Posted on 04/08/2006 7:12:48 AM PDT by DouglasKC
Easter is one of the most popular religious celebrations in the world. But is it biblical? The word Easter appears only once in the King James Version of the Bible (and not at all in most others). In the one place it does appear, the King James translators mistranslated the Greek word for Passover as "Easter."
Notice it in Acts 12:4: "And when he [King Herod Agrippa I] had apprehended him [the apostle Peter], 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."
The Greek word translated Easter here is pascha, properly translated everywhere else in the Bible as "Passover." Referring to this mistranslation, Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible says that "perhaps there never was a more unhappy, not to say absurd, translation than that in our text."
Think about theses facts for a minute. Easter is such a major religious holiday. Yet nowhere in the Bible—not in the book of Acts, which covers several decades of the history of the early Church, nor in any of the epistles of the New Testament, written over a span of 30 to 40 years after Jesus Christ's death and resurrection—do we find the apostles or early Christians celebrating anything like Easter.
The Gospels themselves appear to have been written from about a decade after Christ's death and resurrection to perhaps as much as 60 years later (in the case of John's Gospel). Yet nowhere do we find a hint of anything remotely resembling an Easter celebration.
If Easter doesn't come from the Bible, and wasn't practiced by the apostles and early Church, where did it come from?
Easter's surprising origins
Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, in its entry "Easter," states:
"The term ‘Easter' is not of Christian origin. It is another form of Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean 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, emphasis added throughout).
That's a lot of information packed into one paragraph. Notice what the author, W.E. Vine—a trained classical scholar, theologian, expert in ancient languages and author of several classic Bible helps—tells us:
Easter isn't a Christian or directly biblical term, but comes from a form of the name Astarte, a Chaldean (Babylonian) goddess known as "the queen of heaven." (She is mentioned by that title in the Bible in Jeremiah 7:18 and 44:17-19, 25 and referred to in 1 Kings 11:5, 33 and 2 Kings 23:13 by the Hebrew form of her name, Ashtoreth. So "Easter" is found in the Bible—as part of the pagan religion God condemns!)
Further, early Christians, even after the times of the apostles, continued to observe a variation of the biblical Passover feast (it differed because Jesus introduced new symbolism, as the Bible notes in Matthew 26:26-28 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-28).
Moreover, Easter was very different from the Old Testament Passover or the Passover of the New Testament as understood and practiced by the early Church based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles.
And again, Easter was a pagan festival, originating in the worship of other gods, and was introduced much later into an apostate Christianity in a deliberate attempt to make such festivals acceptable.
Easter symbols predate Christ
How does The Catholic Encyclopedia define Easter? "Easter: The English term, according to the [eighth-century monk] Bede, relates to Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day and spring, which deity, however, is otherwise unknown . . ." (1909, Vol. 5, p. 224). Eostre is the ancient European name for the same goddess worshipped by the Babylonians as Astarte or Ishtar, goddess of fertility, whose major
celebration was in the spring of the year.
The subtopic "Easter Eggs" tells us that "the custom [of Easter eggs] may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter" (ibid., p. 227).
The subtopic "Easter Rabbit" states that "the rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility" (ibid.).
Author Greg Dues, in his book Catholic Customs and Traditions, elaborates on the symbolism of eggs in ancient pre-Christian cultures: "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" (1992, p. 101).
The same author also explains that, like eggs, rabbits became associated with Easter because they were powerful symbols of fertility: "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" (p. 102).
What these sources tell us is that human beings replaced the symbolism of the biblical Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread with Easter eggs and Easter rabbits, pagan symbols of fertility. These symbols demean the truth of Christ's death and resurrection.
Easter substituted for Passover season
But that's not the entire story. In fact, many credible sources substantiate the fact that Easter became a substitute festival for the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. (To learn more about what this Feast represents, see "What Does the Feast of Unleavened Bread Mean for Christians?".)
Notice what The Encyclopaedia Britannica says about this transition: "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, though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals foreshadowed . . .
"The Gentile Christians, on the other hand, unfettered by Jewish traditions, identified the first day of the week [Sunday] with the Resurrection, and kept the preceding Friday as the commemoration of the crucifixion, irrespective of the day of the month" (11th edition, p. 828, "Easter").
