When confronted with these facts about
Easter, many professing Christians might raise this question to justify its
continuance: With hundreds of millions of well-meaning Christians observing
Easter, doesn’t this please Jesus Christ? Yet He has already answered this
question in Matthew 15:9: “In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments
of men.”
How will you choose to worship Him—in spirit and in truth, or in
fraud and in fable?
02/14/2019
_____________________________________________________________________________
The origin of Easter, a holiday associated with the observance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is actually based on an ancient pagan celebration. Christians recognize this day as commemorating the culminating event of their faith, but like so many other "Christian" holidays, Easter has become commercialized and mixed with non-Christian traditions like the Easter Bunny, Easter parades and hunting for Easter eggs. How did this happen?
Origin of Easter - Its
Pagan Roots
The origin of Easter dates back to ancient times, not long after the global Flood recorded in Genesis 6-9 of the Bible. Nimrod, a grandson of Noah, had turned from following his grandfather's God and had become a tyrannical ruler. According to the biblical record, as king, Nimrod created Babel, Nineveh, Asshur, Calla and other cities, all known for lifestyles that promoted unspeakable evil and perversion. When Nimrod died, his wife, Queen Semiramis, deified him as the Sun-god, or Life Giver. Later he would become known as Baal, and those who followed the religion Semiramis created in his name would be called Baal worshipers. They became associated with idolatry, demon worship, human sacrifice and other practices regarded as evil.
The origin of Easter involves the birth of Semiramis' illegitimate son, Tammuz. Somehow, Semiramis convinced the people that Tammuz was actually Nimrod reborn. Since people had been looking for the promised savior since the beginning of mankind (see Genesis 3:15), they were persuaded by Semiramis to believe that Tammuz was that savior, even that he had been supernaturally conceived. Before long, in addition to worshiping Tammuz (or Nimrod reborn), the people also worshiped Semiramis herself as the goddess of fertility. In other cultures, she has been called Ishtar, Ashtur and yes, Easter.
The
origin of Easter goes back to the springtime ritual instituted by Semiramis
following the death of Tammuz, who, according to tradition, was killed by a
wild boar. Legend has it that through the power of his mother's tears, Tammuz
was "resurrected" in the form of the new vegetation that appeared on
the earth.
According to the Bible, it was in the city of Babel that the people created a tower in order to defy God. Up until that time, all the people on the earth spoke one language. The building of the tower led God, as recorded in Genesis 11:7, to confuse their tongues to keep them from being further unified in their false beliefs. As the people moved into other lands, many of them took their pagan practices with them.
Contemporary traditions such as the Easter Bunny and the Easter egg can also be traced back to the practices established by Semiramis. Because of their prolific nature, rabbits have long been associated with fertility and its goddess, Ishtar. Ancient Babylonians believed in a fable about an egg that fell into the Euphrates River from heaven and from which Queen Astarte (another name for Ishtar or Semiramis) was "hatched."
According to the Bible, it was in the city of Babel that the people created a tower in order to defy God. Up until that time, all the people on the earth spoke one language. The building of the tower led God, as recorded in Genesis 11:7, to confuse their tongues to keep them from being further unified in their false beliefs. As the people moved into other lands, many of them took their pagan practices with them.
Contemporary traditions such as the Easter Bunny and the Easter egg can also be traced back to the practices established by Semiramis. Because of their prolific nature, rabbits have long been associated with fertility and its goddess, Ishtar. Ancient Babylonians believed in a fable about an egg that fell into the Euphrates River from heaven and from which Queen Astarte (another name for Ishtar or Semiramis) was "hatched."
“The term ‘Easter’ is not of Christian origin. It is another form of Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean goddess, the queen of heaven. The festival of Pasch [Passover] held by Christians in post-apostolic times was a continuation of the Jewish feast … From this Pasch the pagan festival of ‘Easter’ was quite distinct and was introduced into the apostate Western religion, as part of the attempt to adapt pagan festivals to Christianity” (W.E. Vine, 1985, emphasis added throughout).
That’s a lot of information packed into one paragraph. Notice what the author, W.E. Vine—a trained classical scholar, theologian, expert in ancient languages and author of several classic Bible helps—tells us:
Easter isn’t a Christian or directly biblical term, but comes from a form of the name Astarte, a Chaldean (Babylonian) goddess known as “the queen of heaven.” (She is mentioned by that title in the Bible in Jeremiah 7:18 and Jeremiah 44:17-19; Jeremiah 44:24-26 and referred to in 1 Kings 11:5, 1 Kings 18:18-19, 1 Kings 11:33, 2 Kings 23:13 and 1 Samuel 31:10 by the Hebrew form of her name, Ashtoreth. So “Easter” is found in the Bible—as part of the pagan religion God condemns!)
Further, early Christians, even after the times of the apostles, continued to observe a variation of the biblical Passover feast (it differed because Jesus introduced new symbolism, as the Bible notes in Matthew 26:26-28 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-28). 1 Corinthians 11:23 is believed by many scholars to be the first written description of the Lord’s Supper since this letter from Paul is dated earlier than any of the Gospels.
And
again, Easter was a pagan festival, originating in the worship of other gods,
and was introduced much later into an apostate Christianity in a
deliberate attempt to make such festivals acceptable. Moreover, Easter
was very different from the Old Testament Passover or the Passover of the New
Testament as understood and practiced by the early Church based on the
teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles.
If
Easter doesn’t come from the Bible, and wasn’t practiced by the apostles
and early Church, where did it come from?
The Greek word translated Easter here is pascha, properly translated everywhere else in the Bible as “Passover.” Referring to this mistranslation, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible says that “perhaps there never was a more unhappy, not to say absurd, translation than that in our text.”
