Good Tidings of Great Joy for the First and Second Coming of Christ

Good evening, beloved friends and brethren present, and also those who are connected through the Amazonas satellite there in Puerto Rico and in other nations, and also those who are connected through the internet. May the blessings of Christ our Savior be upon all of you.

I will take the opportunity to express to you my appreciation and gratitude for everything you are doing for the great project The Great Tent Cathedral, which is being built there in Puerto Rico; and the Church and all brethren there are also grateful to you, and appreciate everything you are doing, those who are present here and those who are connected through the Amazonas satellite or the internet in different nations. I also express my appreciation and gratitude to all ministers who have been working hand in hand with their congregations on this project.

For this occasion, let’s read in Saint Luke, chapter 2, verses 8 to 14. That was when the virgin Mary went with Joseph to Bethlehem of Judea; they were living in Nazareth and had to go to Bethlehem of Judea, because a census was carried out by order of, by a decree from Caesar Augustus. And at that time Cyrenius was governor of Syria.

Each person had to go to the city they were born in for that census,¹ to be registered in their city, and the city to which they belonged, which was Bethlehem of Judea, because they were descendants of king David, and therefore they were a prince and princess; although they were poor (but the title remains in the person despite being poor); they belonged to the house, to the family of David.

And it says that when she gave birth to her son Jesus…, it says:

[Luke 2:8] “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

May God bless our souls with His Word and allow us to understand It.

Verse 10 says: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.” “GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY FOR AND IN THE FIRST COMING OF THE LORD;” and consequently, there will be good tidings of great joy in the Second Coming of the Lord.

Now, let’s examine the order for the First Coming of the Lord. For the time of the First Coming of the Lord, they would be living in a prophetic time, for which God, according to Malachi, chapter 3, would send a great sign upon the Earth, and also in heaven. In heaven it was God’s promise given in Numbers, chapter 24, verse 17, which says:

“I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.”

“There shall come a Star out of Jacob.” This speaks to us about the Coming of the Messiah; and that is why the Jewish scholars studied, as well as these wise men —called magi— who arrived in Jerusalem looking for the Messiah, asking: “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east.”²

They were living there in the land of Ur of the Chaldeans, that land around the area of Babylon; and they were Hebrew descendants who were waiting for the Coming of the Messiah; they were among the people who had been deported, and had been living in those territories for many years, and had their children and grandchildren there, and so on, but with the hope to see the Coming of the Messiah, for they had the prophecies of Daniel, who was a governor in the province of Babylon, that is, in the state of Babylon.

And being a politician, he received the visit of an extraterrestrial (let’s say), who was named Gabriel, or Angel or Archangel Gabriel,³ who brought him a political prophecy: showing him the Gentile kingdom and its political trajectory up to the time of the feet of iron and clay,⁴ which will be broken to pieces, and then the whole statue will be broken to pieces; that is, the Gentile kingdom, along with all that has been left of those former kingdoms or empires.

And the Stone cut out without hands of chapter 2 of the Book of the Prophet Daniel, verses 30 to 45, says that it grew and became a great Kingdom: that is the Kingdom of the Messiah; and the Stone is the Messiah in His Second Coming.

Therefore, it will be a time of great joy for the people of God, the time of the Coming of that Stone in the stage of the feet of iron and clay of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar saw, which represents the Gentile kingdom or empire.

The First Coming was in the stage of the legs of iron, that is, of the Roman empire of the Caesars; and the Second Coming is appointed for the stage of the feet of iron and clay, which is the time of the Gentiles, the Gentile kingdom, in which we are living.

Now, we find that back then there was a promised messenger who had to appear; for which, therefore, he had to be born on Earth.

And now, we see that the same Angel who gave the Prophet Daniel the revelations regarding the Gentile kingdom and also regarding the Kingdom of the Messiah, appears to Zacharias the Priest to speak to him about the promise of Malachi, chapter 3, which says:

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me,” (who is sending him? The One whose way he will prepare), “and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.”

Who will come once he is sent and prepares the way for the One who is sending him? Who will come? Well, the One who is sending him, which is the Lord, the Angel of the Covenant; the Lord, God the Father, and the Angel of the Covenant, which is the heavenly body of God, in whom God will come.

But now, for His Coming, which will bring great joy to His people, He will become flesh; in other words, He will create a body of flesh in Mary’s womb, in the womb of a virgin, as it is promised in Isaiah chapter 7: “Because a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel (which means: God with us).”⁵ Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14.

