The Sacred Assemblies of the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles 2020

The autumn feasts, which the people of Zion who are promised through the feasts of God had been waiting for, began on September 18. From the Feast of Trumpets to the Day of Atonement, that is, from the first to the tenth day of the seventh month by the sacred calendar, as well as during the Feast of Tabernacles which was held from the fifteenth to the twenty-second day of the seventh month by the sacred calendar, the Church of God members in 175 countries kept worship services onsite or online, depending on the situation of COVID-19 in each country.

The Feast of Trumpets–the Day of Atonement: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”

Origins of the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement

The Feast of Trumpets is the feast to prepare for the Day of Atonement. After the Exodus, God called Moses to come up Mount Sinai, and gave him the Ten Commandments. But in the meanwhile, the Israelites worshiped an idol of a golden calf, whereupon Moses was so enraged that he hurled down and shattered the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. As the people stripped off their ornaments and repented of their sins with their whole heart and mind, God commanded Moses to come up Mount Sinai again to receive the Ten Commandments. On the tenth day of the seventh month by the sacred calendar, Moses came down the mountain with the second set of the Ten Commandments, and this day was called the Day of Atonement. The high priest entered the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement. On the Day of Atonement, all the sins of the people were handed over to the scapegoat by the high priest’s laying both hands on the goat; the scapegoat was then sent to a solitary place in the desert. The first day of the seventh month by the sacred calendar, ten days before the Day of Atonement, is the Feast of Trumpets when the Israelites were urged to repent with a trumpet blast. In the New Testament times, the church members keep early morning and evening worship services during the Prayer Week from the Feast of Trumpets to the Day of Atonement.

On this year’s Feast of Trumpets celebrated on September 18, General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol reminded the church members through online sermons that the Feast of Trumpets is the feast to prepare for the Day of Atonement and that its main theme is repentance. Being tempted by Satan, all people sinned in Heaven and were cast down to this earth, and they can return to Heaven when they repent of their sins and obey all the words of God. When Christ came to this earth, the very first thing He did was to urge people to repent, and He opened the way to Heaven by establishing the New Covenant at the Holy Supper of the Passover through the bread and wine that represent His flesh and blood and by giving the forgiveness of sins to those who repent. At the Holy Supper of the Passover, Christ gave us a new commandment, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” The New Covenant, which is the new commandment, is Christ’s love and sacrifice. “Let’s repent of our sins and practice God’s love from today, thinking of Christ who endured all the pain, shame, insult, and suffering on the cross to save us, sinners,” said General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol (Lev 23:23–25; Eze 18:30–32; Ps 7:12; Isa 14:12–15; Eze 28:11–18; Lk 5:32; 1 Jn 3:4–8; Mk 1:15; Lk 22:7–20; Mt 20:26–28; Isa 53; Jn 13:34–35; Ro 8:35–39; 12:10–21; 13:10; 1 Co 13:1–3; 16:14; 1 Jn 4:11–21).

For ten days, every early morning and evening, the church members devoted themselves to prayer, repenting and confessing of their sins. The Prayer Week ended, and came the Day of Atonement on September 27. In the morning of the Day of Atonement, only a small, fixed number of members attended the onsite worship with Heavenly Mother at the New Jerusalem Pangyo Temple in Korea according to the government’s disease prevention guidelines, while the Church of God members all over the world attended the online worship at their homes and churches.

Heavenly Mother gave thanks to Heavenly Father for granting Her children the grace of repentance and atonement through the Day of Atonement, and asked Him to wash away all the sins Her children committed in Heaven and on earth as white as snow although their sins are as red as scarlet and as black as ink. She prayed that Her children, who repented of their sins after realizing the sacrifice God suffered for their atonement, would live a holy and godly life, and that they would preach the gospel of life to every single person who lives without hope so that they can all escape disasters and enter Heaven. As the afternoon worship service came close to the end, She reminded the members of the fact that Heaven comes nearer when they repent, and She told them to save even one more soul by diligently preaching to people who are in despair, not knowing what to do after all their plans went to pieces.

General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol gave a sermon on the meaning of the Day of Atonement, the principle of forgiveness of sins, and the true meaning of repentance. In the Old Testament times, on occasions when the Israelites committed sins at ordinary times, animals were brought to the sanctuary and offered as sin offerings. The high priest entered the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement and laid hands on the scapegoat and transferred to it all the sins and transgressions of the people accumulated in the sanctuary; then he sent the scapegoat away to a solitary place in the desert, and when it wandered in the wilderness and died, all the sins disappeared. Such regulations serve as a copy and shadow that foreshows that Christ who is the reality of the sin offering and the sanctuary will take over the sins we commit at ordinary times until He hands them over to Satan who is the original owner of sins according to the regulations of the Day of Atonement. When Christ came down to this earth, the first thing He said was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” “For all people who sinned in Heaven and were cast down to this earth, repentance is to return to the Father and Mother of their spirits. Only when they obey God’s word which is the gospel of the New Covenant, they can return to God,” said General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol with emphasis. “The Kingdom of Heaven is grated to those who keep all the regulations, decrees, and laws of God, so let’s repent and please God by preaching the gospel of the New Covenant in Samaria and to the ends of the earth,” he added emphatically (Zep 3:18–19; Lev 16:5–10; Jer 17:12; Jn 1:29; Isa 53; 1 Jn 1:8–10; Lk 15; 2 Ch 30:1–9; Mal 3:7–10; 2 Th 1:7–10).

