Holidays  Leading Toward

 Easter

 Compiled by

 Wayne Reynolds

Easter is defined in Websters Unabridged Dictionary as: A paschal feast, originally a pagan festival in honor of the Goddess of Spring, Eåstre, held in April. (1) An annual Christian festival in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus, held on the first Sunday after the date of the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21. (2) The Sunday on which Easter is held: often called Easter Sunday.

Eåstre (Astarte or Ishtar in Babylonian, Venus in Syria) is the goddess of love and of the reproductive forces of nature. The Assyrians call her the goddess of war.

The following information is taken from the Encyclopedia International. These holidays were established in A. D. 525 by Dionysius the Little.

1. Mardi Gras - A period of fast fun and frolic. An "anything goes" period which ends with Shrove Tuesday. In 1838, it was established that Mardi Gras would last one week ending with the week of lent.

2. Shrove Tuesday - The day before Ash Wednesday. The name comes from the "shriving", confession and absolution, on this day.

3. Ash Wednesday - marks the beginning of Lent. The names come from the custom of blessing ashes of palm trees and putting them on the forehead. (A reminder that he is dust and shall return to dust. Dust and ashes are symbolic in the Bible for deep penitence and mourning.)

4. At the Council at Aurelia in A. D. 519, Hormisdas, Bishop of Rome, declared that Easter and Lent should be solemnly kept. Lent is a 40 day period, not counting Sundays, of preparing for Easter. It is a time of fasting and confessing sins. Lent includes Holy Week, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday.

5. Holy Week - The week from Palm Sunday to Easter. The final week of Lent.

6. Palm Sunday - The Sunday before Easter, which represents the day Christ made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The Catholic Church blesses the palm branches.

7. Maundy Thursday - The holiday supposedly comes from John 13:34. It is the Thursday in Holy Week, established to remember the institution of the Lord's Supper or Eucharist. Also holy oils are blessed and feet are washed.

8. Good Friday - The Friday preceding Easter. A day of strict fasting and mourning. The color is black. The church displays all outward signs of grief. There are no candles, music, or ornaments. This is supposed to be the day Christ died on the cross.

9. Easter - Celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. (A time in the Spring when the days and nights are about the same length.)

1. There is no instruction in the Bible for a yearly holiday celebrating Easter. Will we follow the traditions of men or the commands of God?

2. There is no mention in the Bible of any of the holidays connected with Easter. In the second century, Grislier, a Catholic historian, said that the early Christians celebrated the resurrection of Christ every Sunday. There was no trace of a yearly festival concerning the resurrection.

3. Easter was originally a pagan festival. Somewhere along the line, the pagans substituted Jesus for the goddess Eåstre, established the time of the crucifixion and persuaded "Christians" to join with them in celebrating the return of Spring.

4. The word "Easter" appears only one time in the Bible, Acts 12:4. A careful reading of this scripture will show that Herod was celebrating the pagan festival to Astarte, also known as "Ishtar" and pronounced "Easter" by us. This festival was held in late April around the time of the Passover. Astarte is known in the Bible as the "Queen of Heaven", Jer. 7:18. She is the mother of Tammuz, Ezk. 8:14, who was also her husband. These perverted rituals take place at sunrise on Easter morning, Ezk. 8:13-16. God cast Israel away because they worshipped these false gods. Will He do less to those that worship these same false gods today?

5. There is no way Christ could have died and been buried on Good Friday and rose early Sunday Morning and have been in the grave three days and three nights, Matt. 12:40.

6. If Easter is really a celebration of the resurrection of Christ, why isn't the day of the celebration the same each year? Why does Easter always occur at the exact time of the old pagan celebration for the goddess Eåstre?

7. II Thess. 2:4 states that Satan will sit in the temple of God showing himself that he is God. Satan has already begun his deception by impersonating Jesus Christ. Isn't this what Satan's work is all about? He appears as an angel of light, but the end is eternal darkness.

If you have been celebrating Easter, I hope you will investigate these facts for yourself. You will find they are the truth.

Please understand that many people unwittingly follow the traditions of men. If this is your case, please take time to consider what the Bible says about these holidays.