I think it's appropriate that we speak for a little on the truth of Easter. If we are 'fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; we're built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets' (Ephesians 2:19-20).
To begin, Easter is a Chaldee word wrongly applied to the Passover or pascha {pas'-khah}. Pascha, which means to skip, or pass over, applies to the Pascal sacrifice 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 forefathers, 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, may pass over their dwellings.
'For God said, "I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt" (Exodus 12:12-13).
That Passover lamb was a type of Christ crucified. Christians are born-again, or under the blood of Christ, as those Israelites were under the blood of the natural lamb. As the lamb died in place of Israel's firstborn, who were under its blood in Egypt, Christ died on Calvary for those spiritually firstborn into the Kingdom - the elected of Adam's fallen race. That is, the true Church.
Believers know that the name 'Easter,' used in our translation of Acts 12:4, refers not to any Christian festival, and not to the Jewish Passover. This is one of the few places in our version where the translators show an undue bias. The best explanation is that this refers to the pagan festival of Astarte, also known as 'Ishtar' and pronounced 'Easter' by us. This festival was held in late April around the time of the Passover. In its original form, it was a celebration of the earth's regenerating itself after the winter season. The festival involved the celebration of fertility and reproduction. The common symbols of Easter were the rabbit and (for obvious reasons) the egg. Pagan symbols which have crept into denominational usage.
Astarte or Ishtar was the main female deity, and is known in the Bible as the 'Queen of Heaven'. In Jeremiah 7:16-18, God told His prophet, 'Pray no more for these people... My anger is great! Watch the children gather wood and the fathers build fires, and the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to the "Queen of Heaven" and to their other gods'. She is the mother of Tammuz, who was also her husband, and false messiah of the pagan trinity, who was slain and supposedly resurrects at Easter. Jeremiah (44:17-25) records the Jew's worship of these gods, brought the fierce wrath of God, in the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. These perverted rituals take place at sunrise on Easter morning (Ezekiel 8:13-16).
The word 'Easter' appears only once in the Bible. Acts 12:1-4: 'About that time Herod the king moved against some of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And when he saw how greatly this pleased the Jewish leaders, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (It was during the days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to sixteen soldiers; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people for execution'.
The key to understanding Acts 12:4 is in the previous verse. This 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 to some event after the Passover. Herod was not a Jew, and could care less about the Passover. However, he probably kept Easter, in honor of his false goddess, 'the Queen of Heaven', and wanted to slay James, to add a little interest to his PAGAN feast day.
Much has been written that goes far to prove the identity of the Babylonian system of worship within Christendom; but at every step the evidence becomes still more overwhelming. Particularly when we compare the different festivals.
One of its important festivals that can be proved to be Babylonian is Easter. Now don't just take my word for this - receive it with all readiness of mind, then search the Scripture whether it is so. Eternal Life is not in my words. I'm a man! I can make mistakes. So take my words back to your Bible, and to history. Because what I'm saying can be proved from any encyclopedia, and the Bible.
The term "Easter" is not a Christian name. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, 'the Queen of Heaven', whose name, as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in Australia. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar.
The worship of Bel and Astarte was introduced into Britain by the Druids, 'the priests of the groves'. Baal was worshipped, and his consort, Astarte, was also adored by our ancestors in Britain. And from Astarte, whose name in Nineveh was Ishtar, the religious solemnities of April, as now practiced, are called by the name of Easter - that month, among our Pagan ancestors, was called Easter-month.
The festival, of which we read in church history, under the name of Easter, in the third or fourth centuries, was quite a different festival from that now observed in the church, and at that time was not known as Easter. It was called Pasch, or the Passover, and though not of Apostolic institution, was very early observed by many professing Christians, in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Christ. That festival agreed originally with the time of the Jewish Passover, when Christ was crucified.
Like the original apostles of Christ, we know from the Bible there is no requirement for Christians to observe the Passover. That was fulfilled by His death, burial and resurrection when He played the part of our Kinsman Redeemer 2,000 years ago. It is over, or as He said on the Cross, 'It is FINISHED!'
I believe that all who are Jesus' disciples in this day, should take Him at His Word, remembering It was Christ the Word Who bled and died on Calvary, not the man-made creed and tradition of some Christ-denying religious system.
