Easter
Origin
Passover
vs Easter
A
Compilation by Carol Drasher
Easter is a worldwide “tradition” involving many
“customs” that people believe to be Biblical or “Religious.”
* What is the origin of lent and sunrise services?
* How did rabbits, eggs, and hot cross buns become
associated with Messiah’s resurrection?
* Is Easter mentioned in the Bible?
* Did the Apostles and early assemblies keep Easter?
The Answers will shock you!
Let us take a deeper look and see what we are
being “taught” vs what the Scriptures tells us.
Most people
follow along as they have been taught, assuming that what they believe and do
is right. They take their beliefs for granted. Most do not take time to prove
why they do the things that they do.
Why do you believe what you believe? Where
did you get your beliefs? Is the source of your religious beliefs the Bible—or
some other authority? If you say the Bible, are you sure?
What about Easter? Since hundreds of millions keep it,
supposedly in honor of Messiah’s Resurrection, then certainly the Bible must
have much to say about it. Surely there are numerous verses mentioning rabbits,
eggs and egg hunts, baskets of candy, hot cross buns, Lent, Good Friday and
sunrise services—not to mention Easter itself.
What does Scripture have to say?
The Bible is the
source for all things Christian. Does it mention Easter? Yes.
Notice Acts 12:1-4
Acts 12:1-4
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched
forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with
the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he
proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him
in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep
him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
King Herod began
to persecute the Church, culminating in the brutal death of the apostle James
by sword. This pleased the Jews so much that Herod also took prisoner the
apostle Peter. The plan was to later deliver him to the Jews. Verse 3 says,
“Then were the days of unleavened bread.” The New Testament Church was
observing these feast days described in Leviticus 23. Now read verse 4: “And
when he (Herod) had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to
four quaternions (sixteen) of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter
to bring him forth to the people.”
Is this Bible authority for Easter?
Lets go to the Strong’s concordance and see what it
says about the word Easter.
Easter used in Acts 12:4
G3957
πάσχα
pascha
pas'-khah
Of
Chaldee origin (compare [H6453]); the Passover
(the meal, the day, the festival or the special sacrifices connected with it):
- Easter, Passover.
H6453
פּסח
pesach
peh'-sakh
a pretermission,
that is, exemption; used only technically of the Jewish Passover
(the festival or the victim): - passover (offering).
Wow! Did you catch what this is saying. The original
word the translators replaced with the word Easter is actually from Hebrew
origin - the Biblical feast Passover/Pesach.
This passage is not talking about Easter. How do
we know? The word translated Easter is the Greek word pascha
(derived from the Hebrew word pesach; there is no original Greek word
for Passover), and it has only one meaning. It always means
Passover—it can never mean Easter! For this reason, we find a Hebrew
word used in the Greek New Testament. Once again, this Hebrew word can only
refer to Passover. And other translations, including the Revised Standard
Version, correctly render this word Passover.
Instead of endorsing Easter, this verse really
proves that the Church was still observing the supposedly Hebrew Passover ten
years after the death of Christ!
Now let’s go to the other
scriptures authorizing Easter.
This presents a
problem. There are none!
There are absolutely no
verses, anywhere in the Bible, that authorize or endorse the keeping of Easter
celebration! The Bible says nothing about Lent, eggs and egg hunts, baskets of
candy, etc., although it does mention hot cross buns and sunrise services as
abominations, which God condemns. We will examine them and learn why.
The mistranslation of
Acts 12:4 is a not-so-subtle attempt to insert a pagan festival into scripture for
the purpose of authorizing it. We will examine the Passover more closely later.
A Brief Look at Passover
The well-known Old Testament Passover story centers on
God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt through ten plagues. These included how
the death angel would “pass over” all the houses where the Israelites lived.
They were instructed to put blood over their doorposts to ensure that only the
firstborn of Egypt would die. In this first Passover, it was only the blood of
the slain lamb that protected each Israelite home. While Egypt suffered the plague
of death, the Israelite firstborn were delivered by blood. By obeying God’s
command and by faith in His promise to protect them, they were spared from
death.
The Passover account is found in Exodus chapter12. Verse 14
states that the Passover ceremony was commanded by God to be an annual memorial
feast to be kept by Israel “forever.” (This command is repeated in Leviticus
23:5. Exodus 12:15 introduces the seven-day festival called the Days of
Unleavened Bread (also repeated in Leviticus 23:6-8), which was to immediately
follow the Passover feast each year.
What About the New Testament?
If the Passover was
instituted forever, then New Testament instruction for its observance
should be clear. This instruction is found in I Corinthians 5:7-8
I
Corinthians 5:7,8
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye
may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is
sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with
old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new
lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is
sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast (of unleavened
bread, which always followed Passover, as explained above)…”
Messiah, as the Lamb of God (John 1:29; Acts 8:32; I Peter
1:19; Revelation 5:6), replaced the Old Testament lamb eaten on Passover
evening each year. The New Testament symbols of the bread and wine were
instituted so that Believers could eat the body and drink the blood of Christ,
the true Lamb of God. The Messiah’s sacrifice replaced the need to kill a lamb.
Luke 22:19
19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and
brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my
body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
The Messiah did not replace Passover with a
different festival! Also, it makes plain that the only thing that He replaced
was the sacraficial lamb with His own sacrifice - Himself - and the institution
of washing of feet, bread and wine to symbolize it!
Early Believers kept
the Passover, not Easter. Notice this from
the Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edit., Vol. 8, p. 828:
“There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers…The first Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals [God’s festivals of Leviticus 23], though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals had foreshadowed. Thus the Passover, with a new conception added to it, of Christ as the true Paschal Lamb…continued to be observed.”
