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E SPRING FEASTS

hen two teams are playing together,how do you know which players belongto which team? Professional athletes

nd many school teams wear special uniformsr caps that distinguish them, or set thempart , from the players on other teams. Theap or team uniform they wear is andentifying sign that shows everyone else whichthey belong to.

MANY IDENTIFYING SIGNSThink of the many different kinds of

dentifying signs we see all around us. In theited States, the American flag flying outsidebuilding usually identifies that structure as abuilding-perhaps a post office, aschool or a town hall. In Washington D.C.here are many foreign embassies. Each flies its

wn country's flag outside its building as a signhat identifies which country the embassyrepresents.A sign can be something that you wear, likea uniform, something displayed like a flag, or itcan be something you do. Some clubs havespecial handshakes so that people who mayhave never met before will, by just shakinghands, immediately know they are members ofthe same club. This is a "secret" sign that onlymembers know about. But most signs are openand obvious, like those we have alreadymentioned.

ABOUT OUR COVER . . .God commands His people to attend Church serviceson His annual and weekly Sabbaths.YES Photo

2

A SIGN IDENTIFYING GOD'S PEOPLEDid you know that God gave the nation oancient Israel a special sign that would identif

them as His chosen people? This same sigidentifies God's people today-the members oHis one true Church. This sign is very open anobvious to all. I t is something His people dthat is different from the rest of the world. Tfind out what this sign is, read Exodus 31 anthen fill in the missing words of verses 12-1below.

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, sayingSpeak thou also unto the ______ , saying, Verily mye shall keep: for it is

between and_______ your _that ye may know that___ that doth you."The word sanctify means "to set apart." Gosaid that keeping His weekly Sabbath day hol

would be a sign setting His people apart fromothers. I t would identify God's special peopldown through the ages-"throughout yougenerations."In Moses' generation, the children of Israewere chosen by God as His people. Since Chri

came, until this very day, only those whom Gothe Father has called and who are being led bGod's Holy Spirit are His people (John 6:44Romans 8:9, 14).

ANNUAL SABBATHS ALSO A SIGNBut notice that God said His people arekeep His Sabbaths (plural). He repeated th

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ommand in Ezekiel 20:12, 20. Did God meannly the weekly Sabbaths? Just what are theays God calls His Sabbaths?In this lesson we shall learn that in additiono the weekly Sabbaths, God also calls thennual holy days His Sabbaths! Members ofChurch must keep His weekly andSabbaths holy. The keeping of thesebbaths is a sign that identifies God's Church

Those who do not keep these annual holyays do not understand God's great plan forankind. For it is these holy days, or annualwhich picture God's plan forccomplishing His great purpose for mankind.d's purpose is that all who have ever lived beiven the opportunity to be born as spirit beings

nto His Family!SPRING FESTIVAL SEASON HAS

GREAT MEANINGIn the Fall Festival Lesson, we will learnthe fall festivals picture the time whenod will soon intervene in the affairs of

Flags are an identifying sign of nations, as God'sSabbaths are an identifying sign of His chosen people.

oos:0-C/)lJ.J

mankind. He will begin to teach all nations Hway of life-that obedience to His laws wresult in peace, happiness and great prosperitBut God will not teach mankind His ways aby Himself! Nor will Jesus Christ be the onteacher. Read in Isaiah 30:20 what Godspeaking of the Millennium, says: " . . . yet shanot thy be removed intocorner any more, but thine eyes shall see th"Before God sends Jesus Christ to restore thgovernment of God on earth, He must firtrain a group of people who will be a speciteam of teachers to work with Jesus ChrisThey will reign as kings and priests and wassist Jesus Christ in teaching God's laws to anations.The Day of Pentecost, which comes durinthe spring festival season, shows us that Godcalling just a very few now. He is teaching antraining these few (who have repented and arstriving to obey God) to live the way of life thproduces peace, happiness, joy and that leadto eternal life in His Family. Then, in the vernear future when Christ returns to the earthHe will have His "Team" ready and prepareto work and rule with Him (Revelation 2:2

