Easter: Against the Commands of G-d

Beth Elohim Messianic Synagogue
Easter: Against the Commands of G-d
As we once again approach the Pesach Seder, we also hear of the Christian chatter as they prepare for Easter as they claim is in celebration of Christ’s Resurrection. However, such statements reflect the biblical ignorance of many as they are taught by their clergy and choose not to explore the truth of the matter. I am going to address this issue in hope that you may be able to share this information with anyone who may bring up the subject in your sphere of influence. A planted seed of truth may result in untold fruit.
Easter is a day, a “moveable” festival that is celebrated worldwide as one of the most prevalent holidays of the year. Indirect defiance of G-d’s dietary laws, ham among other pagan aspects of the holiday abound although those who celebrate Easter profess that they celebrate it because they “love Jesus.” I want to focus on the reality behind this pagan celebration.
Linked with the central mystery were countless lesser mysteries, the hidden meaning of which was known only to the initiates, but the outward form was practiced by all the people; such as is with the Masons. Among these were the doctrines of purgatorial purification after death, salvation by countless sacraments such as priestly absolution, sprinkling with holy water, offering round cakes to the Queen of Heaven mentioned in the book of Jeremiah, and dedication of virgins to Easter as the Mother of Baal. But where did the name of “Easter” originate? IN the Old Testament times the Bible speaks of Ashtoreth and Baal worship in 1 Kings 11:5-6. “For Solomon went after Ashtoeth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the L-rd, and went not fully after the L-rd, as did David his father.” The short form of Ashtar or Ishtar and the English form of the word is “ester.” Easter is nothing less than the mother of Baal and the celebration or worship of Ashtoreth is forbidden n the Old Testament scriptures. Judges 2:13-14 reads “And they forsook the L-rd, and served Baal and Ashtoreth. And the anger of the L-rd was hot against Israel…” Easter is Ashtoreth.
In AD 316 Constantine was in charge of the known world and in AD 321 declared Christianity to be the only religion. The pagan religions did not go away. They simply gave their practices new names. Ashtoreth and Baal became Mary and Jesus. Many today know Mary as the “Queen of Heaven.” This pagan title belonged to Ashtoreth in the Old Testament. Ashtoreth and Baal were adored and worshipped, and many today adore and worship Mary and Jesus (Jeremiah 44). We must ask ourselves, who is the real Mary and who is the real “Jesus?” Unless we examine what we believe against the Torah, we might all be deceived. According to G-d’s Torah, only G-d (the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) is to be adored and worshipped (Exodus 20). We must take care and heed this command! WE celebrate Yahshua’s resurrection through the feast of First Fruits immediately following Pesach and the feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:8). Furthermore, Pesach is a fixed holy day. It does not change for the convenience of anyone. There is only one appearance of the word “Easter” in Acts 12:4 in the King James Bible only, and this is a mistranslation with an obvious agenda.
Have you ever wondered about the “Woman” in Revelation chapter 17? She represents a world-wide religious system that had its beginnings in ancient Babylon and will have its final headquarters in Rome during the Tribulation Period. G-d will judge the religious system and destroy it during the Tribulation. H.A. Ironside, a pastor of Moody Memorial Church, wrote in his commentary on the Book of Revelation written in 1920, stated “The wife of Nimrod bar Cush was the infamous Semiramis the First. She is reputed to have been the foundress of the Babylonian mysteries and the first High-Priestess of idolatry. Thus, Babylon became the fountainhead mystery religion that was originated there and spread in various forms throughout the whole earth. It is with us today.
Building on the primeval promise of the woman’s Seed who was to come, Semirimis bore a son whom she declared was miraculously conceived. When she presented him to the people, he was hailed as the promised deliverer. This was Tammuz whose worship Ezekiel protested against in the days of captivity. Thus, the mystery of the Mother and Child, the beginning of the Mother-Son cult that became Catholicism was born. This is a form of idolatry that is older than any other known to man. The rites of this worship were secret. Only the initiated were permitted to know its mysteries. It was hasatan’s effort to delude mankind with an imitation seeming so close to the truth of G-d that they would not know the true Seed of the woman when He (Yahshua HaMoshiach) came in the fullness of time. From Babylon this mystery religion spread to all the surrounding nations. The symbols were universally the same, and everywhere the cults of the mother and child became the popular system. Their worship was celebrated with the most disgusting and immoral practices. The image of the Queen of Heaven with the babe in her arms was seen everywhere, though the names of each varied according to language. This was the mystery religion of Phoenicia that was carried by the Phoenicians to the ends of the earth. Ashtoreth and Tammuz, the mother and son of these hardy adventurers, became Isus and Horus in Egypt; Aphrodite and Eros in Greece; Venus and Cupid in Italy; and bore many other names in more distant places. Within 1,000 years, Babylonianism had become the religion of the world that had rejected Divine revelation. In 316 A.D., it became Mary and Jesus. Sanctified prostitution was not uncommon with weeping for Tammuz for a period of 40 days prior to the great festival of Ishtar, who was said to have received her son back from the dead. For it was taught that Tammuz was slain by a wild boar and afterwards brought back to life. To him the egg was sacred, as depicting the mystery of his resurrection, even as the evergreen tree was his chosen symbol and was set up in honor of his birth at the winter solstice. At this time a boar’s head was eaten in memory of his conflict and a yule-log burned with many mysterious observances. The sign of the cross was sacred to Tammuz as symbolizing the life-giving principle and as the first letter of his name. It is represented upon vast numbers of the most ancient alters ad temples and did not originate with Christianity as many suppose. From this mystery-religion, the patriarch Abraham was separated by G-d’s call with the same evil cult. The nation that sprang from him had constant conflict until it was grafted onto what was left of the religion of Israel in the northern kingdom in the day of Ahab under the Phoenician princess Jezebel. This was the cause of their captivity in the end. Judah was polluted by it, for Baal worship was nothing less than the Canaanite form of the Babylonian mysteries. Only by being sent into captivity to Babylon did Judah become cured of her fondness for idolatry. Baal was the Sun-god, the life-giving one, identical with Tammuz. When Yahshua became manifest on earth, the mystery of iniquity was holding sway everywhere except where the truth of G-d as revealed in the Old Testament was known. Thus, when the early believers set out upon the great task of carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth, they were confronted by this idolatrous system at every turn in one form or another. Although Babylon as a city was s distant memory, her mysteries had not died with her. When the city and temples were destroyed, the high-priest fled with a company of initiates and their sacred vessels and is thus declared to be, not the successor of the fisherman-apostle Peter, but the direct successor of the high-priest of Babylonian mysteries and the servant of the fish-god Dagon as evidenced by his wearing of the fisherman’s ring worn by his idolatrous predecessors.
Ash Wednesday, Lent, Holy Water Sprinkling, and Purgatory are all pagan and are not found in the Bible. All of these practices/rituals can be traced back to the “Mother-Son” cult.
For further reading on this subject, a book entitled “Two Babylons” by Hislop is recommended. We are in the latter days and as such can expect rapid developments in the “Babylonian Mystery” church system as evidenced by prophecy and current events that are consistent with prophetic scriptures. The false Church system will aid the Anti-messiah in his rise to power. The church that keeps its focus on “The Woman” (Mary) and not the true Mary of the Bible and not Yahshua is the one to watch. Keep your eyes and ears open. Pray as you read Revelation chapter 17 for understanding. Pray for the many that are and will be deceived by this system. Remember Yahshua tells us as He did his disciples then; “Take heed that no man deceive you!” (Matt. 4:4)
Shalom,
Rabbi Tamah Davis-Hart