The Five Orders of Priesthood

December 2nd, 2025

From the beginning, God administered His household through a family priesthood, passed from father to son, from Adam through the covenant line (Genesis 5; Genesis 11:10–32). As the human family grew, this priesthood unfolded in five distinct orders, each preparing men for the next. These five priesthood divisions reveal a divine progression from service, to sacrifice, to apostolic ministry, to patriarchal government, and finally to the order of heavenly kingship held by the Messiah. Each order contains further degrees, and in every order there is one appointed to preside. Christ presides over all orders as the true King of kings (Psalm 110:1–4; Hebrews 1:8–9).

The five orders are:

1. Lower Aaronic Order — Purification, Service & Temporal Judgment — Presided over by the Chief Levite or Judge in Israel, governing outward ordinances, service, and temporal matters (Numbers 3:6–10 – “they shall keep his charge… and all the instruments… to do the service of the tabernacle”)
2. Higher Aaronic Order — Sacrifice & Atonement — Presided over by the High Priest of the Sanctuary, administering offerings and sacred rites that prepare Israel for higher covenants (Hebrews 9:7 – “the high priest alone… with blood… for the errors of the people”)
3. Lower Melchizedek Order — Apostolic / Prophetic Ministry — Presided over by the Presiding High Priest, guiding all who hold the apostolic and prophetic commission—to take the gospel to the world and to gather scattered Israel (Matthew 28:19 – “go ye therefore, and teach all nations”; Jeremiah 31:10 – “He that scattered Israel will gather him”)
4. Higher Melchizedek Order — The Patriarchal Order, or Ancient Order — Presided over by the Presiding Patriarch. This is the order by which every righteous man becomes a king and priest over his household, presided over by his own father, who also stands as a king and priest in the lineage of the Fathers (Revelation 1:6 – “made us kings and priests unto God and his Father”)
5. Order of Messiah — The Eternal Royal Priesthood — Presided over by the Messiah Himself. He is the King of these kings and Lord of these lords, the supreme head of the Celestial Family, from whom all patriarchal authority ultimately flows (Revelation 19:16 – “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS”)

The greater priesthoods include the powers of the lesser, yet the lesser priesthoods are never set aside. Their duties remain essential for the instruction and order of God’s family, to be exercised as the presiding officer judges needful.

1. The Lower Aaronic Order

(The Order of Purification, Service, and Temporal Judgment)

The Lower Aaronic Order governs the outward and foundational aspects of the priesthood. It administers the visible ordinances that prepare individuals to approach God: offerings, ritual washings, oaths, vows, purifications, temporal stewardship, and judgments relating to outward conduct (Leviticus 12; Numbers 19:19). These duties establish the baseline of righteousness, teaching men obedience, repentance, and discipline before they are ready to receive the higher spiritual laws.

Although this order is the lowest among the five, its functions remain indispensable. Every higher priesthood order builds upon the foundation established by these outward ordinances. Even within the Patriarchal Order, a father may at times perform Aaronic functions, or delegate them to a priesthood holder within his family, when purification, instruction, or outward correction is required. Yet the Lower Aaronic Order holds a unique role because it can operate outside the patriarchal family structure in ways the higher orders typically do not (Deuteronomy 21:5).

This outward ministry is exemplified in the Levites. They were set apart from the rest of Israel and given authority to administer these ordinances on behalf of the entire nation (Numbers 3:6–7; Numbers 8:19). Their priesthood did not make the whole house of Israel part of their family line; rather, the Levites exercised Aaronic authority for the people, ensuring purity, resolving disputes, overseeing offerings, and maintaining the sanctity of the sanctuary (2 Chronicles 29:11). Their work served families they did not preside over, preserving Israel’s outward covenant obligations while the patriarchs presided over their own households internally.

