Monday 21 April 2014

What is Easter? - it's Origin? -Where did it come from? When is Easter?

What is Easter? - it's Origin? -Where did it come from? When is Easter?

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To begin, Easter is a Chaldee word wrongly applied to the Passover or pascha {pas'-khah}. Pascha, which means to skip, or pass over, applies to the Pascal sacrifice the Israelites were accustomed to slay and eat on the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan, (the first month of their year), in memory of the day on which their forefathers, preparing to depart from Egypt, were bidden by God to slay and eat a lamb, and to sprinkle their door posts with its blood, that the destroying angel, seeing the blood, may pass over their dwellings.

'For God said, "I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt" (Exodus 12:12-13).

That Passover lamb was a type of Christ crucified. Those who believe the Gospel message of salvation and are baptised into Christ are covered by the blood of Christ, as in type the Israelites were under the blood of the lamb. As the lamb died in place of Israel's firstborn, who were under its blood in Egypt, Christ died for those who choose to follow him and are baptised into his name and become a community of believers who follow Christ's teaching.

Believers know that the name 'Easter,' used in our translation of Acts 12:4, refers not to any Christian festival, and not to the Jewish Passover. This is one of those places in our Bible where the translators show an undue bias. The best explanation is that this refers to the pagan festival of Astarte, also known as 'Ishtar' and pronounced 'Easter' by us. This festival was held in late April around the time of the Passover. In its original form, it was a celebration of the earth regenerating itself after the winter season in the northern hemisphere. The festival involved the celebration of fertility and reproduction. The common symbols of Easter were the rabbit and (for obvious reasons) the egg. Pagan symbols which have crept into church usage
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