Therefore, for the fulfillment of that prophecy, there had to appear a young virgin who was a descendant of King David, and therefore of the tribe of Judah, and she would conceive and give birth to that child, who would be Emmanuel, that is, God with us: God with the Hebrew people, and therefore, with the human race, visiting the human race, to carry out the redemption of the human being through the Sacrifice that He would carry out on Calvary’s Cross: as the Sacrifice of Atonement for the human being, to reconcile the human being to God.

A virgin had to appear in whom that Seed of God would come; that is why in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, the promise is that the woman’s Seed will bruise the head of the serpent, that is, the devil.

And now, that young virgin named Mary appeared, who was visited by the Angel Gabriel,⁶ after the Angel Gabriel had visited Zacharias the Priest six months ago, and had spoken to him about a child whom Zacharias would have through his wife; who would be great in the sight of God, he would be a prophet of God.

There is nothing greater in the sight of God than a prophet, who is sent with both consciouses together; and he is sent for a certain time specifically, in which God has to communicate His Word to the human being, reveal His Word to him; “Surely the Lord will do nothing without first revealing His secrets to His servants His prophets,” God says through the Prophet Amos, chapter 3, verse 7.

And now, notice what the Angel tells Zacharias the Priest, who was ministering in the temple. It says:

[Luke 1:11] “And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him,” (and if He appeared to any of you, the same would also happen to you).

“But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard…”

The prayer of Zacharias was to have a child, and his wife was barren and she was already elderly; and since they had gotten married, the prayer of Zacharias was to have a child. But it doesn’t matter how much time passes after you have prayed to God: your prayer has been heard by God.

How long will the response from God take? That depends on God; but the person remains steadfast, believing that God heard him and will grant his request. Because God will grant the petitions of our hearts, as long as they are made in God’s perfect will.

“… and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth…”

This was big news that would bring joy to Zacharias and to his wife Elisabeth, and also to many people, family members, and friends who lived in that territory of Judea, there in the mountains. It says:

“… for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.”

When Mary went and saluted or greeted Elisabeth, the child leaped in Elisabeth’s womb: that is when he was filled with the Holy Spirit even from the womb of his mother, Elisabeth.⁷

“And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

And he shall go before him,” (in other words, before the Lord), “in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Notice, the child that the Archangel Gabriel is promising Zacharias the Priest is what was promised in Malachi chapter 3; and God sends the Angel to give this good news, these good tidings of great joy for Zacharias the Priest and his wife.

And now, about six months later… because when He appeared to the virgin Mary, the Scripture says that it had already been six months since her cousin Elisabeth had conceived. It says in verse 36 of this same 1st chapter of Luke:

“And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren…”

See? She was barren. Now notice what He says to her:

“… for with God nothing shall be impossible.”

Nothing is impossible with God. Nothing is impossible for God to fulfill the promise of the coming of the forerunner, and nothing is impossible to fulfill the promise of the One forerun, the Messiah, either.

At the time in which Jesus was born, since Herod knew that the Savior, the King of Israel, had been born in Bethlehem of Judea, and Herod was the king there in the land of Israel, there in Judea: Herod didn’t want another king to dethrone him. And he commanded that all male children two years old and under should be killed, because he investigated with the magi, the wise men, how long it had been since the star had already been appearing, and they told him it had already been two years.⁸ In other words, according to that date, he then commanded that all the male children two years old and under be killed. And there was great mourning there in Bethlehem of Judea, “Rachel weeping for her children.”⁹

Whenever an important person appears in the Divine Program, there is a sign in heaven, in the stars.

Remember that God told Abraham that his Seed would be like the stars of heaven;¹⁰ therefore, the descendants of Abraham are represented in the stars of heaven.

And the star or stars that represent the Messiah are positioned in a certain way, announcing the Coming of the Messiah or birth of the Messiah; a sign that was understood by those wise men, those magi (also called magi); whom, it is also said, were priests over there in their territory.

Now, we know that before God carries out something on Earth, He shows it, He announces it, in heaven. And therefore, the words of Jesus are correct when He says that there shall be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars.¹¹

These signs must be understood because they say the same thing the Bible says, because the firmament is the first Bible; and then we have this Bible, which is the Word of God, the written Word, and they both say the same thing.

Also, notice that in Revelation chapter 2, verse 28, and Revelation chapter 22, verse 16, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself tells us the following. He says:

[Revelation 22:16] “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.”

Here Christ identifies Himself with the Bright and Morning Star. Every moment that you—if you are someone who wakes up early—look to the East, and see that star at daybreak, that is announcing the Second Coming of Christ daily; and therefore, it is a testimony in heaven from God for human beings.

