L E V E L F E A S T L E S S O N. Special Fall Festivals Lesson

Transcription

1 8 8 pecial all estivals esson

2 pecial all estivals esson hen a king or queen of reat ritain has his or her first child, the world knows that child is destined to become a monarch. rom birth, that child receives training carefully designed by the kingdom s most prominent educators to do one thing: prepare him or her to reign over millions of people. hat is it like to be born into the royal family? ou should know, because you have been born with the opportunity to become part of od s oyal amily. he rulers of reat ritain and of every other nation on arth have never known od. ew of them even claim to have known im. od specifically says in the ible that e has not given those kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers the opportunity to know im and to understand the ord of od. he ible says that od has instead given that opportunity to a tiny group of ordinary people. hen od calls someone out of the world and into is hurch, e gives him the opportunity to be baptized and to receive is oly pirit. hen this happens, he becomes a child in od s amily who has been begotten but not yet born. nce he is born into od s amily, he becomes a od being, part of od s royal amily that will rule the world with esus hrist. his is probably the situation your parents are in. ut what about you? ou likely were never part of the world. ou were not called out of it. ou were probably born into od s hurch. erhaps even your parents were as well. oes od still have specific positions of royalty in mind for you? es! n the same way that royal heirs in reat ritain inherit the duty of leadership, so also have you. nd in the same way that they receive special training, so also are you in training. od s hurch is the institution e uses to provide you with that training! o help prepare us for a position of rulership, od gave is hurch seven annual festivals that explain the seven steps of is master plan. n this lesson you will learn about the meaning behind each of these festivals, especially the four holy days that occur in the fall. o absorb this royal training, you will need your ible, a pencil and a prayerful attitude. e sure to read each verse listed in this lesson out of your own textbook the ible. od originally gave reign over the arth to the angel ucifer, but he turned to sin, became atan, and failed in his rulership. od later created the first human being, dam. e gave dam the chance to reign over the arth. ut dam and his wife, ve, rejected that opportunity. nstead they chose to follow atan. heir children and their children s children have made the same choice ever since. ecause of their sin, od cut them off from im and is truth. housands of years later, the world was full of people, nations and governments that had nothing to do with od and were thoroughly deceived by atan. nto this world, od sent the ord. od and the ord took a gigantic risk when od made the ord into esus hrist, a flesh-and-blood human being. f hrist sinned, e would die forever, and all other human beings would also die forever. ut od and the ord took that tremendous risk. esus hrist was born, grew up and became an adult. hroughout every second of is life, e lived perfectly and never sinned once! hen e was killed, is death paid the eternal death penalty for the sins of each and every human being. hrist s enormous accomplishment also qualified im to rule the arth. here atan and dam failed, hrist succeeded. 2

