Post by yogidee on Apr 4, 2012 21:19:31 GMT -5
Easter is known for its bunny rabbits, colored eggs, hot cross buns, and the return of springtime. But where did Easter come from?
Few people realize that Easter is not about the resurrection of Christ.
The only time the word “Easter” is found in the Bible (Acts 12:4), it is there by mistranslation. The word in the original Greek is “Passover.” Jesus died at the time of the Passover feast, but the Passover is not Easter and Jesus did not die at Easter time. Easter is an ancient spring festival. Long before the time of Christ, the pagan goddess Ishtar, or sometimes known as Astarte or Ashtoreth, was worshiped in different countries. Our modern practice of sunrise worship originates from the pagan festival honoring Ishtar. The story of Easter also helps explain how Sunday became sacred and the origin of virgin worship.
Though it is one of the most sacred days on the Christian calendar, the trappings of Easter are derived from pagan practices.
To the casual observer, the two aspects of Easter seem somewhat incongruous. On the one hand is the secular holiday, where children hunt for brightly colored eggs in the grass and receive candy and toys in baskets brought by an anthropomorphic rabbit. On the other hand is the religious observance, where the Christian faithful mark the miraculous resurrection of their savior. While the two sides seem to have nothing at all in common, they begin to make greater sense when one considers the pagan roots of the holiday.
Fertility Goddesses
look at this horny bunnies..lol....fertility
The word Easter itself is likely derived from Eostre, the Saxon mother goddess, whose name in turn was adapted from Eastre, an ancient word for spring. The Norse equivalent of Eostre was the goddess Ostara, whose symbols were an egg and a hare, both denoting fertility. Festivals honoring these goddesses were celebrated on or around the vernal equinox, and even today, when Easter has supposedly been Christianized, the date of the holiday falls according to rather pagan reckonings, i.e. on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
Bunnies, Eggs and Lilies
Rabbits, of course, are a potent symbol of fertility due to their prodigious output of young. Eggs, likewise, have always been considered representative of new life, fertility, and reincarnation. Painted eggs, thought to imitate the bright sunlight and gaily colored flowers of spring, have been used in rituals since the days of the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. Lilies were also seen as fertility symbols because of their perceived resemblance to male genitalia. Even hot cross buns, associated with Lent, derive from the ancient Greeks and Romans, who baked “magic” wheat cakes with crosses scored in the top; two of these cakes were discovered in the ruins of Herculaneum, which was destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE.
Roots of Resurrection
The pagan celebrations most associated with modern Christian practices derive from Mediterranean cultures. The Phrygians celebrated a spring festival honoring Cybele, a fertility goddess. Cybele had a consort god named Attis, who was born of a virgin, and who died and was resurrected after three days, an occurrence commemorated sometime around the vernal equinox. Worshippers of Attis mourned the god’s death on Black Friday, then celebrated his rebirth on the following Sunday.
Attis was simply the latest manifestation of earlier resurrection myths, like those of Osiris, Orpheus, Tammuz and Dionysus, who were likewise said to have been born of virgins and resurrected three days after their deaths. In areas where Christian beliefs later took hold, these already existing tales were grafted onto the story of Jesus Christ, and continue to be retold to this day. It seems that ever since the dawn of civilization, ancient peoples have always associated spring with rebirth and resurrection, with nature’s reawakening after the “death” of barren winter, and have further embodied the concept in the person of a god or goddess.
Easter is known for its bunny rabbits, colored eggs, hot cross buns, and the return of springtime. But where did Easter come from?
Few people realize that Easter is not about the resurrection of Christ.
The only time the word “Easter” is found in the Bible (Acts 12:4), it is there by mistranslation. The word in the original Greek is “Passover.” Jesus died at the time of the Passover feast, but the Passover is not Easter and Jesus did not die at Easter time. Easter is an ancient spring festival. Long before the time of Christ, the pagan goddess Ishtar, or sometimes known as Astarte or Ashtoreth, was worshiped in different countries. Our modern practice of sunrise worship originates from the pagan festival honoring Ishtar. The story of Easter also helps explain how Sunday became sacred and the origin of virgin worship.
The Scheme of Imitation
Centuries before the birth of Christ, Satan encouraged people to have religious beliefs and practices that would imitate the coming Saviour’s resurrection.
This statues represent the mother goddess figure, known under many names such as Artemis, Diana,... read more.
This was a brilliant strategy that kept people from recognizing and appreciating the plan of salvation. Because pagans had similar beliefs of a “resurrection” before Christ, it is much easier to say that Christ’s resurrection was just another version of the same old pagan story from long ago that has nothing to do with reality or a plan of salvation of any kind. Many scoffers use this type of reasoning to explain away the Bible’s truths.