The original apostles and early New Testament Church did
not observe Easter. Notice: “In the second century A.D., Easter Day was, among
Christians in Asia Minor [these would be the Gentile churches that Paul raised
up in places such as Philippi, Colossae, Galatia, etc.—and he warned the
Galatians (4:9-10) about taking days such as Easter] the 14th of Nisan [or
Abib] the seventh month of the [civil] Jewish calendar” (World Almanac,
1968 edit., p. 187). The date described here is not Easter Day, but rather the
Passover—which was kept on the 14th day of the first month (Nisan) of
the Sacred Biblical calendar. The apostles and early Church did not observe Easter!
Almost no one who claims to believe in the God
of the Bible keeps them!
Almost no one who professes to worship Messiah
observes the Passover as He commanded!
Why?
Since
instruction to observe Easter is not in the Bible, and God’s permanent command
to keep Passover is, then where did Easter originate?
After
surveying the origin of Passover, we are ready to study the origin of Easter.
When Easter Came to America
Easter has long been known to be a pagan festival!
America’s founders knew this! A children’s book about the holiday, Easter
Parade: Welcome Sweet Spring Time!, by Steve Englehart, p. 4,
states,
“When the Puritans came to North America, they regarded the celebration
of Easter—and the celebration of Christmas—with suspicion. They knew that
pagans had celebrated the return of spring long before Christians celebrated
Easter…for the first two hundred years of European life in North America, only
a few states, mostly in the South, paid much attention to Easter.”
Not until
after the Civil War did Americans begin celebrating this holiday: “Easter first
became an American tradition in the 1870s” (p. 5). Remarkable! The original 13
colonies of America began as a “Christian” nation, with the cry of “No king but
King Jesus!” The nation did not observe Easter within an entire century of its
founding. What happened to change this?
Where Did Easter Come From?
Does the following sound familiar?—Spring is in the air!
Flowers and bunnies decorate the home. Dad helps the children paint beautiful
designs on eggs dyed in various colors. These eggs, which will later be hidden
and searched for, are placed into lovely, seasonal baskets. The wonderful aroma
of the hot cross buns mother is baking in the oven waft through the house.
Forty days of abstaining from special foods will finally end the next day. The
whole family picks out their Sunday best to wear to the next morning’s sunrise
worship service to celebrate the savior’s resurrection and the renewal of life.
Everyone looks forward to a succulent ham with all the trimmings. It will be a
thrilling day. After all, it is one of the most important religious holidays of
the year.
Easter, right? No!
As Ishtar was actually pronounced “Easter” in most Semitic
dialects, it could be said that the event portrayed here is, in a sense, Easter.
Of course, the occasion could easily have been a Phrygian family honoring Attis
and Cybele
 |
|
Attis, this statue is
located at his sanctuary near the Faun in the Campus of Magna Mater. He was the
Frigian husband of goddess Cibele for the Romans, Rhea for the Greeks (mother
of Zeus)
|
 |
| Marble statuette of Cybele from Nicaea in Bithynia. (Istanbul Archaeology Museum) |
or perhaps a
Phoenician family worshipping Adonis and Astarte.
 |
| Adonis |
 |
| Astarte |
Also fitting the description well would be a heretic Israelite family honoring the Canaanite Baal and Ashtoreth.
 |
| Image of Ba’al with his consort Astarte (fertility godess) |
This depiction could just as easily represent any number of
other immoral, pagan fertility celebrations of death and resurrection—including
the modern Easter celebration as it has come to us through the Anglo-Saxon
fertility rites of the goddess Eostre or Ostara. These are all the same
festivals, separated only by time and culture.
If Easter is not
found in the Bible, then where did it come from? The vast majority of
ecclesiastical and secular historians agree that the name of Easter and the
traditions surrounding it are deeply rooted in pagan religion.
Here is a very good explanation I found:
Written by: David J. Meyer
Easter is a day that
is honored by nearly all of contemporary Christianity and is used to celebrate
the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The holiday often
involves a church service at sunrise, a feast which includes an "Easter
Ham", decorated eggs and stories about rabbits.
Those who love truth
learn to ask questions, and many questions must be asked regarding the holiday
of Easter.
Is it truly the day
when Jesus arose from the dead? Where did all of the strange customs come from,
which have nothing to do with the resurrection of our Saviour?
The purpose of this
tract is to help answer those questions, and to help those who seek truth to
draw their own conclusions.
The first thing we
must understand is that professing Christians were not the only ones who
celebrated a festival called "Easter."
"Ishtar",
which is pronounced "Easter" was a day that commemorated the
resurrection of one of their gods that they called "Tammuz", who was
believed to be the only begotten son of the moon-goddess and the sun-god.
In those ancient
times, there was a man named Nimrod, who was the grandson of one of Noah's son named
Ham.
Ham had a son named
Cush who married a woman named Semiramis.Cush and Semiramis then had a son
named him "Nimrod."
After the death of
his father, Nimrod married his own mother and became a powerful King.
The Bible tells of of
this man, Nimrod, in Genesis 10:8-10 as follows:
"And Cush begat
Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before
the Lord: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the
Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad,and
Calneh, in the land of Shinar."
Nimrod became a
god-man to the people and Semiramis, his wife and mother, became the powerful
Queen of ancient Babylon.
Nimrod was eventually
killed by an enemy, and his body was cut in pieces and sent to various parts of
his kingdom.
Semiramis had all of
the parts gathered, except for one part that could not be found.
That missing part was
his reproductive organ. Semiramis claimed that Nimrod could not come back to
life without it and told the people of Babylon that Nimrod had ascended to the
sun and was now to be called "Baal", the sun god.
Queen Semiramis also
proclaimed that Baal would be present on earth in the form of a flame, whether
candle or lamp, when used in worship.
Semiramis was
creating a mystery religion, and with the help of Satan, she set herself up as
a goddess.
Semiramis claimed
that she was immaculately conceived.
She taught that the
moon was a goddess that went through a 28 day cycle and ovulated when full.
She further claimed
that she came down from the moon in a giant moon egg that fell into the
Euphrates River.
This was to have
happened at the time of the first full moon after the spring equinox.
