Good afternoon, beloved brothers and sisters present. It is a great privilege for me to be with you on this occasion, to share with you some moments of fellowship around the Word of God and His Program relevant to this end time.
Christ, in Luke, chapter 24, verses 44 to 49, said… This was when He had already resurrected, and they thought He was a spirit, and He asked them for something to eat; they gave Him a piece of fish and a piece of honeycomb, or a honeycomb; He ate before them, and then He said:
“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
And ye are witnesses of these things.
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.”
We have seen what happened there in the days of the First Coming of Christ, where the Program of Redemption, where that which was in the paschal lamb that the Hebrew people sacrificed for the day before the exit from Egypt (and that paschal lamb that each family sacrificed every year), was fulfilled in Jesus; and then, also all the other sacrifices of animals that were offered to God, was fulfilled in Jesus. The sacrifice of the goat was also fulfilled in Jesus, the sacrifice of the calf or heifer that the high priest sacrificed for himself and for the priests was also fulfilled in Jesus. Because every sacrifice for sin was fulfilled in Jesus.
Now, notice when Jesus came to fulfill all those types and figures; because they had reflected in the Old Testament, in all those types and figures, what the Messiah would do in His First Coming was reflected.
But notice, the disciples of Jesus Christ didn’t understand all that had to happen to Jesus; they did not understand that Jesus, according to the Program of Redemption, had to die.
And on one occasion, Peter, when Jesus says that He has to die but then He will resurrect, Peter says to Him: “Such a thing shall not befall you”; because He told him that He had to go to Jerusalem and they were going to take Him prisoner, they were going to judge Him, they were going to condemn Him and kill Him, but on the third day He was going to resurrect; when Peter hears all that which is going to happen to Jesus, He says to him: “Such a thing shall not befall you.1”
If you know that if you go to such city, you are going to have an accident or you are going to have a problem or you are going to be taken prisoner and killed, then the person doesn’t go to that place.
Now: “Such a thing shall not befall you.” He wanted to prevent Jesus from going to Jerusalem; but He had to go to Jerusalem to carry out the Work of Redemption, and it had to be in God’s time; because God doesn’t accept things out of time: everything has its time in His Program.
Think of a man saying in this time: “I am the messenger of the second age of the Church, and this is the Message for the second age.” He came too late. The messenger for the second age has already come and gone. But if he had not come at that time, it was too late to come, you see?, because God has a time for each thing in His Program.
And now, if Saint Paul or Irenaeus or Martin appeared at this time saying that he is the messenger of this time, he would also be out of place. Why? Because they were messengers for the age in which they lived. If they try to be messengers in our age, they can’t enter in as messengers for our age, because God already has everything ordained for our age.
And that is why He doesn’t have two messengers at the same time for the same age, only one messenger. And He has only one messenger for each dispensation; and very rarely has one known of two dispensational messengers.
We only have one or two cases, no more: in the case of Adam and Seth, they knew each other, because Seth was Adam’s son; and in the case of Seth and Noah, I don’t know if they ever knew each other (we can investigate that later); but from then on they were very far apart. At first they did (why?) because at first they lasted so many years that people sometimes saw their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren and their (what else?)… They saw all the… a lot of great-great’s out there, they even saw the fourth generation.
And we don’t know if any of them passed on… because Methuselah lived 969 years, and let’s say that every 50 years one of the children… let’s say, Methuselah’s son got married, and let’s see how old he was when he had his first child.
Before, they didn’t worry, as today young people worry about getting married young and having children fast; before, sometimes they had their first child in their 40s or 50s or 60s, and sometimes they went over 100 years old to have their first child; so they got married maybe not so young.
But in the time in which we live, we don’t live that long; therefore, it is good for young people to get married young, so that they have their children when they are young; and when their children are 10 to 15 years old, they look like their parents or the parents look like their children, young people too, and so they enjoy their family while they are young.
Don’t wait to be advanced in age, because women have until a certain time to have children without problems; from then on they may have some problems; and that is why you don’t have to wait as long as they used to before.
