Is Easter a pagan holiday?

THE TRUTH
ABOUT EASTER

Each year in
the spring, masses of worshipers celebrate Easter. Around the world, Easter
Sunrise Worship services are held on the tops of hills and mountains, while
priests chant and utter incantations, devotees kneel and bow in worship towards
the east as the sun crests the horizon.

The places of
worship overflow with people dressed in their new Easter clothes. Bells ring
from cathedrals and stirring hymns fill the air to inspire and uplift the
worshipers. Ministers and priests announce the resurrection of Jesus Christ with
great acclaim and joy. And, after the religious rites are over, the children
are treated to an Easter egg hunt.

This is a
description of a modern-day celebration of Easter. But, as strange as it may
seem, a similar description applies to the Easter celebrations in Babylon over
4,000 years ago, in Asia Minor over 2,500 years ago, and in pagan Rome in 100
A.D..

This paper
presents several studies into the celebration of Easter, which prove that Easter
originated from pagan worship of false gods, and it should not be observed by
anyone who wishes to honor and worship God the Father.

Easter
Eggs: Ancient and Modern

"The origin
of the Pasch [Easter] eggs is just as clear [as the origin of Easter]. The
ancient druids bore an egg, as the sacred emblem of their order. In the
Dionysiaca, or mysteries of Bacchus, as celebrated in Athens, one part of the
nocturnal ceremony consisted in the consecration of an egg. The Hindu fables
celebrate their mundane egg as of a golden color. The people of Japan make their
sacred egg to have been brazen. In China, at this hour, dyed or painted eggs are
used on sacred festivals, even as in this country [England]. In ancient times
eggs were used in the religious rites of the Egyptians and the Greeks, and were
hung up for mystic purposes in their temples. From Egypt these sacred eggs can
be distinctly traced to the banks of the Euphrates. The classic poets are full
of the fable of the mystic egg of the Babylonians.

"An egg of
wondrous size is said to have fallen from heaven into the river Euphrates. The
fishes rolled it to the bank, where the doves having settled upon it, and
hatched it, out came Venus, who afterwards was called the Syrian Goddess”that
is, Astarte. Hence the egg became one of the symbols of Astarte or Easter; and
accordingly, in Cyprus, one of the chosen seats of the worship of Venus, or
Astarte, the egg of wondrous size was represented on a grand scale." (The Two
Babylons, pp. 108-109).

The True
Origin of Easter

"What means
the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean
[Babylonian] origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte
[Isthar], one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven . . ." (The Two
Babylons, p. 103).

"The
religious solemnities of April, as now practiced, are called by the name of
Easter”that month, among our Pagan [British] ancestors, having been called
Easter month. 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 Church, and at that time was not known by any
such name as Easter. It was called Pasch, or the Passover, and though not of
Apostolic institution, was very early observed by many professing Christians; in
commemoration of the death and resurrection of Christ" (ibid. p. 104).

The Passover
was instituted by God when he brought the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Moreover, one of the main reasons for killing the Egyptians' firstborn children
and animals was God's judgment against the gods of the Egyptians:

"For I
will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; against all the gods of Egypt I will
execute judgment: I am the Lord" (Ex.12:12).

The God who
went to those lengths to show his power and might over the gods of the Egyptians
would never sanction the worship of him by the means of the pagan religious
ceremonies or pagan holidays:

"That
festival agreed originally with the time of the Jewish Passover, when Christ was
crucified. . . that festival [of the Passover and feast of Unleavened Bread] was
not idolatrous, and was preceded by no Lent . . ." (The Two Babylons,
Alexander Hislop, p. 104).

"The forty
days' abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshipers of the
Babylonian goddess [the queen of heaven]. Such a Lent of forty days, 'in the
spring of the year,' is still observed by the Yezidis or Pagan Devil worshipers
of Koordistan, who have inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians"
(Ibid., p. 104). Moreover, the pagan Mexican Baal sun-worshipers observed a
solemn fast like Lent for forty days in honor of the sun beginning three days
after the vernal equinox.

"Such a Lent
of forty days was observed in Egypt . . . was held expressly in commemoration of
Adonis or Osiris, the great mediatorial god. . . among the Pagans this Lent
seems to have been an indispensable preliminary to the great annual festival in
commemoration of the [supposed] death and resurrection of Tammuz [Babylonian
name for Adonis or Osiris], which was celebrated by alternate weeping and
rejoicing . . ." (Ibid., p. 105).

