Good afternoon, beloved friends, fellow ministers, and helpers gathered on this occasion; it is a great blessing to be with you to share with you, and have fellowship with you around the most important thing, which is the Word of the Lord.
There are great blessings for the Mystical Body of Christ at this end time. It is the time when there are more blessings for the believers in Christ, because this is the time when Christ crowns His Church, and therefore crowns all of His Work.
This is a time parallel to the time of the First Coming of the Lord, the Cornerstone, who, in His First Coming, came among the people who had the Covenant at that time; and His Coming at this end time to His Church —which is the One that has the New Covenant— will be the most glorious but most simple event in the Divine Program; by which He will crown His Church and carry out the Work He has promised for our time, which is promised here in His Word that He will carry out; because God watches over His Word, for what? To perform It.
Let’s read in Jeremiah, chapter 1, verse 4 and on, where it says:
“Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.
Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.”
May God bless our souls with His Word, and perform It, all His promised Word for this end time.
“GOD PERFORMING HIS WORD FOR TODAY.”
Just as God performed His promised Word for each stage of His Program from Genesis until now, we can see that there is also a promised Word for our time, and therefore, it will be fulfilled.
We find that God has sent a person to speak at all times; and not only to speak, but to work on what has been promised for that time; and God has used him. And through that instrument, along with the people that God has united with him, He has performed His promised Word, meaning, He has quickened It, He has made It a reality, He has fulfilled It.
We saw in the past times, of Adam, of Abel, of Seth, also of Enoch… also of Noah: the Word for – of blessing was the construction of an ark, an ark for the salvation of those who would enter in it; the spoken Word of judgement that would come upon the unbelievers had also been spoken.
It has always been that way; in the days of Moses it was also like that, in the days of Joshua it was also like that; there will always be the three groups: believers, make-believers, and unbelievers.
Therefore, the believer doesn’t look at the unbeliever or the make-believer to get discouraged and do what the unbeliever does; or what the make-believer does, who always declares himself a make-believer in the end; meaning that he was with the group but he was like Judas Iscariot, in the end he declared himself an enemy, and therefore an antichrist, an enemy of Christ.
But from the traits seen in him… he even scolded Jesus when that woman poured the perfume upon Jesus, upon the head of Jesus, he scolded Jesus right away, because he said: “This shouldn’t have been wasted; it should have been sold.”[1] And since (if they had sold it) he was the treasurer, he would have managed the transaction and he knew where to take it. And the Scripture says that he would take for himself from what came in; and without permission; because if he had asked Jesus for permission and Jesus had given it to him, well, that would be fine; but the Scripture says he was a thief; therefore, those are the spiritual traits of make-believers.
Reverend William Branham says: “That is a very unique detail: they are always fishing for money”;[2] and well, they always try to stay close to the money.
Now, notice, but that doesn’t mean they’re responsible; because when Jesus had to pay taxes, they came to collect taxes from Him, the one who was there was Peter and he didn’t have the moneybag, he wasn’t the treasurer; and Jesus had to tell him: “Go search in the sea, go and fish; and the first fish will have what we need in its mouth (meaning, the coin or the…), and you will pay for Me and you.”[3] That was the tax He had to pay; and Christ had said: “What is Caesar’s… Give Caesar what is Caesar’s.”[4] He paid taxes for Himself and for Saint Peter as well. Where was Judas Iscariot? He was supposed to take care of those matters.
Now, it’s important to know that in each time God sends His Word to a messenger whom He has prepared to receive that Word; He has sent him in such a way that he can perceive from the spiritual world, he can perceive from Christ in the Holy Spirit in the midst of His people, receive that Word, and then pass It on to the people. He will always hold on to something that he should keep to himself, because it should be for his greater knowledge, things he can’t then make known; he has to keep that to himself; that prevents impersonation.
That is why when they impersonated Brother Branham, it was because they wanted to and they asked him; and he made known to them how the Angel dealt with him, how the Angel told him to do this and that;[5] they impersonated him, they got ahead of him or did the same thing. And then, the people who were supposed to look at what God was doing through Reverend William Branham, then started to look at what He was doing through other people; and that was the problem, it caused a problem; because everyone was called to look to that messenger, because he was the one who had the Message.
And the miracles and signs are to attract the people’s attention, so they realize that God is the One who is on the scene, and then they sit quietly to hear what God has to say, to hear the Message that comes after the signs and miracles.