3 ill in the blanks using 1 orinthians 15:21-23 to see how hrist succeeded where dam failed: or since by man came death, by man came also the of the dead. or as in all, even so in shall all be made. ut every man in his own order: hrist the firstfruits; afterward they that are hrist s at his coming. et even after hrist came, od allowed the vast majority of human beings to remain cut off from im. hat reality continues right up to today. od continues to block access to im and is oly pirit. uman beings continue to make the choice to follow atan s way of life. atan continues to reign over the arth. od has called only a tiny group of firstfruits to know im and to train to rule with hrist at is econd oming (see 1 orinthians 15:23, above). od has established six workdays in a week and the seventh day as the abbath. fter dam sinned, od established 6,000 years for human beings to live their own way as they choose to follow atan. oward the end of this period, od will send esus hrist back to arth again, this time as a od eing who will put a stop to sin and bring 1,000 years of peace and rest. ow will hrist actually stop so many people who are so deceived by atan from committing so much sin? ow will e educate them in od s wonderful way of life? e won t do it alone; e will do it with the help of those being trained right now, members of od s hurch with od s oly pirit who will be born into is amily when e returns. istock.com/iakovkalinin an has been running things his own way for 6,000 years. ou are in od s hurch; you are receiving special training right now! hough you do not have od s pirit working inside you, it is working with you. o when you read about hrist ruling the world and needing is people to be trained to help im, realize that od s people includes you. od s training for you to help esus hrist rule the world revolves around seven annual festivals. n the orthern emisphere, the first three festivals occur in the spring. hese days show od s plan to bring a small group of people into is hurch to prepare to rule as royalty with esus hrist. he last four festivals come in the fall. hey show od s plan to bring most human beings who have ever lived into is amily! ist the names of od s seven annual festivals on the following lines, from eviticus 23. 1) (verse 5) 2) (verse 6) 3) (verses 16-21) 4) (verse 24) 5) (verse 27) 6) (verse 34) 7) (verses 36, 39) he first of od s festivals is assover. assover is the solemn memorial of esus hrist s death! t commemorates the high price of sin. ll human beings, except one, have sinned. hat means each of us has earned the penalty of death. esus hrist voluntarily chose to become a human being, to live a sinless life, and to die on your behalf. e did this so that, if you repent and follow od, your sins can be forgiven, and you can be saved from the eternal death penalty. he second of od s festivals is the feast of nleavened read. he first day of nleavened read is the first holy day of the year. he seventh and last day of nleavened read is the second holy day of the year. od commands is people to put all leavening out of their homes before this feast begins. uring this seven-day festival, od commands is people not to eat leaven and to remove leaven from their homes and property. (eaven puffs up bread with air, the same way that sin puffs up people with pride.) nstead, od commands is people to eat unleavened bread, an action that represents living od s sincere, truthful, humble way of life. 8 3

4 he third of od s festivals is entecost. entecost is the third high holy day of the year. his festival shows us that od s people need the power of is oly pirit to help them overcome sin and live od s way of life. ven with hrist s sacrifice, and even with our best efforts to put sin out of our lives, we will always fall short of living od s way, unless od helps us through is pirit! hen the three spring holy days are completely fulfilled, the members of od s hurch will have accepted esus hrist s sacrifice, worked to put sin out of their lives, and succeeded in living od s way of life by using is oly pirit. od will be living in them to the point that e can bring them into is royal amily! hen this happens, od s people will be born into is amily and will be ready to rule alongside hrist as kings and priests. hey will be ready to teach billions of other human beings how to reject atan s way of sin and live od s way of righteousness. nswer the following questions by circling the best answer. 1. hy did od give is people seven annual festivals? a. o provide them with extra vacation time. b. o force them to clean and tidy their homes. c. o teach them the seven steps of is master plan. d. o show how e is calling everyone on arth into is hurch right now. 2. hat do the three spring holy days teach us? a. he first three steps of od s plan. b. ow od plans to bring is people into is royal amily. c. ow od s people will become kings and priests when esus hrist returns. d. ll the above. he east of rumpets is the first fall festival. t is a high holy day, and it represents the fourth step in od s plan. his is the step that comes after od s people have qualified to rule with esus hrist. nciently, the priests in srael would blow a trumpet made from a ram s horn on the eats of rumpets. urn to eviticus 23:23-25 to see why this festival is called the east of rumpets: nd the ord spoke unto oses, saying, peak unto the children of srael, saying, n the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall you have a, a of of, an. ou shall do no servile work therein. hen the ancient sraelites kept the east of rumpets, priests blew a trumpet made from a ram s horn. his trumpet is called a shofar, and its sound is a piercing blast. hey also blew two long silver trumpets, which produced a variety of musical notes. hroughout history, trumpets have been used to make major announcements. hey have also been used as an alarm of war. hen an enemy approached, the duty of a watchman was to blast out a warning with something like a shofar so the people could get ready to fight (zekiel 33:1-6). he east of rumpets points to the most important event in history: the econd oming of esus hrist! ead evelation 11:15 and fill in the blanks to see how hrist s econd oming will be announced: nd the sounded; and there were in, saying, he of this are become the of our, and of his ; and he shall and. istock.com/stellalevi 4

