The chances are you never stopped to ask yourself that question. You have been taught since childhood to accept Easter as the chief of the Christian holidays. You have supposed it is part of the true Christian religion to observe Lent, "Holy Week," "Good Friday," to buy hot cross buns at the bakery, to have colored Easter eggs, to dress up and go to church Easter Sunday -- perhaps to attend an Easter sunrise service! Because of the "sheep" instinct in humans, most of us believe a lot of things that are not true. Most of us do a lot of things that are wrong, supposing these things to be right, or even sacred!
Ishtar the Pagan Goddess
What is the meaning of the name
"Easter"? You have been led to suppose the word means "resurrection of Christ."
For 1600 years the Western world has been taught that Christ rose from the dead
on Sunday morning. But that is merely one of the fables the Apostle Paul warned
readers of the New Testament to expect. The resurrection did not occur on
Sunday! (For the astonishing proof setting forth the exact time of the
resurrection, write for our free booklet The Resurrection Was Not on Sunday.)
The name "Easter," which is merely the slightly changed English spelling of the
name of the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian goddess Ishtar, comes to us from old
Teutonic mythology where it is known as Ostern. The Phoenician name of this
goddess was Astarte, consort of Baal, the sun god, whose worship is denounced by
the Almighty in the Bible as the most abominable of all pagan idolatry. Look up
the word "Easter" in Webster's dictionary. You will find it clearly reveals the
pagan origin of the name. In the large five-volume Hastings Dictionary of the
Bible, only six brief lines are given to the name "Easter," because it occurs
only once in the Bible -- and that only in the Authorized King James
translation. Says Hastings: "Easter, used in Authorized Version as the
translation of 'Pascha' in Acts 12:4, 'Intending after Easter to bring him forth
to the people.' Revised Standard Version has substituted correctly 'the
Passover.'"
Apostles Observed Passover
The World Almanac, 1968 edition,
page 187, says: "In the second century A.D., Easter Day was, among Christians in
Asia Minor [that is, in the Churches at Ephesus, Galatia, etc. -- the so called
"Gentile" churches raised up by the Apostle Paul] the 14th of Nisan, the seventh
month of the Jewish [civil] calendar." In other words, the 14th day of the first
month of the sacred calendar, and it was not then called by the name of the
pagan deity "Easter," but by the Bible name "Passover." Passover, the Days of
Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and the holy days God had ordained forever were all
observed by Jesus, and the early apostles, and the converted Gentile Christians
(Acts 2:1; 12:3; 18:21; 20:6, 16; I Cor. 5:7- 8; 16:8). Passover is a memorial
of the crucifixion of Christ (Luke 22:19). Passover, observed by the early true
Church, occurred not on Sunday or any fixed day of the week, but on a calendar
day of the year. The day of the week varies from year to year. Easter is one of
the pagan days Paul warned Gentile converts they must not return to observing
(Gal. 4:9-10). How, then, did this pagan festival enter into and fasten itself
upon a professing Christianity? That is a surprising story -- but first, notice
the true origin and nature of Easter.
Its Chaldean Origin
Easter, as Alexander Hislop says
(The Two Babylons, p. 103), "bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead.
Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of
heaven...." The ancient gods of the pagans had many different names. While this
goddess was called Astarte by the Phoenicians, it appears on Assyrian monuments
found by Layard in excavations at Nineveh as Ishtar (Austen H. Layard, Nineveh
and Babylon, Vol. 11, p. 629). Both were pronounced "Easter." Likewise, Bel
(referred to in the Old Testament), also was called Molech. It was for
sacrificing to Molech (I Kings 11:1-11, especially verse 7. where Molech is
called an abomination) and other pagan gods that the Eternal condemned Solomon,
and rended away the Kingdom of Israel from his son. In the ancient Chaldean
idolatrous sun-worship, as practiced by the Phoenicians, Baal was the sun god;
Astarte, his consort or wife. And Astarte is the same as Ishtar, or the English
"Easter." Says Hislop: "The festival, of which we read in Church history, under
the name of Easter, in the third or fourth centuries, was quite a different
festival from that now observed in the Romish [and Protestant] Church, and at
that time was not known by any such name as Easter. It was called Pascha, or the
Passover, and...was very early observed by many professing Christians.... That
festival agreed originally with the time of the Jewish Passover, when Christ was
crucified.... That festival was not idolatrous, and it was preceded by no Lent"
(The Two Babylons, p. 104).
Where Did We Get Lent?
"Howbeit you should know," wrote
Johannes Cassianus (John Cassian) in the fifth century, "that as long as the
primitive church retained its perfection unbroken, this observance of Lent did
not exist" (First Conference Abbot Theonas, chapter 30). Jesus observed no Lent.