Therefore, it’s important to understand that the Word – the way the Word comes, the prophetic Word, and also how that prophetic Word comes in order to be fulfilled: It is brought by the Holy Spirit through a messenger; and then, He performs It through a messenger, using another messenger if it’s for another time. If it’s a prophetic Word for that time, He uses that messenger; if it’s the prophetic Word for another stage or age, then the one who comes afterwards takes that Word, and the Holy Spirit fulfills It through that man. And the helpers that God has united with that man, with that messenger, will be with him; therefore, they will carry out a work united in Love Divine. They will recognize that Christ in Holy Spirit is with that man, has called him and has given him His Word.
He puts His Word in the mouth of that man. That is what He told Jeremiah; it says:
“Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.”
That is what was promised in Deuteronomy, chapter 15…
All the prophets always represent, typify, the Messiah, they typify Christ, Christ reflects Himself through them; because the Messiah is always a prophet. Therefore, they are little messiahs, anointed ones, little messengers, but the greatest is Christ; but it’s the same Spirit in the prophets and in Christ: it’s the Holy Spirit.
Now, in chapter 18:15 (thank you, Miguel), it says [Deuteronomy]:
“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall (hear).”
He did not say: “You shall hear the priests”; because in the mouth of the prophet appointed for that time is where God puts His Word.
Therefore, all the prophets who have brought the Word have been like Moses on a smaller scale; but the Messiah is a prophet like Moses: a dispensational one, where the fullness of God is, and therefore, wherein God comes to fulfill His promised Word for that time; and in that manifestation of God in Spirit in that dispensational messenger, He fulfills what He has promised, He makes it a reality; God watches over that Word which He has promised for that time, to what? To perform It.
That is how it was in the time of Moses: what God had promised, that the seed of Abraham would be in bondage for 400 years, but that God would deliver them with a mighty hand,[6] notice, God sent Moses to what? To fulfill His promised Word. He was watching, watching over that Word, to perform It in the promised time, once the 400 years of bondage had passed.
“… unto him ye shall hearken;
According to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”
Notice, that is why He also puts His Word in the mouth of Jeremiah, and He says to him (He had told Jeremiah): “You shall speak all that I shall command you.” And He said to him: “I will be with you.”
God will always be with the instrument that He has to use in each time, because there will always be persecutions against the instrument that God raises up in each time; because the enemy tries to fight against him by using different people, and also different organizations.
“… and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”
Not half. “All that I shall command him,” or what He commands who? The people; but he can’t speak what is for him.
Notice the problem faced by our beloved brother, Reverend William Branham, forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ: with sincerity and good will, so that everyone would know how to win souls for Christ, he made known the secret that he was told not to make known, to keep to himself.
Therefore, at all times there will be things that only the One sent for that time will know.
Look at Moses: Moses held up his hands when they were at war against Amalek (and having his rod in his hand, having the rod of God), and the victory turned in favor of Israel; when his hands grew heavy and he would lower them, the battle turned in favor of the Amalekites. And Aaron and another person: Hur, realized that, and they solved the problem: they looked for a stone for him to sit on… It might be… They looked for a stone. If it says that they brought a stone, well, that’s one thing; but if it says that they looked for a stone, if it doesn’t explain that they sought it and brought it, but that they looked for it, it might be that they saw a stone or they looked for one and took it there. Either one is fine, because it worked, because each one stood on either side and held Moses’ arm up, both his arms up, and the victory was in favor of the Hebrew people.[7] See?
Christ with His arms held up on the Cross gives us the victory.
“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”
In other words, when God sends a messenger for some age, for some stage or for some dispensation, it’s not a matter of the person saying that he won’t hear and that everything will be fine for him; no. Everyone is called to hear. And whoever doesn’t hear, it says: “God will require it of him”; because he didn’t hear the Voice of God through the instrument that He sent, in the mouth of the one in whom He put His Word to be spoken.
And to perform prophecies relevant to that time, he will also take them from the Bible, from the Word that has been given, and he will make them known: “This is what is relevant to this time, this is what God tells me to speak.”
And the words that He spoke through Reverend William Branham, forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ, about promises for the Bride-Church of Christ that have not been fulfilled, will be made known at this time, in order to work based on those promises, for God to perform them, for God to make them a reality.
