the eons of the eons means that period of time called the great white throne judgment, the lake of fire, the time when God, through His elect, will  judge and purge and purify “the Devil and his angels” and all men of all time of their unsubmissive carnal minds

Rev 20:10 And the Adversary who is deceiving them was cast into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the wild beast and where the false prophet are also. And they shall be tormented day and night for the eons of the eons.”

Inasmuch as those who are ruling with Christ during the thousand year reign are reigning over those who live in the flesh, when that phrase ‘eons of the eons” is thus used in connection with God’s elect, “the aions of the aions” can also include the millennial reign

Php 4:20 Now to our God and Father be glory for the eons of the eons! Amen!

1Ti 1:17 Now to the King of the eons, the incorruptible, invisible, only, and wise God, be honor and glory for the eons of the eons! Amen!”
2Ti 4:18 The Lord will be rescuing me from every wicked work and will be saving me for His celestial kingdom: to Whom be glory for the eons of the eons. Amen

And for those few who are being judged while in this flesh, “glory for the eons of the eons” can also include this time of being judged in the flesh. But if God is not being glorified, if we are opposing God and His Word, then the phrase “glory for the eons of the eons” has no application in our lives.
But the Greek word ‘aion’ is used in reference to much more than our individual lives. For example, judgment it said to be ‘aionios judgment.’

Heb 6:2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal [ aionios] judgment.

God’s elect were chosen “before times aionian,” “before chronos aionios… before the foundation of the world.”

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world [ Greek – kosmos], that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

“Before the foundation of the kosmos” is also “before times eonian” simply because Christ tells us that Satan was a liar and a murderer “from the beginning.”

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning , and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

“The beginning” is the beginning of time, the beginning of the aions, from “times aionian.” And this is what we are told was done “before times aionian.”

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Or as the Concordant Version has this verse:

2Ti 1:9 Who saves us and calls us with a holy calling, not in accord with our acts, but in accord with His own purpose and the grace which is given to us in Christ Jesus before times eonian [ Greek – chronos aionios].

And this is repeated:

Tit 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began [ Greek- before chronos aionios]; 

 Which the Concordant version renders:

Tit 1:2 in expectation of life eonian, which God, Who does not lie, promises before times eonian [ chronos aionios].

Which all is simply confirming that as 1Co 11 tells us, God is the head of Christ, and as such created Christ so as to use Christ as his channel of creation:

1Co 11:3 Now I want you to be aware that the Head of every man is Christ, yet the head of the woman is the man, yet the Head of Christ is God.”

1Co 11:12 For even as the woman is out of the man, thus the man also is through the woman, yet all is of God.”

“The woman is out of the man  and “the man is the head of the woman” just as Christ came out of the Father and “the head of Christ is God.” This was all said three chapters earlier:

1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father , of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

I hope these verses help you to see what is meant in Mic 5:2

Mic 5:2 And you, Bethlehem Ephratah, inferior to be among the mentors of Judah, from you shall one fare forth for Me to become the Ruler in Israel; yet His farings forth are from aforetime, from days eonian.”

Christ was with His Father from the beginning. The Father has no beginning. God used Christ to create the ages, the chronos aionios, the times eonian, in which we all live at the time of our appointed aion.  All our aions are within “times aionian.”
Mic 5:2 shows that what Christ says of Himself in Rev. 3:14 is true:

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

So Christ was created first as God’s channel of the rest of His creation. All the rest of God’s creation is created by and for God’s first creation, Christ. But just as truly as we were all there in that first Adam, so true also is it that we are all purified and purged right there in that second Adam, “The Christ.”

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

These verses tell us plainly that “the fellowship of the mystery” was right there “from the beginning… hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ,” and that “by Jesus Christ” times aionios were created for all mankind of all times aionios.

Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [ things] he might have the preeminence.

Christ “is the beginning.” He is “the beginning of the creation of God.” He “lives for the eons of the eons.” Christ lives from the beginning to the end.
The combination of Matthew with Luke makes clear when was the “beginning.” Christ tells us that the Devil “was a murderer from the beginning .”

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Speaking of this same time, the time of the first murder, we are given a phase which is equivalent to ‘the beginning.’ Christ refers to this time of the first murder, the murder of Abel by his brother Cain, as “the foundation of the world.”

Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

Abel’s time was also the time of our father Adam. What the scriptures call our first father is “the first man Adam.”

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Each of these two ‘Adams’ has his ‘aion’ in every man. Those who are judged now are used by Christ to later judge all others in “the eon impending” (CLV) or “the world to come” (KJV).

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, t hat through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

What a humbling statement. It is at the expense of unbelievers that believers are given faith. And it is through the mercy of believers all un believers will obtain mercy.