Jesus said, 'My Word is Spirit, It is Life'. 'And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him". And the people answered him not a word'.
That same choice is placed before you today. If Baal be god, then follow him. But if Jesus Christ be God, follow the Word.
Peter said, 'We have seen the Words of the prophets vindicated; whereunto you do well if you heed all they wrote as you'd follow a light shining in darkness, until the subject becomes visible, and Christ illumines your hearts through the new birth: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the private thoughts of man: but holy men of God, spoke as they were inspired, by the Holy Ghost.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who secretly introduce heresies and, for greed exploit you' (II Peter 1:19-2:4).
Jesus said, 'If we add our private interpretations to God's Word, He will add to us the tribulation plagues'. We should show respect to God's Word and work out our salvation with fear and trembling - not following the teachings of any man.
Because he's trained as a priest or minister does not mean he is a Christian. Remember, it was priests and ministers who crucified our Lord Jesus. And just because certain teachings are upheld by denominational groups does not mean that they're Scriptural. The authority and absolute word on Doctrine is the Bible, which can never change.
According to the Bible, there is no requirement for Christians to observe the Jew's Feast of Passover, which Christ has fulfilled (past tense). Like many other Jewish and also pagan traditions the passover was reintroduced in the early days of the false church.
That festival was not idolatrous, and was preceded by no Lent. In the age of Constantine, fifteen days was enforced by law (Bingham, ix. p. 95). "It ought to be known," said Cassianus the monk of Marseilles (writing in the fifth century, and contrasting the primitive Church with the Church in his day), "that the observance of the forty days had no existence, so long as the perfection of the primitive Church remained inviolate."
The forty days' abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshipers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent of forty days, 'in the spring of the year,' is still observed by the pagan devil-worshipers of Koordistan.
Last week when I was in the doctor's surgery, I heard him ask his receptionist if she'd like a cup of tea. She replied that she'd given it up for Lent. Who is she trying to please? Is it Christ? Or is it her kind old priest? She's certainly not serving God's Bible, because there is no Lent, and no Lenten self-denial to be found anywhere in God's unchanging Word. So her duty is without faith and in vain.
If she truly wants to deny herself to please God, and serve Jesus, she won't restrict her denial to Lent. She'll perform that service throughout the year. She might start by denying herself clothing that pertains to a man, for that's abomination in the sight of God (Deuteronomy 22:6; Zephaniah 1:8; I Timothy 2:9-10; I Peter 3:3- 6). She could deny herself haircuts. Paul taught that uncut hair is the sign that a woman is under the authority of God and man, and that a woman with cut hair is not fit to pray (Genesis 3:16; Numbers 5:11, 18; I Corinthians 11:1-15).
And if she really wants to please her Lord, she could deny herself cosmetics and a painted face. That paint on the outside was not inspired by God. It shows she has something to hide on the inside. The only woman in Scripture who painted her face was Jezebel, and she became dog's meat. Face-painting comes from the heathens who paint their faces when they go on the warpath! Girls, when you paint your face, it shows you're at war with God.
Such is the history of Easter. The popular observances that still attend the period of its celebration amply confirm the testimony of history as to its Babylonian character. The hot cross buns of Good Friday, and the dyed eggs of Pasch or Easter Sunday, figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do now. The buns, were used in the worship of the 'Queen of Heaven', the goddess Easter, as early as the founding of Athens, 1500 years before Christ. They offered sacred cakes made of fine flour and honey. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of this kind of offering when he says, "The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the Queen of Heaven' (Jeremiah 7:18). Hot cross buns are not offered nowadays, but eaten, on the festival of Astarte. This leaves no doubt as to whence they've been derived.
When I lived in Hong Kong, I found the Chinese also observed this festival. They baked moon cakes to the Goddess of mercy who was sometimes portrayed with her son in her arms. Imagine the surprise of some Roman Catholic missionaries as they entered China and found there a Madonna and Child with rays of light emanating from the head of the babe. The image could have been exchanged for one in the Vatican except for the difference of certain facial features.