Because just as God worked through the prophets and He worked —therefore— through Christ to perform the promised Word for those stages… notice, He performed the promised words, the promised Word for the time of Jesus: by filling Him with the Holy Spirit, also by praying or… We don’t find that Jesus prayed for the sick, right? [Bro. Miguel: It doesn’t say that, but He did lay hands on them.] Yes, or He spoke the Word. [Bro. Miguel: Yes. He laid hands.]
And the Scripture said that the eyes of the blind would be opened, the ears of the deaf would be unstopped, the lame would walk,[8] see? All that was promised Word, and that Word was performed through Jesus.
That is why Jesus would say: “If you don’t believe in Me, believe the works; because they bear witness of Me,”[9] meaning, of who He was. Because if they searched what the Scripture said: “Search the Scriptures; for in them you think you have Eternal Life; and they are they which testify of Me,”[10] they testified of the Messiah who would come and what the Messiah would do: He would fulfill what the Messiah was promised to fulfill; even the Messiah’s rejection, and also the judgment and how badly He was treated, and also His crucifixion. But that had to be that way, it was already in the Scripture… it was already in the Scripture.
And if God says that for a time they will not see and they will reject, well, there have to be spiritually blind people for that to be fulfilled as well; because then the people are blind; and the leaders, especially, become blind leading the what? The blind, because they blind the rest.[11] But that is how it had to be, in order to carry out the Work of Redemption and give Eternal Life to the human beings who would receive Him as their only and sufficient Savior.
From age to age, then, Christ through His Spirit has been fulfilling what has been promised for His Church, for His people. He promised that He would pour out of His Holy Spirit,[12] He would send the Holy Spirit —meaning, God through Him— and that is what He did on the Day of Pentecost.[13] He promised that His power would be manifested and that He would be with the believers in Him always, even until the end of time or end of the world,[14] and that is what He has done; and He said: “Where two or three are gathered in My Name, I will be there.”[15] We have the guarantee of Christ, who spoke the Truth; therefore, He has been fulfilling what He has promised for His Church, the believers in Him.
In His Church, which is the Fold of His sheep, will be the born-again believers in Christ from age to age; whom, if they die, will be resurrected in eternal bodies; and if they remain alive until the moment of the resurrection: they will be transformed. Because the promise of the resurrection is for the born-again believers in Christ, and the promise of the transformation is for the believers in Christ who are living at the Last Day, who are in the Mystical Body of Christ; because we are born into the Mystical Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
It is important to understand these things to then examine which is the promised Word for our time; the promised Word, which includes all the things that God will do through the Holy Spirit in His Church and in the midst of His Church. Because just as God worked through Christ Jesus: Christ in Holy Spirit works through His Church; in other words, it will be through His Church that He will fulfill everything He has promised. Therefore, He will have instruments in His Church, from age to age, to fulfill what He has promised in each age.
A messenger with the group of believers of each age, that is the working group that the Holy Spirit will have, Christ in Holy Spirit. And therefore, the hands He will be using will be ours, the mouth He will be using will be ours; and that is Christ in and through His Church, carrying out the Work relevant to the different stages of the Church.
From age to age, God finishes the work in one age, the instruments of that age come to an end, the messenger departs, and nearly all the main helpers depart, the children and the grand-children remain; but God begins another age by sending another messenger, putting His Word in the mouth of that messenger; he speaks that Word, and the group of that new messenger begins to gather.
And thus pass the different stages of Christ in His Church and of the Church with Christ, until She reaches the stage or age that crowns all the Work that He has been carrying out; and therefore, He crowns His Church in a golden stage, which in the days of Jesus was the Age of the Cornerstone of His time, and that is why Christ is also the Cornerstone.
Since Christ is the Cornerstone: the age is a Cornerstone Age, and since Christ is the Sun of Righteousness: the age is the stage or Age of the Sun. So, the stages of the Moon then end with the last messenger of the previous stages; and that messenger —who is actually the Messiah’s forerunner— with his Message, introduces the messenger: the Messiah, who is the Cornerstone to crown His Church —whether of the Old Covenant or of the New Covenant— and those are the most blessed people, the ones who are in that Golden Age.
Christ speaking to His disciples… because they ask Him: “Why do You speak to them in parables?”; but He would explain it to them, when they asked Him: “Explain such-and-such a parable to us.” “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Christ tells them: “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven (or Kingdom of God, of the Kingdom of Heaven), but to them it is not given. Therefore I speak to them in parables, so that seeing they see not, and hearing they understand not, and should be converted, and I should heal them (or save them).” And those are very harsh words, but they are the truth because Christ said them. That is where, Miguel? Saint Matthew…? [Bro. Miguel: That is in Saint Matthew 13], from 11 to 17, around there; from 11 to 17.
