Easter

As the time for the observance of Easter, by some, approaches, I thought that I would investigate some things concerning one of the holiest days of the year for Christianity. My aim is to make this as short and brief as possible.

One has to start by asking if Easter is even Scriptural. Is it something that we see the "church" observing? We do find the word Easter in some translations:

Acts 12:4

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.

On appearance it seems that Easter is in Scripture, yet if we look at the Greek we discover that the word Easter is a mistranslation. In fact, it is referring to the "Jewish" holy day of Passover.

3957 pa,sca pascha {pas'-khah}
Meaning: 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 Nisan (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 4) the paschal feast, the feast of the Passover, extending from the 14th to the 20th day of the month Nisan
Origin: of Aramaic origin cf 06453; TDNT - 5:896,797; n n
Usage: AV - Passover 28, Easter 1; 29

Therefore Easter is not actually found in Scripture.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary Easter had a pre-"Christian" origin, namely a festival in honor of Eostre, the Teutonic dawn-goddess, as well as the goddess of fertility. Also known as:

• Eostre, Eastre, Eostra, or Ostara
• Eos, the Greek dawn goddess
• Usha or Ushas, the Hindu dawn goddess
• Ishtar of Assyia
• Astarte, Ashtaroh, Ashtoreth and the queen of heaven.

Of interesting note, the Scriptures to mention the queen of heaven. The book of Jeremiah has some things to say about the queen of heaven and those that worship her. It's not a pretty picture.

Jer. 7:16-21

 16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.
 17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
 18 The 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.
 19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?
 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
 21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.

Jer. 44:16-23

 16 As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.
 17 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.
 18 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.
 19 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?
 20 Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,
 21 The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?
 22 So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
 23 Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.

We see in these passages that God sent the prophet Jeremiah to warn God's people against worshiping the queen of heaven. Yet they did not obey the voice of the Lord and continued to worship the queen of heaven, which is part of the reason God led them away to be captives of the Babylonians. If God was displeased with it then, do you think that He would be okay with it now?

How about those Easter eggs? It wouldn't be Easter without them right? The rabbit, hare, or bunny was associated with the pagan goddess of Ishtar in her captivity as Aphrodite. It was a symbol of productivity and fertility. (Briannnica 14th Ed.)

Of interesting note even the Catholic Encyclopedia, the 1909 Edition, states that "A great may pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring...The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been a symbol of fertility."

According to Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend; "Children roll pasach eggs in England. Everywhere they hunt the many-colored Easter eggs, brought by the Easter rabbit. This is not mere child's play, but the vestige of a fertility rite, the eggs and the rabbit both symbolizing fertility. Furthermore, the rabbit was the escort of the Germanic Goddess Ostara who gave the name to the festival by way of the German Ostern" (1949 Ed.)

There are MANY more references I could share but I think you get the picture.

How about sunrise service? Well, as already noted above Easter is derived from dawn goddesses, so a sunrise service should be of no surprise. We have already read in the Scriptures of the queen of heaven and Tammuz. We see that God's people worshiped Tammuz at the rising of the sun. God called it an abomination.

Eze. 8:15-16

 15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.
 16 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.

This ties in with the Easter hams. Tammuz was killed by a bore (pig), though I won't get into that here. The pig was was sacred to the goddess Demeter, the corn goddess, a diety of abundance and fertility - a counterpart of Astarte or Easter. According to The Golden Bough, "The pig was sacred to her; in art she was represented carrying or accompanied by a pig; and the pig was regularly sacrificed in her mysteries...originally the pig was an embodiment of the corn-goddess herself"

Pigs and cakes of dough were traditionally thrown into the chasms of two similar gods, Demeter and Proerpine, which appear to have been sacred caverns or vaults. The heathens believed that by eating what represented and embodied their god - in this case swine- they were literally partaking of their god.

Notice the cakes? In Jeremiah we see that they made cakes to the queen of heaven. Because these cakes were made to the queen of heaven, they were marked with a cross, symbol for woman and also signifying life in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Hmmm. Hot cross buns!

Please forgive me for not speaking on Lent or Good Friday. I shared some information, even some tidbits to stir up your own appetite for study. What are we to do as followers of Christ? Be like a noble Berean (Acts 17:11), that you may be approved unto God (2 T. 2:15!

2 Cor. 6:14-7:1

 14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

 1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
 2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
 3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
 4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
 5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
 6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
 7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
 8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.
 9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.
 10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;
 11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
 12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
 13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.

Until the next blog, grace and peace to you!