5:10).So just like a cap and uniform identifies thmembers of a baseball team, both the weekand annual Sabbaths identify those who keethem as members of the team that God is nocalling to be teachers in the World TomorrowEveryone will then be keeping these days, ashown in Isaiah 66:23. "And it _come to pass, that from one new moonanother, and from oneanother, shall come_____ before me, saith the LORD."In the World Tomorrow God will then caall those living on the earth to be His peoplBut He is now calling just a few to be the firto learn His way, and to be the first to becommembers of His Family. Members of GodChurch today are the "firstfruits" in Godplan for mankind (James 1:18).

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How Well Do You Remember?In each of the following questions circle the

letter which corresponds to the correctanswer.1. God's weekly and annual SabbathsA. are identifying signs of His people

today.B. were to be observed by the children ofIsrael.C. picture God's plan for mankind.D. All of the above.E. None of the above.2. In God's plan,A. nobody but people in God's Churchtoday will be called to become membersof God's Family.B. members of God's Church today willhelp rule the world with Christ and

teach all nations obedience to God'scommandments.C. the spring feasts teach us that God iscalling all people now.D. All of the above.E. None of the above.

ARE A ll FEASTS HOLY DAYS?I f you look at the chart on page 9, you willnotice that there are seven annual feasts. Twoof them are seven days long! You will alsonotice seven annual holy days. But each ofthem is only one day long. Each of the holydays occurs on, or during, a feast. But thePassover, the first feast, is not a holy day.All holy days are Sabbaths, during which

normal work may not be done. But thePassover, the very first of God's annualfestivals, is not a holy day, nor is it an annualSabbath!

THE PASSOVERIn Leviticus 23, the seven annual festivals ofGod are listed. Read verses 4-5 and fill in themissing words. "These are the of

the , even holy convocations,which ye shall proclaim _4

-- . In the fourteenth day othe first month is thLORD'S "Remember, God counts days from sunset tsunset, not from midnight to midnight as i

done today. The way God counts days, there ionly one part of the day that is dark-the firspart. On the fourteenth day of His first mont(God's calendar begins in the spring season, noin the winter as the Roman calendar wcommonly use today does), in the evening obeginning part of that day, God commandeHis people to observe the Passover.Baptized members of God's Church gathetogether each year in a solemn assembly tobserve the Passover. To understand morabout the Passover, its importance and whatpictures, we must first understand its origin.

ISRAELITES IN BONDAGE!The children of Israel were slaves in Egypfor over two hundred years before God rescuethem. Stern Egyptian taskmasters threatene

and whipped any Israelite who fell behind ihis work. Day after day, all day long, thIsraelites were forced into backbreaking labomaking mortar and bricks for Pharaoh'ambitious building projects, including tht reasure city of Raamses. Those who were noat work on the building projects were forced twork all day under the heat of the sun in thfields (Exodus 1).

The lives of young boys and girls in bondagwere terrible. They were put to work in thfields planting or reaping, or had to join theifamilies in making bricks. They would do thimost every day of the year. That was the life othe Israelite slaves in the land of Egypt. ThIsraelites could do nothing about it. They werpowerless to help themselves.But God is all powerful, and through Hifaithful servant Moses He performed manmighty miracles. He sent ten great plagues oPharaoh and the Egyptians to deliver Hipeople from slavery. Beginning with Exodu7:14, read through the verses to the end o

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EGYPT

The map above shows the beginning route of theexodus and the approximate location of the treasurecity of Raamses.chapter 10 and list the first nine of the tenplagues.1. _2. _3. _4. _5. _6. _7. _8. _9. _

Even after these nine destructive plagues,Pharaoh still stubbornly refused to let theIsraelites go. God finally told Moses, "Yet willI bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, andupon Egypt; afterwards he will let you gohence . . . " (Exodus 11:1).

The Egyptians would be devastated by thistenth and final plague. The death angel sent byGod would take the life of all the firstborn inEgypt, both men and animals, if they were notunder God's protection.