Easter, a pagan festival with its pagan fertility symbols, replaced the God-ordained festivals that Jesus Christ, the apostles and the early Church observed. But this didn't happen immediately. Not until A.D. 325—almost three centuries after Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected—was the matter settled. Regrettably, it wasn't settled on the basis of biblical truth, but on the basis of anti-Semitism and raw ecclesiastical and imperial power.
As The Encyclopaedia Britannica further explains: "A final settlement of the dispute [over whether and when to keep Easter or Passover] was one among the other reasons which led [the Roman emperor] 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'" (ibid., pp. 828-829).
Those who did choose to "follow the blindness of the Jews"—that is, who continued to keep the biblical festivals kept by Jesus Christ and the apostles rather than the newly "Christianized" pagan Easter festival—were systematically persecuted by the powerful church-state alliance of Constantine 's Roman Empire .
With the power of the empire behind it, Easter soon became entrenched as one of traditional Christianity's most popular sacred celebrations. (You can read more of the details in our free booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep? )
Christianity compromised by paganism
British historian Sir James Frazer notes how Easter symbolism and rites, along with other pagan customs and celebrations, entered into the established Roman church:
"Taken altogether, the coincidences of the Christian with the heathen festivals are too close and too numerous to be accidental. They mark the compromise which the Church in the hour of its triumph was compelled to make with its vanquished yet still dangerous rivals [the empire's competing pagan religions].
"The inflexible Protestantism of the primitive missionaries, with their fiery denunciation of heathendom, had been exchanged for the supple policy, the easy tolerance, the comprehensive charity of shrewd ecclesiastics, who clearly perceived that if Christianity was to conquer the world it could do so only by relaxing the too rigid principles of its Founder, by widening a little the narrow gate which leads to salvation" ( The Golden Bough, 1993, p. 361).
In short, to broaden the appeal of the new religion of Christianity in those early centuries, the powerful Roman religious authorities, with the backing of the Roman Empire, simply co-opted the rites and practices of pagan religions, relabeled them as "Christian" and created a new brand of Christianity with customs and teachings far removed from the Church Jesus founded.
The authentic Christianity of the Bible largely disappeared, forced underground by persecution because its followers refused to compromise.
Easter does not accurately represent Jesus Christ's suffering, death and resurrection, though it appears to do so to those who blindly accept religious tradition. In fact, it distorts the truth of the matter. Easter correctly belongs to the Babylonian goddess it is named after—Astarte, also known as Ashtoreth or Ishtar, whose worship is directly and explicitly condemned in the Bible.
The ancient religious practices and fertility symbols associated with her cult existed long before Christ, and regrettably they have largely replaced and obscured the truth of His death and resurrection.
When confronted with these facts about Easter, many professing Christians might raise this question to justify its continuance: With hundreds of millions of well-meaning Christians observing Easter, doesn't this please Jesus Christ? Yet He has already answered this question in Matthew 15:9: "In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." How will you choose to worship Him—in spirit and in truth, or in fraud and in fable? GN
Just perusing the thread and wondering why it is still going? Xenia shut the " who dunnit" down and many have shown through scripture that worshipping foreign gods is really not what the One True God is looking for. Now the smart guys with the big words are mocking those who are actually keeping the real holy days. I'm without my Bible software right now, but one text comes to mind, "Mystery, Babylon the Great..."
Then, please explain this last paragraph?
Read John 19:14 This is when John says that Jesus was brought before Pilate and says that it was about the sixth hour.
Now read 15:25 Here it says that it was about the third hour when Jesus was crucified.
Now read Mark 15:33 Here it says that darkness came over the entire land at the sixth hour and lasted until the ninth hour.
Now answer the following questions:
1. Did Jesus appear before Pilate at Noon(Jewish time) or 6:00 AM (Roman time)?
2. Was Jesus crucified at 3:00AM(Roman time) or 9:00AM (Jewish time)?
3. Did darkenss cover the land from noon until 3:00PM (Jewish time)or from 6:00AM until 9:00 AM (Roman time)?
4. Was Jesus crucified before being taken before pilot?
John, writing according to Roman time, places Jesus before Pilate at approximately 6:00AM our time.
Mark, writing according to Jewish time, places the crucifixion at approximately 9:00AM and the darkenss encompassing the land from noon until 3:00PM our time.
There are those who delight in finding a "supposed" contradiction in the Bible. Their problem, like so many on here, is that they do not understand the difference between Jewish time and Roman time.