Notice, the One who identified and vindicated John the Baptist was Jesus. They spoke ill of John: saying that he had an evil spirit, he ate locusts and not of the sea[16] (he couldn’t eat those either, because of the Law), and grasshoppers, the kind of grasshoppers that are good in the countries where they prepare them and know how to prepare them; in Mexico that is very common and it’s very nourishing; they taste like fried shrimp (right, Miguel?), grilled shrimp. Well, that’s what he ate, and wild honey; and he would bathe in the river when he was baptizing, he would automatically end up bathed, and he would bathe with his clothes on; and his clothes were made of camel hair (the Scripture says so, right Miguel?), with a leather belt as well.[17]
So, when they ask Him… Notice, not even the disciples of Jesus knew that John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Messiah.
And when Jesus comes down Mount Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John, who see Him transfigured, that is the vision of what the Coming of the Lord will be with His Angels, with Moses and Elijah, with the Two Olive Trees. “For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His Angels, and then He shall reward every man according to his works.” Saint Matthew 16, verses 26 to 28.
And in chapter 17, He takes them… because He says: “There are many standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the Son of Man coming in the glory of His Father.”
[Verse] 28… from 27 and on, it says, 27 to 28 of Saint Matthew chapter 16:
“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”
And therefore, everyone was awaiting the Coming of the Kingdom for Jesus to be established on the Throne of David. That is why in chapter 19, verse 11 and on, of Saint Luke, they thought the Kingdom of God would come in those days.
On one occasion, when He multiplied the loaves and the fish, on one of those occasions in which… (He did it twice),[18] on different occasions, some… (it was around the area of Galilee, around there), some thought of taking Him and crowning Him, but He went away to pray; He stood them up in terms of those plans, because that was not God’s Plan for that time. God’s Plan for that time was that they would crown Him with a crown of thorns. See? And He went to pray.
But they still thought that the Kingdom would begin in those days, because seemingly the Coming of the Messiah —which is twofold: First and Second— seemed to be only one. They didn’t think It had two parts, and they thought the Kingdom would be established at that time. Once Jesus resurrected, there would be greater support for that plan of crowning Him and establishing the Kingdom of God on Earth, which would be the restoration of the Kingdom of David; and they ask Jesus in the book of Acts, chapter 1: “Will You at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel?” The restoration of the Kingdom. If it says: “Will You restore…” that is because they already had it and lost it. And now they ask if He will restore it; which is the Kingdom of David.
The Angel Gabriel told the virgin Mary, speaking to her about the child she would have, that He would be called Son of God, Son of the Highest (Saint Luke, chapter 1, verses 30 to 36), and He tells her the name she must give Him: Jesus or Yeshua, which is ‘Savior,’ and He tells her that God will give Him the Throne of His father David, and He shall reign over Israel forever.
See? That is the Kingdom that they were expecting would be restored, but that is for the end time, for the Last Day or the seventh millennium since Adam or third millennium since Christ; and that is in the Coming of the Lord to Israel, after the great tribulation, when He comes with His Church at the end of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb; He comes with His mighty heavenly Army, because we will all already be in glorified bodies, just like the body of Christ, and with all the power of God in each believer.
But the Coming of the Lord to His Church is not the same as the Coming of the Lord to the Jews after the great tribulation; those are two different things. Therefore, when the Coming of the Lord is spoken about, it says that He will come as a thief.[19]
Does a person who gets robbed know when the thief is going to rob him? And whenever he comes, he comes looking for something. That is why Christ comes as a thief, because He comes looking for His Church, for His Bride.
Like the case of Juliet (and who else?) and Romeo: he sets up a ladder and that’s how he brings her out. And now, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is in the form of a ladder, from stage to stage, and Christ goes up; and when He is at the top, that is where He takes Her.
And there, in chapter 22 of Genesis, verse 11 and on, up to 29 or so, or 30, when Jacob dreamt, he saw a ladder that was set up on Earth, and the top touched or reached Heaven; and God was at the top, who spoke to him and identified Himself to him. And in Saint John, chapter 1, verse 51, Christ speaks about the same thing.