Think about these facts for a minute. Easter is such a major religious holiday. Yet nowhere in the Bible—not in the book of Acts, which covers several decades of the history of the early Church, nor in any of the epistles of the New Testament, written over a span of 30 to 40 years after Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection—do we find the apostles or early Christians celebrating anything like Easter.
The Gospels themselves appear to have been written from about a decade after Christ’s death and resurrection to perhaps as much as 60 years later (in the case of John’s Gospel). Yet nowhere do we find a hint of anything remotely resembling an Easter celebration.
If Easter doesn’t come from the Bible, and wasn’t practiced by the apostles and early Church, where did it come from?
Easter symbols predate Christ
How does The Catholic Encyclopedia define Easter? “Easter: The English term, according to the [eighth-century monk] Bede, relates to Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day and spring, which deity, however, is otherwise unknown …” (1909, Vol. 5, p. 224). Eostre is the ancient European name for the same goddess worshiped by the Babylonians as Astarte or Ishtar, goddess of fertility, whose major celebration was in the spring of the year.
Many
credible sources substantiate the fact that Easter became a substitute festival
for the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.
The subtopic “Easter Eggs” tells us that “the custom [of Easter eggs] may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter” (ibid., p. 227).
The subtopic “Easter Rabbit”
states that “the rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of
fertility”.
Author Greg Dues, in
his book Catholic Customs and Traditions, elaborates on the
symbolism of eggs in ancient pre-Christian cultures: “The egg has become a
popular Easter symbol. Creation myths of many ancient peoples center in a
cosmogenic egg from which the universe is born.
“In ancient Egypt
and Persia friends exchanged decorated eggs at the spring equinox, the
beginning of their New Year. These eggs were a symbol of fertility for them
because the coming forth of a live creature from an egg was so surprising to
people of ancient times. Christians of the Near East adopted this tradition and
the Easter egg became a religious symbol. It represented the tomb from which
Jesus came forth to new life” (1992, p. 101).
The same author also
explains that, like eggs, rabbits became associated with Easter because they
were powerful symbols of fertility: “Little children are usually told that the
Easter eggs are brought by the Easter Bunny. Rabbits are part of pre-Christian
fertility symbolism because of their reputation to reproduce rapidly”
(p. 102).
What these sources
tell us is that human beings replaced the symbolism of the biblical Passover and
Feast of Unleavened Bread with Easter eggs and Easter rabbits, pagan symbols of
fertility. These symbols demean the truth of Christ’s death
and resurrection.
 |
Human beings replaced the symbolism of
the biblical Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread with Easter eggs and Easter
rabbits, pagan symbols of fertility.
|
Easter substituted for Passover season
But that’s not the entire story.
In fact, many credible sources substantiate the fact that Easter became a
substitute festival for the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Notice what The
Encyclopedia Britannica says about this
transition: “There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in
the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic Fathers. . .
The first Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals, though in a new
spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals
foreshadowed. . .
“The
Gentile Christians, on the other hand, unfettered by Jewish traditions,
identified the first day of the week [Sunday] with the Resurrection, and kept
the preceding Friday as the commemoration of the crucifixion, irrespective of
the day of the month” (11th edition, p. 828, “Easter”).
Easter, a pagan festival with
its pagan fertility symbols, replaced the God-ordained festivals that Jesus
Christ, the apostles and the early Church observed. But this didn’t happen
immediately. Not until A.D. 325—almost three centuries after Jesus Christ was
crucified and resurrected—was the matter settled. Regrettably, it wasn’t
settled on the basis of biblical truth, but on the basis of antisemitism and
raw ecclesiastical and imperial power.
As The Encyclopedia
Britannica further explains: “A final settlement of the dispute [over
whether and when to keep Easter or Passover] was one among the other reasons
which led [the Roman emperor] Constantine to summon the council of Nicaea in
325. . . The decision of the council was unanimous that Easter was to
be kept on Sunday, and on the same Sunday throughout the world, and ‘that none
should hereafter follow the blindness of the Jews’ ” (ibid., pp. 828-829).
Those who did choose to “follow the blindness of the Jews”—that is, who continued to keep the biblical festivals kept by Jesus Christ and the apostles rather than the newly “Christianized” pagan Easter festival—were systematically persecuted by the powerful church-state alliance of Constantine’s Roman Empire {this alliance would declare the Roman Catholic Church as the state church}.
The Roman Catholic Church is touted as “The First Church” started by Jesus Christ and His teachings {4 BC – AD 30}. However this could not be further from the truth since the Roman Catholic Church is known for taking in every Pagan Religion trying to turn it into a “Christian Religion” which they still do to this very day. Don’t be fooled by all the RITUALS and SYMBOLISM'S of this Religious Institution. Satan has been at work ever since Jesus walked on this earth to discredit Jesus so he created a “Church” that resembled the early Christian Church, however he had to put his spin on it by creating a “Church Religion” that would encompass all of the human pagan gods so it would anger God and take those who followed this false religion to hell with him.
With the power of the empire behind it, Easter soon became entrenched as one of traditional Christianity’s most popular sacred celebrations.
Those who did choose to “follow the blindness of the Jews”—that is, who continued to keep the biblical festivals kept by Jesus Christ and the apostles rather than the newly “Christianized” pagan Easter festival—were systematically persecuted by the powerful church-state alliance of Constantine’s Roman Empire {this alliance would declare the Roman Catholic Church as the state church}.
The Roman Catholic Church is touted as “The First Church” started by Jesus Christ and His teachings {4 BC – AD 30}. However this could not be further from the truth since the Roman Catholic Church is known for taking in every Pagan Religion trying to turn it into a “Christian Religion” which they still do to this very day. Don’t be fooled by all the RITUALS and SYMBOLISM'S of this Religious Institution. Satan has been at work ever since Jesus walked on this earth to discredit Jesus so he created a “Church” that resembled the early Christian Church, however he had to put his spin on it by creating a “Church Religion” that would encompass all of the human pagan gods so it would anger God and take those who followed this false religion to hell with him.
