…………………….THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…………………….
A Special Study regarding the word “Easter.”
Today, we will take a look at the word “Easter, and trace it back
to ancient England. Today Easter is a purely Christian term, however
it has a very dark past indeed. Now I am sharing this with you not to
ruin your Easter Celebration, but to share the truth with you. Also let
us keep in mind that most Christian Holidays, including Christmas in
December, came from ancient pagan Holidays as well.
The word “Easter” does not appear even one time in the Original
Transcripts. After all, there are no Hebrew or Greek words for it.
In the Original Manuscripts it uses the Hebrew word [ pesach ] which
means Passover, the same applies to the New Testament in the
Greek Transcripts [ paschal ] as well. In fact the first time that
Easter ever appeared in our Bible was with the very first King James
Bible in the 1600’s, and it was used only one time in that Bible,
that was in ( Acts 12:4 ) where it was substituted for the word
Passover, by whom we do not know.
So where did the word “Easter” come from anyway? Surprise,
surprise, a Pagan Holiday which was in honor of a their goddess of
the dawn, of spring, and of reproduction. So let us begin…..
Now an ancient Babylonian legend had it that a giant egg fell from
heaven, was rolled ashore by the little fishes, and hatched by doves
into Ishtar, or Aahtoreth. This legend over time became known even
in Europe, and became firmly entrenched in ancient Britain and was
celebrated during the Vernal Equinox. The name Ashtoreth was
transliterated into the Gaelic tongue as “Eastre.” This was a form of
Baal worship. ( One might note that whenever Baal worship was
practiced, it included animal and human sacrifices involving children!
During this festival pagan priests called Druids preformed religious
rites involving dancing around phallic pillars, temple prostitution, and
sacrifices in honor of Eastre. Also eggs have always been associated
with her, and wherever Baal worship has appeared. Thus Easter eggs
are part of the ancient celebration of the goddess as well. The Easter
Bunny is a more recent twist on an ancient theme, inspired by the
same spirit, rabbits have long been associated with reproduction and
with Ashtoreth, or Eastre.
How did ( Eastre ) or Easter replace Passover?
Now since the pagans were already celebrating their holiday at
about the same time as Passover, the Church once again decided to
sanctify their holy day as a method of converting pagans to
Christianity. So why not change the name just a little, clean it up and
get rid of their sacrifices, and make it a Christian Holy Day. It was
then that Eastre’s day became known as Easter.
Also, remember our old friend Constantine the Roman emperor?
The man who decided to change the Sabbath from the seventh day to
the first day of the week, and then muscled the Church into accepting
that. The man who dared to change God’s Word, well he struck again.
You see Constantine convened the council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. a
council that he hand picked I might add. This council unanimously
ruled that the Easter festival should be celebrated throughout the
Christian World on the first Sunday after the full moon following the
vernal equinox; and if the full moon should occur on a Sunday and
thereby coincide with the Passover festival, Easter should by moved
to the following Sunday. Therefore Easter and Passover would
become separated, and have been ever since. This is why we
celebrate Easter of a different day each year!
Of course, in the modern World today the term Easter has become
a purely Christian word. No one offers their children before phallic
poles, or worships the statue of a woman with many breasts on Easter
day. But Christ is equally pushed out, and I can’t help but believe that
our old enemy ‘satan’ is behind the whole affair. He simply kept
introducing distractions such as eggs, bunnies, and Easter baskets until
the resurrection of Jesus became an afterthought, and finally not thought
of at all, except by a very few. Thus the true significance, of Christ’s
triumphal victory over death itself, is lost in the shuffle I am sorry to
say.
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Copied from previous Bible studies.
With Our Love & Prayers,
Dr. Lowell & Judy Mason P.O. Box 1195 – Joplin, Missouri 64802