The apostles and the early true Church of God observed no Lenten season. Then
how did this observance originate? "The forty days' abstinence of Lent was
directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent of
forty days, in the spring of the year, is still observed by the Yezidis or pagan
Devil worshippers of Koordistan, who have inherited it from their early masters,
the Babylonians. Such a Lent of forty days was held in spring by the Pagan
Mexicans.... Such a Lent of forty days was observed in Egypt..." (The Two
Babylons, pp. 104, 105). In fact this Egyptian Lent of forty days was observed
expressly in honor of Osiris, also known as Adonis in Syria and Tammuz in
Babylonia (Sabaean Researches, by John Landseer, pp. 111, 112). Do you realize
what has happened? God Almighty commanded His people to observe the Passover
forever! (Ex. 12:24.) This command was given while the Israelites were still in
Egypt, prior to the Old Covenant, or the Law of Moses! It pictured, before the
crucifixion, Christ's death for the remission of our sins, as a type looking
forward to it. At His last Passover, Jesus changed the emblems used from the
blood of a lamb and eating its roasted body to the bread and wine. Jesus did not
abolish Passover -- He merely changed the emblems, or symbols used. All the
apostles of Christ and true Christians of the first century true Church observed
it on the 14th day of the first month of the sacred calendar. It is now a
memorial of Christ's death, reaffirming, year by year on its anniversary, the
true Christian's faith in the blood of Christ for the remission of his sins, and
the broken body of Christ for his physical healing. But what has happened? Do
you realize it? All Western nations have been deceived into dropping the
festival God ordained forever to commemorate the death of the true Saviour for
our sins, and substituting in its place the pagan festival in commemoration of
the counterfeit "savior" and mediator Baal, the sun god, named after the
mythical Ishtar, his wife -- actually none other than the ancient Semiramis, who
palmed herself off as the wife of the sun god, the idolatrous "queen of heaven."
This is not Christian! It is pagan to the core! Yet scores of millions are
deceived into observing this form of heathen idolatry, under the delusion they
are honoring Jesus Christ the Son of the Creator God! Easter does not honor
Christ! And yet, have you not been like a blind sheep, following the other
millions in observing this custom? "The times of this ignorance God winked at;
but now commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30).
Dyed Eggs
But did you know that dyed Easter
eggs also figured in the ancient Babylonian mystery rites, just as they do in
Easter observance today? Yes, these are pagan, too. It is recorded in Edward
Davies' The Mythology and Rites of the British Druids, page 210, that the
ancient Druids bore an egg as the sacred emblem of their idolatrous order. Eggs
were sacred to many ancient civilizations and formed an integral part of the
religious ceremonies in Egypt and in the Orient. According to James Bonwick:
"Eggs were hung up in the Egyptian temples. Bunsen calls attention to the
mundane egg, the emblem of generative life, proceeding from the mouth of the
great god of Egypt. The mystic egg of Babylon, hatching the Venus Ishtar, fell
from heaven to the Euphrates. Dyed eggs were sacred Easter offerings in Egypt,
as they are still in China and Europe. Easter, or spring, was the season of
birth, terrestrial and celestial" (Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought, pp.
211-212). Why do people who believe themselves to be Christians dye eggs at
Easter? Do they suppose the Bible ordained, or commands, this heathen custom?
There is not a word of it in the New Testament. Certainly Christ did not start
it, and the apostles and early Christians did none of it! Then why should you do
it today? Why follow heathenism and try to convince yourself you are a
Christian? God calls such things abomination!
Easter Sunrise Services
You think Easter sunrise services
are beautiful? Listen! God was showing the Prophet Ezekiel the sins of His
people in a vision -- a prophecy for today! "Turn thee yet again," said God,
"and thou shalt see greater abominations than these [Ezekiel had just been
shown, in vision, idol worship among professing people of God]. And he brought
me [in vision] into the inner court of the Eternal's house, and behold...between
the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with...their faces
toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then he said unto
me, Hast thou seen this, 0 son of man? Is it a light thing...that they commit
the abominations which they commit here?... Therefore will I deal in fury: mine
eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears
with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them"! (Ezek. 8:15-18.) Do you grasp at
this most abominable thing is? It is the identical thing millions are doing
every Easter Sunday morning - - the sunrise service -- standing with their faces
toward the east, as the sun is rising, in a service of worship which honors the
sun god and his mythical idolatrous consort, goddess Easter. Yes, deceived into
believing this is Christian, millions practice every Easter the identical form
of the ancient sun worship of the sun god Baal! Throughout the Bible this is
revealed as the most abominable of all idolatry in the sight of the Eternal
Creator!
