04/03/21 SHORT POSTS MADE OVER THE LAST DECADE ABOUT, "EASTER VS. RESURRECTION"

04/03/21 SHORT POSTS MADE OVER THE LAST DECADE ABOUT, "EASTER VS. RESURRECTION"

Someone asked me for information on the issue concerning Easter vs. Resurrection. I went back and copied some of my FB posts. Here they are. Some redundancy but several points are made.

HERE ARE A FEW OF MY "EASTER OR RESURRECTION" POSTS FROM THE PAST. (notice the dates of entry).

April 10-13, 2009
EASTER OR RESURRECTION? NOMENCLATURE MATTERS
Background
These posts addressed the widespread use of the name of a pagan prostitute (Ishtar) when referring to the resurrection of Jesus (so-called Easter). Let me say from the beginning, I believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus, but I do not frame it in pagan terminology and celebration. I have actually had friends cut me off because I reject the paganizing of the Resurrection. While I know that the the term “Easter” and the bunnies and eggs have a pagan origin and are actually antagonistic to the message of the Empty Tomb, I do not turn against my brothers and sisters in Christ, who continue to use such defiling imagery when they celebrate the Resurrection.

Stranger Than Fiction.
Maybe a good name for a mystery novel would be, "What Ever Happened to Resurrection?" Or a children's book, "How the Fertility goddess Stole Resurrection." Or maybe a love story, "Breakfast at Ishtar's," or maybe a drama, "An Egg is Hatched," or a comedy, "A Bunny Thing Happened to Me On the Way to the Empty Tomb."
Seriously, no one would wish their mom, "Happy Ho Day" on the second Sunday of May. Yet Christians say, "Happy Easter." The word "Easter" is derived from the sex goddess, "Ishtar." Ishtar, part of the Babylonian pantheon, was Satan's counterfeit of the virgin birth and the resurrection story. The pagan and polluted Babylonians of old dedicated one of their gates to Ishtar.

Why The Confusion?
Believers are united by the fact of the resurrection, not by the acceptance of pagan nomenclature, and we should not be separated from one another because pagan nomenclature either. Maybe someone can show me why we should call the resurrection of Jesus by the name of a pagan prostitute.

I've been wondering. Do any of my friends really believe the apostles Peter, Paul, James and John would have celebrated the resurrection of Christ by referring to the name of a fertility goddess and playing with fertility symbols, like eggs and rabbits? Will the Tribulation saints celebrate "Easter?" Will we hunt for eggs in honor of Christ during the Millennium?

Another Problem.
Think about this... When children are asked about "Easter," what do they think about? Is their first thought Jesus hanging on the cross, or dying for our salvation, or rising from the dead, or conquering Satan?

I contend that most children think of Easter bunnies and eggs, which have nothing to do with the greatest event in the history of the universe. In fact, these trappings are diabolic attempts to corrupt the message of the Empty Tomb.

Are people so attached to pagan terminology and practices because their pastors never told them the danger of such a position or is it because their pastors don't really know the truth? I have watched for over 40 years, as this "Easter" thing has actually cost people their souls, because they have been diverted from the message of the Empty Tomb.

Easter Is Not Resurrection.
Our words matter. If words don't mean what they say, they don't mean anything at all. Pagans, secularists, atheists, cultists, world religionists, and even Larry Flynt understands that “Easter” has nothing to do with Christ. Too bad Christians don't understand.

Why do you reckon people get upset when I speak against Easter Bunnies and Easter Eggs? I mean, it is not like those things have anything to do with the gospel.