You see, a person who lived 900 years could say: “No, I still have time. I still have time to… I have to work a lot, I have to do my house and all these things”; and they got married, it seems, a little late.
But a person who lived 900 years, getting married at 100 years, that was like a…, almost a tenth of his life. And a person who lasts 90 years, well getting married… Look, a person who lasts 90 years, the tenth part of his life is, what? 9 years. And a person who was at that time 90 years old and was going to live 900 years, he had one tenth of his life; he was like a little boy of 9 years today.
So, comparing the years that people could live, a 90-year-old person could say: “I am still a teenager”, or a child: “I am still a child.”
Well in Isaiah, chapter 65, it tells us that the child will die of 100 years; because comparing 1000 years (which will be the Millennial Kingdom), the tenth part of 1000 years is 100 years. Now, a person who dies in the Millennial Kingdom at 100 years, died as a little child, equivalent to a child of 10 years of our time.
And will there be death in the Millennium? Of course; but not for the elect, because the elect will be in their eternal and glorified body, and will be kings with our beloved Lord Jesus Christ.
But the rest of the nations that will enter the Millennial Kingdom, and will be privileged to enter the Millennial Kingdom, it says that the child will die of 100 years; in other words, a person who has 100 years in the Millennial Kingdom and is not a believer, that person has already finished his life time in the Millennial Kingdom.
And it says that the sinner will die in how many years? At 100 years too. In other words, the sinner, the one who has not repented and converted to God during the Millennial Kingdom, his time ends at 100 years; more time than people have currently.
It’s just that during the Millennial Kingdom, the Word of God will be preached, taught, as Habakkuk says, chapter 2, verse 14, where it tells us that “They shall not do evil in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.2”
In other words, the Earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Second Coming of Christ, the Coming of Christ in glory. And the Earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Second Coming of Christ. And those who during the Millennial Kingdom are not believers in all that which will be taught in the Millennial Kingdom, their right to continue living in that Kingdom, will reach how many years? Up to 100 years.
Now, during the Millennial Kingdom, the inhabitants of the different nations will also continue to have sons and daughters. And we hope that the Millennial Kingdom will be filled and filled even more with what? With Latin American and Caribbean people. In other words, as far as we can see through the Program of God, the greatest number of inhabitants for the Millennial Kingdom will be Latin American and Caribbean people.
And it is for me of great joy and gratitude to God that in the Millennial Kingdom, the people living on Earth, in the nations (in other words, here on Earth), in the Latin American and Caribbean nations… We don’t know what name they will have for the Millennial Kingdom; if their name has to be changed, they will be changed.
Well, for example, the part of Asia Minor we could call it “Saint Paul,” for there are… Brazil has a city called “Saint Paul”3. Why not the territory of Asia Minor, where Saint Paul was its messenger? The city of Saint Paul or the nation of Saint Paul.
Well, in Brazil, they have honored Saint Paul by naming the capital. So what if they named the nation after the territory where Saint Paul was their messenger? It would be to honor the apostle Saint Paul in a greater way, by naming an entire nation after him.
And what if we name the territory where France is today, Irenaeus? And so on.
And perhaps those territories will later be larger, and cover…, and the planet Earth could be divided into how many parts? Let’s say, in 8 continents, and leave the number 8 to us.
And the name of the number 8, well, leave that for us. God must have it already. God has it since before the foundation of the world. But if we were to choose, we would also choose in the same way that God did since before the foundation of the world: we would name each continent after each messenger.
Now, if for the City of our God, what name will God give it? His Eternal Name. That is the name of the City of our God.
So you see, if God is going to give it… or has placed the holy Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem: its name is the Name of God, well, God will do the same with the continents that will be existing during the Millennial Kingdom.
There we have the pattern: in the same way that God makes His City for Him, for the areas and ages are also mentioned by the names of their messengers.
