Would Jesus Christ Celebrate Easter?

Each spring the excitement of Easter fills the air. Many churches prepare special Easter programs about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At home mothers color eggs, and parents hide the brightly colored symbols of Easter around the house and lawn so that, come Easter morning, their children can excitedly hunt for them.

Stuffed Easter bunnies and chocolate rabbits are seen everywhere in the weeks leading up to this major religious observance. Then there are the Easter sunrise services, where churchgoers gather to hear about Jesus' resurrection and honor that miraculous event by watching the sun come up in the east.

But what do colored eggs and the Easter Bunny have to do with Jesus Christ's resurrection? How did these seemingly irreligious symbols come to be associated with that event?

Can we find any historical or biblical record of Jesus or His disciples observing Easter or teaching parents and children to dye eggs and display bunnies on this holiday? Did Jesus or His apostles instruct any of His followers to meet to honor His resurrection at sunrise on Easter Sunday—or at any other time, for that matter?

If Easter was not sanctioned by Jesus or instituted by His apostles, then where did Easter come from? In other words, if Jesus were living among us as a flesh-and-blood human being, would He celebrate Easter or encourage others to do so?

Answers to these questions are readily available. Some may take a little research, but they become clear when we look into history and the Bible.

As surprising as this may sound, nowhere in the New Testament can you find any reference to Easter. In the King James Version of the Bible (in Acts 12:4) you do find the word Easter, but it is a blatantly erroneous mistranslation that has been corrected in virtually every other Bible translation.

The original Greek word there is pascha, correctly translated as "Passover" in virtually every modern version of the Bible everywhere it appears in the Scriptures. It refers to the biblical Passover originally instituted when God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:1-14).

The original apostles, from the inception of the New Testament Church to near the end of the first century, when the apostle John died, left absolutely no record of observing Easter or teaching others to do so. From Jesus to John, not one of the apostles gave even the slightest hint of celebrating or advocating the observance of what we know today as Easter Sunday.

However, that doesn't mean the early Church did not hold to specific religious observances. The apostle Paul, some 25 years after Jesus' death and resurrection, plainly told members of the church at Corinth that they should continue to observe the Passover as Christ commanded.

Paul wrote: "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.'

"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 11:23-27).

Paul was concerned that the Church members in Corinth observe the Passover in the right way, with reverence and proper comprehension of its meaning.

The writings of Paul and of Luke, his traveling companion and author of the book of Acts, regularly mention keeping the weekly Sabbath day and the biblical festivals listed in Leviticus 23. But Easter is conspicuously absent (1 Corinthians 5:6-8; 16:8; Acts 2:1-4; 13:42, 44; 17:1-3; 18:4; 20:6, 16).

Since Easter wasn't introduced by Jesus or the apostles, where did it come from, and how did it come to be such an accepted part of traditional Christianity?

It's not that difficult to trace the surprising origins of Easter and what it really represents. Many scholarly works show that Easter is a pre-Christian religious holiday, one that was created and developed long before Jesus' time and carried forward to the modern era through such empires as Babylon, Persia, Greece and finally Rome.

Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words notes: "The term 'Easter' is not of Christian origin. It is another form of Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean [Babylonian] goddess, the queen of heaven. The festival of Pasch [Passover] held by Christians in post-apostolic times was a continuation of the Jewish feast . . . From this Pasch the pagan festival of 'Easter' was quite distinct and was introduced into the apostate Western religion, as part of the attempt to adapt pagan festivals to Christianity" (W.E. Vine, 1985, "Easter").

Alexander Hislop, in his book The Two Babylons (1959), explores the origins of Easter. He discovered that a form of Easter was kept in many nations, not necessarily only those that professed Christianity: "What means the term Easter itself? . . . 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, whose name, as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was . . . Ishtar" (p. 103).

Easter and the practices associated with it can be traced back to various pagan rituals. Hislop explains that "the forty days' abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess" (p. 104). In Egypt a similar 40-day period of abstinence "was held expressly in commemoration of Adonis or Osiris, the great mediatorial god" (p. 105).

