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Passover Easter Bible Study

Passover or easter, which one should Christians celebrate? Christians may think that they are the same but they are not. One is a pagan festival and the other is the most secrete day of celebration for Christians. Do you know which is which? God does and it makes a difference to Him which one Christians celebrate.

The word Easter is used only one time in the whole Bible and that is in the book of Acts.

Acts 12:4

V4 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 to bring him forth to the people.

Easter 3957 pascha (pas'-khah); of Aramaic origin [compare 6453]; the Passover (the meal, the day, the festival or the special sacrifices connected with it).

The Greek word pascha is used twenty eight times in the New Testament. Twenty seven of those times pascha is translated Passover. There is absolutely no way you can translate pascha as easter unless it is done deliberately in an attempt to distort the Word of God. Translating pascha to easter is the work of Satan.

Easter is a heathen term, derived from the goddess Eastre, the same as Astarte, the Syrian Venus, called Ashtoreth in the Old Testament. Ashtoreth was known as the "goddess of love and increase" and the "queen of heaven". The easter rabbit, which is a symbol of fertility and colored easter eggs have nothing to do with Passover. These are heathen traditions of men and are an abomination to God.

I Kings 11:4-6

V4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
V5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
V6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.

Ashtoreth 6253 `Ashtoreth (ash-to'reth); probably for 6251; Ashtoreth, the Phoenician goddess of love (and increase).

In the Ten Commandments which one is first? The first Commandment is "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me". In Matthew 22:36-40 where Jesus Christ was asked which is the great commandment in the law, He said "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment".

Lets see what God had to say to Solomon for going after Ashtoreth.

I Kings 11:11-14

V11 Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.
V12 Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.
V13 Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.
V14 And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom.

God gets very angry when a person starts worshiping other gods. Why you might ask? Because there are no other gods. God is the one and only true God. God is also a jealous God (Exodus 20:5) and He wants our love (Hosea 6:6). Do you really think God is going to bless you for taking part in the heathen tradition of men called easter?

In Jeremiah 7:17-20 you can read what God thinks of people worshiping the "queen of heaven." In verse 20 God said that His anger and fury shall be poured out upon man, beast, trees of the field and the fruit of the ground. God goes on to say in verse 20 that "it shall burn, and shall not be quenched." All this for worshiping Ashtoreth which is the Old Testament name for Eastre which is where the word easter comes from. What God is telling us here is that people who know that easter is a pagan festival are not going to receive His blessings if they take part in it. What about going to an easter sunrise service? In Ezekiel 8:15-18 we are told that God thinks that is an abomination. Worshipping the sun if a form of idolatry. Later in this study when we get to what Passover really is today, you will understand why it makes God so mad when Christians celebrate easter instead of Passover.

The First Passover

The first Passover took place when the children of Israel were still in bondage in the land of Egypt. God's instructions were to take a male lamb without blemish and kill it. The children of Israel were to take the blood from this lamb and put it on the two side posts and the upper door post of the house where they were going to eat the lamb. The Egyptians would not let the children of Israel go so that night God would smite the Egyptians with the tenth and last plague. The tenth plague was that God would smite all the first born of man and beast in the land of Egypt. The reason for the blood on the door posts was that when God saw it, He would "passover" that house and not smite the first born. You can read about the first Passover in Exodus 12:1-28

What Passover is Today

Passover for Christians today is different than it was in Old Testament times. The fact that God told the children of Israel to use a male lamb without blemish should have made you think of what we are told in the Gospel of John.

John 1:29

V29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sin of the world.

Jesus Christ was the only person to ever walk this earth in a flesh body and not sin. Everyone else will sin at some point in their life. It was God's plan for Jesus Christ to shed His blood on the cross as He is the only perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.

Are you beginning to get the idea why God gets so upset when Christians celebrate easter and not Passover? Easter is a heathen tradition of men and not of God. Nowhere in the Bible will you find God telling His children to color eggs and hid them. If you don't believe me, get a Strong's Concordance and look up the word easter for yourself. You will see that the Greek word used means Passover.

I Corinthians 5:7

V7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

Jesus Christ has become our Passover. In the Old Testament, the shedding of animal blood was needed for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus Christ fulfilled that part of the law by shedding His blood on the cross. We need to believe in Him and repent of our sins.

Now that you know that Jesus Christ has become our Passover, you should understand why it makes God angry when Christians celebrate the heathen holiday easter instead of Passover. Passover should be a time to remember what God did for the children of Israel when they were still in bondage in the land of Egypt. It should also be a time to remember the price that Jesus Christ paid on the cross. Giving His life in the flesh so we with faith and repentance can have forgiveness of our sins.

Related Bible Study:

Children of Israel

posted 4-12-01