How Easter Crept Into the Church
Such is the origin and early
history of Easter. How, then, was this pagan festival injected into professing
Christian religion, as a substitute for an ordinance of God? Before revealing
briefly the astonishing account of this great deception, two facts must be
firmly fixed in mind. First, Jesus and the apostles foretold, not a universal,
widespread popular growth of the true New Testament Church, but a falling away
from the truth on the part of the great majority. Prophesying a popular,
universal falling away from the faith once delivered, to the Thessalonians Paul
stated, "The mystery of iniquity doth already work," only some 20 years after
the Church began! He referred to the very "Chaldean Mysteries," of which Easter
and Christmas were the two chief festivals! Second, although Jesus said the
gates of hell would never prevail against His church, yet it is prophesied in
the New Testament to be the "little flock" -- never as a great, large, popular
universal church (Luke 12:32). This is the very fact the world does not realize
today!
TWO Churches---One False, One True
In New Testament prophecy two
churches are described. One, the great and powerful and universal church, a part
of the world, actually ruling in its politics over many nations, and united with
the "Holy Roman Empire," is brought to a concrete focus in Revelation 17. This
church is pictured with great pomp, ritual and display, decked in purple,
scarlet and gold -- proud, worldly, boastful. She is pictured as a universal
deceiver -- all the Western nations spiritually drunk with her false doctrines,
their spiritual perception so blurred by her paganized teachings and practices
they are unable to clearly distinguish truth! She boasts she is the true Church,
yet she is drunken with the blood of the saints she has caused to be martyred!
But how could she have deceived the whole world, as foretold in God's Word?
Surely, the Protestant world isn't deceived! Oh, but it is! Notice, verse 5, she
is a mother church!. Her daughters are also churches who have come out of her,
in protest, calling themselves Protestant -- but they are fundamentally of her
family in pagan doctrines and practices! They, too, make themselves a part of
this world, taking active part in its politics -- the very act which made a
"harlot" out of their mother! The entire apostate family -- mother, and more
than 400 daughter denominations, all divided against each other and in confusion
of doctrines, yet all united in the chief pagan doctrines and festivals -- has a
family name! They call themselves "Christian," but God calls them something else
-- "Mystery, Babylon the Great"! "Babylon" means confusion! God always names
people and things by calling them what they are! And here are the identical
ancient Babylonian Mysteries now wrapped in the false cloak labeled
"Christianity" -- but in fact it is the same old "Babylonian Mystery System."
But where, then, was the true Church?
TRUE Church Small---Scattered
Did the true Church of God, of
which Jesus Christ is the living, directing Head, become perverted -- did it
merely apostatize into the system described above? No! The gates of hell have
never prevailed against the true Church of God, and never will! The true Church
has never fallen! It has never ceased! But the true Church of God is pictured in
prophecy as the "little flock"! The New Testament describes this Church as
continually persecuted, despised by the large popular churches because it is not
OF this world or its politics, but has kept itself unspotted from the world! It
has always kept the Commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (Rev. 12:17). It
has kept God's Festivals, not the pagan holidays. It has been empowered with the
Spirit of God! That Church never became the great popular church at Rome, as the
Protestant world supposes! That Church has always existed, and it exists today!
Then where did it go? Where was it during the Middle Ages? Where is it today?
(Write for our free booklet Where Is God's True Church Today?) First, remember
this Church was never large, never politically powerful, or a world known
organization of men. It is a spiritual organism, not a political organization.
It is composed of all whose hearts and lives have been changed by the Spirit of
God, whether visibly together, or individually scattered. Under the lash of
continual persecution and opposition from the organized forces of this world, it
is difficult for such a people to remain united and organized together. Daniel
prophesied the true people of God would be scattered (Dan. 12:7) Ezekiel
foretold it (Ezek. 34:5-12) Jeremiah, too (Jer. 23:1-2). Jesus foretold it
(Matt. 26:31). The apostolic Church was soon scattered by persecution (Acts 8:
1).
Ignored by Most Histories
You don't read much of this true
Body of Christ in the secular histories of this world! No, the world little
notes, nor long remembers, the activities of this "little flock," hated and
despised by the world, driven to the wilderness by persecution, always opposed,
usually scattered! But there are enough references to it in authentic histories
to show that it has continued through every century to now! The prophecies bring
this Church into concrete focus in the 12th chapter of Revelation. There she is
shown spiritually, in the glory and splendor of the Spirit of God, but visibly
in the world as a persecuted Commandment keeping Church driven into the
wilderness, for 1260 years, through the Middle Ages! Even in Paul's day, many
among those attending at Antioch, at Jerusalem, at Ephesus, at Corinth, and
other places, began to apostatize and turn away from the truth. Divisions sprang
up. Those individuals, unconverted or turned from God's truth and way of life,
were no part of God's true Church, though visibly assembling with those who
were. The "mystery of iniquity" was already working inside these visible
churches. This apostasy increased! By the year A.D. 125 the majority in most
churches, especially those Gentile-born, were continuing in many of their old
pagan beliefs and practices, though professing to be Christian! Gradually, a
smaller and smaller portion of the visible churches going by the name
"Christian" remained truly yielded to God and His truth, and led of His Spirit.