With the power of the empire behind it, Easter soon became entrenched as one of traditional Christianity’s most popular sacred celebrations.
Christianity compromised by paganism
British historian Sir James Frazer notes how Easter symbolism and rites, along with other pagan customs and celebrations, entered into the established Roman church:
“Taken altogether, the coincidences of the Christian with the heathen festivals are too close and too numerous to be accidental. They mark the compromise which the Church in the hour of its triumph was compelled to make with its vanquished yet still dangerous rivals [the empire’s competing pagan religions].
“The inflexible Protestantism of
the primitive missionaries, with their fiery denunciation of heathendom, had
been exchanged for the supple policy, the easy tolerance, the comprehensive
charity of shrewd ecclesiastics, who clearly perceived that if Christianity was
to conquer the world it could do so only by relaxing the too rigid principles
of its Founder, by widening a little the narrow gate which leads to salvation”
(The Golden
Bough, 1993, p. 361)
In short, to broaden the appeal of the new religion of Christianity in
those early centuries, the powerful Roman religious authorities, with the
backing of the Roman Empire, simply co-opted the rites and practices of pagan
religions, relabeled them as “Christian” and created a new brand of
Christianity with customs and teachings far removed from the Church
Jesus founded.
The authentic Christianity of the Bible largely disappeared, forced underground
by persecution because its followers refused to compromise.
Easter does not accurately represent Jesus Christ’s suffering, death
and resurrection, though it appears to do so to those who blindly accept
religious tradition. In fact, it distorts the truth of the matter. Easter
correctly belongs to the Babylonian goddess it is named after—Astarte, also
known as Ashtoreth or Ishtar, whose worship is directly and explicitly
condemned in the Bible.
The ancient religious practices and fertility symbols associated with
her cult existed long before Christ, and regrettably they have largely replaced
and obscured the truth of His death and resurrection.
When confronted
with these facts about Easter, many professing Christians might raise this
question to justify its continuance: With hundreds of millions of well-meaning
Christians observing Easter, doesn’t this please Jesus Christ? Yet He has already answered this question in Matthew 15:9: “In vain they worship Me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” How will you choose to worship Him—in spirit and in truth, or in fraud
and in fable?
Origin of Easter -
Resurrection Day for Christians
For Christians, the origin of Easter is simply the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ about 2,000 years ago. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus Christ, the true Messiah promised in the Old Testament, was crucified and resurrected at the time of the Jewish Passover. Since that awesome event took place, those who believe Christ is their Messiah have honored that day and often celebrated it with the traditional Passover. As the Gospel of Christ spread throughout non-Jewish nations, among people who did not have a history of celebrating the Passover, the pagan rites of Easter gradually became assimilated into what the Christian church called "Resurrection Day." Compromising the commandments of God with the comfort of the world is as old as the nation of Israel itself. Actually, American history teaches us that Easter was dismissed as a pagan holiday by the nation's founding Puritans and did not begin to be widely observed until just after the Civil War. Those interested in a Christian view of American history and the gradual compromise of America's Biblical foundations may wish to read books such as The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall and David Manuel.
The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter
Easter Sunday is a festival and
holiday celebrated by millions of people around the world who honour the
resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having
occurred three days after his crucifixion at Calvary. It is also the day that
children excitedly wait for the Easter bunny to arrive and deliver their treats
of chocolate eggs. Easter is a ‘movable feast’ which is chosen to
correspond with the first Sunday following the full moon after the March
equinox, and occurs on different dates around the world since western churches
use the Gregorian calendar, while eastern churches use the Julian calendar. So
where did this ‘movable feast’ begin, and what are the origins of the
traditions and customs celebrated on this important day around the world?
Because
reproduction in nature is critical for food and perpetuation of life, mankind
has long been intrigued by fertility. Have you ever wondered why eggs and
rabbits–the popular hallmarks of Easter–were selected as symbols
of fertility?
“In
traditional folk religion the egg is a powerful symbol of fertility, purity and
rebirth. It is used in magical rituals to promote fertility and restore
virility; to look into the future; to bring good weather; to encourage the
growth of crops and protect both cattle and children against misfortune,
especially the dreaded evil eye. All over the world it represents life and
creation, fertility and resurrection … Later [customs concerning eggs] were
linked with Easter. The church did not oppose this, though many egg customs
were pre-Christian in origin, because the egg provided a fresh and powerful
symbol of the Resurrection and the transformation of death into life” (The
Encyclopedia of Religion, 1987, p. 37, “Egg”).
The
Easter Bunny is the modern replacement for “the hare, the symbol of fertility
in ancient Egypt” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition, Micropaedia,
p. 333, “Easter”). It’s no secret that rabbits are extremely prolific. Their
does (females) bear several litters of two to eight young each year, and
gestation takes about a month. Contrary to God’s instruction, these pagan
fertility symbols credit divine powers to the creation (rabbits and eggs)
instead of the Creator (Romans 1:21-25).
Most
historians, including Biblical scholars, agree that Easter was originally a
pagan festival. According to the New Unger’s Bible Dictionary says: “The word
Easter is of Saxon origin, Eastra, the goddess of spring, in whose honour
sacrifices were offered about Passover time each year. By the eighth century
Anglo–Saxons had adopted the name to designate the celebration of Christ’s
resurrection.” However, even among those who maintain that Easter has pagan
roots, there is some disagreement over which pagan tradition the festival
emerged from. Here we will explore some of those perspectives.
Resurrection
as a symbol of rebirth
One
theory that has been put forward is that the Easter story of crucifixion and
resurrection is symbolic of rebirth and renewal and retells the cycle of the
seasons, the death and return of the sun.