04/02/12
NO BIBLE CHRISTIAN EVER SAID, HAPPY EASTER

Try this for one week. Use the word "RESURRECTION" instead of "Easter."
The origin of the word Easter, which has replaced the Biblical term, "resurrection," has to do with the Babylonian prostitute goddess, Ishtar and her counterfeit son, Tammuz (who is one of Satan's replacement for Christ). Actually, the eggs and rabbit imagery are also related to fertility goddesses as well. Just try one one week of focusing on the true and holy without using the false and polluted. Just a thought.
Just so you know,
I do celebrate His death and resurrection.
I do celebrate His birth (without Santa).
I do celebrate birthdays.
I sometimes give special treats to my children during resurrection week or weekend.
I just do it without all of the pagan trappings.
Think about this:
Most children think,
rabbits,
Easter and
eggs
during this glorious celebration
INSTEAD OF resurrection of Christ.

This would be a good step in getting their focus where it should be.
People are concerned about "robbing" the children of fun. I have never seen children robbed of joy by focusing on Jesus.
One week, this one year. It could be a really good experience. If it does not turn out good for you, just blame me.

04/07/12
TIME TO RETURN TO TRUTH
Replacing the pure Lamb of God (Who takes away the sin of the world) with the unclean rabbit (unfit for sacrifice) is not an accident. In the Old Testament, God commanded that the lamb be a sacrifice for sin (foreshadowing Christ) and He designated the rabbit as an unclean and therefore non-sacrificial animal.

Ask anyone today (adult or child) what animal symbolizes "Easter" and see what you get. It is time to turn from Easter to Resurrection terminology and imagery.

A Little Background...
I remember, as a child, a lamb was a popular symbol during resurrection season (cards and cakes). As time went by people began to give ducklings and chicks as "Easter" gifts to children (strange pets to give city children).

Eventually the focus shifted almost exclusively from the Resurrection message to the pagan oriented symbols found in various religions and cultures: Ishtar, the Assyrian pagan/prostitute goddess (consort/sister/mother of Tammuz, a Satanic counterfeit for Christ); or the European goddess of fertility and renewal, Eostre/Ostara with the trappings of rabbits and eggs.

Too bad the Biblical account of the virgin born Son of God, dying for the sins of the world, rising from the dead, ascending to heaven and interceding for us is not glorious enough.
Too bad so-called Christians are confusing children.
Too bad the non-Christian community sees this more clearly than those who claim the name of Christ.
Happy Resurrection

CONCERNING EASTER vs. RESURRECTION
Without presenting a lot of research at this time, let me say a few things along these lines.
1- The plan of God is eternal. The activities of Satan are reactionary to God's actions.
2- God has always had a plan of salvation, including the revelation of the Old and New Testament, the laws and sacrifices of Israel, the incarnation, sinless life, sacrificial death and physical resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.
3- God gave glimpses of His plan from the time of Adam in the Garden (Ge.3:15). Satan has taken these slivers of revelation and counterfeited them, sometimes before the actual events took place. As far back as the days of the first generation, the devil has tried to disguise, defame, and duplicate the plan and work of God through pagan religions. This is why we see false representations of the virgin birth, the incarnation, the death and resurrection of God's Son, acted-out and taught by false religions of ancient times.
4- Satan wants to diminish the message of the cross and the empty tomb by supplanting them with pagan symbols.
5- The use of pagan symbols is not accidental or harmless. Well meaning believers often fall prey to Satan's devices of deception.
6- This is not a call to legalism or mindless literal-ism, but a call to presenting the truth in love. A corrupted message is the wrong message. Let's be Biblical.

04/16/14
DOESN'T MAKE SENSE
So, I still don't see how Christians don't see the problem of representing Christ with Ihstar, Christ's resurrection with decorated eggs, and the empty tomb with bunny rabbits, all of which are pagan symbols of blasphemy.

Nor do i see the spiritual value (or any value) in filling the minds of little children with pagan distractions. I don't see it producing Christ likeness in anyone, but i do see confusion in the minds of little children.

And btw, how impressed is the Father that Christ's resurrection is now called by the name of a Babylonian Harlot?

The Greek word used in Acts 12:4 is πάσχα, "Passover," but is translated Easter in the KJV.