And when we see the sun rising, after seeing the star, we see the sun rising, we are also seeing the Coming of the Lord, the Second Coming of Christ, there in a type and figure. In Malachi 4, verse 2, it says:

“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.”

When they go forth jumping: they are very happy, very joyful; therefore, there will be joy, because they will be receiving good tidings, good news, which are good tidings of great joy for the sons and daughters of God.

And now, notice how Christ Himself is represented in the sun; here the Coming of the Lord is represented in the sun. Christ Himself said: “I am the Light of the world; he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life.”¹²

To see Christ two thousand years ago in the midst of the Hebrew people and hear His disciples say that Jesus was the Messiah: was news of great joy, of great gladness, for those who saw Him and believed in Him; they rejoiced to see the fulfillment of the Coming of the Lord; even though they didn’t understand some things very well.

They thought that at that time the Messiah the Prince was going to sit on the Throne of David, because they didn’t understand that first the Messiah had to die as the Sacrifice of Atonement for the sin of the human being. They didn’t understand that.

They didn’t understand that the Coming of the Lord has two parts: in His First as Lamb of God, and in His Second as the Lion of the tribe of Judah; in His First as High Priest, and in His Second as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Now, the First Coming of Christ, which brought great joy for all those who believed in Him, was already fulfilled and the Sacrifice of Atonement was carried out; and since the day of Pentecost, the Gospel of Christ, the Gospel of Grace, the Gospel of our salvation, has been preached, for the salvation and Eternal Life of all those who receive Him as their only and sufficient Savior.

Two thousand years have passed since Christ, two thousand years of mercy from God through Christ, two thousand years of the love of God towards the human being expressed through Christ, two thousand years of the opportunity to obtain salvation and Eternal Life: every person who hears the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, the faith of Christ is born in his soul and he receives Him as his only and sufficient Savior; and thus, he secures his eternal future with Christ in His eternal Kingdom.

After the long period of the Dispensation of Grace will come the Dispensation of the Kingdom, for which the promise of the Coming of the Lord as King of kings and Lord of lords, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, must take place; which will be the Coming of the Lord to His Church first, to claim all those He has redeemed with His precious Blood, to raise those who already died, believers in Christ, to raise them in eternal and glorified and young bodies; and for those who are alive to be changed; and then for everyone to be taken with Christ to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

And the Coming of the Lord at the Last Day, which is promised with His Angels, “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.”¹³

He will come to His Bride-Church first, and He will come as a thief in the night;¹⁴ in other words, He will come unexpectedly. People (most people) will not be ready, because in order to be ready one must first receive the forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ, meaning, recognize who the forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ is; who already came.

Remember that there is a Divine order; as the First Coming of Christ was, that is also how the order for the Second Coming of Christ must be.

If there was a forerunner back then, there must be a forerunner at this end time for the Second Coming of Christ; who, with his Message, will be making known to us what the Coming of the Lord will be like at the Last Day.

And there must be a virgin; a virgin, which will no longer be a literal virgin, rather, it will be the Bride-Church, the Virgin-Church of the Lord Jesus Christ; which will be waiting for the Coming of the Lord at the Last Day. Therefore, It must be in the midst of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is waiting for the Coming of the Lord.

And therefore, She will have the visit of an angel-messenger, who would be the forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ; who would bring the creative Word, the Seed Word, and would place It in Her, and She would conceive to give birth to the promised Son.

And then, if we read in the Book An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages, on pages 171 to 172, Rev. William Branham says:

“From a little group of the true seed of the Word, God will present Christ with a beloved bride. She is a virgin of His Word. She is a virgin because she knows no man-made creeds or dogmas. By and through the members of the bride will be fulfilled all that was promised of God to be made manifest in the virgin.

The word of promise came to the virgin Mary. But that Word of promise was He, Himself, to be made manifest. God was made manifest. He, Himself, acted at that time and fulfilled His own Word of promise in the virgin. It was an angel that had brought her the message. But the angel’s message was the Word of God. Isaiah 9:6. He fulfilled at that time all that was written of Him because she accepted His Word to her.

The members of the virgin bride will love Him, and they will have His potentials, for He is their head, and all power belongs to Him. They are subject to Him as the members of our bodies are subject to our heads.”

And he continues to speak about this mystery of the Virgin-Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we have seen that it will be through the Bride-Church of the Lord Jesus Christ that everything God has promised will be fulfilled. She is the Mary of the Last Day.

