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| Volume 26 Number 1 January 2024 |
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| Volume 26 Number 1 January 2024 |
Page 5 |
David Conley
It is true that Easter was originally a pagan holiday. It was named after Eastra, the Goddess of Spring. Sacrifices were offered each spring in this false goddess’ honor.
It just so happened that about the same time Eastra was being honored, the Jews celebrated Passover. This celebration commemorated God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. Jesus was celebrated Passover the night He instituted the Lord’s Supper. It is a memorial of Christ’s death on the cross for our sins. The Lord’s Supper also helps us to remember His resurrection from the dead! [Though primarily about the sacrifice of Christ – His body and His blood – knowledge of our Lord’s resurrection acknowledges the victory over death and sin brought about by the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor] Jesus came up from the grave the Sunday following Passover. We celebrate the sacrifice of our Lord every week. “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread…” (Acts 20:7 NKJV).
When Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire under Augustine in the 4th Century A.D., the false goddess Eastra was not being worshipped as fervently. Instead, however, the Easter holiday was quite appealing; therefore, Eastra observances were slowly changed to a so-called Christian celebration.
In fact, in Acts 12:4 the holiday “Easter” appears in the King James Version. All other standard translations properly translate the Greek word as “Passover.” The mistranslation in the King James Version of the Bible shows how powerful the Easter holiday had become. Christians enjoyed celebrating Easter. They changed the meaning from the worship of Eastra to the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
God requires that we Christians celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus every Sunday by partaking of the Lord’s Supper. (We also honor the death, burial and resurrection of Christ every time we witness a baptism as the person baptized into Christ is “…buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection” (Romans 6:4-5).
I am personally glad that the world takes at least one day in the year to remember Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. However, we Christians do it every Sunday rather than once annually on the manmade holiday (holy day) of Easter Sunday!
[Editor’s Note: Likewise, I appreciate general references to Jesus Christ and a gentler spirit exhibited during the Christmas season, though I celebrate neither Easter nor Christmas as religious holidays – both of which were authored by men rather than authorized by God per the Scriptures. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]
