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Easter is an Abomination to Yahweh
Yahweh set the date for celebrating Passover in about 1450 B.C. while the Children of Israel were still in Egypt. It’s presented in Exodus 12: 1-8:
Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.
A little later, Yahweh reiterated the date for celebrating Passover. It’s presented in Numbers 9: 1-5:
Yahweh spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they came out of Egypt. He said, “Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover at the appointed time. Celebrate it at the appointed time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month, in accordance with all its rules and regulations.”
So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover, and they did so in the Desert of Sinai at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as Yahweh commanded Moses.
In 325 A.D., the Roman Emperor Constantine abandoned the date for Passover established by Yahweh in favor of another date that coincided with a pagan festival for the Assyrian and Babylonian fertility goddess Ishtar—hence the name “Easter” and Easter eggs. Constantine explained his logic in a letter to the assembled church leaders at Nicaea:
When the question relative to the sacred festival of Easter arose, it was universally thought that it would be convenient that all should keep the feast on one day; for what could be more beautiful and more desirable, than to see this festival, through which we receive the hope of immortality, celebrated by all with one accord, and in the same manner? It was declared to be particularly unworthy for this, the holiest of all festivals, to follow the custom [the calculation] of the Jews, who had soiled their hands with the most fearful of crimes, and whose minds were blinded. In rejecting their custom, (1) we may transmit to our descendants the legitimate mode of celebrating Easter, which we have observed from the time of the Saviour’s Passion to the present day [according to the day of the week]. We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews, for the Saviour has shown us another way; our worship follows a more legitimate and more convenient course (the order of the days of the week); and consequently, in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews, for it is truly shameful for us to hear them boast that without their direction we could not keep this feast. How can they be in the right, they who, after the death of the Saviour, have no longer been led by reason but by wild violence, as their delusion may urge them? They do not possess the truth in this Easter question; for, in their blindness and repugnance to all improvements, they frequently celebrate two passovers in the same year. We could not imitate those who are openly in error. How, then, could we follow these Jews, who are most certainly blinded by error? [F]or to celebrate the passover twice in one year is totally inadmissible. But even if this were not so, it would still be your duty not to tarnish your soul by communications with such wicked people [the Jews]. Besides, consider well, that in such an important matter, and on a subject of such great solemnity, there ought not to be any division. Our Saviour has left us only one festal day of our redemption, that is to say, of his holy passion, and he desired [to establish] only one Catholic Church. Think, then, how unseemly it is, that on the same day some should be fasting whilst others are seated at a banquet; and that after Easter, some should be rejoicing at feasts, whilst others are still observing a strict fast. For this reason, a Divine Providence wills that this custom should be rectified and regulated in a uniform way; and everyone, I hope, will agree upon this point. As, on the one hand, it is our duty not to have anything in common with the murderers of our Lord; and as, on the other, the custom now followed by the Churches of the West, of the South, and of the North, and by some of those of the East, is the most acceptable, it has appeared good to all; and I have been guarantee for your consent, that you would accept it with joy, as it is followed at Rome, in Africa, in all Italy, Egypt, Spain, Gaul, Britain, Libya, in all Achaia, and in the dioceses of Asia, of Pontus, and Cilicia. You should consider not only that the number of churches in these provinces make a majority, but also that it is right to demand what our reason approves, and that we should have nothing in common with the Jews. To sum up in few words: By the unanimous judgment of all, it has been decided that the most holy festival of Easter should be everywhere celebrated on one and the same day, and it is not seemly that in so holy a thing there should be any division. As this is the state of the case, accept joyfully the divine favour, and this truly divine command; for all which takes place in assemblies of the bishops ought to be regarded as proceeding from the will of God. Make known to your brethren what has been decreed, keep this most holy day according to the prescribed mode; we can thus celebrate this holy Easter day at the same time, if it is granted me, as I desire, to unite myself with you; we can rejoice together, seeing that the divine power has made use of our instrumentality for destroying the evil designs of the devil, and thus causing faith, peace, and unity to flourish amongst us. May God graciously protect you, my beloved brethren. (Source: Eusebius, Vita Const., Lib. iii., 18-20.)
It is likely that Constantine was trying to make Christianity more acceptable to pagans in the Roman Empire. Since they already had a festival for Ishtar at about the time of Passover, he probably thought that combining Passover with the Ishtar celebration would cause Roman citizens to more readily accept Christianity and that eventually it would help to solidify Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Whatever the case may be, it is obvious from his letter that Constantine had great animus for the Jewish people and that he wanted to do everything in his power to distance the Christian church from Judaism.
Changing the date and name of Passover did that in spades. Constantine’s decision had the effect of driving Jewish Christians from the fledgling Christian church. Most of them refused to celebrate Passover on any other date except the one established by Yahweh. As a result, they were persecuted and eventually excommunicated from the institutional church. Some of them were even killed for observing Passover on the correct day.
Intense “Christian” persecution of Jews followed, and to this day many so-called “Christians” are extremely anti-Semitic. This is a serious problem because most Jewish people want nothing to do with Christianity, and if you know anything about the persecution they have experienced at the hands of so-called “Christians” over the past 2000 years, you can understand why they feel the way they do. The controversy surrounding the date for celebrating Passover triggered the first big break in relations between Gentile and Jewish Christians, and the fracture is just now beginning to mend.
Through prayer and Bible study, Yahweh has shown me that Jewish Christians were absolutely correct to insist on celebrating Passover on the date that He ordained. He told Ezekiel that failing to distinguish between the holy and the profane causes Him to be profaned, or dishonored, among the people. (Ezekiel 22: 26) That’s exactly what Constantine did. He combined a holy convocation with a pagan festival and profaned Yahweh’s Name.
The word “Easter” is an abomination to Yahweh because it is derived from Ishtar, a false goddess. Christians who advertise Easter pageants and go to Easter sunrise services demonstrate no understanding about how offensive the name “Easter” is to Him, or they are showing callous disregard for Him and His word. The kindest thing you can say in their defense is that most of them are totally ignorant about what they are doing. That’s not true for preachers, or at least it shouldn’t be. They are supposed to know what Yahweh’s word says. Candidly, I cringe when I hear people use the word “Easter”, especially preachers, because I know how offensive it is to Yahweh.
Yahweh intends to make us holy because He is holy. There is nothing holy about ignoring Yahweh’s commands concerning the date of Passover, and it is disgraceful to substitute the name of a pagan goddess for a celebration that is as important to Yahweh as Passover is. It is a celebration of the blood that He shed to redeem us. Nothing should be more important to us than that, and Christian people need to know it. It’s time to abandon Easter completely and to get on board with Yahweh’s plan for Passover.
The Traditional Site of the Upper Room in Jerusalem where the Messiah Celebrated Passover with His Disciples the Day before He was Crucified
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Hosea 2: 11-13
“I will also put an end to all her gaiety, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths and all her festal assemblies. I will destroy her vines and fig trees, of which she said, ‘These are my wages which my lovers have given me.’ And I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field will devour them. I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she used to offer sacrifices to them and adorn herself with her earrings and jewelry, and follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” declares Yahweh.
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His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback. It’s also available for free in PDF format.
- God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
- “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
- “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
- Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)
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Hosea 4: 6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
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Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now. There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
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Other Books by Neil Snyder
- Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming. Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days. Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall. Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace. With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life? Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide. It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided. They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