And now, we must be aware of where those who are going to be transformed at the Last Day must be: in the Mystical Body of Christ. And those who will be resurrected had to be where? First they had to be in the Mystical Body of Christ at the time in which they were given to live. If they were not there, the people or those who were not there in the Mystical Body of Christ in the age in which they were given to live: there is no first resurrection for them, they don’t form part of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ; they stay for the second resurrection, which is a resurrection to go to Judgment Day. And then one can see what the result will be for them there; and we will see it, because the believers in Christ are the judiciary of the Kingdom of Christ.
Saint Paul said in First Corinthians, chapter 2… or chapter 6 or so, chapter 6 [verse 2]: “Don’t you know that the saints shall judge the world, and even the angels?”; because that is the judiciary of Christ, the judicial power. And the saints have been made kings and priests, therefore, they will be the ones who will reign with Christ.
And in the parable of the Lord giving pounds to those who did things right,[20] He will give some people this many pounds, He will give others that many pounds, according to what they did; meaning, He will give them – they earned pounds, and He will give them cities: “Reign over this many cities.”
A person who rules over this many cities, would be considered a governor reigning in a state; but if he reigns over the whole country, then he is the president of the country; and if he reigns over the whole world, then that is Christ.
All those kings will reign under the crown of Christ. Like in past times (and some still exist, there are still some in our time), in past times, kings of different countries reigned under the crown either of England, or of Spain, or of some other country.
Israel has been waiting for the Millennial Kingdom for some millennia now; but everything has its time, the Scripture says;[21] we must know the time. And notice, now we understand that it’s for the seventh millennium; the disciples back then didn’t know it, but now it’s known. And we know it was not for those times, why? Because it was not established. If it had been for those past times or for one of the Church ages, it would have been established.
It is for the Last Day, when the resurrection of the dead in Christ will also happen; and Christ Himself said so: “And I will raise him up at the Last Day.” Saint John, chapter 6, verses 39 to 40, and chapter 6, verses 40 to 58; and one can continue to see from there.
Everything that is promised will be for the time of the Last Trumpet, or the Trumpet of God, or Great Voice of Trumpet: First Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 49 to 58; First Thessalonians, chapter 4, verses 11 to 18; and Philippians, chapter 3, verses 20 to 21. And you can search for the rest; because if we don’t leave you something to search for, then you won’t master the Scriptures and the promises relevant to our time. And by studying, you will find many things that will be very beneficial to you, in order to be well founded in the promises relevant to our time, and to work so that they are performed by the Holy Spirit using the members of His Church of this end time.
Reverend William Branham, speaking of our time said that the power of God will be poured out, manifested in His Bride-Church, like never before;[22] and if it will be like never before, then it is sure to be very great. But everything has its order as well, its time; the times and the seasons, the ages and the dispensations, and the territories as well.
In the continent of the Americas, which pertains to the West, there, for that territory, there is a promised Word for God to perform at this end time.
He already performed the one relevant to North America under the seventh age; He even had a forerunner for the Second Coming of Christ, just like God sent a forerunner for the First: John the Baptist.
The disciples of Jesus Christ didn’t even know that John was the forerunner; because when they came down the mountain, having potentially seen the Coming of the Lord with His Angels, they then ask Jesus: “Lord, why do the scribes say that Elijah must first come?” Christ tells them (Saint Matthew, chapter 17, verse 1 to 13 – or verses 10 to 13): “Elijah truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elijah has come already, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed. And then they understood that He was speaking to them of John the Baptist.”
But He had already told them in chapter 11, verses 9 and on: “This is he…” Verse 7 and on says [Matthew]:
“And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
The least of the Mystical Body of Christ, of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ (who are the members of the Kingdom of Heaven), is greater than John the Baptist; because John the Baptist, being under the Law, pertains to the servants of God; and the members of the Kingdom of Heaven, which are the members of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, pertain to God’s sons and daughters. And what is greater: a servant or a son? A son is greater; the children are the heirs. Therefore, John the Baptist had a very high position, but the least of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is greater than John.
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.”
And some think that no other prophet would come after John; but Jesus was greater than John, and He was a prophet.
And then in Corinthians, and in Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 11… (in Corinthians, I don’t remember the citation well, if it’s in chapter 11 or so), it tells us that God has placed in His Church apostles… (4:11, Miguel says; of Corinthians, of First Corinthians). [Bro. Miguel: Ephesians 4:11] Oh, it’s Ephesians 4:11. (First Corinthians is the one I don’t have on hand.) God has placed in His Church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. And how can someone say that there will be no more prophets, if Christ Himself says so?
