Yes, we see that Easter is mentioned in the Bible, but is it related to
Passover or is it a pagan festival? Keep in mind this is the ONLY time easter
is mentioned in the
Acts 12:1-4 (KJV)
“1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex
certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take
Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4 And 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.”
From this passage we see that, during the days of unleavened bread,
Peter was apprehended by Herod and was put in prison. Verse 4 states that
“after Easter” Herod intended to bring Peter forth to the people.
In order to understand the timing of these verses, we must first look
at the timing of “the days of unleavened bread” and the timing of “easter”.
The Days of Unleavened Bread:
Passover comes first, then Unleavened Bread which is celebrated for 7
days (see Exodus 12).
Unleavened Bread lasts for 7 days, beginning on the 15th day of the
first month and lasting until the 21st day of the first month - 1 full week of
unleavened bread.
Passover - 6 days of eating Unleavened Bread – on 7th day
Solemn Assembly:
(Abib = Nisan – the first month of the year)
Deuteronomy 16:1-8
“1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy
God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt
by night.
2 Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of
the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his
name there.
3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat
unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth
out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou
camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
4 And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast
seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst
the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which
the Lord thy God giveth thee:
6 But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his
name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of
the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.
7 And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God
shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
8 Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day
shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.”
7 Days eat Unleavened Bread:
Passover (Nisan 14th – eat unleavened bread) + Unleavened Bread
6 days (Nisan 15th – Nisan 20th) = 7 Days eating
unleavened bread. On the 1st and the 7th day of
Unleavened Bread have a Solemn Assembly (Nisan 15th and 21st)...
Leviticus 23:4-8
“4 These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye
shall proclaim in their seasons.
5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's
passover.
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened
bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no
servile work therein.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days:
in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.”
Numbers 28:16-18, 24-25
“16 And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the
Lord.
17 And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days
shall unleavened bread be eaten.
18 In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner
of servile work therein:”
“24 After this manner ye shall offer daily, throughout the seven days,
the meat of the sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord: it
shall be offered beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.
25 And on the seventh day ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall
do no servile work.”
Passover is an 8 day feast
commemorating the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt:
Exodus 12:26-51
“26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you,
What mean ye by this service?
27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who
passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the
Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and
worshipped.
28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had
commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the
firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his
throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the
firstborn of cattle.
30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all
the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house
where there was not one dead.
31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and
get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go,
serve the Lord, as ye have said.
32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone;
and bless me also.
33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send
them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their
kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and
they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and
raiment:
36 And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians,
so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the
Egyptians.
37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about
six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds,
even very much cattle.
39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought
forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of
Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any
victual.
40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt,
was four hundred and thirty years.
41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years,
even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out
from the land of Egypt.
42 It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them
out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of
all the children of Israel in their generations.
43 And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the
passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast
circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.
46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of
the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover
to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and
keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised
person shall eat thereof.
49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that
sojourneth among you.
50 Thus did all the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses and
Aaron, so did they.
51 And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the
children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.”
Easter:
According to Strong’s Concordance “easter” is “pascha” in Greek
and means:
“the paschal
festival, the feast of Passover, extending from the fourteenth to the twentieth
day of the month Nisan: Matthew 26:2; Mark 14:1; Luke 2:41; Luke 22:1; John
2:13, 23; John 6:4; John 11:55; John 12:1; John 13:1; John 18:39; John 19:14;
Acts 12:4.” – “the Passover (the meal, the day, the festival or the special
sacrifices connected with it) -- Easter, Passover.”
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:
“The date of Easter and its controversies
Fixing the date on which the Resurrection of
Jesus was to be observed and celebrated triggered a major controversy in early
Christianity in which an Eastern and a Western position can be distinguished.
