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Jim New
Christians today have mixed truths with lies, truth with traditions of man (syncretism) in many areas of our lives. Easter and Christmas are 2 of these man made traditions. Easter and Christmas were no part of the early Church. God has warned us many times in His word about inter-mixing or becoming unequally yoked with evil! Deuteronomy 7:1-6, 2Cor 6:14-17 That's exactly what has happened here with this man made holiday of easter. Easter bunnies-chocolate eggs, egg hunts and so on are all a part of satan's plan to water down the Gospel of Jesus Christ and most Christians have fell right into that trap. Satan is a great deceiver- Jesus, Peter and others warn us about deception and lies. Easter is mentioned one time in the KJV but what is it referring to? In Acts chapter 12, Herod just beheaded James and it made the Jews happy. Now Herod desires to kill Peter also but he wants to wait til after the pagan holiday “Easter” according to the KJV. Notice in other versions it uses the word “Passover” which is the Incorrect translation. The “Easter” mentioned here is referring to a “pagan holiday of that day!” First came the Passover then Days of unleavened bread then pagan easter. We all should do our homework and google Ishtar-easter and find the facts! The Bible mentions much of this. God tells us we are to imitate Paul and Jesus as they never celebrated this holiday in their day. Most Christians today will disagree with this and even use some Scripture to back up their belief such as Colossians 2:16 “Let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of an holiday or of the new moon or of the sabbath days” which is referring to the OT Holy Days and rituals not todays man made easter and christmas! We are to remember Christ thru breaking of bread- communion as it says in the NT of God's holy word, not man made pagan holidays! If the world is following it then its bc its worldly and not of God! Remember what God says in Romans 12:1-2? Psalm 24:4 Don't be deceived! Pray for the Truth of God's holy word! The Pagan Origin Of Easter 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 post 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. (read ezekiel 8:14) 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", 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 the King James Bible. 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. So much more could be said, and we have much more information for you, if you are a seeker of the truth. 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.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. You must answer for your activities and for what you 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 Judgement day is a joke. I pray to God that this article will cause you to search for more truth. These are the last days, and it is time to repent, come out and be separate.
Tim Collinson
Gonna be a bit controversial here. Easter as we know it was introduced as a Christianizing of Ishtar, i.e. Ashtoreph who was worshipped as a goddess. It was the catholic church who thought they could change the name to Easter to make it look OK. Surprisingly we celebrate with eggs; a sign of fertility. Yeshua rose on the feast of first fruits, not easter. But that's my tuppence worth.
Jeff Hammond
Although the Word "Easter" is commonly used in English speaking countries, here in Indonesia it is called "Paskah" i.e. Passover. That the ancient pagan festival of Easter and the biblical and prophetic Feast of Passover somewhat overlapped should not really be an issue. The world may think of Easter and rabbits and eggs etc, but to true believers, call it "Easter" or "Passover", it is the time of the year we celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ. Don't get hung up on a "word", just see Jesus as the Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7-8), the true Passover who fulfilled the prophetic event of Exodus 12 when Israel had a new beginning because they sheltered under the blood of the Lamb. We have a new beginning, a new birth in Christ when we accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
D W
Supporter
We are not celebrating Easter. We are celebrating our Risen Lord. What Easter used to mean or might have meant is old news. We have replaced it, rejoicing that at the Cross He paid the penalty for our sin, and revealed His ultimate identity by rising from the dead. Hallelujah! He has given us the free gift of eternal salvation by grace through faith. See Romans 10:8-13.
Rotimi EWEDEMI
This is a very controversial issue but the answer one would arrive at from a biblical viewpoint is a BIG NO! Early Christians did not celebrate the ressurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Rather, Jesus' ressurrection was a call and motivation for a great evangelization, which of course resulted in grave consequences for the followers of Jesus. Jesus Christ actually commanded his followers to celebrate, or commemorate his death. The Last Supper was to proclaim the death of our Lord. See Ist Corinthians 11: 25,26. We were saved by his death...I.e giving up his human life. We should take to mind what Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matthew 15:8-9. What Jesus said here was that people honour God with their lips, Yet their hearts are far removed from him. It is in vain that they keep worshiping God, because they teach commands of men as doctrines. Easter celebration is based on commands of men, and not of God. We should be careful and to follow after the crowds, lest our worship be in vain.
Diann Windsor
Do rabbits lay eggs? If Easter was a day for Christ why do the date changes every year? Jesus only said to remember Him by wine and bread, the blood He shed and His broken body (communion). If you can remove Ishater, Ashetor ( I apologize for misspelling the names but they have no importance to me) without looking for Easter eggs, decorating Easter baskets (without putting the Bible in there because now your mixing God with this other pagan god), and just focus on Jesus His resurrection and say Happy Ressurection which gives Him glory and your heart and mind is clear then use that day (which should be everyday) to celebrate what He had done. "One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God," (Romans 14:5-6).