Semiramis became
known as "Ishtar" which is pronounced "Easter", and her
moon egg became known as "Ishtar's" egg."
Ishtar soon became
pregnant and claimed that it was the rays of the sun-god Baal that caused her
to conceive.
The son that she
brought forth was named Tammuz.
Tammuz was noted to
be especially fond of rabbits, and they became sacred in the ancient religion,
because Tammuz was believed to be the son of the sun-god, Baal. Tammuz, like
his supposed father, became a hunter.
The day came when
Tammuz was killed by a wild pig.
Queen Ishtar told the
people that Tammuz was now ascended to his father, Baal, and that the two of
them would be with the worshippers in the sacred candle or lamp flame as
Father, Son and Spirit.
Ishtar, who was now
worshipped as the "Mother of God and Queen of Heaven", and continued
to build her mystery religion.
The queen told the
worshippers that when Tammuz was killed by the wild pig, some of his blood fell
on the stump of an evergreen tree, and the stump grew into a full new tree
overnight. This made the evergreen tree sacred by the blood of Tammuz.
She also proclaimed a
forty day period of time of sorrow each year prior to the anniversary of the
death of Tammuz.
During this time, no
meat was to be eaten.
Worshippers were to
meditate upon the sacred mysteries of Baal and Tammuz, and to make the sign of the
"T" in front of their hearts as they worshipped.
They also ate sacred
cakes with the marking of a "T" or cross on the top.
Every year, on the
first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, a celebration
was made.
It was Ishtar's Sunday
and was celebrated with rabbits and eggs.
Ishtar also
proclaimed that because Tammuz was killed by a pig, that a pig must be eaten on
that Sunday.
By now, the readers
of this tract should have made the connection that paganism has infiltrated the
contemporary "Christian" churches, and further study indicates that
this paganism came in by way of the Roman Catholic System.
The truth is that
Easter has nothing whatsoever to do with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
We also know that
Easter can be as much as three weeks away from the Passover, because the pagan
holiday is always set as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the
spring equinox.
Some have wondered
why the word "Easter" is in the King James Bible.
(see above concordance notes)
It is because Acts,
chapter 12, tells us that it was the evil King Herod, who was planning to
celebrate Easter, and not the Christians.
The true Passover and
pagan Easter sometimes coincide, but in some years, they are a great distance
apart.
We know that the
Bible tells us in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him
must worship him in spirit and in truth."
The truth is that the
forty days of Lent, eggs, rabbits, hot cross buns and the Easter ham have
everything to do with the ancient pagan religion of Mystery Babylon. Don’t be
deceived. These are all antichrist activities!
Satan is a master
deceiver, and has filled the lives of well-meaning, professing Christians with
idolatry.
These things bring
the wrath of God upon children of disobedience, who try to make pagan customs
of Baal worship Christian.
We all must answer
for our activities and for what we teach your children.
These customs of
Easter honor Baal, who is also Satan, and is still worshipped as the
"Rising Sun" and his house is the "House of the Rising
Sun."
How many churches
have "sunrise services" on Ishtar's day and face the rising sun in
the East?
How many will use
colored eggs and rabbit stories, as they did in ancient Babylon.
These things are no
joke, any more than Judgment day is a joke.
Here are some
powerful quotes that demonstrate more about the true origin of how the
modern Easter celebration got its name:
“Since Bede the
Venerable (De
ratione temporum 1:5) the
origin of the term for the feast of Christ’s Resurrection has been popularly
considered to be from the Anglo-Saxon Eastre, a goddess of spring…the Old High
German plural for dawn, eostarun;
whence has come the German Ostern, and
our English Easter” (The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, Vol. 5, p. 6).
“The fact that vernal
festivals were general among pagan peoples no doubt had much to do with the
form assumed by the Eastern festival in the Christian churches. The English
term Easter is of pagan origin” (Albert
Henry Newman, D.D., LL.D., A Manual of Church History, p. 299).
“On this greatest of
Christian festivals, several survivals occur of ancient heathen ceremonies. To
begin with, the name itself is not Christian but pagan. Ostara was the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring”
(Ethel L. Urlin, Festival, Holy Days, and Saints Days, p. 73).
“Easter—the name Easter
comes to us from Ostera or Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, for whom
a spring festival was held annually, as it is from this pagan festival that some of our Easter customs have come”
(Hazeltine, p. 53).
“In
Babylonia…the goddess of spring was called Ishtar. She was identified with the
planet Venus, which, because…[it] rises before the Sun…or sets after it…appears
to love the light [this means Venus loves the sun-god]…In Phoenecia, she became
Astarte; in Greece, Eostre [related to the Greek word Eos: “dawn”], and in Germany, Ostara [this comes from
the German word Ost: “east,” which is the direction of dawn]”
(Englehart, p. 4).
As we have seen, many names are interchangeable for the
better-known Easter. Pagans typically used many different names for
the same god or goddess. Nimrod, the Bible figure who built the city of Babylon
(Gen. 10:8), is an example. He was worshipped as Saturn, Vulcan, Kronos, Baal,
Tammuz, Molech and others, but he was always the same god—the fire or sun god
universally worshipped in nearly every ancient culture.
The goddess Easter was no different. She was one
goddess with many names—the goddess of fertility, worshipped in spring
when all life was being renewed.
The widely-known historian,
Will Durant, in his famous and respected work, Story of Civilization,
pp. 235, 244-245, writes,
“Ishtar
[Astarte to the Greeks, Ashtoreth to the Jews], interests us not only as
analogue of the Egyptian Isis and prototype of the Grecian Aphrodite and the
Roman Venus, but as the formal beneficiary of one of the strangest of
Babylonian customs…known to us chiefly from a famous page in Herodotus: Every
native woman is obliged, once in her life, to sit in the temple of Venus
[Easter], and have intercourse with some stranger.”
