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Easter: Masking a Biblical Truth
Easter: Masking a Biblical Truth
In contrast to the general public,
which considers Christmas the most important Christian holiday, many theologians
regard Easter as the preeminent celebration because it commemorates Jesus' resurrection.
As with Christmas, we find that the popular customs associated with the Easter celebration -- rabbits,
Easter-egg hunts and sunrise services -- have nothing to do with the biblical record
of Christ's rising from the dead.
Where, then, did these practices originate?
The Encyclopaedia Britannica tells us: "As at Christmas, so also at Easter,
popular customs reflect many ancient pagan survivals -- in this instance, connected
with spring fertility rites, such as the symbols of the Easter egg and the Easter
hare or rabbit" (15th edition, Macropaedia, Vol. IV, p. 605, "Church Year").
The word Easter appears once in the King James Version of the Bible, in Acts 12:4,
where it is a mistranslation. Reputable scholars and reference works point out that
the word Easter in this verse comes from the Greek word pascha, meaning Passover.
Modern translations correctly translate this word "Passover."
Notice what Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
says about Easter: ". . . Pascha . . . mistranslated 'Easter' in Acts 12:4,
KJV, denotes the Passover . . . 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" (1985, p. 192,
"Easter").
Easter's ancient history
The roots of the Easter celebration date long before Jesus Christ's life, death and
resurrection. Various Easter customs can be traced back to ancient spring celebrations
surrounding Astarte, the goddess of spring and fertility. Francis Weiser, professor
of philosophy at Boston College, provides these facts:
"The origin of the Easter egg is based on the fertility lore of the Indo-European
races . . . The Easter bunny had its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. Hare
and rabbit were the most fertile animals our forefathers knew, serving as symbols
of abundant new life in the spring season" (Handbook of Christian Feasts and
Customs, 1958, pp. 233, 236). (For more information about these symbols, see "Fertility
Symbols: Beneath the Dignity of God," p. 15).
Fertility rites and customs were incorporated into religious practices early in history.
After Adam and Eve rejected God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), humanity looked
for other explanations for life. Forces of nature and seasons that could not be controlled
began to be viewed as gods, goddesses and supernatural powers to be worshiped and
feared. Man soon created his own gods, contradicting God's instruction against idolatry
(Exodus 20:3-6; Deuteronomy 5:7-10).
"The pagan nations made statues or images to represent the powers which they
worshiped. Most of these idols were in the form of animals or men. But sometimes
these idols represented celestial powers like the sun, moon, and stars, forces of
nature, like the sea and the rain; or life forces, like death and truth . . .
"In time an elaborate system of beliefs in such natural forces was developed
into mythology. Each civilization and culture had its own mythological structure,
but these structures were often quite similar. The names of the gods may have been
different, but their functions and actions were often the same. The most prominent
myth to cross cultural lines was that of the fertility cycle. Many pagan cultures
believed that the god of fertility died each year during the winter but was reborn
each year in the spring. The details differed among cultures, but the main idea was
the same" (Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1986, published on PC Study
Bible CD, 1992-96, "Gods, Pagan").
In pagan mythology the sun represented life. The sun supposedly died around the winter
solstice, the shortest day of the year. (As discussed earlier, the date set for Christmas
celebrations is rooted in this myth.) Complementing the rebirth of the sun were spring
fertility rites, whose surviving symbols thread their way throughout Easter celebrations.
In addition to rabbits and eggs, another popular Easter custom had pre-Christian
origins. "Also popular among Europeans and Americans on Easter is ham, because
the pig was considered a symbol of luck in pre-Christian European culture" (The
Encyclopedia of Religion, 1987, p. 558, "Easter").
Sex rites and rituals
Ancient fertility rites revolved around gross sexual immorality and perversion. References
to these rites are referred to throughout the Bible under a variety of names and
descriptions.
The Babylonian and Assyrian fertility goddess was Ishtar, whose name may well have
been the origin of the word Easter.
Ishtar symbolized Mother Earth in the natural cycles of fertility on earth. Many
myths grew up around this female deity. She was the goddess of love, and the practice
of ritual prostitution became widespread in the fertility cult dedicated to her name.
"Temples to Ishtar had many priestesses, or sacred prostitutes, who symbolically
acted out the fertility rites of the cycle of nature. Ishtar has been identified
with the Phoenician Astarte, the Semitic Ashtoreth, and the Sumerian Inanna. Strong
similarities also exist between Ishtar and the Egyptian Isis, the Greek Aphrodite,
and the Roman Venus.