Now, the Law and the prophets were until John, that’s as far as the Old Testament went. Christ fulfilled the entire Old Testament, all the types and figures; sacrifices were offered until Christ, because with His Sacrifice Christ fulfilled everything typified by those animal sacrifices; Christ fulfilled all of the Law, all of the Law was fulfilled in Him.
First Corinthians, did you find it? 12:28 of First Corinthians. (It’s enough to give you one, you can look for the rest.)
[Bro. Miguel: In Matthew 23:34 He prophesied that He was going to send prophets, teachers; He was going to send… […] wise men, He was going to send wise men and scribes and prophets.]
Yes. Matthew 23…
[Bro. Miguel: In Matthew 23:34.]
Matthew 23:34:
“Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
In other words, they will not see Him until the Second Coming of Christ. Or in plain words: “You will not see Me until two thousand years have passed. You will see Me two thousand years from now.” And He is referring to Jerusalem.
Those people of that time died; but those of the end time will see His Coming, and they will say: “This is the One we are looking for.” He was there back then, they didn’t receive Him; now they have been seeking Him for two thousand years. But He must be sought according to what is promised in the promised Word for the relevant time. “They will see Him (book of The Seals page 57 [“The Breach Between The Seven Church Ages and The Seven Seals,” p. 70 in Eng.]), but He comes for His Church.”
When they see Him coming for His Church, that’s one thing; and then when they see Him after the great tribulation coming with His Church to establish the Kingdom, it will be different then. But when He comes for His Church, He comes… Though He is the Angel of the Covenant, the Messenger to Israel, but He doesn’t come for Israel; He comes for His Church first.
These are the children of God, the children of the Kingdom. “And whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, the least of these My brethren, will in no wise lose his reward.”[23] But anyone who makes them stumble, who causes them trouble, then that person will be in trouble. Even if they are hungry and they don’t feed them, or a cup of water if they are thirsty, all of that has a positive or negative reward, a blessing or a curse; it depends on the attitude of the person who had the opportunity to do something for one of the members of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and didn’t do it.
And also those who have done good or evil to Israel, they will also have either a blessing or a curse. But above all, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is the one with the greatest blessing: She has the Birthright Blessing.
That is why the Scripture says that they are the firstborn written in Heaven, in the Lamb’s Book of Life. That’s around chapter 13, verses 6 to 8 of Revelation; and around 16 or 17 of Revelation, verses 6 to 8 as well. They will not worship the beast nor his image; they have their names written in Heaven, in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Hebrews, chapter 12, verses 22 to 24, also speaks of the children of God: “We have not come to the mount that might be touched, but you have come to Mount Zion, to the City of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the firstborn written in heaven…”
“To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect…”
A spirit made perfect is already a theophanic heavenly spirit, of the sixth dimension, which is what the members of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ have. Because when a person is born he receives a spirit of the world, but by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Christ gives him the Spirit of God, and therefore, it is a perfect spirit, a perfect heavenly body; but we won’t go into that in depth now. It says:
“And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”
And since we touched on this subject, let’s look at Revelation, chapter 22, verse 6:
“And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets (those theophanic, heavenly spirits) sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.”
Revelation 22, verse 16, says:
“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”
Reverend William Branham says that this is a spirit of a prophet, and he tells us: “It might have been Elijah (meaning, Elijah in his heavenly body manifesting himself at the end time), or it might have been one of the prophets; we know that this Angel of the Lord is a prophet.”[24] And if the forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ says so, I don’t dare say otherwise, because I would be contradicting the forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ. I only say one thing: Amen! So it is!
All those great promises that there are: “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My Throne…” that is Revelation, chapter 3, verse 20 to 21.
“He that overcomes, to him will I give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers; and I will give him the Bright and Morning Star (the Morning Star).” Revelation, chapter 2, verses 26 to 28.
And Jesus says: “I am the Bright and Morning Star.” Revelation, chapter 22, verse 16: “I am the Bright and Morning Star.” So, He will give him the Bright and Morning Star.
“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”
The Overcomer will be given the Presence of Christ. Christ, the Angel of the Covenant, in Holy Spirit, is the Bright and Morning Star, the Pillar of Fire, the Seal of the living God.
And there is an Angel (Revelation 7) who comes with the Seal of the living God, he comes with the Pillar of Fire, he comes with the Holy Spirit, he comes with the Bright and Morning Star, shining through the one who comes with the Seal of the living God; and therefore, he comes to call and gather together 144,000 Hebrews, 12,000 of each tribe.