Is it any wonder that the Bible speaks of the religious
system that has descended from that ancient city as, “Mystery,
babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth”
Rev. 17:5?
Let us look closer at the origin of other
customs associated with the modern Easter celebration
The Origin of Lent
According to Johannes
Cassianus, who wrote in the fifth century, “Howbeit you should know, that as
long as the primitive church retained its perfection unbroken, this observance
of Lent did not exist” (First Conference Abbot Theonas, chapter 30).
There is neither biblical nor historical record of the Messiah,
the apostles or the early Church participating in the Lenten season.
Since there is no instruction to
observe Lent in the Bible, where did it come from?
A forty-day abstinence period was anciently observed in
honor of the pagan gods Osiris, Adonis and Tammuz (John Landseer, Sabaean
Researches, pp. 111, 112).
Alexander Hislops, The Two Babylons, pp. 104-105,
says this of the origin of Lent: “The forty days abstinence of Lent was
directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent
of forty days, in the spring of the year, is still observed by the Yezidis or
Pagan Devil-worshippers of Koordistan, who have inherited it from their early
masters, the Babylonians. Such a Lent of forty days was held in spring
by the Pagan Mexicans…Such a Lent of forty days was observed in Egypt…”
Lent came from paganism, not from the Bible
Eggs, Egg Hunts and Easter
Eggs have always been associated with the Easter
celebration. Nearly every culture in the modern world has a long tradition of
coloring eggs in beautiful and different ways. I once examined a traveling
display of many kinds of beautifully decorated egg designs that represented the
styles and traditions of virtually every country of modern Europe.
Notice the following:
“The origin of the Easter egg is based on the
fertility lore of the Indo-European races…The egg to them was a symbol of spring…In Christian times the egg
had bestowed upon it a religious interpretation, becoming a symbol of the rock
tomb out of which Christ emerged to the new life of His resurrection” (Francis
X. Weiser, Handbook of Christian Feasts
and Customs, p. 233).
This is a direct example of exactly how pagan symbols and
customs are “Christianized,” i.e., Christian-sounding names are superimposed
over pagan customs. This is done to deceive—as well as make people feel better
about why they are following a custom that is not in the Bible.
Notice:
“Around the Christian
observance of Easter…folk customs have collected, many of which have been
handed down from the ancient ceremonial…symbolism of European and Middle
Eastern pagan spring festivals…for example, eggs…have been very
prominent as symbols of new life and resurrection” (Encyclopedia
Britannica, 1991 ed., Vol. 4, p. 333).
Finally, the following comes from Egyptian Belief and
Modern Thought, James Bonwick, pp. 211-212:
“Eggs were hung up in
the Egyptian temples. Bunsen calls attention to the mundane egg, the emblem of
generative life, proceeding from the mouth of the great god of Egypt. The
mystic egg of Babylon, hatching the Venus Ishtar, fell from heaven to the
Euphrates. Dyed eggs were sacred Easter offerings in Egypt, as they are still
in China and Europe. Easter, or spring, was the season of birth, terrestrial
and celestial.”
What could be more plain in showing the true origin of the
“Easter egg”? An “Easter” egg is just an egg that pertains to Easter. God never
authorized Passover eggs or Days of Unleavened Bread eggs, but there have been
Easter eggs for thousands of years!
It naturally progressed that the egg, representing spring
and fertility, would be merged into an already pagan springtime festival.
Connecting this symbol to Christ’s Resurrection in the
spring required much creativity and human reasoning. However, even highly
creative human reasoning has never been able to successfully connect
the next Easter symbol to anything Christian, because there is not a single
word about it anywhere in the New Testament!
Easter Bunny
Here are two additional quotes from Francis Weiser about the origin of
the “Easter bunny”:
“In Germany and Austria little nests containing eggs,
pastry and candy are placed in hidden spots, and the children believe that the
Easter bunny, so popular in this country, too, had laid the eggs and brought
the candy” (p. 235)
and “The Easter bunny had its origin in
pre-Christian fertility lore…The Easter bunny has never had religious symbolism bestowed on its festive
usage…However, the bunny has acquired a cherished role in the celebration of
Easter as the legendary producer of Easter eggs for children in many countries”
(p. 236).
Here
is further proof of the origin of Easter eggs and rabbits. It demonstrates how
no one has ever been able to connect the Easter bunny to anything Christian,
let alone to the Bible:
“The Easter bunny is not a true Christian symbol”
(John Bradner, Symbols
of Church Seasons and Days, p.
52), and “Although adopted in a number of Christian cultures, the Easter bunny
has never received any specific Christian interpretation” (Mirsea Eliade, The Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 558).
Sadly, none of this will stop scores of millions of
professing Christians from decorating their lawns and houses with Easter
bunnies each spring.
Consider this last quote:
“The hare, the symbol of fertility in ancient Egypt,
a symbol that was kept later in Europe…Its place has been taken by the Easter
rabbit” (Encyclopedia
Britannica, 1991 ed., Vol. 4,
p. 333).
Even in modern times, rabbits have remained common symbols
of fertility. While their rapid rate of reproduction is well known, another
problem arises with rabbits—they do not lay eggs! While both are
clearly fertility symbols, there is no logical way to connect them. In a world
filled with pagan tradition, truth and logic can be lost. Merging
these symbols with Christianity makes an already idolatrous practice worse.
There is nothing Christian about any of these
symbols. The true history of these fertility symbols, rabbits and eggs, is
completely unknown to all the unsuspecting children who have been led by adults
to think them so special.
The entire concept that these things are Christian is a lie
foisted on innocent children who will believe that “the moon is made of cheese”
just because someone tells them so. While these are shocking facts, they are
true nonetheless.
A Counterfeit Savior?
One of the central themes of the New Testament is that the
Messiah came to die for mankind’s sins and offer redemption to a world cut off
from God.
