What is Easter?
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If you want to know the biblical events of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, we can indeed look to the scriptures.
Jesus died on Passover, the 14th of Nisan. He rose three days and three nights later. Let's also remember that the day ends at sundown.
Each Passover feast involved a high Sabbath. Based on that particular year, there was a double Sabbath due to the timing of when the celebration occurred. It is not always the same time each year.
Case in point, the Roman Catholic celebration of Easter occurs at the end of March this year.
Passover occurs at the end of April this year.
Jesus inaugurated a new covenant using the Passover meal as a symbolic ordinance and example for us to follow.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 NKJV
Institution of the Lord’s Supper
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat;[b]this is My body which is broken[c] for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying,“This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drinkit, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Jesus died on Passover, the 14th of Nisan. He rose three days and three nights later. Let's also remember that the day ends at sundown.
Each Passover feast involved a high Sabbath. Based on that particular year, there was a double Sabbath due to the timing of when the celebration occurred. It is not always the same time each year.
Case in point, the Roman Catholic celebration of Easter occurs at the end of March this year.
Passover occurs at the end of April this year.
Jesus inaugurated a new covenant using the Passover meal as a symbolic ordinance and example for us to follow.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 NKJV
Institution of the Lord’s Supper
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat;[b]this is My body which is broken[c] for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying,“This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drinkit, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
The English term, according to the Ven. Bede (De temporum ratione, I, v), relates to Estre, a Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day and spring, which deity, however, is otherwise unknown, even in the Edda (Simrock, Mythol., 362); Anglo-Saxon, eâster, eâstron; Old High German, ôstra, ôstrara, ôstrarûn; German, Ostern. April was called easter-monadh. The plural eâstron is used, because the feast lasts seven days. Like the French pluralPâques, it is a translation from the Latin Festa Paschalia, the entire octave of Easter. The Greek term for Easter,pascha, has nothing in common with the verb paschein, "to suffer," although by the later symbolic writers it was connected with it; it is the Aramaic form of the Hebrew pesach (transitus, passover). The Greeks called Easter thepascha anastasimon; Good Friday the pascha staurosimon. The respective terms used by the Latins are Pascha resurrectionis and Pascha crucifixionis. In the Roman and Monastic Breviaries the feast bears the title Dominica Resurrectionis; in the Mozarabic Breviary, In Lætatione Diei Pasch Resurrectionis; in the Ambrosian Breviary, In Die Sancto Paschæ. The Romance languages have adopted the Hebrew-Greek term: Latin, Pascha; Italian,Pasqua; Spanish, Pascua; French, Pâques. Also some Celtic and Teutonic nations use it: Scottish, Pask; Dutch,Paschen; The correct word in Dutch is actually Pasen Danish, Paaske; Swedish, Pask; even in the German provinces of the Lower Rhine the people call the feast Paisken not Ostern. The word is, principally in Spain and Italy, identified with the word "solemnity" and extended to other feasts, e.g. Sp., Pascua florida, Palm Sunday; Pascua de Pentecostes, Pentecost; Pascua de la Natividad, Christmas; Pascua de Epifania, Epiphany. In some parts ofFrance also First Communion is called Pâques, whatever time of the year administered. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05224d.htm
I don't know if they did or not, but obviously this celebration has been going on for a long time and I can't imagine Paul and Mary and all the others not having some type of memorial for Jesus death and resurrection close to the day it happened. I wouldn't call Easter the continued celebration of the Passover, it seems more like Easter is the celebration of the fulfillment of Passover... death, burial and resurrection.
Dude653...and furthermore, the BIBLE does not tell us specifically to use a microwave oven either, so do you suppose it's up to your own discretion? What kind of logic is that? If we take into account the true JESUS story and apply it to our lives, how He was born and all the details, how HE died and all the details.......then the discretion would be a no-brainer! Why not celebrate JESUS? I am not talking about commercialism. I am talking about the inward desire that we can't do enough to celebrate JESUS CHRIST! NO amount of celebrating would ever be enough to cover the cost of HIS earthly birth and death...so, deep down, I'm sure that I speak in GOD's spirit that if you or anyone of HIS own want to thank HIM by celebrating just a little in HIS name, with a pure heart and pure joy, HE would appreciate it very much. Fathers do like that from their children from time to time...but of course, it would be totally up to YOUR discretion, right?