How, then, did 40 days' abstinence come to be associated with a resurrection? Hislop continues: "Among the pagans this Lent seems to have been an indispensable preliminary to the great annual festival in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz, which was celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing" (p. 105).

Tammuz was a chief Babylonian deity and husband of the goddess Ishtar. Worship of Tammuz was so widespread in ancient times that it even spread into Jerusalem. In Ezekiel 8:12-18 God describes that worship and calls it an abomination—something repugnant and disgusting to Him.

The Babylonians held a great festival every spring to celebrate Tammuz's death and supposed resurrection many centuries before Christ walked the earth (see "The Resurrection Connection" on page 18). Hislop comprehensively documents evidence showing that Easter's origins precede the modern Christian holiday by more than 2,000 years!

Hislop cites the fifth-century writings of Cassianus, a Catholic monk of Marseilles, France, on the subject of Easter's being a pagan custom rather than a New Testament observance. "It ought to be known," the monk stated, "that the observance of the forty days [i.e., the observance of Lent] had no existence, so long as the perfection of that primitive Church remained inviolate" (p. 104).

Sir James Frazer describes Easter ceremonies entering into the established church: "When we reflect how often the Church has skillfully contrived to plant the seeds of the new faith on the old stock of paganism, we may surmise that the Easter celebration of the dead and risen Christ was grafted upon a similar celebration of the dead and risen Adonis [the Greek name for Tammuz], which . . . was celebrated in Syria at the same season" (The Golden Bough, 1993, p. 345).

What about other customs associated with Easter? One Catholic writer explains how eggs and rabbits came to be connected with Easter. You will quickly notice an absence of any link or reference to the Holy Bible when it comes to these rituals:

"The egg has become a popular Easter symbol. Creation myths of many ancient peoples center in a cosmogenic egg from which the universe is born. In ancient Egypt and Persia friends exchanged decorated eggs at the spring equinox, the beginning of their New Year.

"These eggs were a symbol of fertility for them because the coming forth of a live creature from an egg was so surprising to people of ancient times. Christians of the Near East adopted this tradition, and the Easter egg became a religious symbol. It represented the tomb from which Jesus came forth to new life" (Greg Dues, Catholic Customs and Traditions, 1992, p. 101; emphasis added throughout).

Like eggs, rabbits came to be linked with Easter because they were potent symbols associated with ancient fertility rites. "Little children are usually told that the Easter eggs are brought by the Easter Bunny. Rabbits are part of pre-Christian fertility symbolism because of their reputation to reproduce rapidly. The Easter Bunny has never had a religious meaning" (p. 102).

Honest Bible scholars freely admit that Jesus never sanctioned this pre-Christian holiday, nor did His apostles. In the centuries to follow among those who called themselves Christian, Easter eventually supplanted the Passover, the biblical ceremony Jesus and the apostle Paul told Christians to observe.

This came to a head with the Emperor Constantine and the Council of Nicaea—almost three centuries after Jesus was killed and rose again.

Says The Encyclopaedia Britannica: "A final settlement of the dispute [over whether and when to observe Easter or Passover] was one among the other reasons which led Constantine to summon the council of Nicaea in 325 . . . 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 should hereafter follow the blindness of the Jews'" (11th edition, pp. 828-829, "Easter").

Constantine 's decision was a fateful turning point for Christianity. Those who remained faithful to the instruction of Jesus and the apostles would be outcasts, a small and persecuted minority (John 15:18-20). A vastly different set of beliefs and practices—recycled from ancient pre-Christian religions but dressed in a Christian cloak—would take hold among the majority.

Since Easter (with all the pagan symbols that have come with it) was adopted by the Catholic Church centuries after Christ's ascension, should Christians observe this holiday and encourage others to do so?

To answer that question, let's go back to the title of this article, "Would Jesus Christ Celebrate Easter?"

He certainly could have told us to. So could the apostles, whose teaching and doctrine are preserved for us in the book of Acts and the epistles written by Paul, Peter, James, Jude and John. But nowhere do we find a hint of support for Easter or anything remotely resembling it. What we do find, as pointed out earlier, is clear instruction from Jesus and Paul to keep the Passover and other biblical—and truly Christian—observances.