We also have the example in the earthly Israel. Didn’t they give the earthly Israel the name of Jacob, of Israel? And didn’t they give the different areas or departments of Israel, didn’t they give them the name of each one of the patriarchs? You see, God has a way of working.
And now, what about the heavenly Israel? The heavenly Israel, you see, also has great men: the angel messengers of the different ages, from here up to here
Now, we can see that the earthly Israel, the Hebrew people, reflects the heavenly Israel. And if your reflection (when you place your hand like this, in front of a light, and there is a wall there) shows that there are five fingers, when you see your hand, how many will you have? You won’t have grown another little finger on the side: you will have five fingers too.
Now, we can see that the heavenly Israel was reflected in the earthly Israel; just as the heavenly Temple, the Temple of God in Heaven, was reflected in the temple of Moses and the temple of Solomon; and therefore the Temple of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is His Church, was reflected.
Now, we can see that throughout the Scripture we find, we can find our time reflected there, and we can find who we are in the Program of God.
For example, in the temple: the temple has an outer court, it has a holy place and it has a most holy place. And the east gate is where? In the east, and Israel is in the Middle East (in other words, Middle East); and there the Dispensation of Grace began. And in the East, there is the east gate, Jesus Christ our Savior, giving entrance to all who believe in Him as our Savior, to enter where? To the House of God, to the Church of Jesus Christ.
And what was in the West? The most holy place of the temple of God, where the ark of the covenant was, the two cherubim and the glory of God in the midst of the two cherubim.
And in the construction of the Temple of Jesus Christ, we find that the part of the Most Holy Place belonged to Latin America and the Caribbean, which is the one that is in the West, in other words, in the occident. And the promise of Christ in Matthew, chapter 24, verse 27, is that the Coming of the Son of Man will be (how?) as lightning that comes out (from where?) from the East (where the First Coming of Christ was) and is shown (where?) in the West.
Now look at Christ during the different stages: His First Coming was fulfilled here, and He continues moving as lightning, until He shines where? In the West, in the Age of the Cornerstone, in Latin America and the Caribbean. That is where the Son of Man shines like lightning in His Second Coming with His Angels, and that is where the Son of Man as lightning…
Remember, lightning is first, and listen to what happens next: thunder. The Thunders, the seven thunders of Revelation, chapter 10, we find that it is in the Coming of the Son of Man as the lightning shining; and it shines in the West, and the Thunders are heard; and that is the Voice of Christ crying as when a lion roars.
And just as many people, when it’s lightning and thundering they get scared, so too when someone finds a lion roaring, anyone gets scared. Maybe he gets just as scared or even more scared than when it’s lightning and thundering.
Now, we can see that we in Latin America and the Caribbean have had the best part of the Program of God: the part of the West, which is the part of the Most Holy Place of the spiritual Temple of Christ.
Now, throughout the Scripture, we find that there is a holy place, most holy place and we also have the outer court. The outer court is in front, but also on the sides… (Was there an outer court on the sides, Miguel?). There is an outer court here in the front, but the outer court covers the whole temple.
And in Revelation, chapter 11, let’s see what it says there…
It’s just a little greeting, but it seems that in this little greeting something is coming out here that… Let’s give it to you and then… It says:
“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God (remember that it is the Temple of God), and the altar, and them that worship therein.
But the court which is without the temple leave out…”
“But the court…”
Which is the court, Miguel? The outer court. Let’s see:
“But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”
There we can see that for Israel, for Jerusalem there, a very difficult time is coming.
And that also reflects —in the Temple of God— that for the part that belongs to the Outer Court, where the foolish virgins are, which that territory belongs to the foolish virgins, there comes a squeeze that will then become a persecution to death, where the foolish virgins, who had no oil, will be martyred; and that is why they then appear in Revelation, chapter 15, on a sea of glass; it says:
“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.”
And the sea of brass in the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon, where was it? In the outer court.
Now, that crowd belongs to what? The Outer Court of the House of God.
