WMSCOG “Let’s keep the Passover, the feast of life together”

http://news.watv.org/press/content.asp?gub=n&sec=%C7%D8%BF%DC&articleid=n20110417713&page=5 

The Church of God carried out the Worldwide Environmental Cleanup Campaign for the

Passover in various areas in Nepal. The Passover, the feast that the disaster would"pass

over,” falls on April 17 this year

[Makwanpur, Nepal] A Christian feast of the Passover is the talk of the country these days after the 2011 Worldwide Environmental Cleanup Campaign carried out simultaneously in around 1,900 area sin the world as well as many different areas in Nepal on Sunday March 20. Including South Korea where the headquarters and main temple of the World Mission Society Church of God (Chief Pastor Kim Joo-cheol) are located, this campaign took place all at once in around 1,900 areas in 150 countries such as the USA, Peru,Germany, Japan, India and Mongolia.

According to the WMSCOG that hosted this event, the purpose of the massive Worldwide Environmental Cleanup Campaign was to prepare the Passover (April 17) and to revive the earth getting sick from environmental pollution. It added that the people of God have cleaned the temples and nearby areas ahead of the feast of God and hoped that the minds of people as well as the environment would be purified and many people would keep the Passover feast together.

Massive clean-up activities were also carried out in various areas in Nepal on this day. The Church of God is the only church among many churches in Nepal that hosted large-scale environmental clean-up activities like this. In Kathmandu, about 2,000 church members participated in this event and collected many sacks of rubbish from the downtown and outskirts of the city including Bushundara, Narayanthan, the wholedistrict of Gwarko and the streets of Satdobata. This campaign was also held inother cities such as Itahari, Chitwan, Damak, Dhangadi, Pipera, Simara and Hetauda.Around 110 church members in Hetauda joined this event to clean up the insideand outside of the Hetauda Public Stadium and the entire area of Huprachaur.Before the cleanup activity, the Stadium and the streets which had not been properlymaintained for a long time were very dirty with all kinds of rubbish.

After 2 hour environmental cleanup activitystarting from 10 AM, a 5 ton truck was filled with rubbish collected by themembers. People around the Public Stadium watched this campaign with curiosity.They appreciated the environmental cleanup activity of the church members,saying that many people have used the stadium but they have never seen peoplewho carried out the voluntary cleanup of the facility and they were pleasedwith the clean environment.

The Passover is very important to the Church of God. This feast is based on the Bible and the word “PASSOVER” means that the disaster would “pass over.” The Passover is the first feast of the seven feasts of three times that God commanded His people to celebrate. However,it is strange to the most enthusiastic Christians as well as non-believers. It’s because that the Church of God is the only church that keeps the Passover according to the teachings of Jesus Christ, except the Jews who celebrate this feast by killing lambs as written in the Old Testament.

The first Passover written in the Bible goes back to the time of Exodus in around 1290 B.C. When the disaster killing all the firstborn took place in the land of Egypt, the Israelites were protected from the disaster after keeping the Passover by putting the blood of the lambs on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses by following the words of God (Exodus Chapter 12.) The same miracle occurred in the period of Two Kingdoms of Israel/Judah in around 720 B.C. At that time, the southern kingdom of Judah that kept the Passover was protected from the invasion of Assyria,while the northern kingdom of Israel that refused to keep the Passover was destroyed (2^nd Kings Chapter 18.)

In the age of the New Testament, Jesus Christ kept the Passover of the New Covenant with the bread and the wine with Twelve Disciples. The well-known Last Supper painting by Leonardo da Vincidepicts the scene the Passover was celebrated. Jesus Christ said that the Passover bread and wine is His flesh and blood, and He promised the forgiveness of sins (or salvation) to those who partake in the ceremony of the Passover of the New Covenant (Matthew Chapter 26; John Chapter 6.)

The Church of God values the Passover above everything else because it believes the teachings of the Bible absolutely. This church has a firm belief on the promise of God that the saints who keep the Passover will be protected from all kinds of disasters taking place around the world and receive salvation as the Israelites who kept the Passover were untouched by the disaster. This church also believes that the saints who keep the Passover today will receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life and enter the kingdom of heaven as did the early church members such as Peter and Paul who kept this feast.

Also, the Church of God emphasizes that the promise of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life is only valid when we eat and drink the bread and wine on the date of the Passover as Jesus set an example for us. Therefore, if we eat and drink the bread and wine every week, every month or every year on other dates, it’s not the true Passover and we cannot receive the promise of the eternal life.

The date of the Passover written in the Bible is the 14^th day of the 1^st month in the sacred calendar. It falls on someday in March or April in the current Gregorian calendar and it’s on April 17 this year. The Church of God holds the 2011 Grand Assembly of the Passover in its branch churches throughout Nepal including Kathmandu. Also,the Grand Assembly of the Passover Service is held in 1,900 churches in 150 countries including South Korea where the headquarters of the Church of God is located.

The Church of God stresses that the Passover is the seal of salvation and the seal of God through which we can be saved. The church also emphasizes that this feast is the truth which we should keep in this age of disasters and hopes that all people around the world will come to keep the Passover. And it adds that they will do their best to fulfill their duties as messengers so that there will be no one who cannot keep this feast because they didn’t listen to the news of the Passover.

The Church of God started from South Korea and believes in God the Mother as well as God the Father as Saviors based on the teachings of the Bible. And this church keeps and preaches the Sabbath and the seven feasts of three times consisting of the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Resurrection Day, the Day of Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles according to th eteachings of Jesus Christ of 2,000 years ago. The WMSCOG that originated from South Korea in the east and spread to the western countries has 400 local churches in Korea where the headquarters is based and 1,500 churches in 150 overseas nations. In Nepal, it has 12 churches in Kathmandu and about 60 churches in other areas throughout the nation including Damak, Pokhara and Hetauda. Themembers of the Church of God are preaching the truth of the New Covenantenthusiastically and are taking lead in help-for-your-neighbor campaigns,disaster relief and environmental cleanup campaigns and supporters activities by following the love of God the Mother.