The Sacred Assembly of the Feast of Tabernacles–The Last Day of the Feast of Tabernacles: Water of life flowing from Jerusalem

Origin of the Feast of Tabernacles

The Feast of Tabernacles originated from the history where Moses built the tabernacle for storing the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments which he received from God. The Israelites joyfully offered materials for building the tabernacle for about seven days, and afterward, they joyfully kept the feast by building booths with various kinds of branches. These serve as a prophecy to be fulfilled by our finding heavenly brothers and sisters who are materials for the heavenly Jerusalem temple in this age. The Feast of Tabernacles is the feast where we receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit. Two thousand years ago, Jesus promised that He would give us the blessing of the water of life on the Feast of Tabernacles; the Prophet Zechariah too prophesied that only those who keep the Feast of Tabernacles will have the rain; otherwise, they will be subject to God’s judgment (Zec 14; Jn 7).

On October 2, the Sacred Assembly of the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the seventh one of the seven feasts in three times, was held. On the day, General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol delivered a sermon on the origin of the Feast of Tabernacles and its meaning. Furthermore, he urged the church members to live a life of preaching the gospel no matter what the circumstance is, by overcoming the trial that is going to come upon the whole world in obedience to God’s word and by graciously proceeding with the Preaching Week of the Feast of Tabernacles, just as only the Israelites who overcame tests were blessed in the desert (Lev 23:33–36; Ex 35–36; Ne 8:13–18; Jer 5:14; Eph 2:19–22; 2 Ti 4:1–5; 1 Th 2:3–4; Rev 3:10–13; Dt 8:1–3; 28:1–6; Lk 21:34–36; Jn 13:7; Mt 4:1–11; 24:3–14).

Mother prayed to Father to pour out the Holy Spirit of the latter rain abundantly upon all Zion family members who keep the Feast of Tabernacles. She also prayed that the members who have received the Holy Spirit will become the pillars of the heavenly temple and live for the glory of God, and will guide many people suffering from disasters to Zion by preaching that God dwells in Zion, the place where the feasts are celebrated, and that in Zion there is God’s salvation. After the worship finished, Mother expressed Her worry about the current situation where even members of a family should be separated from one another and love grows cold. She taught us, saying, “Love is the best. In this difficult time, let’s make more effort to save even one more soul by sharing love with our family and neighbors.”

The members dedicated themselves to praying, studying God’s word, and preaching the gospel during the Preaching Week of the Feast of Tabernacles, which lasted for seven days from the evening when Mother told them to receive the Holy Spirit abundantly by diligently praying to Father. On the 9th (the twenty-second day of the seventh month by the sacred calendar), Mother prayed to Father to ask for abundant shower of the Holy Spirit of the latter rain like a waterfall upon the children who eagerly asked for the Holy Spirit on the Last Day of the Feast of Tabernacles after the Preaching Week finished. She prayed for COVID-19 pandemic to swiftly end, and also prayed that God’s children will share the water of life with all those suffering from confusion and spiritual thirst due to COVID-19 by delivering the good news of salvation to them.

On the day, every Church of God in the world and all the members who were worshiping at home kept the worship by watching the online sermon video at the same time. In the morning worship, General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol emphasized the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles, and testified that Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother, the Spirit and the Bride, are the only ones who can give us the water of life in this last age. He also explained that the Feast of Tabernacles, the Most Holy Place, and the water of life are deeply related to one another, and that only those who keep the Feast of Tabernacles and have received Jerusalem Mother—the reality of the Most Holy Place, can receive the blessing of the water of life (Isa 55:1–3; Jn 7:2, 14, 37–39; Rev 21:5; 22:17; Zec 14:16–19; Eze 47:1–12; Zec 14:7–8; Gal 4:26; Isa 66:10–14; Rev 21:9–16; 1 Ki 6:14–20).

In the afternoon worship, Mother, Herself, delivered the words of the water of life. Mother enlightened the members to the fact that the gospel is spreading around the whole world in accordance with God’s word because whatever God said surely gets fulfilled, and that the members should make every effort to participate in the Holy Spirit Movement now that they have received the Holy Spirit. Heavenly Father shone the light of the truth of the New Covenant by coming to the earth to save mankind both at His first and second coming. In this disastrous world, it is God’s work and the Holy Spirit Movement that we should do in order to deliver the joyful news of salvation to the poor souls so that they may be protected from disasters. Heavenly Mother said, “Those who keep the Feast of Tabernacles, fear God’s name, and obey His word will be protected from disasters and receive eternal life. So let’s deliver this good news of salvation to all people suffering from disasters since we’ve received them in advance,” and mentioned Noah, Abraham, and Jacob who obeyed God’s word with faith in God’s promise, and requested that we, God’s children, become the royal priesthood who will visit every star in the universe by practicing God’s word and leading many souls to salvation with faith in His promise (Isa 45:23; 14:24; 46:11; 60:1–15; Mt 28:18–20; Zec 8:20; Ge 6; 12; Mt 24:37–44; Mal 4:1; Ps 91:7; 1 Th 4:16–17).

The river of the water of life, flowing from Jerusalem, goes to the east and west throughout the year and revives the whole world. In 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the whole world is changing fast. Even so, God takes pity on mankind and still keeps the door of the gospel open wide. It is expected that the Holy Spirit Movement will more forcefully be carried out as every member is preaching the gospel in various ways with the power of the Holy Spirit and conviction that the world evangelization will surely be accomplished.