Of course, the Passover is not the same as resurrection, but they are close to one another in time. But, it is not even accurate for folks to equate the Passover and Resurrection. By the way, I have read from some "King James Only" people, who argue that the original word was Easter. As a King Jesus only person, I find that absurd. hehehe

I just looked at Barnes' Notes and here is what it says.
"There never was a more absurd or unhappy translation than this. The original is simply after the Passover (μετὰ τὸ πάσχα meta to pascha. The word “Easter” now denotes the festival observed by many Christian churches in honor of the resurrection of the Saviour. But the original has no reference to that, nor is there the slightest evidence that any such festival was observed at the time when this book was written. The translation is not only unhappy, as it does not convey at all the meaning of the original, but because it may contribute to foster an opinion that such a festival was observed in the time of the apostles. The word “Easter” is of Saxon origin, and is supposed to be derived from “Eostre,” the goddess of Love, or the Venus of the North, in honor of whom a festival was celebrated by our pagan ancestors in the month of April (Webster). Since this festival coincided with the Passover of the Jews, and with the feast observed by Christians in honor of the resurrection of Christ, the name came to be used to denote the latter. In the old Anglo-Saxon service-books the term “Easter” is used frequently to translate the word “Passover.” In the translation by Wycliffe, the word “paske,” that is, “Passover,” is used. But Tyndale and Coverdale used the word “Easter,” and hence, it has very improperly crept into our King James Version."

Clarke also says,
"The Saxon Earten, Eartne, Eartno, Eartna, and Eartnon are different modes of spelling the name of the goddess Easter, whose festival was celebrated by our pagan forefathers on the month of April; hence that month, in the Saxon calendar, is called Easter month. Every view we can take of this subject shows the gross impropriety of retaining a name every way exceptionable, and palpably absurd."

DLG says,
The problem is, God does not get the glory. It is given to Peter Cottontail and the Anglo Saxon/Roman/Greek/Egyptian/Babylonian goddess (all originating in the Babylonian prostitute), which is the same as not giving any glory to God according to the Bible.
Children need to learn truth, not fables, about the resurrection and this celebration of Christianity.

Not only are the children in the churches being misled, the people outside of the Church have come to believe that Christians mix pagan ideas with the word of God also.

Even the cults attack Christians over this.
It seems the last to know the truth are church people.

Shame on our pastors, our teachers, our parents for keeping us bound to this error.

I do care what other people think about the Church's view of Christ and this special season, because that is how they judge our whole message.

Why should Christians obscure the message by combining it with pagan ideas?
Why should we put a stumbling block before them?
Why should we change the message of God?

I have seen people who have judged the Church's message to be corrupted, because of this one area. And, at this point, some of the cults are more Biblical than the Church (and the Church is the pillar and support of the truth and we are supposed to contend for the faith, not promote a lie).

I meet sinners, people outside of the Church, who can see this issue more clearly than most church people see it. Who do we think is blinding the eyes of the church folks? Are the sinners wrong to think that the "Easter" thing, the" fertility goddess" thing, the "pagan" thing is wrong.

Christians need to rid themselves of the pagan attachments to their celebration of the Resurrection of Christ if they want to glorify God, lift up Christ, reach their own children, stop the mouths of the gainsayers and evangelize the lost.

Christians need to abandon the pagan trappings, so that God will get the glory and people will get the story.

04/20- TO 04/21/14
SERIES OF QUESTIONS ABOUT RESURRECTION DAY
#1 Did you hear the one about the person who gave up "Easter" for Lent?
This is part 1 in of a series of posts.
#2 Okay. Then did you hear the one about the person who have up "Easter" for Resurrection?
This is part 2 in of a series of posts.
#3 Well, I know you heard the one about the person(s) who gave up Resurrection for "Easter."
This is part 3 in of a series of posts.
#4 So, if you kill the Easter Bunny, will he still be dead in three days?
This is part 4 in of a series of posts.
#5 Okay, if you kill the Easter Bunny, and in three days he rises up, will you call it Resurrection?
This is part 5 in of a series of posts.
#6 If you think part 5 was absurd, what about parts 1-4?
This is part 6 in of a series of posts.
#7 Burma Shave... For those who want to cut the Hare off your faith.
This is part 7 in of a series of posts
#8a For those who do not understand the "Burma Shave" line, contact me.
#8b For those who do not understand the "Easter" comments in this series, contact me.
This is parts 8a and 8b in of a series of posts.
#9 For those who do not understand me, join the club... if they have room for more members.
This is part 9 in of a series of posts.