Because
reproduction in nature is critical for food and perpetuation of life, mankind
has long been intrigued by fertility. Have you ever wondered why eggs and
rabbits–the popular hallmarks of Easter–were selected as symbols
of fertility?
“In traditional folk religion the egg is a powerful symbol of fertility, purity and rebirth. It is used in magical rituals to promote fertility and restore virility; to look into the future; to bring good weather; to encourage the growth of crops and protect both cattle and children against misfortune, especially the dreaded evil eye. All over the world it represents life and creation, fertility and resurrection … Later [customs concerning eggs] were linked with Easter. The church did not oppose this, though many egg customs were pre-Christian in origin, because the egg provided a fresh and powerful symbol of the Resurrection and the transformation of death into life” (The Encyclopedia of Religion, 1987, p. 37, “Egg”).
The Easter Bunny is the modern replacement for “the hare, the symbol of fertility in ancient Egypt” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition, Micropaedia, p. 333, “Easter”). It’s no secret that rabbits are extremely prolific. Their does (females) bear several litters of two to eight young each year, and gestation takes about a month. Contrary to God’s instruction, these pagan fertility symbols credit divine powers to the creation (rabbits and eggs) instead of the Creator (Romans 1:21-25).
“In traditional folk religion the egg is a powerful symbol of fertility, purity and rebirth. It is used in magical rituals to promote fertility and restore virility; to look into the future; to bring good weather; to encourage the growth of crops and protect both cattle and children against misfortune, especially the dreaded evil eye. All over the world it represents life and creation, fertility and resurrection … Later [customs concerning eggs] were linked with Easter. The church did not oppose this, though many egg customs were pre-Christian in origin, because the egg provided a fresh and powerful symbol of the Resurrection and the transformation of death into life” (The Encyclopedia of Religion, 1987, p. 37, “Egg”).
The Easter Bunny is the modern replacement for “the hare, the symbol of fertility in ancient Egypt” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition, Micropaedia, p. 333, “Easter”). It’s no secret that rabbits are extremely prolific. Their does (females) bear several litters of two to eight young each year, and gestation takes about a month. Contrary to God’s instruction, these pagan fertility symbols credit divine powers to the creation (rabbits and eggs) instead of the Creator (Romans 1:21-25).
Most
historians, including Biblical scholars, agree that Easter was originally a
pagan festival. According to the New Unger’s Bible Dictionary says: “The word
Easter is of Saxon origin, Eastra, the goddess of spring, in whose honour
sacrifices were offered about Passover time each year. By the eighth century
Anglo–Saxons had adopted the name to designate the celebration of Christ’s
resurrection.” However, even among those who maintain that Easter has pagan
roots, there is some disagreement over which pagan tradition the festival
emerged from. Here we will explore some of those perspectives.
Resurrection
as a symbol of rebirth
One
theory that has been put forward is that the Easter story of crucifixion and
resurrection is symbolic of rebirth and renewal and retells the cycle of the
seasons, the death and return of the sun.
According
to some scholars, such as Dr. Tony Nugent, teacher of Theology and Religious
Studies at Seattle University, and Presbyterian minister, the Easter story
comes from the
Sumerian
legend of Damuzi (Tammuz) and his wife Inanna (Ishtar), an epic myth called
“The Descent of Inanna” found inscribed on cuneiform clay tablets dating back
to 2100 BC. When Tammuz dies, Ishtar is grief–stricken and follows him to the
underworld. In the underworld, she enters through seven gates, and her worldly
attire is removed. "Naked and bowed low" she is judged, killed, and
then hung on display. In her absence, the earth loses its fertility, crops
cease to grow and animals stop reproducing. Unless something is done, all life
on earth will end.
After Inanna has been missing for three days her assistant goes to
other gods for help. Finally one of them Enki, creates two creatures who carry
the plant of life and water of life down to the Underworld, sprinkling them on
Inanna and Damuzi, resurrecting them, and giving them the power to return to
the earth as the light of the sun for six months. After the six months are up,
Tammuz returns to the underworld of the dead, remaining there for another six
months, and Ishtar pursues him, prompting the water god to rescue them both.
Thus were the cycles of winter death and spring life.
 |
| 2 Decent of Inanna Picture |
Dr Nugent is quick to point out that drawing parallels between the
story of Jesus and the epic of Inanna “doesn't necessarily mean that there
wasn't a real person, Jesus, who was crucified, but rather that, if there was,
the story about it is structured and embellished in accordance with a pattern
that was very ancient and widespread.”
The Sumerian goddess Inanna is known outside of Mesopotamia by her
Babylonian name, "Ishtar". In ancient Canaan Ishtar is known as
Astarte, and her counterparts in the Greek and Roman pantheons are known as
Aphrodite and Venus. In the 4th Century, when Christians identified the exact
site in Jerusalem where the empty tomb of Jesus had been located, they selected
the spot where a temple of Aphrodite (Astarte/Ishtar/Inanna) stood. The temple
was torn down and the So Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built, the holiest
church in the Christian world.
Dr Nugent points out that the story of Inanna and Damuzi is just one of
a number of accounts of dying and rising gods that represent the cycle of the
seasons and the stars. For example, the resurrection of Egyptian Horus; the
story of Mithras, who was worshiped at Springtime; and the tale of Dionysus,
resurrected by his grandmother. Among these stories are prevailing themes of
fertility, conception, renewal, descent into darkness, and the triumph of light
over darkness or good over evil.
Easter
as a celebration of the Goddess of Spring
A related perspective is that, rather than being a representation of
the story of Ishtar, Easter was originally a celebration of Eostre, goddess of
Spring, otherwise known as Ostara, Austra, and Eastre. One of the most revered
aspects of Ostara for both ancient and modern observers is a spirit of
renewal.
