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(By Felicia Trecek / April 4, 2009)

Most professing secular Christians celebrate Easter - assuming it's the memorial of Christ's resurrection - without any thought to the name or the rituals associated with it such as the egg painting and the like.

Christ was a Jew and He never celebrated "Easter". He observed Passover, the days of unleavened bread, and the rest of the Holy days that are listed in Leviticus 23 as like His disciples also did. (Reference: Matt 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-17, Luke 2:41-42, Luke 22:1,7-20, John 4:45, John 7:1-11,37-39, John 12:12-15,20, John 13:1, Acts 2:1-4, Acts, 20:16, Acts 18:20-21, 1Cor 5:7-8, 1Cor 16:8)

Please know: some newer bible translations substitute the word EASTER for the word PASSOVER. This is blatant insidiousness. The Greek word in the new testament translated as "passover" or "easter" is "pascha" and is Strong's Concordance #3957. It is of Aramaic origin and it means either the Passover Festival, Passover Lamb, or the Passover Sacrifice. And, according to Thayer's Lexicon, the word can also mean "passing-over" which refers to the time when YHWH "passed-over" the Israelite houses in Egypt.

WHAT DOES THE WORD "EASTER" MEAN?

The word "Easter" was derived from the pagan goddess name "Eostre" who was celebrated at the Spring equinox. There are some variations of the name, "Eostre". For example, "Eastre". The Old English term "Eastre" ultimately derives from east - meaning the direction of east. This suggests it originally referred to a goddess associated with dawn. Corresponding traditions occur with the Roman goddess Aurora and the Greek goddess Eos. All variations of the name are associated with "DAY-BREAK": ei., the rising of the sun and/or the re-birth of the sun.

HOW DID "EASTER" EVOLVE IN REPRESENTING CHRIST'S SACRIFICE AND RESURRECTION?

When the word of Christ spread to the Teutons (Proto-Germanic tribe), they associated Christianity with their their spring goddess "Eostre" - also known as "Ostara"- and incorporated the pagan practices associated with the spring goddess. The festival of the resurrection (Passover and the days of unleavened bread) occurred in the spring as did the Teuton's pagan religious practices. It celebrated the triumph of life over death which made it easy for the church to identify with Teutonic's joyous festival held in honor of the death of winter, the birth of a new year and the return of the sun.

THE EGGS, BUNNY, ETC., RITES ARE PAGAN AND NOT BIBLICAL

The egg symbolizes fertility and newness of life. Painting the eggs relates to the brightness of the sun. And, now using the color red, is suppose to represent Christ's shed blood.

The hare (bunny) is associated with the moon. It belongs to the night since it comes out only then to feed. It is born with its eyes open and, like the moon, is 'the open-eyed watcher of the skys.' In the United States, where the hare is unfamiliar, it is the Easter rabbit which is fabled to lay the eggs.

Its an old Teutonic superstition that wearing old clothing on Easter was unlucky. For this reason, many people buy new "Easter" clothing to wear on the holiday.

(There are additional pagan ritual practices that are not listed within this article.)

The customs and symbols associated with the observance of Easter have ancient origins, not only in the Teutonic rites of spring, but also far back in antiquity. Such rites extend back into Egypt and Persia who also had the custom of coloring and eating eggs during their spring festival. (This likely explains the "egg" on the Jews cedar plate. Although, the Jews claim that the egg represents their free-will offering. Except, there is no place in scripture [either OT or NT] that mandates or even mentions any egg free-will offerings what-so-ever.)

The pagan practice of watching the sun-rise from the east on 'easter' morning is still observed today by many. Ancient Jews observed this practice long before the time of Christ. They use to stand outside of the temple facing east, and they bowed to the sun. (Ref: Ez 8:16) They also had sun-pillar idols that provoked YHWH. (Ref: Ez 6:4-6).

Most of Christianity today carry on these said ancient pagan traditions and they continue to violate the first and second commandments:

1) Thou shalt not have any other Gods before My Face.

2) You do not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of that which is in the heavens above, or which is in the earth beneath, or which is in the waters under the earth, you do not bow down to them nor serve them (Exod 20:1-5, Deut 5:6-9).

