Here Comes Peter Cottontail, again!

This year Easter and Passover fall just one day appart. Passover is April 7th - Easter is April 8th. These two 'holidays' don't always fall that near in dates.
A long time ago, this whole concept of "eggs and rabbits" bothered me, so I researched "Easter", back in the mid-80s and was really angered by all that I found.

This is not to say that we need to observe the whole Seder/Passover - but just to get a closer look at what 'truth' is and how even the KJV has been corrupted by those of Constantine's era.

G3957Act 12:4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after *Easter - G3957* to bring him forth to the people.

G3957 πάσχα pascha = Passover. "Pascha [Passover]" used 29 times in the KJV and only once translated as "Easter".

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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, Ninevah, 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 worshippers. 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 worshipping Tammuz (or Nimrod reborn), the people also worshipped 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." "

http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/origin-of-easter.htm [astericks added]

The Spring Equinox is a time when Pagan's celebrate "a new birth" and the "gods of fertility".

Which Sunday will Easter fall on?
The first Sunday after the first full moon that comes After the first day of Spring.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter

Nothing whatsoever to do with what day that Passover falls on - when Jesus was foreordained to be crucified as our Passover Lamb.
Why didn't they just make it the first Sunday after Passover?
Because the whole "Easter" concept has it's origins as stated above, though that's merely the nutshell origin of "Easter".

As with "Christ-mas" - [though Jesus was born in the Fall for the Feast of Tabernacles] ---- for the sake of our unsaved loved ones -- we use these two "holidays" as a time when we can freely bring up "JESUS'" Name and tell the reason and purpose of why He came, died and resurrected.

My opinion of these two times of year is that - though both of these pagan 'holidays' bother me much - I still believe that those that force this issue on their unsaved family or friends, do more harm than good. Better to find ways to witness about Him on these occasions than to give family or friends more reasons to think you're in a cult. THEY think it's His Birthday and When He Rose - so what good does it do to try to show them that HE was fulfilling the Feast Days that were set in place as a foreshadow and prophetic foretelling of His coming in the first place.
From the people that I know that have tried to convince their family or friends that these days originate from Pagan Festivals - they've lost the ability to now 'witness' to their loved ones.

We call it "Resurrection Day" [the day that we remember His resurrection] and find cards that don't have the name "Easter" on them. It's just twice a year that we should make this effort to find the best witnessing type Greeting cards that are sold and some good tracts as well - Amen!!

We have an Easter Egg hunt and we pass out chocolates. To us, it's the sign of spring and colour. I've read up on it's origins came to the conclusion to blend in with the mixed multitude. No sense in angering people over my discoveries, and besides it's not a truth that they need to hear anyway. Real truth is Christ, my do's, don'ts and taboos are not.

It all boils down to conscience. If your conscience bothers you in participating or "blending in" as I put it, then don't, to you it's a sin.

Everything is lawful Paul says, but not everything is profitable. Paul would have joined in with the bunny fest and as his manner would have spoken of the resurrection while gnawing on a chocolate bunny. To Paul, he was not subject to the touch not, taste not, handle not mentality. He was truly free from the law of sin and death, to which this generation of believers (including myself) lacks in understanding and experience.

I didn't want to make that post too lengthy but I'd like to share what angered me. We grew up in a supposed Catholic environment. We had to go get ashes smeared on our foreheads for reasons unknown to us as kids and then go get strips of palms before Easter - but come Easter Sunday - we had no idea what we were celebrating. We only thought it was about Easter "baskets". Nothing mentioned about Him Resurrecting.

The same with Christmas. It was Santa Claus day, although in between all of the other decorations, 'somewhere' there was a wee manger scene.

As we speak, my brother and his wife are not eating meat for 40 days of 'lent' but come Easter, as is the custom of my family, the yard and house will not show one sign of it being Resurrection Day - but will be totally loaded with eggs and bunnies galore. Go figure!

Years after I got saved - I heard a Preacher answering questions on TV and one of the questions was, "Should we continue with Santa Claus with our kids?"
The preacher said, "If you lie to them about Santa Claus for Christmas - what will make them believe you some day about JESUS and what Christmas truly means?"
Well, that truly got me going - because I had a new born niece of my closest Brother that was being fed this stuff as 'truth' and yet they made certain that she was baptised as a baby, etc. etc. etc. but not one mention of Jesus at Easter or on Christmas day.

I tried many yrs ago to explain to my Sister-in-law that Santa and the egg-stuff 'takes away from' JESUS or robs 'Him' - the One Whom these days are 'supposed to' be About - but to no avail.

Pretty much every year on SI this topic of these two 'holidays' come up and I posted my solution to this debate above.
Rather than get angry anymore 'at' my family - [eta] I've written how I feel about these two days and how we use those two occasions to point back to Him - within the whole of my OP.