Holy Scripture does not support this pre-Christian holiday and, in fact, condemns such celebrations. Because Scripture condemns pagan practices and the worship of false gods (Deuteronomy 12:29-32), we know that God the Father and Jesus His Son have no interest in Easter and do not approve of it.

Jesus, in fact, is diametrically opposed to religious rituals that supposedly honor Him but in reality are rooted in the worship of false gods. He makes clear the difference between pleasing God and pleasing men: "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men . . . All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition'" (Mark 7:6-9).

Easter is a tradition of men, not a commandment of God. But it's more than that. It is a pagan tradition of men that, like other traditions involved in the worship of false gods, is abhorrent to the true God. Jesus and His apostles would never sanction its observance because it mingles paganism with supposedly Christian symbolism and ritual. It is rooted in ancient pre-Christian fertility rites that have nothing to do with Jesus.

In reality, most of the trappings associated with Easter reveal that the holiday is actually a fraud pawned off on unsuspecting and well-intentioned people. God wants us to worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24), not to recycle ancient customs used to worship other gods.

Even the timing of the events used to justify celebrating Jesus' resurrection on a Sunday morning—that He was crucified on the afternoon of Good Friday and resurrected before dawn on Sunday morning—are demonstrably false, as an examination of the Scriptures shows.

For those who want concrete proof that He was indeed the Messiah and Savior of mankind, Jesus made a promise: "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:39-40).

Try as some might, there is no way to calculate three days and three nights from late Friday afternoon to Sunday morning before daylight. At most, this amounts to barely more than a day and a half. Either Jesus was mistaken, or those who say He was crucified on a Friday and resurrected on a Sunday are mistaken. You can't have it both ways.

If Jesus walked the dusty roads of Galilee today, would He celebrate Easter? Certainly not. But He would be consistent because He does not change (Hebrews 13:8). For instance, He would keep the annual Passover in the same manner as He instructed His followers to keep it (1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:15-17). And Jesus would observe the Days of Unleavened Bread in the way He inspired Paul to instruct early Christians (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

Anyone who wants to be right with God, who wants to be a true disciple of Christ, the Master Teacher, will carefully examine his beliefs and practices to see whether they agree with the Bible. Such a person will not try to honor God with ancient idolatrous practices, violating His explicit commands (Deuteronomy 12:29-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 7:1). Easter, as we have seen, is filled with idolatrous trappings.

Simply claiming that something is Christian or is done to honor God doesn't make it acceptable to God. Easter doesn't represent a resurrected Jesus Christ. Rather—difficult as it may be to admit—it merely continues the practices pagans followed thousands of years ago to honor their nonexistent gods. If we are to escape the calamities prophesied to come on those who place the ways of this world ahead of God, then we must repent of following traditions that dishonor Him (Revelation 18:1-5).

God wants us to honor and obey Him according to His instructions in His Word. Then He can use us to represent His holy Son, our Savior and the Messiah, who will return to the earth. No greater calling can be extended to human beings. May you have the heart to seek understanding and God's perfect will! GN

Ok, first of all, you must admit then that the typical argument "the word Trinity isn't in the Bible, therefore it's false" is ludicrous, right? That's point #1 that was specifically addressed in my post 198.

It only becomes ludicrous when you bring in ludicrous examples.

The notion that you have a theology that lacks a Biblicly sound name is what is ludicrous.

Monotheisim isn't a title you see groups rallying behind but is a very sound concept explicitly detailed in the Bible.

Note, the following replies will be ignored: Further snide commentary; anything that doesn't address this post, but seeks to go off on a tangent; and finally, more specifically, any post that posts verses that seem to show Jesus' Will contradicted the Father's will, and/or verses that show Jesus talking to the Father, or referring to Him as His "father". This is because of the "tangential" reason given, and also, because it shows a complete lack of understanding of the concept of "hypostatic union".

Why don't you just toss out any references to the scriptures that point out that God is spirt and Jesus is flesh or that God is invisible and Jesus was seen, or that God cannot be tempted but Jesus was tempted?

