The Sacred Assemblies of the Feast of Trumpets & the Day of Atonement 2014

The Feast of Trumpets: Let us prepare the oil of faith, blowing the trumpets of repentance

Origin

Seven feasts in three times originate from the works of Moses. The Israelites, who came out of Egypt after keeping the Passover, crossed the Red Sea and arrived at the desert. Being called by God, Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments and stayed before God, fasting forty days. As he was slow in coming down from the mountain, the Israelites committed the sin of making and worshiping the idol of a golden calf. At this, Moses threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them into pieces, and about three thousand people died.

After that, the Israelites took off their ornaments and repented of their sins. Then, God called Moses again to Mount Sinai and granted the Ten Commandments for a second time. The day when Moses received the Ten Commandments a second time and came down from the mountain is the Day of Atonement (the tenth day of the seventh month by the sacred calendar). The Israelites prepared for the Day of Atonement from ten days before it (the first day of the seventh month by the sacred calendar) by blowing the trumpets to urge repentance. This is the origin of the Feast of Trumpets (Ex 32–34; Lev 23:23–25).

The Feast of Tabernacles that comes third among the seven feasts in three times starts from the Feast of Trumpets. On September 24 (the first day of the seventh month by the sacred calendar), the Sacred Assembly of the Feast of Trumpets 2014 in the year of jubilee was held at over 2,500 Churches of God in 175 countries including the New Jerusalem Temple in Bundang, Korea.

Greeting the autumn feasts to harvest good fruit of the gospel, Mother gave thanks to Father for allowing the children to keep the Feast of Trumpets and prepare for the Day of Atonement with a godly mind, and She earnestly prayed that the children would truly confess and repent of their sins committed in heaven and on earth. Mother asked all the children to prepare oil enough while blowing the trumpets of repentance around the world with one mind, so that they could go to heaven with spotless faith.

ⓒ 2014 WATV

General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol emphasized that the first thing believers should do is to repent of their sins just as the Israelites who had sinned could be given the Ten Commandments again through their repentance. The importance of repentance is often mentioned throughout the Bible as well as during the Exodus. Jesus Christ spread the gospel of the kingdom, shouting, “Repent!” And so did the apostles who received the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and the Apostle Paul who devoted himself to the gospel.

ⓒ 2014 WATV

Pastor Kim Joo-cheol urged the members to repent, saying, “God wants no one to perish. He has given us our life as the opportunity to repent. When we confess all our sins, including even a trivial one, from the bottom of our hearts and move God, we can be completely forgiven of our sins.” Adding that true repentance is to follow the examples of Christ, he encouraged the members to reproduce the work of the early Church that led thousand people to repent a day by preaching the gospel hard in accordance with the example of Jesus Christ who made all His efforts to save souls (Mt 4:17; Ac 2:37–41; 17:30–31; Eze 33:17–19; 2 Pe 3:8–9; Pr 29:1).

For ten days from this day to the Day of Atonement, the members attended service early in the morning and in the evening to confess all their past sins and transgressions.

The Day of Atonement: The grace of atonement granted through God’s sacrifice

Origin

The Day of Atonement was the day when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, receiving the Ten Commandments for a second time. In the Old Testament days, when the people committed a sin, they brought a lamb or a goat for the burnt offering and then their sins were kept in the sanctuary for one year.

Once a year, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place for atonement of the Israelites. He took two goats and cast lots for them; one for God and the other for the scapegoat that represented Satan, the devil. Then, he laid both hands on the head of the scapegoat and confessed over it all the sins of the Israelites and put them on the goat’s head. Finally, the goat was sent away into the desert and died.

This foreshows that Jesus who is the Lamb becomes the sin offering for atonement, and that God takes all our sins as the reality of the temple until He hands them over to Satan the devil, the source of sins, on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16; Jn 1:29; Jer 17:13).

ⓒ 2014 WATV

Just like the Israelites who had confessed their sins with tears, fasting, and having dust on their heads, the members offered the prayer of repentance wholeheartedly, confessing their sins early in the morning and in the evening for ten days. On October 3 (the tenth day of the seventh month by the sacred calendar), the members reverently gathered at the Sacred Assembly of the Day of Atonement.

Mother, who had offered the earnest prayer for the children’s forgiveness of sins and salvation all throughout the prayer week, prayed that all the children’s contrite prayers offered for ten days would ascend to heaven so that they could be given the grace of atonement. Mother also prayed that all the children’s sins would be handed to Satan who stands against God and hinders the gospel, and that his authority would be destroyed just as the sins of the Israelites were handed to the scapegoat. Mother truly hoped that Her children who were forgiven and cleansed would make every effort to save souls with love.

General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol preached on the origin of the Day of Atonement and its fulfillment, saying, “Our sins cannot be removed without any cost, but can be forgiven through the sacrifice of God who suffered instead of us. Let us engrave God’s atonement on our minds and never again shift our sins on God.” He added, “As God forgave our sins, let us forgive our brothers and sisters to make God’s love complete in us. In the Old Testament times, the proclamation of the year of jubilee was fulfilled on the Day of Atonement; the Israelites who had been slaves were released, given the property of their forefathers, and returned to their home. Remembering the meaning of the Day of Atonement in the year of jubilee, let us turn many souls who are living as slaves to sin and death to God” (Isa 53:1–12; Eph 1:7; 4:29–32; 2 Co 2:5–11; Mt 6:12).

After the worship service, Mother consoled Her children who earnestly prayed for ten days, saying, “Please realize the sacrifice of Father who walked the path of suffering for sinners, and never sin again. And fulfill the mission to turn many souls from sin.” At the words of Mother, all the members answered, “Amen,” and prepared for the coming Feast of Tabernacles, giving thanks to God for forgiving their sins through His suffering.