5 he east of rumpets will be fulfilled when hrist returns. t that moment, od will resurrect everyone in od s hurch who died in the faith. e will then bring them into is royal amily as od beings! n the next moment, everyone in od s hurch who is still alive will also be transformed into od beings! ill in the blanks using 1 hessalonians 4:16-17 to see the details of hrist s return: or the ord himself shall from with a, with the voice of the archangel, and with the of : and the in hrist shall. hen we which are and shall be caught up together with them in the, to meet the in the : and so shall we be the. urn back to 1 orinthians 15:51-52 to see who will be born into od s royal amily first: ehold, show you a ; e shall not all, but we shall all be, n a, in the of an, at the : for the trumpet shall sound, and the shall be raised, and we shall be changed. he piercing blast of the trumpet on this day will also be an alarm of war! esus hrist will return in the middle of orld ar iii, and e will have to fight warring human beings to stop them from erasing all human life (atthew 24:3-22). fter the archangel announces hrist s return, multitudes of human beings will actually want to fight im! hey will try to destroy im so that e cannot rule over them. great army will gather north of erusalem in a vast plain called egiddo. esus hrist and the od beings who have just been born from od s hurch into od s royal amily will fight this army. f they did not, it would destroy everything everyone on arth would keep fighting until every last person had been killed. nce hrist defeats this army, e will establish od s government over the whole arth! e will teach everyone living on arth how to give up hatred, selfishness, perversion, lying, coveting, violence and murder. e will put down rebellion by force. he members of od s hurch who have been born into is amily will assist hrist in teaching od s way of life. ircle the best answer. 1. he east of rumpets pictures a. the resurrection of the saints in od s hurch. b. the return of esus hrist to the arth. c. ll of the above. d. one of the above. 2. hen esus hrist returns to arth a. everyone will be relieved that e has returned. b. e will not put down rebellion by force. c. e will rule the arth by imself. d. e will rule the arth along with is royal amily. he fifth festival in od s plan is the ay of tonement. t is the fifth high holy day. od gives is people a special instruction for this day that e does not give for the other holy days. ill in the blanks using eviticus 23:27-32 to see this instruction: lso on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of : it shall be an holy unto you; and you shall your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the ord. nd you shall do in that same day: for it is a day of, to make an atonement before the ord your od. or whatsoever soul it be that shall in that same day, he shall be from among his people. nd whatsoever soul it be that does any in that same day, the same soul will destroy from among his people. ou shall do no manner of : it shall be a statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings. t shall be unto you a of, and you shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at, from even unto even, shall you your sabbath. od commands is people to afflict themselves on tonement. he word afflict means to humble. e humble ourselves on tonement by fasting, which means going without food and water! 8 5

6 istock.com/shaunl hen atan is put away, he will no longer be able to broadcast his moods and emotions to human beings. n salm 35:13, ing avid wrote, my soul with. hen we fast, we have less energy and less strength. n fact, if we went more than a few days without food or water, we would die. his reminds us that we are physical, weak, temporary human beings. t also shows us that we need to be fed spiritually. t reminds us that we need od to give us life! od is our reator: e made us; e gives us food and water; e is our only hope for physical life and for eternal life. eeping the ay of tonement teaches us that we need a humble, teachable attitude to follow od! asting also gives us additional time for prayer and study. nly by praying and studying with a humble attitude can we draw closer to od! tonement also pictures a major event that will happen soon. fter od s people are born into is royal amily and take their places in od s government under esus hrist, od will lock up atan! urn to evelation 20:1-3 to see what happens to atan on the ay of tonement: nd saw an come down from, having the of the and a in his hand. nd he laid hold on the, that old, which is the, and, and bound him a years, nd cast him into the, and shut him up, and set a upon him, that he should the no more, till the should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. or almost 6,000 years, atan has incessantly broadcast attitudes of getting, taking, selfishness, hate and violence (phesians 2:2; evelation 12:9). ost human beings have succumbed to his selfish influence. od s people must reject atan s broadcast and fight his influence, defeating him in the same way esus hrist did. ith the power of od s oly pirit, we can overcome atan. hen od s angel locks atan away in a bottomless pit, it will be impossible for him to broadcast his selfish attitudes, and he won t be able to interfere as od s royal amily teaches everyone on arth od s way of life. hen the ancient sraelites kept the ay of tonement, the high priest chose two goats for a special ceremony. e cast lots, and the goat on which the ternal s lot fell was killed for a sin offering. his goat represented esus hrist, who died for the sins of the world. he high priest then laid hands on the other 6