The sacrificial system was also imitated by pagans, but perverted to be all about appeasing a wrathful God instead of a loving God that became flesh and died willingly in our place. Satan has always counterfeited and perverted the truth because he knows that if he does so, many will be led to disbelieve the Bible and not choose Christ.
The early pagan practices and beliefs about Ishtar and the resurrection prepared the world for the religious apostasy which would occur after the time of Christ. The pagans believed in a god that was resurrected each spring on Easter—a day which dedicated to Ishtar, the mother goddess. She was also called the queen of heaven and supposedly interceded with the gods on behalf of humankind. This precise belief has been applied to Mary by the Roman Catholic Church, but it is as pagan as it gets, and has no basis in the Bible whatsoever.
The mother goddess has had many names throughout the various pagan religions in history. She has been known as Astarte, Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Cybele, Rhea, Demeter, Ceres, Aphrodite, Venus, Diana, and Freya.
Easter did not originate for the purpose of celebrating Christ, but rather for the purpose of worshiping the mother goddess Ishtar. Because worshipers of Ishtar presented her with two fertility symbols—eggs and rabbits—these became part of the Christian Easter celebration. Because sunrise at the beginning of spring was the holiest day in the Mithraic calendar (next to December 25), the practice of Easter sunrise services continued on into Christianity.
Because the Ishtar celebration was held each spring on a Sunday, close to the vernal equinox, the ascension of Christ was changed from 40 days after the time of Passover (as told us in the Bible) to the annual Easter celebration. All this began in paganism, with the Ishtar and Tammuz legend.
Many Christians celebrate Easter as the day celebrating the resurrection of Christ, but the truth is that the celebration of Easter actually comes from paganism.
Did you know that Easter Sunday is defined to be the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox (March 21, which is the first day of spring)? Have you ever wondered why a date of such revered status should be subject to the variations of the sun and moon?
The answer to these questions is easily verified in any encyclopedia. The time, the customs, and the traditions of Easter all come from ancient pagan, anti-Christian, religious celebrations. Easter was originally a pagan festival in honor of the Goddess of Spring. It is amazing how something as vile as the original Easter festivals could now be thought to glorify Jesus Christ.
Listen to what the prophet Jeremiah wrote on this subject around 2,600 years ago.
Jeremiah 10:2
2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Sunrise worship services didn't originate with Christian churches. They have been a part of pagan practices that predate Christianity by thousands of years. The prophet Ezekiel was shown the following abominations that were practiced in Israel about 2,500 years ago.
Ezekiel 8:15-18
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 Jehovah's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Jehovah, 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.
17 Then he said unto me Hast thou seen this, O 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.
18 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.
Isn't it interesting that in order to participate in that sunrise worship service, those chosen men of Israel had to turn their backs on the temple of the Jehovah? They were not serving the Lord, but were involved in an abomination against him. We need to be very careful that we aren't doing the same thing. We need to be like the noble Bereans.
Acts 17:11
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
II Timothy 3:16-17
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Ask yourself where did the customs and traditions of Easter come from. How do bunny rabbits, colored eggs, hot-cross buns, baskets, hats, new clothes, sunrise worship services, lilies, and all the other Easter traditions glorify Jesus Christ. Who told you to do these things? Are they part of being furnished unto all good works as we read above, or are they something other than good works.
Should Christians Celebrate Holy Days?
We know the ancient heathen celebrations were an abomination to God, but surely the modern Christian versions glorify him. No they don't! Read what the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Galatia concerning celebrating holy days.
Galatians 4:9-11
9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
II Corinthians 11:3
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
It is evident that Easter is pagan. It has pagan origins, includes pagan traditions, and incorporates pagan practices that are expressly forbidden in the word of God. The question is, should Christians have any part in a pagan holiday? The Bible is very clear that they should not.
II Timothy 2:19 b
9 Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
II Corinthians 6:16-18
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of 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 I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
James 4:17
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Colossians 2:16,17
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you ... with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
You can have the shadow in festivals, or the reality in Jesus Christ. The choice is yours. Jesus Christ is real! The salvation he provides is real! Christians should not celebrate the types, figures, and shadows of holy days and festivals. They should live out the reality of Jesus Christ, and the salvation he provides, in their lives.
The exact date is mentioned below: (not Easter)
the Lord’s Evening Meal. On the evening of Nisan 14, 33 C.E., Jesus introduced a special observance that the Bible calls “the Lord’s evening meal.” (1 Corinthians 11:20; Matthew 26:26-28) This observance is also called the Memorial of Christ’s death. Jesus instituted it to help his apostles and all true Christians after them to bear in mind that by means of his death as a perfect human, he gave his soul, or life, as a ransom. Regarding this observance, Jesus commanded: “Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) Observing the Memorial reminds us of the great love shown by both Jehovah and Jesus in connection with the ransom. We can show our appreciation for the ransom by being present at the yearly observance of the Memorial of Jesus’ death.*
The memorial of Christ falls on Thursday April 5, 2012 "Last Supper"
Nisan 14
Few people realize that Easter is not about the resurrection of Christ.