"Associated with Ishtar was the young god Tammuz, considered both divine and
mortal . . . In Babylonian mythology Tammuz died annually and was reborn year after
year, representing the yearly cycle of the seasons and the crops. This pagan belief
later was identified with the pagan gods Baal and Anat in Canaan" (Nelson's
Illustrated Bible Dictionary, "Gods, Pagan"). (For more details, see "The
Resurrection Connection," p. 12).Throughout the Old Testament, God expressed
His anger with His people when they served these false gods (Judges 2:13-14; 10:6-7;
1Kings 11:5-11; Ezekiel 8:14-18).
Easter unknown in early Church
The New Testament does not mention an Easter celebration. Early Christians had nothing
to do with Easter. Instead, they kept the Passover, instituted by God centuries earlier
at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 12:13-14; Leviticus 23:5). Jesus Christ personally
kept this festival (Matthew 26:17-18) and gave it a clearer meaning under the New
Covenant with His institution of the symbols of bread and wine (verses 26-29). He
is the Lamb of God, offered as the true Passover sacrifice for the sins of the world
(John 1:29; 1Corinthians 5:7).
Jesus told His followers to continue this observance in remembrance of Him and His
death (1Corinthians 11:23-26). Soon, however, pressure to replace Passover with
popular Easter customs began to build. This movement was the basis for much contention
over the next three centuries.
Notice how the Encyclopaedia Britannica describes this period: "The earliest
Christians celebrated the Lord's Passover at the same time as the Jews, during the
night of the first full moon of the first month of spring (Nisan 14-15). By the middle
of the 2nd century, most churches had transferred this celebration to the Sunday
after the Jewish feast. But certain churches of Asia Minor clung to the older custom,
for which they were denounced as 'judaizing' (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book
V, chapters 23-25). The first ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 decreed that all
churches should observe the feast together on a Sunday" (15th edition, Macropaedia,Vol.
IV, pp. 604-605, "Church Year").
"After long and fierce controversies over its date (which is governed by the
lunar calendar), the date for Easter set by the Council of Nicaea in 325 is the first
Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox. Easter became the centre
of a fixed liturgical structure of times and festivals in the church year" (ibid.,
p. 499, "Christianity").
Pressure against the Passover
Why did Easter replace the Passover?
Though Easter was clearly pagan in origin, Christian leaders of the first two centuries
after Christ's crucifixion employed the same philosophy in establishing the new holiday
that they later applied to Christmas. Believing that people are free to select their
own times and customs of worship, they went about gradually replacing the biblically
commanded Passover with their humanly devised celebration of Easter.
Prejudice also seems to have been a major factor in their decision to make these
changes. According to R.K. Bishop: "The early development of the celebration
of Easter and the attendant calendar disputes were largely a result of Christianity's
attempt to emancipate itself from Judaism. Sunday had already replaced the Jewish
sabbath early in the second century, and despite efforts in Asia Minor to maintain
the Jewish passover date of 14 Nisan for Easter (hence the name Quartodecimans),
the Council of Nicaea adopted the annual Sunday following the full moon after the
vernal equinox (March 21)" (Elwell's Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 1984,
published on The New Bible Library CD, 1993, "Easter").
Before A.D. 70, Christianity was "regarded by the Roman government and by the
people at large as a branch of the Jewish religion" (Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, The
Story of the Christian Church, 1954, p. 34). Christianity and Judaism shared the
biblical feast days, although Christians observed them with added meanings introduced
by Jesus and the apostles.
However, two Jewish revolts against the Roman Empire, in 64-70 and 132-135, led to
widespread persecution of Jews and suppression of Jewish religious practices. Jews
were even driven from Jerusalem and forbidden to return on pain of death. As pressure
mounted, some Christians began to abandon beliefs and practices perceived as being
too Jewish. Over time many abandoned their weekly Sabbath day of rest and worship
in favor of worship on Sunday and abandoned the Passover in favor of Easter to distance
themselves from Jews.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia explains: "Originally both observances (Passover
and Easter) were allowed, but gradually it was felt incongruous that Christians should
celebrate Easter on a Jewish feast, and unity in celebrating the principal Christian
feast was called for" (1967, Vol. V, p. 8, "Easter Controversy").
Passover-Easter debate
Acceptance of Easter over Passover did not come without resistance. Two religious
leaders of the mid-second century -- Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna; and Anicetus, bishop
of Rome -- debated this very point.
Anicetus argued for Easter while Polycarp, stated Encyclopaedia Britannica, defended
observing "the Christian Passover, on the 14th of Nisan, the first month of
the Jewish ecclesiastical calendar, regardless of the day of the week" (15th
edition, Micropaedia, Vol. VIII, p. 94, "Polycarp").
