In my book, After the Order of the Son of God: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Latter-day Saint Theology of the Priesthood, I discuss in chapter 1 the Old Testament prophecies of an ordained, ministerial priesthood as part of the prophesied New Covenant, discussing texts such as Isa 56:6-7; 66:18-22 and Jer 33:17-22 (cf. The Biblical Evidence for an Ordained, Ministerial Priesthood in the New Covenant from the Last Supper Accounts).
With reference too those who might claim that such prophecies were fulfilled singularly in the person of Jesus and/or the “priesthood of all believers,” Robert Bellarmine, one of the best critics of Protestant theology in history, responded thusly:
The fourth testimony is found in Isaiah 66:21, “And I will take from them priests and Levites, says the Lord.” This is similar to what we find in Jeremiah 33:17-18, “There shall not be cut off from David a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel. Nor shall there be cut off from the priests and Levites a man before my face to offer holocausts, and to burn sacrifices, and to kill victims continually.” Jerome explains these passages from Isaiah, and Theodoret those of Jeremiah, in regard to the priests of Christ, who will perpetually remain even to the end of the world. It cannot be explained otherwise, since clearly both Prophets speak about the conversion of the gentiles and the building of the Church.
Chemnitz (Exam. 2 part. Pag. 753), acknowledges that these passages should be explained in regard to the priests of the New Testament, nor does he give any other response except that these prophecies were partly fulfilled in Christ, who was the true priest, and succeeded the priests of the Old Testament, and partly fulfilled in all Christians, who are spiritual priests. But neither exposition touches the matter. Not in regard to Christ alone can these prophecies be understood, since they clearly place priests and Levites, nor can they be understood in regard to all Christians, since both Prophets distinguish those who are going to be priests from the rest. (Robert Bellarmine, On the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass [trans. Ryan Grant; Post Falls, Idaho: Mediatrix Press, 2020], 75)