The Death
and Resurrection for Adonis”The Pagan Savior

The pagan
counterfeit, which was inspired by Satan, has been substituted for the true
Christian Passover and has been accepted as the authentic Christian observance.
There are variations in the rituals from country to country, but the death on a
Friday and a resurrection on Sunday is a consistent theme.

"We have seen
that the rites of Tammuz or Adonis were commonly celebrated . . . In the gardens
of Adonis are still sown in spring as well as in summer, from which we may
perhaps infer that Sicily as well as Syria celebrated of old a vernal festival
of the dead and risen god. At the approach of Easter, Sicilian women sow wheat,
lentils, and canary seed in plates . . . the plants soon shoot up; the stalks
are tied together with red ribbons, and the plates containing them are placed on
the sepulchers which, with the effigies of the dead Christ, are made up in
Catholic and Greek churches on Good Friday, just as the gardens of Adonis were
placed on the grave for the dead Adonis.

"The practice
is not confined to Sicily . . . The whole custom”the sepulchers as well as
plates of sprouting grain”may be nothing but a continuation, under a different
name, [the name of Jesus Christ], of the worship of Adonis" (The Golden
Bough, p. 400).

"During the
whole of Good Friday a waxen effigy of the dead Christ is exposed to view in the
middle of the Greek churches and is covered with fervent kisses by the thronging
crowd, while the whole church rings with melancholy, monotonous dirges. Late in
the evening, when it has grown quite dark, this waxen image is carried by the
priests into the street on a bier . . ." (Ibid., p. 401).

"This is
followed by the ritual mourning by the whole town as the priests slowly carry
the wax image, and a great multitude follows. Thus, the community solemnly
buries its Christ as if he had just died. At last the waxen image is again
deposited in the church, and the same lugubrious chants echo anew.

"These
lamentations, accompanied by a strict fast, continue till midnight on Saturday.
As the clock strikes twelve, the bishop appears and announces the glad tidings
that 'Christ is risen,' to which the crowd replies, 'He is risen indeed' . . .
in the same hour people plunge from the extremity of the fast into the enjoyment
of the Easter lamb and neat wine'" (Ibid., p. 401).

This kind of
vain and idolatrous mockery of the true death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
is an example of how far paganism has penetrated Christianity. Only the names
were changed, not the religion. Yet, this pagan, Christian, Babylonian religion
with some variations has been embraced as the universal Christianity by the
world”Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant. They all observe Easter, which was
previously a pagan day of worship and celebration in commemoration of false
gods.

The Myth
and Ritual of Attis

"Another of
those gods whose supposed death and resurrection struck such deep roots into the
faith and ritual of Western Asia is Attis. He was to Phrygia what Adonis was to
Syria . . . Attis was said to have been a fair young shepherd or herdsman
beloved by Cybele, the Mother of the Gods, a great Asiatic goddess of fertility,
who had her chief home in Phrygia. Some held that Attis was her son. His birth,
like that of many other heroes, is said to have been miraculous" (Ibid., p.
407).

The mother
and son pagan counterfeit religion along with its rites and worship system was
deeply entrenched within ancient historical tradition as the established
religion. People everywhere in the civilized world believed this was the way to
worship God.

God's
Teachings Concerning Pagan Practices

"Take heed
to yourself that you be not snared by following them . . . and that you inquire
not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so I
will do likewise. You shall not do to the Lord your God: for every abomination
to the Lord, which he hates, have they done to their gods . . .What thing soever
I command you, observe to do it: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from
it" (Deut.12:30-32).

The New
Testament God commands the Gentiles to repent, to turn from, and to renounce
such paganism. When the apostle Paul and Barnabas preached to the Gentiles who
practiced the religion of Diana, Adonis, Attis, and Jupiter, their message was
not acceptance and union of these religions with true Christianity.

"Sirs, why
do you these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach to
you that you should turn from these vanities to the living God, which made
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: Who in times
past allowed the nations to walk in their own ways . . .And the times of this
ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent!"
(Acts 14:15-16; 17:30).

The Bible
shows that the New Testament church opposed the pagan religious practices and
the blending of these pagan practices with the worship of the true God.

"But I
say, the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not
to God: and I would not that you should have fellowship with demons. You cannot
drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. . ." (1 Cor.10:20-21).

God has never
given his church any authority to accept and assimilate pagan religious
practices as a means of worshiping him. Any person, organization, or church
which does this, rejects the word of God and teaches doctrines that are contrary
to the word of God. Therefore, anyone who teaches and preaches such practices is
teaching a false savior, and a counterfeit Christianity.