Polycarp taught observance of the Passover as the early Church had observed it. Eusebius
said Polycarp did so because this was the way "he had always observed it with
John the disciple of our Lord, and the rest of the apostles, with whom he associated"
(Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, 1995, pp. 210-211). These Christians of the second
century were still following the example of Jesus Christ (1Corinthians 11:1; 1Peter 2:21; 1John 2:6) in observing the Passover.
Several decades later another leader, Polycrates, argued with Victor, bishop of Rome,
over the same issue. Eusebius wrote of the continuing debate:
"There was a considerable discussion raised about this time, in consequence
of a difference of opinion respecting the observance of the paschal (Passover) season.
The churches of all Asia, guided by a remoter tradition, supposed that they ought
to keep the fourteenth day of the moon for the festival of the Saviour's passover,
in which day the Jews were commanded to kill the paschal lamb . . .
"The bishops . . . of Asia, persevering in observing the custom handed down
to them from their fathers, were headed by Polycrates. He, indeed, had also set forth
the tradition handed down to them, in a letter which he addressed to Victor and the
church of Rome. 'We,' said he, 'therefore, observe the genuine day; neither adding
thereto nor taking therefrom. For in Asia great lights have fallen asleep, which
shall rise again the day of the Lord's appearing, in which he will come with glory
from heaven, and will raise up all the saints . . .
"Moreover, John, who rested upon the bosom of our Lord; . . . also Polycarp
of Smyrna, both bishop and martyr. Thraseas, . . . Sagaris, . . . Papirius; and Melito
. . . All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the gospel,
deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. Moreover, I, Polycrates,
who am the least of all of you, according to the tradition of my relatives, some
of whom I have followed. For there were seven, my relatives (who were) bishops, and
I am the eighth; and my relatives always observed the day when the people (i.e.,
the Jews) threw away the leaven.
"I, therefore, brethren, am now sixty-five years in the Lord, who having conferred
with the brethren throughout the world, and having studied the whole of the sacred
Scriptures, am not at all alarmed at those things with which I am threatened, to
intimidate me. For they who are greater than I, have said, 'we ought to obey God
rather than men'" (Eusebius, pp. 207-209).
Unfortunately, people's reasoning won out over the directions of God and example
of Jesus Christ.
A new worship theme
As Easter replaced Passover, not only was a new date selected (the Sunday after the
spring equinox rather than the biblically directed Nisan 14), but a new theme was
introduced. Rather than commemorating Christ's death as directed by the Scriptures
(1Corinthians 11:26), the new holiday was designed to celebrate His resurrection.
This new theme nicely accommodated the pagan fertility symbols. It also helped distinguish
the Christian community from the Jews, a major goal of church leaders of the time.
This time of year became popular for baptisms, and the days spent preparing for them
became known as Lent. Here is how T.J. German describes the Lenten period:
"(Lent is) a forty-day period of penitence and prayer which begins on Ash Wednesday
and prepares for the feast of Easter. It is a form of retreat for Christians preparing
to celebrate the paschal mystery. It became a forty-day retreat during the seventh
century to coincide with the forty days spent by Christ in the desert; before this
Lent usually lasted only a week.
"Every Friday of Lent is a day of abstinence. Fasting probably originated from
the custom of fasting by those who were expecting to be baptized after being catechumens
(baptismal candidates). The third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent refer to the
process of preparing for baptism" (Elwell's Evangelical Dictionary of Theology,
"Lent").
Although Christ's resurrection is an important basis of our hope that we, too, can
be resurrected (1Corinthians 15:17; Romans 5:10), neither God the Father, Christ
nor the Scripture has ever directed us to celebrate this event.
Indeed, the love of God is primarily expressed to all humanity through the crucifixion
of Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Hebrews 9:28). His death is the real focus of the Passover,
not His resurrection. Many precise details of His death and events leading up to
and encompassing it were prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures hundreds of years in
advance.
The decisions of God the Father to willingly give His only begotten Son -- and of Jesus
Christ to surrender His life to torture and execution as a sacrifice for the sins
of humanity -- were far more agonizing than the demonstration of God's power over death
via the resurrection.
Mankind's need for a Savior
There is more to consider. The Bible discusses sin and our need for forgiveness and
reconciliation to God (the theme of the biblically commanded Passover and the Days
of Unleavened Bread) far more often than the subject of the resurrection. Within
the King James Version of the Bible, the word sin is used 447 times compared with
the word resurrection being used only 41 times. Don't forget that sin was the cause
of Christ's death. Only by repenting of our sins and being reconciled to God by the
death of Christ can we be assured of being resurrected (Acts 2:38; John 5:29; John 11:25).