After Constantine took virtual control of the visible, professing Church in the
early fourth century, this visible organization became almost wholly pagan, and
began excommunicating and persecuting all who held to the true Word of God!
Finally, it became necessary for real Christians, who, even as a scattered
people, alone composed the true Christian Church, to flee from the jurisdiction
of Rome in order truly to worship God! Thus, the visible, organized Church which
rose to power was the FALSE Church -- the "Great Whore" of Revelation 17.
Injected Into the Church
Nothing illustrates this very fact
more vividly than the actual history of the injecting of Easter into the Western
Church. Here is the quick, brief history of it, from the Encyclopaedia
Britannica (11th edition, Vol. VIII, pp. 828-829): "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]
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. "Although the
observance of Easter was at a very early period in the practice of the Christian
Church, a serious difference as to the day for its observance soon arose between
the Christians of Jewish and those of Gentile descent, which led to a long and
bitter controversy. With the Jewish Christians...the fast ended...on the 14th
day of the moon at evening...without regard to the day of the week. The Gentile
Christians on the other hand [that is, the beginning of the Roman Church, now
substituting pagan for true Christian doctrines]...identified the first day of
the week with the resurrection, and kept the preceding Friday as the
commemoration of the crucifixion, irrespective of the day of the month.
"Generally speaking, the Western Churches [Catholic] kept Easter on the 1st day
of the week, while the Eastern Churches [containing most of those who remained
as part of the true Christian Church] followed the Jewish rule. [That is,
observing Passover on the 14th of the first sacred month instead of the pagan
Easter.] "Polycarp, the disciple of John the Evangelist, and bishop of Smyrna,
visited Rome in 159 [sic] to confer with Anicetus, the bishop of that see, on
the subject, and urged the tradition which he had received from the apostles of
observing the 14th day. Anicetus, however, declined. About forty years later
(197), the question was discussed in a very different spirit between Victor,
bishop of Rome, and Polycrates, metropolitan of proconsular Asia [the territory
of the Churches at Ephesus, Galatia, Antioch, Philadelphia, and all those
mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3 -- the Churches established through the Apostle
Paul]. That province was the only portion of Christendom which still adhered to
the Jewish usage. Victor demanded that all should adopt the usage prevailing at
Rome. This Polycrates firmly refused to agree to, and urged many weighty reasons
to the contrary, whereupon Victor proceeded to excommunicate Polycrates and the
Christians who continued the Eastern usage [that is, who continued in God's way,
as Jesus, Peter, Paul, and all the early true Church had done]. He was, however,
restrained [by other bishops] from actually proceeding to enforce the decree of
excommunication...and the Asiatic churches retained their usage unmolested. We
find the Jewish [true Christian Passover] usage from time to time reasserting
itself after this, but it never prevailed to any large extent. "A final
settlement of the dispute was one among the other reasons which led Constantine
to summon the council at Nicaea in 325. At that time the Syrians and Antiochenes
were the solitary champions of the observance of the 14th day. The decision of
the council was unanimous that Easter was to be kept on Sunday, and on the same
Sunday throughout the world, and that 'none hereafter should follow the
blindness of the Jews.' [That is, in plain language, the Roman Church now
decreed that none should be allowed to follow the ways of Christ -- of the true
Christian Church!] "...The few who afterwards separated themselves from the
unity of the church [Roman Church], and continued to keep the 14th day, were
named 'Quartodecimani,' and the dispute itself is known as the 'Quartodeciman
controversy.'" Thus you see how the politically organized church at Rome grew to
great size and power by adopting popular pagan practices and how she gradually
stamped out the true teachings, doctrines, and practices of Christ and the true
Church, so far as any collective practice is concerned.