7 goat and confessed over it the sins of the people. hat goat was then taken into the wilderness and released (eviticus 16). his goat represented atan, who is full of sin and inspires it in human beings. xiling this goat into the wilderness pictured the time when atan will be confined to the bottomless pit. ithout atan s influence, people will finally have a chance to become at one with od! hat is why this day is called the day of ++ =! ircle the best answer. 1. od commands us to fast on the ay of tonement so a. we have extra time for prayer and study. b. we will become more humble and teachable. c. we realize how much we need od. d. ll of the above. 2. od puts atan in a bottomless pit a. to punish him. b. to stop him from escaping to other planets. c. to prevent him from interfering as people learn od s way of life. d. one of the above. he sixth festival in od s plan is the east of abernacles. he first day of this seven-day festival is a high holy day. his festival begins during the seventh month of od s calendar, under the light of a full moon. ill in the blanks using eviticus 23:39-43 to learn how the sraelites kept this east: lso in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have in the of the land, you shall keep a unto the ord : on the day shall be a, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. nd you shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall before the ord your od seven days. nd you shall keep it a unto the ord seven days in the year. t shall be a statute in your generations: you shall it in the seventh month. ou shall dwell in seven days; all that are sraelites born shall dwell in : hat your generations may know that made the children of srael to dwell in booths, when brought them out of the land of : am the ord your od. ecause of this command from od, the east of abernacles is also called the feast of booths. od tells is people to leave their homes and live in temporary dwellings at special east sites during this feast of booths. n ancient srael, people lived in huts or tents during this time. oday, we stay in a tent, hotel room or other temporary accommodation. iving in temporary dwellings during the east of abernacles reminds us that our lives are temporary. e cannot live forever, unless we are born as spirit beings in od s amily. nly members of od s hurch istock.com/ghornephoto he east of abernacles is also called the feast of ingathering, because it celebrates the greater fall harvest. 8 7

8 understand this truth today. ut in the illennium, everyone on arth will understand that physical life is temporary and that its only real purpose is to prepare us to be born into od s amily. his festival lasts for seven days, just like the wedding feasts in ancient srael lasted seven days. he east of abernacles pictures the time when hrist will be married to is ride, the hurch, which will be part of is royal amily. nother name for the east of abernacles is the feast of ingathering. his is because it celebrates the gathering of the harvest in late summer/early fall (verse 39). ust like entecost represents the time when od will harvest a small group of people into is hurch, so the east of abernacles represents the time period when od will harvest a great number of human beings into is amily during the illennium. his festival represents a period of 1,000 years. t comes after 6,000 years of human history cut off from od and led by atan. t begins when esus hrist returns, the members of od s hurch are born into the od amily, and hrist begins to rule the whole arth. od will pour is pirit out on all flesh and everyone will have the opportunity to come into atone-ment with od. his 1,000-year period under hrist s rule is called the illennium. ead evelation 19:7-8 to fill in the blanks: et us be and, and give to him: for the of the is come, and his has made herself. nd to her was granted that she should be arrayed in, and : for the fine linen is the of saints. od gives is people a special and interesting command during the east of abernacles. ead eviticus 23:40 and write od s one-word command for you to keep at the east of abernacles:. od commands you and all is people to rejoice at the east of abernacles! e actually commands that you celebrate and be happy for these seven special days that picture the awesome 1,000-year period. o help us rejoice during the east, od also commands that we save a second tithe to spend during this time. he word tithe means tenth. o, every time you earn $10, you pay $1 of it to od for is ork. his is the first tithe (eviticus 27:30), which actually belongs to od. ou must also save $1 to use during the east of abernacles. his is the second tithe (euteronomy 14:22-23) that belongs to od, but e allots it for you to spend during the east. aving this extra money to istock.com/ologreen he east of abernacles pictures a time when men will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. 8

