Is Easter the Resurrection Day?

Is Easter the Resurrection Day?

Majority of people tend to think that when a human being dies, that is the end of their life. On the contrary, the Bible testifies that life continues after death, it testifies to the Resurrection. Then, what is the Resurrection? It refers to the transformation that God’s people will undergo at the last day to have an immortal body like God and the angels. Jesus Christ Resurrected to give us hope for the Resurrection. Moreover, it is commonly known that numerous Christians call the Resurrection day “Easter.” By looking at the history of the church, let us trace the origin of Easter.

Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 2010 The English word Easter derived from Eostre, or Eostae, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility. Easter, like Christmas, has accumulated a great many traditions, some of which have little to do with the Christian celebration of the Resurrection but derive from folk customs. The use of painted and decorated Easter eggs was first recorded in the 13th century. The custom of associating a rabbit with Easter arose in Protestant areas in Europe in the 17th century.

The Two Babylons Alexander Hislop, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1903 What means the term Easter itself?  It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name, as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in this country. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar.

World Book Encyclopedia World Book. 2007 Astarte is a Greek name for one of the most important goddesses of the ancient Middle East…In the Bible, Astarte is called “Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Ashtaroth, the plural from of the name, is used to mean “pagan goddesses.” Aphrodite was a major Greek goddess. She was the Greek version of an Asian goddess of life similar to Astarte. The Roman goddess Venus was identified with Aphrodite.

The evidence above shows that the word “Easter” is of Chaldean origin. This name was given to the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring and Fertility. When people could not conceive, they would pray to this goddess in order to bear children. In various nations such as Greece, Sidonia, Assyria and Rome the goddess Easter was called by the following different names:  Aphrodite, Astarte, Ishtar and Venus. Her symbols were eggs and rabbits which were officially associated with her from the 13th century & 17th century respectively.

Every year people celebrate Easter calling it the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. They eat boiled eggs, easter eggs, pickled fish, bread and fish, hot cross buns, chocolates in the shape of an egg and eat chocolates in the shape of rabbits. What do eggs and rabbits have to do with Jesus Christ? Absolutely nothing. How then did they become associated with Christianity?

The American Book of Days Helen Douglas Compton, H.W. Wilson Co., 1948 There is no doubt that the Church in its early days adopted the old pagan customs and gave a Christian meaning to them.

As we can see above, the members of the early church which Jesus Christ established, started to adopt and follow the customs of the worship of other gods. Amongst the numerous gods of that time, they adopted “Eostrae” and called her “Easter”, and placed a Christian meaning to Easter. They posit that just as Easter the goddess of Spring and Fertility came out of an egg, Jesus Christ came out of the tomb after His Resurrection. They further insist that just as eggs represent fertility that is life, Jesus Christ too came to life after awakening from the tomb. Is such an explanation found in the Bible? Not at all.

A Manual of Church History Albert Henry Newman, American Baptist Publication Society, 1899 The English term “Easter” is of pagan origin.

As the above evidence shows, Easter is nowhere found in the Bible. It is said to be of pagan origin meaning that it is the custom of pagans who do not believe in God. When people celebrate Easter they are not celebrating Jesus’s resurrection, they are actually worshiping the pagan goddess Easter.

The Origin of the Resurrection Day

Let us take a look at how the Resurrection day originated.

Exodus 14:5-7 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him.  He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.

The Israelites were slaves in Egypt for over 400 years under the hands of Pharoah who was the king of Egypt. Although Pharoah made the Israelites suffer hard labour for many years, God eventually heard the cry of His people and set them free through the Passover. After the Israelites were released from slavery in Egypt and entered the desert, they came across the Red Sea and had no way to cross it. While they were still bewildered by the Red Sea, behind them Pharaoh who realised that he lost their services chased after them. The Israelites were in great distress and cried out to God. How did God save the Israelites?

Exodus 14:21-22 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

When God heard the cry of His people, he used the staff of Moses as a tool to open a way for the Israelites to cross. When Moses stretched out his staff toward the Sea, the Red Sea was divided creating a wall of water on the left and on the right. By this miracle of God, the Israelites were able to cross the Rea Sea on dry ground while their enemies were buried in the Sea. To commemorate the day when the Israelites landed from the Red Sea, God appointed the Day of Firstfruits.

Leviticus 23:9-11 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.

On the day after the Sabbath, following the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Israelites were to present the first grain that is the firstfruits of their harvest. In this way they commemorated their landing from the Red Sea. How was the Day of Firstfruits fulfilled in the New Testament times?