“And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God…”
Why? Because for the Last Day, that multitude that no one could count comes out under the ministry of Moses, which is the last ministry that will be manifested in the midst of the Church of Jesus Christ and then in the midst of the Hebrew people, along with the ministry of Elijah for the fifth time and of Jesus for the second time.
“…and the song of the Lamb (Why? Because the ministry of Jesus will be there manifested again), saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? (Why? Because the Name will be there manifested) for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”
It is for that time of the divine judgment falling upon the Earth, where these foolish or fatuous virgins will die during the great tribulation, because the beast will destroy them, will kill them; but they will die as martyrs, and that is a blessing for them.
And here, notice how Christ shows us the things that will be happening for the people who will be in the Outer Court.
But where are God’s elect of this Last Day? In the Most Holy Place of the Temple of God. Therefore, we will only go through a squeeze; and let’s say, a slight squeeze, compared to the squeezes and persecutions that the Church has had in past ages.
But the part of the strong persecution will fall upon the foolish virgins; because by that time the elect will already be with Christ at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, for three and half years, enjoying that great feast in Heaven.
We will already have our new body, we will no longer have the problems that we have currently; and after the great tribulation here on Earth has ended and the feast of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven has ended —where everyone, each person, each son and daughter of God will be rewarded by Christ, God will give them His reward—, then we will return to Earth for the glorious Millennial Kingdom, with our beloved Lord Jesus Christ.
Now we can see how the Program of God for our time has different facets, but the one that most attracts our attention is the facet that has to do with the elect of God. But everything we can do on behalf of the foolish virgins, we will be doing it too; because they depend on the elect of God.
And it was said that… let’s see here: Page 10-A (we’re going to finish), page 10-A, verse 99, of the book of Quotations, it says4:
“…the very minute that outside denominational world begins to receive this Message, that’s exactly the hour He’s coming. When they—when they went, the sleeping virgin realized she didn’t have any oil in her lamp. And when she come to knock on the door to get it, that was exactly when the Bride went out, when the wise virgin left. That’s right. They didn’t get in (that is, the foolish didn’t enter). No. And them organizations won’t come in. They won’t have the opportunity to, time the message gets around, the church will be gone.”
Now, first, you see, the foolish virgins will have a moment of opportunity: they will be receiving the Message; it says that when the denominational world begins to receive the Message, that’s the time of His Coming.
And when it speaks of the Day of the Lord or the Last Day, it is a thousand years for the human beings. When one speaks of 1 hour of God, one is speaking of 41 years and 8 months.
And in that divine cycle of 41 years and 8 months is where the denominational world will be receiving the Message; it is the time when also the wise virgins enter in with Christ or will be inside with Christ already. Where will they be? Well, inside here, in the Age of the Cornerstone, with Christ; and then the door will be closed, because every person whose name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will have already entered in.
And there are many people in all the groups, whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life; and some are outside too, they don’t attend anywhere; but the Message has to reach them all, so that the number of God’s elect can be completed.
We have a work, and it is to carry the Message everywhere, so that Christ may call and gather His elect in the Age of the Cornerstone, and the number of God’s elect may be completed; and the dead in Christ may resurrect and we who are alive may be transformed.
We have a mission from behalf of Christ, as it was with God’s elect and His messengers of past ages. And now we have seen what our mission is, our work in the Work of Christ, for the number of God’s elect to be completed; and in that work is that we work.
Always, in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, throughout the different ages, everyone has been courageous; they have given their lives for Christ in past ages as well, as martyrs; and they have worked for Christ with all their soul, with divine love…, some more than others. Because although all have been courageous, among all the mighty men and women there are people who are more mighty than the mighty, than the same mighty ones; there are some who stand out more in some stages of the biblical history.
Of all the mighty men that David had, we find that he had the main mighty men; and so it is also in the Work of Jesus Christ.
In every age and dispensation, the messenger of each age is the mighty one of that time; and with him, is the Church of Jesus Christ as the mighty Church, which works in the Work of Christ and stands on her own feet, no matter what the world speaks against her or against the messenger that God has sent to her.
