In the Old Testament, we read the following promise to the children of Aaron:
"You shall put
the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may
minister as a priest to Me. You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them;
and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, that they may
minister as priests to Me; and their anointing will qualify them for a
perpetual priesthood throughout their generations." (Exo 40:13-15 NASB)
Then the Lord spoke
to Moses, saying, "Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the
priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous
with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My
jealousy. Therefore say, 'Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; 13 and it
shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual
priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons
of Israel. (Num 25:10-13 NASB)
As LDS apologist D.
Charles Pyle noted, the following texts provide further evidence for the
contingent nature of biblical prophecies and promises:
Later circumstances
affected the priesthood of Aaron as stated:
1. Two members of
this line were ended by the LORD for disobedience, in offering strange fire.
2. The line of
Phinehas son of Eleazar ended in the service of the priesthood as a result of
the captivity, and did not continue again until after the captivity.
3. The priesthood of
Aaron was superseded by the priesthood of Melchizedek in the person of Christ.
So much for an “everlasting priesthood” for the line of Aaron.