Not to make my story any longer, but since I've come to grips with my own view of these days - I'm able to enjoy these two gatherings with my unsaved family.
Diane, I usually bring tulips with a lamb decorating the pot to their home for Easter dinner, as in my own heart, I know what that represents, though they don't - yet.

I'm a snow-freak that has snowmen everywhere right after Thanksgiving because of my love for GOD's creation, snow, that reminds of the 'white' of Heaven, and they see snowmen as something you only put out at Christmas [but I leave them up until the end of February - I love winter]
I told them December is my favorite month but didn't tell them why.

I eat the Easter candy at the table with them and do the gift exchange at Christmas and they haven't any idea by my behavior when with them, of what I feel about the missing Jesus in their homes/hearts. I just pray - "Maybe next year they'll know You, LORD." ... and that was the point of my starting this thread. I truly have seen folks lose the witness for Christ by trying to convince their family or others that these holidays are pagan - even though we know that they are - it's not worth ever losing the witness. The main thing is that they feel and see the love of Jesus coming from us and He's Great enough to supply plenty.

Shalom!

Praise Yahweh, it's very encouraging to see Sermon Index reject these pagan practices. These man made holy days are unholy, idolatary, godworship.

You can't reverence Yahweh and Baal. Sooner or later you'll need to pick one. No you can't participate at all! even if you think it's just for fun. It's godworship period.

Do you not know that to whom you
yield yourselves as servants to obey, his
servants you are whom you obey—whether
of sin, which leads to death, or of
obedience, which leads to Righteousness?
Romans 6:16—

great post

Thank you guys. Where I'm from - "you guys" includes the ladies. :)

Hey, SNOWMEN in March (:
Just found a really neat website and so far, she still has her snowmen up.

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/index.htm

Good home recipes, etc.

Praise Yahweh, it's very encouraging to see Sermon Index reject these pagan practices. These man made holy days are unholy, idolatary, godworship.

You can't reverence Yahweh and Baal. Sooner or later you'll need to pick one. No you can't participate at all! even if you think it's just for fun. It's godworship period.

While I too agree with most of what is being said on this post, I must say theEphah that I am glad I believe in the true gospel... the one of grace and forgiveness and freedom... and not the false gospel of works and law that you push.

Krispy

It's the same tired old discussion that gets pulled out at Christmas time like that box a stale smelling ornaments you pull out of the back of your attic or basement every December.

It is what you make it. If you cant participate without feeling guilty then dont do it. Neither side has any business judgeing the other over it or insisting others follow your rules that you have set for yourself.

ho hum...

Krispy

Brother Krispy, you only read theEphah's post and now you've gone and pulled these guys into this-here discussion and have taken away from what was being said, Because you guys Did Not read all of the posts.
Ya'll had to turn this thread that was intended to make Peace between both sides and turned it ugly again and into a slam-fest by Assuming it was what you thought it said.

I know you all didn't read all of the posts and that just plum t'ain't proper-like.

No eggs fer y'all this year! And Christmas 'was' discussed so nothing under your tree neither. Just t'ain't derservin' now.

It's not necessarily what theEphah said on this thread... my response is in the overall context of the false gospel of works that this person promotes on SI all the time.

So no, not going to retract what I said. I did read the thread in it's entirety, and based on everything else that theEphah has had to say on SI it does deserve being called out. It's like dealing with a Mormon... what they say sounds ok, but if you understand where they are coming from you understand what they are really saying. And what theEphah said on this particular thread is consistant with everything else they have said.

And I am going to call it out publicly everytime I see it. I wasnt rude and I did not so-called "slam" the person. I simply said I am glad I do not subscribe to their false works salvation doctrine.

That type of wicked teaching should be challenged. Not just so that theEphah can come to a true understanding of the gospel, but so that his poison does not bring confusion into the hearts and minds of believers and those who are being drawn.

Krispy

Well, OK then.

Here, I got sumthin fer y'all ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXiMwpRLHkg&feature=related

- but, in reading theEphah's post, ROMANS 14 always comes to mind and I wonder when we'll ever memorize that one and I also liked what Brother Hulsey said about keeping the peace by just not replying.

Back to my Recipe gathering from that site I posted on pg 1.

GOOD day all!!

'They say', that dark chocolate is good for you, in moderation of course.

Some folks get the 'picture' of Jesus being sacrificed as the Passover Lamb and after reading how He fulfilled every sacrificial law and procedure in the law for the attonement and what that great price was that He paid - that's all they can see when talking about these things.

My question is - what do we do with genuinely Jewish people once they get saved ... do we make them stop observing the Passover that they see as The Last Supper now?

If someone among us listens to Messianic music and tells us so - do we cringe?

Do we respect them if they are repulsed by rabbits and eggs because they know the origin of Easter that's in the OP?

Just wondering where everybody stands if we had Jewish believers in our midst.

Pilgrim, is this in reply to my question?

