The Feasts of God
The World Mission Society Church of God is known not only as the church that believes in God the Mother, but also as the church that celebrates the Sabbath and the seven feasts of God. And these beliefs are based on biblical teachings and the example that Jesus Christ set during His ministry on the earth 2,000 years ago.
The seven feasts of God originated in the Old Testament.
The LORD said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. These are the LORD’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as official days for holy assembly.”
Leviticus 23:1 (NLT)
God proclaimed the feasts of God as days of holy assembly. In other words, these are days God set apart for special worship to God. Each of these feasts has a specific prophetic meaning. They are also celebrated at appointed times and in a specific manner, as God instructed. Most importantly, the feasts of God allow us to understand who God is, and they enable us to receive God’s promise of forgiveness of sins and salvation.
The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread
The Passover originated at the Exodus. God instructed the Israelites to celebrate the Passover so they could be freed from the slavery of Egypt. However, this observance was not only for the time of the Exodus; God commanded His people to keep it forever.
“This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover. . . . This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance.”
Exodus 12:11
Through the Passover, God protected the Israelites from the plague of the death of the firstborn and freed them from slavery. And through the Passover, God also led them to the promised land.
When Jesus came to the earth 2,000 years ago, He established the New Covenant Passover—a celebration not with animal sacrifice as in the Old Testament, but with bread and wine. He established it to grant us eternal life through His blood.
He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” After the supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.”
Luke 22:19 (NLT)
Through the New Covenant Passover, Jesus Christ promised us His flesh and blood through which we receive eternal life. Throughout His ministry on the earth, Jesus clearly explained that without receiving His flesh and blood—without celebrating the Passover—we cannot have eternal life (Jn 6:53). Christians who firmly believe in Jesus Christ must celebrate the Passover year after year at the appointed time.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is celebrated the day after the Passover—the day Jesus was crucified. The feast originated in the Old Testament as a commemoration of the Israelites’ suffering from the time they left the land of Egypt until they crossed the Red Sea (Ex 14:1-31). Year after year, the Israelites commemorated their suffering by eating unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
Jesus fulfilled the feast through His crucifixion by suffering on the cross for six long hours. By celebrating this feast today, we follow in the footsteps of Christ and remember His suffering by fasting.
Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.”
Mark 2:18-20
Jesus said that on the day the bridegroom is taken from the guests, the guests will fast. Biblically, Jesus Christ is the bridegroom. Through this teaching, He let us know that we must celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread by fasting on the day of His crucifixion.
The Day of Firstfruits and the Feast of Weeks
The Day of Firstfruits originated when God displayed His great power by letting the Israelites cross the Red Sea as the Egyptian army chased them from behind. Subsequently, the Israelites celebrated the Day of Firstfruits by bringing a sheaf of their first grain as a wave offering before God on the day after the Sabbath—Sunday (Lev 23:9-14).
In the New Testament, Jesus fulfilled this feast by showing the great power of God through His resurrection.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:20
In the Old Testament, God instructed the Israelites to celebrate the Day of Firstfruits on the day after the Sabbath. In His fulfillment, Jesus Christ resurrected on the day after the Sabbath—on Sunday. This is why today we always celebrate Resurrection Day on Sunday.
After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning.
Mark 16:9 (NLT)
The Feast of Weeks also originated in the Old Testament. After the Israelites had journeyed into the desert, Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments for the first time. This took place on the fortieth day after crossing the Red Sea. God sent Moses down to convey His will to the people. Then Moses went back up ten days later—the fiftieth day after crossing the Red Sea (Ex 24:1-18).
God fulfilled the Feast of Weeks on the Day of Pentecost in the New Testament.
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
Acts 1:3
When Jesus ascended to heaven, He instructed His disciples to remain in Jerusalem to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit that God was going to pour out. This took place ten days later.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 2:1-4
The Day of Pentecost is the fulfillment of the Feast of Weeks. On the Day of Pentecost, Jesus Christ poured out the Holy Spirit on His disciples. Once they received gifts of the Holy Spirit, they preached boldly about Jesus Christ as the Savior and this spurred the growth of the Early Church. However, as seen in history, later on, the church became corrupt as it was influenced by non-biblical teachings and God withdrew the Holy Spirit from it.
The Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles
The last set of feasts includes the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Trumpets is observed for ten days in preparation for the Day of Atonement. On the Day of Atonement, Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the second set of stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. Then the people began the work of building the tabernacle for God—this constitutes the Feast of Tabernacles.
While the other feasts were fulfilled in the time of Jesus and the Early Church, the prophecies of this third group of feasts are of great significance because they are fulfilled in our time. Through the Feast of Tabernacles, God grants us forgiveness for all of our sins that we committed throughout the year. He also pours down abundant power of the Holy Spirit that is seven times stronger than the Holy Spirit the Early Church received.
The World Mission Society Church of God celebrates all of these feasts of God in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ. These feasts have deep prophetical meaning and are necessary for Christians to enter the kingdom of heaven. Visit your local Church of God to understand the deep meaning of the feasts and so that you, too, can keep them and receive God’s immeasurable blessings.