This is not to minimize the importance of Christ's resurrection. It, too, is a crucial
step in the salvation process (1Corinthians 15). After being reconciled to God the
Father by the death of His Son, ultimately we are saved by Christ's life as He pleads
for us in the role of our High Priest (Romans 5:10; Hebrews 4:14-16; 1John 2:1).
However, nowhere does the Bible instruct Christians to keep a celebration of Christ's
resurrection, nor is there a biblical record of early Christians doing so. But it
is clear that both Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul expected Christ's followers
to commemorate His sacrificial death on our behalf (Matthew 26:26-28; 1Corinthians 5:7; 11:23-28).
Nonetheless, the celebration of Easter prevailed. Those who remained faithful to
Christ's example of keeping the Passover decreased in number and were persecuted
by those favoring Easter.
Although how God views humanly devised changes in the worship He commands will be
considered in a later chapter, let us now examine how the traditions of this holiday
fail to match the biblical record.
When was the resurrection?
The choice of a Sunday date for Easter is based on the assumption that Christ rose
from the grave early on a Sunday morning. The popular belief is that Christ was crucified
on a Friday and rose on a Sunday. But neither of these suppositions is supported
by the biblical record.
Matthew 12:38 shows some of the scribes and Pharisees asking Jesus for a sign to
prove He was the Messiah. But Jesus told them that the only sign He would give was
that of the prophet Jonah: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in
the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights
in the heart of the earth" (verse 40).
But how can we fit "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth"
between a Friday-afternoon crucifixion and a Sunday-morning resurrection? The traditional
view of the crucifixion and resurrection allows for Jesus to have been entombed for
only a day and a half.
Some try to reconcile Christ's words with their belief in a Friday crucifixion and
Sunday resurrection by rationalizing that Christ's "three days and three nights"
statement does not require a literal span of 72 hours. They reason that a part of
a day can be reckoned as a whole day. Hence, since Jesus died in the afternoon (around
"the ninth hour" after daybreak, or about 3 p.m.; Matthew 27:46-50), they
think the remainder of Friday constituted the first day, Saturday the second and
part of Sunday the third.
However, they fail to take into consideration that only two nights -- Friday night and
Saturday night -- are accounted for in this explanation. After all, the Bible is clear
that Jesus had already risen before the daylight portion of Sunday (John 20:1). Something
is obviously incorrect with this common conclusion regarding when Christ was in the
tomb.
Jonah 1:17, to which Christ referred, states specifically that "Jonah was in
the belly of the fish three days and three nights." We have no reason to think
these days and nights were fractional. Nor is there any basis for thinking that Jesus
meant only two nights and one day, plus parts of two days, when He foretold the length
of time He would be in the grave. Such rationalization undermines the integrity of
Jesus' words.
Was Christ's sign fulfilled?
If Jesus were in the grave only from late Friday afternoon to sometime early Sunday
morning, then the sign He gave that He was the prophesied Messiah was not fulfilled.
The claim of His Messiahship rests on the fulfillment of His words; it's that serious
a matter.
Let us carefully examine the details of those fateful days. Each of the Gospel writers
gives an account of the events, but each presents different aspects that need to
be correctly synchronized and harmonized to produce a clear sequence and understanding
of what happened
(see "The Chronology of Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection," page 16).
We will see that, when each account is considered, the chronological details mesh
perfectly.
For instance, John 19:31 preserves a crucial point that provides insight into the
other narratives. The preparation day on which Jesus was crucified is described as
the day before the Sabbath. But John clarifies it by stating that this approaching
Sabbath "was a high day." This does not refer to the weekly Sabbath (Friday
evening to Saturday evening) but to the first day of Unleavened Bread, which is one
of God's annual high, or Sabbath, days (Exodus 12:16-17; Leviticus 23:6-7), which
could -- and usually didñfall on other days of the week.
Some believe that this high day fell that year on the seventh day of the week, making
it coincide with the weekly Sabbath, with the preparation day being on Friday. But
Luke's account shows that this was not the case. Notice the sequence of events outlined
in Luke 23. Jesus' moment of death, as well as His hasty burial because of the oncoming
Sabbath, is narrated in verses 46-53. Verse 54 then states, "That day was the
Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near."
Two Sabbaths mentioned
Many have assumed that it is the weekly Sabbath mentioned here. But this is not the
case. Instead, it was a Sabbath that occurred on a Thursday, since verse 56 shows
that the women, after seeing Christ's body having been laid in the tomb, "returned
and prepared spices and fragrant oils" for the final preparation of the body.
