The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his075/easter.lzh/EASTER.TXT

Text File | 1991-09-14 | 17KB | 327 lines

CUL:Secular Easter & the Occult  by David L. Brown

   WHAT MAKES EASTER IMPORTANT? by David L. Brown Th.M. Copyright March
1991

   [This article is on line by special arrangement with the author.
Permission is given to download this article but if it is to
distributed in quantities order information is available from LOGOS
COMMUNICATION, P.O. BOX 173, OAK CREEK, WI. 53154 or leave a private
message to the author in the message section.]

   IS IT THE NAME?

   The name "EASTER" is not a Christian word at all. It really has
nothing to do with Christianity. Now, somebody is going to say, in the
KJV Acts 12:4 it says, "And when he had apprehended (Peter), 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." See,
there is EASTER in the Bible. Read any other translation you like, New
International, New American Standard, The Living Bible and every one
translates the word PASSOVER and rightly so because the Greek word
translated "EASTER" in the KJV is PASCHA (3957). It appears 29 times in
the New Testament and 28 of the 29 times the word occurs it is rightly
translated "PASSOVER", except in Acts 12:4. As you look at those verses
it is clear that the reference is to The Feast Of The Passover, which
was one of Israel's three great yearly Holy Days (the other two being
Pentecost & Tabernacles). Passover commemorated Israel's deliverance
from Egypt on the night when God's death angel "passed over" the homes
of the Israelites without killing the firstborn when he saw the blood
of the lamb. Passover was celebrated on the 14th of Nisan which falls
in our March or April, depending on the reckoning of the Jewish
calendar. The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified at Passover time. That is
significant because Christ was the Lamb Of God given to take away our
sins (John 1:29). Paul says that "Christ our passover is sacrificed for
us" I Cor. 5:7. Because of the shed blood of Christ applied to the
believer life God does not see out sins and we will not be condemned to
the "Second Death," The Lake Of Fire.

   It would be correct to call this time of year THE CHRISTIAN
PASSOVER, CHRIST'S VICTORY CELEBRATION or even RESURRECTION TRIUMPH
COMMEMORATION but technically NOT EASTER and here's why.

   EASTER -- A PAGAN RITUAL FEAST

   The name EASTER and celebration come from an occultic pagan feast
that is a derivation of the Teutonic, Anglo-Saxon goddess Eastre. There
are a variety of spellings--Eostre, Estera Ostrae and Oestre. Estera
was the goddess of sex (fertility) and spring. Pagan worshippers
honored their false goddess by naming a month after her, Eoster-Monath,
which is roughly equivalent to our April. Her deceived followers
gathered around the Spring (vernal) equinox, which is about March 21
(depending on the lunar calendar), and honored their pagan goddess by
blood sacrifices and frenzied sexual rituals. Much like the prophets of
Baal mentioned in the Bible, the priests would cut themselves,
splattering their blood on their altars and dance around. Since they
erroneously believed she was responsible for the "rebirth" of plants
and the fertility of animals and humans they wanted her blessing,
therefore they offered these bloody and perverted rituals. How sad that
they did not realize that the Lord God Almighty, creator of heaven and
earth, ordained the seasons. The non-existent goddess Estera had
nothing to do with it. As Christianity spread throughout the world, the
name Easter continued to be used by "converted" pagans to identify the
time of the Resurrection of Christ.

   It is obvious that it is NOT THE NAME "EASTER" that makes out
celebration important.

   IS IT THE CELEBRATION?

   Is it he celebration that makes Easter important? It was not until
the second century that the church began to celebrate the Resurrection
of Christ with any regularity. As the Roman Empire expanded it's world
wide power and dominion and adopted "Christianity" as the official
religion, some unfortunate things began to happen. Churches were forced
to take in people who were not true Christians. Along with them they
brought their old pagan traditions. By the time of the Protestant
Reformation many of the "Holy Days" were so far removed from biblical
Christianity that Protestants quit celebrating Easter, Christmas or any
other of the church festivals. They had become excuses to gluttony,
drunkenness and riotous behavior.

   "It was not until during the Civil War that the nonritual- istic
churches began to observe Easter. It began in the Presbyterian churches
first. So many men had been killed that they wanted to point the
grieving mothers, widows and orphans to the promise of the resurrection
in the biblical account of the risen Christ. Other churches soon
followed suit, focusing biblical things.

   As you can see from history sometimes the churches celebrated Easter
and sometimes it hasn't. Biblically speaking it is NOT WHAT you
celebrate that is important but HOW you celebrate that is important.
(Colossians 2:16-17 "Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or
drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration
or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come;
the reality, however is found in Christ." Romans 14:5-6 "One man
considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every
day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who
regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats
so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does
so to the Lord and gives thanks to God."