Thus, the Lower Aaronic Order operates at the intersection of family and community. It supports the internal governance of the patriarchal household while also ministering outwardly to those beyond the immediate family line when necessary. It is a beginning order—essential but preparatory—establishing the outward righteousness required for individuals and nations before introduction into the higher priesthoods.

2. The Higher Aaronic Order

(The Order of Sacrifice and Atonement)

The Higher Aaronic Order represents the second tier of the preparatory priesthood. Whereas the Lower Aaronic Order governs outward purification and temporal judgments, the Higher Aaronic Order presides over the sacred acts of sacrifice, mediation, and symbolic atonement. Its focus is not merely cleanliness but reconciliation—creating the possibility for a sinful people to draw nearer to God through appointed rites (Leviticus 16:3–34; Leviticus 17:11).

This order operates at the altar. It carries the authority to present offerings before God, to officiate in the shedding of blood, to reconcile the people to the covenant, and to invoke God’s mercy upon the nation. Through these ordinances, the Higher Aaronic priest stands as a mediator between the people and God, providing a symbolic bridge that anticipates the greater spiritual reconciliation offered through the higher priesthoods.

This ministry was typified most fully by the High Priest of Israel, who alone entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement (Hebrews 9:7). Bearing the names of the tribes upon his breastplate, he stood before the mercy seat and sprinkled the blood of the offering, symbolizing the cleansing of the sanctuary and the forgiveness of the nation (Exodus 28:29). His work allowed the people to remain in covenant fellowship with God, even though the fulness of spiritual communion was still withheld.

As with the Lower Aaronic Order, the functions of the Higher Aaronic may operate within the Patriarchal Order when required. A patriarch may perform or delegate symbolic mediatory rites within his household when teaching, repentance, or reconciliation is needed. Yet, like the Levites, the Higher Aaronic Order also retains the capacity to act beyond the patriarchal household. The High Priest of Israel did not preside over all families but mediated on their behalf, invoking blessings and reconciliation for people who belonged to other patriarchal lines.

Thus, the Higher Aaronic Order stands at the threshold between outward purification and inward, spiritual renewal. It opens the path toward the presence of God but does not yet confer the revelation, kingship authority, or spiritual dominion found in the Melchizedek Orders. It prepares men—and nations—for the deeper, fuller atonement offered through the higher priesthoods.

3. The Lower Melchizedek Order

(The Apostolic or Prophet Order)

The Lower Melchizedek Order is the first level of the spiritual priesthood. Its ministry is outward-facing, charged with the responsibility to preach, warn, teach, prophesy, and gather. It stands as the authoritative voice of God to the nations, declaring His word, calling all men everywhere to repent, and preparing souls to enter higher covenants (Amos 3:7; Jeremiah 7:25). In this order, a man receives power to administer spiritual gifts, cast out evil, heal the sick, open the scriptures, and reveal the will of God through prophecy and inspired teaching (Mark 3:14–15; 1 Corinthians 12:7–10).

This order is most clearly seen in the ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ, where apostles and prophets are sent into all the world as heralds of the gospel (Luke 9:1–2; Matthew 28:18–20). Their calling is not to preside over family kingdoms or patriarchal lines, but to turn hearts toward righteousness, awaken Israel, establish truth, and organize the saints into congregations where the foundations of faith and repentance can be laid. It is the order of evangelism, miracles, revelation, and the outward administration of the gospel to individuals, families, tribes, and nations.

Though the Lower Melchizedek Order holds great spiritual power, its jurisdiction is distinct from that of the patriarchal kingship found in the higher order. It does not govern households or preside over covenant families. Instead, its purpose is preparatory—creating the conditions in which men, women, and families may eventually rise into the Patriarchal Order. The prophet, apostle, or evangelist brings the word; the patriarch governs the household; and together they establish the pattern found from the beginning.

Because this is a priesthood of proclamation and revelation, it contains within it the authority to uplift any people, regardless of family structure. An evangelist or prophet may teach and bless those of other houses, tribes, or nations without altering their patriarchal line. Thus this order, like the Aaronic orders, can extend outward beyond a man’s immediate family, but with far greater spiritual effect.

