ARE CHRISTIAN TO CELEBRATE EASTER OR PASSOVER? ACTS 12:4; EXO. 12:1-14; JOHN 1:29; LUKE 22:19

ARE CHRISTIANS TO CELEBRATE EASTER OR PASSOVER? ACTS 12:4; EXO. 12:1-13; JOHN 1:29; LUKE 22:19

NOTE: the Old King James version of the Bible made mention of Easter (Acts 12:4),- but the truth is that, this act of mistranslation is a way of inserting a pagan culture into the Bible so as to authorise it celebration. Be that as it may, the new version of the Bible and others corrected this error from Easter to what it is- PASSOVER. For early Christians and so much so those of our time, who understood what the Bible says about this issue kept PASSOVER, not Easter.

BRIEF HISTORY/ORIGIN OF EASTER AND PASSOVER

The term ‘Easter’ is one of the pagan terms subtly Christianised by some smart yet less-informed fellows. The term translated Easter is the Greek word PASCHA (derived from the Hebrew word PESACH; there is no original Greek word for Passover), and it has only one meaning- it always means Passover. For it can never mean Easter.

            Easter has long been known to be a pagan festival world over. For instance, in the words of David Pack, rightly quoting Englehart; in his book ‘Welcome Sweet Spring Time’. “When the puritans came to North America they regarded the celebration of Easter and that of Christmas with suspicion. For they knew that the pagans had celebrated the return of Spring long before Christians celebrated Easter. For  the first hundred years of Europeans life in North America, only a few states, mostly in the south paid much attention to Easter”. Not until after the civil war did Americans begin celebrating this holiday- Easter first became an American tradition in the 1870s. According to the book; “the Original 13 Colonies of America began as a Christian Nation, with the cry of No king but king Jesus”- for the Nation did not observe Easter within an entire century of its founding.

            The things that characterised the celebration of Easter (such as beautiful painting on eggs; which would later be hidden and searched for, the design of hot cross buns, ham making, declaration of spring in the air wearing of Sunday best and so on), had their root in the ancient Babylonian practise 2000BC. (Gen. 10:8; Rev. 17:5)- honouring the resurrection of their god Tammuz, who was brought back from the underworld by his mother/wife, Ishtar (after whom the festival was named). As Ishtar was actually pronounced “EASTER” in most semitic dialectics, it could be that the event portrayed here is, in a sense, Easter.

            In modern times, Easter celebration is promoted through the Anglo-Saxon rites of the goddess Eostre (the spring goddess) or Ostera. Ecclesiastical and secular historians agree that the name of Easter and the traditions surrounding it are deeply rooted in pagan religion (the New Catholic Encyclopaedia 1967 Vol 5 p.6; Gal. 4:9-10)

THE PASSOVER (EXO. 12:12-14; LEV. 23:5)

For the Passover; Bible accounts has it that, the PASSOVER ceremony was commanded by God to be an annual memorial fest to be kept by Israel “forever”. Seven-day festival called the Days of Unleavened Bread was introduced in Leviticus 23:6-8. Since the Passover was instituted forever, then New Testament instruction for its observance has to be clear (1 Cor. 5:7-8). For Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us…. Christ, as the Lamb of God (John 1:29; Acts 8:32; 1Peter 1:19; Rev. 5:6), replaced the Old Testament lamb eaten on Passover evening each year.

            Luke 22:19, shows that Jesus’ substituted the bread and wine to be taken annually in commemoration of His sacrifice for the remission of our sins both spiritual and physical.

WHAT CHRISTIANS SHOULD DO DURING THIS PERIOD

1.      Reflect on the sufferings of Christ on the cross.

2.      Soberly examine what it means to see their sins in the cross John 3:17.

3.       Renew their fellowship with Christ.

4.      Have that consciousness that Christ alone redeemed them from their sin by His death at the cross.

5.      Be ready to share in Christ’s sufferings by daily carrying their cross to follow Him (continuous relationship).

6.      Tell others both friends and family about these experience (Acts 2:24), in order to keep the massage of the cross alive always as commanded in Matthew 28:19-20.

7.      Have focus on the Heavenly promise (Rev. 19:15).

8.      Constantly evaluate their walk with God in order to ascertain their present status 1Thesolonians 5:1-28.