The origin of the Pasch eggs is just as clear. The ancient Druids bore an egg, as the sacred emblem of their order. In the mysteries of Bacchus, as celebrated in Athens, one part of the ceremony consisted in consecrating an egg. The Hindu fables celebrate their mundane egg as of a golden color. The people of Japan say their sacred egg was brazen. In China, today, dyed or painted eggs are used on sacred festivals. In ancient times eggs were used in the religious rites of the Egyptians and the Greeks, and were hung up for mystic purposes in their temples. From Egypt these sacred eggs can be distinctly traced to the banks of the Euphrates. Classic poets are full of fables of the mystic egg of the Babylonians; "An egg of wondrous size is said to have fallen from heaven into the river Euphrates. The fishes rolled it to the bank, where the doves having settled upon it, hatched it, and out came Venus, who afterwards was called the Syrian Goddess, Astarte. Hence the egg became one of the symbols of Astarte or Easter. The false Church adopted this mystic egg of Astarte, and consecrated it as a symbol of Christ's resurrection.
Gieseler, speaking of the Eastern Church in the second century, in regard to Pascal observations, says: "In the Pascal festival in commemoration of the death of Christ they eat unleavened bread, probably like the Jews, eight days throughout... There is NO trace of a yearly festival of a resurrection among them, for this was kept every Sunday" (Catholic Church, sect. 53, p. 178, Note 35).
After this break, we'll examine the true significance of Passover to Christians, and how we recognize it today.
There were three annual compulsory pilgrim Feasts in Jerusalem, to which every adult male must attend: Passover and Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles(Exodus 23; Leviticus 23; Deuteronomy 16). These natural festivals were a shadow and type of God's Spiritual Program of redemption.
Now I can't emphasize too strongly how important it is for each of us personally to have a clear understanding of what these Feasts to the Lord symbolized. If we can't grasp their true import, then we'll be unable to receive Jesus Christ in the new birth, and to understand the Bible.
Attending church is good. We go to church to receive correction by the Word. But unless we take what the preacher said back to God's Word, how will we ever have the certain confidence to know what we heard is the mind of God, and Life: not just wishful thinking, and death? We must understand what God's Word means to us in this day.
Jesus said, 'Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you' (Luke 11:9). I fear few who call upon the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ ever bother to ask, seek and knock for Him to open up their understanding to His Word. Understanding is another word for "faith". And without faith it is impossible to please God. We are cannot be Christians, and our lives cannot reflect His Life. We're only fooling ourselves.
As I said, Israel's three annual compulsory Feasts represent God's program for the redemption of mankind, and this earth: from Satan, sin and death. And unless we can understand these things we cannot have any part of God's Program. We must recognize OUR day and ITS Message, in order to find OUR place in God's Program.
Passover represented Christ's substitution at Calvary as Kinsman Redeemer for His elect, the true New Testament Church. Calvary marked the end of God's dealings with Israel until after the close of the Gentile dispensation. The Feast of Unleavened Bread began the day after Passover. It represented Christ, the Fullness of the Word, Who is that Bread sent down from Heaven, upon which we're to feed our souls and grow into the image and likeness of the Word. It lasted seven days.
The Feast of Pentecost commenced one day after; it included the last six days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It encompassed fifty days, and represents the whole of the Gentile dispensation. The first six days type Pentecost where the saints held and understood the Word of God, pure and undefiled. The seven sabbaths type the Seven Church Ages, whilst the fiftieth day was also a sabbath, and types this PRESENT Age, of maturity, and translation.
And finally, the Feast of Tabernacles which lasted eight days. The first six days represent 6,000 years that man has labored against sin. The seventh types the Millennium, and the eighth day, the new heavens and new earth, which is Eternity.
We must understand these things, in order to know what Jesus is doing now so we can fulfill our part of His Word. If we see these things clearly, we'll see Jesus has fulfilled the Passover, and that Christians celebrate His resurrection every day. All who are God's, have recognized their place in Christ, and that we too died in Christ on Calvary, have already raised with Him, and are now seated in Heavenly Places in Christ Jesus.
Once upon a time the animal blood on the doorpost of the dwelling was the Token. Today the Token in the Life of Christ on display in you. For you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.
I admonish each one of you to prove all things, by God's Word, not man-made traditions, and hold fast that which is good. 'For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him' (Hebrews 10:37-38). radio041.html