The master counterfeiter Satan the devil, called the “god
of this world” in II Corinthians. 4:4 seeks to counterfeit every
aspect of God’s plan. He “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). As
the arch-deceiver, he would not be content to counterfeit all other
aspects of Christianity but not the identity and worship of the true Savior!
Who is the real “savior” central to
the “Easter Sunday” tradition?
Is it the Messiah of the Bible? If you say
“yes,” are you sure?
“…the conception of a
Saviour-God was quite normal in the ancient pagan world…a conception of
salvation underlies the notion of such Gods as Osiris, Attis, and Adonis…”
(John M. Robertson, Christianity and Mythology, p. 395).
And then this:
“It has often been
urged that this belief in the Resurrection of the Messiah is due to ideas of
divine resurrection current in the contemporary world…stories of Attis, Adonis,
and Osiris…In the pagan stories the rising again is a joyous reversal of
defeat; in the Christian story it is the complement of victorious death. It may
be said that Attis and Osiris saved by rising again, Jesus by dying…the Easter
observance did not arise at once out of belief in the Resurrection, but
developed later by gradual stages out of the Jewish Pasch.
The notion implied in
the Easter greeting Christ is risen is a secondary development; the idea comes
from this festival and from its occurrence in spring; the festival does not
come from the idea. The idea of Christ’s resurrection was injected into the old
practice of Easter observance and not the other way around” (A. Nock, Early
Gentile Christianity and its Hellenistic Background, pp. 105-107).
And, finally, the powerful theme of this oft-repeated
counterfeit is made most clear by the famous historian, James George Frazer:
“Now the death and
resurrection of Attis were officially celebrated at Rome on the 24th and 25th
of March, the latter being regarded as the spring equinox, and…according to an
ancient and widespread tradition Christ suffered on the 25th of March…the
tradition which placed the death of Christ on the 25th of March…is all the more
remarkable because astronomical considerations prove that it can have had no
historical foundation…When we remember that the festival of St. George in April has replaced
the ancient pagan festival of the Parilia; that the festival of St. John the
Baptist in June has succeeded to a heathen Midsummer festival of water; that
the festival of the Assumption of the Virgin in August has ousted the festival
of Diana; that the feast of All Souls [following Halloween] in November is a
continuation of an old heathen feast of the dead; and that the Nativity of
Christ himself was assigned to the winter solstice in December because that day
was deemed the Nativity of the Sun; we can hardly be thought to be rash or
unreasonable in conjecturing that the other cardinal festival of the Christian
church—the solemnization of Easter—may have been in like manner, and from like
motives of edification, adapted to a similar celebration of the Phyrigian god
Attis at the vernal equinox…It is a remarkable
coincidence…that the Christian and the heathen festivals of the divine death and
resurrection should have been solemnized at the same season…It
is difficult to regard the coincidence as purely accidental” (The
Golden Bough, Vol. I, pp. 306-309).
We can summarize the above source. The Roman Catholic Church
had a practice of incorporating pagan festivals—of pasting “Christian” names
over them and calling them “Christian.” This was done to make “Christianity”
more palatable and familiar to heathen worshippers, whom the Church was trying
to attract.
How did such a state of affairs develop?
It can now be better understood why the apostle Paul wrote
the Corinthians to beware of the subtle deceit of “another Messiah whom
we have not preached.” He said,
“But I fear, lest by
any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds
should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that comes
preaches another Messiah, whom we have not preached, or if you
receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another
gospel, which you have not accepted…” (II Cor. 11:3-4).
People today can think that they are worshipping
the true Savior when they are really worshipping a false savior—another
Messiah!
The entirety of traditional Christianity is actually
worshipping Baal, the mediator and sun god, who was named after his “wife”
Ishtar (who was actually his mother Semiramis)—who we will later see
is the one the Bible calls the “Queen of Heaven.”
People can worship in ways that represent things that are
far different than what they sincerely believe or intend. Consider the
following classic example:
Sunrise Services
Sunrise services are mentioned in the Bible. But
what God says about this custom is not what you expect. Notice these
astonishing verses. The prophet Ezekiel was being shown, in vision, an
important prophecy concerning the sins of God’s people in our time.
The entire context of these verses needs to be examined
carefully to understand the heightening condemnation toward which God builds in
His conclusion:
“…Turn you yet again, and you shall see greater abominations that they
do…and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz…And He brought me into the
inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at
the door of the temple of the Lord, between the
porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward
the temple of the Lord, and their
faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then He said unto
me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a light
thing…that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For
they…have returned to provoke Me to anger…Therefore will I also deal in fury:
Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in Mine
ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.” Ezekiel 8:13-18.
Observing sunrise services is serious to God! He so
hates this vile practice that He will ultimately destroy all who persist in it
Ezekiel 9.
It is no “light thing” to God that many millions do this
every Easter! It may seem “beautiful,” “religious,” and “deeply moving” to
those participating in it, but God has forbidden His true people to devise
their own religious customs and ideas.
He is not interested in what people may personally
feel or think is right. He is interested in those who care
about what He thinks!
As far as God is concerned, ancient sun worship, dressed up
in Easter finery and bonnets, is just modern packaging of a very old,
idolatrous pagan custom.
Consider God’s own words in Deuteronomy 12:28-32:
“Observe and obey all
these words which I command you…When…you…dwell in their land, take heed to
yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them…and that you do not inquire
after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will
do likewise.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every
abomination to the Lord which He hates they have
done to their gods…Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you
shall not add to it nor take away from it.”
God tells Christians to never mix what is godly with what
is pagan—or the true with the false!
Do not let men tell you that what God says makes no
difference. It does!
Hot Cross Buns
When I was in the first grade, all the children in my class
had to sing a solo of his or her choice. I will never forget this terrifying
moment. I was so embarrassed and nervous that I picked the shortest song in our
little songbook, “Hot Cross Buns,” and sang it before the class. Of course, I
had no idea what I was singing. Though short (it was only fifteen words), I
have never forgotten the lesson of its meaning.
