Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles 2022

In the Bible, there are seven feasts in three times that God commanded us to keep. The feasts include the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Day of Resurrection, the Feast of Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The seven feasts are grouped into three times, and each feast has its own origin and prophetic meaning. Today, there is no church except the World Mission Society Church of God (hereinafter the Church of God) that keeps the feasts of God according to the Bible.

The Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles, the last three of the seven feasts in three times, were celebrated from September 26 to October 17, 2022, at the Churches of God in 175 countries. The members joyfully shared God’s blessings while the COVID-19 prevention guidelines had been loosened.

From the Feast of Trumpets to the Day of Atonement: only those who repent can enter heaven

The Sacred Assembly of the Feast of Trumpets was held in the Churches of God all around the world on September 26 (the first day of the seventh month in the sacred calendar). The Feast of Trumpets is a feast where we prepare for the Day of Atonement (the tenth day of the seventh month in the sacred calendar). The Day of Atonement originated from the historical event that God gave Moses the second set of the Ten Commandments as a sign of His forgiveness as the Israelites repented of their sin after the first set of the Ten Commandments had been broken because of their (Ex 32–34). In the Old Testament times, the Israelites prepared for the Day of Atonement by blowing trumpets loudly as a call to repentance (Lev 23:23–32). In the New Testament times, we offer prayers of contrition for ten days from the Feast of Trumpets to the Day of Atonement.

At the New Jerusalem Pangyo Temple, Heavenly Mother prayed for the children of Zion to receive the forgiveness of all their sins committed in heaven and on earth, through their sincere prayers of repentance, and to accomplish the gracious work of finding all of the lost heavenly family members by blowing the gospel trumpet loudly as a call to repentance.

General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol said, “The kingdom of heaven is a place where we, humans who live a transient life on this earth as a result of our sins committed in heaven, can go when we repent fully. The Feast of Trumpets is an opportunity for us to reflect on our sins and to repent. True repentance is leading not only ourselves but also others to repent of sins. Following the example of Christ, who lived a life of preaching the gospel in order to lead sinners to repentance, let us lead all people to repentance, the way to heaven, by spreading the gospel of the kingdom far and wide” (Isa 50:1; Mt 4:17; Mt 9:13).

After the worship service, Mother encouraged Her children, who were keeping their faith amid deteriorating global conditions: COVID-19, wars, economic downturns, natural disasters caused by climate change, and so on. Then She asked them to confess their sins and preach the truth of salvation quickly to their families and neighbors, planting in their hearts the hope for heaven where they would enjoy eternal happiness.

The members all around the world reaffirmed their determination to achieve true repentance, and eagerly prayed for repentance in the morning and evening for ten days from the Feast of Trumpets. October 5 was the Day of Atonement, the tenth day of the seventh month in the sacred calendar. The Day of Atonement is the day when God’s people are completely freed from sin; all the sins of mankind, which God Himself has carried, is transferred to Satan, the originator of sin.

In the Old Testament times, the ritual to forgive the sins of the Israelites took place in the sanctuary. The sanctuary was divided into two rooms: the outer room called the Holy Place and the inner room called the Most Holy Place. In ordinary times too, the rituals of atonement were performed in the sanctuary, but entering the Most Holy Place was not allowed to anyone because the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments was kept in it. Only the high priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place once a year, on the Day of Atonement, to perform the atoning ritual. Laying his hands on the scapegoat, he confessed over it all the sins of the Israelites and sent it away into the wilderness (Leviticus 16). This ceremony shows the process of the forgiveness of sins: All the sins of the people were temporarily transferred to the sanctuary for one year, and then to the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement. Their sins were all gone upon the death of the scapegoat that had been sent into the wilderness. Prophetically, the sanctuary represents God (Rev 21:22). God Himself carries the sins of His people, and on the Day of Atonement their sins are transferred to Satan represented by the scapegoat. When Satan is judged by God on Judgment Day, all their sins will be gone (Rev 20:10).

At the worship service for the Sacred Assembly of the Day of Atonement, Mother offered a prayer of thanks to Father for having opened the way to the forgiveness of sins and eternal life for His children through His sacrifice, and She hoped that Her children who became clean from all their sins on the Day of Atonement would fully practice love, with faith soaring vigorously to heaven.

General Pastor explained the prophetic meaning contained in the Most Holy Place where the atoning ritual was performed on the Day of Atonement. One of the characteristics of the Most Holy Place is that its length, width, and height are all the same (1 Ki 6:14–20). The heavenly Jerusalem, which Apostle John saw in a vision, is also equal in length, width, and height (Rev 21:9–16). The heavenly Jerusalem represents God the Mother (Gal 4:26). General Pastor emphasized, “We can receive complete forgiveness of sins when we go to God the Mother, the reality of the Most Holy Place, as well as God the Father. Let us give thanks to God Elohim for carrying our sins and sacrificing Themselves as the reality of the Most Holy Place, and urge people in the world to repent.”