I've been reading a lot on another site and waiting for your answer Pilgrim, because I didn't want to judge your answer. It has nothing to do with my questions so I thought I'd ask first.

Anyhow, back to Jewish folk that become believers in salvation through Christ... like the "beloved physician, Luke" that wrote the book of Acts as well.

What would he think if he saw that what he had written ["Passover"] in Acts 12:4 was changed, close to 300 yrs later to some pagan goddesses' name?

Would he be "over spiritual" or "not being human" if he was bothered by that?

Considering the book of Acts and what "acts" went on during that time period - I'd say that Paul would be none-to-happy about this whole deal. I seriously doubt that Paul would be participating, because Paul gave Luke a good portion of that recorded bit of first Church history as they hung out together.
The first Church was Jewish and when Jesus returns, we see in Zech 12-14 that He reinstates the Feast of Tabernacles.

We're grafted into "their" tree - the "natural and good olive tree" and we were taken from the "wild tree".
Christianity is very Jewish. Our Messiah is the King of Israel. The Son of David. The Root of Jesse. The Lion of Judah.
etc.

Does this help to make my question any clearer?

I have a friend that confessed to me recently that he spent so many years trying to be spiritual, that he forgot he was human and neglected that part of himself. I am not talking about fleshly. I am talking about being human. He projected this persona towards others and consequently no one thought he ever needed anything. As it turns out, he was very spiritual, but very lonely, too.

Being spiritual, is being human and vulnerable and honest. There is a freedom in being in this place.

When we stop being human, we stop being able to communicate with our fellow man, saved or unsaved.

Pilgrim

Brother, this is sooo true! I fell prey to this as well. I finally woke up to that fact after my heart attack. It's been a slow process "deprogramming" myself, but I have backed away from a lot of things that most people would consider to be very spiritual activities and such. Why? I was burned out! Frankly, much of it was being done in my own strength.

I enjoy simplier stuff now. Sure, I love to come here and discuss with everyone, but this is a very small miniscule part of who I am. I love to evangelize and minister to others... but I also found that I need to do some things for me, and take time for me. Be who God created me to be. We put so much pressure on ourselves, and so does the church and other believers.

There is a lot of unwarrented pressure in the Christian life to be this and do that... but the gospel is simple. "Come, all who are burdened and heavy labored, and I will give you rest... for my yoke is easy and my burden is light!" Praise God!

Where's the "rest"? Find it.

Krispy

Thank you Ginnyrose for re-routing this bunny-trail off the main topic. But while we're on it, I may as well hop-on for a minute.

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What you are talking about Pilgrim is "walking in the flesh". Trying to 'do' things for GOD in one's own ability or power or initiative.

Someone may read one of the posts on this topic so far, since you've started it and ask, "What should I do instead? Pop a can of beer, pull out a cigar and watch the game?" :)

I'd like to contend that, the 'Biblical' view of "walking in the Spirit", is non-self-effort - not from our own understanding or you can call that - not leaning on our own understanding of what to do next.
It's child-like dependence on the Voice of The Good Shepherd as Jesus described in John chpt 10.
It's knowing that, in our flesh dwells NO GOOD thing.
Good intentions are OK for Babes in Christ - but the mature in Him should understand that they should not lean upon their own understanding - that they need to trust Him to guide/lead them into all truth and for what to do from moment to moment - in All their 'ways' acknowledging Him, so that HE will "direct their paths".

It's totally Freeing of 'self' to walk in this manner and come what may, as a result of following His leading - it's our reasonable service - as Paul, John and the rest had shown by 'their' lives.

If it truly 'is' "Not us that live but Christ that lives within us and the life that we now live, we live by the faith of Him' ... then we could be BIBLICALLY *spiritual* [walking by the Spirit's leading - doing Biblically spiritual initiated things that He directs us to do], 24/7.
It's nothing about us - and all about Him.

So, again - what you've brought onto this thread is about 'walking in the flesh' - "autonomously" - doing what our "minds" dictate needs to be done ... and Not "walking in The Spirit".

The Spirit 'can do' JESUS-JESUS-JESUS - 'Others-only-always', all day - every day - in other words - do what He would do if He were living inside us - having full reign of our brain.

There is a Biblical "spiritual walk" that we aim to walk in for that 24/7 and His yoke 'is' easy and His Burden is light ... though every one of His Apostles didn't have an easy life or death at all.

GOD Bless and thanks for moving onto your own trail :)

As our discussion is also driveled onto MaryJane's thread - may as well reply to your post here as well.

"Being human" - OK - Who's our example of how to walk?

He 'ate' when GOD told Him to.
He 'slept' when GOD told Him to.
EVERY single action and word was in complete obedience to The Father - FOR "others-only-always".

He'd stay up all night to pray.
Pray for what?

He rested and ate when told to - so that He'd have strength to do the next thing that His Father wanted Him to do.

He's the Only Example that we have.