"EASTER" Or "PASSOVER"

 
Our Risen Lord and the Origin of Easter

     We celebrate a day we call Easter in remembrance of our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but what do we really know about this holiday? It is a time of rejoicing and prayer and thanks that God Loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son into the world (John 3:16) to bring us the Truth (John 18:37), to die for us, and God raised Him after being buried three days and three nights. God did this because He loves us so dearly that He prepared a way for us to go to heaven to be with Him as we could not do it ourselves. By sending His Son to live a sinless life and conquer death, we likewise can enter heaven if, and only if, we are covered by Jesus Christ's blood, accepting the Holy Spirit into us, and serve and obey Him (Matt 24:13).

     Christ rising from the dead is the most important and monumental event in human history and is the basis for our faith. Paul said, "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain ... And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." (1 Cor 15:14,17).

What Date did God raise Jesus Christ?

     Christ conquered death and we likewise do not fear death (Hosea 13:14). Easter is a time in which Christian churches have a sunrise service in celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord. In 1894, Sir Robert Anderson (the Chief of the Criminal Investigation Dept, in Scotland Yard, London) wrote "The Coming Prince", a work that details the timing of Daniels's seventy weeks, and specifically the timing of Christ's declaration of the Messiah on Palm Sunday. [Those that do not have this book, I implore you to get a copy and read it. It is a valuable resource in the study of prophecy.]

     Sir Robert Anderson detailed the timing of Christ's first declaration very precisely as the Messiah as he sat on the colt of a donkey walking on palm branches into Jerusalem while the crowds shouted, "Hosannah to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" (Matt 21:9). In short, the prophecy in Dan 9:25-26 was so precise that it indicated that Christ would be killed during Passover as the sacrificial Lamb of God 483 years of days (exactly 173,880 days = 12 mo/yr x 30 days/mo x 483 yr) after the command was given for the rebuilding of the temple. King Artaxerxes of Persia decreed this in the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of his reign and the temple was subsequently rebuilt as a result of that decree.

     Therefore, the scribes and Pharisees should have known that Christ would come and be declared as the Messiah 173,880 days later, which fell on the Passover week in Nisan 32 AD. Jesus wept because the religious teachers of that day did not know the day of His coming (Luke 19:41-44) which was so clearly pointed out in the Scriptures. Sir Anderson chronologically detailed the span to end exactly on April 6th, 32AD. This is the date corresponding to the prophetic timeframe given and is believed that Jesus rode upon the cult into Jerusalem on that date. That Passover week when Jesus was put on trial, found to be without fault, and crucified. God the Father rose Jesus the Sunday after Jesus was buried three days and three nights, on April 13th, 32AD. Based on the prior works, this is the date in which Christ rose.

If Christ arose on April 13th, why don't we celebrate that date each year?

     Soon after Christ rose, the spirit of the anti-christ was well established and essentially ran the dominate church for the next 1,400+ years, including the entire dark age. John warned the early Christians to be aware that the spirit of the anti-christ was already in the world (1 John 4:3). At one time this church executed everyone that even possessed a copy of the scriptures and forced as much of the world as they could to join their church through fear and intimidation. It is estimated that this church martyred over 50 million true Christians during this time that refused to join the "mother church".

     To have as many pagans join their church as possible, they accepted and incorporated the most important pagan holidays into the church with a slight christian spin on each so the pagans could continue to worship their idols and "gods" and yet still be a part of the church. We are commanded by the scriptures to separate ourselves from the world, not merge into it, but this is not what they did. (2 Cor 6:14-17; Rom 12:1-2; 1 John 2:15-17; Gen 12:1-3; 1 Cor 1:26-28; 2 Cor 7:1; Eph 2:1-3; James 4:4; 1 Peter 1:13-16; Luke 14:26-27; John 15:19; John 17:3-4,17; 1 Cor 2:10-16; Heb 11:8-10; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 5:19-20; Rev 18:4; Ex 8:22; Ex 12:40-42; Joshua 24:2-3; Ezek 33:10-11; Matt 16:24-26; John 18:36; Acts 7:2-3; Phil 3:20; Col 1:13; Col 3:1; Heb 12:1,14; 1 Peter 2:11; 1 Peter 4:3-4; 1 John 3:1).

