The Kingdom of God is at Hand – Introduction

Good evening, beloved friends and brethren present, and those who are in other nations, ministers and churches that are connected to this broadcast there in Puerto Rico and in different nations. May Christ bless you greatly, may He open the Scriptures to us on this occasion and may He open our understanding so that we understand. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

For this occasion, we read in Saint Mark chapter 1, verses 14 to 15, and it says:

“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Our subject for this occasion is: “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.”

May God bless our souls with His Word and give us faith with that Word, and may He also increase our faith. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today, like all Fridays, is the introduction to the Bible school, the Bible study of next Sunday. So, I still need to study a lot… I’m on the first page, so we will continue on Sunday; but we will have a brief introduction chat, because Fridays are the introduction to the Bible study of Sundays.

“THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.”

The heavenly Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, which rules all of Creation, is established on the planet Earth in the time of Saul and in the time of King David. In other words, the representation of God’s heavenly Kingdom, on Earth, is the Kingdom of David.

Christ said… I can speak about Christ in the New Testament and also in the Old Testament, because Christ is the Angel of the Covenant who appeared to Moses in that flame of fire, and spoke to him for the deliverance of the Hebrew people. And He told him that He would put His Word in the mouth of Moses, He would let him know what he needed to speak to the Hebrew people for their deliverance. And also, after they were already delivered, He told him in chapter 19, verse 5 and on [Exodus]:

“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.

And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.”

A promise that they would be a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation; in other words, set aside for God, who would live according to the Divine laws that God would give them through the Angel of the Covenant, which is the Holy Spirit, and which is Christ in His heavenly body. That is why Christ could say: “Before Abraham was, I am.” (Saint John chapter 8, verses 56 to 58).

We find that this Kingdom of God on Earth was established: God reigned through the prophet Moses in the midst of the people, but the people were on the move, and God was with the people, reigning through Moses.

They had the political order, they had the judicial order, they also had the priesthood order; Therefore, they were a people with their Laws, which were born on Sinai, where they received the Constitution, which are the tables of the Law.¹

They would enter into the promised land, for the establishment of Israel there, in the theocracy, with the relevant judges. The stage of the judges is the stage of theocracy, where God reigned through a man, a judge.

Then Israel went on to another stage that they asked for, because they saw that the neighboring peoples had kings, and they also wanted to have a king, a leader who was a king.² That was in the times… in the time of the prophet Samuel, who was the last judge who judged Israel and through whom God was reigning over Israel, and protected Israel; and he was a prophet who spoke with God, and God would tell him what he had to speak to the people and even how to carry out wars.

Then Saul was anointed king, at the request of the people, who wanted a king like the other kings from the other nations; so, they wanted a tall and good-looking king, and so on; and God… in His permissive will, He gave them Saul.³

Once he rose to power, later on, he even disregarded the Voice of God through Samuel; because God was still with Samuel, it was a time of transition and God spoke through Samuel; it got to a point that Samuel said that if Saul found out that he was going to anoint another king, he could kill Samuel;⁴ in other words, he even disrespected Samuel, who was the judge through whom God reigned, governed Israel.

Then, when Samuel commands Saul on how to wage the war, he does it differently. He spared animals and things of which God had said not to leave any, and he did differently. God rejected him.⁵

Remember that it’s not what the human being desires that pleases God, but what God establishes by His Word.

Then Samuel tells him: “God has someone else.” Saul was trying to figure out who that person was; because God had chosen someone else to be king.

Jealousy and love of power led to his desire to kill the one God had chosen; when he should have said: “Come, let’s look for him. I will hand over the power to him and remain as his helper; and remain as his father-in-law.” What a good way to retire! But no, he didn’t want to act according to God’s will.

David was a young keeper of sheep who loved God, he was the youngest of the house, of the family of Jesse, he was the eighth son; he was the one that they had doing the chores of keeping sheep; the others were taller than him. And in type and figure, the sons of Jesse are a type and figure of the messengers of the Church relevant to each stage of the Church. Which we might speak about next Sunday, because today we will only be speaking briefly and it’s only an introduction. The first one, well, he represents Saint Paul.