Notice Jeremiah 7:18:
“The children gather
wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make
cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to
other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.”
The cakes offered to the queen of heaven were these same
hot cross buns that millions of children sing about today (Alexander Hislop, The
Two Babylons, p. 107). What seems so innocent is not innocent at all.
Who is the “queen of heaven”?
Ashtaroth—The Queen of Heaven
Astarte (Easter)-worship was always associated with the
worship of Baal or sun worship. Astarte was Baal’s wife. Notice that another
name for Astarte was Ashtaroth. The following quote makes this point clear:
“What means the term
Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its
very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles
of Beltis, the queen of heaven…Now, the Assyrian goddess, or Astarte,
is identified with Semiramis by Athenagoras (Legatio, vol. ii. p. 179)
and by Lucian (De Dea Syria, vol iii. p. 382)
…Now, no name could
more exactly picture forth the character of Semiramis, as queen of Babylon,
than the name of ‘Asht-tart,’ for that just means ‘The woman that made
towers’…Ashturit, then…is obviously the same as the Hebrew ‘Ashtoreth’” (Alexander Hislop,
The Two Babylons, pp. 103, 307-308).
Notice this conclusive quote from Microsoft Encarta
Multimedia Encyclopedia:
“Ishtar was the Great
Mother, the goddess of fertility and the queen of heaven.”
So, in actuality, Ashtaroth (Ishtar) was Nimrod’s
harlotrous, mother/wife widow, Semiramis, as many other ancient historians
attest! Easter is now established as none other than the Ashtaroth of the
Bible!
God Calls Easter Evil
Now that we know that Easter is the goddess Ashtaroth, we
need to look into the Bible and see what God thinks of her. Look at this verse:
“And the children of
Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord…And
they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth [Easter]” Judges.
2:11, 13
The context shows that God allowed His people to be taken
from their land into captivity as a result of this sin! It continues,
explaining how God delivered His people over and over again through a series of
judges.
After each deliverance, Israel returned to the same false
gods, which in turn brought another captivity, via conquest by the
nations around them. They never seemed to learn, as verse 19 makes clear:
“And it came to pass,
when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves…in
following other gods…and…they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn
way.”
In chapter 10:6, Israel repeats this pattern of
stubbornness. And God, just as stubbornly, still calls it evil.
Baal and Ashtaroth worship reappeared during Samuel’s time.
Samuel told Israel,
“…put
away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and
prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve
Him only…Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and
Ashtaroth, and served the Lord
only” I Samuel. 7:3-4.
It has been said that
“The only thing man has learned from history is that no one learns from
history.” George Santayana took it further, saying, “Those who do not
learn the lesson of history are doomed to repeat it.”
This lesson describes ancient Israel—but it also describes
today’s modern world. Because Israel could not stay on track, they were
eventually taken into captivity, becoming lost to history! After one more
captivity and punishment, prophecy reveals that the Messiah will gather them
for the last time at His Return.
One Final Example
The Bible states that
King Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. Yet, he made a mistake that God
considered so great that, after his death, He punished Solomon by removing the
kingdom from his son.
What was his mistake?
He married a woman who led him into the worship of Easter
(Ashtaroth). Notice I Kings 11:4-6:
“For it came to pass,
when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods…For
Solomon went after Ashtaroth the goddess of the Zidonians…And Solomon did evil
in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully
after the Lord, as did David his father.”
Verses 11-12 demonstrate that the kingdom was
taken from his son.
There are two completely different churches pictured in the
New Testament. One, the true Church that the Messiah built, is described as the
bride of the Messiah, forsaking involvements with this world and its customs in
order to be pure when He comes for her. But, throughout the New Testament, it
was prophesied that false teachers would creep in and gain control of the
church organization.
True Believers would have to flee from many of their
original congregations to continue to obey God. They would, therefore, be a
“little flock,” often scattered, never having political power in this world.
The world has kept little track of this small, scattered,
persecuted Church, but Christ promised that He would never leave or forsake it
and that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
Though it has periodically had to scatter for its life (Acts 8:1; Daniel 12:7),
Christ has faithfully kept His promise to remain with it, empowering and strengthening
it through His Spirit.
Despite continual persecution—even during periods of great
martyrdom by the large popular churches that have always sought to destroy it—a
remnant has always remained throughout the last nearly 2,000 years. It has
continued to “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” Revelation
14:12.
God has always commanded His Church not to keep pagan
festivals! This little Church has been willing to obey Him. The entire inset
12th chapter of Revelation gives a brief overview of its history, right up to
and through the time that God protects it just before the Return of the
Messiah.
Paul warned the Thessalonian congregation, “…the mystery of
iniquity does already work” (II Thessalonians 2:7). This mystery was already
having an influence within the true Church just twenty years after Messiah
established it in 31 A.D. It was the very Chaldean Mystery, embodied in
Christmas and Easter—its two greatest festivals! Invariably, the arrival of
these false pagan celebrations required true Christians to flee.
The prophesied “falling away” (the Greek word apostasia
here means “to defect from truth”) before the Return of Messiah (II
Thessalonians 2:1-3) has now occurred.
G646
ἀποστασία
apostasia
ap-os-tas-ee'-ah
Feminine
of the same as G647; defection
from truth (properly the state), (“apostasy”): - falling away, forsake.
Maybe now we are able to see the real truth behind
organized religion and their 501c3 status they hold.
These organizations are as a harlotrous queen (like Semiramis/Easter)
riding a beast with seven heads (Revelation 17). These seven heads represent
the historic revivals of the Holy Roman Empire. This whorish woman symbolizes a
powerful, politically organized church.
Gradually, this organized church, centered at
Rome, adopted more and more pagan doctrines and practices until the only
discernible difference between it and pagan religion was its use of the name of
Jesus Christ. This is how Easter came to be celebrated in place of the true
Christian Passover.
