The seven feasts in three times in the year of 2015 have begun with the Sacred Assembly of the Passover on April 3 (the fourteenth day of the first month by the sacred calendar). The seven feasts that were established according to the work of Moses are God’s regulations that God’s people should observe. They are the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Day of Firstfruits (the Resurrection Day), the Feast of Weeks (the Day of Pentecost), the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Each feast contains God’s will and its own blessing.

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In the evening of April 3, over 2,500 Churches of God in 175 countries throughout the world participated in the ceremony of the Passover all together, giving thanks to God for appointing feasts to save us.

The Sacred Assembly of the Passover: The promise of eternal life through Christ’s flesh and blood

Around 6 p.m., before the Holy Sup- per ceremony, the feet-washing ceremony began. Jesus Christ Himself taught His disciples the feet-washing ceremony. Saying on the Passover, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me,” Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and asked them to follow His example (Jn 13:1–15).

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General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol enlightened the members about the meaning of the feet- washing ceremony by explaining the history of the Old Testament Times when the priests washed their hands and feet with water from the bronze basin before they entered the Tent of Meeting so that they would not die (Ex 30:17–21), and the work of Jesus who humbled Himself and washed the feet of His disciples one after another. Following the example of Christ, the members conducted the feet- washing ceremony.

After that, the service for the Holy Supper began. Mother gave thanks to Father for bear- ing the pain of crucifixion and establishing the new covenant in order to save the souls who were destined to die forever because of the sins they had committed in heaven. Mother also prayed that all the children would realize the value of salvation granted through God’s flesh and blood and celebrate the Passover holy.

Pastor Kim Joo-cheol emphasized the importance of the Passover through the history of the Garden of Eden recorded in the book of Genesis. Adam and Eve, who were in danger of death after sinning by eating from God-forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil, wanted to eat from the tree of life and live forever, but they could not approach the tree of life because God placed cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life (Ge 2:9–17; 3:22–24). “The reality of the tree of life that Adam and Eve lost is the flesh and blood of Jesus. By keeping the Passover that has the promise of the flesh and blood of Jesus, we can receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life,” said Pastor Kim Joo-cheol. He also explained how the Passover of the new covenant, which had been established by Jesus, was destroyed by Roman Emperor Constantine in A.D. 325. “Because Jesus has come a second time and restored the Passover for mankind who lost the way to eternal life, we can participate in this feast today,” he said. He urged the members to diligently preach the new covenant to people who are oppressed by the sin of eating the forbidden fruit, without knowing the reality of the tree of life, so that we can lead them to eternal life quickly (Mt 13:34–35; Jn 6:53–57; Mt 26:17–28; Heb 9:27–28; Isa 25:6–9).

The members, who participated in the Holy Supper ceremony, engraving the love of Jesus Christ upon their hearts, gave sincere thanks to God and said, “God has given us His holy body and blood to save us, sinners. Just as God has loved us, we’d like to love brothers and sisters as our own body and fulfill the filial duty toward God.”

The Sacred Assembly of the Feast of Unleavened Bread: Affliction on the cross for the forgiveness of sins of all mankind

On April 4 (the fifteenth day of the first month by the sacred calendar), the day after the Passover, the Church of God members around the world held the Sacred Assembly of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, commemorating the sacrifice of Christ who bore the crucifixion for the forgiveness of sins of all mankind. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is the day when Jesus was crucified on the cross according to the prophecy of the Bible. The church members participated in Jesus’ affliction by fasting from the midnight of the Passover until 3 p.m. of the Feast of Unleavened Bread when He breathed his last, according to the words, “The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast” (Mk 2:20).

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At the Sacred Assembly of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was held along with the Sabbath day service, Mother gave thanks to God the Father for sacrificing Himself on the cross to save His children. She wanted all the members to realize the great sins of mankind that caused God to bear the affliction of death and to repent fully so that they would never commit sins again.

Pastor Kim Joo-cheol awakened the members to the origin and the meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and emphasized, “2,000 years ago today, Jesus was crucified on the cross. Let us never be involved in sin by realizing for whom and for what He was sacrificed.” Listing mockery, contempt, and disgrace Jesus went through until He died, Pastor Kim enumerated, “Just as Jesus composedly endured the cross, and was unashamed to suffer for our salvation, let us overcome all difficulties with endurance, remembering God’s grace of redemption” (Lev 23:5; Mk 2:18; Mt 9:13–15; Heb 12:2; Isa 53:1–12).

The apostles and the saints of the early Church believed Jesus’ words: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:10) and followed in His steps, standing fearlessly against all the hardships. The members’ aspiration deepened more than ever and said, “We’ll walk the path of the gospel just as the forefathers of faith did, and find all the souls God treasures more than His life.”

The Sacred Assembly of the Resurrection Day: Living hope for resurrection and transformation

The Resurrection Day falls on the day after the first Sabbath coming after the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Jesus, who died on the cross and was placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, was resurrected on this day, defeating the power of the grave, and granted the living hope for resurrection to all mankind. On April 5, right after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, all the Churches of God around the world greeted the Resurrection Day and attended the Sacred Assembly of the Resurrection Day with joy and excitement.

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Mother gave thanks to God for implanting the hope for resurrection in the hearts of Her children who had been bound in chains of death and for opening the way back to the glorious kingdom of heaven. Mother earnestly prayed that all human beings would fully understand God’s words about salvation and the angelic world so that they would all participate in resurrection and transformation without a single soul missing.

General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol preached about resurrection and transformation on the basis of the records of the Bible. According to the Bible, when God comes with a loud trumpet call, the dead will rise and the alive will be transformed to God’s glorious body, and all will enter the kingdom of heaven (1 Th 4:17; Php 3:21). Pastor Kim encouraged the members to work hard for the gospel, saying, “Let us definitely believe the existence of the heavenly kingdom which is totally different from this world, and make more efforts to pile up heavenly rewards that are imperishable as it is written, ‘A man reaps what he sows.’ ”

Pastor Kim pointed out the non-Biblical teachings about the name, origin, date, and customs of the Resurrection Day, which is widely kept around the world as Easter, and said, “Let us deliver the correct teachings of the Bible to those who follow pagan customs, not having the truth and falsehood distinguished, and receive the blessing of resurrection and transformation together.”

After the afternoon service, Mother complimented Her children who kept the feasts wholeheartedly, and enlightened them about the meaning and blessing of each feast. She said, “Let us give thanks to God for sacrificing Himself to lead sinners to the kingdom of heaven. The way to give sincere thanks to God is to keep the feasts wholeheartedly and obey His will. Let us never forget to give thanks until we attend the glorious banquet in heaven.”

On the day when Jesus was resurrected, He appeared before His two disciples going to Emmaus and opened their spiritual eyes with blessed bread. Commemorating what happened 2,000 years ago, the members ate bread. Returning home with hope for eternal life and resurrection after finishing the feasts that lasted for three consecutive days, the members made a firm resolution.

“The key of the faith, which God awakened us to through these feasts, was love and sacrifice. Just as God loves us, we’ll love our brothers and sisters as ourselves, and preach the gospel with the sacrificial attitude that Jesus set as an example.”