Here is an excerpt from Gail Ripplinger
The etymological focus for ‘east-er’ or ‘ea-ster’ has been on both ‘east’ and ‘star’ (ster or stern in Germanic languages). Let’s look at the genuine origin of ‘east-er’ first:
The sun rises in the east; it sets in the west. The reader of the Bible and the natural man, observing his world, are preconditioned to understand that the word ‘east’ is a reference
to the place where the sun rises. Jesus Christ is referred to as the “Sun of righteousness.…” Mal. 4:2 says, “But unto you that fear my same shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings:…” The parallel between the Son of God and the sun (Sun) is obvious. The O.T. made it clear that the Sun of righteous would rise from the dead, just as the sun rises in the east in the morning. Numbers 2:3 refers to the “east…rising of the sun.” Numbers 24:17 calls Jesus the “Star”: “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star
out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel…”The counterfeiter came along quickly, as in Deut 1:4 we see “A-star-oth” appears. She is the fertility goddess (Astarte, Ishtar, etc.), from which the word ‘Easter’ is sometimes traced. Her reproductive proclivity is portrayed by the bunny rabbits and eggs. Of course, the pagan counterfeit continues to this day with the focus on bunnies and eggs. In Ezek. 8:16 we see an example of the pagan practice, with their "...faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east." Just as there is “another Jesus,” (2 Cor. 11:4) there is ‘another’ Easter. But, according to the Bible, the word ‘east’ and ‘star’ (Ea-ster) first related to the resurrection of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. Therefore, Easter, as seen in the KJB, as well as in Luther and Tyndale’s Bibles, is a perfectly good word, identifying the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just dump the eggs and bunnies.
I examined all the usages of the word 'east' in the O.T.. In the surrounding contexts there are reference to the sun (Son) rising and numerous prophetic statements about Jesus rising from the dead. The sunset pictures the red blood of Christ, as it covers the earth and as he goes down to hell. The dark night pictures the burial of Christ. The sunrise, of course, pictures his glorious resurrection. (Remember that in the Bible, “And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen. 1:5). The evening, that is, the sunset or death of Christ, comes first; the resurrection, that is, the ‘day’ and the ‘Son’ rise, occurs second. Look up the words "sun," "shine," "rise," "east," "eastern," and "risen" for many more pictures of the resurrection. Observe the following sample verses, which pre-condition the reader to understand the word ‘Easter’ and point, as “shadows,” to the resurrection of Christ. The reader of the Bible will not be preconditioned, through Bible reading, to understand the word ‘Easter’ as a pagan word.
Gen. 2:8, 9 "And the LORD God...eastward...out of the ground...the LORD God."
Gen. 2:14 "east...fourth" (like unto the Son of God)
Rev. 20:8 “four quarters of the earth,”
Deut 22:12 “four quarters of thy vesture,”
1 Chron. 9:24 “four quarters, east, west, north, and south,” etc.
Numbers 2:3 "east...rising of the sun
Josh. 12:1; Isa. 59:19,20 "the rising of the sun...the Redeemer"
Isa. 60:1-3 "Arise, shine; for thy light...the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee...the Lord shall arise upon thee...thy light...to the brightness of thy rising..."
Ezek. 44 et al. "looketh toward the east...This gate shall be shut...it is the Lord, the God of Israel hath entered by it."
Ezek 43:4"The glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east."
Ezek. 43:20 "four corners" (NSEW)
Ezek. 44:1 "the east"
Ezek. 44:2 "God...hath entered"
Mat. 17:1, 2 "Jesus…as the sun"
Luke 4:40 "Now when the sun was setting...he laid his
hands...healed them"
Mark 16:2, 6 "rising of the sun...he is risen"
Ezek. 44-48 "looketh toward the east...the sabbath...the
prince…he shall enter…offering...east...go forth...shut the gate [sun set]...four corners of the court…foursquare.”
Ps. 50:1, 2 "rising of the sun...God hath shined..."
Isa. 41:2 "raiseth up the righteous man from the east" (see
also verse 41:25)
2 Peter 1:19 "day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts"
Ps. 84:11 "For the LORD God is a sun..."
Ps. 19:4-6 "In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun" "which as a bridegroom going out...His circuit..."
Not only does the Bible condition its readers to understand ‘Easter’ as coming from the word ‘east,’ but modern usages does likewise...
The etymological focus for ‘east-er’ or ‘ea-ster’ has been on both ‘east’ and ‘star’ (ster or stern in Germanic languages). Let’s look at the genuine origin of ‘east-er’ first:
The sun rises in the east; it sets in the west. The reader of the Bible and the natural man, observing his world, are preconditioned to understand that the word ‘east’ is a reference
to the place where the sun rises. Jesus Christ is referred to as the “Sun of righteousness.…” Mal. 4:2 says, “But unto you that fear my same shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings:…” The parallel between the Son of God and the sun (Sun) is obvious. The O.T. made it clear that the Sun of righteous would rise from the dead, just as the sun rises in the east in the morning. Numbers 2:3 refers to the “east…rising of the sun.” Numbers 24:17 calls Jesus the “Star”: “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star
out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel…”The counterfeiter came along quickly, as in Deut 1:4 we see “A-star-oth” appears. She is the fertility goddess (Astarte, Ishtar, etc.), from which the word ‘Easter’ is sometimes traced. Her reproductive proclivity is portrayed by the bunny rabbits and eggs. Of course, the pagan counterfeit continues to this day with the focus on bunnies and eggs. In Ezek. 8:16 we see an example of the pagan practice, with their "...faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east." Just as there is “another Jesus,” (2 Cor. 11:4) there is ‘another’ Easter. But, according to the Bible, the word ‘east’ and ‘star’ (Ea-ster) first related to the resurrection of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. Therefore, Easter, as seen in the KJB, as well as in Luther and Tyndale’s Bibles, is a perfectly good word, identifying the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just dump the eggs and bunnies.
