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BIBLE
The Spring Feasts
LEVEL6
SPECIAL FEAST
LESSON
THE SPRING FEASTS
H
ave you ever noticed how wonderful
springtime is? The sky looks bluer.
The puffy white clouds loom high on the
horizon. The grass is greener, and many
plants begin to bloom, adding vivid color
to the landscape!
If you're like most people, you enjoy
being outside admiring God's wonderful
creation during this time of the year.
Springtime and the ability to enjoy it
are wonderful gifts from God. But God
has an even more special and precious gift
for His children-the opportunity to live
forever as spirit-born members of His
Family. This is God's purpose for creating
human beings. Those who keep God's
annual festivals each year understand
God's wonderful plan for accomplishing
His great purpose for mankind.
In this lesson you will learn about the
first three steps in God's plan as
pictured by the spring festivals. These
include the Passover, the Days of
Unleavened Bread and Pentecost.
THE NEW YEAR
In Palestine and other parts of the
Northern Hemisphere, God's festival
ABOUT OUR COVER . . .
Springtime, when the first three of God's festivals are
observed by the members of His true Church.
H. Armstrong Roberts
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season begins in the spring. Winter is
past! Spring buds forth, showing much
new life!
The first three of God's festivals occur
in the spring months of God's calendar.
Many countries use the Roman calendar
in which the new year begins in the
middle of winter. But God's calendar is
more sensible-the new year begins in
the spring! This first month of the year
is called Abib in the Hebrew language.
SPRING-A TIME FOR CLEANING
Many of you may help your parents
clean house each spring to get ready for
the Days of Unleavened Bread, one of
the spring festivals.
You dust and clean. You wash
windows and clean out closets, pockets
and purses. Remember what you search
GREEN EARS
After the frosts of winter are past
The first of spring appears at last.
The little ears of green appear
On trees and bushes far and near.
They grow to hear the spring bird's
song
That was silent the winter long.
for as you clean? With determined
effort you and your family seek out the
target-leavening and all foods contain-
ing leavening! All bread crumbs are
suspect-cookies, cakes and sandwiches.
All bread which is leavened or puffed up
must go! Then, for seven days you eat
unleavened bread.
Have you ever wondered why we go
through so much effort to clean so
carefully? What does getting rid of
bread containing leaven have to do with
God's plan? Why do we eat unleavened
bread for seven days? Are you puz-
zled?
A GIANT " JIG-SAW PUZZLE"
For nearly 6,000 years, practically no
one has understood God's plan. During
these years, God has shown a part of His
plan to some of His servants. To others
of His servants He has shown another
part.
God began revealing His plan many,
many years ago, but He has done it
slowly-very slowly.
Think of God's plan as a beautiful
and wonderful picture which God has
cut into an intricate "jig-saw puzzle"
with many individual pieces.
God gave a piece of the puzzle to
ancient Israel long ago when they were
freed from slavery in Egypt. Although
the Israelites had a large piece of the
puzzle, they did not know or understand
where it fit in God's plan.
Israel did not have the Bible as we do
today. Christ through the Bible reveals
to His Church the pieces of the "jig-saw
puzzle. " Through the years God has
Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, God's Apostle, continues to
explain more of God's master plan.
shown His servants, such as Mr. Herbert
W. Armstrong, how the pieces of the
puzzle fit together. The more a person
obeys God and keeps His command-
ments, the more God reveals to him and
the more he understands God's plan.
Use your Bible to help you fit the
pieces of the puzzle together as you
study this lesson.
THE ISRAELITES IN EGYPT
For hundreds of years the children of
(Exodus 1: 1) lived in
Egypt. They descended from Jacob and
his family, who came to Egypt because
of a great famine. Jacob and his family
were welcomed into Egypt by Pharaoh,
king of Egypt. Pharaoh had placed
Joseph, one of Jacob's sons, second in
command under him.