The First Historical Records
The early Church of God in New
Testament times was taught that Jesus was in the grave three days and three
nights -- that He arose at the close of the third day after the crucifixion. The
crucifixion occurred upon a Wednesday, April 25, A.D. 31. The Passover was
observed annually, on the eve of Christ's death, on Nisan 14 of God's Sacred
Calendar. This New Testament practice was followed in the West universally until
shortly after the death of the Apostle John. In the Eastern Roman Empire the
true practice continued even longer. Here is what happened in the East! A
calendar change occured during the middle of the second century A.D., after
which new ideas began to be introduced into the professing Christian world. The
true Christians who fled Jerusalem, "continued to use the Jewish cycle [God's
method of reckoning the Passover in the Sacred Calendar] till the bishops of
Jerusalem who were of the circumcision were succeeded by others who were not of
the circumcision [unconverted Gentiles -- and]...they began to invent other
cycles" (Bingham's Antiquities of the Christian Church, p. 1152). This same
author continues: "We see, at this time [middle of second century] the Jewish
calculation [determined by God's Calendar which the Jews had accurately
preserved] was generally rejected by the...church, and yet no certain one agreed
upon in its room [stead]...."
This is how the Passover -- sometimes called Lord's Supper or Eucharist -- was gradually rejected.
The Lord's Supper on Saturday!
Remember that up to this point the
Churches of God universally understood that Jesus rose after three days -- on
Saturday evening shortly before sunset. With the rejection of God's Sacred
Calendar by many in the professing Christian world, the many now began to do
what seemed right to them. Not only did they begin to miscalculate the annual
occurrence of the Passover, but in the East they began to observe the Passover
weekly on Saturday, the Sabbath, believe it or not! Here is the proof: For over
200 years this custom was a universal practice of the Eastern churches. The
church historian Socrates wrote in his Ecclesiastical History, book V, chapter
22: "While therefore some in Asia Minor observed the day above-mentioned [he
means that some continued to observe the Passover on the 14th of Nisan as the
apostles did] others in the East kept this feast on the Sabbath indeed...." By
"Sabbath" all early writers meant Saturday! So universal was the custom of
observing the "Lord's Supper" on Saturday that he continued to write: "For
although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries
on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on
account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this." Did you catch the
real significance of this quotation? The Passover was transformed from an annual
memorial in memory of the death of Christ into a weekly memorial in honor of His
resurrection, which occurred on Saturday. These weekly "Passovers" were called
the "sacred mysteries." A part of those ancient mysteries was later the festival
of Easter. But Easter did not enter suddenly. It entered slowly, under the
pretext of being a Christian custom. Many faithful were still observing the
practices of the original true Church. Others began to hold the "sacred
mysteries" every Saturday to honor, as they thought, the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. But how were the false teachers going to alter the knowledge that Jesus
was three days and three nights in the tomb?
"Good Friday-Easter Sunday"
Tradition
Let's notice! From the Syriac
Didascalia, composed shortly before the time of Constantine, we have a record of
what happened in those early days. False teachers began to interpret the three
days and three nights in the following clever fashion: They claimed Jesus
suffered on the cross, supposedly on Friday, for about six hours. The daylight
hours from nine in the morning to noon they counted as one day. The hours from
noon to three o'clock -- when the land was darkened -- they reckoned as the
first night. Then the time from three o'clock to sunset was reckoned as the
second day. Friday night to Saturday morning became the second night; the
daylight of Saturday, the third day; and Saturday night to Sunday morning, the
third night. A very clever argument -- and it deceived a great many people!
Those false ministers twisted the truth that Jesus was in the grave three days
and three nights. For the first time the idea of a Sunday resurrection was
injected into the churches. Now observe what happened.
Easter Sunday Begins Earlier at
Rome
In commenting on those who did not
observe the Passover in accordance with the practice of the apostles, Irenaeus,
who lived toward the close of the second century, wrote to Bishop Victor of
Rome, "We mean Anicetus, and Pius, and Hyginus, and Telesphorus, and Xystus.
They neither observed it [the true Passover on the 14th of Nisan] nor did they
permit those after them to do so"(Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, Vol. I, p.
243). Who were these men? -- bishops of the church at Rome! Here is the first
record, by a Catholic, of the fact that the Roman bishops no longer observed the
Passover at the correct God given time, but on a Sunday! It was Bishop Xystus
(his name is also spelled Sixtus) who was the first recorded individual to
prevent the proper observance of the Passover, and to celebrate the sacred
mysteries annually on a Sunday. Irenaeus speaks further of him, declaring that
his doctrine was in direct "opposition" to the practice of the remainder of the
churches. Bishop Sixtus was living at the beginning of the second century, just
after the Apostle John died. Notice, too, that Easter Sunday did not begin with
Peter or Paul in the 60's A.D., but with Sixtus in the second century! Here you
have the astounding origin of Easter Sunday in the Western churches. Together
with this practice, the "sacred mysteries" were also observed every Sunday!
The Romans Divided
The introduction of this custom
naturally divided the Christians at Rome. The Catholic historian Abbe Duchesne
wrote: "There were many Christians of Asia in Rome at that time [remember that
the Church of God at Rome was founded by those who came from Asia Minor where
Paul preached] and the very early Popes, Xystus and Telesphorus, saw them every
year keep their Pasch [the true Passover] the same day as did the Jews. They
maintained that was correct. It was allowed to pass...though the rest of Rome
observed a different use" (The Early History of the Church, Vol. I, p. 210).
