The members, who had graciously kept the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, came to Zion again to celebrate the Day of Resurrection of the new cove-nant on Sunday, March 23. The Day of Resurrection, which falls on the day fol-lowing the Sabbath after the Feast of Unleavened Bread (on Sunday), is called the Feast of Firstfruits in the Old Testament. On this day, the priest offered a sheaf of the first grain of the barley harvest to God and waved it before Him, and Christ fulfilled the prophecy of this feast by breaking the power of death and rising from the dead as the firstfruits of those who had fallen asleep (Lev 23:6-11; 1 Cor 15:20).

Mother gave thanks to Father for giving His children a living hope, the hope of resurrection, by overcoming death and rising from the dead, and prayed for Her children to realize what a great blessing it is that they’ve received salvation and engrave God’s grace in their hearts, and to quickly lead all people to salvation by preaching the good news of the resurrection.

ⓒ 2008 WATV

General Pastor Joo-Cheol Kim empha-sized, saying, “Resurrection is a special grace granted only to God’s children who believe in God,” and reminded the members of the origin of the Day of Resurrection and of the blessings of resurrection and transfiguration that would take place within them in the near future. He also urged them, saying, “To participate in these blessings, we first need a firm determination to completely obey God’s will,” and he also urged them, saying, “Let’s not follow the example of the Israelites who sinned against God during their life in the desert, but give thanks to God in all circumstances and revere Him with a humble mind and obedient faith. Then let’s run the path of the gospel with all our strength and save all people around the world.”

After the worship service, the members broke bread together and shared some with their neighbors, according to the Biblical regulation: The bread for the Day of Resurrection originated from the event that when Christ, after His resurrection, broke bread and gave it to His two disciples on the way to Emmaus, then their eyes were opened and recognized Him (Luke 24:13-35). They also earnestly asked God to help them blow the gospel trumpet even louder as the watchmen of Jerusalem who were called in this age and lead all of the six billion people to repentance and salvation, following the will of God, so that they would be able to share the joy of resurrection with all mankind.