   It is NOT the celebration that makes Easter Important!

   IS IT THE DAY THAT MAKES EASTER IMPORTANT?

   Perhaps you have noticed over the years that Easter is not
celebrated at the same time from year to year. In our day the earliest
that Easter is ever celebrated is March 22 an the latest is April 25.
In 1945 Easter fell on April Fools Day, April 1st.

   Because of calendar changes, no one knows the exact date of the
Resurrection of Christ, though they do know the DAY it happened. It was
SUNDAY for Luke 24:1-6 (selected portions) says, "Now upon the first
day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the
sepulchre... and they found the stone rolled away... and found not the
body of the Lord Jesus. ...two men stood by them in shining garments
and... said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not
here, but is risen..."

   The truth is, the Church has argued for years about when to
celebrate Christ's resurrection. In 159 A.D. Polycarp, who was baptized
by the Apostle John, December 25, 95 A.D. tried to persuade the church
to celebrate the Resurrection at the end of the "Paschal Feast" in
Nisan on the 14th day of the moon at evening, regardless of the day of
the week. That was the habit of the Jewish Christians. The Gentile
Christians disagreed, saying Jewish traditions were unimportant. What
was important was the DAY of the WEEK, Sunday not the day of the month.
For a long time each church did what it pleased. But In 325 A.D. The
Council of Nice decreed that "Pasch" should be celebrated on SUNDAY but
did not fix the particular Sunday. It was left to the Bishop of
Alexandria to determine the particular Sunday, as his city was regarded
an authority in astronomical matters. Those who continued to follow the
Jewish rule were called "Quartodeciman," which was a derogatory remark,
and considered heretics.

   That still did not completely solve the problem. Bitter differences
arose as to the proper Sunday for Easter to be celebrated. The western
churches did not like this matter being in the hands of the Alexandrian
Church. Finally, in the 7th century the Spring equinox was fixed at
March 21 and Easter would be celebrated the Sunday following the 14th
day of the calendar moon which comes on, or after, the vernal equinox.
Things were all set, right? WRONG. A difficulty arose when the
Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1582. There was a 10 day difference
between the Gregorian and Julian calendars. As a result some churches
then and yet today refused to follow the Gregorian calendar. That means
the celebration of Easter can be as much as five weeks apart.

   Obviously, it is NOT THE DATE that makes Easter Important!

   IS IT THE EASTER BUNNY THAT MAKES IT IMPORTANT?

   How did rabbits get associated with Easter? Actually, they have
nothing to do with the Christian celebration of Easter. The fact of the
matter is, that the hare, or rabbit was the was the symbol of Estre,
the ancient false goddess of fertility. Pagans regarded rabbits as an
emblem of fertility because of the number and frequency of offspring
they produced. As cute as the Easter Bunny is, it is NOT THE EASTER
BUNNY that makes the day important.

   IS IT EASTER EGGS?

   Eggs have an interesting history. According to Mildred H. Arthur in
her book Holidays of Legend, there are people who once worshipped eggs.
She says, "Archaeologists tell us that on Easter Island in the South
Pacific Ocean a sacred village called Orongo was once inhabited by a
race of egg worshippers." Certainly Easter has nothing to do with egg
worship but "Eggs were colored and eaten during spring festivals as far
back as the time of ancient Egypt" one reference book said. Further, he
giving of eggs as gifts was also common. "The Persians gave eggs as
presents at the time of the vernal equinox." And, Greeks and Romans
continued to dye eggs and give them as gifts. In fact, in celebration
of the spring equinox Romans would run races. You'll never guess what
prize the winner got -- eggs!

   John MacArthur says "There were other ancient Easter rites attached
to the worship of the sun and worship of certain gods of fertility that
predate Christianity also. That's where the Easter egg came from. In
ancient times the egg was a symbol of fertility and a symbol of the sun
because of the color of the yoke."

   In another book I read, "The egg also came to be regarded as
symbolic of the resurrection, as it holds the see of a new life." At
first reading you think this is a reference to Christ's resurrection,
but not so. Most cultures hoped their loved ones would live again.
Egyptians buried eggs in their tombs. Greeks placed eggs atop graves.
Romans coined a proverb --Omne vivum ex ovo-- which means "All life
comes from an egg." The egg in all these cultures was symbolic of birth
and resurrection before the resurrection of Christ.

   The custom of "Christians" dying eggs and giving them as gifts at
Easter came for came to Western Europe in the 1400's. Likely knights
brought the idea home from the Crusades. Red was the popular color for
early Easter eggs symbolizing the blood of Christ.

   It is clear that neither the history of eggs nor the attractiveness
of colored eggs is what makes Easter important.