Now, there are great promises in the Kingdom of God. Jews are always good businesspeople, like Jacob or Israel, because there is a blessing for Israel. And also for whoever blesses Israel, whoever helps Israel, whoever helps the Jews, has a blessing from God as well; but whoever curses them and treats them badly, the retribution is that God will return that curse to them. “Whoever blesses you will be blessed, and whoever curses you will be cursed.”⁶

That is also how it is for those who bless the believers in Christ, the members of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the same Word: Whoever blesses them will be blessed, and helps them… Christ says that: “whosoever shall give a cup of cold water to one of these My little ones, shall not lose his reward;”⁷ and the reward is Eternal Life; as well as any other earthly blessing that the person may receive. But with Eternal Life that covers everything there: an eternal future, eternal happiness, and everything there will be in eternity.

Jews always like business; and therefore, economy; and in economy, everything has a monetary value to them. Christ teaches that the laborer is worthy of his reward,⁸ and the Jews… His disciples, on one occasion when Christ speaks about the Kingdom of God, they tell Christ, in the 19th chapter of Saint Matthew, verses 27 to 30:

“Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” (In other words, what will they have in the Kingdom of Christ?)

“And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you,” (in other words, truly I am telling you), “That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration,” (this will be in the Millennial Kingdom), “when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory,” (meaning, sit on the Throne of David)…

The words of the Archangel Gabriel to the virgin Mary in Saint Luke chapter 1, verse 34 and on… or a little before that: Chapter 1 of Saint Luke, verse 30 and on, says:

“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

Christ is the heir to David’s Throne, He is the heir to David’s Kingdom; and in that Kingdom and that Kingdom is what Christ is speaking about when He says: “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.”

And now, continuing in Saint Matthew chapter 19, I will read verse 28 again:

“And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

The promise of twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel: the apostles have that blessing promised by Christ. And the messengers of the different Church ages among the Gentiles, also have a blessing to present to Christ the group of their age: and they will be princes too. Because the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ under the New Covenant is the Church of the New Covenant, the people of the New Covenant, which was represented or typified in the Church of the Old Covenant, which is Israel.

That is why, just as Israel had a paschal lamb, the Church has a Paschal Lamb, who is Jesus Christ: “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” (First Corinthians chapter 5, verse 7).

Now, there will be very important positions in that Kingdom for the leaders, the apostles, to be the ones who will judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

Remember that they always had twelve princes, one for each tribe. Joshua was the prince for the tribe of Ephraim, and Caleb was the prince of the tribe of Judah; and they were the ones who entered into the promised land with the other ten princes; but it was Joshua and Caleb who spoke positively, who gave a positive report.⁹

And now, the Messianic Kingdom will be a theocratic Kingdom. There you have the judges that will judge the tribes of Israel, they are princes. In Saint Luke it also speaks about them: in chapter 18, verses 28 to 30, it says:

“Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,

Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.”

In other words, the blessing for the leaders is great, and also for all the believers, because every believer will belong to the group of the messenger of his age.

The Kingdom of God, when Christ was here on Earth in human flesh, He says It was at hand; and He came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, the Gospel of that Kingdom that was at hand. That is when He began to preach It and they had the King there; the throne was in Israel, the capital —Jerusalem—, was also in Israel and the King was present there; but He had to carry out the Work of Redemption.

That is why the Jews were blinded, so they would not recognize Him; and those who would recognize Him, would then enter into a new dispensation later on, starting from the Day of Pentecost, to form the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, to be part of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Church began with Jews, with Hebrews; and at the Last Day, the Church will finish being completed, and then God will start to deal with the Jews again. Meaning that the connection between the Jews and the Gentiles, back in the time of the apostles: the Jews brought the Gospel to the Gentiles through Saint Peter to the house of the Roman military officer,¹⁰ and through Saint Paul to the Gentiles in Asia Minor. Two men, two great apostles; the two main apostles of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the beginning.

And as Saint Peter and Saint Paul brought the Gospel to the Gentiles, the Gentiles will take It back to the Jews. That is what Rev. William Branham says in the book An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages; on page 36, he says:

“Now, when is the Gospel returning to the Jews? When the day of the Gentiles is finished. The Gospel is ready to go back to the Jews. Oh, if I could just tell you something that is about to happen right in this our day. This great thing that is about to happen will carry over to Revelation 11 and pick up those two witnesses, those two prophets, Moses and Elijah, turning the Gospel back to the Jews.”