The dispute was not definitively resolved until the 8th century. In Asia Minor,
Christians observed the day of the Crucifixion on the same day that Jews
celebrated Passover—that is, on the 14th day of the first full moon of spring,
14 Nisan (see Jewish calendar). The Resurrection, then, was observed two days
later, on 16 Nisan, regardless of the day of the week. In the West the
Resurrection of Jesus was celebrated on the first day of the week, Sunday, when
Jesus had risen from the dead. Consequently, Easter was always celebrated on the
first Sunday after the 14th day of the month of Nisan. Increasingly, the
churches opted for the Sunday celebration, and the Quartodecimans (“14th day”
proponents) remained a minority. The
Council of Nicaea in 325 decreed that Easter should be observed on the first
Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 21).
Easter, therefore, can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25.”
To read more about this version of easter, here is the link to the
website for this encyclopedia: http://www.britannica.com/topic/Easter-holiday
How is the date for the pagan festival of easter calculated?
According to the website, “School of the Seasons”: http://www.schooloftheseasons.com/spring.html
“In ancient Rome, the 10-day rite in honor
of Attis, son of the great goddess Cybele, began on March 15th. A pine tree,
which represented Attis, was chopped down, wrapped in a linen shroud, decorated
with violets and placed in a sepulchre in the temple. On the Day of Blood or
Black Friday, the priests of the cult gashed themselves with knives as they
danced ecstatically, sympathizing with Cybele in her grief and helping to restore
Attis to life. Two days later, a priest opened the sepulchre at dawn, revealing
that it was empty and announcing that the god was saved. This day was known as
Hilaria or the Day of Joy, a time of feasting and merriment.
Sound familiar? Easter is the Christian
version of the same myth. Even the name Easter is stolen. It comes from the
Saxon dawn-goddess Eostre, whose festival was celebrated on spring equinoxThe date of Easter is still determined by
the old moon cycle. It is always the first Sunday on or after the first full
moon after the spring equinox.”
“This Christian holiday is named after a
pagan goddess of spring (Eostre) and takes place on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox
(making it the only Christian holiday with lunar connections). It was named Easter in the 8th century.”
“"There is a whole metaphor in
Christian tradition about bread symbolizing Easter, because you are taking the
inert flour and bringing it back to life." The Greek tsoureki is a braided
loaf with red eggs nestled into the plaits of the dough. The eggs are
supposedly dyed red to represent the blood of Christ, but in earlier times, eggs were dyed red as offerings to Astarte
and red eggs are still thrown into streams the day after Easter in Russia as offerings
to the spirits.”
Here’s another quote from another website that confirms the paganism of
easter:
“According to Jacob Grimm’s Deutsche
Mythologie, the idea of resurrection was ingrained within the celebration of
Ostara: “Ostara, Eástre seems therefore to have been the divinity of the
radiant dawn, of upspringing light, a spectacle that brings joy and blessing,
whose meaning could be easily adapted by the resurrection-day of the
christian’s God.”
Most analyses of the origin of the word
‘Easter’ maintain that it was named after a goddess mentioned by the 7th to
8th-century English monk Bede, who wrote that Ēosturmōnaþ (Old English 'Month
of Ēostre', translated in Bede's time as "Paschal month") was an
English month, corresponding to April, which he says "was once called
after a goddess of theirs named Ēostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated
in that month".
The origins of Easter customs
The most widely-practiced customs on Easter
Sunday relate to the symbol of the rabbit (‘Easter bunny’) and the egg. As outlined previously, the rabbit was a
symbol associated with Eostre, representing the beginning of Springtime.
Likewise, the egg has come to represent Spring, fertility and renewal. In Germanic mythology, it is said that Ostara
healed a wounded bird she found in the woods by changing it into a hare. Still
partially a bird, the hare showed its gratitude to the goddess by laying eggs
as gifts.
The Encyclopedia Britannica clearly explains
the pagan traditions associated with the egg: “The egg as a symbol of fertility
and of renewed life goes back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians, who had
also the custom of colouring and eating eggs during their spring festival.” In
ancient Egypt, an egg symbolised the sun, while for the Babylonians, the egg
represents the hatching of the Venus Ishtar, who fell from heaven to the
Euphrates.”