Celebrated at Spring Equinox on March 21, Ostara marks the day when
light is equal to darkness, and will continue to grow. As the bringer of light
after a long dark winter, the goddess was often depicted with the hare, an
animal that represents the arrival of spring as well as the fertility of the
season.
According to Jacob Grimm’s Deutsche Mythologie, the idea of
resurrection was ingrained within the celebration of Ostara: “Ostara, EΓ‘stre
seems therefore to have been the divinity of the radiant dawn, of up-springing
light, a spectacle that brings joy and blessing, whose meaning could be easily
adapted by the resurrection-day of the Christian’s God.”
Most analyses of the origin of the word ‘Easter’ maintain that it was
named after a goddess mentioned by the 7th to 8th-century English monk Bede,
who wrote that ΔosturmΕnaΓΎ (Old English 'Month of Δostre', translated in Bede's
time as "Paschal month") was an English month, corresponding to
April, which he says "was once called after a goddess of theirs named
Δostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month".
The
origins of Easter customs
The most widely-practiced customs on Easter Sunday relate to the symbol
of the rabbit (‘Easter bunny’) and the egg. As outlined previously, the
rabbit was a symbol associated with Eostre, representing the beginning of
Springtime. Likewise, the egg has come to represent Spring, fertility and
renewal. In Germanic mythology, it is said that Ostara healed a wounded
bird she found in the woods by changing it into a hare. Still partially a bird,
the hare showed its gratitude to the goddess by laying eggs as gifts.
The Encyclopedia Britannica clearly explains the pagan traditions
associated with the egg: “The egg as a symbol of fertility and of renewed life
goes back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians, who had also the custom of
coloring and eating eggs during their spring festival.” In ancient Egypt, an
egg symbolized the sun, while for the Babylonians; the egg represents the
hatching of the Venus Ishtar, who fell from heaven to the Euphrates.
 |
| Relief with Phanes, c. 2nd century A.D. Orphic god Phanes emerging from the cosmic egg, surrounded by the zodiac. |
In many Christian traditions, the custom of giving eggs at Easter
celebrates new life. Christians remember that Jesus, after dying on the cross,
rose from the dead, showing that life could win over death. For Christians the
egg is a symbol of Jesus' resurrection, as when they are cracked open, they
stand for the empty tomb.
Regardless of the very ancient origins
of the symbol of the egg, most people agree that nothing symbolizes renewal
more perfectly than the egg – round, endless, and full of the promise of life.
While many of the pagan customs associated with the celebration of
Spring were at one stage practiced alongside Christian Easter traditions, they
eventually came to be absorbed within Christianity, as symbols of the
resurrection of Jesus. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established the
date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon)
following the March equinox.
Whether it is observed as a religious holiday commemorating the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, or a time for families in the northern hemisphere
to enjoy the coming of Spring and celebrate with egg decorating and Easter
bunnies, the celebration of Easter still retains the same spirit of rebirth and
renewal, as it has for thousands of years.
 |
| Featured image: Main: ‘A Hare in the Forest by Hans Hoffmann (public domain). Inset: Ostara (1884) by Johannes Gehrts (public domain) |
“Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock” (Deuteronomy 7:12-14).
People have the choice of looking to God as their Creator for reproductive blessings or looking to the creation. Given the history of rabbits and eggs as pagan fertility symbols, do you think God is pleased when people include these as symbols of their worship?
Does It
Matter to God?
History shows that
religious authorities systematically set aside the Bible’s days of worship and
substituted other practices and celebrations with distinctly non-Christian
origins. Is God pleased and honored with such worship?
 |
| We can take great comfort in the meaning of the days of worship revealed in the Bible, since they represent the magnificent plan of God. |
Over the last two millennia,
traditional Christianity has systematically laid aside the “feast days of the
Lord” and established its own holidays. Christmas was established to enable
pagan converts to come into church fellowship without forsaking their heathen
customs and practices. Easter is a replacement for the biblical Passover and
Days of Unleavened Bread.
Even the weekly
Sabbath was abandoned in favor of Sunday, the pagan day of the sun, supposedly
to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection (though, as we demonstrated earlier, it took
place not on Sunday morning but at the end of the weekly Sabbath at
sunset Saturday).
We have a choice. We
can choose the feast days instituted by God or the holidays substituted by men
unwittingly deceived by Satan. The choices we make affect our destiny and
impact our relationship with our Creator.
Although we should
immediately recognize that overruling God’s instructions is dangerous behavior,
let’s consider, from the biblical record, whether such inventions and
alterations are acceptable worship to our Creator God.
Changing God’s instructions
When God began working with the ancient Israelites, He intended they set an example of obedience to Him for the nations around them (Deuteronomy 4:1-8). They were to be a model nation, showing other peoples that God’s way of life produces abundant blessings. Their experiences serve as continuing examples for us (1 Corinthians 10:1-11).
During their years in Egypt, the Israelites were exposed to Egyptian culture and worship. Notice what Unger’s Bible Dictionary says about this culture: “The Egyptian religion was an utterly bewildering polytheistic conglomeration in which many deities of the earliest periods, when each town had its own deity, were retained …
“Every object beheld, every phenomenon of nature, was thought to be indwelt by a spirit which could choose its own form, occupying the body of a crocodile, a fish, a cow, a cat, etc. Hence the Egyptians had numerous holy animals, principally the bull, the cow, the cat, the baboon, the jackal, and the crocodile” (1966, p. 291, “Egypt”).
Shortly after miraculously delivering the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt, God instructed them how He wanted to be worshiped. He gave them His commandments (Exodus 20), along with statutes and judgments detailing how to apply them (Exodus 21-22). God revealed His feast days (Exodus 23:14-17; Leviticus 23) and gave directions regarding a priesthood, tabernacle and offerings (Exodus 25-31). God told Moses to climb Mount Sinai and gave him two tablets of stone engraved with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:12; Exodus 31:18).