9 spend on food, gifts or other good things during this festival of rejoicing symbolizes the abundant wealth that people will have during the illennium. ead saiah 11:6-9 and summarize in your own words the miracles that will happen in the illennium: oday, only those in od s hurch have access to od s pirit; it dwells with you now and allows you to have this advanced training in od s way of life. n the illennium, however, od will have is pirit dwell with all mankind (oel 2:29). hey will be like you are now, having access to od s pirit and the ability to understand the truth. hen the world can understand and choose to repent and submit to od and be baptized. hen hrist returns, you will likely still be a human being but because you are sanctified today by at least one baptized parent or guardian and because of your advanced training, you will help esus hrist and other od beings, like your parents, teach the world od s way of life. ircle the best answer. 1. he east of abernacles is also called a. the feast of booths. b. the feast of ingathering. c. a wedding feast. d. ll of the above. e have seen how members in od s hurch will be born into is amily, and how everyone living on arth will live od s way during the illennium and will receive the same opportunity to live forever in the od amily as children of esus hrist and is ride. ut what about all those who have died never knowing od? od s plan for them is pictured by the ast reat ay! eturn to eviticus 23 and read verses to see od s command to keep this festival: peak unto the children of srael, saying, he fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the ord. n the first day shall be an holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein. even days you shall offer an offering made by fire unto the ord: on the day shall be an unto you; and you shall an made by fire unto the ord: it is a ; and you shall do no servile work therein. he eighth day mentioned in the above passage is actually a separate holy day from the east of abernacles. he ew estament calls this festival the ast reat ay (ohn 7:37). his seventh festival is the seventh high holy day of the year. t pictures a time period after the illennium when all the people who have died without knowing od s way of life will be brought back to life! his means that probably close to 100 billion people will be resurrected! ome of these people will be dam s children. ome will be from oah s lifetime. thers will be from ancient gypt or from ing avid s lifetime. ome will be from hrist s lifetime; others from medieval times. ome will even be your own relatives. od gave a vision of this resurrection to the rophet zekiel. ummarize this amazing passage from zekiel 37:1-14: 2. he east of abernacles pictures a. the illennium. b. a time of peace, prosperity and happiness. c. the 1,000-year reign of hrist and is royal amily on arth. d. ll of the above. 8 9

10 esus hrist, the other od beings and the billions of human beings living on arth during the illennium will spend a thousand years getting ready for this huge resurrection. hen it occurs, esus hrist and the rest of the od amily will begin comforting these billions of people and teaching them od s way of life. od will then give these resurrected people 100 years to live, and e will give them the choice to embrace od s way or to reject it. ill in the blanks below using saiah 65:20 to see how od describes this 100-year lifespan: here shall be no more thence an of, nor an that has not his : for the shall an years old; but the sinner being an years old shall be accursed. t the end of the 100 years, od will judge these billions of people. he event is called the reat hite hrone udgment. ead evelation 20:11-12 to see the ible s description of this event: nd saw a, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. nd saw the, and, stand before ; and the were : and another was, which is the of : and the were out of those things which were in the books, according to their. ll the people who refuse to obey od and who instead live atan s selfish way will die in a lake of fire. hey will not live forever as selfish, hateful, miserable beings like atan. ll those people who believe and obey od s unselfish give way will be born into is amily as spirit beings! fter the ast reat ay, od the ather will come to arth. ogether with their amily, od the ather and esus hrist will rule the universe for all eternity. hey will create new worlds and do amazing things that are even more awesome, more joyful and more wonderful than we can imagine! ircle the best answer. 1. he ast reat ay pictures a. the second resurrection. b. the reat hite hrone udgment. c. the time of salvation for all those who died never knowing od s truth. d. ll of the above. 2. he reat hite hrone udgment is a. going on right now. b. a time of judgment during the illennium. c. a time at the end of the ast reat ay. d. ll of the above. e. one of the above. istock.com/karen gentry ll the billions of people who have lived and died in the past 6,000 years will be resurrected to receive their opportunity for salvation during the reat hite hrone udgment. 10

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12 ublished by the hiladelphia hurch of od and produced in cooperation with mperial cademy. editor in chief erald lurry cover itock.com/ enisangneyr opyright 2016 ll rights reserved. all estivals ord earch