ON EASTER

What is EASTER? When the annual commemoration of our Lord Jesus’ resurrection approaches, we should remember our Lord’s words concerning Tradition:

Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Matthew 15:1-3,9

The EASTER celebration is one such commandment of man, having been instituted by the Roman Catholic church around 155 AD (according to their sources), and is presumably “celebrated” in order to call to remembrance the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.* An associated commandment is the observance of Good Friday, also instituted by the Roman Catholic church, and one which implies that the Lord Jesus is a liar, which He is certainly not, for it is impossible for God to lie. It should be noted that the true, early Christian church celebrated the Passover which commemorated the Israelite’s flight from Egypt and a celebration which commemorated Christ’s crucifixion – it did not involve a celebration of His resurrection, but that of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which will be a feast for Christians in Heaven during the time of the Tribulation on Earth.

What happened was that Bishop Anicetus believed in continuing Easter as had been observed by past Roman priests and which differed markedly from Christ’s Passover observance held by the early Asian Christian churches. This led to a further mudding of the waters by the Roman church’s introducing their dogma to replace that of the scriptures – that which included a resurrection feature which had not been sanctioned by God. Either by ignorance or by false deception, the Friday crucifixion and the Sunday resurrection dogma was concocted by the Roman church in which neither is in conformance with the scriptures. Moreover, Jesus was crucified on Wednesday and resurrected on Saturday – as I prove in my book The Day Christ was Born and further explained in THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST on this site.

The inability to make any sense (timewise) of the Roman church’s dogma of a Friday crucifixion and a Sunday resurrection has arisen because some Christians have chosen to hearken to the tradition of the Roman Catholic church instead of to the Word of God. Nowhere in the Word of God do we find any commandment by Jesus to celebrate His resurrection on any particular day, and especially not on the very day when pagans are observing their own resurrection version, the rebirth of their pagan idol Tammuz, the consort of Ishtar (Easter). The following gives a summary of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples at even on Tuesday night, which marked the beginning of the next day, the Passover Day. Jews reckon each day from sunset to sunset, according to Genesis 1:5; 1:8; 1:13; 1:19; 1:23; 1:31. [please see the RESURRECTION topic on this site for these first three points]
Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, the Passover Day, died, and was buried in the tomb at even Wednesday, which marked the beginning of the next day. Man-made tradition has for centuries been in error, saying that our Lord was crucified on Friday. This error is probably due to the little-known fact that the Jews always celebrated a High Sabbath immediately following the Passover. This celebration did not replace the weekly Sabbath, which was held on Saturday. In the week that our Lord was crucified, there were two Sabbaths, a High Sabbath on Thursday, and the weekly Sabbath on Saturday.
According to the Jewish reckoning of days of the week, then, from Wednesday afternoon at three o’clock to Saturday afternoon at three o’clock was three days and three nights. At three o’clock on Saturday afternoon, Jesus resurrected from the tomb with a glorified body of flesh and bone. The scriptures cannot be broken, Jesus did fulfill the scripture that says that He would be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights:

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:38-40

A correct observance of Jesus’ resurrection would be that it be held sometime between three o’clock and six o’clock on the 17^th day of Nisan. But even though this would be biblically correct, Jesus does not command Christians to observe His resurrection anywhere in the bible.

ISHTAR and Sun Worship The bible records what sunrise services really represent:

He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, 0 son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, 0 son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them. Ezekiel 8:13-18

The weeping of the women for Tammuz was that of acknowledging Tammuz as Ishtar’s male consort, soon to be reborn at sunrise. Both of these events are part of the same pagan worship. The word “Easter” in our bible does not refer us to a Christian observance holy day, but to the idolatrous worship of Ishtar and Tammuz. If some Christians are not paying tribute to Ishtar and Tammuz (these ancient Babylonian deities), then why do they celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on that particular day, and no other? We Christians are supposed to abstain from all appearances of evil.

Unlike pagan worshippers who wait for the sun to appear (which represents their reborn Tammuz), Christians should take note that Jesus resurrected just as the sun went down, not up. Christians should also know that Jesus’ glory outshines that of the sun, so He does not need the sun to introduce Him to worshipping Christians. In the book of Acts, the Apostle Paul recounts to King Agrippa:

At midday, 0 king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. Acts 26:13

No, my friends, we are to worship Jesus in spirit and in truth, and not according to men’s traditions, regardless how entrenched they may be. Symbolically, then, even though we partake of the Lord’s Supper on a Saturday, by partaking of it at even according to Jewish time-reckoning, we are partaking of it on a Sunday.

The Lord’s Supper As Christians, we believe that Jesus ordained His Church to observe the Lord’s Supper, which symbolizes Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins. And yet, when Jesus proclaimed this ordinance of the Church to His disciples, He included the hope that we have of seeing Him again in Heaven, at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Therefore, observing the Lord’s Supper symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Nation of Israel and the Queen of Heaven (Ishtar, Easter) Here is what the people of the nation of Israel believed about "the queen of heaven"

Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.

But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men? Jeremiah 44:15-19

Note It is well-known among archeologists and Ishtar worshippers even today that one of the titles that Ishtar went (and goes by today), is Queen of Heaven. Likewise, Mary is worshipped today in the Roman Catholic church as the Queen of Heaven. Could God have made the scriptures any plainer than this?

The Lord’s Answer to Israel Concerning the Queen of Heaven The Lord's reply

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. 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.

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. 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. Jeremiah 44:25-28

King Solomon and Ashtoreth (Ishtar, Easter) King Solomon angers the Lord

For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen. 1 Kings 11:4-13

God Fulfills His Promise to Rend the Kingdom of Israel God divides the nation of Israel because of king Solomon's worshipping of Easter

And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel).

Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. 1 Kings 11:29-33

Thus, the great nation of Israel was divided by God because of king Solomon’s weakness in his worshipping of Ashtoreth (the Jewish name for Ishtar, or Easter) in his old age. This act by God was an extremely strong judgment upon Israel, but it clearly revealed His absolute hatred of His people worshipping the false idol of Easter. Christians should recall God’s very first commandment:

I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 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: 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; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:2-6

*That is to say, the supposed Christian event of EASTER was invented by the Roman catholic church, but the origin of the worshipping of ISHTAR is buried in antiquity, and dates back at least to the Babylonians, if not to the Sumerians (who preceded the Babylonians), and who are (thought to be) the earliest civilization on this side of the Great Flood. The pagan goddess ISHTAR evolved into the Israelite Ashtoreth, which the bible has a lot to say about below.

APPLICATION

According to the Bible, God’s Holy Word, we should certainly avoid any connection with the pagan holiday known as EASTER. We should also abstain from the additional features of this holiday, such as Good Friday, the colored eggs (which were used by the Babylonians in their fertility rites in their pagan worship) and the rabbit, which was also a part of their fertility worship. In conversation and in writing, we should be aware that the word EASTER means ISHTAR, and treat it as such. Should we continue to say that we are celebrating a pagan goddess? Let us worship the Jesus of the Bible, and restore Him to prominence at this time, and not involve ourselves with rabbits and eggs.

God’s people have been duped by the Roman Catholic church’s initiating the celebration of Easter since 155 AD, according to Roman Catholic church sources. For worldly believers, Easter’s rabbits and eggs have replaced our Lord’s Passover observance, just as Frosty the snowman and Santa Clause have replaced Him at His (supposed) birthday celebration in the Christ-Mass holiday. May God forgive us. (THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST on this site complements this topic).

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