Facts about Easter
Published 10:29 am Thursday, April 10, 2014
The word “Easter” is used only one time in the King James Version of the Bible. Acts 12:4 “And when he had apprehended him (Peter), 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.” I know of no other translation of the Bible that uses the word Easter. All others that I know use the word Passover, and that is what it should be. The Greek word used is the word for Passover. The Passover Sabbath was and is the Holliest of all the Sabbaths in the Jewish faith.
How the Greek word was mistakenly translated Easter, only God knows. Easter was a pagan festival observed long before Christ. Here is what Finis Jennings Dake said about Acts 12:4 in The Dakes Annotated Reference Bible: “This is an unfortunate and absurd trans., as Easter was a pagan festival observed long before Christ. It is not a Christian name, but is derived from Ishtar, one of the Babylonian titles of an idol goddess, the Queen of Heaven. The Saxon goddess Eastre is the same as the Astarte, the Syrian Venus, called Ashtoreth in the O.T. It was the worship of this woman by Israel that was such an abomination to God (1st Sam. 7:3; 1st Ki. 11:5, 33; 2nd Ki. 23:13; Jer. 7:18;44:18). Round cakes, imprinted with the sign of the cross were made at this festival, the sign being, in the Babylonian mysteries, a sign of life. Easter eggs which play a great part in this day’s celebration were common in all heathen nations. The fable of the egg declares that ‘an egg of wondrous size fell from heaven into the river Euphrates; the fish rolled it to the bank, where doves settles upon it and hatched it; and out came Astarte, or Ishtar, the goddess of Easter.’ Easter, Christmas, Lady Day, Lent, and other Babylonian festivals were all borrowed from this religion and were all observed centuries before Christ. None of them have any relationship to Christ or Christianity.”
The Pictorial Bible Dictionary records this: “Easter (Gr. Pascha, passover), rendered Easter in Acts 12:4 KJV, but correctly translated Passover in ASV. The day on which the Church celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no celebration of the Resurrection in the NT. The Jewish Christians linked it with the Passover, and so observed it on the 14th day of Nisan regardless of the day of the week. But Gentile believers celebrated the Resurrection on the Lord’s day, Sunday. This difference was settled by the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. which ruled that Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. This is the system followed today, the day of Easter varying between March 22 and April 25.”
C. I. Scofield, J. Vernon McGee, Oliver B. Green, M. R. DeHaan, Jack Van Impe, Ellicotts Bible Commentary, The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary; just to mention a few all agree with the above. Dr. David Jeremiah in his book “Escape The Coming Night” explains in detail the origin of Easter and how it was brought forth from paganism.
There is no celebration of the Resurrection in the New Testament. We are told only to remember the death. There is so much commercialism and paganism around this event that most totally forget the death of our Savior. Praise God for the Resurrection but His death paid the penalty for our sins!
Trust Him today!
Hugh G. Sherrill
ems-hugh43@comcast.net
Pastor Philippi Baptist Church
1444 SE County Road 18 Lake City, FLBy Hugh G. Sherrill
ems-hugh43@comcast.net