This “mother church” has many “daughter denominations,” and
the entire system masquerades under the banner of “Christianity,” when they are
really the “Babylon Mystery Religion.” The Bible pictures her as a universal
deceiver with all “Christian” countries made drunk with her false doctrines!
She is pictured as being made drunk with the blood of the saints, while, at the
same time, bragging that she is the true church. All of her daughters have
adopted her pagan practices.
The Quartodeciman Controversy: From Passover to
Easter
What does history say about how and when the idolatrous
pagan festival of Easter came to replace the Passover service ordained by God?
A series of extensive quotes tell this story—commonly
referred to as the “Quartodeciman Controversy.” Several sources are quoted so
that the story of how the counterfeit Easter came to replace Passover will be
perfectly clear.
This problem—Passover versus Easter—became so pivotal, as a
test of the power of the great church that wished to stamp out the “little
flock,” that eventually disobedience brought the death sentence upon
any who continued to keep either God’s Sabbath or His true festivals.
Make no mistake! Whether one keeps God’s
Passover or celebrates the pagan Easter is serious!
First
notice the following by Eusebius (a well-known historian of the early Church)
from his work, Ecclesiastical History, Book V, chapters XXIII and
XXIV: “A question of no small importance arose at that time. For the parishes
of all Asia, as from an older tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the
moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should be
observed as the feast of the Saviour’s passover…the bishops of Asia, led by
Polycrates, decided to hold to the old custom handed down to them. He himself,
in a letter which he addressed to Victor and the church of Rome, set forth in
the following words the tradition which had come down to him:
“We observe the exact
day; neither adding, nor taking away. For in Asia also great lights have fallen
asleep, which shall rise again on the day of the Lord’s coming, when he shall
come with glory from heaven, and shall seek out all the saints. Among these are
Philip, one of the twelve apostles…and, moreover, John, who was both a witness
and a teacher, who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord…and Polycarp in Smyrna,
who was a bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, bishop and martyr from Eumenia…the
bishop and martyr Sagaris…the blessed Papirius, or Melito…All these observed
the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no
respect, but following the rule of faith.”
The 1967 New Catholic Encyclopedia states,
“Quartodeciman, a
term used to describe the practice in the early Church of celebrating Easter on
the 14th of Nisan (die quarta decima), the day of the
Jewish Passover (Exodus 12:6). Quartodecimanism, prevalent in Asia Minor and
Syria in the 2nd century, emphasized the death of Christ, the true Paschal
victim (John18:28; 19:42), while Roman practice emphasized the observance of
Sunday as the day of the Resurrection. Implicit in these two positions is the
disputed chronology of Holy Week. As Christianity separated from Judaism,
gentile Christians objected to observing the principal Christian feasts on the
same day as the Jewish Passover.“
Roman efforts to induce the Quartodecimans to abandon their
practice were unsuccessful. On a visit to Rome (c. 155), St. Polycarp of Smyrna
amicably discussed the question with Pope Anicetus without, however, reaching
agreement. Pope Victor (189-198) sought unity through a series of synods held
in both East and West; all accepted the Roman practice except the Asiatic
bishops. When Victor attempted coercion by excommunication, St. Irenaeus of
Lyons intervened to restore peace (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 5.23-25).During
the 3rd century Quartodecimanism waned; it persisted in some Asiatic
communities down to the 5th century” (Vol. 12, p. 13).
The following very lengthy statement from the Encyclopedia
Britannica, 11th Edition, well summarizes and details the story of how
Easter slowly came to replace the Passover by A.D. 325 within visible,
organized “Christianity”:
“Although the observance of Easter was at a
very early period in the practice of the Christian Church [false], a serious
difference as to the day for its observance soon arose between the [true]
Christians of Jewish and those of Gentile decent, which led to a long and
bitter controversy…The Jewish Christians…(observed) the 14th day of the moon at
evening…without regard to the day of the week. The Gentile Christians (Roman
Catholics)…identified the first day of the week with the resurrection, and kept
the preceding Friday as the commemoration of the crucifixion, irrespective of
the day of the month.“
Generally speaking, the Western Churches (Roman
Catholic) kept Easter on the 1st day of the week, while the Eastern Churches
[including the remnant of the true Church] followed the Jewish rule [the true
Christian Passover].
“Polycarp, the disciple of John the Evangelist
(last of the 12 apostles) visited Rome in 159 (sic) to confer with Anicetus,
the bishop of that see, on the subject, and urged the tradition which he had
received from the apostles of observing the 14th day. Anicetus, however,
declined. About forty years later (197), the question was discussed in a very
different spirit between Victor, bishop of Rome, and Polycrates, metropolitan
of proconsular Asia.
That province [embracing churches founded
through the apostle Paul, like Antioch and all of those identified in
Revelation 2 and 3 as the true Church] was the only portion of Christendom
which still adhered to the Jewish usage.
Victor demanded that all should adopt the usage
prevailing at Rome. This Polycrates firmly refused to agree to, and urged many
weighty reasons to the contrary, whereupon Victor proceeded to excommunicate
Polycrates and the Christians who continued the [correct] Eastern usage. He
was, however, restrained (by counsel from other bishops) from actually
proceeding to enforce the decree of excommunication…and the Asiatic churches retained
their usage unmolested.
We find the Jewish usage (the true New
Testament Passover) from time to time reasserting itself after this, but it
never prevailed to any large extent.“
A final settlement of the dispute was one among
the other reasons which led Constantine [Roman Emperor] to summon the council
at Nicaea in 325. At that time the Syrians and Antiochenes were the solitary
champions of the observance of the 14th day. The decision of the council was
unanimous that Easter was to be kept on Sunday, and on the same Sunday
throughout the world, and that none hereafter should follow the blindness of
the Jews. [Or, in other words, no one was allowed to follow the example of
Messiah and the true Assembly He founded!]…The FEW who afterwards separated themselves
from the unity of the [politically organized] church, and continued to keep the
14th day, were named Quartodecimani [from the Latin word for 14], and the
dispute itself is known as the Quartodeciman controversy” (Vol. VIII, pp.