The only time the word “Easter” is found in the Bible (Acts 12:4), it is there by mistranslation. The word in the original Greek is “Passover.” Jesus died at the time of the Passover feast, but the Passover is not Easter and Jesus did not die at Easter time. Easter is an ancient spring festival. Long before the time of Christ, the pagan goddess Ishtar, or sometimes known as Astarte or Ashtoreth, was worshiped in different countries. Our modern practice of sunrise worship originates from the pagan festival honoring Ishtar. The story of Easter also helps explain how Sunday became sacred and the origin of virgin worship.
Though it is one of the most sacred days on the Christian calendar, the trappings of Easter are derived from pagan practices.
To the casual observer, the two aspects of Easter seem somewhat incongruous. On the one hand is the secular holiday, where children hunt for brightly colored eggs in the grass and receive candy and toys in baskets brought by an anthropomorphic rabbit. On the other hand is the religious observance, where the Christian faithful mark the miraculous resurrection of their savior. While the two sides seem to have nothing at all in common, they begin to make greater sense when one considers the pagan roots of the holiday.
Fertility Goddesses
look at this horny bunnies..lol....fertility
The word Easter itself is likely derived from Eostre, the Saxon mother goddess, whose name in turn was adapted from Eastre, an ancient word for spring. The Norse equivalent of Eostre was the goddess Ostara, whose symbols were an egg and a hare, both denoting fertility. Festivals honoring these goddesses were celebrated on or around the vernal equinox, and even today, when Easter has supposedly been Christianized, the date of the holiday falls according to rather pagan reckonings, i.e. on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
Bunnies, Eggs and Lilies
Rabbits, of course, are a potent symbol of fertility due to their prodigious output of young. Eggs, likewise, have always been considered representative of new life, fertility, and reincarnation. Painted eggs, thought to imitate the bright sunlight and gaily colored flowers of spring, have been used in rituals since the days of the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. Lilies were also seen as fertility symbols because of their perceived resemblance to male genitalia. Even hot cross buns, associated with Lent, derive from the ancient Greeks and Romans, who baked “magic” wheat cakes with crosses scored in the top; two of these cakes were discovered in the ruins of Herculaneum, which was destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE.
Roots of Resurrection
The pagan celebrations most associated with modern Christian practices derive from Mediterranean cultures. The Phrygians celebrated a spring festival honoring Cybele, a fertility goddess. Cybele had a consort god named Attis, who was born of a virgin, and who died and was resurrected after three days, an occurrence commemorated sometime around the vernal equinox. Worshippers of Attis mourned the god’s death on Black Friday, then celebrated his rebirth on the following Sunday.
Attis was simply the latest manifestation of earlier resurrection myths, like those of Osiris, Orpheus, Tammuz and Dionysus, who were likewise said to have been born of virgins and resurrected three days after their deaths. In areas where Christian beliefs later took hold, these already existing tales were grafted onto the story of Jesus Christ, and continue to be retold to this day. It seems that ever since the dawn of civilization, ancient peoples have always associated spring with rebirth and resurrection, with nature’s reawakening after the “death” of barren winter, and have further embodied the concept in the person of a god or goddess.
Easter is known for its bunny rabbits, colored eggs, hot cross buns, and the return of springtime. But where did Easter come from?
Few people realize that Easter is not about the resurrection of Christ.
The only time the word “Easter” is found in the Bible (Acts 12:4), it is there by mistranslation. The word in the original Greek is “Passover.” Jesus died at the time of the Passover feast, but the Passover is not Easter and Jesus did not die at Easter time. Easter is an ancient spring festival. Long before the time of Christ, the pagan goddess Ishtar, or sometimes known as Astarte or Ashtoreth, was worshiped in different countries. Our modern practice of sunrise worship originates from the pagan festival honoring Ishtar. The story of Easter also helps explain how Sunday became sacred and the origin of virgin worship.
The Scheme of Imitation
Centuries before the birth of Christ, Satan encouraged people to have religious beliefs and practices that would imitate the coming Saviour’s resurrection.
This statues represent the mother goddess figure, known under many names such as Artemis, Diana,... read more.
This was a brilliant strategy that kept people from recognizing and appreciating the plan of salvation. Because pagans had similar beliefs of a “resurrection” before Christ, it is much easier to say that Christ’s resurrection was just another version of the same old pagan story from long ago that has nothing to do with reality or a plan of salvation of any kind. Many scoffers use this type of reasoning to explain away the Bible’s truths.
The sacrificial system was also imitated by pagans, but perverted to be all about appeasing a wrathful God instead of a loving God that became flesh and died willingly in our place. Satan has always counterfeited and perverted the truth because he knows that if he does so, many will be led to disbelieve the Bible and not choose Christ.