The family grew and multiplied as the
years went by, until there were several
million Israelites living in Egypt. During
these years several Pharaohs lived and
died. In time, a Pharaoh who did not
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know of Joseph made slaves of the
children of Israel. The Egyptians were
very harsh and cruel to the Israelite
slaves. They suffered terribly at the
hands of the Egyptians. The Israelites
were in great affliction and bondage.
God decided to free them from
slavery. He remembered His promise to
Israel (Jacob) that He would one day
bring His people out of Egypt. "I will go
down with thee into Egypt; and I will
also _
____..." (Genesis 46:4).
In time, God prepared His servant
Moses to lead the Israelites out of
Egypt. God sent ten terrible plagues on
the land of Egypt before Pharaoh finally
freed the Israelites from slavery. List the
ten plagues on the following lines in the
order in which they occurred. You can
find them in the book of Exodus,
chapters 7 through 11.
1. _
2. _
3. _
4. _
5. _
6. _
7. _
8. _
9. _
10. _
THE FIRST PASSOVER
Nearly 3,500 years ago in the month
of Abib, God gave the Israelites the first
large piece of the puzzle. That piece was
the Passover, the first festival of the
year. It pictures the very first step in
God's plan.
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God told the people to take a young
without blemish (Exodus
12:2-5) on the tenth day of the first
month and pen it up until the
______ day (verse 6) and then
to it in the evening (verse
6).
He told them to cook it and eat it.
They were to strike the on
the doorposts of their houses (verse 7).
A death angel then went throughout
the land of Egypt to kill the firstborn.
This was the tenth and final plague
before Pharaoh freed the Israelites.
God spared only the families who
obeyed His command to put the blood of
the lamb on their doorposts. The death
angel passed over the houses where
blood was applied.
ISRAELITES OBSERVE
THE DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD
The next day, the Israelites packed up
their belongings and got ready to leave.
That night, the night of the fifteenth,
the children of Israel quickly left Egypt.
God showed them the way to go by a
cloud by day and a pillar of fire by
night. He commanded the Israelites to
remember that first night of freedom
from slavery. God called ita
"
______ unto the Lord" (Exo-
dus 12:42).
But it was not until the Israelites
crossed the Red Sea seven days later
that they were completely free from
Egypt. This event occurred on the last
day of the Days of Unleavened Bread.
In Exodus 13:6-10, we find out more
NISAN (ABIB)
HOLY DAY CHART
r-----SEVEN DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD--------,
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
PASSOVER
ANNUAL ANNUAL
SABBATH SABBATH

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1. Passover lamb eaten.
2. Israelites receive gold and jewels of Egyptians
(Ex. 12:35-36).
3. Israel leaves Egypt by night (Deut. 16: 1).
4. After celebrating the Feast they arrived at
Succoth (Ex. 12:37).
5. Pharaoh hears the people have fled (Ex. 14:5).
about this particular piece of the puzzle.
God commanded, "Seven days thou
shalt eat
_____ ..." (verse 6). Why were
the children of Israel commanded to eat
unleavened bread for seven days? Read
verses 6-10 and write the answer below.
Did you notice the word memorial?
Look up the word in a dictionary and
then write out the meaning below. __
THE KEY PUZZLE PIECE
We find other pieces of the puzzle in
the pages of the New Testament. It is
here that the key puzzle piece is found.
Over 1,900 years ago, God sent
someone very special into the world. We
call Him Jesus Christ. He is special for
several reasons.
6. Israel leaves all civilization and enters
Egyptian wilderness (Ex. 13: 18, 20).
7. Pharaoh 's army overtakes Israel encamped at
Pi-hahiroth (Ex. 14:9).
8. God leads Israelites through Red Sea to safety
before daylight.
9. Songs of Moses and Miriam. Great celebration on
final day of Unleavened Bread .
First, Jesus is also God. The Bible
calls Him by other names in the Old
Testament. He is the Being who said,
"Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3). He is
one of the two Beings who said, "Let us
make man in our image" (Genesis 1:26).