Or is that snide?

Seems that you want to write your own rules so that you can ignore what is inconvenient and quite frankly yours is one of the most dishonest and disnengenuous posts I have ever seen on this topic and I've been on many.

The notion that you have a theology that lacks a Biblicly sound name is what is ludicrous.

I have no idea what you mean by this sentence. Please rephrase if you so desire.

Monotheisim isn't a title you see groups rallying behind but is a very sound concept explicitly detailed in the Bible.

I can't help but notice you completely ignored the references to Scriptures I provided that show the CONCEPT of the Trinity just as "detailed" in Scripture as the CONCEPT of Monotheism. And again, picking a few rebuttals here and there won't cut it; I need EVERY verse in that list rebutted. It's a fair request.

Because again, such verses would be to only distract (go off on a tangent) AND, if given to refute the concept of the Trinity, would "show a complete lack of understanding of the concept of hypostatic union". I'm the one that provided a list of verses that at least appear to show Jesus' and the Holy Spirit's divinity and personhood; if there exist other verses that contradict these verses, and you post them, then all you have succeeded in doing is to show Scripture contradicts itself. Nice job.

Seems you don't want to do the actual work required to soundly refute the concept of the Trinity. I've "seen many" (debates) on the Trinity too, FRiend, on Paltalk specifically. And they always go into verses JUST as I described, that show an aspect of Jesus' HYPOSTATIC UNION, NOT a rebuttal of the concept of the Trinity, because guess what? The concept of the Trinity is intimately LINKED with the concept of the hypostatic union. Therefore, one cannot refute the Trinity without addressing the concept of the hypostatic union, because the hypostatic union EXPLAINS said verses where: it appears Jesus' will contradicts the Fathers; where Jesus is talking to the Father; where Jesus is referred to as the "Son of God".

Hopefully your task becomes clear now. If not, then I'm sorry you don't want to attack the TRUE concept of the Trinity, and only a sorry strawman version, but that's not my problem.

What is "never with a 'religious' intent supposed to mean?

[Matthew 28:1] οψε δε σαββατων τη επιφωσκουση εις μιαν σαββατων ηλθεν μαρια η μαγδαληνη και η αλλη μαρια θεωρησαι τον ταφον

From Young's literal translation of the above: And on the eve of the sabbaths, at the dawn, toward the first of the sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre

[Mark 16:2] και λιαν πρωι της μιας σαββατων ερχονται επι το μνημειον ανατειλαντος του ηλιου

From Young's also:and early in the morning of the first of the sabbaths, they come unto the sepulchre, at the rising of the sun

This is the only verse in scripture that deals with coming to the tomb at early sunrise. The women in this verse, described by Mark who was only writing what Peter had told him (he was not an eye witness), were not the same women spoken of in [Matthew 28:1][Luke 24:1] and [John 20:1]. These women, in reaction to an empty tomb do this: (verse 8) And, having come forth quickly, they fled from the sepulchre, and trembling and amazement had seized them, and to no one said they anything, for they were afraid.

The women of Matthew do this: (verse 8) And having gone forth quickly from the tomb, with fear and great joy, they ran to tell to his disciples

The women of Luke do this: (verse 9) and having turned back from the tomb told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.

The women of John do this: (Verse 2) she runneth, therefore, and cometh unto Simon Peter, and unto the other disciple whom Jesus was loving, and saith to them, 'They took away the Lord out of the tomb, and we have not known where they laid him.

So....as you can see by scriptures (Young's Literal Translation) the only incident at sunrise involves other women than those who came to the tomb (Mary Magdalene, Mary....Our Saviour's Mother and Salome) on the Sabbath.... finding it empty. The reason for this confusion is simple. Chapters and verses were unheard of until the middle ages when a well meaning Cardinal (Hugo de Sancto Caro) decided to do it. Of course his divisions were meant to show the bias of the Roman Church and their Sunday morning resurrection tale and this is why you see Mark divided here.