JEAN KABUYA
A Christian should not observe the festival for the Queen of Heaven/Easter/ Ishtar/Astarte/Eostre/Venus/Nana, translated in English 'Easter'; but rather the PASSOVER. Passover is the symbol of passage from bondage of sin and death to the freedom of life, as mentioned by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Last Supper. Although most who profess Christianity now celebrate Easter, Easter-Sunday was not observed by the second century Christians in Asia Minor. They observed Passover even as far as Alexandria. Although the Bible does mention that Jesus was resurrected, it never once suggests that it be observed as some type of holiday. According to The Lord JESUS CHRIST Himself He had to be in the belly of the Earth for FOR 3 3 days and 3 nights, compared to Jonah in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights. According the the gospels, Jesus was arrested after the Last Supper with the disciples, which would have been two days after the entrance into Jerusalem, meaning Jesus prayed in the garden on Tuesday night. The Lord Jesus was arrested and judged that night through the next morning. He was then condemned and killed on what might have been a Wednesday, and died on the tree before the sunset. He was killed on a day preceding a preparation for an approaching annual Sabbath. To make it 3 days and 3 nights, we should look at 72 hours. That would mean He rose Saturday just before Sunset. The confirmation of this is that when the women went to the grave before sunrise, Jesus had already arisen from the grave! He was not there on dawn on Sunday day, He was risen and not among the dead, as the angels said not to look for the living among the dead. Jesus had already risen, and this agrees with the Passover calendar as given to the Hebrew nation by God in Leviticus and Deuteronomy (deliverance); the passage from death to life. The day having '12 hours' as the night does (Jesus said), it is impossible that Fri before sunset to Sat before sunset, nor Fri. Sunset to Sunday morning, could fulfill the prophecy of three days and three nights in the belly of the Earth. (Psa 110, Jn 1:1-15). Lent, Good Friday, Sunrise worship services - these are men's fixations and corruption from mixing pagan beliefs with Christianity. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST specifically mentioned that Christians were to observe the Passover as He did (Luke 22:14-20). The biblical Passover has to do with the Lamb of God being killed for our sins–and early Christians kept that, not Easter. Easter, which is named after the pagan goddess Ishtar/Astarte/Eostre, has to do with a fertility festival involving rabbits and looking to the east in early morning as pagans did. Notice what the Encyclopedia Britannica stated in 1910: "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 had foreshadowed."
Vincent Mercado
Supporter
Easter is the day the Lord Jesus rose from the death - the resurrection, making it central to the Christian faith. Early Christian heroes and martyrs were hanged, fed to the lions, tortured, proclaiming this truth - that we can hope that if we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. This is the reason why we celebrate Easter.
Ezekiel Kimosop
Whereas I concur with the view that we should abstain from mixing pagan traditions with legitimate Christian practices, I disagree with the conclusion that Easter [or Passover] celebration is unbiblical or pagan. There is nothing ungodly about a legitimate celebration that is specifically focused on glorifying God for the finished works of the cross. There are many other respected godly traditions that church communities have consistently upheld through the church ages, yet they are not informed by any specific commands but do have legitimate parallels in the Bible. For example, church weddings are not specifically commanded upon the church but we know from Genesis 2 that God ordained a monogamous marriage between a man and a woman. We also know from our reading of 1Corinthians 7 that Christian marriage should honor the Lord (Hebrews 13:4). Church weddings are no doubt anchored in the word of God. There is also no specific command that we should ordain ministers in an elaborate church ceremony or that we should bury believers through a solemn gathering. Regarding Christian burial rites, we know that God buried His servant Moses in an undisclosed location in the land of Moab (Deut.34:5). Christ became the perfect Passover Lamb of God who was offered for our atonement. He was dead but is now alive forever more (Rev.1:18). What a joy to celebrate not only His incarnate coming but His glorious death and resurrection! In fact the celebration of the Lord's Table is itself a parallel of the Passover celebration by which we proclaim the Lord's death until His coming (1 Cor. 11:26). If a church community chooses to commemorate the atoning death of Christ, that tradition is godly even though it is not expressly commanded or obligated upon the church. I believe that true Easter or Passover celebrations that are focused on glorifying Christ are honorable to God. My concluding view is that those who for one reason or other chose not to celebrate Christ's death and resurrection should do so without condemning those who honor it.
