Last time I said I was not a big fan of the word Easter.
The word “Easter” can only be found in the Bible in one place and one widely used translation; Acts 12:4 King James Version- And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
However it is a wrong but right translation.
The Greek word is pascha derived from the Hebrew word Pesach or Passover. There is no original Greek word for Passover since it is a Hebrew event.
Elsewhere in the New Testament it is translated Passover.
However by the time the King James Version was being translated, Easter was associated with Passover and the resurrection of Jesus.
Easter has its origin in a pagan spring-time celebration.
The church has often attempted to lure such people away from paganism into Christianity with changing these celebrations into one that would include Christianity.
Unfortunately many of the pagan rituals would follow, just like the ones associated with Easter; colored eggs, rabbits, and such.
This is why I am not favorable toward the word “Easter”.
I have read a lot of information that says Easter is associated with the Babylonian god Ishtar. The English word Easter has as its origin the German word Ostern, which is related to the word for “dawn”.
But the word brings with it and conveys the idea of the resurrection of Christ.
If someone says Easter to me, I don’t think of eggs and rabbits; I don’t think of Babylonian gods or worshiping the sun at dawn; I think of the resurrection of Jesus.
So when exactly did the resurrection take place.
That’s easy enough to answer; for as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Matt 12:40
This is not the only reference to three days; Mark 9:31, Mark 10:34, Mark 14:58, Matt 27:63.
Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. Matt 28:1
What they found was Jesus had risen from the dead.
The first day of the week is what we call Sunday.
Since Jesus was crucified at Passover, buried, and resurrected on Sunday, this would place Passover that year on at sundown on Wednesday. The Hebrew day goes from sundown to sundown and not midnight to midnight like ours.
Passover always falls on the same day, the 15th day of Nisan (Hebrew Calendar).
But that day can drift from year to year into March or April on the Gregorian calendar.
This is because of the difference between a lunar month and a solar year to which the calendars are based.
Passover this year (2012) will be at sundown Friday, April 6th; March 25th in 2013, April 14th in 2014, and April 3rd in 2015. Despite Passover seeming to move around, it is still on the 15th of Nisan.
In conclusion, I celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on the first day of each week; that is, Sunday! I actually celebrate Jesus everyday but on Sunday I gather with the fellowship.
SO, is this a violation of remembering the Sabbath day and keeping it Holy.
That sounds like a subject for next time.