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

That is how the elect fill Christ, just like Christ fills His Father. That is the purpose for “the Christ.” That is the purpose for which Christ was created. “The Christ” will not be completed until “the sins of the whole world” have been covered and forgiven and justified. It is through Christ’s christ that “the Christ” fill up Christ who in turn fills up His father. This is the purpose of the aions.

Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:8  Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9 Having made known u nto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times [ aionian] he might gather together in one all things in [ the] Christ , both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him [ the Christ]:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

“The mystery of His will” is to us this thing He calls “the Christ” to gather together all in the Christ. Just notice how this incredible chapter of  God’s Word ends:

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of h is inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us- ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

“The eyes of our understanding being opened to show us what is the hope of His calling, what t he riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
That is an unbelievable and quite unknown concept, that Christ’s inheritance is “in the saints”. All we ever think of is the fact that “our inheritance is in Christ.” But when and if God does indeed “enlighten the eyes of our understanding”, we come to realize that the exceeding greatness of God’s power is to us as Christ’s inheritance. Paul is going to great lengths in this chapter to relate to us just how important is our part in this thing called “the Christ.” He continues this concept of just how important are God’s elect in completing “the Christ.”

Eph 1:20  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set [ him] at his own right hand in the heavenly [ places],
Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Eph 1:22  And hath put all [ things] under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all [ things] to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. 

It is “the church which is His body” [ which is] the fulness of Christ” who in turn fills his Father who fills all in all.
This is truly “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” to those whose “eyes of understanding have been enlightened. But for any who cannot even see the meaning of times aionios or times olawm, these things are all hidden to this very day.
I hope this helps you to see how the Father’s Holy Spirit has seen fit to use this word ‘eon,’ which is ‘olawm’ in the Hebrew and ‘aion’ in the Greek, to distinguish things eonian, from the Father who existed before times eonian. But as Mic 5:2 points out, Christ’s goings forth are “from times eonian” not from eternity.
Your second question was about Heb 7:3

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

This verse has led many who fail to see the point that Paul is making here in Hebrews, to believe that Melchisedec was Christ Himself or else some priest of God who never died. Anyone thinking such thoughts is missing entirely what Paul is trying to prove in the seventh chapter of Hebrews. Paul’s only purpose in bringing Melchisedec into this discussion is to show that King David had prophesied of a change in the priesthood from one which was based on physical pedigree to a spiritual priesthood which had no connection to the Aaronic Levitical priesthood. Melchisedec was not even connected to the tribe of Levi. He certainly was not connected to the family of Aaron. Yet Melchisedec was “the priest of the most high God” long before there ever was an Aaronic priesthood. Paul insists that the priesthood which was “after the order of Melchisedec” was actually superior to the Aaronic order. The point Paul is making is that we have no record of Melchisedec’s genealogy simply because physical genealogy is of no consequence in the new priesthood priesthood “after the order of Melchisedec.” After all, Melchisedec had no [ record of ] father or mother.”

Heb 7:1  For this Melchisedec, king of Salem [ Jerusalem – Jos 10:1-4], priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
Heb 7:2  To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
Heb 7:3  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.
Heb 7:4  Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.
Heb 7:5  And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:
Heb 7:6  But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
Heb 7:7  And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
Heb 7:8  And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
Heb 7:9  And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.
Heb 7:10  For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.
Heb 7:11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need [ was there] that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
Heb 7:13  For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar.
Heb 7:14  For [ it is] evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
Heb 7:15  And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest,
Heb 7:16  Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
Heb 7:17  For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Verse thirteen makes it clear that Paul is saying all of these things are spoken pertaining to our Lord who is of another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar, because it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. The emphasis is on Christ, not on a Canaanite king who was used as a type of Christ who had no Levitical Aaronic credentials.
Paul takes what David said:

Psa 110:4  The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

And under inspiration of God’s Spirit, applies this verse which, it would appear, in context is being spoken of David, and applies this verse to Christ. It is “in Christ ” that all scripture is fulfilled. It was Christ Himself who said these worlds:

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

So in Christ we too, become priests forever after the order of Melchisedec, because we too, have no record of Aaronic Levitical priesthood. Being in Christ is good enough:

Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Melchisedec was both the “King of Salem and the priest of the most high God.” Christ too, was both a king and a priest, and as He is so are we…”

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

I hope that answers your question about Melchisedec. If I have overlooked something you were asking about, let me know.
As with so many things in God’s word, from a lamb to the temple to the altar to the curtain between the holy place and the Holy of Holies, the cherubim woven into those curtains, and I could go on and on; Melchizedek was a Canaanite king who is another type and shadow of Christ and His priesthood,. which was established by God’s sovereign decree independent of anything connected with the law of Moses.
Mike