   I've just scratched the surface regarding Easter customs. There's
Hot Cross Buns originally made and given to honor a pagan god. Pretzels
have their origin in Easter. The fact remains that None of these things
make Easter important.

   If you strip off the name, the Easter Bunny, the colored eggs, the
Hot Cross Buns and the candy, what is there left that makes this day
important? Right smack dab in the middle of all the clutter is JESUS
CHRIST. CHRIST IS TO BE PREEMINENT THIS EASTER AND EVERY EASTER and
here's why.

   EASTER IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE CROWN OF THORNS HE WORE

   John 19:2-7 "The soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on
his head, and they put on him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of
the Jews! and smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth
again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye
may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing
the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them,
Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and the officers saw
him, they cried out, saying Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto
them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for (better translation is "but") I
find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our
law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God."

   THE CROWN OF THORNS IS A SYMBOL OF THE SUFFERING & ABUSE CHRIST
ENDURED TO PAY FOR OUR SINS. They spit in his face, they punched him,
they mocked him, they hit his thorn crowned head with a stick (Mat.
27:27-31; Mk. 15:19). Somewhere during the abuse they jerked his beard
out by the roots (Isa. 50:6). It was a horrible scene. As I watched the
TV footage of the man being beaten by L.A. police officers that would
be somewhat like what happened to Christ, except Christs beating was
much worse.

   WHY DID CHRIST SUFFER SO? Isaiah 53:5-6 reveals the answer. "But he
was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are
healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquities of us all."

   Peter, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit put it this way,

   "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh,
but quickened (made alive) by the Spirit. I Pet. 3:18

   Easter is important because of THE CROWN THAT HE WORE. The Crown of
Thorns symbolizes Christ suffering for our sins and therefore Easter is
important because it commemorates Christ suffering for our sins.

   There's another reason Easter is important...

   EASTER IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE CROSS THAT HE BORE

   Read Luke 23:26-46 & Matthew 27:51-54

   Christ died on the cruel Cross of Calvary for one purpose, to pay
for our sins (I Cor. 15:3). Peter wrote, "Who his own self bare our
sins in his own body on that tree, that we, being dead to sins, should
live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." Christ's
shed blood is the ONLY payment that God will accept, that we might be
forgiven our sins (I John 2:2; Acts 4:12; I Pet. 1:18,19).

   Christ's sacrifice is available to all, but only applied to those
who receive Him as their personal Savior. (John 3:16- 18; John 1:12;
Romans 10:9-10) EASTER IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE CROSS THAT HE BORE.
Christ died a cruel death that we might have an abundant life (John
10:10). That abundant life is available to you if you will receive him
as your personal Savior.

   Let's take a moment to review --

   1) EASTER IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE CROWN THAT HE WORE...

   2) EASTER IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE CROSS THAT HE BORE...

   There's yet another reason that Easter is important...

   3) EASTER IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE VICTORY HE DID SCORE

   I love the Gospel accounts of the RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. You find
them in Matthew 28:1-15; Mark 16:1-16; Luke 24:1-29; John 20:1-21. Each
adds different information to the resurrection account. WHY IS THE
RESURRECTION IMPORTANT?

   The resurrection is important because...

   1) It proves that Christ was who he claimed to be, the Son of God
(Rom. 1:4).

   2) It proves that God accepted His Son's sacrifice for our sins.
(Acts 13:33)

   3) Believing it is the basis of our salvation (Rom. 10:9; 4:24-25)

   4) It shows us how that one day we will be raised (Raptured) to be
like Him. Read with me I Corinthians 15:1-26 & 51-58.

   SUMMARY

   What makes Easter important?

   1) EASTER IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE CROWN THAT CHRIST WORE

   2) EASTER IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE CROSS THAT CHRIST BORE

   3) EASTER IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE VICTORY CHRIST DID SCORE

   What will be the focus of your Easter celebration? Will it be on
fantasy or occult rituals of Christ? May the CHRISTIAN PASSOVER... THE
DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST be your focus.

   If you have never received Christ as your Savior, why not put your
faith in Him right now. Christ died for your sins and arose from the
dead that you might have eternal life. Why not pray right now and ask
Him to forgive your sins and be your Savior?

   If you have any questions leave a personal message to me in the
message area. Address it to David Brown. If you want to write to me my
address is --

   LOGOS COMMUNICATION c/o David L. Brown P.O. BOX 173 OAK CREEK, WI.
53154

   [Copyright March 1991 -- This article is on line by special
arrangement with the author. Permission is given to download this
article but if it is to distributed in quantities order information is
available from LOGOS COMMUNICATION, P.O. BOX 173, OAK CREEK, WI. 53154
or leave a private message to the author in the message section.]