Catholic
Admissions and Practices

The Catholic
church has always used its power and authority to enforce the acceptance of
teachings that are contrary to the Biblical teachings.

"In like
manner the Catholic Church has been accustomed to bring before its followers in
a visible form the death and resurrection of the Redeemer . . . When we reflect
how often the Church has skillfully contrived to plant the seeds of the new
faith on the stock of paganism, we may surmise that the Easter celebration of
the dead and risen Christ was grafted upon the similar celebration of the dead
and risen Adonis . . ." (The Golden Bough, p. 401 The Golden Bough, Sir
James George Frazer).

"To
conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy,
took measures to get the Christian and Pagan festivals amalgamated, and, by a
complicated but skillful adjustment of the calendar, it was found no difficult
matter, in general, to get Paganism and Christianity”now far sunk in
idolatry—in this as in so many other areas, to shake hands" (The Two
Babylons, Alexander Hislop, p. 105).

"Taken
altogether, the coincidences of the Christian with the heathen festivals are too
close and too numerous to be accidental. They mark the compromise which the
[Catholic] Church in the hour of its triumph was compelled to make with its
vanquished yet still dangerous rivals. The inflexible Protestantism of the
primitive missionaries, with their fiery denunciations of heathendom, had been
exchanged for the supple policy, the easy tolerance, the comprehensive charity
of shrewd ecclesiastics, who clearly perceived that if Christianity was to
conquer the world it could do so only by relaxing the too rigid principles of
its Founder, by widening a little the narrow gate which leads to salvation"
(The Golden Bough, p. 419).

Granting the
practice of pagan beliefs in direct opposition to the clear commandments of God
has always been the policy of the Catholic Church.

"In the
history of the Church we find that she often christened pagan festivals, making
use of dates and ceremonies, and endowing them with an entirely new and
Christian significance" (My Catholic Faith, p. 416, Louis LaRavoire
Morrow).

"Today the
entire of Christendom celebrates Easter Sunday in memory of the Resurrection. It
is the Feast of feasts . . . Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following
the first full moon of spring; the feast is moveable, and can fall between March
22 and April 25" (Ibed., p.81).

This variance
in the date of Easter was devised to more closely counterfeit the dates of the
true Christian Passover and make it easier to replace the Passover with Easter.
Also, the observance of the Passover ceremony, as commanded be Jesus Christ
himself, was substituted with the Catholic holy eucharist (communion), which is
of pagan derivation, by edict of the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.

Attendance
and taking of the Mass on Easter Sunday is obligatory for all Catholics. Even
though the leaders of the Catholic Church have the Holy Bible and claim to teach
it, they insist that "under pain of grievous sin" all are to observe this
holiday. However, God Almighty commands Christians not to observe such feasts.

"We are
obligated to receive Holy Communion during Easter time each year . . .The Church
enforces this command by requiring us under pain of grievous sin to communicate
[take communion] at least at Easter time" (My Catholic Faith, Louis
LaRavoire Morrow, p.311).

God's
Indictment and Condemnation of Pagan Practices

Throughout
the Bible, God shows that he has never allowed his people to worship him by
means of pagan ceremonies and rituals. In the Old Testament, the children of
Israel cut themselves off from God whenever they left the true worship of God.
Today, the same spiritual principle applies for the elect of God who are to
worship God the Father in spirit and truth (Jn.4:23-24). If, as Jesus Christ
commands, the elect of God worship him in spirit and truth and are sanctified by
the truth, which is God's word (Jn.15:16;17:17), why would God accept any pagan
form of worship?

The apostle
Peter wrote to true Christians and strongly condemned pagan practices and false
prophets:

"For we
have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty . . .
But there were false prophets, also among the people, even as there shall be
false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even
denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their pernicious way; by reason of whom the way of truth
shall be evil spoken of " (2.Pet.1:16; 2:1-2).

The truth of
God was buried under an avalanche of propaganda that denounced God's way as
Jewish. Hence, Jesus' castigation of Judaism”a form of Jewish rejection of
God's truth”was cleverly and deceptively used to attack true Christianity. The
seventh day Sabbath (on Saturday), the true Christian Passover, and the annual
festivals of God were labeled Jewish. The truth is that the Passover, the
Sabbath, and the annual festivals were instituted by God and not the Jews.

