The word Easter is only found in the King James Version of our bible and mentioned only once. The term ‘Easter’ was inserted in place of ‘Passover’. Easter became a part of the Western Church during the Council of Nicaea as the Gentile church was finding ways to distance themselves from the Jews. This is the result of the Western Church being organized under Roman Emperor Constantine.
There are many variations, but keeping it simple, the modern English word ‘Easter’ is associated with Eostre, German Goddess of Dawn, Ishtar Goddess of Fertility, which all originates from the Biblical Ashtoreth, a Sidonian Goddess. Note how similar these names sound to each other.
Acts 12:4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of
soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. NKJV
Acts 12:4 …intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. KJV
Names and locations in the bible are most commonly ‘Transliterated’, not to be confused with translated. Transliteration is taking the letters of a word from one language, and changing it using the corresponding letters of another language. The original Hebrew letters from Ashtoreth can be transliterated into Ishtar, Eostre, and Easter. Barring the understanding of Easter, all are associated with Fertility, Love and sex. The worship of the fertility Gods meant more than a good harvest, and is the reason we read about Shrine Prostitutes in the scriptures.
Judg 2:12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the Lord to anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.
There is a lot of folklore (traditional teachings) that goes into the history of Easter. The stories vary, but give a good idea how we acquired much of our Easter traditions.
The people of that time believed that great kings and warriors went on to become ‘Gods’ upon death. Noah was the great grandfather of Nimrod. Nimrod made a name for himself. It is believed that Nimrod married Samarimis, who has been referred to as the Queen of heaven. At his death, Nimrod was deified as Baal’. Sometime later after Nimrod’s death, Semiramis became pregnant. She claimed it was by Nimrod’s spirit.
The child born was believed to be Nimrod reincarnated, and was named Tamuz. It is belied that Tamuz was killed by a wild Boar while hunting. This is the reason for Ham served during the Festival of Ashteroth/Ishtar. Because of the supernatural birth, Semiramis would be deified as the Queen of Heaven.
The Deities’ of Baal’ and Ashtoreth were adopted and followed as Fertility Gods by the surrounding nations. Bunnies and eggs are symbols of fertility and used as offerings of worship. The name of Idols evolved from nation to nation based on pronunciation of the language.
Gen 10:8 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter
before the Lord; that is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord." 10 The first centers of his
kingdom were Babylon... 11 From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh... NIV
Ezek 8:14 Then he brought me to the entrance to the north gate of the house of the Lord,
and I saw women sitting there,
mourning for Tammuz.
Ex 23:13 Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.
Should we continue using Easter pointing to Gods salvation?
Exactly how the term Easter was incorporated into the church is debated. The Worship of Ishtar, goddess of fertility and new life, was prevalent in Pagan Rome among the other deities in that era. Constantine allowed everyone to worship as they chose. One view is, the church seeking to draw people from the worship of False Gods were pointing them to the one true God. They made the worship of Ishtar, New life, about faith in Jesus.
Today, the west continues referencing Easter about New Life in Christ despite its Pagan roots. Believers are ignorant of its origin because it’s not taught in church. Easter was the most significant holiday of my faith, until I learned the origin. I was devastated when I realized I have been using the name of a Pagan deity to remember the most momentous event in history.
Now when it comes to the worship of the one true God, I look to the biblical holidays. We no longer use the name that originates from Pagan history. We honor God by not speaking the name of other gods from our lips. We now refer to the most significant event in church history as Resurrection Weekend. Others refuse to let go of Easter because as far as they are concerned, only points to their faith. That’s between you and God.
1 Cor 8:4 We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.
I teach our family the difference between Truth from tradition, how Eggs and Bunnies became associated with the resurrection. We teach our children there is only one true God, and how colored eggs and candy are the result of that tradition. We were finding chocolate bunnies and coloring eggs since childhood, and we were clueless to any association to Pagan history. Once a year children look forward to a day that they get to color eggs and eat chocolate bunnies and candy. Some get new clothing. And that’s all they know. There is no sin in that.
John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." NIV