In ancient societies, the firstborn son wasgiven very special treatment. He received thegreatest portion of the inheritance, andbecame the head of the family when his

father died. In a monarchy, like Egypt, wha king or Pharaoh died, it was his firstboson who ascended the throne. The firstbowas usually the most loved and respectedthe family. So for all the firstborn in the lato die was a great tragedy to the Egyptian(In the Fall Festival Lesson you will leathat it is within God's great plan to laresurrect the firstborn of Egypt whom Hkilled, and then give them a chancebecome members of His Family.)

THE BLOOD OF THE LAMBEven though God said this plague would

on every family living in the land of EgyGod gave the Israelites a way to escape. Gtold them that on the tenth day of the fimonth (Abib), each family was to choose froamong their flocks a male lamb, under a yeold and without any blemishes. They werekill it just after sunset on the beginning of tfourteenth of Abib, and mark the doorpoststheir houses with the blood of the lamb. Insitheir houses that night, the Israelites wereroast and eat the lamb and be ready to quickleave Egypt.

When the death angel came by during tnight of the fourteenth he would pass over ahouse that had the blood on its doorposts, aspare the firstborn members of the famiRead about this in Exodus 12:13 and fill in tblanks. "And the shall be to yfor a token upon the houses where ye are: awhen I see the , I w

you, and tplague shall not be upon you to destroy yowhen I smite the of Egypt."was their obedience-striking the blood of tlamb on their doorposts-that saved tfirstborn of the Israe li tes f rom deathEgypt.

Little did the Israelites know that tpassover sacrifice was a type, a forerunner,the sacrifice of Jesus Christ many years in tfuture! Read about this in the followiscriptures and fill in the missing words.

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I Corinthians 5:7 (last part of the verse),"For even our passover is_______ for us."I Peter 1:18-19: "Forasmuch as ye know thatye were not [redeemedmeans "bought back" from the penalty ofdeath] with corruptible things . . . But with

the precious , as of aandwithout "Egypt is sometimes used in the Bible as aymbol of sin. When we sin, we bring uponurselves the penalty of eternal death (Romans6:23). Since we all have sinned (Romans 3:23),we are all under the penalty of death!Jesus Christ is called the Lamb of God,

which takes away the sins of the world (John1:29). He qualified to do this because He liveda perfect, sinless life as a human being. Henever incurred the penalty for sin, which iseath, on Himself. And since He was the verySon of God, His one life was more valuablehan all other human lives combined! Christwas therefore able to pay the penalty of deathor all mankind.God the Father wants us to live forever asembers of the God Family, but because we allave sinned, we have brought on ourselves thepenalty of eternal death! But Jesus Christ, byying in our stead, paid that penalty for us.When God calls a person, and that personecides with all his heart to begin living God'sway of life, to keep His commandments andavoid sinning, that is called repentance. I f herepents, he can be baptized and, with the layingn of hands, receive God's Holy Spirit (Acts

2:38).When a person is baptized, God forgives himby applying the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to hispast sins. He is then no longer under the deathpenalty that hung over his head.PASSOVER OBSERVANCE TODAY

In the Old Testament, the Israelites wereommanded to observe the Passover by6

actually killing and eating a lamb. But whenJesus Christ came to the earth, He replaced thesacrifice of a lamb at Passover with newsymbols.On the evening before His crucifixion, Jesusand His disciples observed the Passover inway different than the ancient Israelites hadbeen commanded to do. Let's notice how Chrischanged the way His disciples were to observethe Passover from that time forward.FOOT WASHING INSTITUTED

You may have noticed that when youparents leave for the Passover service, each othem takes a towel with them. The towel iused to dry off their feet after the foot washingservice. Foot washing is one new symbol thaChrist instituted for the Passover.After taking a towel and pouring water intoa basin, Jesus washed the feet of each one othe disciples. The disciples could not understand why Christ did this, the job of ahousehold servant (John 13:4-7).Notice how Jesus explained His actions inJohn 13:13-17. "Ye call me Master and Lordand ye say well; for so I am. I f I then, youLord and Master, have washed your feetye also ought to

' - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - ~ - - _ - . lUnleavened bread symbolizes the putting away of sin

from our lives.

