Page 5 - WHY CELEBRATE EASTER - GN 03-1982 2

as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in this country” (page 103).
In the Bible, God condemns the worship of Astarte, the “queen of heaven,” as the most abominable of all pagan idolatries. In connection with the Easter celebration, God specifically condemns sunrise services (Ezek. 8:13-18) and the making of “hot cross buns” (Jer. 7:18-20; 44:19).
How did this pagan celebration ever become one of the two most important holidays of the professing Christian Church?
Easter a Counterfeit of God’s Passover
Now read the facts for yourself. The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, article “Easter,” says: “There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament or in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers.... The first Christians [the original TRUE Church of Jesus and the apostles] continued to observe the Jewish [that is GOD’S] festivals, though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals had foreshadowed. Thus, the Passover, with a new conception added to it, of Christ as the true Paschal Lamb and the first fruits from the dead, continued to be observed.”
Of course! The Passover and all of God’s Holy Days were ordained by God to picture God’s PLAN of salvation.
Christ, the apostles and the New Testament Church – both Jewish and gentile-born Christians – kept these festivals. Read it for yourself in Acts 2:1; 18:21; 20:6; and 27:9. Then, open your Bible to these instructions of Paul to the gentiles in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; 11:20-34 and 16:8.
These scriptures prove that the New Testament Church continued to observe the days God made holy, including the Passover, long after Christ had ascended into heaven.
Hislop states: “The festival, of which we read in church history, under the name of Easter, in the third and fourth centuries...at that time was not known by any such name as Easter. It was called Passover... That festival agreed originally with the time of the Jewish Passover, when Christ was crucified... That festival was not idolatrous and was preceded by no Lent” (page 104).
God’s Passover pictured Christ’s death.
Contrast this with Easter. It falsely claims to commemorate Christ’s resurrection – not his death. When did this clever counterfeit creep into the professing Christian Church?
How a Pagan Easter Became “Christian”
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