When Moses didn’t come down from
Mount Sinai for some time (Exodus
32:1), the people prodded his brother Aaron into fashioning an idol for
them to worship. They essentially mixed the Egyptian form of worship with the
instructions they had just received from God. The practice of blending
religious beliefs and practices is known as syncretism.
After creating a
golden image of a calf, Aaron proclaimed the next day a holiday—”a feast to the
Lord” (Exodus
32:4-5). They then “rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented
fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to
indulge in
revelry” (Exodus
32:6, NIV). This celebration combined God’s instruction with Egyptian
religious practice and tradition.
We are not told why
the Israelites chose this mix of worship. Perhaps they thought it was not a
good idea to abandon all the familiar forms of worship at once and they simply
practiced what they were accustomed to from their years immersed in Egyptian
culture. Whatever their thinking, God was not pleased. He told Moses: “Go down,
because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They
have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them” (Exodus
32:7-8, NIV).
God shows from His
Word that He expects more from those who claim to follow Him. He wants people
to worship Him “in spirit and truth” (John
4:23-24)—not with corrupted, vile practices rooted in the worship of
other gods.
Consequences of futile worship
The Israelites were in no way
justified in departing from the God-ordained instructions introduced in the
wilderness. God was so angered by their actions that He was ready to destroy
the nation (Exodus
32:10). Only on Moses’ pleadings did God relent and spare them (Exodus
32:11-14).
Ancient Israel’s
experiment with combining parts of God’s instruction with pagan customs and
elements was a disaster. In punishment for this sin, 3,000 men lost their lives
(Exodus
32:27-28). Those who weren’t killed had to drink water polluted with the
ground-up idol, pulverized into powder (Exodus
32:20).
Being
presumptuous—taking unauthorized liberty to do things such as altering God’s
instructions for worship—is sinful. The Bible describes the Israelites’ actions
as “a great sin” (Exodus
32:21, Exodus 32:30, and Exodus 32:31). God’s law is clear concerning
presumptuous behavior (Numbers
15:30-31).
The principle holds
true today among God’s people. Once we come to understand His truth, we have an
obligation to take steps to obey Him. We recognize that the instruction and
examples in His Word were recorded for our spiritual instruction and benefit (1
Corinthians 10:6-11; Romans
15:4).
Additional warnings for Christians
The generation of Israelites who called for the golden calf apparently never learned to trust and obey God. Only a short time later, while preparing to go into the land God had promised them, they grew afraid of the land’s inhabitants and refused to enter (Numbers 13-14). As a result, God told them they would wander 40 years in the wilderness until all those who had refused to follow His instructions had died (Numbers 14:33). After their deaths, God then began preparing the next generation to enter Canaan.
“When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’
“You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.” (Deuteronomy 12:29-32)
Regrettably, the Israelites often failed to heed God’s warning. Time and time again they let their fascination with the religious practices of those around them get the better of them as they lapsed into idolatrous worship.
In the 600s B.C. God gave three more warnings against this kind of behavior. First, through the prophet Jeremiah, God said, “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them” (Jeremiah 10:2). Here God cautioned His people against following the gentile (non-Israelite) practices of worshipping the heavenly bodies (like the sun on Dec. 25) and against astrology in general.
In Jeremiah 10:3-9, God describes some of their idolatrous customs. They cut a tree from the forest, prop it up and decorate it with precious metals.
Although this account is specifically referring to setting up an object of idolatrous worship (Jeremiah 10:6-8), God’s command here, “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles,” applies to all pagan religious customs. Christmas trees, mistletoe and colorful lights that come from pagan winter-solstice celebrations, rabbits and Easter eggs as fertility symbols, and demonic concepts at Halloween, all fit this prohibition. Likewise a number of other modern traditions, such as New Year’s Day celebration and Valentine’s Day, also fit the prohibition—as they, too, originate in pagan worship.
In giving this instruction
against learning the way of the gentiles, God wanted His people to avoid the
type of sin their forefathers had committed with the golden calf.
A few years after
the statement in Jeremiah, God again expressed His anger with His people:
“For they have committed adultery, and
blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and
even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire,
to devour them. Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary
on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths. For after they had slain their
children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to
profane it; and indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house” (Ezekiel
23:37-39).
Here it appears that
Israel practiced one of the customs like those originally associated with the
Saturnalia and worship of Saturn—the sacrificing of children—and then came to
worship God on one of His Sabbaths!
Through the prophet
Zephaniah God decried “those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops;
those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, but who also swear by Milcom” (Zephaniah
1:5). God is not pleased when people are double-minded (James
1:8; James
4:8) in their worship—accepting false religions and customs while
professing to worship Him.
A
consistent message throughout the Bible
Some people wrongly assume that Old
Testament prohibitions against mixing paganism with godly worship were annulled
during apostolic times. Nothing could be further from the truth.
To prove the
continuity of God’s teaching in the New Testament, let us consider the city of
Corinth. Here we find one of the most instructive examples about incorporating
paganism into Christianity.
Strategically
located just south of the narrow isthmus connecting central Greece with the
Peloponnesus, this city sat on an important trade route. Its inhabitants grew
rich by transporting goods across the four-mile isthmus, which saved merchants
a 200-mile trip by ship. Worship of Aphrodite (the Greek goddess of love) had
long been part of the city’s history. It also boasted a temple to Apollo, the
Greek sun god.
