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ost people you know celebrate holi-days such as Christmas and Easter.

Also, you have probably been told thatthese holidays honor Jesus Christ and Godthe Father. This is what most peoplebelieve. However, these are two amongmany of the world’s holidays that beganthousands of years ago in pagan religions.Most encyclopedias clearly explain the link.

Does it matter that customs once used toworship idols and false gods are now prac-ticed in the name of Christ? Is God pleasedwhen people keep these holidays? Or doesGod tell us there are other days He wants usto observe? Let’s find out!

After God led Israel out of Egypt, Hegave them the Ten Commandments fromMount Sinai. When they were preparing tocross over the Jordan River into the

Promised Land, the Israelites were remind-ed by God of all His laws, and He gavethem additional instructions. One of thoseinstructions was that He did not want themto worship Him by copying the paganbeliefs of the nations surrounding them orby worshipping their false gods.

In Deuteronomy 12:30-31, God told Hispeople, “Be careful that you don’t gettempted into following the pagan nations,and that you do not question their gods, say-ing ‘How did these nations worship theirgods that I may do the same?’ You shall notdo so to the Lord your God; for every eviland nasty thing which the Lord hates theyhave done for their gods.”

But in recent Lessons we have seen how,time and time again, Israel would not listento God’s instructions. They copied thepagan beliefs they had been warned by Godnot to follow.

In Deuteronomy 12:32, God furtherinstructed, “Whatever I command you, becareful to observe it; you shall not add to itnor take away from it.” Here God tells usvery clearly He wants us to keep His lawsexactly the way He says. We are not tochange it, at all, in any way.

Now let’s see what days God commandsthat we should observe to honor and wor-ship Him.

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1 CHILDREN’S BIBLE LESSONIllustrations by Paula Rondeau

TheFall Festivals

God’s Master Plan for Mankind

God has given us a list of His festivals,also called feasts, which He wants us tokeep. Each one of these important festi-vals shows us a step in God’s MasterPlan for mankind. This Plan reveals thatthe most important purpose for the cre-ation of man is for him to become amember of the God Family. As we learnthe meaning of the seven yearly festi-vals listed in Leviticus 23, we come tounderstand how God’s plan will be accom-plished.

In Leviticus 23:1, God begins by identi-fying to whom these festivals belong, “Theappointed feasts of the Lord are these.”Then, each of His special festivals aregiven:

Verse 5: PassoverVerse 6: Days of Unleavened BreadVerse 16, 21: Day of PentecostVerse 24: Feast of TrumpetsVerse 27: Day of AtonementVerse 34: Feast of Tabernacles Verse 36: The Last Great Day

Spring Festivals Reviewed

The first three festivals occur in thespring, and the last four occur in thefall. By observing these festivals, weare reminded of God’s Plan and purposefor us. Before studying the fall HolyDays in detail, let’s quickly review thethree spring festivals.

Passover is the first annual festival.It is the most solemn of all God’s festi-

vals, because it reminds us of Jesus Christ’sdeath and that He died so our sins could beforgiven.

The second spring festival is the Days ofUnleavened Bread. This festival picturesour need to follow God’s laws everyday aswell as to work on putting sin out of our lifeeveryday. God chose the example of leavento teach us about sin because one tiny bit ofsin can spread through all parts of our life,just like leaven spreads throughout doughand causes it to rise.

The Day of Pentecost is the third springfestival and it shows us that God is now

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choosing only a few people to understandHis great Plan. In the future, everyone whohas ever lived will be taught to understandGod’s Way.

Now let’s look in detail at the four fallfestivals that God commands us to keep.They are all kept in the seventh month ofGod’s calendar. These festivals look for-ward to events that have not yet taken place,but the Bible tells us they will soon come topass in the exciting times that lie just ahead.

Feast of Trumpets:Christ Returns!

All people on earth choose one of two waysto live. Does that surprise you? These twoways can be quickly understood if youremember this: People choose to live eitherthe way of give or the way of get.

Sadly, the way most people today chooseto live is the way of get. People think main-ly of what they want, what they need, andhow they can get it. People do not care thatwhat they do might hurt someone else. Thisway leads to unfairness, trouble and sad-ness. It ends up with people committingcrimes such as lying, cheating, stealing andmurder. It also leads to problems such asdisease, starvation, and war. Everyday innews reports on television or in newspaperswe are told about the problems and suffer-ing of people all around the world.

These problems are becoming worse andworse because people keep choosing the getway of life instead of God’s way of give. Weunderstand that God’s Way is give becauseJesus taught, “It is more blessed to give thanto receive” (Acts 20:35).

