God is sincere and His covenant is unchanging. While the whole world was in chaos because of the pandemic of COVID-19, the Passover approached. The Passover, which contains God’s promise of the forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life, was demanded more desperately than ever before, as the number of confirmed cases and deaths increased day after day and shutdown and lockdown measures were taken to prevent the spread of the epidemic in every corner of the world.


The Head Office of the World Mission Society Church of God announced online worship services so that the Church members could keep the Passover at their homes, and produced and released online worship videos in about fifty languages. On April 7 in the evening (the fourteenth day of the first month by sacred calendar), the Church of God members in 175 countries around the world who had eagerly waited for the Passover kept it holy, mostly at their homes through online worship, except in the few countries where COVID-19 did not spread. It was followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 8th and the Day of Resurrection on the 12th through online worship to recall the sacrifice of Christ and the meaning of resurrection.


The Passover is the covenant of life, which God gave to all people for their salvation. 3,500 years ago, nine plagues were inflicted upon Egypt where the Israelites were enslaved. The water turned into blood; the land was infested with frogs, flies, and lice; livestock and people were struck down by pestilence; hail spilled; swarms of locusts swept the field; and total darkness covered the sky. Lastly, as the immeasurable plague where both the firstborn son of every household and the firstborn of livestock were put to death approached, God said to Moses, “Slaughter lambs and put the blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes of each house. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you.” As promised, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month by sacred calendar, the Egyptians could not escape the plague and lost all their firstborn sons. However, the plague passed over the houses of Israel, and the Israelites were emancipated through this incident. This day is called the Passover. As the name suggests, the Passover means “disasters pass over us.” God commanded to establish it as a feast to God and to commemorate it as a lasting ordinance for generations to come (Ex 7–12).


According to the New Testament, Jesus kept the Passover with His disciples on the night before He was crucified 2,000 years ago. He gave the bread and wine to His disciples, saying, “This is my flesh, and this is my blood for the forgiveness of sins,” and explained that they were the New Covenant. He let His disciples eat and drink the Passover bread and wine which represent His flesh and blood, because He eagerly wished that they would receive eternal life and salvation through His precious blood (Mt 26:17–28; Lk 22:7–20; Jn 6:53–58).


The Bible testifies that many more disasters will befall the earth in this age and that the seal of God, through which one can be protected from disasters, will be placed on the people of God. Whether it is 3,500 years ago or 2,000 years ago, God always places the sign of salvation on His people through the Passover.


The Church of God members, who cherished the meaning of the Passover, conducted the foot-washing ceremony and kept the Passover, following the will of Jesus. The members who participated in the flesh and blood of Christ by eating and drinking the Passover bread and wine deeply gave thanks to God for establishing the covenant of life through His great sacrifice on the cross.


It is only the World Mission Society Church of God that keeps the Passover of the New Covenant in accordance with Jesus’ teaching. The members prayed with one mind for God’s blessings to be upon all people suffering from COVID-19, and made a determination to preach the New Covenant of life to many more people and to deliver God’s true will and love contained in the Passover.