From the website “Ancient Origins”: http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/ancient-pagan-origins-easter-001571?page=0%2C1
About easter candies: http://www.goddessgift.com/pandora's_box/easter-history.html
“Chocolate Easter bunnies and eggs,
marshmallow chicks in pastel colors, and candy of all sorts, most of which are
given out as personalized gifts during Easter . . . these have pagan origins as
well! To understand their association with religion we need to examine the
meaning of food as a symbol.
The ancient belief that, by eating something
we take on its characteristics formed the basis for the earliest
"blessings" before meals (a way to honor the life that had been
sacrificed so that we as humans could enjoy life) and, presumably, for the more
recent Christian sacrament of communion as well.
Shaping candy Easter eggs and bunnies to
celebrate the spring festival was, simply put, a way to celebrate the symbols
of the goddess and the season, while laying claim to their strengths (vitality,
growth, and fertility) for ourselves.”
On “Good Friday”:
“In an ironic twist, the Cybele cult
flourished on today's Vatican Hill. Cybele's lover Attis, was born of a virgin,
died and was reborn annually. This spring festival began as a day of blood on
Black Friday, rising to a crescendo after three days, in rejoicing over the resurrection.
There was violent conflict on Vatican Hill in the early days of Christianity
between the Jesus worshippers and pagans who quarrelled over whose God was the
true, and whose the imitation. What is interesting to note here is that in the
ancient world, wherever you had popular resurrected god myths, Christianity
found lots of converts. So, eventually Christianity came to an accommodation
with the pagan Spring festival. Although we see no celebration of Easter in the
New Testament, early church fathers celebrated it, and today many churches are
offering "sunrise services" at Easter – an obvious pagan solar
celebration. The date of Easter is not fixed, but instead is governed by the
phases of the moon – how pagan is that?”
Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon of
the spring equinox.
Passover is on Nisan 14th. Since we know that Nisan is the
first month of the Hebrew calendar year, we use observations of the seasons in
order to calculate when the first month would fall on the Hebrew calendar. Barley
was needed for the Omer sacrifice which was offered on the second day of
Passover. Passover is in the spring so the plants and trees needed to be
blossoming and producing fruit. The Hebrew month starts on the night we see the
first sliver of the new moon. Passover would then follow in the 14th
of this first month.
Genesis 1:14
“14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to
divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and
for days, and years:”
Joel 2:23
“23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your
God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to
come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first
month.”
Deuteronomy 11:13-15
“13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my
commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to
serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the
first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy
wine, and thine oil.
15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest
eat and be full.”
DO YOU SEE THE CONNECTIONS
YET?
The enemy has taken a very holy day to Abba, Passover and Unleavened
Bread, and perverted it with mixtures of paganism and fed it to those who
refuse to study Abba’s Word for Truth and who refuse to follow Abba’s Torah.
2 Timothy 2:15
“15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Passover is NOT Easter!
There is no incorrect translation of the word easter instead of
Passover either.
Passover is Abba’s Holy Feast.
Easter, referred to in Acts 12:4, is referring to the pagan holiday
king Herod observed and celebrated, not to Passover, since it was already the
days of Unleavened Bread when this happened.
Acts 12:1-4
“1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex
certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take
Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4 And 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.”
Abba would NEVER change the name of one of His Holy Feasts to that of a
pagan name:
Exodus 23:13
“13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and
make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy
mouth.”
Deuteronomy 5:32
“32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath
commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.”
Deuteronomy 12:30-32
“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.
32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not
add thereto, nor diminish from it.”
Jeremiah 10:1-2
“1 Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of
Israel:
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.”
Matthew 28:20
“20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Mark 7:7-13
“7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of
men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God,
that ye may keep your own tradition.
10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth
father or mother, let him die the death:
11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban,
that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall
be free.
12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which
ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.”
Revelation 18:4
“4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
plagues.”
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