Let's look at [Mark 15:42-47] and then we'll add [Mark 16:1] to it for clarity. KJV 42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. 44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. 45 And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid. 1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

Do you see how the passage flows? The Sabbath being spoken of in [Mark 16:1] is not the weekly Sabbath. It is the High Sabbath of Unleavened Bread pointed out in verse 42 of [Mark 15]. The Church wants everyone to believe that this is speaking of Sunday morning so they can continue their fraud. This High Sabbath is also pointed out in [John 19:31] and it occurred on a Thursday the year Our Lord was crucified....Nisan 15, the day after Passover. Passover is always on the 14th [Leviticus 23:5].

[Mark 16:9] αναστας δε πρωι πρωτη σαββατου εφανη πρωτον μαρια τη μαγδαληνη αφ ης εκβεβληκει επτα δαιμονια

From Young's: And he, having risen in the morning of the first of the sabbaths, did appear first to Mary the Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons;

[Luke 24:1] τη δε μια των σαββατων ορθρου βαθεος ηλθον επι το μνημα φερουσαι α ητοιμασαν αρωματα και τινες συν αυταις

From Young's: And on the first of the sabbaths, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bearing the spices they made ready, and certain others with them

[John 20:1] τη δε μια των σαββατων μαρια η μαγδαληνη ερχεται πρωι σκοτιας ετι ουσης εις το μνημειον και βλεπει τον λιθον ηρμενον εκ του μνημειου

Young's: And on the first of the sabbaths, Mary the Magdalene doth come early (there being yet darkness) to the tomb, and she seeth the stone having been taken away out of the tomb.

Young's literal translation is about the best for this study although even they cannot seem to get away from their preconceived idea of a Sunday morning resurrection. I have not included the rest of the Sunday proof verses....but they're all the same. They say "On one of the Sabbaths" and as you can see, Young's gets that wrong by saying "The first of the Sabbaths".

In the Greek there is no word for Sabbath and this word, SABBATWN, is a translation from the Hebrew Shabbaton....meaning a "special Sabbath"....not your ordinary weekly Sabbath. In all cases dealing with the resurrection this word "SABBATWN" is used. What are the special Sabbaths being translated here? In addition to the Sabbaths outlined in [Leviticus 23] there were 7 other "special Sabbaths" that any first century Jew would be aware of.....and they were the seven Sabbaths between Passover and Pentecost.....the count of the "Omer".

If you were to say in the Greek "First of the Sabbaths" you would not write MIA. MIA means one. If you wrote MIA HEMERA....it could mean first day (as in a sequence) but HEMERA is never used. The word "day" in all translations has been added by the translators and is even sometimes italicized to show that. It is not in any original manuscript. The translators, especially the KJV, had an agenda to try and show a Sunday morning resurrection. If you were to say "First day" you would include the word "PROTOS HEMERA". MIA when it connects to SABBATWN cannot mean anything other that the event happening on a Sabbath day.....which was a "Special" Sabbath Day....thereby identifying it further.

What I meant by "Never with a religious intent" was....there was no special religious observance happening in the verses that the Church uses to claim a Sunday Morning resurrection. As you can see the phrase "First day of the week" is a mis translation. Our Lord resurrected on the Sabbath.

MIA when it connects to SABBATWN cannot mean anything other that the event happening on a Sabbath day.....which was a "Special" Sabbath Day....thereby identifying it further.

In researching SABBATWN, even if you are correct regarding the translation, and I think you may be, it does not help your case because you do not take it far enough. Literally, the "'ONE' of the 'Sabbatwn'" may refer to a formal lunar-calendar date in use at the time of the Second Temple, which reflects a period of extended Sabbath time which aligned with either the full or new phase of the lunar month cycle.

From a fascinating online book, "Astronomy Of The Second Temple"

The Greek word: 'Sabbatwn' (a plural form) is used 12 times in New Testament passages as follows:

[From AV Text (with selected Greek word substitutions):]

Matthew 28:1 On the eve of the 'Sabbatwn', toward the dawn of the ONE of the 'Sabbatwn' came Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre [paraphrased from YLT] .

Mark 16:2 And very early in the morning the ONE of the 'Sabbatwn', they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the 'Sabbatwn' Day, and stood up for to read.