These are startling facts, but they are true! It is time we knew about them!
Irenaeus wrote even more regarding the observance of Easter at Rome and
elsewhere as follows: "But Polycarp also was not only instructed by the
apostles, and acquainted with many that had seen Christ, but was also appointed
by apostles in Asia, bishop of the Church of Smyrna.... He also was in Rome in
the time of Anicetus [bishop of Rome, A.D. 155-166] and caused many to turn away
from the...heretics to the Church of God, proclaiming that he had received from
the apostles this one and sole truth..." While at Rome, Polycarp discussed the
matter of Easter with the Roman bishop. Irenaeus continued: "For neither could
Anicetus persuade Polycarp not to observe it [the Passover] because he had
always observed it with John the disciple of our Lord, and the rest of the
apostles, with whom he associated; and neither did Polycarp persuade Anicetus to
observe it, who said that he was bound to follow the customs of the presbyters
before him" (Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, book V, chapter 24, quoted in
Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, p. 244).
Counterfeit Vision
Shortly after Polycarp left, there
appeared an amazing letter -- said by many scholars to have been a deliberate
forgery. This letter states: "Pope Pius, who lived about 147, had made a decree,
That the annual solemnity of the Pasch [Pasch is the Greek word for Passover]
should be kept on the Lord's day [Sunday] and in confirmation of this he
pretended, that Hermes [Hermas], his brother, who was then an eminent teacher
among them, had received instruction from an angel, who commanded that all men
should keep the Pasch on the Lord's day" (Joseph Bingham, Antiquities of the
Christian Church, pp. 1148-1149). Of this same hoax, we read in Apostolical
Fathers, by James Donaldson, page 324: "One of the letters forged in the name of
Pius, where one Hermas [Hermes] is mentioned as the author; and it is stated
that in his book a commandment was given through an angel to observe the
Passover on a Sunday." If this letter was a deliberate forgery, it was invented
after Polycarp's time in an effort to lend weight to the custom of Anicetus,
bishop of Rome, who maintained the Sunday observance of the Eucharist or
Passover. If it was not a forgery, then Pius himself was the author of this
deceptive letter. (Pius died just prior to the visit of Polycarp to Rome.)
Constantine -- the Man of Power
Constantine then convoked the first
general council of the Christian professing world. The Council of Nicaea
decided, under his authority, that Easter must be celebrated on Sunday and that
the Passover must be forbidden! Without regard to these decisions, many
continued faithful. For this reason Constantine issued an edict declaring: "We
have directed, accordingly, that you be deprived of all houses in which you are
accustomed to hold your assemblies...public or private" (Life of Constantine,
book III).
Easter Still Observed on Different
Sundays
Though everyone was now forced to
observe Easter or flee the urban areas of the Roman Empire, the churches were
still divided over the exact Sunday for Easter. Here is how confusing matters
became: "But notwithstanding any endeavors that could be used then, or
afterwards, there remained great differences in the church about it for many
ages. For the churches of Great Britain and Ireland did not accord with the
Roman church in keeping Easter on the same Sunday, till about the year 800. Nor
was the Roman way fully received in France, till it was settled there by the
authority of Charles the Great..." (Bingham's Antiquities of the Christian
Church, p. 1151). These are startling facts -- but they ought to make you wake
up to the truth! It is high time we learned exactly what has happened to the
Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the practices of the New Testament Church of God
these past 1900 years!
True Christians Kept Passover
The New Testament reveals that
Jesus, the apostles, and the New Testament Church, both Jewish- and
Gentile-born, observed God's Sabbaths, and God's Festivals -- weekly and
annually! Take your Bible and carefully read Acts 2:1; 12:3-4 (remember the word
"Easter" here is a mistranslation in the King James Version -- originally
inspired "Passover," and so corrected in the Revised Standard Version); Acts
18:21; 20:6, 16; I Corinthians 16:8. Eusebius, historian of the early centuries
of the Church, speaks of the true Christians observing Passover on the 14th of
Nisan, first month of the Sacred Calendar. "A question of no small importance
arose at that time. For the parishes of all Asia, as from an older tradition,
held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded
to sacrifice the lamb, should be observed as the feast of the Savior's pass
over...the bishops of Asia, led by Polycrates, decided to hold to the old custom
handed down to them. He himself, in a letter which he addressed to Victor and
the church of Rome, set forth in the following words the tradition which had
come down to him: "'We observe the exact day; neither adding, nor taking away.