     One of these pagan holidays incorporated was celebrated in April, and various pagan cultures gave it a couple of different names. The Roman called it The Feast of the Vernal Equinox, while most cultures celebrated and worshiped Eostre (as a Teutonic goddess of both the dawn and spring and the pagan symbol of fertility). The holiday started on the sunrise of the day after the first full moon, after the spring equinox. When the church embraced this holiday in 325AD and included all the pagan practices and symbolism into the holiday, they changed the date of the holiday to start on the sunrise of the first Sunday, after the first full moon, after the spring equinox. With this type of definition, Easter can occur within a four-week span, mostly in April, on any given year.

WARNING: Following contains disturbing origin of Easter's Symbolism

     There is a great deal that can be written about the origin and symbolism of this holiday, and there is also a tremendous amount of misinformation as well. Based on the careful study of cultures and traditions spanning two thousand years before Christ, I will present the most solid basis available for the origins of Easter, the practices and symbolism used, and why. It will then be up to you to see how they fit into the current version of how "Christians" celebrate this holiday. The following is but a brief summation of a few of the practices and symbolism in the worshiping of the goddess Eostre.

     Mystery Babylon: Our journey starts over 2,000 years BEFORE Christ at the beginning of Mystery Babylon, the very origin of pagan religions. The high priest and king of ancient Babylon in the Scriptures was Nimrod, and his wife was Ishtar. Ishtar had a son named Tammuz, whom she claimed was the son of God (the promised seed of the woman indicated in Gen 3:15). [Satan loves to create counterfeits, and this one extends thousands of years, and we still "worship" Ishtar, Tammuz, and Nimrod today via symbolism]. This also became the beginning of "Mother-Son" worship. Tammuz was also symbolized by a golden calf as the son of the sun-god, Nimrod.

     Easter Eggs: The name Eostre is traced having various spellings over the centuries since the original Babylon. Eostre (or Eastre) traces to Ostera, then to Astarte, and finally to Ishtar [pronounced the same way we pronounce "Easter" today]. Ishtar (Mother) is referring to the wife of Nimrod, the sun-god (Father) having Tammuz (Son), but where did the legend say that Ishtar came from? Legend tells us that a giant egg fell from the sky into the Euphrates River, which was rolled to the shore by huge fish, and then doves descended from heaven and incubated it. The goddess Ishtar then came out of the egg, and hence the egg throughout most pagan cultures world-wide became the symbol of fertility. The egg became the symbol of the goddess Easter herself. Therefore, the symbol of using the "Ishtar Egg" to worship Ishtar can also be traced back to the origins of Mystery Babylon. The practice and use of this symbol and spread world-wide for over 2,000 years in most cultures prior to Christ.

     Died and Raised Again? I mentioned in prior newsletters that Satan loves to deceive and create counterfeits and this one is a doozy as it extends more than 2,000 years BEFORE Christ. [In addition, after Constantine married Church and State in the 4th century AD, the church merged Babylonian paganism in church practices where they remain today in nearly all christian churches world-wide regardless of the denomination]. Ever wonder why this holiday was around the Vernal Equinox? Babylonian folklore tells us that Tammuz died, and his mother raised him from the dead with her tears and the manifestation of his resurrected life was the green spring vegetation. To incorporate this pagan holiday within the church, the church made the connection of Tammuz's resurrection in the spring with Christ's resurrection also in the spring, thereby giving pagans another reason to join the church. There also was a Babylonian tradition that the death and resurrection of Tammuz were celebrated by a great feast followed by a Lenten fast [known as "Lent" practiced by the ancient Egyptians and kept by much of the church today].

