ACTS. 12:1-4 EASTER 3-22-08
Well as we all know tomorrow is the Sunday that we recognize the “resurrection” of our wonderful Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ, let me say that most people the world over refer to this day as “Easter”. I want to try and show us today that the word “Easter” has nothing at all to do with the resurrection of Jesus, in fact Easter is another word for the pagan goddess [ASHTEROTH] that we read about in the O.T.
I’m not here today to burst any ones Easter bubble, but to inform people that the word ‘EASTER” is as pagan as it gets. And let me point out that the word ‘EASTER” is found only one time in the KJV bible, and the people that pen down the KJV put this word EASTER here for you and I to understand that King Herod; that we’ll read about in our text, was not at all interested in what Christians in that day believed, Herod was a pagan who was simple going to wait until after the pagan holiday of ‘Easter’ to kill Peter. Listen as I read our text found in:
Acts. 12:1-4 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 2And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) 4And when he had apprehended him, 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.
The celebration of Easter Sunday is recognized as the most important religious holiday of what claims to be Christianity, and yet the holiday does not have its origin from the teachings of Christ or his apostles, or anywhere else in the Bible.
The word "Easter," the English word for "Ishtar," is found only once in the KJV bible, (Acts 12:4) and there, it was intentionally translated from the Greek word pascha, to ‘EASTER”. It was translated Passover in 28 other locations in the KJV New Testament. Easter was not celebrated as a so-called Christian holiday until after the "Catholic Nicene council" was convened in 325 AD.
Prior to that time the holiday by the name "Ishtar" was and is a Pagan holiday. This holiday was celebrated for thousands of years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
Easter was a religious celebration to the Pagan "Queen of Heaven", the so-called Mother of life or the Goddess Ishtar, the Goddess of fertility.
Jesus Christ was crucified at the exact time the Passover lambs were being slaughtered for the "Passover" meal, and this was always before sundown on the day before the first day of the "Feast of Unleavened Bread"
Lets realize that now the pass over was ended because we read in our text, (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) " THE DAYS of Unleavened Bread" begins the day after [Passover.] And since that is a fact, Passover and Easter cannot be referring to the same period of time. Two different subjects altogether.
We ought to thank God that these words (Then were the days of unleavened bread) were placed here, because it points out that the pagan holiday, "Ishtar," and pass over or not the same.
And let me remind us that out Old 1611 KJV is the only Bible that does this. God has preserved His Word, His Truths for us to read and know.
After sundown the Jews ate the "Passover" meal. The next day was the first day of the "Feast of Unleavened Bread," a "high day," a special Holy Day Sabbath.
He resurrected on the third day of the "Feast of Unleavened Bread” He was in the grave (the heart of the earth) three days and three nights, as he had told his disciples. Another untruth that’s widely spread is that Jesus was crucified on Friday, if that was so then He could not have been in the tomb for 3 days and 3 nights, some time between sundown Saturday evening and sun up Sunday morning He arose, keep in mind that the Jewish day begins and ends at sun down, not at 12 midnight as the gentiles day is recognized.
Jesus said in Matt.12: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Not 2 ½ days. Jesus had to be crucified and placed in the tomb on wensday before sun set in order to arise after 3 days and 3 nights on what we know as the Lords Day.—Sunday--
I told what I’m telling you to a man one time and his reply was,” what difference does it make what day He was crucified and arose as long as He arose” well it makes a lot of difference if we want to tell the bible truth. Man has put his 2 cents worth in so many times that a lot of people don’t know what to believe, like this so called,’ “good Friday” saying, Jesus was not crucified on Friday.
This pagan holiday "Ishtar," was going on for hundreds of years before Jesus was ever born. He and His followers kept the "Passover" and the "Feast of Unleavened Bread". They did not in any way keep the Pagan holiday of Easter. Christ’s followers were forbidden to keep any Pagan customs or Pagan traditions. God himself, throughout the Old Testament, decreed these customs and traditions to be abominations.
The Pagan customs of Easter eggs and the Easter rabbit are associated with this holiday because of their life giving reproductive characteristics. The inference that the Easter rabbit laid the Easter eggs is a lie and has no place in true Christian worship.
Remember that this pagan goddess "Ishtar,"was the so-called fertility goddess. She is also referred to as Diana the goddess of fertility to the Ephesians of Ephesus; there were statues of her there as the multi breasted goddess. –ALSO REFERRED TO AS THE {SPRING GODDESS} renewing life-
And another custom that is often observered at this Holy occasion is the Easter sunrise service, it also is an ancient pagan custom of worship to the Sun God "Tammuz" [Tammuz, a Phoenician deity] Ezekiel 8:14.
I have been to sun rise services my self, I think its great to worship God any time of the day, but lets be sure we realize where this Sunrise service has its origins.
Makes me think of the 7th day Adventes, if people want to worship God on Saturday that’s also just great, but be sure you get up on the Lords Day,” Sunday” and go to church. Lets please understand that the N.T. Church is in no way bound to the O.T. laws that were given to Israel.
Easter Sunrise Services
Once again, we see how Satan knew that Jesus’ rising from the grave would be discovered in the early sunrise hours, and that the Christian Church would want to hold Sunrise Services to celebrate.