And now, let’s see here on page 423 of the Book The Revelation Of The Seven Seals, it says in paragraph 351…:

“[351] Not only here, but, the world over, the thing is polluted!

352 And the world, the nature, (God have mercy!) the whole world’s in—in birth pains. The world is trying, she is travailing,’ Isaiah said. What’s the matter? She is in…trying to bring forth a new world,” (a new world), “for the Millennium, where all the…?…Trying to birth a new world, for a new people that won’t sin and pollute her. That’s right. She is in travail. That’s the reason the—the…We’re in travail, Christ, to bring forth the Bride. Everything is travailing and groaning. See, there is something fixing to happen.

353 And this Sixth Plague lets her go. Brother, the earthquake bursts open, and the stars shake, volcanics will come forth, and the earth will renew itself. New lava will break forth from the center of the earth. And she’ll crumble, all around and around and around, when she spins out in yonder.”

All of that pertains to this end time when the Earth is travailing.

And now, the Bride, the Bride-Church, the Virgin-Church, is in travail to bring forth Christ. Therefore, the Coming of the Lord will be a great joy to all the believers in Christ, in the mystical Body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now remember, His Coming will be as it is promised in the Old and New Testament, and also in the Message of the forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ. That is why the Message of the forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ, that is, Rev. William Branham, is so important; a Message that should be in the homes of all the believers in Christ.

They should have the Book The Revelation Of The Seven Seals, the Book An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages, the Book The Seventy Weeks Of Daniel, and also the Book of Quotations (which contains countless quotes from different messages), so that you are prepared, ready, knowing all these things and waiting to see the fulfillment of these promises; and also comparing everything that is preached to what was already promised; because what is preached and also what is being fulfilled and what will be fulfilled has to be according to what was already promised.

So, we must be aware of what has been promised, so that we don’t fail to see and have great joy over the Coming of the Lord to His Church.

There is the Coming of the Lord to His Church, which will be as a thief in the night, it will be for His Church; and there is also the Coming of the Lord to sit on the Throne of David.

There is a three-year time period between the Coming of the Lord to His Church, which will be to give Her the faith to be changed and raptured, in other words, taken with Christ to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb; and then there is the Coming of the Lord with His Church after the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven, and also after the Great Tribulation; and that takes a time period of three and a half years: of Great Tribulation on Earth, and of the great Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven.

But before the Great Tribulation on Earth and Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven, Christ, the Angel of the Covenant, will manifest Himself in the midst of His Church, and that will be the Coming of the Son of man, the manifestation of the Son of man with His Angels. His Angels: the ministries of the Two Olive Trees, the ministries of Moses and Elijah.

That is why in the last manifestation of Christ in the midst of His Church, while He is in the midst of His Church, everything He will be doing will also have an impact in the midst of the Jews. That is where the connection with the Jews will take place, for the Jews to enter into the Divine Program of the Messiah, to be prepared for the Kingdom of the Messiah.

When you see an approach of the Jews, remember: open your eyes, something will be happening in God’s Program; and therefore, there will be good tidings of great joy for the Jews, which will also be good tidings of great joy for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They were good tidings of great joy in the First Coming of Christ and they will be good tidings of great joy in the Second Coming of Christ; for the people who are waiting for Him and will receive Him in His Coming at the Last Day.

“GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY.”

Now, the First Coming of Christ brought us good tidings of great joy, upon seeing and knowing that the Lord came to redeem us; “for the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”¹⁵ In other words, He came to seek me and to save me. And who else? Each one of you too.

He came as Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. He came to carry out with His own body the Sacrifice of Atonement for our sins in order to reconcile us to God, and therefore, restore us to Eternal Life.

“He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” (Saint John chapter 5, verse 24).

Therefore, to hear the preaching of the Gospel of Christ and to know through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ and His Word, the Bible, to know His First Coming, and the Work that He carried out, that is news that brings joy, happiness to our soul.

Therefore, the preaching of the Gospel of Christ is none other than good tidings of great joy for every human being; to know that the Prince Messiah, the Redeemer, the Savior, came two thousand years ago and died on Calvary’s Cross as the Sacrifice of Atonement for our sins.

And now, all human beings have a Sacrifice of Atonement available to obtain the forgiveness of their sins, be cleansed from all sin with the Blood of Christ, and be reconciled to God, to thus receive Eternal Life.

Continue having a joyful evening, filled with the blessings of Jesus Christ our Savior, who has brought us good tidings of great joy, of salvation and Eternal Life for our soul.

Have a good evening, everyone.

“GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY FOR THE FIRST AND SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.”