April 14, 2015
FOR WHAT IT IS WORTH
(to some folks, not much)

ONE MORE TIME (at least)
This year, I continue to choose not to dilute or confuse the message of Christ dying on the cross and rising from the dead by honoring the fertility images of paganism, such as rabbits and eggs and Easter (Eostre, Ishtar, Ostara among other aliases of a pagan prostitute).

I don't need those things, in fact children don't need those things. What we all need is a clear and uncompromising presentation of Christ and the atonement.
I do not understand why anyone would want to use a filthy name of a fertility goddess in conjunction with the pure Son of God who died and rose again.
I understand doing it out of ignorance, but not doing it intentionally.

IT IS ABOUT HIM
You gain nothing by attaching fertility images. You lose something by using fertility images. However, what you lose or gain, what others lose or gain, is not the issue. Jesus is not honored by being attached to a pagan prostitute.

WALKING IN LIGHT, NOT SHADOWS
Just because earlier Christians made the mistake of accepting the pagan connection does not mean that we should follow them. In fact, since we have recovered more light than they had, then we SHOULD abandon this attachment. Why follow our forefathers in their errors?

BE BIBLICAL
Don't blame me for the facts, I am just the messenger. Your problem is not with me, it is with the message, it is with the message Sender. Read the Bible. Read the accounts of the crucifixion and the resurrection. It was not coupled with pagan goddesses.

LET ME ADD THIS...
Christians and pagans around the world are given the wrong impression of Christ and His message when they see western Christians mingling the truth of God with well known lies of the devil.

CONSIDER THIS
If it makes you feel better about it, Obama, who is overtly anti-Christian in so many other ways, celebrates the WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL (WHEER). Yes, you and Obama.

BUT, you may argue, other Presidents celebrated it also. Yes they did. I guess that means we should follow in their steps??? Remember Jack and Marilyn, Bill and Monica. OK, Reagan and some other Presidents with less sullied backgrounds also participated in the WHEER. They were wrong also. But here is a difference in Reagan and Obama; Obama is a known enemy of the cross, enemy of the Holy Bible, enemy of Christ followers, yet he has no problem with EASTER EGGS. Do you not think that he is sending a message with this event?

March 18, 2015
A GOOD TIME TO EXCHANGE EASTER FOR RESURRECTION
Wouldn't this be a good year to exchange ISHTAR (Easter) for RESURRECTION? Not only the name, but the pagan (Babylonian/Mid-East/Islamic related) trappings. Jesus deserves the attention, honor of this celebration. Also, it is time to stop confusing little children.
Islam is related to the religions and cultures of Babylon, Akkadia, Assyria, through the ancestral background of Islam (the sons of Shem and Madai, and the sons of Hagar and Keturah).

April 7, 2015
HAPPY RESURRECTION
Think of the hundreds of thousands of times today that people will say Happy Easter, when they could have said RESURRECTION.
Think of how many children will celebrate Easter, will hunt eggs, will even attend church, yet they will not have any knowledge about Christ rising from the dead.
Think how sad it is that people all over the world, including millions of lost and Christian hating Muslims hear that Christians celebrate in the name of a fertility goddess and rabbits, and eggs, instead of the Resurrction of Jesus Christ.

Forget your traditions, think about your heritage (Savior and your salvation), think about your descendants, and think about the purity of the message to a lost and confused world.

ADDENDUM
I thought about celebrating today by having a bunny. But Martha did not know how to cook it.

