Historical evidence reveals that the annual celebration known throughout the Institutional Church as Easter predates the time of Jesus’ earthly tenure by hundreds of years. Many heathen societies, including Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, paid homage to its goddess of fertility annually at the time of the vernal equinox. Vines Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words states: “The term ‘Easter’ is not of Christian origin. It is another form of the word ‘Astarte,’ one of the Chaldean (Babylonian) deities known as the ‘Queen of Heaven.’ The Biblical festival of Pasch (Passover) held by Christians in post-apostolic times was a continuation of the Jewish feast.”

The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition states: “A final decision as to whether and when to observe Easter or Passover was one reason why (Roman Emperor) Constantine convened the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. where it was decreed that Easter would be kept instead of Passover, and would be kept on Sunday–the church’s new Sabbath Day. The Catholic Church officially changed the Sabbath from the 7th day of the week (Saturday) to the 1st day of the week at the Council of Laodicea held in 364 A.D. in order to appease the heathen that were by then filling her pews. These new “converts” worshiped the god of the sun, and did so on the first day of the week. Church authorities readily rejected God’s commanded Sabbath and embraced Satan’s commanded Sabbath in order to maintain peace. Later, the so-called “Protestants” blindly accepted Catholicism’s Sabbath and Passover changes. After all, consensus held, everyone in “the church” is “saved,” so what difference does it make what God commands? Man was officially taking command of the religious establishment. Note that God’s people were observing His commanded Sabbath and Passover until the middle of the fourth century. A tiny, persecuted remnant refused to rebel against Him. Their spiritual descendants still do.

The Romish church’s decision to embrace heathenism’s Easter and Sunday Sabbath observances proved to be a turning point for God’s New Covenant Church. Those who remained loyal to Him soon became outcasts–a small, persecuted minority. Today the two-billion-strong false church continues to observe heathen holidays such as Easter, the Sunday Sabbath, Halloween, Christmas, New Years and Valentine’s Day. That Satan reached his goal of controlling the modern day church system is obvious to anyone who will accept the truth.

In The Golden Bough Sir James Frazer notes that the apostate church (Catholicism/Protestantism) has relentlessly worked to unite Christianity with heathenism. One example, he notes, is the celebration of Easter which, as he correctly points out, equates the death and resurrection of the Biblical Savior named Jesus with the death and resurrection of the church’s savior named Tammuz. Incredibly, Tammuz was miraculously conceived, born on December 25th, resurrected from the dead and delivers presents to his servants on his birth date each year, placing them under a tree that has been propped up inside their homes.  This god is no newcomer to the religion scene. As the Holy Scriptures reveal, he was operating during Old Testament times. The Lord warns us about this fictional deity in the eighth chapter of Ezekiel where we find Israelite males holding a “sunrise service” to him while their wives wept for him. This period of weeping and fasting would become known as Lent. See the first two postings on this subject. To be continued. L.J.