For in Asia also great lights have fallen asleep, which shall rise again on the
day of the Lord's coming, when he shall come with glory from heaven, and shall
seek out all the saints. Among these are Philip, one of the twelve
apostles...and, moreover, John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who
reclined upon the bosom of the Lord...and Polycarp in Smyrna, who was a bishop
and martyr; and Thraseas, bishop and martyr from Eumenia...the bishop and martyr
Sagaris...the blessed Papirius, or Melito....All these observed the fourteenth
day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but
following the rule of faith"' (Ecclesiastical History, book V, chapters XXIII
and XXIV). But as the false, paganized church grew in size and political power,
decrees were passed in the fourth century A.D. imposing the death sentence upon
Christians found keeping God's Sabbath, or God's Festivals. Finally, in order to
keep the true way of God, many Christians (composing the true Church) fled for
their lives. But another large portion of the true Church of God, failing to
flee, yet remaining true to God's truth, paid with their lives in martyrdom
(Rev. 2:13; 6:9; 13-15; 17:6; 18:24). They loved obedience to God more than
their lives! Do you? But through all generations, through every century, though
persecuted, scattered, unrecognized by the world, many true Christians have kept
alive the true Church of God -- the Church composed of those who have the Holy
Spirit of God.
What God Did Command
The "communion," often called the
"Lord's Supper," is actually the Passover -- as the ordinance should more
properly be called. On observing the Passover, as on every practice, Jude
exhorts "that ye should contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered
to the saints." Now that we know the pagan origin of the Easter celebration,
let's clear away the web of error that covers the truth about keeping the
Passover, the memorial of Christ's death. Let's examine the way Jesus observed
this ordinance, because we can't be wrong if we follow His example. In Luke
22:14-20, we read, "And when the hour was come, he [Jesus] sat down.... And he
took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, This is
my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the
cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is
shed for you." Notice, it was "when the hour was come," that Jesus introduced
the unleavened bread and the wine. There was a definite time a definite hour
when He held this ordinance as an example for us. Notice, too, He commanded them
to observe it "This do"! And why? "In remembrance of me," said Jesus. He
instituted this New Testament way of keeping the Passover, on that tragic night,
the very eve of His death. In Matthew's account, the Bible shows that this
ordinance was at the very time of the Passover, "as they were eating" (Matt.
26:2, 26). Jesus knew that His time had come. He was our passover, sacrificed
for us (I Cor. 5:7). The Passover had always been held on the eve of the 14th of
God's first month, according to the Sacred or Jewish Calendar. It was the night
of the final and last Passover supper that Jesus introduced these New Testament
emblems the unleavened bread and the wine in place of the lamb that was always
slain annually. For a full explanation of the original Passover as God
instituted it, write immediately for our free booklet Pagan Holidays or God's
Holy Days -- Which? Remember Jesus commanded: "This do in remembrance of me."
Why? Because the Passover was commanded "forever." The Passover was to be
observed annually, along with the Days of Unleavened Bread. "Thou shalt
therefore keep this ordinance in his season year to year" (Ex. 13:10). Jesus set
us an example (I Peter 2:21), observing this ordinance at the same time once a
year (Luke 2:42). Suppose the Israelites in Egypt had observed this ordinance at
some other time than that set by God? They would not have been saved when the
death angel passed by that night! God does things on time. He has given us an
exact time for this ordinance. Jesus instituted the New Testament symbols "when
the hour was come."
The Ordinance of Humility
In giving us their accounts,
Matthew, Mark and Luke describe the taking of unleavened bread and wine. But
John relates another part of this ordinance. In the 13th chapter of John we
notice that after the Passover supper was ended (verse 2), Jesus took a towel
(verse 4)and began to wash His disciples' feet (verse 5). So after he had washed
their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto
them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say
well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye
also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye
should do as I have done to you" (John 13:12-15). If any of you are wondering if
this ordinance of humility is a command to you, then turn to Matthew 28:19, 20.
Here Jesus said to these same disciples: "Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them...teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded YOU." So they were to teach us to observe all things whatsoever Jesus
commanded them!
Kept Once a Year in the Apostolic
Church
In I Corinthians 5:7, 8, Paul tells
the Corinthians: Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep
the feast, not with old leaven...but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and
truth." And in the 11th chapter he gives the directions regarding this
ordinance. Some misunderstand verse 26 which says: "As often as ye eat this
bread, and drink this cup," by interpreting it take it as often as you wish."