Since He created all things by speaking,
He is also called the Word, or
Spokesman (John 1:1-3).
Genesis 1:26 and John 1:1-3 show us
that there are two Beings, or members
who belong to the God Family. God is
the family name. Some people have
Smith for their family name; some
people belong to the Anderson family.
What is your family name?
The greatest secret of all time deals
with this particular piece of the puzzle.
Your parents may have already told you
about it. The secret is that one day you
will have the opportunity to become like
these two Beings! As a member of the
God Family, you will have the power to
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create as God does , and you will live
forever!
JESUS-THE LAMB OF GOD
Jesus was special for another reason.
He never told a lie. Do you know anyone
who has never told a lie? Jesus never
stole anything nor dishonored his par-
ents. He never said a bad word and He
always kept the Sabbath. Jesus never
sinned!
John the Baptist, one of God's true
servants, called Jesus "The of
__..." (John 1:29). The name Jesus
means Savior. God sent Jesus to take
away the sins of the world. He was the
Lamb of God who was sacrificed for the
world.
Do you know what will happen to
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The unblemished lamb represented Jesus Christ, who
was called the " Lamb of God."
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anyone who sins? Write out the answer
you find in Ezekiel 18:4. _
However, you don't have to die
because Jesus paid the death penalty in
your stead.
God symbolically takes the blood of
Christ and covers our sins so we don't
have to die. Christ did not have to die
for His own sins, rather, He died for
ours.
Jesus is our Passover lamb. Remem-
ber that the death angel went to the
houses in Egypt to kill the firstborn. He
passed over those houses where he saw
the blood. In the same way, God will
pass over us and save us from eternal
death if we have accepted the blood of
Christ to cover our sins.
Sin is a terrible thing. It is like the
bondage and slavery of Egypt. God
wants to free us from our slavery to
SIll.
NEW PASSOVER SYMBOLS
God's people today do not sacrifice a
lamb and smear blood on their doorposts
as the ancient Israelites were com-
manded to do.
Each year during the evening of the
fourteenth of Abib, members of God's
Church meet together in a Passover
service. They first wash one another's
feet. Then they eat a small piece of
unleavened bread and drink a small
amount of wine.
Maybe these things seem difficult to
understand now, but these actions have
great symbolic meaning.
People who understand these symbols
People are commanded to put leavened bread
from their homes, symbolizing the putting away of sin
from their lives.
know where Jesus, " key puzzle piece," fits
into God's overall plan. And God will show
you where this piece fits, as you grow older
and try harder to please Him.
Remember, the more you obey God,
the more you will understand.
THE MEANING OF THE
DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD
One of the ways you can please God is
by keeping His annual festivals.
Only baptized members of the
Church observe Passover today. You,
however, can please God by keeping the
Days of Unleavened Bread.
Because we want to please God, we
must try hard to rid our lives of all the
sinful things we do.
We put leavened bread out of our
houses to symbolize putting sin out of
our lives. Leaven itself is not sin. God
merely uses it to symbolize sin during
the Days of Unleavened Bread. For
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seven days we eat unleavened bread,
showing God we want to obey Him, and
that we want to stop sinning.
Use the space below to make a list of
the places you find leavened bread this
year as you clean around the house. You
will discover how hard it is to get all of
the leavening out. _
PENTECOST
Pentecost is the festival following the
Days of Unleavened Bread. It pictures
the third step in God 's plan.
The word pentecost means "fiftieth
(day). " It specifically refers to counting
fift y days beginning with the Sunday
following the weekly Sabbath which
usually falls during the Days of Unleav-
ened Bread. With Sunday as day number
one, Pentecost always ends up on a
Sunday fifty days later.
In the Old Testament, God com-
manded the Israelites to keep the Feast
of Firstfruits. Pentecost and the Feast of
Firstfruits are two names for the same
festival.
Israel observed the Day of Pentecost
by special sacrifices. This feast day is
another wonderful piece of the puzzle.