Such work would not have been done on a Sabbath day since it would have been considered
a Sabbath violation. This is verified by Mark's account, which states, "Now
when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought
spices (which they would not have purchased on the high-day Sabbath), that they might
come and anoint Him" (Mark 16:1).
The women had to wait until this Sabbath was over before they could buy and prepare
the spices to be used for anointing Jesus' body. Then, after purchasing and preparing
the spices and oils on Friday, "they rested on the Sabbath according to the
commandment" (Luke 23:56). This second Sabbath mentioned in the Gospel accounts
is the regular weekly Sabbath, observed from Friday evening through Saturday evening.
By comparing details in both Gospels -- where Mark tells us the women bought spices
after the Sabbath and Luke relates that they prepared the spices and then rested
on the Sabbath -- we can clearly see that two different Sabbaths are mentioned. The
first was a "high day" (John 19:31) -- the first day of the Feast of Unleavened
Bread -- which, in A.D. 31, fell on a Thursday. The second was the weekly seventh-day
Sabbath. (See "The Chronology of Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection,"
page 16.)
Sign of the Messiah
After the women rested on the regular weekly Sabbath, they went to Jesus' tomb early
on the first day of the week (Sunday), "while it was still dark" (John 20:1), and found that He had already been resurrected (Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:2-6;
Luke 24:1-3). When we allow the Scriptures to interpret themselves, all four Gospel
accounts accurately harmonize and attest to the validity of Jesus' promise that He
would be in the grave three days and three nights -- not just part of that time.
Several Bible translations recognize that more than one Sabbath is discussed in these
events. In Matthew 28:1 some Bible versions, including Alfred Marshall's Parallel
New Testament in Greek and English, Ferrar Fenton's Translation and Green's Literal
Translation, properly translate this phrase as "after the sabbaths." Young's
Literal Translation and The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (1992,
p. 1270) similarly acknowledge that multiple Sabbaths are intended here.
The wording of Mark 16:1-2 is confusing to some because it seems to suggest that
the spices were purchased after the weekly Sabbath rather than before it, on Friday.
However, this is explained by Luke 23:56, which clearly shows that the women bought
the spices before, and not after, the weekly Sabbath, "and they rested on the
Sabbath according to the commandment." Mark did not mention this weekly Sabbath
rest in his account, but Luke, who wrote later, did.
Some also stumble over Mark 16:9, not taking into account that there is no punctuation
indicated in the original Greek. Therefore, to be in harmony with the material presented
in the other Gospels, a better translation would be: "Now having risen, early
the first day of the week He appeared first to Mary Magdalene . . ." These verses
are not saying that Jesus rose early on Sunday morning, but that He appeared early
on Sunday morning to Mary Magdalene, having already risen some time earlier.
When we consider the details in all four Gospel accounts, the picture is clear. Jesus
was crucified and entombed late on Wednesday afternoon, just before a Sabbath began
at sunset. However, that was a high-day Sabbath, falling on Thursday that week, rather
than the weekly Sabbath from Friday evening through Saturday evening. He remained
entombed from Wednesday at sunset until Saturday at sunset, when He rose from the
dead. Thus, when Mary Magdalene came to the tomb on Sunday morning before sunrise,
"while it was still dark," she found the stone rolled away and the tomb
empty.
We can be assured that the precise duration of Christ's entombment before His resurrection,
the "three days and three nights (Jonah was) in the belly of the great fish"
(Matthew 12:40), which Jesus gave as proof of His Messiahship, did happen. Jesus
rose late Saturday afternoon around sunset -- not Sunday at sunriseñwhich was precisely
three days and three nights after He was placed in the tomb just before sunset on
Wednesday.
Christ's prophecy of the time He would be in the tomb was fulfilled precisely. Because
most people do not understand the biblical high days kept by Jesus Christ and His
followers, they fail to understand the chronological details so accurately preserved
for us in the Gospels.
A better way
As we have seen, Easter and its customs originated not from the Bible, but in pagan
fertility rites. It is a curious mixture of ancient mythological practices and arbitrary
dating that obscures and discredits the proof of Jesus Christ's Messiahship and resurrection.
Having learned the sources and backgrounds of two major religious holidays, one might
rightly wonder which days, if any, a Christian should observe. After all, the Bible
does emphasize that God is to be worshiped by His children (1Chronicles 16:9; Psalm 22:27; 86:9), therefore surely He expects them to observe the days He has set apart.
God in His Word shows a better way of life with better days of worship He has appointed
for His people. The next chapter reveals those days God commands.
©1999 United Church of God, an International Associtaion
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