Satan counterfeited the Divine birth of Jesus of the Virgin Mary over 3,000 years before He was actually born, people at that time had heard about and remembered the conversation that God had with Satan in 3:15**{the seed of the woman would bruise his head}. No man involved.
If you’ll recall we read about Nimrod in Gen. 10: awhile back, from ancient history we’re told that his wife name was Simarias, after some time Nimrod died and Simarias became pregnant out of wed lock, she then proclaimed that her unfathered son Tummuz was actually Nimrod incarnate.
Nimrod: was recognized as the [sun god] –sun god—Baal--
Lent is purely pagan, and yet has been accepted by the Roman Catholic Church and apostate christian churches as “christian”. If the church you are attending celebrates Lent, you need to inform the Senior Pastor of the pagan roots of this tradition; if he will not listen you should leave that church, for if they will accept Lent as “Christian”, you can bet they are very Liberal in critical Biblical areas as well.
Lent is a commemoration of Tammuz’ death; the legend of his death says that he was killed by a wild boar when he was 40 years old. Therefore, Lent celebrates 1 day for each year of Tammuz’ life. [Marquis, “America’s Occult Holidays”] Participants are to express their sorrow over Tammuz’ untimely death by weeping, fasting, and self-chastisement.
Lent was commemorated for exactly 40 days prior to the celebration of Ishtar/Esotre and other goddesses by the following cultures: Babylonians, Roman Catholics, Koordistan, Mexicans, Ancient Israel, and today, Liberal, apostate Protestant churches.
We can see God’s anger over this commemoration of Lent in Ezekiel 8:14-18; God’s judgment for this commemoration is described in Ezekiel 9, a chapter we suggest you read carefully, for God has stated that He will similarly punish any nation who does not "hear and obey" His commands (Jeremiah 12:17).
To the pagan religious worshippers, it is a time to celebrate the return of life and reproduction to animal and plant life as well. This is why {Ishtar or Easter} was chosen to be celebrated at this time of the year.
Here is where we read about the sunrise service that is often held on ISHTAR morning: Ezekiel 8:13-18 "13He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.
14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.
16And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, 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.
17Then 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. (In the sense of self-exaltation)
18Therefore 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. Ezekiel 8:13-18
well because we want to be "True Christians" or "Followers Of Christ," we recognize the God ordained "Passover" and the "Feast Of Unleavened Bread." This is the Holyday celebration that would correctly commemorate the "Death, Burial, and Resurrection Of Jesus Christ." "Passover" is the day before the seven days of the "Feast Of Unleavened Bread."
Israel was commanded to keep the Passover, not the N.T. Church. Jesus is our PASSOVER.
To keep the "Passover" is the first commandment God gave to the children of Israel. He commanded that it be observed forever as a memorial, Deut.16:3 "that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life."
Exodus 12:1-11 {in a nut shell says}And the Lord spake unto Moses, and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, in the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house....And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month....And they shall eat the flesh in that night....And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’s Passover".
Apostle Paul admonished the Church of Corinth with these words, I cor. 5:7-8 "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ Our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness: but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
Do you see how His death, burial and resurrection fulfill all these wonderful truths and facts? In other words, by his crucifixion at the very time of the "Passover", Christ, was and is the "Passover Lamb" He became the final sacrifice for sins of those who would receive Him and follow him.
John the Baptist said in John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Hebrews 10:14 "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."
At the last supper Jesus instituted a new way for his disciples to commemorate the "Passover".
Matthew 26:26-28 "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament,* which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
According to the scriptures, Jesus Christ himself ordained this method of keeping the “Passover” in memory of his death.
And so God condemned the keeping of the customs of the pagan holiday "Easter". – Ishtar-
In our day and time good meaning people that truly love the Lord have been raised in churches all their life time referring to this most Holy occasion of His Resurrection from the dead as "Easter".
And let me say that there are some churches today that observe another pagan observance known as {LENT}
God is not the author of confusion (I Cor. 14:33). He never instituted Lent, a pagan observance connecting debauchery to the supposed resurrection of a false Messiah called [TAMMUZ}.
God commands His people to follow Him—not the traditions of men. God’s ways are higher, better than man’s (Isa. 55:8-9). Men cannot determine for themselves right from wrong or how to properly worship God. And the reason is, Because “the heart [mind] is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9), and “the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (10:23).
God designed us and gave us life. He knows how we are supposed to worship Him.
To be a Christian and properly serve God, we must live “by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4), recognizing that His Holy Scriptures “cannot be broken” (John 10:35).
God commands Christians to flee from the pagan traditions and customs of this world (Rev. 18:2-4), currently led and deceived by Satan the devil (II Cor. 4:4; Rev. 12:9).
Lent may seem like a sincere, heartfelt religious observance. But it is deeply rooted in pagan ideas that counterfeit God’s plan.
God hates all pagan observances (Jer. 10:2-3; Lev. 18:3, 30; Deut. 7:1-5, 16). They cannot be “Christianized” or made clean by men. That includes Lent.
No dear heart tomorow is not Easter, it’s {Resurrection Day that we’re commemorating} He is alive and well.