And Christ is also the Sun of Righteousness of Malachi, chapter 4, verse 2:
“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with (salvation) healing in his wings…”
Christ is promised in His Second Coming as the Bright and Morning Star and as the Sun of Righteousness. In other words, He will be seen first as the Star and then as the Sun: first, seen as a messenger, and then as the Sun, as the Messiah. That has its process, its time; and not much detail is given about that so that there is no impersonation, where the enemy gets into or sends those evil spirits to people, and they get in to try to impersonate; because the devil has always been impersonating.
He has done so in the ages, Reverend William Branham says, and that is why he was told: “You are not going to say anything about what you saw (in the little room), you are not going to speak anything,”[25] and he was forbidden to open or make known the mystery of the Seventh Seal.
That will be opened to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ at the Last Day; the Thunders, the Voice of Christ will open it; and, thus, give Her the faith to be transformed and taken with Christ to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb; that is where the faith to be transformed and raptured is. And only the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ will have that, those who will be transformed and taken with Christ to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Therefore, God will perform all that promised Word, by making It a reality for and in the midst of His Church. And we are going to see that clearly in the fulfillment of the Third Pull, in the fulfillment or realization of the Tent Vision. It is a promise, and it has to become a reality.
Page 120 of the book of Quotations, paragraph 1068, says[26]:
1068 – “138 Now, that great gift! Others I’ve tried to explain and say how it was done.”
See? “And say how it was done.” That, in the time of Moses, Moses couldn’t say how that gift operated: that he could lift up his hands, and the battle would turn in favor of Israel; or that he could call every plague, and it would come to pass; or turn the waters into blood, or how to part the Red Sea.
1068 – “[138] This can’t be explained. Just wait. It will not be in operation so perfectly now. Wait till that Council of Churches brings on that persecution, that’s when it will happen. That’s the reason I come back among you, to pray for the sick. I have never had but one thing that He ever told me in my life that I know that hasn’t happened yet, that some sort of a building or a tent where there will be a little building setting and I’d have to go into that and pray for the sick. That hasn’t happened yet as far as I know. That’s the only thing that I know.”
And he literally believed it, he tried to make it a reality; because it must become a reality by using people. And since he was the messenger for that time, if he fulfilled it at that time, it had to be through him, with the people of his age; then they would have had to work with him to make that promise a reality.
There is another Scripture, another place, where he speaks, in the year ‘65. This was in the year ‘64, the subject is: “His Unfailing Words Of Promise.” There is also another place, from the year ‘65, but I didn’t find that one, and I took a bit of time to look for it; but since this is not the book that I use, it’s borrowed, well, I don’t have it annotated like mine.
So, there are great promises, a promised Word that must be fulfilled. Part of It was already fulfilled under the ministry of Reverend William Branham in the seventh age and in the breach that there was between the seventh age and the Age of the Cornerstone; and there is a lot of Word left for our time.
Everything that is taking place is a promised Word that is being fulfilled, that is being performed; and the Work is a Work of faith.
God has always been with the Word that is promised for each time, with the messenger and with the people who are with Him. God has been in Holy Spirit, the Angel of the Covenant in His Church: “I will be with you always, even unto the end of the world.” And “where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there will I be,” Christ says.
Therefore, it is important to be aware of “GOD PERFORMING HIS WORD FOR TODAY.”
Therefore, we study, we see what has been promised in the Bible and what has been spoken by Reverend William Branham for our time; things that were not fulfilled in the time of Reverend William Branham must be fulfilled in our time.
That is why we must have our eyes wide open, so that we don’t miss a single promise being fulfilled; and for that, we must search and see which ones they are, so that we can be there: working, being part of it, being instruments of Christ for the fulfillment of that promise.
Around page 186 to 190 [pp. 171-175 in Eng.] of the book of The Ages, it tells us that God will carry out everything through His Church. Therefore, He will have the instruments from age to age, to work through those instruments; that is through the messenger along with the Church group of each age; this is how He worked in each age.
“GOD PERFORMING HIS WORD FOR TODAY.”