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_______ feet. For I have given youan , that ye should _______ have done to you. Verily, verily,I say unto you, The servant is not greater thanhis lord; neither he that is sent greater than hethat sent him. I f ye know these things, happyare ye if ye "Jesus was illustrating to His disciples thatHe had come to earth to serve mankind.Shortly afterward, He proved the extent of Hisextreme service for this world when He gaveHis very life for the sins of all mankind! And sofoot washing depicts the att itude of humilityand service to others that Christ alwaysexhibited, and which He desires that everyChristian should strive to imitate.

BREAD SYMBOLIC OF CHRIST'S BODYWhat other new ways of observing the

Passover did Jesus institute during thatPassover before His crucifixion? One veryimportant symbol Christ introduced during thePassover meal concerned the meaning of theunleavened bread they ate that evening. InMatthew 26:26, we read, "And as they wereeating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and_____ it, and gave it to the disciples,and said, Take, eat; this is

"Jesus said the broken bread symbolized Hisbody. Before Christ was crucified, He wasseverely beaten and whipped.Even for the strong, healthy body of ahard-working carpenter, this was an exhaustingand terrible beating! I t was so severe that theskin was even torn back off His bones, andmany were no longer able to recognize Him(Isaiah 52:14).We become sick because we break physicalhealth laws. I f we don't eat properly balancedmeals, if we don't get adequate rest, or if wedon't get proper exercise we eventually becomesick. Sickness is the penalty we pay forbreaking God's physical health laws, just likethe second death is the penalty for breakingGod's spiritual laws.

But Jesus Christ and God the Father waus to live happy, full, abundant and healthlives. Christ inspired the Apostle John to writ"Beloved, I wish above all things that thomayest prosper and be in health . . ." (III Joh2).Because of His great love for each of uJesus allowed Himself to be beaten and suffintense pain even though He didn't break anphysical health laws. He paid the physicpenalty for us so if we become ill or suffer aaccident, we can be healed (I Peter 2:24).What does God tell us to do when we are il

"Is any sick among you? let him call for thelders of the church [your local minister]; anlet them pray over him, anointing him with oin the name of the Lord: And the prayerfaith shall save the sick . . ." (James 5:14-15God promises to heal us! That is part of thmeaning of the Passover!

WINE SYMBOLIC OF CHRIST'SSHED BLOOD

Another very important part of the Passovservice is the wine, which is symbolicChrist's shed blood. In Matthew 26:27-28, wread: "And he took the [wine], and gave thanks, and gave it to themsaying, ye all of it; For this is m

of the new testamenwhich is for for thremission [forgiveness] of "From that time forward, each year durinthe Passover service, God's people drinksmall amount of wine after they eat thunleavened bread. This wine is symbolic, andreminder of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.reminds God's people that when they repenttheir sins, it is the death of Christ-His sheblood-that frees them from the penaltyeternal death resulting from the sins they havcommitted. Though God's people strive to obeGod's laws, they are not yet perfect, and stsin sometimes. But if they repent of their sinGod will forgive them.So the wine replaced the blood of the lam

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as the symbol of Christ's blood shed for theforgiveness of sins.

PUTTING AWAY SINReturning to the time just before thIsraelites left Egypt, on the morning after thPassover meal, the Egyptians were more thanhappy to let the Israelites go free. They hoped

that the terrible plagues would stop. All daylong the Israelites gathered their possessionsalong with the gold, silver and clothing whichwas given to them by their Egyptian mastersThat night, the night of the fifteenth of Abibthe Israelites began their journey out of thland of Egypt.