God’s fall festivals explain that theseawful problems will be solved. Let’s begin

by understanding God’s fourth annual festi-val, the Feast of Trumpets.

This Holy Day pictures Christ’s return toearth, at the sound of the seventh trumpet, toput an end to mankind’s problems and suffer-ing. Only God has the power and authority tomake people stop hurting themselves andeach other. When Christ comes to rule overthe whole earth, He will stop all war andcrime. He will teach all people the way ofhappiness, peace and cooperation. God’s wayof give will replace the world’s way of get!

“For the Lord Himself will descend fromheaven with a shout, with the voice of anarchangel, and with the trumpet of God.And the dead in Christ will rise first” (IThessalonians 4:16).

Have you ever heard someone blow atrumpet? Its blast is very loud and power-

ful; the sound gets your attention.Revelation 11:15 says, “Then the seventhangel blew his trumpet, and there wereloud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The king-doms of the world now belong to our Lordand His Christ, and He shall reign for everand ever.’”

This scripture tells us that the wholeworld will hear the loud trumpet blown by aheavenly angel at Christ’s Return, when Hewill become King of Kings and Lord ofLords (Revelation 19:16). He will rule overevery nation on earth. Everyone will obeyGod’s government and His laws that showhow to live the give way of life. And thisjoyful day is coming in your lifetime!

Another exciting event takes place whenthis trumpet sounds. Look again at IThessalonians 4:16, the second part of thatverse says, “And the dead in Christ will risefirst.” All those in God’s Church who havedied in years past will be resurrected to Spiritbeings. Those who have remained faithful toGod and are alive at Christ’s Return will alsobe changed into Spirit beings. These are thefirstfruits pictured by the Day of Pentecost!

I Corinthians 15:51-52 gives more infor-mation about this first resurrection. “Weshall all be changed—in a moment, in thetwinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. Forthe trumpet will sound, and the dead will beraised immortal, and we shall be changed.”When God’s people become immortal Spiritbeings, they will live forever as members ofGod’s Family.

However, before this wonderful eventhappens at the seventh trumpet, a terribletime of trouble the Bible calls the GreatTribulation, followed by the six trumpetplagues of the Day of the Lord, will comeupon mankind. Before Christ’s Return, the

world will be at war. War and suffering arecaused by mankind’s way of get rather thanGod’s way of give (James 4:1-3). Manypeople will suffer and die. But God promis-es to protect His people, those who trust inHim and obey His laws.

The way of get—the way most people inthe world follow—is Satan’s way, so Christwill also put an end to his rule on earth. InII Corinthians 4:4, you will notice that Godcalls Satan the god of this world. This bringsus to God’s fifth festival, which picturesremoving Satan and his get way of life fromruling over the earth.

Test Your Memory:

1) TRUE or FALSE: God tells us that we canchange His Laws as long as we do it tohonor Him or Christ. 2) God’s Master Plan reveals that the mostimportant purpose for His creation of man isfor him to become a member of the___________________ Family.3) __________________________ is themost solemn festival of the year because itreminds us of the death of Christ and thatHe died so our sins can be forgiven.4) Leaven, such as yeast or baking powder,is used during the Days of UnleavenedBread as a type of ___________________.5) Which festival shows us that God is nowchoosing only a few people to understandHis great plan and purpose for mankind?___________________________________ 6) People choose one of two ways to live,either the way of _________________ orthe way of _______________. 7) Which festival pictures Christ’s return toearth to put an end to mankind’s problemsand suffering? _______________________



Day of Atonement:Satan is Bound!

On the Day of Atonement, God’s peoplefast. To fast means to go without food andwater for 24 hours. When we fast, webecome weak. During a fast, a person mayget a headache, or begin to feel very tired,or even feel sick to his stomach. Fastinghelps us realize we are not high and mighty,so it humbles us. We draw closer to Godthrough fasting by humbling ourselves, thenwe see more clearly that we need God’shelp to overcome Satan’s temptations. Sinceall human beings need food and water tolive, during a fast we come to better under-stand that we need to trust God to providewhat we eat and drink. We also learn thatwith God’s help we can say “No!” to Satanand his way of get.

Satan is happy when we do somethingwe know we should not do. When we givein to Satan’s temptation it leads us to sin.Satan is called the accuser of God’s people.Look at what the Bible says about how

often Satan enjoys pointing out our sins toGod. “Then I heard a loud voice saying inheaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, andthe kingdom of our God, and the power ofHis Christ have come, for the accuser of ourbrethren who has accused them before ourGod day and night, has been cast down(Revelation 12:10).

