Easter
I can tell you that it gets rather frustrating answering questions that should not be asked, by the ones who say they are believers. Have any of you ever taken notice that the questions we ask today would not even be considered a question for a true believer.
The problem we have today is better summed up in this scripture:
II TIMOTHY 3:7
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Never before have men known so much while they know so little. There used to be a time, the question of Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc, were not even questions at all. Why? Because Christians read their Bibles and they knew what it had to say. They knew that many customs today that we say is in honor of Jesus Christ, Were pagan to the core and had nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity. People today have lost the “Spirit of Truth”.
It is my job as a Pastor of our Lord Jesus Christ to feed you with knowledge and understanding! However, it is not my job to study for you! The bible tells you to do that. I hope this word of reproof will not cause any offense, but that it will inspire you to study God’s word for yourself. However if you are offended then you need deliverance.
The Easter question. Easter is nothing more than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven. There is nothing Christian about Easter!
The English word Easter comes from “Eostre” or “Eastre”. Eastre is Astarte or Ashtaroth the Queen of Heaven. The Roman Catholic Church has instituted a lot of traditions and pagan customs and the Christians today have followed their lead right into pagaism and false worship of God (YHWH). You cannot find Jesus, nor the Apostles, nor the early believers, celebrating pagan customs in the Bible such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween etc…
I am still amazed at all of the time that has to be spent proving that lies are not true! While people believe lies without question and they will even defend it in ignorance. It’s a shame and it does not speak well of this time in our generation will moral decay and spiritual bankruptcy is at an all time high.
We do find the word Easter one time in the bible. The word translated in the King James version of the Bible, “Easter”
Is actually the Greek word pascha or Passover. The key to understanding verse 4 in Acts 12 is in verse 3. Notice then were the days of Unleavened bread! Meaning this Pagan festival was around the time of Passover. There are two books that I recommend to you, the reader, for your study of this Pagan custom that was not celebrated by the early church. One is “The Two Babylons” by Alexander Hislop and “Too Long in the Sun” by Richard Reeves, Brother Richard Reeves. Is a personal friend of us here at “Straitway” and he has done a super job in his studies of exposing paganism. We offer brother Richard’s book to you for a gift of fifteen dollars. However, if you do not have any desire for the truth, then do not ask for it. We are not here to tickle your ears, Truth requires change. Christians should celebrate Passover not Easter.
Just because man says it is in honor of the resurrection, that does not make it Holy! The Bible is our instruction book. If it tells us to keep it then we should, if not then Sin! Paganism (False God Worship) is at the door. And many of you need to repent for false worship of Tammuz and Astarte/Ishtar. God said you should not have any other gods before Him.
The Bible does teach that we should show forth His death until HE comes!
I CORINTHIANS 23-32.
23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the [same] night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also [he took] the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink [it], in remembrance of me.
26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink [this] cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of [that] bread, and drink of [that] cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30 For this cause many [are] weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
You see, you can search the scriptures and you will not find one reference to show special honor to His resurrection, you will see it is constantly speaking about His death. Here is the meaning of that word Easter in the Greek:
GREEK LEXICON -- STRONG'S NUMBER 3957
Click here to view all verses that use this Greek word.
3957 pascha {pas'-khah} pavsca of Aramaic origin [compare 6453]; TDNT -- 5:896,797; n n
AV -- Passover (28)
-- Easter (1) [29]
prop, a passing over 1) the paschal sacrifice (which was accustomed to be offered for the people's deliverance of old from Egypt)
2) the paschal lamb, i.e. the lamb the Israelites were accustomed to slay and eat on the fourteenth day of the month of Nissan (the first month of their year) in memory of the day on which their fathers, preparing to depart from Egypt, were bidden by God to slay and eat a lamb, and to sprinkle their door posts with its blood, that the destroying angel, seeing the blood, might pass over their dwellings; Christ crucified is likened to the slain paschal lamb
3) the paschal supper: to celebrate the paschal meal
4) the paschal festival, the feast of Passover, extending from the fourteenth to the twentieth day of the month Nisan Translated Easter in Acts 12:4. A possible explanation for this rendering is the following. This refers to the pagan festival of Astarte also known as "Ishtar" and pronounced as Easter by us. This festival was held in late April around the time of the Passover. In its original form, a celebration of the earth's "regenerating" itself after the winter season. The festival involved the celebration of reproduction. The common symbols of Easter were the rabbit and the egg (for obvious reasons). Astarte was the main female deity and is known in the Bible as the "Queen of Heaven", Jer. 7:18, 44:17-25. She is the mother of Tammuz (Eze. 8:14) who was also her husband. These perverted rituals take place at sunrise on Easter morning. (Eze. 8:13-16). The key to understanding Acts 12:4 is in the previous verse. It was in the "days of unleavened bread". The Passover was the feast before the days of unleavened bread so this word does not refer to the passover but some event after the passover. Herod was not a Jew, and could care less about the passover. However, it is quite likely he kept Easter, and wanted to slay James to add a little interest to his feast day.
(Editor's note: We are unable to confirm or deny the accuracy of the explanation concerning the use of the word Easter in Acts 12:4.)
The Bottom line is that it is Pagan! Just like Christmas and Halloween! Christians should not be partakers of false worship to another god!
Pastor Dowell
