How did Resurrection Sunday become Easter?
The name "Easter" comes from a Canaanite pagan, spring, fertility deity, Asherah. Easter is the Persian name for Asherah; she is the goddess of orgy. She was symbolized by the egg and the bunny. The Easter celebration is pagan, the name comes from a pagan god.
Now! What does God say?
"Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and do
not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.
(Exodus 23:13)
God told Israel not to even mention the name of pagan gods, but the church has a celebration that is named after a pagan god. There is nothing about Easter in the Bible. It has nothing to do with Christ' resurrection. Easter is never mentioned by the Lord or the apostles.
Let's look at these feasts and see what we can
learn from them.
Passover - In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at
twilight is the LORD'S Passover. (Leviticus 23:5 NASB)
Passover occurs in the spring of every year, on the 14th day of the Hebrew month, Nisan (ni-zon) (March/April).
In Genesis 1 where the Bible says, "...the
evening and the morning were the first day," Their day started at sundown;
normally at 6:00pm, but formally at sundown. They do not view midnight to
midnight as a day, as we do.
As we look at the Passover, keep in mind that the day is all about the Son of
God.
In Exodus 12:3 the Lamb is symbolic for the Lord Jesus Christ. and John 1:28-29 confirms it. The lamb was a sacrifice. (1 Corinthians 5:7)
God commanded Israel to take a lamb on the tenth day of Nisan and set it aside until the fourteenth day. (Exodus 12:3-6)
These four days were fulfilled by Jesus during the Passover week. Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the Temple, which was the house of God, and went on public display there for four days, from Nisan 10 to Nisan 14. During this time, Jesus was examined by many in fulfilling this Scripture, including: The chief priests and elders (Matthew 21:23); Pilate (Matthew 27:1-2,11-14,17-26); Herod (Luke 23:6-12); and Annas, the high priest (Luke 3:2; John 18:13,24).
Let's read Exodus 12:6 And you shall keep it
until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. (Exodus 12:6 NASB)
This verse tell us that the lamb is to be killed
"at twilight" the literal Hebrew reads: "between the two evenings." The lamb was
to be killed "between the evenings."
The Biblical day (6:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) is divided into two 12-hour periods.
The evening runs from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The morning runs from 6:00 a.m. to
6:00 p.m. Each 12-hour period is divided into two smaller portions. From 6:00
a.m. to noon is the morning part of the day. From noon to 6:00 p.m. is the
evening part of the day. The phrase, "between the evenings" (from Exodus 12:6),
refers to the period of the day that goes from noon to 6:00 p.m., which is
exactly 3:00 p.m. This would be the ninth hour of the day, counting from 6:00
a.m. Jesus died at the ninth hour of the day.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46)
In the evening of the fourteenth day, at exactly 3:00 p.m., the lamb was to be killed. And Jesus, our Lamb, was killed on the very same day, at the very same time as the Passover lamb. This is no coincidence!
The first Passover was celebrated on the 14th of Nisan. And almost two thousand years later, Jesus Christ was crucified on the 14th of Nisan. While Israel was celebrating their Passover, Jesus, the true Lamb of God, was being crucified. He was the Lamb of God, the Passover lamb. He died to save us from God's judgments, just as the actual lamb died for sacrifice.
Passover was a shadow of Christ being crucified. Passover was celebrated on the 14th of Nisan. And Jesus Christ was crucified on the 14th of Nisan. The only year that was the 14th of Nisan and a High Sabbath the 15th was 34AD which was a Wednesday.
Table 1 The date of Nisan 14 in Jerusalem, AD 26-36 Year (AD) New Moon time Deduced date of Nisan 14
34 9 March 5:25 Wednesday 24 March
The annual dates are based on the Hebrew calendar, from the 14/15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan (or Nisan) through the 22nd day. ... Over time, the Festival of Unleavened Bread commonly became known as "Passover" and is usually considered as starting at sundown between Nissan 14 and Nissan 15.
The bible tells us Passover is the 14th of Nissan. This is a FACT. Nobody can deny this but today's calendar places it on the 15th of Nissan because it was the night of the 14th. The 15th was/is the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
Unleavened Bread
Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened
Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. (Leviticus
23:6 NASB)
God appointed another feast that was to begin the very next day after Passover,
on the fifteenth of the Hebrew month, Nisan. It is called the "Feast of
Unleavened Bread." It was to last for seven days. On the first night, and again
on the seventh, there was to be a holy convocation - these were high Sabbaths.
On this feast they would put grain in the ground and then pray to God to bring
the harvest for the coming year. The Hebrews would pray, "Give us life out of
the earth." as they put the grain in the ground. What was happening to Jesus on
this feast as every Israelite was praying, "Give us life out of the earth"? They
were burying Him. Think about that!
From Leviticus 23, the prophetic meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is found in the work of the Messiah. Passover pictures the DEATH of the Messiah as the Passover Lamb. The Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures the BURIAL of the Messiah, and the feast that follows, which is FIRST FRUITS, pictures the RESURRECTION of the Messiah. These feast clearly show the Gospel DEATH, BURIAL and RESURRECTION.