What was Corinth
like in the first century? “[Here] the apostle Paul established a flourishing
church, made up of a cross section of the worldly minded people who had flocked
to Corinth to participate in the gambling, legalized temple prostitution,
business adventures, and amusements available in a first-century navy
town …
“The city soon
became a melting pot for the approximately 500,000 people who lived there at
the time of Paul’s arrival. Merchants and sailors, anxious to work the docks,
migrated to Corinth. Professional gamblers and athletes, betting on the
Isthmian games, took up residence. Slaves, sometimes freed but with no place to
go, roamed the streets day and night. And prostitutes (both male and female)
were abundant. People from Rome, the rest of Greece, Egypt, and Asia Minor—
indeed, all of the Mediterranean world—relished the lack of standards and
freedom of thought that prevailed in the city.
“These were the
people who eventually made up the Corinthian church. They had to learn to live
together in harmony, although their national, social, economic, and religious
backgrounds were very different” (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, “Corinth”)
Paul’s
instruction regarding other religious practices
Writing to this
diverse group, primarily gentiles with a tradition of idol worship (1
Corinthians 12:2), Paul addressed the issue of whether outside religious
customs and practices had any place among God’s people:
“What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’
“Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’ Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 2 Corinthians 7:1).
Instead of renaming some of the pagan customs as Christian or allowing the new converts to retain some of their former practices, the apostle Paul commanded them to leave behind all of these forms of worship. He condemned the sexual immorality that was a common part of the fertility rites in honor of the goddess Aphrodite (1 Corinthians 6:13-18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3). No doubt the new church did not participate in winter-solstice celebrations honoring the sun god Apollo. Nor did they imitate these to honor Christ—as this would not have honored Christ at all.
Christianity that is faithful to the Bible teaches its followers that “our old man was crucified with Him [Jesus Christ], that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Romans 6:6). If someone is strongly committed to following Christ, “he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Paul explains that we are not to retain our favorite past religious traditions. Indeed, “all things have become new”! As part of the “old man” (Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:9), our former styles of worship must go.
As Jesus taught, we simply cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13). We cannot simultaneously embrace two competing systems of worship.
“What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’
“Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’ Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 2 Corinthians 7:1).
Instead of renaming some of the pagan customs as Christian or allowing the new converts to retain some of their former practices, the apostle Paul commanded them to leave behind all of these forms of worship. He condemned the sexual immorality that was a common part of the fertility rites in honor of the goddess Aphrodite (1 Corinthians 6:13-18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3). No doubt the new church did not participate in winter-solstice celebrations honoring the sun god Apollo. Nor did they imitate these to honor Christ—as this would not have honored Christ at all.
Christianity that is faithful to the Bible teaches its followers that “our old man was crucified with Him [Jesus Christ], that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Romans 6:6). If someone is strongly committed to following Christ, “he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Paul explains that we are not to retain our favorite past religious traditions. Indeed, “all things have become new”! As part of the “old man” (Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:9), our former styles of worship must go.
As Jesus taught, we simply cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13). We cannot simultaneously embrace two competing systems of worship.
We see the obvious
continuity between the Old and New Testaments of the Bible; the new also
forbids mixing pagan tradition with the “worship in spirit and truth” God
commands (John
4:23-24).
Authority from man or God
Since God is so
strongly opposed to altering His revealed days of worship (Deuteronomy
12:32; Revelation
22:18-19), by what authority did human beings change the days we observe?
Here is what The Encyclopedia Britannica says about some early Christians:
“Though many of [Jesus’] disciples continued to observe the special times and
seasons of the Jewish Law, new converts broke with the custom because they
regarded it as no longer needful or necessary” (15th edition, Vol. 4, p. 601,
“Church Year”). Notice the lack of divine authorization. The people decided to
make this change.
One humanly devised change in the early centuries after Christ was to worship on Sunday rather than the seventh-day Sabbath, the day authorized in the Bible. The same source acknowledges that “the New Testament writings do not explain how the practice began” (ibid., p. 603). Though some have theorized this change occurred in honor of Christ’s resurrection, we have already seen that this rationale is flawed because Christ was resurrected near sundown on Saturday rather than on Sunday.
Replacing God’s annual feast days with pagan holidays was also done in the same spirit. This same encyclopedia article makes this frank admission: “Unlike the cycle of feasts and fasts of the Jewish Law, the [modern] Christian year has never been based upon a divine revelation. It is rather a tradition that is always subject to change by ecclesiastical law. Each self-governing church maintains the right to order the church year” (p. 601)
When the kingdom of Israel divided after Solomon’s death, King Jeroboam of the northern 10 tribes soon changed the date of the annual autumn festival from the seventh to the eighth month of the Hebrew calendar (1 Kings 12:32-33). So the first king of the new northern Israelite dynasty established a corrupting pattern in the nation’s religious life, one that eventually helped lead to the northern tribes’ destruction at the hands of the Assyrian Empire.
One humanly devised change in the early centuries after Christ was to worship on Sunday rather than the seventh-day Sabbath, the day authorized in the Bible. The same source acknowledges that “the New Testament writings do not explain how the practice began” (ibid., p. 603). Though some have theorized this change occurred in honor of Christ’s resurrection, we have already seen that this rationale is flawed because Christ was resurrected near sundown on Saturday rather than on Sunday.
Replacing God’s annual feast days with pagan holidays was also done in the same spirit. This same encyclopedia article makes this frank admission: “Unlike the cycle of feasts and fasts of the Jewish Law, the [modern] Christian year has never been based upon a divine revelation. It is rather a tradition that is always subject to change by ecclesiastical law. Each self-governing church maintains the right to order the church year” (p. 601)
When the kingdom of Israel divided after Solomon’s death, King Jeroboam of the northern 10 tribes soon changed the date of the annual autumn festival from the seventh to the eighth month of the Hebrew calendar (1 Kings 12:32-33). So the first king of the new northern Israelite dynasty established a corrupting pattern in the nation’s religious life, one that eventually helped lead to the northern tribes’ destruction at the hands of the Assyrian Empire.