I examined all the usages of the word 'east' in the O.T.. In the surrounding contexts there are reference to the sun (Son) rising and numerous prophetic statements about Jesus rising from the dead. The sunset pictures the red blood of Christ, as it covers the earth and as he goes down to hell. The dark night pictures the burial of Christ. The sunrise, of course, pictures his glorious resurrection. (Remember that in the Bible, “And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen. 1:5). The evening, that is, the sunset or death of Christ, comes first; the resurrection, that is, the ‘day’ and the ‘Son’ rise, occurs second. Look up the words "sun," "shine," "rise," "east," "eastern," and "risen" for many more pictures of the resurrection. Observe the following sample verses, which pre-condition the reader to understand the word ‘Easter’ and point, as “shadows,” to the resurrection of Christ. The reader of the Bible will not be preconditioned, through Bible reading, to understand the word ‘Easter’ as a pagan word.
Gen. 2:8, 9 "And the LORD God...eastward...out of the ground...the LORD God."
Gen. 2:14 "east...fourth" (like unto the Son of God)
Rev. 20:8 “four quarters of the earth,”
Deut 22:12 “four quarters of thy vesture,”
1 Chron. 9:24 “four quarters, east, west, north, and south,” etc.
Numbers 2:3 "east...rising of the sun
Josh. 12:1; Isa. 59:19,20 "the rising of the sun...the Redeemer"
Isa. 60:1-3 "Arise, shine; for thy light...the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee...the Lord shall arise upon thee...thy light...to the brightness of thy rising..."
Ezek. 44 et al. "looketh toward the east...This gate shall be shut...it is the Lord, the God of Israel hath entered by it."
Ezek 43:4"The glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east."
Ezek. 43:20 "four corners" (NSEW)
Ezek. 44:1 "the east"
Ezek. 44:2 "God...hath entered"
Mat. 17:1, 2 "Jesus…as the sun"
Luke 4:40 "Now when the sun was setting...he laid his
hands...healed them"
Mark 16:2, 6 "rising of the sun...he is risen"
Ezek. 44-48 "looketh toward the east...the sabbath...the
prince…he shall enter…offering...east...go forth...shut the gate [sun set]...four corners of the court…foursquare.”
Ps. 50:1, 2 "rising of the sun...God hath shined..."
Isa. 41:2 "raiseth up the righteous man from the east" (see
also verse 41:25)
2 Peter 1:19 "day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts"
Ps. 84:11 "For the LORD God is a sun..."
Ps. 19:4-6 "In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun" "which as a bridegroom going out...His circuit..."
Not only does the Bible condition its readers to understand ‘Easter’ as coming from the word ‘east,’ but modern usages does likewise...
In my researching the etymology of the word, easter, I am satisfied with my first study in the late1960's, that being it is from the name of the northern European goddess of fertility, Oestra, ergo the eggs during Holy wekk. It is not from Istar which is the root of the name Esther, and it may be translated as star.
This later rendition of th eword, easter, has come into the fore most recently In my lifetime.
Please forgive any errors in spelling. The information is from memory and several encyclopedias....
This later rendition of th eword, easter, has come into the fore most recently In my lifetime.
Please forgive any errors in spelling. The information is from memory and several encyclopedias....
I am no historian, so forgive me for being dumb, but I don't know why there would have been a pagan Easter. In other words, I don't know why pagans would have celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.
However, in my church, Easter is the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and we celebrate that. It's sort of the final victory, right?
However, in my church, Easter is the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and we celebrate that. It's sort of the final victory, right?
Psa 16:4
Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.
We already have a name for resurrection Sunday, and those days just previous to it. It is called Passover by those who believe the Lamb of God, crucified and causing the death cased by sin to pass over all who claim the Blood of God's Passover Lamb.
Because of the faith of Abraham I, and many others, will not call this holy day by the name of the goddess of fertility given it by a church that was afraid to lose those pagans who observed those fertility rites.
May you always be blessed in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, amen.
Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.
We already have a name for resurrection Sunday, and those days just previous to it. It is called Passover by those who believe the Lamb of God, crucified and causing the death cased by sin to pass over all who claim the Blood of God's Passover Lamb.
Because of the faith of Abraham I, and many others, will not call this holy day by the name of the goddess of fertility given it by a church that was afraid to lose those pagans who observed those fertility rites.
May you always be blessed in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, amen.