Becky Schommer
It strikes me that Easter, as it is regarded in the church today, may be one of those "disputable matters" Paul made reference to in Romans 14. At that time the people were in conflict over whether Christians should eat certain foods, including those that had been sacrificed to idols (something most self-proclaimed mature Christians would NEVER do - though Paul seems to suggest that it wouldn't be wrong to). At that time, some would argue that "weaker Christians" would do so, as they were not yet enlightened about such things. Others would argue that "stronger Christians" would do so, as they clearly had a better grasp of the freedom we have in Christ. The reverse could also be stated though - "stronger Christians" don't toy with things that are not "of God". Or "weaker" Christians haven't yet grown to understand that they shouldn't eat the meat. Regardless of why the person chose to do what they chose to do, what Paul clearly encourages the church to do is to STOP condemning each other. Whether weak or strong, participating or not participating, we are to seek to honor God in ALL we do. If I am fully convinced that my celebration of Easter (or Christmas - or dare we even cross the Halloween bridge) is honoring to God, and you are fully convinced that a celebration of Easter is not; we should be okay with each other's convictions. True Christians would also understand that this argument is not a license to do whatever you like, as long as it feels good for you. I'm not talking about what feels good. I'm talking about what we've sought God on and have been convinced of by His Spirit - and yes, I think that can be different for each of us and it can change over time. Remember where this started - a discussion of "disputable matters", not basic Christian doctrine. At any rate, Paul reminds us that the kingdom of God is a matter of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. We will all stand before the judgment seat one day, giving an account. Only Christ offers righteousness, and only the Spirit offers peace and joy. Let's depend on those things as we seek to walk out this faith life - and trust (and respect)that fellow believers are doing the same. Thanks for the great dialogue! (I see it started 3 years ago but got revived somehow.) Blessings on each of you!
Jason Dyck
Whether we celebrate "Easter" or not is most likely best left to our own convictions. When people asked about eating meat sacrificed to idols, Paul wrote that if it will bother someone who we know who is going to be watching us and may be upset and turned away from God as a result or if a non-Christian is taunting or testing us, then we don't eat that meat. At any other time, even if we know it has been sacrificed to idols, and we know in our own hearts from the Holy Spirit's conviction that idols are worthless and nonsense, the meat is really not contaminated so we can eat it with a clear conscience. So, too, with this question about celebrating Easter, and with it, Christmas. If we are in a a situation that bothers another person if we would celebrate one or the other or both of those festivals, then we should abstain. If it doesn't bother anyone around us and our hearts are adhering to the admonition that in everything, whether by word or deed, we do to the glory of God. So if our intention is to honor and glorify God by celebrating Easter or Christmas, then we will celebrate it. Good Friday we celebrate the death and burial of Christ. Jesus was put in the tomb on what we understand as Friday, the day before the Passover Sabbath. He was put into the tomb before sundown and according to Jewish custom of the day, that was considered the first day. The second day He was in the tomb was Saturday, and then He rose on the third day, Sunday, We celebrate His sacrifice of death, once and for all, for our sins, and our celebrating His being raised from the dead on the first day of the week, Sunday, is for the blessed gift of salvation. In good church hymnals, and now I'm looking at English hymns we're familiar with, many of the tunes and melodies were ones that the people were already familiar with. For us, a century or more later, we only recognize them as being great church hymns. The early church planters and leaders realized that the people they were leading to Christ and who were beginning to populate the church really had no idea of Scripture and of doctrine, so those early leaders used the situation and the songs people already knew in order to teach about Christ and other doctrines. As a musician I have no problem learning new music and lyrics. I've been well trained; but for those early Christians of the last several centuries who had never had the option of learning fancy music and many of them at one point couldn't even read, using one aspect that was familiar was much easier than teaching them new songs AND new melodies AND doctrine. Using familiar tunes, which by themselves are usually quite benign, the people could be taught to superimpose God's teachings over the raunchy words they already knew, hence, in effect, negating the bad. In golf, for example, most people can easily learn to at least, sort of hit the ball, and many of us hackers and smackers have some bad habits, but the basic idea is still there: address the ball, swing the club back over the head in an arc, then swing it down and forward to hit (or try to hit) the ball. Using that same basic swing, professionals can help people who want to learn how to make some slight adjustments in order to learn to hit the ball quite well. That's what celebrating Easter and Christmas is for me: an opportunity to turn what was once black, basically Satanic worship, and eliminate it with focusing on Christ. The first and greatest commandment, according to Jesus was to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. The second was to love our neighbors as ourselves. That covers everything.
Beukes Geldenhuys
A Christian should absolutely not celebrate Easter. A Christian should celebrate Passover and the crucifixion and ressurection of Christ. It is that simple! :-)
Catherine Lewis
You are a Christian. We can celebrate Easter because we know the truth about Easter. Jesus came and died for the whole world. We are God's light that shines from forth in the darkness to help those who don't have any idea of the Easter story. We should use what Jesus taught us and be witnesses to the lost not criticize them we used to be like them.
Billy P Eldred
PSALM 139:1-12 PSALM 139:23-24 Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind an before, Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the utmost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as day, for darkness is as light to you.... Search me, oh God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! God knows your heart. If you are celebrating Easter because Jesus is risen and this from God, I believe there is nothing wrong with celebrating Easter and God will consider it an act of worship. If you believe that Easter is celebrating something other than Christ, then as a Christian, don't celebrate it but for sure don't find fault with another Christian who is worshipping God. My personal belief based on Paul's teaching is that if you don't believe that Easter praises God the way that it should but you want to celebrate the day as a time to give joy to your children, as long as you thank God for the time together and do not pay any heed to false gods, there is nothing wrong with that as well. Again, God can see you heart and as long as He is there, there is nothing wrong with having fun.
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