It is true
that, during the days of Jesus Christ, only the Jews were observing these days;
however, it does not mean that the Jews originated these commanded days of
worship. They were originally commanded by God in the holy scriptures in Exodus
chapters 12, 16, 20, 23, 32; Leviticus chapter 23; Numbers 9, 28; Deuteronomy
5, 16. Moreover, they were observed by Jesus Christ and the apostles in the New
Testament. The true Festivals of God are found in the Bible, not pagan
religions. In fact, history shows that many times the Israelites and Jews were
just as paganized with Babylonian religions and forms of worship as professing
Christians are today. God's condemnation of these practices is still valid
today:

"Do you
not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem?
The Children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead
dough to make cakes [the hot cross buns of Easter] for the queen of heaven [the
great mother goddess of fertility]; and they pour out drink offerings to other
gods in order to spite Me. Do they spite Me?, declares the Lord. Is it not
themselves they spite to their own shame? Therefore thus saying the Lord God,
Behold My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and on
beast and on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground; and it will
burn and not be quenched" (Jer.7:17-20, New American Standard Bible).

These
idolatrous practices are violations of the first and second commandments. The
New Testament, also reveals that idolaters will not be in the kingdom of God
(Rev.21:8).

Ezekiel
chapter 8 contains God's indictment and stinging rebuke against idolatry and
pagan religions.

"Then said
he to me, Son of man, lift up your eyes now the way toward the north. So I
lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and behold the northward gate of the
altar this image of jealousy in the entry. He said furthermore to me, Son of
man, do you see what they are doing? even the great abominations that the house
of Israel commits here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary?. . ."
(Ezk.8:5-6).

The same is
true today. Even the churches that claim to be Christian, have driven God away
by their idolatry.

Greater
Abominations

"Then he
said to me, Son of man, have you seen what the ancients of the house of Israel
do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The Lord
sees us not; the Lord has forsaken the earth. He said also to me, Turn you yet
again, and you shall see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me
to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and,
behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz!" (Ezk.8:12-14).

Tammuz was
the Babylonian name for Adonis, who was also called Attis and Osiris. All such
heathen practices are considered abominable to God the Father.

Sunrise
Worship Condemned

"Then he
said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? turn you yet again, and you shall
see greater abominations than these. 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 altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward
the temple of the Lord [symbolic of rejecting God], and their faces toward the
east; and they worshiped the sun toward the east" (Ezk.8:15-16).

This is
exactly what people are doing when they participate in Easter sunrise services.
They think that they are worshiping and honoring God, but in reality they are
dishonoring him.

Because most
people have been deceived into observing the pseudo-christian pagan holidays,
they believe they are doing what is right. They believe that they are serving
God and are convinced that they are true Christians:

"Woe to
them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light
for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to them that
are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight. Woe to them that are
mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink"
(Isa.5:20-22).

"Come
here; I will show you the judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters
[peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages]: With whom the kings of the earth
have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have made drunk
with the wine of her fornication . . . and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet
colored beast, full of the names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten
horns.

"And the
woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious
stones and pearls, and having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and
filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written Mystery,
Babylon The Great, Mother Of Harlots [all the religions of the world, except
the true religion of God] And The Abominations Of The Earth [all the pagan
religious holidays and practices]" (Rev.17:1-5).

This is the
same evil religious system that God condemns throughout the entire Bible; it is
the same satanic system which has rejected the laws of God.

"Which
justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous
from him! Therefore as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the
chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as
dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the
word of the Holy One of Israel" (Isa.5:23-24).

They Put
the Golden Bough to Their Nose

"Then he
said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house
of Judah that they commit the abominations that they commit here? for they have
filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and,
lo, they put the branch of their nose" (Ezk.8:17). The Branch or Golden
Bough is the symbol of pagan religions.

SUMMARY

The
historical record and the word of God clearly show the following things about
the practice of Easter:

• Easter celebrations did
  not begin when Christianity began
  
• The Bible does not command
  Easter observance
  
• Early New Testament
  Christians did not celebrate Easter
  
• Easter was celebrated by
  pagans in their worship of evil spirits thousands of years before Jesus Christ
  was born
  
• God condemns the practice
  of Easter-type worship and calls it an abomination
  
• True Christians are
  commanded to observe the Christian Passover, not Easter

Many of the
leaders of the Christian world know the truth about the pagan practice of
Easter, but they refuse to repent. Those who practice this abomination will
suffer the wrath of Almighty God as prophesied in Ezekiel 8 and in the Book of
Revelation:




"Therefore
will I also deal in furry: my eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and
though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them"
(Ezk.8:18).