You make the list of the things promised for today, and then next to it write: “This one has already been performed, it was already fulfilled; this other one is in the process of being fulfilled; this other one is being fulfilled, is in the process of fulfillment or being fulfilled these days; this other one, though it’s for later on, it will also be fulfilled,” like the resurrection and transformation, and the Tent Vision, and everything He will do according to His promised Word when the Tent Vision is being fulfilled; which, we don’t know if He will start by fulfilling… He always starts by fulfilling what is first, and then it keeps increasing and increasing until everything is fulfilled; therefore, He is the One who knows how the fulfillment of the Tent Vision will begin.
That is why we work on the project that Puerto Rico has, supporting it, because there is a great blessing for Christianity, there is a great blessing for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And our labor is not in vain in the Lord[27]: He will reward every man according to his work;[28] He promised that.
In other words, a person who did nothing can’t come and stand up and say: “What we’ve done,” with a picture, in the fulfillment of the Tent Vision, without having done anything (because there are people like that too); and say: “Now I do believe;” but he didn’t store anything among the treasures of the Kingdom of Heaven, instead now he would be seeking benefits without having done anything.
He is like the one who only had one talent, he did nothing, he didn’t use it, and now he comes to give it back to the Lord.[29]
But let’s leave that alone, because everyone here is working in the Work of the Lord around the promised Word for our time; and success is already prophesied. And that is good: to be aware that God has said that we will obtain the victory.
“Be strong and of a good courage, don’t be dismayed.” He has promised to be with us as He was with Joshua and as He was with Moses; and He will be with us as He was with Reverend William Branham. “Only be strong and very courageous.”
When He says: “And of a good courage,” that’s one thing; “and very courageous,” that means the battle is fierce, the fight is fierce, but it will be accomplished. “I will be with you (He tells Joshua), and no one will be able to stand before you.”[30] So, we have the Angel of the Covenant, Christ, on our side.
Continue having a happy afternoon, filled with the blessings of Christ our Savior.
And we will see each other, when, Miguel? [Bro. Miguel: at 6:00.] In the morning or the evening? [Bro. Miguel: At 6:00 in the evening. It’s 5:00 now.] Where? When? [Bro. Miguel: In another hall.] Oh, tomorrow? [Bro. Miguel: No, today.] Today? Oh, well, you are more informed than I am. I had forgotten that we were coming back today. And tomorrow? At 10:00 in the morning, tomorrow.
And those who arrive first get the best seats, right? Well, don’t expect someone to save you a seat, because people are coming from different places, so… I will try to come early too; I arrived a little late today, but I will try to come early tomorrow so I can study, before it’s my turn to speak.
May God bless you, and may God use you greatly in His Work at this end time.
I leave Missionary Miguel Bermúdez Marín with you to continue.
“GOD PERFORMING HIS WORD FOR TODAY.”
[1] John 12:1-8
[2] Quotations, p. 116, para. 1030: 63-1124E – “Three Kinds Of Believers,” pp. 25-26, paras. 194, 200
[3] Matthew 17:24-27
[4] Matthew 22:21
[5] Quotations, p. 12, para. 97: Full Gospel Business Men’s Voice Magazine, Vol. IV, No. 2, March 1956, pp. 11-14 / 56-0219 – “Being Led Of The Holy Spirit,” p. 7, para. 19
[6] Genesis 15:13-16
[7] Exodus 17:8-13
[8] Isaiah 35:5-6
[9] John 10:25, 10:37-38
[10] John 5:39
[11] Matthew 15:14
[12] Joel 2:28-29
[13] Acts 2:1-4
[14] Matthew 28:20
[15] Matthew 18:20
[16] Dr. Soto is using a play on words given that the word langosta in Spanish can refer either to locusts or lobsters —Ed.
[17] Matthew 3:4, Mark 1:6
[18] Feeding of the five thousand: Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-13 / Feeding of the four thousand: Matthew 15:32-38, Mark 8:1-9
[19] 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 16:15
[20] Luke 19:11-27
[21] Ecclesiastes 3:1
[22] Quotations, p. 119, para. 1057: 63-1229E – “Look Away To Jesus,” pp. 5-6, paras. 38-39
[23] Matthew 10:42, Mark 9:41
[24] Quotations, p. 41, para. 330: 60-1204M – “The Revelation of Jesus Christ,” p. 15, paras. 108-110
[25] The Seals, “The Seventh Seal,” p. 548, paras. 296-299
[26] Quotation 1068: 64-0120 – “His Unfailing Words Of Promise,” p. 17, para. 138
[27] 1 Corinthians 15:58
[28] Romans 2:6
[29] Matthew 25:24-30
[30] Joshua 1:5-9