And among all those members of the Church of Christ who are mighty, there are mighty men and women of them who are hand in hand with the messenger, carrying the Message personally and also collaborating well directly in the economic aspect, so that the Work may walk forward every day at a greater speed. Those are mightier than those who stay still, only attending the activities on Sundays and the other days of the week; and they don’t work as much as others who have placed their heart, their whole soul, their spirit and their strength to work in the Work of Christ. Those are the mighty of the mighty; and with those God works things even outside that congregation, in other communities, in other cities, and even in the whole nation and other nations too.
And now, notice, as there were mighty men and women in the time of David, he had mighty men in the time of the different prophets, in the time of Moses too. Joshua and Caleb were the mighty men who stood by Moses and were a blessing to all the Hebrew people; because afterwards the Hebrew people entered the promised land with Joshua, and Caleb stayed with Joshua hand in hand.
Notice, Joshua, that young man who came out of Egypt, then with that young man the people entered the promised land, because God was with him.
See that no matter how old the person is, he can be a mighty man or woman in the Church of Jesus Christ.
Now, let’s always walk forward, working in the Work of Christ with all our soul, with all our heart; and when we are with Christ in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, we will be recognized as the mighty ones of this end time.
And among the mighty, some will stand out as the mighty of the mighty ones; in other words, mightier people than the mighty ones of our age, in other words, with more courage than some of the mighty ones had; because they gave their soul, their heart, all their strength, and even worked not only going personally, but helping so that the Work of God always walked forward. And with such courage we can say that victory is secure.
And not only because there are mighty men and women in our age, but because the Angel of the Covenant, the Pillar of Fire is with us. It is the Pillar of Fire that gives us that courage, which makes us mighty men and women to be with Him and as His instruments in this Last Day.
It has been a great blessing and privilege to be with you on this occasion, making known to you, testifying to you of “THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST” and of the mighty men and women she would have in this end time.
And I say: Saint Paul would have wished to have these mighty men and women that we have in this time; and also any of the messengers of past ages; and even our brother Branham would have wished to have had these mighty men and women that Christ has in this Last Day, in the Age of the Cornerstone and Dispensation of the Kingdom.
Any age would have wished to have these mighty men and women of this time; but it has been given to the Age of the Cornerstone. Any messenger of past ages would have liked to have the group of our age; but it has been given to us.
We have the greatest blessing that God has ever given in any age or dispensation, and it has been ours at this time.
That is why the Church of Jesus Christ will be able to say to Jerusalem and all the Hebrew people at this stage5: “See that I am not dark, for the sun has looked upon me.” For the Son of Man comes as the sun, with His face as the sun, which is His Coming as King of kings and Lord of lords; because the sun is the king star, and Christ in His Second Coming is the King of kings and Lord of lords, He is the Sun of Righteousness to shine; with His manifestation and His revelation, to shine the Dispensation of the Kingdom in the seventh millennium.
Well, we have seen the great blessing that has come upon us, and THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST in her different stages, and her mission in this end time; and we have seen that she would have mighty men and women in this time, as she had mighty men and women in the past.
And now, where are the mighty men and women of this end time of the Church of Jesus Christ? Here we are present, a group here in Guatemala City, in San Lucas another group, and different places in the Republic of Guatemala, and different places in Latin American and Caribbean countries; and also some in other nations and continents.
May God bless you greatly and use you greatly in His Work, mighty men and women of Jesus Christ, of the Son of David!, in this Last Day, in the Age of the Cornerstone and Dispensation of the Kingdom.
May the Angel of the Covenant, Jesus Christ, bless you and keep you, and use you greatly in His Work, and prosper you spiritually and materially also. In the Eternal Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen and amen.
I leave with us again the Reverend Miguel Bermudez Marin.
“THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST.”
1 Matthew 16:21-23, Mark 8:31-33
2 Isaiah 11:9
3 São Paulo
4 “Only Believe” – April 27, 1961
5 Song of Solomon 1:6