In other words, Saint Peter and Saint Paul are a type and figure of Moses and Elijah, of the Two Olive Trees who will take the Gospel back to the Jews. That is why those ministries of the Olive Trees will be in the midst of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ at the Last Day, in the Most Holy Place of that spiritual Temple, which is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Most Holy Place pertains to… or the Age of the Cornerstone pertains to the Most Holy Place of the spiritual Temple of Christ. There is where the Two Anointed Ones will appear. To be able to take the Gospel to the Jews, well, they need to know It.

“We’re ready for it. Everything is in order. As the Jews brought the message to the Gentiles, even so the Gentiles will take it right back to the Jews, and the Rapture will come.”

This means that something great is being prepared by God. And that will take place in the fulfillment of the Tent Vision: when they see the Angel of the Covenant coming to His Church in the manifestation of what Rev. William Branham calls the Third Pull, which will be in a Great Tent Cathedral, which will have a little wooden room, and the same Angel of the Covenant who appeared to Moses in that burning bush that was not consumed will arrive there.¹¹

In other words, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ at this end time has a great promise, a promise of a Divine Visit: the Visit of the Lord, to have the greatest manifestation that Christ has ever had in the midst of His Church, a manifestation in all His fullness. Remember that He comes with that little Book open to claim everything He has redeemed with His precious Blood.¹²

Next Sunday in the Bible study we will have more information about all of this which is about to happen in the midst of Christianity and then in the midst of the Jews.

When we see in the midst of the Church the ministries of the Two Olive Trees and the manifestation of Christ moving, of the Holy Spirit moving in the midst of His Church, remember: “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.”

And, the Kingdom of God, which will physically begin after the Great Tribulation, so the Great Tribulation will be closer at hand; and if the Church leaves before the Great Tribulation, then our transformation is closer at hand.

“THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.” That has been our subject for this occasion, as an introduction to next Sunday morning’s Bible study, God willing.

Tomorrow I will be with you here in the meeting of ministers and fellow workers, which (as far as I understand) is open to all those who want to come; because everyone… How many of you are fellow workers in Work? All of you are fellow workers.

So, I will see you tomorrow, God willing, since the morning; I will be here with you since the morning, and I will speak to you at the appointed time, when it is my turn. And we don’t know if we will expand on today’s subject, on some things, to start preparing ourselves for next Sunday.

Pray a lot for next Sunday’s service, because many important things may come up that we all want to know; because if we have the promises, those promises will be fulfilled.

It’s like… Recently I was seeing, when they screened the documentaries using projectors, we could see the images and letters, but when someone would walk in front of it, then we could see those letters on the people; and that is the important thing in each age: To see what is written, see it written, see it manifested, in the instruments He has for every age. As simple as that.

As it happened on the day that Jesus in the temple or synagogue read Isaiah chapter 61, and He said that He had been anointed to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and stopped there. Some saw and He Himself told them: “This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.”¹³ Those words were written in Him, they were being fulfilled in Him; this means that the Word, the Word was made flesh; that Word was made flesh. That is how it will be at this end time. In the Tent Vision and in its fulfillment we will see all that being fulfilled.

I trust that next Sunday God will open the Scriptures to us more, the promises that there are for us at this end time.

Remember that the cycle of the Church closes in the fulfillment of the Vision of a Great Tent Cathedral, with the manifestation of Christ working in all His fullness. That’s what God will do at this end time.

It has been a great blessing and privilege for me to be with you on this occasion, testifying to you about our subject for this… about our subject for next Sunday, but today we have the introduction to the subject: “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.”

Let’s remember that in the Age of the Cornerstone is when the Kingdom of God approaches.

May God bless you all, keep you, strengthen you, and increase your faith more and more every day, until we have the perfect faith, the rapturing faith; because we want to be changed soon and leave this place before the Great Tribulation begins.

May God bless you and keep you; and continue having a happy evening, filled with the blessings of Christ our Savior.

May God bless you and keep you all.

“THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.”