828-829).
This is a very powerful quote making absolutely plain the
full story of what happened and how it happened. History
records that Polycarp was martyred on the way back from Rome (burned to death
in a farmhouse), just days after his meeting with Anicetus over the issue of
keeping Passover or Easter. He was almost certainly killed because he would not
compromise regarding the proper keeping of the Passover.
The 1967 New Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 5, p. 8
states this:
“Occasionally, the
Quartodecimans celebrated Easter on the day that other Christians were
observing Good Friday. Originally both observances were allowed, but gradually
it was felt incongruous that Christians should celebrate Easter on a Jewish
feast, and unity in celebrating the principal Christian feast was called for.”
Now read this quote from the same source vol. 5, p. 433,
concluding the matter of how the Council of Nicea “decided,” for all, the
matter of Easter versus Passover:
“As for Easter, the Fathers decreed (1) that all Christians should observe
it on the same day, (2) that Jewish customs should not be followed, and (3)
that the practice of the West, of Egypt, and of other Churches should remain in
force, namely, of celebrating Easter on the Sunday following the first full
moon after the vernal equinox.”
The 1909 edition of The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol.
5, p. 228 says,
“After the Pope’s strong measures the Quarterdecimans seemed to have
gradually dwindled away. Origen in the “Philosophumena” (VIII, xviii) seems to
regard them as a mere handful of wrong-headed nonconformists. SECOND PHASE—The
second stage of the Easter controversy centers around the Council of Nicaea
[A.D. 325] granting that the great Easter festival was always to be held on a
Sunday, and was not to be coincident with a particular phase of the moon, which
might occur on any day of the week.”
The truth is that the Passover was always tied directly to
the moon, regardless of the day of the week on which it fell! (The word month
is derived from moon.) The 14th day of Nisan (Abib) was God’s
instruction (Exodus 12:1-6)—not the nearest Sunday to this or any other date.
This same edition of The Catholic Encyclopedia,
when describing the final decision at Nicaea in A.D. 325, quotes the words of
the Emperor Constantine, writing to all the churches:
“At this meeting the
question concerning the most holy day of Easter was discussed, and it was
resolved by the united judgment of all present that this feast ought to be kept
by all and in every place on one and the same day…And first of all it appeared
an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should
follow the practice of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hands with
enormous sin…for we have received from our Saviour a different way [this is
false because Christ did not ever instruct “a different way”]…And I myself have
undertaken that this decision should meet with the approval of your Sagacities
in the hope that your Wisdoms will gladly admit that practice which is observed
at once in the city of Rome and in Africa, throughout Italy and in Egypt…with
entire unity of judgment.” (Vol. 5, p. 228).
Finally, this same source continues a few paragraphs later
with,
“The final decision
always lay with accepted ecclesiastical authority…was primarily a
matter of ecclesiastical discipline and not astronomical
science” (p. 229).
These two short
phrases make it clear that church authority at Rome, and not God’s
Word, determined whether Easter or the Passover would be kept.
Only the “few” remained faithful to the truth—and it has
always been this way. Eventually, as the false pagan church grew in political
influence, the death penalty was imposed on anyone found keeping God’s
seventh-day Sabbath or His other Festivals, such as the Passover. True
Christians have always had to flee to wherever they could continue keeping
God’s commandments and truths.
Throughout the centuries, though ignored and persecuted by
the world, these same Christians (a single true Church of God) have
always held to and kept the truth of God on this vital doctrinal point—as well
as many other true biblical doctrines!
The Passover Was Commanded
We have already seen that God never instructed, but rather
actually commanded against, keeping Easter. It has always been His
purpose that the Passover should be kept once a year—forever.
The New Testament Passover also includes an ordinance of
humility called the footwashing. This instruction is found in John 13:2-15 and
was commanded by Christ to be taught to all who would learn God’s doctrines. Messiah
commanded His disciples,
“Go you therefore,
and teach all nations, baptizing them…Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20).
This instruction includes the Passover, with the
footwashing and the symbols of the bread and wine. It also includes keeping the
Days of Unleavened Bread and the rest of God’s annual feast days.
What Will You Do?
Can Easter be kept “in honor of Messiah”?
Some may say, “Okay, I know Easter comes from paganism—but I’m
not pagan! I celebrate it in honor of Christ. I focus on Him.”
Because God knew that Israel would feel this way when they
encountered the religious customs of pagan nations, and would try to use false
customs to honor the true God, He gave the instruction in Deuteronomy
12:28-32. God always commanded that people worship Him exactly as He
instructed! So did Messiah.
The Messiah told the Pharisees, “Thus have you made
the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition…in
vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
men” (Matt. 15:6, 9).
Mark’s parallel account adds an important element: “Full
well you reject the commandment of God, that
you may keep your own tradition” (7:9).
These verses have clear application to those who reject the
Passover that they may keep pagan Easter.
Hundreds of millions keep the rank idolatrous pagan feast
known as Easter, believing themselves to be honoring the Messiah. Most are in
complete ignorance of what they are doing. God’s answer to all is “…the times
of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where to
repent” (Acts 17:30)!
My dear friends, Continue to question and seek the
scriptures for God’s answers and what the scriptures tells us to do and not the
organized religions. Let us humbly and obediently observe this sacred ordinance
“Passover” as we are commanded, at the scriptural appointed time, on the 14th
of Abib according to the Sacred Calendar.” Study
on the Biblical Calendar
The following video interest was the guests that were being interviewed and the subject being discussed. I have never watched beyond today and don't know there beliefs. I had just finished this study and went to youtube and there was this video backing up portions of this study,
The following video interest was the guests that were being interviewed and the subject being discussed. I have never watched beyond today and don't know there beliefs. I had just finished this study and went to youtube and there was this video backing up portions of this study,