     Bunny Rabbit? This is all leading to the exact timing of the holiday to worship "the rising of Nimrod (the sun-god)". The Bunny Rabbit (or Hare) is the next step in the timing of the holiday. [Rabbits clearly don't lay eggs so what's going on here? We see ads each year of a Easter Bunny carrying a basket of eggs and yet few question it. How else are they going to explain a connection unless they fabricate one?] The Babylonian custom actually referred to a "Hare" and not a Rabbit. Prior to 325AD, Easter fell on the first day after the first full moon (after the vernal equinox) but why? The full moon symbolizes "eyes wide open". Hares are born with their eyes fully open and hence at this time symbolizes a date where your eyes should be open and watching – for what – for the sunrise and the sun-god. 

     Sunrise Service: Perhaps the most disturbing tradition (for myself) is the sunrise service. Please don't get me wrong. There are no words to express the love, gratitude, and deep abiding comfort in Christ that we have as followers of Christ living within us through the Holy Spirit, and none of this would be possible if Christ had not conquered death. However, knowing the original pagan intention of a "sunrise service" makes me shutter in how far Satan will go to push his agenda. I can imagine Satan laughing at our sunrise service, knowing that Christians have incorporated a tradition that pagans have been practicing for thousands of years. We celebrate the resurrection of our blessed Lord, but for over 2,000 years before Christ and hundreds of years after, pagans stayed out all night on their lit hills on the night of the full moon with their eyes wide open, waiting for their sun-god to rise in the morning bringing life to the world (spring).

     There are other pagan symbols and practices that are associated with Easter which are embraced by most churches, but you get the point. The Easter Holiday counterfeit is perhaps one of the most disturbing to me as Satan shows his parallel trinity Nimrod, Tammuz, and Ishtar  vs the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit complete with a resurrected son and created a 2,000+ yr yearly cycle of him being worshiped at a sunrise service. Nowhere in the scriptures are eggs or rabbits connected with Jesus' resurrection; nor does the scripture suggest that we should celebrate at sunrise Christ's resurrection. All those are of pagan origin which give homage to Satan and the Queen of Heaven (Jer 7:16-20; Jer 44:17-25; 1 Kings 11:5; Ezek 8:14).

Are we Permitted to Celebrate the Easter Holiday?

     Yes, is the answer with a caveat. The current practice world-wide for Christians to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is so widespread and universally understood that the original pagan traditions have all but disappeared in the background. The one caveat that I mentioned is on the possibility that a brother or sister in Christ understands the pagan origins and feels that you are sinning by celebrating in that manner (even though you're celebrating Christ's resurrection). Paul tells us in 1 Cor 8:13 what we must do under those circumstances. After explaining to them all the information available to you, if they still feel it is a sin, you are not to brush it off but comply with their request to refrain from celebrating it in that manner they feel offended. You do not want to risk implying to your brother or sister that you are intentionally sinning if they believe it to be a sin. We are not to be a stumbling block for anyone that might harm their growth in the knowledge of our Lord.

Have a Blessed Easter Holiday in celebrating Jesus Christ's resurrection. Even now, Jesus is in Heaven preparing a place for those that love and follow Him!

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Easter" Or "Passover"?
Most of us are aware that the early church did not celebrate Easter The early Christians celebrated Christ's resurrection and the New Covenant that was fulfilled by Jesus Christ on Passover. It is now called Easter after the godess of spring, when several pagan rites were incorporated into the Church culture. I had always known it as Easter as a Christian I want to bring and remember the Reason for the Season. He has RISEN and coming back again for his own.

Chag Pesach Sameach - Happy Passover - “Blessed art thou, Lord our God, Master of the universe, who sanctifies us with Your commandments, and commanded us
to kindle the light (of shabbat and of ) the holiday.”

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