YHWH does NOT want any pagan rites associated with Him (Zeph 1:4-7). Make no mistake, YHWH says that He doesn't change! (Ref: Mal 3:6) We are mandated to worship the Creator and NOT the creation. However, most of secular Christianity believes that it's just a mere matter of attitude now that is incumbent upon us rather than the way we choose to worship God the Father and Christ our Savior. They think it has no bearing upon their salvation. In other words: if we say we accept Jesus in our hearts, we hide Easter eggs in "honor" of His resurrection and devote many other ancient pagan rituals in honor of Christ, some-how Christ and God the Father is pleased with this observance and worship. What most people think is harmless, is not. It's the little leaven that has leavened the entire lump! (1-Cor 5:5-7) The Apostle Paul chastised the Galatians for worshipping "seasons" as like this Easter festival is in honor of - the goddess of spring. (Ref: Gal 4:10)

CHRIST IS OUR PASS-OVER AND WE ARE MANDATED TO OBSERVE HIS PASSOVER - NOT EASTER RITES

Christ passed-over sins by His shed blood, canceling the death penalty that we all deserved. (Ref: Romans 5:12, 6:23) The Israelites' passover recorded in the book of Exodus was symbolic of the spiritual reality of Christ. (1 Cor 5:7) It foreshadowed our salvation through His blood. And, Christ instituted specific emblems and a new ritual that demonstrate this event - His own sacrifice - has now already occurred.

In Luke 22:15-20, Christ mandated that we partake of the bread and wine - doing likewise as He did in remembrance of Him - His sacrifice. None of the gospels or the new testament writers or the Apostolic Fathers (the second and third generation men who carried forth the Word from the apostles) mention anything about Easter rites. No mention of the rising sun, no mention of bunny rabbits or hares, no mention of coloring eggs....etc. We are told to partake of the "bread" which represents HIs Holy body. And we are told to partake of the "cup" (wine) which represents the renewed covenant he made with Abraham (Ref: Gen 14:18 and Galatians 3:7-29)

When do we partake of this said "bread" and "cup"? Firstly, if you read through all four of the gosples' Passover narratives, the ritual Christ mandated occurred during the evening/night of Abib/Nissan 14th. Secondly, The Apostle Paul supports this timing in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. The Apostle Paul wasn't with Christ during the last Passover as most don't readily think about. However, Paul unequivocally informed the Corinthian church that he received instructions directly from Christ - Himself. And, Paul clearly told the Corinthian church that Christ partook of the bread and wine the very night that He/Christ was betrayed. AND!, we are to do likewise in remembrance of Him - do in remembrance of Christ's death until Christ returns to earth.

CHRIST AROSE FROM THE GRAVE ON THE THIRD DAY

I have an entire article devoted to explaining the three days and three nights - the time of Christ's death and resurrection. You may read it by CLICKING HERE. Christ arose on the third day of the feast of unleavened bread. He died on Passover - the 14th of Abib (the first month of the year), He was buried right before sundown - before the 15th day began, and arose from the dead on the 17th of Abib right before sundown. Abib 18th occurred on Sunday - the day Christ shown Himself alive from the grave.

WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT ABOUT SUNDAY?

Sunday - the day that Christ began to appear to people - was a significant day (Ref: John 20). It was "WAVE SHEAF" day. Wave Sheaf day occurs during the feast of unleavened bread. It is the day in which the count begins unto the Holy day of Pentecost - also known as the Feast of Weeks within the OT. [BTW: Pentecost is the Greek word meaning "50". The old testament refers to the day of Pentecost as the "Feast of Weeks". The ancient Israelites were to count seven Sabbaths (7x7=49), then add one day - equaling 50 days. (Ref: Lev 23:9-16 and Deut 16:9) This is how they determined the time in which to observe the Holy day of Pentecost, or rather - the Feast-of-Weeks.]

In ancient Israel, the Israelites were commanded to wave a sheaf of barley before the altar of YHWH for their acceptance on wave-sheaf day (Ref: Lev 23:11, Deut 26:11). This day was also day number one of the count unto Pentecost. This Barley "Wave-Sheaf" was symbolic of Christ who was "raised" for OUR acceptance (Ref: Romans 4:25, 10:9). When Christ first appeared to Mary early Sunday morning in John 20, Christ told Mary NOT to hold on to Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father in heaven yet. At some point in the day, Christ ascended. He then appeared to his disciples later in the day, during evening hours (John 20:19).

