Information Related to "Easter vs. the Bible"
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For millions of professing Christians Easter is the most important day of the calendar year because it commemorates Jesus' resurrection. Easter sunrise services are considered the holiest assembly of the year--a time when Christians reaffirm that Jesus is risen and their hope in Him is true.
But if you look more closely at this holiday you'll see that, despite its Christian veneer, it has done much damage in obscuring the truth of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. It's a day built on a lie, not on the great truth of Jesus' atoning sacrifice. There are two main problems with the Easter celebration. The first is that its customs and practices are based in ancient paganism, not in the Word of God.
As with Christmas, we find that the popular customs associated with the Easter celebration-rabbits, Easter-egg hunts and sunrise services-have nothing to do with the biblical record of Jesus Christ's life, in this case His rising from the dead.
Where, then, did these practices originate?
The Encyclopaedia Britannica tells us, "As at Christmas, so also at Easter, popular customs reflect many ancient pagan survivals-in this instance, connected with spring fertility rites, such as the symbols of the Easter egg and the Easter hare or rabbit" (15th edition, Macropaedia, Vol. 4, p. 605, "Church Year").
The word Easter appears once in the King James Version of the Bible, in Acts 12:4And when he had apprehended him, 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., where it is a mistranslation. Reputable scholars and reference works point out that the Greek word rendered "Easter" in this verse is actually pascha, meaning Passover. Modern translations correctly translate this word "Passover"-as even the King James Version does in other verses (see Matthew 26:2Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified., Matthew 26:17-19 [17] Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
[18] And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.
[19] And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.
; Mark 14:12And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?; 1 Corinthians 5:7Purge 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:).
Notice what Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words says about the term Easter here: "Pascha...mistranslated 'Easter' in Acts 12:4And when he had apprehended him, 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., KJV, denotes the Passover...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" (1985, p. 192, "Easter").
The Chaldean deity Astarte is in fact mentioned in the Bible. She is referred to as "Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians" (2 Kings 23:13And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.) and, as Vine's mentions, "the Queen of Heaven," whose worship God condemned (Jeremiah 7:18The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.; Jeremiah 44:24-28 [24] Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:
[25] Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.
[26] Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth.
[27] Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.
[28] Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.
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Francis Weiser, professor of philosophy at Boston College, provides these facts: "The origin of the Easter egg is based on the fertility lore of the Indo-European races...The Easter bunny had its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. Hare and rabbit were the most fertile animals our fore-fathers knew, serving as symbols of abundant new life in the spring season" ( Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, 1958, pp. 233, 236).
Fertility rites and customs were incorporated into religious practices early in history. After Adam and Eve rejected God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), humanity looked for other explanations for life. Forces of nature and seasons that could not be controlled began to be viewed as gods, goddesses and supernatural powers to be worshipped and feared. Man soon created his own gods, contradicting God's instruction against idolatry (Exodus 20:3-6 [3] Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
[4] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
[5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
[6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
; Deuteronomy 5:7-10 [7] Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
[8] Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
[9] Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
[10] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
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"The pagan nations made statues or images to represent the powers they worshiped. Most of these idols were in the form of animals or human beings. But sometimes the idols represented celestial powers, like the sun, moon, and stars; forces of nature, like the sea and the rain; or life forces, like death and truth…
"In time an elaborate system of beliefs in such natural forces was developed into mythology. Each civilization and culture had its own mythological structure, but the structures were often quite similar. The names of the gods may have been different, but their functions and actions were often the same. The most prominent myth to cross cultural lines was that of the fertility cycle. Many pagan cultures believed that the god of fertility died each year during the winter but was reborn each year in the spring. The details differed among cultures, but the main idea was the same" (Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1995, "Gods, Pagan," p. 508).
In pagan mythology the sun represented life. The sun supposedly died around the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. Complementing the rebirth of the sun were spring fertility rites, whose surviving symbols thread their way throughout Easter celebrations.
In addition to rabbits and eggs, another popular Easter custom had pre-Christian origins: "Also popular among Europeans and Americans on Easter is ham, because the pig was considered a symbol of luck in pre-Christian European culture" ( The Encyclopedia of Religion, 1987, p. 558, "Easter").
It's easy to see and prove the pagan and unchristian origins of the traditions associated with Easter. The question is why Christians should care whether Easter is pagan in origin. A popular opinion is that as long as the day is kept in honor of Jesus and His resurrection, it trumps any past pagan associations. Is this true?
God inspired the prophet Jeremiah to take Israel to task for their mixture of true religion and pagan practices. "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile…" (Jeremiah 10:2-3 [2] Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
[3] For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
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This echoed God's command to Israel when they entered the Promised Land: "The Lord your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, 'How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.' You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates" (Deuteronomy 12:29-31 [29] When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
[30] Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
[31] Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
, New International Version).
When you consider the unchristian and unbiblical pagan origins of Easter traditions and remember God's command to not be involved in the ways that other religions worship their gods, it becomes clear that God isn't pleased with such customs in worshiping His Son and commemorating Jesus' resurrection.
The second reason Easter isn't a proper way to worship Jesus and remember His resurrection is that it entirely obscures the facts of His life, death and resurrection. When you celebrate Easter, you're allowing yourself to be removed from the Passover.
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