A single man, called of God, is appointed to preside over all who hold this order. This presiding prophet functions as the head of the apostolic ministry, ensuring purity of doctrine, unity of teaching, and direction in the worldwide proclamation of the gospel.

The Lower Melchizedek Order therefore acts as the bridge between outward religion and inward kingship. It awakens, gathers, teaches, corrects, and prepares—but it does not enthrone. Its mission is to lead the willing and obedient into the higher familial order, where the fullness of divine governance is revealed.

4. The Higher Melchizedek Order

(The Patriarchal Order — The Ancient Order)

The Higher Melchizedek Order is the Patriarchal Order: the original family priesthood from Adam, preserved and restored through righteous fathers in every generation (Jubilees 3:27). It is not an ecclesiastical calling but a birthright, transmitted from father to son, enabling men to preside in righteousness over their households, posterity, and covenant lines (Genesis 18:19; 1 Chronicles 5:1–2). Its jurisdiction is the family kingdom—the fundamental unit of God’s government on earth and in heaven.

In this order, a father presides over:

• his covenant women,
• his sons and adopted sons,
• and all who enter his family by covenant or adoption.

His daughters, however, do not remain under his priesthood covering once they marry. When a daughter enters the covenant family of her husband, she comes under his priesthood governance and under the authority of those who preside over him. This does not merge the two patriarchal orders; each family continues as a distinct household with its own patriarch. The woman simply moves from the covering of her father to the covering of her husband and into his patriarchal line.

This priesthood was held by Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob— ancient kings and priests who governed their families by divine appointment (Josephus, Antiquities 1.2.3; Jubilees 7:27; Jubilees 12:15–27). Their kingship was not political, territorial, or military, but familial. Their authority arose from covenant birthright and spiritual endowment rather than conquest or election. They governed as fathers, not as rulers of subjects; their dominion was rooted in service, teaching, prophecy, righteousness, and stewardship over a divinely commissioned lineage. It is within this order that the deepest spiritual work of family governance takes place: teaching doctrine, administering ordinances, judging matters within the household, sealing covenants, and guiding posterity in the paths of righteousness.

This patriarchal kingship differs sharply from the kingships of the world—whether ancient tyrants like Nimrod, imperial monarchs like Nebuchadnezzar, or even the kings of Israel and Judah such as David and Solomon (Genesis 10:8–10; Daniel 2:37–38; 1 Samuel 8:6–22). Worldly kingship is political, territorial, and built upon power, force, armies, taxation, and civil authority. It governs strangers, subjects, and nations. By contrast, the patriarchal kingship of Adam and the early fathers governs only one’s own covenant family, never imposing rule upon outsiders. It is not sustained by warfare, coercion, or earthly power but by righteousness, revelation, priesthood, and birthright. Even the kings of Israel—though chosen by God at times—ruled through a civil monarchy, not through the Patriarchal Order; their authority was national, not familial, and often mingled with the customs of surrounding nations. Thus the ancient priestly kingship of the patriarchs stands in complete contrast to the political kingships of the world: one rules by covenant, the other by power; one presides over a family, the other over a nation; one is eternal, the other temporal.

This order is also distinguished by the fact that the highest ordinances that one man can administer to another are given only within this priesthood. No lower order possesses the authority to bestow these highest blessings, for they pertain to lineage, inheritance, covenant succession, and the sealing of generational ties. These ordinances are the heart of the Ancient Order—binding families together according to God’s heavenly pattern.

A single man is chosen to preside over all patriarchs—the Presiding Patriarch—who stands as the father of fathers within the earth’s family structure. His stewardship is not ecclesiastical, but familial on a worldwide scale, overseeing the righteous lineage and ensuring that the Ancient Order remains intact from generation to generation.