Oh, by the way, remember, the rabbit, which is popular with so many churches as they celebrate the Resurrection in the name of a pagan goddess, was actually an unclean animal in the Old Testament economy. It is as if the whole thing was planned by an evil mind, to dishonor the Biblical sacrifice of Christ. Well, it was not the revelation of God, sooooo.

(5/11/16)
FATHER'S DAY is coming soon.
Unhappily special occasions have become less special and more of an occasion, for the occasion's sake. This is true for Christmas (the celebration of the incarnation of God the Son, in the Person of Jesus Christ), and true for the Resurrection of Christ from the dead physically (usually referred to by the pagan name, "Easter"), and true for Mother's Day and Father's Day. Too often people will "celebrate" the occasion, but not really have a living relationship with the one they are supposedly honoring.

As a father, a husband, I like to be honored, loved by my children. Honor and love are not an "occasional" event. Honor and love are a daily reality, relationship. On a much higher note, it is futile to celebrate either the birth of Christ or His resurrection one day a year (or one day a week) if we don't really honor and love Him every day with every fiber of our being.

As a father, a husband, I am NOT interested in expressions of love or honor from any child who does not also love and honor their mother, my wife. (This principle also applies to brotherly and sisterly love in the family). This is basic to husbands and wives being one flesh. But it is also specifically true when the wife, the mother, is worthy of love and respect. To offend my wife is more repulsive to me than to offend me, because I know what a wonderful mother, wife, woman Martha is.

This may sound harsh. IT AIN'T. It is valid. If someone does not like me for what I say, then you need to change the way you relate to your mom and dad. God wants families to be bound together by love, respect. Parents should love their children and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Children are expected to love and respect (honor) their parents. When that relationship exists, it is as close to heaven on earth as we will find.

So, if you don't honor your mom, don't even think about telling me Happy Father's Day. On the other hand, if you have not honored your mom,
why not repent,
why not make it right,
why not start doing the right thing today?
God is redemptive, and so are moms and dads who love Jesus.
Psalms 133:1
(1) ...Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

03/20/18 NO EASTER HERE
No Easter Bunny, No Easter Eggs, in fact, No Easter at The NET HOUSE.
We celebrate RESURRECTION of JESUS, and the children get it.
Isaiah 42:5-8
5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
(someone agreed that it is the name of a pagan celebration)
DLG... Yep, it was a pagan celebration and these "Easter" furnishings are still an affront to the glorious resurrection of the Son of God. Easter was named for a perverted, incestuous fertility goddess (who had various names in various cultures though history) and the bunny represents fertility and the egg represents fertility. The whole thing is corrupt, from the top to the bottom, from beginning to end.
In spite of the friendly explanations people read on the internet, by so-called experts, the fact is that Satan has always had a counterfeit and false deliverer, in various places from the Cradle of Civilization to Greece, to Rome, to Scandinavia. To compartmentalize and divide is to cover up the work of Satan. I have never figured out why Christians (well meaning as they may be) do not just dump the pagan connections and focus on the most awesome event in the universe: God became a man, died on a cross and rose physically from the dead on the third day.

(someone said that maybe others would start to call it Resurrection if we do)
DLG... That would be wonderful, but I have been calling it Resurrection and not calling it Easter for over 50 years and very seldom do I have believers change their vocabulary or focus. Of course, our church has always referred to Resurrection, my children have always referred to it as Resurrection.
Sadly, and curiously, most other Christians seem to be on a crusade to save the bunny. It is as if dumping Peter Cotton Tail or getting rid of the word, "Easter" is an attack on the word of God and the doctrines of salvation. I understand that most people do not see it in the same way I see it, and I do not make it a point of separation, but sometimes others will distance themselves from me, as if I am a legalist or a cultist. GO FIGURE.
Still, we hold the ground. If someone wishes me a Happy Easter, I smile, and respond with either, He is Risen or, Happy Resurrection to you to. I know what they mean. I am not bashful about my position, but I don't allow a difference of understanding to come between me and other Christians.
However, I have found that cultist and other sinners usually have a better grasp of this issue than Christians. I think that churches and Christian parents have been unintentionally hindering the faith of their children by failing to teach them the greatness of the Resurrection, by adding pagan concepts. Again, it is not intentional, but I think it has happened. I don't think I have ever been told by a pastor or a parishioner that they changed their viewpoint after listening to me. Sad.
03/29/18
ASK OTHERS ABOUT "EASTER"
Just FYI,
ask children, cultists and sinners
if they say Easter or Resurrection.
(someone commented that it could be a good way to share with someone).
DLG response
In fact, that is where I wanted to go with my post, but I sometimes try to fit it into one of the colorful backgrounds provided by FB. It makes my post more appealing and more likely to get read by some folks.