However, just as the Israelites did not
understand the true meaning of Passover
and Unleavened Bread, so they also did
not understand where Pentecost fit into
God's plan.
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Members of God's Church sing hymns of praise on God's annual Sabbaths.
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The Israelites observed Pentecost as
a day in which they gave thanks to
God for their abundant spring grain
harvest.
The Feast of Firstfruits pictures a
spring or early harvest. But it also
pictures a great deal more.
Pentecost symbolizes God's Church.
Did you know that God is like a farmer?
He is harvesting fruit from among men.
People in God's Church are called His
"firstfruits" (James 1:18). They will be
the first to become spirit-born members
of God's Family when Christ returns to
earth. They are small in number
compared to the billions who will be
born into God's Family later.
God 's special purpose for His Church
is to train us and cause us to grow.
His law shows us how to grow. God
also gives us His Holy Spirit (after we
have repented of our sins and been
baptized) which helps us to keep God's
laws.
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REMAINING PIECES OF THE PUZZLE
Soon God will be ready to "harvest"
the firstfruits into His Family.
Do you know when He plans to do
that? The answer to this question will be
found in the special Fall Festival
Lesson.
In this lesson you have learned about
three of the festivals picturing the first
three steps in God 's plan for mankind.
But there are seven annual festivals in
all. The last four are in the fall. List all
seven annual festivals in the spaces
below. You can find them mentioned in
Leviticus 23.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
You now have several very large
pieces of God's giant "jig-saw puzzle."
To understand the meaning of the
remaining puzzle pieces, be sure to
study the special Fall Festival Lesson.
God wants you to see and understand
the overall picture. He will show His
complete and wonderful plan to those
who obey Him and keep His command-
ments. You will understand more about
God's plan each year as you keep each
of His feast days, joyfully obeying Him.
So have a happy Feast!
How Much Do You Remember?
Fill in the top half of the puzzle first. Then
write the numbered letters in the correct
spaces at the bottom of the page to reveal
a message.
1. The first month of God's calendar.
5 19
2. What kind of bread symbolizes Christ's
body?
11 17 25 6 3
3. What man did God use to deliver Israel
from Egypt?
22
6. Name means Savior.
20
7. Where Israelites worked as slaves.
9 10 11
H
---
18 19 20
W
-----
4 5 6 7 8
I
--
14 15 16 17
15 1 9 7
123
T
12 13
23 13 8
4. What the Israelites smeared on their
doorposts.
14 2 10
5. Place God completely freed Israel from
Egypt.
FlY
------
21 22 23 24 25 26
DAYS -"
OF
UNLEAVENED
BREAD
MATCHING
Match up the festivals by drawing lines
from each festival (hand) to the words or
phrases in the balloons that pertain to each
festival.
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Days of Unleavened Bread
10
Pentecost
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GOD'S GREAT PLAN
If you follow the directions correctly, you will find the answer to the question,
"What does God give us to reveal His great plan for man?" When you have found
the answer, write a few short paragraphs on a separate piece of paper to further
explain the meaning of the subject.
F J A S E
Q
R J S P M J S M L
I P N M G S I S E J K P E S A
R X G J Y MG M V S M J A T W
S M E P P J H J E M J P P E J
T J L S T Q T M N I S M S N P
M P J M P J S P S J J M P S M
S X C P G Q B J E S G K 0 I E
L P 0 M R M R K A M 0 JAM P
A M U J E Q E M T YOM Y Z E
V J N PEP A P P EMS P 0 A
E X T M N J o J M S M JOE R
First, color all X's green, Q's red and Z's blue. Then, as you find the words listed
below in the diagram above, color them using the color at the top of the column in
which the word is listed.
GREEN
FIRST
ANGEL
SLAVE
COUNT
RED
EGYPT
RIGHT
GREEN
BREAD
YELLOW
SEVEN YES
SIN GOD
EAT
BLUE
SEA DIE
TEN EAR
LAW RED
DAY