5. The Order of Messiah

(Ordained Directly by God — The Eternal Royal Priesthood)

The Order of Messiah is the highest priesthood known among men—the fulness of divine authority, the perfection of kingship and priesthood combined in a single calling. It stands above all other orders not merely in degree, but in kind. Whereas every other priesthood must be conferred by one man upon another, the Order of Messiah is bestowed only by God Himself, by His own voice and His own hands (Hebrews 5:4–6). No lineage, institution, or earthly hierarchy can bestow it.

A man who rises to this order is:

• ordained directly by God,
• endowed with power over the elements,
• a king and priest forever,
• and sealed up to eternal life and exaltation.

This priesthood is not administrative or organizational; it is transformational. Through it, a man receives divine power to command elements, perform mighty works, seal blessings, protect his household, and act with a heavenly authority that transcends the limits of mortality (1 Kings 17:1; 1 Kings 18:36–38; Mark 4:39). Yet this power does not give him rule over the priesthood of other fathers. His stewardship remains bound to his own family kingdom, governed by the order and lineage established from the beginning. Multiple men may hold this priesthood at the same time, each operating within his own appointed sphere.

Although the power of the Order of Messiah transcends all other priesthoods, it does not automatically elevate a man above his fathers. Authority in God’s house is rooted in order, lineage, and covenant, not in personal greatness. Some patriarchs, like Seth, held the same Order of Messiah that Enoch later received; others in the generational line between Adam and Enoch did not hold that order but remained righteous, and therefore Enoch honored their presiding rights. His greater priesthood did not release him from the patriarchal structure established by God (2 Enoch 22:5–10).

By contrast, Abraham’s biological fathers had fallen into apostasy, breaking the chain of righteous presiding authority (Book of Jasher 11:20–39). For this reason, Abraham was adopted into the covenantal household of Shem, becoming heir to Shem’s priesthood line and governance (Jubilees 10:13–14; Jubilees 12:27; Jasher 9:5–6). Thus, the Order of Messiah does not overturn patriarchal order; it magnifies it. Righteous fathers retain their right to preside, even if they do not hold the highest priesthood, whereas unrighteous fathers forfeit that right and are superseded by faithful sons who enter the covenant through lineage or adoption.

Those who receive this order employ its power within their proper stewardships. Enoch used it to defend, preserve, and exalt his family against their enemies (1 Enoch 39). Melchizedek used it to perform miracles, establish righteousness, and lift his family kingdom to greater heights (Hebrews 7:1–3; 2 Enoch 71–73). His faith and power were so great that scripture declares: “Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:20). And there were others who received this priesthood who were not called as prophets like Elijah, but who were appointed to different stewardships according to their family line, their faithfulness, and the will of God.

Through this order, a man receives the promise of eternal glory and everlasting dominion—but always in harmony with the Ancient Order and the patriarchs who preside over him. Christ alone stands as the King of kings, presiding over every man who receives this priesthood (Revelation 19:16; Hebrews 7:24–28). All who hold it are His servants, His witnesses, and His appointed agents, acting by His power and under His direction.

The Order of Messiah does not abolish the lower orders; it brings them to their divine fulfillment. It completes the Patriarchal Order, crowns the Melchizedek Orders with eternal glory, and perfects the preparatory Aaronic Orders. It is the priesthood of the Firstborn Son of God—the eternal pattern toward which all faithful men ultimately progress.

Presiding Structure of the Five Orders

Each of the five priesthood orders has a presiding authority:

• Order of Messiah → The Messiah, presiding over every man in the highest order.
• Higher Melchizedek → The Presiding Patriarch, presiding over all patriarchs.
• Lower Melchizedek → The Prophet, presiding over all who hold the apostolic/prophetic order.
• Higher Aaronic → The High Priest of the Sanctuary.
• Lower Aaronic → The Chief Levite / Judge in Israel.

Authority flows from God through His Firstborn Son and into His family, which is the pattern from the beginning (Ephesians 3:14–15; Hebrews 12:23).