But it does not say that! It says "as often" as you observe it, "ye do show the
Lord's death till he come." Even Jesus commanded, "This do ye, as oft as ye
drink it, in remembrance of me" (verse 25). We do it in remembrance of the
Lord's death -- a memorial of His death. As you know, memorials are celebrated
annually, once a year, on the anniversary of the events commemorated. So we
observe the memorial of Christ's death annually. And just as often as each year
comes around, we are to "show the Lord's death till he come," by keeping this
memorial. Christ instituted this ordinance on the eve of His death. It was the
14th of Abib, by God's Sacred Calendar, in the very beginning of the day. God
starts days at sunset, not midnight. So, later that same day, after Jesus had
gone out to Gethsemane, Judas Iscariot led the crowd to seize Jesus. Then He was
crucified later that same day, in the daylight part of this same 14th of the
month Abib. By following the example of Jesus in observing this sacred ordinance
at the same time He did -- the very same time the Passover was forever commanded
to be observed -- we continue to remember His death, annually, on the eve of the
crucifixion. Some always question the meaning of Paul in verses 27-29 in I
Corinthians 11. The apostle is not speaking about a Christian being worthy or
unworthy to take it. It is speaking of the manner in which it is done. We take
it unworthily if we take it wrongly, in the wrong manner. Once we learn the
truth about its observance, and yet take it at any other time than when God
says, then we take it unworthily. We take it unworthily if we do not accept the
body and blood of Christ. So let's not take this most sacred ordinance to our
condemnation, but take it worthily instead!
"Easter" a Mistranslation
Following the example of Jesus and
the apostles, the early Church observed the Passover, and the Days of Unleavened
Bread which immediately followed. Notice Acts 12:3. The Holy Spirit of God
inspired these words: Then were the days of unleavened bread." But in the next
verse we read of "Easter." We have already seen that "Easter" was injected into
the Church years after the time of Christ. Again, this word Easter" is a
mistranslation. The original Greek word is pascha, meaning Passover. In every
other place, exactly the same word is used in the original and always rendered
Passover. Many other translations faithfully render this verse in Acts as
"intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people." So this verse,
instead of mentioning Easter, really proves that the Church, ten years after the
death of Christ, was still observing Passover.
What Does "Break Bread" Mean?
There are some denominations that
read Acts 20:7 as a proof that the "Lord's Supper" should be taken each Sunday
morning! First notice that this was after the Days of Unleavened Bread (verse
6). Paul was preaching a farewell meeting, not on Sunday morning, but on
Saturday night. It was after midnight (verse 7), that they broke bread because
they were hungry. When they "had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long
while, even till break of day," Paul departed. So this was just an ordinary
meal! The same expression "break bread" is found in Acts 27:34, 35. "Wherefore I
pray you to take some meat...he took bread...and when he had broken it, he began
to eat." Also Acts 2:46: "And breaking bread from house to house, did eat their
meat with gladness." This could not possibly have been the "Lord's Supper" or,
more properly, Passover, because Paul says that if we take it to satisfy our
hunger we take it to our condemnation (I Cor. 11:34). In that day, everyone
"broke bread" at ordinary meals, because they did not have the kind of bread
that we slice. Jesus broke bread because it was at the Passover supper, while
eating a meal. We need to return to the faith once delivered. Let us humbly and
obediently observe this sacred ordinance as we are commanded, at the scriptural
time, after sunset, the 14th of Abib according to the Sacred Calendar. If you
haven't as yet written about the observance of this ordinance, write us
immediately for our booklet How Often Should We Partake of the Lord's Supper?
Christians Kept the Passover
Jesus Christ kept the Passover. So
did the Apostle John. And so did some Christians in Scotland even until the 7th
century A.D. This information comes from no less an ecclesiastical authority
than the church historian Bede. His Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation
would astound many who have assumed that Christ and the early apostles all kept
Easter. He writes that "John, following the customs of the Law, used to begin
the Feast of Easter [actually the Passover] on the evening of the fourteenth day
of the first month, whether it fell on the Sabbath or on any other day" (III,
25). The Apostle John was the author of five books of the New Testament and the
"disciple whom Jesus loved." Yet he kept the Passover on the 14th day of the
first month (Nisan) just as God commanded in the time of Moses. That is the
plain statement of this early Catholic theologian! But where did John's custom
come from? From the very example of Jesus Christ! "Nor did our Lord, the Author
and Giver of the Gospel, eat the old Passover or institute the Sacrament of the
New Testament to be celebrated by the Church in memory of His Passion on...[any
other day], but on the fourteenth" (Eccl. History, III, 25). Bede thus
reiterates what the Bible itself plainly tells us -- that Christ partook of the
old Passover and then substituted the New Testament symbols of the bread and
wine on the 14th of the first month. The custom of keeping the New Testament
Passover, after the example of Christ and John, persisted among isolated groups
for centuries. Bede tells us that some faithful were still keeping it in
Scotland in the 7th century! (II, 19.)
For Further Study - Is Christmas Christian?