In Exodus 12:42 God said that " It is a nighto be much observed unto the LORD fobringing them out from the land of Egypt: thiis that night of the LORD to be observed of althe children of Israel in their generations."The Israeli tes great ly rejoiced that even i n g ~ t h e beginning part of the first annuaholy day-i-an evening that commemorates theideliverance from slavery in Egypt. Just aGod's power overcame the Egyptians, enablin

the Israelites to leave that land, so it is alsGod's power (in the form of the Holy Spiritthat enables His people today to overcome siand to keep His commandments.The process of overcoming sin takes time-s-idoes not happen all at once. That is why thFeast of Unleavened Bread is not just one daylong. God made it seven days to show us that itakes time to put away sin.

What does God say we should eat durinthese seven days? Read Exodus 12:15 and fiin the missing words. "Seven days shall yeven the first day ye shall pu t awa

our physical labors that we routinely do duringthe week. They are days set aside by God aholy time.Since the Feast of Unleavened Bread isweek long, a weekly Sabbath also will occuduring this time. This weekly Sabbath iespecially important. It is used in determiningwhat day Pentecost, the next holy day, is to bobserved.

unto the LORD:__________ ye must eat unleav-ened bread. In the day ye shallhave an _ye shall do

THE DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREADImmediately following the Passover is the

second of God's festivals, the Days ofUnleavened Bread. God's instructions concerning this feast are found in Leviticus 23:6-8."And on the fifteenth day of the same monthis the feast of

do notherein."The Feast of Unleavened Bread is seven dayslong. It begins and ends with a holy day-s-thefirst two annual holy days of the year. Theseholy days, or Sabbaths, are days of rest from

NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH KEPTTHE PASSOVER

After Christ's death, His disciples continuedto follow His example in keeping the Passover,as well as all the other festivals. The ApostlePaul, around 55 A.D., continued to instruct theChurches of God about the correct way to keepthe Passover-i-to follow the example set byJesus Christ.To the Church at Corinth, Paul wrote, "Foras often as ye ea t this bread, and drink this cup,ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, anddrink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be

guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" (ICorinthians 11:26-27). God's Word clearlyshows that true Christians will continueobserving the Passover as an annual memorialof Christ's death.

servile [laborious]_______ therein. But ye shall offeran offering made by fire unto the LORD

______ : in theday is an----- : ye shall

8

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ARE ALL FEASTS HOLY DAYS?

TABERNACLES

FEAST

PASSOVERHolyconvocation Firstinevenmg Dayportion only y

HOLYDAY

FEAST

UNLEAVENEDBREADLastDay

yHOLYDAY

FEAST~PENTECOST

"-y-/HOLYDAY

FEAST FEAST~ ~r - ~ I r-I First IDay I"-y-/ "-y-/ Y

HOLY HOLY HOLYDAY DAY DAY

FEAST FEAST

LASTGREAT DA

"-y-HOLYDAY

out of your houses: forea tethfrom the first day until theeventh day, that soul shall be cut off from

Leaven is an ingredient used in baking suchoods as bread, cakes and cookies. Theeavening agent in them causes them to rise.eaven "puffs up" bread, just the way sin willuff us up and spread throughout our lives ife allow it to. Have you ever seen someoneho was acting big and proud puff out hishest like a "tough guy"? He almost seems toe saying, "Well, nobody's going to tell mehat to do!"Such an attitude leads to sin, which is theransgression of God's Law. God has told usery clearly in His Bible what we must do andow we must live in order to be happy. He gaveHis laws that, if followed, produceappiness. When we sin, we are in essencelling God, "You can't tell me what to do! I 'moing to decide for myself what is right and

There is another lesson about sin we canarn from leaven. I t only takes a very little bitf leaven to make a whole loaf of bread rise. InCorinthians 5:6, Paul told the Corinthian"Your glorying is not good. Know yethat a little leaven leaveneth the whole

We should not tolerate any sin in our lives,o matter how "large" or "small" it may be.od inspired Paul to write in verses 7-8,out [totally remove] therefore the oldthat ye may be a new lump . . . Thereore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven,

neither with the leaven of malice [hostilitwhich comes from pride] and wickedness; buwith the unleavened bread of sincerity antruth." The Corinthians were not to allow sto remain in their midst.Before the DaysofUnleavened Bread, weareremoveleaven and any leavenedproducts fromohomes. This helps to remind us that we must bstriving to removesinentirely from our livesandliveGod's wayoflife.