This "Wave-Sheaf" was the first-fruit of the spring harvest and was ALWAYS barley in the ancient land of Israel. Barley was the first spring-grain to ripen, then the wheat followed suit. (Ref: the book of Ruth.) Hence, Christ is the first of the first-fruits mentioned in Romans 11:16 and 1Cor 15:20. The wheat harvest is representative and symbolic of the saints who possess the Holy Spirit (Ref: Matt 3:11-12). The saints are also spring first-fruits - although 50 days later than Christ. The Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost to a whole host of people who accepted Christ's sacrifice. (Acts 1:1-5, 2:1-4)

SUNDAY was significant for several reasons. It was wave-sheaf day. This is the day Christ ascended to the Father for our acceptance. It was also the day in which the count-down began unto the Holy Day of Pentecost - The Feast of Weeks. SUNDAY was the day we were accepted by God the Father because our sins were covered by Christ - our Savior. The Apostolic Fathers referred to this day as the "eighth-day" in their writings. They likened it to the eighth day of the feast of tabernacles/booths. They also likened it to Noah and the EIGHT persons aboard the ark - above the flood waters which represented the Holy Spirit.

SUMMARY

Easter is a pagan holiday convoluted with the resurrection of Christ. Easter isn't something new on the scene of humanity that supposidly occurred during the first century - which it didn't. This pagan holiday honoring a pagan goddess has been around since the ancient of times in many tribes and cultures of people. In the OT, YHWH forbid such pagan practices that people choose to either ignore or are ignorant of. As true Christians, seekers of truth, we need to make our Spiritual garments white by ridding pagan practices from our lives and honor the only True God and His Son, the Christ - our Savior. Christ gave us instructions on how we ought to honor Him and we better heed those instructions unless we find ourselves on the outside of Christ's grace and mercy when He returns (Matt 7:21-23, 22:14).

Bibliography references:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eostre