Ever since God created Adam and Eveand placed them in the Garden of Eden,Satan has put pressure on people to disobeyGod. However, the Day of Atonement pic-tures the soon-coming time whenmankind’s sins will be placed on Satan,where they belong. Satan will no longer beable to accuse anyone before God!

God will correctly place the responsi-bility on Satan for bringing about man’ssins. Then Satan will be locked up in aspiritual prison where he will not be ableto tempt anyone to sin. “Then I saw anangel coming down from heaven, holdingin his hand the key of the bottomless pitand a great chain. And he seized the drag-on, that ancient serpent, who is the deviland Satan, and bound him for a thousand

years, and threw him into the pit, and shutit and sealed it over him that he shoulddeceive the nations no more until the thou-sand years were ended. After that he mustbe loosed for a little while” (Revelation20:1-3).

When Satan is locked away from pres-suring mankind to sin, the entire world willbe able to draw close to God, as we do whenwe fast. The Day of Atonement pictures atime when the whole world will be at onewith God.

A time of peace on earth will begin—atime of great happiness and well-being thatmankind has never known in all of history!The next festival in God’s Plan pictures thiswonderful time.

Feast of Tabernacles:The Great Spiritual Harvest

The seven-day Feast of Tabernacles alsolooks forward to a time yet to come. Thisfestival pictures the 1,000-year rule on earthof Christ and the Spirit-born Christians res-urrected at His Return who became mem-bers of God’s Family. “Blessed and holy ishe who has part in the first resurrection!Over such the second death has no power,but they shall be priests of God and ofChrist, and shall reign with Him a thousandyears” (Revelation 20:6).

This 1,000-year period is called theMillennium. It is a time of never-beforeexperienced peace, happiness and abun-dance under the government of God, whichwill spread over all the earth. As we havealready seen, this begins after Christ’sReturn, when the firstfruits have been resur-rected and Satan is bound in a prison.

Under the government of God, the nextstep of God’s Master Plan begins—the greatspiritual harvest. This will be a time wheneveryone will have the opportunity to learnGod’s Way. Then, just like the Christians inthe First Resurrection, they can be born intoGod’s Family as Spirit beings.

God’s Plan shows two spiritual harvests,which are pictured by the two physical har-vests in the land of Palestine, known todayas the country of Israel. We have learnedthat the first smaller harvest in late springpictures the Day of Pentecost, also calledthe Feast of Firstfruits. The Feast ofTabernacles, also called the Feast ofIngathering in Exodus 23:16, is pictured bythe larger fall harvest of crops, which showsthe greater spiritual harvest of people intoGod’s Family.

What will life be like during theMillennium? The Bible gives us some ideaof how things on earth will change under



Christ’s rule. “But with righteousness hewill judge the poor, and decide with fairnessfor the meek of the earth” (Isaiah 11:4).

This means there will be no more lying,cheating or unfairness, and no more hatredor dishonesty. Under the rule of Christ,everyone will deal honestly with each other.

Even the nature of animals will bechanged. “The wolf shall dwell with thelamb, and the leopard shall lie down withthe goat, and the calf and the lion and thefatling together, and a little child shall leadthem. The cow and the bear shall feed, theiryoung shall lie down together, and the lionshall eat straw like the ox. The nursingchild shall play over the hole of the asp,and the weaned child shall put his hand onthe adder’s den. They shall not hurt ordestroy in all My holy mountain; for theearth shall be full of the knowledge of theLORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah11:5-9).

We have learned the way of giveis God’s way. God is going to givemankind His government, which isthe only way man will learn the wayof peace and happiness. Mankindwill finally understand how toachieve positive goals with lastingresults. Jesus Christ and the Spirit-born Christians who have becomekings and priests ruling with Christwill teach every person on earthabout God and His way of life.

You, too, can have a part inGod’s Master Plan. During theMillennium, you can help rebuildthe world and teach millions of peo-ple how to live the way of give. Youare preparing to become a human

leader during the Millennium as you learnfrom your parents and God’s Church how tolive God’s Way. Then, later you can becomea Spirit-born member of God’s family, too!

What about all the people who havelived and died since mankind was createdbut who never had a chance to learn to obeyGod’s Way? The next festival pictures thetime when all people who have ever livedwill have their chance to know God.

The Last Great Day:For All Who

Have Not Known God’s Way

Most people who have ever lived have notknown God’s Way. They died withoutknowing the wonderful Master Plan of Godor how to live the way of give by followingGod’s laws.

During the 1,000 years of theMillennium, the world will have been


rebuilt and people will have learned the wayof peace and happiness.