First Fruits
Leviticus 23:10-11 (ERV) 10 "Tell the Israelites: You will enter the land that I
will give you and reap its harvest. At that time you must bring in the first
stack of grain of your harvest to the priest. 11 The priest will lift the grain
to show it was offered before the Lord. Then you will be accepted. The priest
will present the grain on Sunday morning. (Sunday morning Literally, "the
morning after the Sabbath.")
What date is this feast to take place on? Passover was to take place on the 14th of Nisan. The feast of Unleavened Bread was to take place on the 15th of Nisan. What date is First Fruits? There is no date given. The verse says that this third feast occurs "...on the day after the Sabbath..."! Most scholars say the Feast of First Fruits took place on the 16th of Nisan. They take the Sabbath here to be the Sabbath of the first day of Unleavened Bread. But I believe that the Sabbath referred to here is the weekly Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. If "First Fruits" occurs on the 16th of Nisan, and it pictures Christ's resurrection, this does not allow for Jesus to be in the grave 3 days and 3 nights.
for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS
IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)
I take this to mean 3 full days, or 72 hours. We know that Jesus was buried at the end of the 14th of Nisan. He was in the tomb on the 15th of Nisan and would have remained in the tomb until the 18th of Nisan. There is no date given in Scripture for the Feast of First Fruits, because it is always on a Sunday! the day after the Sabbath. So, the date would change from year to year, but it is always on a Sunday, the first day of the week. What is interesting is that on the year that Christ was crucified, there had to be three days between the 14th and the first day of the week. And it just so happens that there was.
If Christ spent 3 days and nights in the grave, this would mean that the traditional idea of Christ being crucified on Friday is incorrect. I believe that Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, was buried by the end of the day. He was in the grave from Thursday at sundown until Saturday at sundown, which is 3 days, and 3 nights, or 72 hours. He rose from the dead on Sunday, sometime after sundown on Saturday evening.
Here is a time line:
14th of Nisan--Jesus was tried early morning and declared faultless by Pilate
(Wednesday). He was hung on the Cross from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. Jesus dies the
same time the Passover lambs are being slaughtered in the Temple. He is prepared
for burial and placed in tomb just before sunset.
15th of Nisan--the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (which was a High
Sabbath), Jesus is In the tomb. 1st night and 1st day (Thursday).
16th of Nisan--Jesus spends the 2nd night and 2nd day in the tomb (Friday).
17th of Nisan--Jesus spends the 3rd night and 3rd day in the tomb ( Saturday of
the Jewish Sabbath).
18th of Nisan--Jesus is resurrected at the close of the Sabbath, beginning the
first day of the week. This is the day of First Fruits. Jesus' body could not be
found, the tomb was empty (Sunday).
The confusion about Jesus being crucified on Friday may come from:
The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies
should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day),
asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
(John 19:31 NASB)
Remember that the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a special High
Sabbath, and no work is to be done. We assume they had to get Jesus' body in the
tomb before the weekly Sabbath, but it wasn't the weekly Sabbath, it was the
High Sabbath of Unleavened Bread.
So, Passover occurs on the 14th; Unleavened Bread occurs on the 15th (and lasts
till the 22nd); and "First fruits" occurs on the day after the weekly Sabbath
,or Sunday, the first day of the week. So First Fruits is ALWAYS on a SUNDAY. As
to the significance of the Feast of First Fruits, as with the other feasts,
there is no room for doubt or speculation; it represents Christ's resurrection.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are
asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of
the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are
Christ's at His coming, (1 Corinthians 15:20-23 NASB)
On one particular morning, the Feast of First
Fruits were being waved before the alter in the Temple, and that particular
morning some women were heading to an empty tomb.
Note, this is the first fruits of the barley harvest. This is a reference to
Jesus Christ and His resurrection. The first fruits were transferred to the Lord
and an assurance of Divine blessing on the harvest.
FIRST FRUITS pictures the RESURRECTION of the Messiah. This feast took place
after the weekly Sabbath, or Sunday, the first day of the week. Jesus rose from
the dead on the first day of the week. Are these just coincidence, or was God
teaching us the history of redemption?
In the study of the feasts, we see that every single piece of the Christian
Bible falls right into the framework of the Hebrew world. The whole Christian
message is in the feasts. We are not going to cover all the feasts but will at
some point.
So hundreds of years before Christ was ever born, God was teaching His people
that their Messiah would come, and He would die for them on Passover, the 14th
of Nisan. Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. God was
teaching His people that for three days Jesus would be in the tomb, and that He
would arise from the dead on the first day of the week - the very day that
Israel celebrated the Feast of First Fruits. Jesus became the first to raise
from the dead.
Fifteen hundred years before Christ's resurrection, God predicted in type and
shadow that Jesus would be crucified on the 14th of Nisan and would rise from
the dead three days later on the first day of the week, and it happened exactly
as God said it would.