With the most heathen of church holidays soon to arrive on the religious scene, I feel the need to remind believers of the origin of and pagan rituals associated with one of Satan’s three most vile and deadly lies Catholicism and Protestantism have embraced.  The soon-coming holiday is known in the Western world as “Easter.”  The other two abominations are Christmas and the Sunday Sabbath.  I call these celebrations the “crown jewels of professing Christendom.”  In this series we will be addressing Easter in particular and Satan’s Sabbath as it fits into the goings-on that take place on “Easter Sunday.”  Roman Emperor Constantine is credited with instituting Easter within his empire to take the place of God’s commanded Passover celebration that was observed for the first 293 years of the New Covenant Church.  At the Council of Nicene which convened in 324 A.D. the emperor decreed that throughout the Roman Empire Sunday–the day sun worshipers paid homage to their god–would be the weekly day of rest (sabbath) instead of the “Jewish” Sabbath.  He also decreed that God’s Holy Day called Passover would be replaced by a heathen holiday–a celebration in honor of the mother of the sun god, known as, among other things, Ishtar, which became “Easter” in the Western world.  Easter, the emperor ruled, would always be celebrated on Sunday so that the sun god and his mother would be honored at the same time each year.

Easter, the “Goddess of Fertility” (thus the egg, chicken and rabbit theme) was believed to have numerous breasts.  I have seen a picture of a hand-carved statue of this multi-breasted goddess.  According to heathen legend, the goddess became pregnant by the rays of the sun.  She gave birth on December 25 to a son she named Tammuz who was supposedly killed by a wild boar at age 40.  He was buried on late Friday and miraculously raised from the dead on the following Sunday morning.  He then ascended to heaven where he became the sun god.  From that time forward each December 25 (his birthday) he visited homes and left presents for the family.  According to sun worshipers, Tammuz was miraculously conceived, died late on Friday, was raised from the dead on Sunday morning, ascended to heaven and returned each Dec. 25 with presents for all of his followers.  His mother–she of immaculate conception fame–came to be celebrated with eggs, chickens and rabbits on the day of Tammuz’ resurrection.  Sound familiar?  During my childhood one could buy colored chicks and rabbits in town on the Saturday before Easter.  I have hunted many a colored egg on “Easter Sunday” outside the church where there would be a big “dinner on the grounds” in celebration of the death of Christ (actually Tammuz).    On that day women and girls would wear new dresses and matching “Easter bonnets.”  Though they were not aware, they were honoring his mother.  Many cities held Easter parades.  A popular song about those bonnets was played repeatedly by radio stations on the days leading up to the globally-celebrated holiday.  With the advent of television in the early 1950’s, New York City’s Easter Parade was televised.  Satan’s false prophets always had their “Easter Message” ready for delivery.  We were as ignorant of the truth as church people are today.

With that background in place, let us turn to the Book of Ezekiel to see how Israel in general and the Jews in particular were worshiping the goddess of fertility and her miraculously-conceived, miraculously-resurrected, present-giving son generations before the Word became Jesus of Nazareth (Jn. 1:1-4,14).  Known by a variety of names by sun worshipers world-wide anciently, Easter was being celebrated hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.  Church people, unknowingly worshiping the sun, still pay homage to him and his mother each year on Easter Sunday.S

Beginning with verse one of chapter eight in Ezekiel’s book we find Ezekiel sitting in his house with the elders of Judah (the Jews–tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi) sitting before him listening to him.  This was a common occurance as everyone knew whom God had commissioned as His prophet.  The elders came to hear him give forth the Word of God which they would then preach to the people.

Ezekiel writes that as he was speaking to the elders “the hand of the Lord fell on me.”  That hand carried him, in vision, to the inner gate of God’s Temple in Jerusalem.  There he saw the “image of jealousy”–the seat/throne of Tammuz the sun god (vs 14).  TAMMUZ’S THRONE WAS IN GOD’S TEMPLE.  Those calling themselves God’s people were worshiping him in the Temple of God.  As we will see, nothing has changed.

God spoke to Ezekiel, drawing his attention to the “great abominations that the house of Israel commits here”–within the Temple.  God then brought him to the door of the court where he would be shown “even greater abominations.” Ezekiel was shown a door.  Entering it he saw “every form of creeping thing, abominable beasts and all of the idols of the house of Israel portrayed upon the walls.”  Before them stood 70 men carrying vials out of which thick clouds of incense arose.  The men were discussing what they did in secret within the walls of the Temple.  They believed that they were hiding their secret from God.  They were not.  The men were guilty on four counts: they were offering incense to the heathen images and pictures shown on the walls of the Temple.  They were honoring and worshiping animals as gods.  They thought that God could not see what they were doing because of the darkness.  They believed that God had abandoned the earth.

Then God had Ezekiel look inside the Temple where he saw “women weeping for Tammuz.”  Women inside the Temple of God, while surrounded by pictures and carvings of idols of various kinds of gods, were weeping in memory of Tammuz, the sun god who had been killed early in life.  At that point God told Ezekiel to turn around and look at what He called, “greater abominations than these.”  What could be worse than weeping over the death of the sun god within God’s Temple?  The answer lies in the last part of verse 16 where Ezekiel wrote: “And He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house and, behold at the door of the Temple of the Lord, between the porch and the alter, were about 25 men with their backs to the Temple and their faces toward the east as they bowed while worshiping the rising sun in the east.”  MEN IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS (“PASTORS”) HAD TURNED THEIR BACKS ON GOD’S TEMPLE AND WERE WORSHIPING THE SUN AS IT AROSE.  The women in the Temple were weeping in memory of Tammuz’ death while worship leaders bowed to him while turning their backs on God.  Again, nothing has changed.  People calling themselves God’s children still worship the sun god on his day–sun day–the “venerable day of the sun god.”

Instead of weeping for Tammuz, people in the Catholic Church deny themselves something they enjoy for a certain number of days each year at “Easter time.”  This is called the “Lenten Season,” or “Lent.”  Initially, it lasted 40 days.  I have read that the time element has changed over the years.  At last count it was, as I recall, 14 days.  Protestants do not normally practice “Lent.”  However, they all pay homage to Tammuz and his mother on “Easter Sunday.”  Some congregations still conduct “sunrise services” on “Easter Morning.”  I unwittingly attended “sunrise services” on Easter Sunday in the past.  God has forgiven me.

The main event on “Easter Sunday: is the celebration in honor of Easter–the “Goddess of Fertility,” also known as the “Queen of Heaven.”  Both Catholics and Protestants celebrate Easter with zeal, not knowing that they are involved in a heathen ritual that is an abomination to God.  And should they learn the truth, would this bring an end to the ritual?  I doubt it.  I have proven beyond a doubt that many of the church’s customs and beliefs have been adopted from the Babylonian heathen world and are abominations unto the Lord.  So far, I personally know of only a half-dozen or so who have chosen to follow God.  All others go back to church and “put the branch to their nose” (vs 17), meaning to worship Baal, the god of the groves–thereby the reference to a branch.

It does not matter WHY we do what we do that is against God’s will.  I have been told by people that they defy Him but for the right reason.  Which is irrelevant.  He said don’t do it.  He didn’t say “… unless you have a good reason for doing it.”  For more detail concerning the abomination known as Easter, read the two series on this subject using the key word Easter.  L.J.