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=10&letter=E&search=easter

EASTER - is this a biblical festival?
(By Felicia Trecek / April 4, 2009) Most professing secular Christians celebrate Easter - assuming it's the memorial of Christ's resurrection - without any thought to the name or the rituals associated with it such as the egg painting and the like. Christ was a Jew and He never celebrated "Easter". He observed Passover, the days of unleavened bread, and the rest of the Holy days that are listed in Leviticus 23 as like His disciples also did. (Reference: Matt 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-17, Luke 2:41-42, Luke 22:1,7-20, John 4:45, John 7:1-11,37-39, John 12:12-15,20, John 13:1, Acts 2:1-4, Acts, 20:16, Acts 18:20-21, 1Cor 5:7-8, 1Cor 16:8) Please know: some newer bible translations substitute the word EASTER for the word PASSOVER. This is blatant insidiousness. The Greek word in the new testament translated as "passover" or "easter" is "pascha" and is Strong's Concordance #3957. It is of Aramaic origin and it means either the Passover Festival, Passover Lamb, or the Passover Sacrifice. And, according to Thayer's Lexicon, the word can also mean "passing-over" which refers to the time when YHWH "passed-over" the Israelite houses in Egypt. WHAT DOES THE WORD "EASTER" MEAN? The word "Easter" was derived from the pagan goddess name "Eostre" who was celebrated at the Spring equinox. There are some variations of the name, "Eostre". For example, "Eastre". The Old English term "Eastre" ultimately derives from east - meaning the direction of east. This suggests it originally referred to a goddess associated with dawn. Corresponding traditions occur with the Roman goddess Aurora and the Greek goddess Eos. All variations of the name are associated with "DAY-BREAK": ei., the rising of the sun and/or the re-birth of the sun. HOW DID "EASTER" EVOLVE IN REPRESENTING CHRIST'S SACRIFICE AND RESURRECTION? When the word of Christ spread to the Teutons (Proto-Germanic tribe), they associated Christianity with their their spring goddess "Eostre" - also known as "Ostara"- and incorporated the pagan practices associated with the spring goddess. The festival of the resurrection (Passover and the days of unleavened bread) occurred in the spring as did the Teuton's pagan religious practices. It celebrated the triumph of life over death which made it easy for the church to identify with Teutonic's joyous festival held in honor of the death of winter, the birth of a new year and the return of the sun. THE EGGS, BUNNY, ETC., RITES ARE PAGAN AND NOT BIBLICAL The egg symbolizes fertility and newness of life. Painting the eggs relates to the brightness of the sun. And, now using the color red, is suppose to represent Christ's shed blood. The hare (bunny) is associated with the moon. It belongs to the night since it comes out only then to feed. It is born with its eyes open and, like the moon, is 'the open-eyed watcher of the skys.' In the United States, where the hare is unfamiliar, it is the Easter rabbit which is fabled to lay the eggs. Its an old Teutonic superstition that wearing old clothing on Easter was unlucky. For this reason, many people buy new "Easter" clothing to wear on the holiday. (There are additional pagan ritual practices that are not listed within this article.) The customs and symbols associated with the observance of Easter have ancient origins, not only in the Teutonic rites of spring, but also far back in antiquity. Such rites extend back into Egypt and Persia who also had the custom of coloring and eating eggs during their spring festival. (This likely explains the "egg" on the Jews cedar plate. Although, the Jews claim that the egg represents their free-will offering. Except, there is no place in scripture [either OT or NT] that mandates or even mentions any egg free-will offerings what-so-ever.) The pagan practice of watching the sun-rise from the east on 'easter' morning is still observed today by many. Ancient Jews observed this practice long before the time of Christ. They use to stand outside of the temple facing east, and they bowed to the sun. (Ref: Ez 8:16) They also had sun-pillar idols that provoked YHWH. (Ref: Ez 6:4-6). Most of Christianity today carry on these said ancient pagan traditions and they continue to violate the first and second commandments: 1) Thou shalt not have any other Gods before My Face. 2) You do not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of that which is in the heavens above, or which is in the earth beneath, or which is in the waters under the earth, you do not bow down to them nor serve them (Exod 20:1-5, Deut 5:6-9). YHWH does NOT want any pagan rites associated with Him (Zeph 1:4-7). Make no mistake, YHWH says that He doesn't change! (Ref: Mal 3:6) We are mandated to worship the Creator and NOT the creation. However, most of secular Christianity believes that it's just a mere matter of attitude now that is incumbent upon us rather than the way we choose to worship God the Father and Christ our Savior. They think it has no bearing upon their salvation. In other words: if we say we accept Jesus in our hearts, we hide Easter eggs in "honor" of His resurrection and devote many other ancient pagan rituals in honor of Christ, some-how Christ and God the Father is pleased with this observance and worship. What most people think is harmless, is not. It's the little leaven that has leavened the entire lump! (1-Cor 5:5-7) The Apostle Paul chastised the Galatians for worshipping "seasons" as like this Easter festival is in honor of - the goddess of spring. (Ref: Gal 4:10) CHRIST IS OUR PASS-OVER AND WE ARE MANDATED TO OBSERVE HIS PASSOVER - NOT EASTER RITES Christ passed-over sins by His shed blood, canceling the death penalty that we all deserved. (Ref: Romans 5:12, 6:23) The Israelites' passover recorded in the book of Exodus was