Mark 16:9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

Jesus Christ resurrected on Sunday. It was not any ordinary Sunday but it was the Sunday following the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This means Jesus Christ resurrected on the Day of Firstfruits. Let us confirm this in the book of Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 15:20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Jesus Christ resurrected as the firstfruits on Sunday to fulfill the feast of Day of Firstfruits. The  Day of Firstfruits is called the Resurrection day in the New Testament times. Let us find out how Jesus Christ kept the Resurrection day.

Luke 24:13-16 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

After Jesus Christ resurrected, he walked with two of His disciples however, they could not recognize Him. What did Jesus do to help His disciples recognize Him?

Luke 24:30-31 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

To open the spiritual eyes of His disciples, Jesus Christ broke Resurrection bread and gave it to them. When the disciples ate the bread they were able to recognise Him. Through this we have learned that the Resurrection day is kept by breaking and eating the Resurrection bread.

Acts 20:6-7 But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days. On the first day of the week we came together to break bread…

Here we can see that the Apostles who followed Jesus Christ also kept the Resurrection day by breaking bread. When did they keep the Resurrection day? It was on the first day of the week that is on Sunday coming after the Feast of Unleavened bread. It is evident that the Feast of Unleavened Bread is the standard for us to know when we should celebrate the Resurrection day.

On the contrary, the date of Easter is the first Sunday coming after the full moon of the vernal equinox. How was this date established? Since those who celebrate Easter did not have the Feast of Unleavened Bread as a standard since they do not celebrate it, they made a new standard which is not biblical.

Can those who celebrate Easter receive salvation from God? No. The Bible testifies that Easter is a pagan religion that leads those who keep it to be cursed by God.

Judges 2:11-15  Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals…They aroused the Lord’s anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.  In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them… Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them…They were in great distress.

Judges 10:6-9 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths…And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed them…Israel was in great distress.

1 Kings 11:31-33 See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes…I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians…

All the above verses show that the Israelites who worshiped Ashtoreth that is the goddess Easter forsook God and were defeated by their enemies in the end. This is a clear indication that if we celebrate Easter, we too will be cursed and face defeat in the end. What we must celebrate is the Resurrection day. Let us find out what are the blessings of Resurrection.

Resurrection and Transformation

1 Corinthians 15:50-53 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—  in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

When we are resurrected at the last day, our mortal bodies will be changed into immortal bodies. This is why the Bible testifies to two kinds of bodies.

1 Corinthians 15:35-44 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”…There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another…So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Through the Bible we come to know that there exists natural bodies as well as spiritual bodies. When we participate in the Resurrection, our earthly body will change into a spiritual body. What is more, the Bible testifies that we be with God forever and be like the angels in heaven enjoying an inheritance that will never fade away.

Matthew 22:30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

1 Peter 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you…

Jesus Christ set as the perfect example of Resurrection and transformation. The life of Jesus, both before and after His life on earth, clearly shows our life before and after this life. Jesus pre-existed as a spiritual being from the beginning of time. He once wore the robe of flesh as He was born through Mary. However, when He died on the cross, His spirit separated from His body and continued to live, awaiting the morning of His resurrection. The pre-existing spirit of Jesus never died. Likewise, when we die, our spirit will be separated from our body and will rest in paradise until the time of our resurrection.

How Can We Participate in the Resurrection?

John 6:53-54 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

What did Jesus Christ say we should do for Him to raise us up at the last day? He said we must eat His flesh and drink His blood. Then, how can we eat Jesus’s flesh and drink His blood?

Matthew 26:17-19 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

In the above scene, Jesus Christ directed His disciples to prepare for the Passover. Let us see how they kept it.

Matthew 26:26-28 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

On the night of the Passover, Jesus Christ took the Passover Bread and said it is His body. He took the Passover wine and said it is His blood. It is concluded that when we celebrate the Passover which contains Jesus’s flesh and blood, He will raise us up that allow us to participate in the Resurrection at the last day. Let us confirm it in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 22:14  “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

Who can enter the gates into the city that is – who can enter Heaven? It is only those who wash their robes. In what did they wash their robes?

Revelation 7:14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Only those who wash their robes in the blood of the Passover Lamb will enter Heaven. The blood of the Passover Lamb is only given through the Passover of the New Covenant. By celebrating the Passover we will be granted the blessing to participate in the Resurrection at the last day. Let us keep the Resurrection day according to its biblical date and reject Easter as a pagan custom so that we may serve God only and return to Heaven without fail.