Now read 15:25 Here it says that it was about the third hour when Jesus was crucified. This should read Mark 15:25. Sorry
That my friend is my point exactly. Perfect love toward God, living in the spirit, encompasses doing WHAT he says:
1Jo 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
By not observing the holy days of the Lord who dwells in you, you are not living in the spirit. These are the holy days of Jesus, the Christ. Jesus, the Christ, kept these holy days when he was in the flesh. He wants you to do the same thing. The fact that our Lord and messiah kept the feasts that were created by him and for him ought to give you an indication of how important the great God of the universe thinks they are. Christians, followers of Christ, ought to follow his example:
1Jo 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jo 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jo 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jo 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
The feasts of the Lord are SO important that he tells his followers to observe them in as many as three books: Leviticus 23, Deuteronomy 16 and Exodus 12.
There is no excuse for disobedience.
Hebrews 9 explicitly tells us that we are under a new priesthood with Christ under the new covenant. Hebrews 10 explicitly tells us that sacrifices are needed, but that the sacrifice of Christ is sufficient.
There is, under the new covenant, a different, spiritual understanding of the feasts and their intent. Paul indicates this:
1Co 5:7 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:
1Co 5:8 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
The lesson that Paul tells us about the days of unleavened bread is that leaven represents sin. We should root out sin from our lives as God commands us to root out leaven from our homes. A physical act can and does teach a spiritual lesson.
However, there is no indication that God ever wanted anyone to STOP observing his holy days completely and to START observing man made days rooted in paganism. Talk about topsy turvy! Look at what you're defending!
I believe that you need to read Ex. 31:16-17
Therefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual convant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever;...
God clearly states that the Sabbath is to be kept by the childen of Isreal. There is nowhere in the Bible where Gentiles are commanded to keep the Sabbath.
Jesus was a Jew and lived under the Jewish law, therefore, He kept the Sabbath.
Yes, It appears to be in error. I noticed that no credit is given as to the Author of the article you referenced.
Yes, It appears to be in error. I noticed that no credit is given as to the Author of the article you referenced.
Sorry for the double post.
If you are a Christian, then you are a child of Israel. The new covenant is made ONLY with the house of Israel and/or the house of Judah:
Heb 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Heb 8:9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
If you are a Christian, you are a member of the house of Israel, a child of Israel. If you are NOT, then you are do not know the God of the universe. He is a stranger to you. You are not, and cannot be a party to his holy covenant.
You like the book of Hebrews and so do I. So now you need to read Heb. 8:13 and understand that the new covanent has made the old covanent obsolute.
Do you agree and understand that the new covenant is ONLY made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah?
The new covanent includes both Jews and Gentiles as I just stated, while the old covenant was only for the Jewish nation Do you not understand the the "New" has made the "Old" obsolete? Heb 8:13
You're making that up. I just showed you in God's word, in the new testament:
Heb 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
Heb 8:9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
In case that's not clear, here is what it prophesizes in the old testament about the new covenant:
Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Either you or God, the creator of the universe, is wrong. Who should I believe?
Tenn....go with God. It is always a safe bet.
Why do you stop with Heb 8:10. There are three more verses that you seem to want to ignore. I agree with every scripture that you have posted. Do you think that the old covenant was for both Jew and Gentile? Do you not understand that the new has made the old obsolete? The old covenant has either been made obsolete or it hasn't. If you are arguing that it is not obsolute than you are arguing with the writer of Hebrews, not me. He is the one who penned those words under inspiritation. I am merely pointing out to you what he said.
I would imagine that I have been going with Him a lot longer than you have. That is unless it has been over 45 years with you.
The OLD covenant was made with the the house of Israel and the house of Judah. The new covenant IS made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Gentiles CANNOT enter into any covenant with God BECAUSE they are NOT members of the house of Israel OR the house of Judah.
Gentiles WHO convert to Christianity BECOME part of the house of Israel and then can enter into the new covenant.
Do you not understand that the new has made the old obsolete? The old covenant has either been made obsolete or it hasn't. If you are arguing that it is not obsolute than you are arguing with the writer of Hebrews, not me. He is the one who penned those words under inspiritation. I am merely pointing out to you what he said.
You're just blowing smoke because you really don't want to believe that God was talking to YOU when he said:
Lev 23:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
If you are a Christian then you really, truly, are a child of Israel. If you are not then you are not a Christian and CANNOT be part of the covenant that God makes with those who enter into his covenant.
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