symbolic of the spiritual reality of Christ. (1 Cor 5:7) It foreshadowed our salvation through His blood. And, Christ instituted specific emblems and a new ritual that demonstrate this event - His own sacrifice - has now already occurred. In Luke 22:15-20, Christ mandated that we partake of the bread and wine - doing likewise as He did in remembrance of Him - His sacrifice. None of the gospels or the new testament writers or the Apostolic Fathers (the second and third generation men who carried forth the Word from the apostles) mention anything about Easter rites. No mention of the rising sun, no mention of bunny rabbits or hares, no mention of coloring eggs....etc. We are told to partake of the "bread" which represents HIs Holy body. And we are told to partake of the "cup" (wine) which represents the renewed covenant he made with Abraham (Ref: Gen 14:18 and Galatians 3:7-29) When do we partake of this said "bread" and "cup"? Firstly, if you read through all four of the gosples' Passover narratives, the ritual Christ mandated occurred during the evening/night of Abib/Nissan 14th. Secondly, The Apostle Paul supports this timing in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. The Apostle Paul wasn't with Christ during the last Passover as most don't readily think about. However, Paul unequivocally informed the Corinthian church that he received instructions directly from Christ - Himself. And, Paul clearly told the Corinthian church that Christ partook of the bread and wine the very night that He/Christ was betrayed. AND!, we are to do likewise in remembrance of Him - do in remembrance of Christ's death until Christ returns to earth. CHRIST AROSE FROM THE GRAVE ON THE THIRD DAY I have an entire article devoted to explaining the three days and three nights - the time of Christ's death and resurrection. You may read it by CLICKING HERE. Christ arose on the third day of the feast of unleavened bread. He died on Passover - the 14th of Abib (the first month of the year), He was buried right before sundown - before the 15th day began, and arose from the dead on the 17th of Abib right before sundown. Abib 18th occurred on Sunday - the day Christ shown Himself alive from the grave. WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT ABOUT SUNDAY? Sunday - the day that Christ began to appear to people - was a significant day (Ref: John 20). It was "WAVE SHEAF" day. Wave Sheaf day occurs during the feast of unleavened bread. It is the day in which the count begins unto the Holy day of Pentecost - also known as the Feast of Weeks within the OT. [BTW: Pentecost is the Greek word meaning "50". The old testament refers to the day of Pentecost as the "Feast of Weeks". The ancient Israelites were to count seven Sabbaths (7x7=49), then add one day - equaling 50 days. (Ref: Lev 23:9-16 and Deut 16:9) This is how they determined the time in which to observe the Holy day of Pentecost, or rather - the Feast-of-Weeks.] In ancient Israel, the Israelites were commanded to wave a sheaf of barley before the altar of YHWH for their acceptance on wave-sheaf day (Ref: Lev 23:11, Deut 26:11). This day was also day number one of the count unto Pentecost. This Barley "Wave-Sheaf" was symbolic of Christ who was "raised" for OUR acceptance (Ref: Romans 4:25, 10:9). When Christ first appeared to Mary early Sunday morning in John 20, Christ told Mary NOT to hold on to Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father in heaven yet. At some point in the day, Christ ascended. He then appeared to his disciples later in the day, during evening hours (John 20:19). This "Wave-Sheaf" was the first-fruit of the spring harvest and was ALWAYS barley in the ancient land of Israel. Barley was the first spring-grain to ripen, then the wheat followed suit. (Ref: the book of Ruth.) Hence, Christ is the first of the first-fruits mentioned in Romans 11:16 and 1Cor 15:20. The wheat harvest is representative and symbolic of the saints who possess the Holy Spirit (Ref: Matt 3:11-12). The saints are also spring first-fruits - although 50 days later than Christ. The Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost to a whole host of people who accepted Christ's sacrifice. (Acts 1:1-5, 2:1-4) SUNDAY was significant for several reasons. It was wave-sheaf day. This is the day Christ ascended to the Father for our acceptance. It was also the day in which the count-down began unto the Holy Day of Pentecost - The Feast of Weeks. SUNDAY was the day we were accepted by God the Father because our sins were covered by Christ - our Savior. The Apostolic Fathers referred to this day as the "eighth-day" in their writings. They likened it to the eighth day of the feast of tabernacles/booths. They also likened it to Noah and the EIGHT persons aboard the ark - above the flood waters which represented the Holy Spirit. SUMMARY Easter is a pagan holiday convoluted with the resurrection of Christ. Easter isn't something new on the scene of humanity that supposidly occurred during the first century - which it didn't. This pagan holiday honoring a pagan goddess has been around since the ancient of times in many tribes and cultures of people. In the OT, YHWH forbid such pagan practices that people choose to either ignore or are ignorant of. As true Christians, seekers of truth, we need to make our Spiritual garments white by ridding pagan practices from our lives and honor the only True God and His Son, the Christ - our Savior. Christ gave us instructions on how we ought to honor Him and we better heed those instructions unless we find ourselves on the outside of Christ's grace and mercy when He returns (Matt 7:21-23, 22:14). Bibliography references: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eostre http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=10&letter=E&search=easter Encyclopedia Britannica, copyright 1960, Easter - volume 7, page 859.