Is Easter Tradition or Truth?
A commentary by Jerold Aust
Senior Writer, The Good News Magazine
Proofs of the Easter tradition
"The term 'Easter' is not of Christian origin. It is another form of Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean goddess, the queen of heaven. The festival of Pasch [Passover] held by Christians in post-apostolic times was a continuation of the Jewish feast…From this Pasch the pagan festival of 'Easter' was quite distinct and was introduced into the apostate Western religion, as part of the attempt to adapt pagan festivals to Christianity" (Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary, W.E. Vine, Easter, p. 344-5, 1985, emphases mine throughout).
Easter is defined by The Catholic Encyclopedia as follows: "The English term [Easter], according to the [eighth-century monk] Bede, relates to Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day and spring, which deity, however, is otherwise unknown" (1909, Vol. 5, p. 224). God weighs in on that deity.
The prophet Ezekiel addresses how ancient Israel took on the trappings of Gentile idolatry, including the worship of Tammuz and Ishtar (Easter), the Queen of Heaven (see Jeremiah 7:18) and/or Semiramus. "So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east" (Ezekiel 8:16).
Finally, the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) connects the worship of Ishtar/Easter, hot cross buns and the queen of heaven: "In that worship the queen of heaven had a conspicuous place; and if, as seems probable from the cakes which were offered, she is to be identified with the Assyrian Ishtar and the Canaanite Astarte, the worship itself was of a grossly immoral and debasing character. That this Ishtar cult was of great antiquity and widely spread in ancient Babylonia may be seen from the symbols of it found in recent excavations" (see Nippur, II, 236) (ISBE, Queen of Heaven, 1986, volume 4, p. 2514).
The Bible on Easter
The truth is that Jesus, His apostles and the early New Testament Church had no part whatsoever in what two billion nominal Christians observe today as Easter.
The Catholic Encyclopedia confirms this fact: "The earliest Christians did not immediately dissociate themselves from the observance of the Jewish feasts [rather, God's Feasts; see Leviticus 23]. Many references in the New Testament indicate that Jesus and His disciples, as well as the early Palestinian Christian communities, observed the Sabbath[seventh day Sabbath] and the major annual festivals [Leviticus 23; not Easter or Christmas]" (Early Christian Feasts, New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, Vol. 5, p. 867).
"Not only was the significance of the Jewish feast changed [from Passover to Easter] by the Christians, but also the date" (ibid., p. 7). God predicted this would happen 2,600 years ago (Daniel 7:25).
Jesus was indeed resurrected from the dead, as He prophesied, precisely three nights and three days after He died on the stake (Matthew 12:40). He died in mid-week. Modern Christian religions substituted Good Friday to Easter Sunday sunrise service for the truth.
What would Jesus do?
Would Jesus celebrate Easter today? Jesus could not have observed a pagan holiday that came from the ancient worship of a counterfeit goddess and her godless son, Tammuz. Had He done so, He would have sinned. Jesus could never be our Savior if He sinned (1 Peter 2:22; Hebrews 4:15; 9:14).
What should you do?
What should you do after reading the truth about the modern Easter celebration? Should you not consider the contradiction of terms to honor a risen Christ when most Christians believe that they go directly to heaven at death? Did you realize that your life after death depends on Jesus Christ's resurrection, and not the false notion of heaven and hell (1 Corinthians 15:15-22)?
Easter is derived entirely from human tradition and not from God's holy truth (John 8:32). God doesn't accept the celebration of Easter; He warns humankind against idolatry (Revelation 21:8). Yet there is a positive side for those who acknowledge the death and life of Christ Jesus, according to Christ's truth. God supernaturally blesses those who truly honor Him and Christ, in tangible ways (Matthew 5:19).
We invite you to order the free booklet, Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe? It addresses the celebration of Easter, and it can help change your life for good.
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