Luke 24:1 Now upon the ONE of the 'Sabbatwn', very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

John 20:1 The ONE of the 'Sabbatwn' cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the ONE of the 'Sabbatwn', when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

Acts 13:14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the 'Sabbatwn' Day, and sat down.

Acts 16:13 And on the 'Sabbatwn' Day we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

Acts 20:7 And upon the ONE of the 'Sabbatwn', when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

1 Corinthians 16:2 Upon the ONE of the 'Sabbatwn' let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the 'Sabbatwn':

This interesting usage--where the unusual Greek word 'Mia' (or one) is paired-off and exclusively used in association with the unusual word 'Sabbatwn'--rather clearly indicates the usage of a formal calendar term. (This term seems to be equivalent to the cited definition of a renewal interval in the Shabbath-Shabbathown cycle found in the Hebrew Bible).
...
[snip]
In contradiction to the unique solar calendar discovered at Qumran, Christians of the First Century are indicated to have used a lunar-based calendar. The usage of a lunar calendar by early Christians is manifest in the New Testament--where the form of a religious calendar comprised of Pentecost segments can be identified.

The outline of this calendar containing a special count of Pentecost can be verified from Gospel Books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)--where detail of the resurrection of Jesus is provided. This date (the resurrection) is noted to have occurred on a uniquely special ONE date (which uniquely followed the unit of a week). Seven full weeks after the date of the resurrection, a subsequent festival called Pentecost is detailed. (This interesting seven-weeks count ending at a 50^th day is noted in the Book of Acts, Chapter 2).

New Testament instances of the celebration of a feast of Pentecost can be found in Acts 2; Acts 20:16; and also in 1 Corinthians 16:8. The observance of this feast is elsewhere prevalently noted amid the writings of early Christian. It is significant that a firstfruits case of the feast of seven-weeks (Pentecost) continues to be celebrated among modern Jews and Christians.

The Christian use of a Pentecontad Calendar is further manifest from subsequently produced Christian documents--where a number of early Christian writers unilaterally refer to the date of the resurrection of Jesus as having occurred upon an Eighth Day amid the weekly cycle.

Extended Sabbath Time

The Sabbath period which formally occurred at either the new-month interval, or at the mid-month interval (refer to Chapter Three), can seemingly be identified through the use of a term called 'Sabbatwn' (a plural form of Sabbath time). An example of the usage of this monthly term can be found in the New Testament Book of Colossians as follows:

"[Christian converts have their own part]... in respect of an Holyday, ... the new moon, [and]... the 'Sabbatwn' " (Colossians, 3:16).

Note the Greek word 'Sabbatwn', as used in this passage, is a plural form of Sabbath time.

From this passage it is clear that early Jews and Christians were--at least--holding a feast in association with the time of the appearance of the new moon.

The cited passage also refers to a celebration held at a time interval referred to as 'Sabbatwn' (a plural form of Sabbaton).

Ultimately, the Greek word 'Sabbatwn' (in the complete context of its Second-Temple usage) can largely be demonstrated to have been a formal lunar-cycle term. The plural Sabbaths (or 'Sabbatwn') seem to refer to two specific lunar-quarter-phase events. The two respective Sabbaths (or lunar-quarter-phases) routinely appeared opposite to the half-month phases. (For additional information concerning the 'Sabbatwn', refer to Chapter Three, Appendix C and Appendix D).

This 'Sabbatwn', as noted in the Book of Colossians above, would have routinely reoccurred twice in each lunar cycle. The two Sabbaths would specifically have appeared at alternate lunar-quarter phases, or in opposite halves of the lunar cycle. (Refer to the subsequent diagram) .

According to the above source, the bottom line is,

"This formal lunar-stage date is specifically used in all four accounts of the resurrection--where Jesus is indicated to have been crucified upon the day which preceded Passover (in the first lunar month). The resurrection (which occurred immediately after, or between, 'Sabbatwn') is unilaterally recorded to have occurred upon the special date 'Mia Sabbatwn'."