It would be impossible, however, to put awasin and keep God's commandments without thgift of the Holy Spirit-the very power of GoThis brings us to the last of the sprinfestivals.PENTECOST

Pentecost is the third festival and picturthe third step in God's plan. All other holy dayor festivals come on definite days of definimonths. But the day on which Pentecost falmust be determined by counting.The word Pentecost is a Greek wormeaning "fiftieth (day)." It specifically refeto counting fifty days beginning with a Sundafollowing the weekly Sabbath which usuallfalls during the Days of Unleavened Brea

With Sunday as day number one, Pentecoalways ends up on a Sunday fifty days lat(Leviticus 23:15-16).It was on the day of Pentecost in A.D. 3fifty days after Christ ascended to heaven to baccepted of His Father, that the ChurchGod was founded. In an awesome displaypower, God gave His Holy Spirit to thdisciples on that day. It is the Holy Spirwhich gives those in whom it dwells the abili

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o put away sin and to keep God's commandTo help us bet ter understand the meaning ofentecost and what it pictures, let's look at thenual harvests in Palestine where the ancientlites lived. The growing season is dividednto the smaller spring grain harvest, and therger harvest in the fall. The spring harvest isonsidered the "firstfruits" of the land eachear. Pentecost always fell during the time ofe first or early spring harvest of grain.God shows in the Bible that He is notealing with the vast majority of people in theorld today. Those whom He calls before theecond Coming of Christ are His "firstfruits"

1:18). Just as the spring harvest ismaller, the number of people God is callingnto His Family now is small compared to theillions who will be born into His Family afterhrist comes.

And so Pentecost, or the "Feast ofFirstfruits" as it is also called, pictures the firstnd smaller "spir itual harvest" of people whoill be born into the God Family. This includeshe spirit-begotten members of God's Churchoday who overcome and endure until Christ'sreturn. I t also includes the dead in Christ ofpast ages.Pentecost is also an annual Sabbath or holyay, which the people of God are commandedto keep forever. Read about this in Leviticus23:21. "And ye shall proclaim on the selfsameay, that it may be anunto you: ye shall do notherein: it shallbe a statute in all yourdwellings

"A holy convocation, or gathering, is a timewhen God's people gather together to learnmore about God and His plan, His laws andways. God's people today need this instructionto help them live happier and more abundantlives. They are also learning God's ways betterso that as the "firstfruits,"-that special teamof teachers-they will be able to assist Christ10

10 teaching all people in the World Tomorrow.But God's plan is not complete with justhese spring festivals. They picture only thebeginning! Later this year in the fall when youreceive the Fall Festival Lesson, you will learnabout the fall festivals which picture thefulfillment of God's plan for all mankind.

How Well Do You Remember?Answer the questions by writing True o

False in the spaces provided.1. Some feast days are not holydays, but all holy days are feasdays.____ 2. The Passover today is kept withthe symbols of bread and winewhich are partaken of each weekin church services.3. I t was only through God's deliverance that Israel was able toleave Egypt.___ 4. I t is through the shed blood oJesus Christ that we are freedfrom the penalty of death, andforgiven of our sins when werepent of them.

5. We can be healed of ousicknesses because of Christ'shed blood.____ 6. We are all under the penalty odeath because we all have sinned7. The Feast of Unleavened Breadis seven days long to show tha"coming out of sin" is a life-longprocess.____ 8. I t takes a lot of leaven to puff upa whole loaf of bread.____ 9. Pentecost shows that God icalling just a few people beforeChrist's Second Coming.____ 10. I t is important for us to diligentlystudy and learn God's way of lifeI t is the only way that leads totrue happiness and eternal life inthe future!

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NOTES

1

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