Mother said, “You have all devoted yourselves to prayer for repentance for the ten days, and all your sins are forgiven.” She blessed Her children to preach the gospel to their hearts’ content with overwhelming joy, and to fill the rest of their lives with gratitude, forgiveness, and love, not with sin anymore.

The Feast of Tabernacles: The Holy Spirit comes upon those who believe in God Elohim

The Sacred Assembly of the Feast of Tabernacles, the last of the seven feasts, was celebrated on October 10 (the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the sacred calendar). The Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the construction of the tabernacle (Exodus 35–36). The Israelites stayed in booths made of branches and leaves for seven days from the 15th day of the seventh month in the sacred calendar (Lev 23:33–43; Ne 8:14–18). This prophecy is to be fulfilled through the preaching of the gospel, that is, the gathering of God’s people who are represented by materials for the temple (Eph 2:20–22; Rev 3:12). Mother prayed that Her children, who had been cleansed from sin on the Day of Atonement, would bear abundant fruit with the power of the Holy Spirit by preaching the gospel boldly with faith and enthusiasm.

General Pastor explained the work of building the tabernacle and urged the members, “God has given us a great mission to preach the gospel to all nations—to Samaria and even to the ends of the earth. With one mind, let us faithfully carry out the mission to complete the heavenly temple when God commands us to do it and while we still can work (Mt 28:18~20; Ac 1:6–8). He also emphasized the need to have the heart of Mother to accomplish the gospel mission and said, “A mother takes care of her children with love, devotion, gentleness, mercy, humility, forgiveness, and patience. If evangelists are changed to have the heart of Mother and work hard to save each and every soul, taking care of the brothers and sisters, they will all be able to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit and accomplish the salvation of the whole world quickly” (1 Corinthians 13; Col 3 12–17; 1 Ti 6:11–12).

Mother said, “Those who have received the Holy Spirit devote themselves to saving souls. Let us lead the souls who are afraid of disasters occurring continuously, to Zion, the place of salvation, without delay.” Then She blessed them to bear good fruit, saying, “Father will be very pleased to see His children work together to gather the wheat, our lost heavenly family members.”

The members continued to pray, asking for the Holy Spirit, and preached the gospel for seven days from the Feast of Tabernacles. In the heat of the Holy Spirit, the members of every Zion throughout the world preached, and they met the eighth day, the Last Day of the Feast of Tabernacles, on October 17 (the 22nd day of the seventh month in the sacred calendar).

Mother offered a prayer of thanks to Father for pouring out the Holy Spirit of the latter rain upon Their children. She wished that the Holy Spirit would work amazingly enough to surprise the world wherever Her children preached the gospel with faith, just as Jesus said, “Everything is possible for him who believes,” and that the floodgates to the water of life would be wide open and all people in the world would realize the glory of God.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus taught in the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles and promised the Holy Spirit, saying in a loud voice: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water [the Holy Spirit] will flow from within him” (Jn 7:37–39). According to the prophecy of Revelation, the Spirit and the Bride appear and shout to all mankind, “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Rev 22:17). In the book of Zechariah, Jerusalem is prophesied to be the source of living water (Zec 14:7–8). Jerusalem refers to the Bride of the Spirit, God the Mother (Rev 21:9–10; Gal 4:26). This means that in the Age of the Holy Spirit, God the Father and God the Mother give us the water of life, the Holy Spirit promised in the Feast of Tabernacles. Pastor Kim Joo-cheol said, “The precondition for receiving the Holy Spirit of the latter rain is to know and believe in God” (Hos 6:3). He added, “When we believe in God the Father and God the Mother and follow Their will, we can experience the work of the Holy Spirit.”

Pastor Kim Joo-cheol emphasized faith the most. He said, “What we should do after receiving the Holy Spirit is to preach the gospel. Only those who believe can experience the great work of gospel, which is accomplished through the Holy Spirit. If we believe what God Elohim said, ‘The gospel will be preached to the whole world,’ and put it into practice, we will be able to find a path even in the presence of a mountain of obstacles. Now that we have received the Holy Spirit of the latter rain, let us boldly preach the gospel with eyes of faith, so we can witness the miracle of world evangelism, which is greater than that in the early Church” (Ac 2–4).

Mother said to Her children, who had striven to preach the gospel while praying early in the morning and the evening for a week, “You have all received the Holy Spirit of the latter rain.” Then She blessed them to receive compliments from Father by working together in unity to save souls who are more precious than the whole world, believing that they would be able to do it through the power of the Holy Spirit.