Yes. I would even suggest that this is a very good way to deliberately bring up the gospel and witness for Christ, and it is not even that "sneaky." Jesus often used this technique to introduce Divine truth to people.

And we should not be surprised when cultists call it resurrection. This is one of the things that causes cults to grow.

The cults sometimes use Biblical terms and address Biblical issues (though they are not being Biblical when they do it), while Christians have been tricked into "sanctifying" pagan concepts and ignoring Biblical teaching.

The cults have often been more interested in what they believe than Christians have been interested in the truth of the Bible.
The cults are often better equipped to mislead people than Christians are to lead people in the truth.
The cults are less concerned with being "disliked" than Christians.
The cults follow their darkness more closely than most Christians follow the light.
The cults make their darkness more approachable and understandable than most Christians do, in presenting the light.
The cults have a deeper understanding of their false doctrines than most Christians have concerning the truth of the Bible.
The cults often spend more time, energy and other resources in spreading their darkness than Christians spend in spreading the light of the gospel.
The cults are motivated (for whatever reason), while most Christians are not even awake. (No pun intended with the word AWAKE).

05/14/18
DON'T BELIEVE IN FAIRY TALES
No matter how much a parent tells it, and no matter how much a child believes it, there is no Santa Claus, Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy. Parents try to justify it by saying that the children "need" or want these things to be true, or they say that it would be "robbing" the children to tell them that these are not real.

It would be the same if God told us to believe in things that are not true or real. If man does not have a free will, with which to choose salvation, then God would be misleading us by instructing us to pray for the lost, to witness to the lost. If there are people who cannot believe on Christ (because God supposedly does not enable them to believe), then it is a farce to witness to them. If God saves people by unconditional, unilateral, double predestination, then it is not necessary for people to hear the "gospel" in order to be saved.

There would be no need for a Great Commission to convert the lost.
God does not lie and God does not mislead us with fairy tales. All men are lost. All men need salvation through Christ. Christ died for the whole world. We are sent to the whole world to proclaim the gospel that saves the lost. Whosoever believes in Him shall be saved. These are teachings from the Bible and they are real.
I don't believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy or the five points of Calvinism, because no such thing is taught in the Holy Bible. The notion that God does not love the whole world, that Christ did not die for the whole world, that God does not provide and offer salvation to the whole world and that God does not enable everyone with the ability to believe the gospel is a Theology taught by errant theologians, including John Calvin and followed by Reformed Theology. Such a teaching is a contradiction to Divine revelation, Divine commands, Divine nature.

Do not be caught up in the make believe world that you have no choice concerning your salvation or that you are not accountable for your sins after you get saved.

03/29/18
WHY NOT RESURRECTION?
If you call it "Easter" instead of "Resurrection" what is your reason?
If it doesn't matter to you, then why not "Resurrection?"

04/21/19
SHAME SHAME SHAME
"Churches" celebrated pagan fertility gods so much that the world now thinks Easter is Christian.

SHAME SHAME SHAME.
03/26/19
FOCUS ON LAMB, NOT BUNNY
Don't attack folks who say "Happy Easter." Focus on empty tomb, love them and maybe they will turn their eyes from the bunny to the LAMB.

03/26/19
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT
Say RESURRECTION, instead of EASTER, though it seems strange.
Correct yourself if you mess up.
It might open door to witness.