At the very end of the seven-day Feastof Tabernacles, God’s people observeanother day, the eighth day, which is a sep-arate festival that John 7:37 records as “thelast day, that great day of the feast.” Isaiah65:20 indicates that the time period thispictures will last 100 years.

This seventh festival in God’s MasterPlan pictures billions of people beingbrought back to physical life to learn God’sway of give. Then, every person will begiven his chance to become an immortalmember of God’s Family.

Revelation 20:11-13 says, “Then I sawa great white throne and Him who sat uponit; from his presence earth and sky fledaway, and no place was found for them.And I saw the dead, great and small, stand-ing before God, and books were opened.Also another book was opened, which isthe Book of Life. And the dead werejudged by what was written in the books(of the Bible), by what they had done. Andthe sea gave up the dead in it, Death andHades (the grave) gave up the dead inthem, and all were judged by what they haddone.”

From this scripture, we learn that anoth-er name for the Last Great Day is “TheGreat White Throne Judgment.”

In the final step of God’s Master Plan,billions of people will be resurrected into abeautiful, peaceful world, and they will betaught to obey God and respect His govern-ment. During this time, you will have thechance to help teach God’s Law to friendsand relatives who will be brought back tolife.

Test Your Memory:

1) In II Corinthians 4:4, who does God call“the god of this world”? _______________2) What does it mean when God’s peoplefast? __________________________________________________________________3) The Day of Atonement pictures the soon-coming time when mankind’s sins will beplaced on _________________ where theybelong.4) Which festival pictures the 1,000-yearrule on earth of Christ and the Spirit-bornChristians? _________________________ 5) TRUE or FALSE: Under the rule of Christ,everyone will learn to deal with each otherhonestly.6) The Last Great Day is the ___________festival in God’s Master Plan. It pictures allpeople who have ever lived being broughtback to physical life to learn God’s way oflife, which is the way of _______________.7) The Last Great Day or Great WhiteThrone Judgment lasts for how long? ________________________________________

Steps You Can Taketo Have the Best Feast Ever

Obey your parents. Ephesians 6:1-3 says,“Children, obey your parents in the Lord,for this is right. Honor your father andmother (this is the first commandment withpromise), that it may be well with you andthat you may live long on the earth.”

Be a good example, especially for otherchildren. Show respect for your elders,dress neatly and behave your very best at alltimes. Keep your things neat, pick up after

yourself, and throw litter away properly.Treat other people’s property with respect.Follow all rules and directions. Obey signsinside the meeting hall and outside inrestaurants and businesses. Do not runinside. Do not use a loud, outside voicewhen you are inside.

Meet one new friend each day. Introduceyourself to someone new and talk with himor her. Make a list of names and addresses

of new friends so you canwrite to them after the Feast.Be sure to give them yourname and address, too, so theycan write to you.

Take notes. Everyday besure to write down scripturesgiven during sermonettes andsermons. They will help you to

understand more fully the meaning of theFeast. It will also make each service moreinteresting for you.

Be helpful. Do what your parents ask,but also offer to help in other ways, espe-cially if you have younger brothers or sis-ters. Put your things away neatly—withoutthem asking you!

Enjoy whatever activities your parentsarrange for you and your family. Try to makeevery activity more fun for everyone. Thiswill help you have the best Feast ofTabernacles ever and give you memories thatyou will keep throughout the coming year.

Brief Review of God’s Master Plan

7,000 years represented by 7 annual festi-vals.

Steps One through Three—pictured by theSpring Festivals.


Step One: Passover—the death and resurrec-tion of Christ makes possible the forgivenessof our sins upon baptism and repentance.

Step Two: Days of Unleavened Bread—removing sin from our lives and obeyingGod’s laws.

Step Three: Day of Pentecost—receivingGod’s Holy Spirit; the small number of first-fruits whom God is now choosing to under-stand His great Plan and purpose formankind.

Steps Four through Seven—pictured bythe Fall Festivals.

Step Four: Feast of Trumpets—Christreturns; the firstfruits are resurrected intothe God Family.

Step Five: Day of Atonement—Satan isbound.

Step Six: Feast of Tabernacles—1,000-yearreign of Christ and the Spirit-bornChristians.

Step Seven: Last Great Day—100 yearswhen all people who have ever lived arebrought back to physical life and given theirchance to learn to obey God.


Leviticus 23:37-41

FALL FESTIVAL WORD SEARCH

Above is a word search.To make it more challenging, the words you mustfind are not listed. But they all relate to this Lesson and are key wordsassociated with the Fall Holy Days. Some words form phrases. There are40 words, including words such as “of.” 29 words are horizontal, 12 arevertical from the top down, and 2 read from the bottom to top. Have funhunting for all of the words.

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