If the above source is correct there certainly was a religious intent in connection with Mia Sabbatwn:

A number of parallels can be drawn between the feast (as described in the Book of Acts from above) which was celebrated by Christians on the 'ONE of the Sabbatwn' (and is synonymous to a '50th Day', or to an 'Eighth Day') and the feast celebrated by the Jewish sect of the Therapeutae as follows:
      . A special assembly was held 
      . An all night vigil was observed 
      . The festivities occurred upon a renewal day to the weeks 
      . Bread, or a special meal, was eaten.

A number of parallels can be drawn between the feast (as described in the Book of Acts from above) which was celebrated by Christians on the 'ONE of the Sabbatwn' (and is synonymous to a '50th Day', or to an 'Eighth Day') and the feast celebrated by the Jewish sect of the Therapeutae as follows:

      . A special assembly was held 
      . An all night vigil was observed 
      . The festivities occurred upon a renewal day to the weeks 
      . Bread, or a special meal, was eaten.

Cordially,

What I meant by "Never with a religious intent" was....there was no special religious observance happening in the verses that the Church uses to claim a Sunday Morning resurrection.

I didn't make myself clear (I do that quite often) and I'm sorry I have confused the issue. What I meant by the above statement.....was that the Church....and the translators, have used certain scriptures to attempt to show a Sunday morning resurrection. In all cases (KJV) this comes across as "First day of the week". Those scriptures are (KJV) [Matthew 28:1][Mark 16:2][Mark 16:9][Luke 24:1][John 20:1][John 20:19][Acts 20:7] and [Corinthians 16:2].

The first four....the Gospels, are simply speaking of the women at the empty tomb. [John 20:19] tells us that the disciples were only gathered.....for "Fear of the Jews". [Acts 20:7] may be speaking of a religious gathering as Paul is speaking of celebrating Passover (verse 6) and attempting to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost (verse 16) and they are evidently meeting on "One of the Sabbaths" (verse 7) between those two Holy Days. I'll grant you this one.

[1 Corinthians 16:2] shows the Greek word "SABBATWN also which, indeed......means a special Sabbath. So....I stand corrected. These last two verses would imply that the Apostle Paul is speaking at a Sabbath (special Sabbath) service and this would obviously be religious in intent. The difference being, of course....these services are being held on a Sabbath day.....not a Sunday.

By the way....thank you so much for your link to "Astronomy Of The Second Temple". It looks like a very good study.

My Greek Lexicon shows only these verses using the Hebrew Shabbaton....translated to Greek.....word, SABBATWN. [Matthew 28:1][Mark 16:2][Luke 4:16][Luke 24:1][John 20:1][John 20:19][Acts 13:14][Acts 16:13][Acts 20:7][1 Corinthians 16:2] and [Colossians 2:16].

It is my understanding that this word (SABBATWN) from the Hebrew (Shabbaton) is designated as a "Special Sabbath" and it does appear from scripture that this is the case...especially in [Acts 20:7] where Paul is between the Passover and Pentecost....preaching on a "Special Sabbath". If it were a regular Sabbath day the Greek would probably render it "SABBATOU". The resurrection texts also use SABBATWN as that particular Sabbath day was one of the seven between Passover and Pentecost....the first, in fact.

Now [Matthew 28:1] is unique as it speaks of two SABBATWN indicating the resurrection occurred at the end of the weekly Sabbath which was also "One" (MIA) of the "Special" Sabbaths during the count of the "Omer". These special Sabbaths are the seven between Passover and Pentecost. And it would have been the first one as he was crucified on Wednesday (Passover), went into the grave before sundown [Matthew 27:57-62][Mark 15:42-43][Luke 23:50-54][John 19:31], spent three days in the heart of the Earth [Matthew 12:40] and 72 hours later....resurrected shortly before sundown on the Sabbath (SABBATWN) day.

The scriptures are clear that Our Lord arose on a Sabbath. The first century Jews considered all fifty days between Passover and Pentecost as the "Days of Sabbatwn" [Acts 2:1] And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ....as opposed to partially come. The Greek word (fully) is "Sumplero"....meaning to complete....the fifty days. These days had seven separate, special Sabbaths.....and the Passover season ended at Pentecost (Shavuot).

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