EASTER.............!

Where Did Easter Come From?

              Easter is never mentioned in the inspired text of the New Testament. While the King James translation does contain the word "Easter" in Acts 12:4, virtually every other translation says "Passover," which is the proper rendering of the Greek word pascha. You can easily verify this yourself by consulting almost any Bible commentary or Greek interlinear. The early first-century Church never observed Easter Sunday. Christians continued to observe the Passover, just as the original Apostles had done in Jesus' presence. But although the New Testament Church kept the Passover, just as God has commanded, Christians made special use of the symbols that Christ had instituted at His final Passover. These symbols, a small piece of broken unleavened bread and a sip of wine, pictured Christ's sacrifice—His body broken for our healing, and His blood shed for the remission of our sins.

Where, then, did Easter observance come from? There is no record of it in the Christian community until almost a full century after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Notice this striking statement by a scholar associated with the Pontifical Gregorian University Press in Rome: "There is a wide consensus of opinion among scholars that Rome is indeed the birthplace of Easter-Sunday. Some, in fact, rightly label it as 'Roman-Easter'" (From Sabbath to Sunday, Bacchiocchi, p. 201).

                  In his Ecclesiastical History, the early Catholic historian Eusebius provides insight on the introduction of Easter. A contemporary of the Roman emperor Constantine, Eusebius described the late second-century controversy between Victor, Bishop of Rome, and Polycrates, disputing over whether to celebrate Passover or Easter. Eusebius wrote: "The bishops, however, of Asia, persevering in observing the custom handed down to them from their fathers, were headed by Polycrates… 'We,' said he, 'observe the genuine day; neither adding thereto nor taking therefrom. For in Asia great lights have fallen asleep, which shall rise again in the day of our Lord's appearing… Phillip, one of the twelve apostles… John, who rested upon the bosom of our Lord… Polycarp of Smyrna… All these observed the fourteenth day of the Passover according to the gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith" (chapter xxiv). Eusebius then proceeded to quote from a letter of Irenaeus, a second century bishop of Lyons, which traced the observance of Easter as a substitute for Passover back to the days of Sixtus, bishop of Rome (c. 116–126ad).

                    In other words, Easter Sunday was not observed by the professing Christian community until almost 20 years after the death of the Apostle John, the last surviving eyewitness to the crucifixion and the resurrected Jesus. If God truly wanted His people to observe this holiday, why did it take so long to be established? If it really commemorated the events of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, surely it would have been observed from the beginning! Yet it was only introduced as a "Christian" holiday after all who had first-hand knowledge of the facts were dead. That alone should make us stand up and take notice.

                      Easter Sunday actually has its origins in the cult of ancient pagan sun worship. The very name "Easter" is derived from Ishtar or Astarte, names referring to the ancient Babylonian goddess who was worshiped as the mother of the sun god. Notice this admission: "The motif of the Sun was used not only by Christian artists to portray Christ [from the third century onward] but also by Christian teachers to proclaim Him to the pagan masses who were well acquainted with the rich Sun-symbology. Numerous Fathers abstracted and reinterpreted the pagan symbols and beliefs about the Sun and used them apologetically to teach the Christian message" (Bacchiocchi, p. 253).

                      Much of the symbolism associated with Easter, including rabbits and eggs, hearkens back to ancient practices that originated in Babylon and came down to us today by way of Rome. Roman emperor Constantine, a lifelong devotee of Sol Invictus, the sun god, forged an alliance with the Bishop of Rome in the early fourth century. It was from this alliance of church and state that most of the trappings that are associated with modern Christianity came to be forced upon the Christian-professing world.

                         Does it matter that the name "Easter," and many of the motifs associated with that holiday, can be traced back to ancient paganism? Many sincere professing Christians would protest that they attend Easter sunrise services to honor Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead, not to worship the sun god. Is it acceptable to take pagan customs and symbols and reinterpret them from a Christian perspective? No! God warned the ancient Israelites, as they prepared to enter the land of the Canaanites, to "take heed… 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" (Deuteronomy 12:30–31). Rather, God told His people: "Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (v. 32).

Easter Sunday does not celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. It actually obscures the very point that Jesus said was the defining sign of His Messiahship—the three days and three nights in the tomb. Easter, like most of the symbols associated with it, has its origin not in Scriptural commands, but in the practices of ancient sun worshipers. It is high time that those who profess to be the people of God come out of spiritual Babylon and worship the Creator as He commands—in spirit and in truth!