Throughout the northern kingdom’s
history, the political and ecclesiastical leadership stubbornly persisted in
“the sins of Jeroboam” (1 Kings 13:34; 1 Kings 15:30; 1 Kings 16:2-19), one of which was his
unauthorized alteration of the date of a God-ordained religious festival.
Time to leave non-biblical
religious traditions behind
As creatures of habit, we can find
ourselves following traditions that are contrary to God’s instructions. Almost
2,000 years ago Jesus Christ pointed out that a devoutly religious group, the
Pharisees, was in just such a situation. He told them, “Well
did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honor Me
with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ For laying aside the
commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men … All too well you
reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition”
(Mark 7:6-9).
Just proclaiming that something is
Christian does not make it so. No matter what our traditions have been or what
rationalizations we may employ, the Bible is clear that we must follow our
Creator’s directions on His days and forms of worship.
In Colossians 2:8 the apostle Paul teaches the early
church, “See to it that no one takes you captive
through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according
to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the elementary principles
of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ.”
Similarly, one of the last messages in the Bible reveals this warning for people caught up in a great worldwide system that established itself in opposition to God: “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (Revelation 18:4-5).
The
ONLY ACCEPTABLE HOLY HOLIDAYS ordained by GOD
The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying,
“Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The appointed times
(established feasts) of the Lord
which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:
The Sabbath
‘For six days work
may be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of complete rest, a holy
convocation (calling together). You shall not do any work [on that day]; it is
the Sabbath of the Lord wherever
you may be.
The Passover and Unleavened Bread
‘These are the
appointed times of the Lord, holy
convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times: The Lord’s Passover is on the fourteenth day
of the first month at twilight. The Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord is on the fifteenth day of the same
month; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you
shall have a holy convocation (calling together); you shall not do any
laborious work [on that day]. But you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord for seven days; on the seventh day
there shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work [on that
day].’”
The Feast of First Fruits
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel
and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am giving you and reap its
harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the
priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord
so that you may be accepted; the priest shall wave it on the day after the
Sabbath.
Now on the day when
you wave the sheaf you shall offer a male lamb one year old without blemish as
a burnt offering to the Lord. Its
grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with [olive]
oil, an offering by fire to the Lord
for a sweet and soothing aroma, with its drink offering [to be poured
out], a fourth of a hin of wine. You shall not eat any bread or roasted grain
or new growth, until this same day when you bring in the offering to your God;
it is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you may be.
The
Feast of Weeks {Count to Pentecost}
‘You shall count
from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf
(tied bundle of grain) of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete
Sabbaths (seven full weeks). You shall count fifty days to the day after the
seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring in from your
places two loaves of bread as a wave offering, made from two-tenths of an
ephah of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven as first fruits to the
Lord. And you shall offer with the
bread seven unblemished lambs, one year old, and one young bull and two rams.
They are to be a burnt offering to the Lord,
with their grain offering and their drink offerings. It is an offering by fire,
a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.
And you shall sacrifice one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs, one
year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall wave them before
the Lord as a wave offering,
together with the bread of the first fruits and the two lambs. They are to be
holy to the Lord for the priest.
On this same day you shall make a proclamation, you are to have a holy
convocation (calling together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that
day]. It is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you
may be. ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the
edges of your field, nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave
them for the poor and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.’”
The Feast of Trumpets
Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the
children of Israel, ‘On the first day of the seventh month (almost October),
you shall observe a day of solemn sabbatical rest, a memorial day announced by
the blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any
laborious work [on that day], but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’”
The Day of Atonement
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Also the
tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy
convocation for you, and you shall humble yourselves [by fasting] and present
an offering by fire to the Lord.
You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to
make atonement on your behalf before the Lord
your God. If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day,
he shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for
them]. If there is any person who does any work on this same day, I will
destroy that person from among his people. You shall do no work at all [on that
day]. It is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you may
be. It is to be to you a Sabbath of complete rest, and you shall humble
yourselves. On the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening
you shall keep your Sabbath.”
The Feast of Booths {Tabernacles}
Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the
children of Israel, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, and for seven
days, is the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) to the Lord. The first day is a holy convocation (calling
together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that day]. For seven days
you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.
On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by
fire to the Lord. It is a festive
assembly; you shall not do any laborious work [on that day]. ‘These are the
appointed times (established feasts) of the Lord,
which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to present an offering by
fire to the Lord, a burnt offering
and a grain offering, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its own day. This
is in addition to the [weekly] Sabbaths of the Lord,
and in addition to your gifts and all your vowed offerings and all your
freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord.
‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month (nearly October), when you
have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a Sabbath rest
on the first day and a Sabbath rest on the eighth day. Now on the first day you
shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, branches of palm
trees, and boughs of thick (leafy) trees, and willows of the brook [and make
booths of them]; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You shall celebrate it as a
feast to the Lord for seven days
in the year. It shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations; you
shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall live in booths (temporary
shelters) for seven days; all native-born in Israel shall live in booths, so
that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths
when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’” So Moses declared to the Israelites the
appointed feasts of the Lord.
We have a choice.
We can choose the feast days instituted by God or the holidays substituted by
men unwittingly deceived by Satan. The choices we make affect our destiny and
impact our relationship with our Creator.
We can take great comfort in the meaning
of the days of worship revealed in the Bible, since they represent the
magnificent plan of God, who will give every human being an opportunity to understand
and accept His way of life either now or, for the majority of human beings, in
an age yet to come. If your eyes have been opened, you have a clear
responsibility to make the right choice today. Will you now act on what you know?
I do pray you will make the RIGHT CHOICE
and follow the ways of God, leaving the Pagan ways of mankind behind forever.
In Christ Service forever,
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