The early pagan practices and beliefs about Ishtar and the resurrection prepared the world for the religious apostasy which would occur after the time of Christ. The pagans believed in a god that was resurrected each spring on Easter—a day which dedicated to Ishtar, the mother goddess. She was also called the queen of heaven and supposedly interceded with the gods on behalf of humankind. This precise belief has been applied to Mary by the Roman Catholic Church, but it is as pagan as it gets, and has no basis in the Bible whatsoever.
The mother goddess has had many names throughout the various pagan religions in history. She has been known as Astarte, Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Cybele, Rhea, Demeter, Ceres, Aphrodite, Venus, Diana, and Freya.
Easter did not originate for the purpose of celebrating Christ, but rather for the purpose of worshiping the mother goddess Ishtar. Because worshipers of Ishtar presented her with two fertility symbols—eggs and rabbits—these became part of the Christian Easter celebration. Because sunrise at the beginning of spring was the holiest day in the Mithraic calendar (next to December 25), the practice of Easter sunrise services continued on into Christianity.
Because the Ishtar celebration was held each spring on a Sunday, close to the vernal equinox, the ascension of Christ was changed from 40 days after the time of Passover (as told us in the Bible) to the annual Easter celebration. All this began in paganism, with the Ishtar and Tammuz legend.
Many Christians celebrate Easter as the day celebrating the resurrection of Christ, but the truth is that the celebration of Easter actually comes from paganism.
Did you know that Easter Sunday is defined to be the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox (March 21, which is the first day of spring)? Have you ever wondered why a date of such revered status should be subject to the variations of the sun and moon?
The answer to these questions is easily verified in any encyclopedia. The time, the customs, and the traditions of Easter all come from ancient pagan, anti-Christian, religious celebrations. Easter was originally a pagan festival in honor of the Goddess of Spring. It is amazing how something as vile as the original Easter festivals could now be thought to glorify Jesus Christ.
Listen to what the prophet Jeremiah wrote on this subject around 2,600 years ago.
Jeremiah 10:2
2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Sunrise worship services didn't originate with Christian churches. They have been a part of pagan practices that predate Christianity by thousands of years. The prophet Ezekiel was shown the following abominations that were practiced in Israel about 2,500 years ago.
Ezekiel 8:15-18
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 Jehovah's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Jehovah, 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.
17 Then he said unto me Hast thou seen this, O 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.
18 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.
Isn't it interesting that in order to participate in that sunrise worship service, those chosen men of Israel had to turn their backs on the temple of the Jehovah? They were not serving the Lord, but were involved in an abomination against him. We need to be very careful that we aren't doing the same thing. We need to be like the noble Bereans.
Acts 17:11
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
II Timothy 3:16-17
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Ask yourself where did the customs and traditions of Easter come from. How do bunny rabbits, colored eggs, hot-cross buns, baskets, hats, new clothes, sunrise worship services, lilies, and all the other Easter traditions glorify Jesus Christ. Who told you to do these things? Are they part of being furnished unto all good works as we read above, or are they something other than good works.
Should Christians Celebrate Holy Days?
We know the ancient heathen celebrations were an abomination to God, but surely the modern Christian versions glorify him. No they don't! Read what the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Galatia concerning celebrating holy days.
Galatians 4:9-11
9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
II Corinthians 11:3
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
It is evident that Easter is pagan. It has pagan origins, includes pagan traditions, and incorporates pagan practices that are expressly forbidden in the word of God. The question is, should Christians have any part in a pagan holiday? The Bible is very clear that they should not.
II Timothy 2:19 b
9 Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
II Corinthians 6:16-18
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of 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 I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
James 4:17
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Colossians 2:16,17
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you ... with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
You can have the shadow in festivals, or the reality in Jesus Christ. The choice is yours. Jesus Christ is real! The salvation he provides is real! Christians should not celebrate the types, figures, and shadows of holy days and festivals. They should live out the reality of Jesus Christ, and the salvation he provides, in their lives.
The exact date is mentioned below: (not Easter)
the Lord’s Evening Meal. On the evening of Nisan 14, 33 C.E., Jesus introduced a special observance that the Bible calls “the Lord’s evening meal.” (1 Corinthians 11:20; Matthew 26:26-28) This observance is also called the Memorial of Christ’s death. Jesus instituted it to help his apostles and all true Christians after them to bear in mind that by means of his death as a perfect human, he gave his soul, or life, as a ransom. Regarding this observance, Jesus commanded: “Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) Observing the Memorial reminds us of the great love shown by both Jehovah and Jesus in connection with the ransom. We can show our appreciation for the ransom by being present at the yearly observance of the Memorial of Jesus’ death.*
The memorial of Christ falls on Thursday April 5, 2012 "Last Supper"
Nisan 14