Many people say "Easter is found in Scripture," referencing Acts 12:4, where it says:
"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."
The erroneous translation of this word was actually derived by a false translation of the Greek word “pascha.” Pascha is the Aramaic word for the Hebrew word “pesah.” Pesah is the Hebrew word for “Passover.”
The word “Easter” was inserted in the 1611 KJV translation, but has since been fixed in other translations. However, in my opinion, the damage was already done, especially since for the majority of the Middle Ages, many people were not able to have their own copy of the Scriptures to study for themselves...
You will find nowhere in Scripture where we are told to celebrate the resurrection of our Messiah (this is actually tied into ancient Babylonian worship of Tammuz). We are actually commanded to celebrate Passover to commemorate the exodus out of Egypt, as well as to take part in remembering Yahusha’s death, which made a way for us to be brought into a renewed covenant.
Also, our Messiah was crucified ON Passover, fulfilling a “shadow of things to come” (Colossians 2:17).
Every Old Testament feast literally POINTS to our Messiah. This is something the church doesn’t teach. Although we are not told to celebrate the resurrection, people also don’t realize that the Feast of First Fruits happened on the SAME day of His resurrection.
This is why we are commanded to keep the feasts. He was the “first fruits” of those who will be resurrected at His Second Coming.
What the Scripture actually said in Acts 12:4, is this:
"And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Pascha [Passover] to bring him forth to the people."
Side note: this is another witness that the early disciples were keeping Passover, one in which if you keep it today, it’s called “Jewish” (that’s another topic for another day).
How the date of Easter was determined:
Many don’t understand the controversy that Passover was causing during this time. The early disciples were quite literally turning the world upside down with the gospel. The disciples who were truly following The Way were not celebrating the festival that is historically rooted in what is referred to as “Easter” today.
The first church council to ever convene under the new bishops of the Church of Rome was the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD (please read my Easter e-book for more details). One of the main reasons Roman Emperor Constantine called this council to convene was to settle the dispute.
By decree, it was decided that Easter must be celebrated everywhere on the same day and that this day must be a Sunday.
The way that they decided how Easter would always fall on a Sunday, was that it was to be the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox.
This is why Easter will never fall on the same day as Passover, because Passover always falls on Abib 14, and according to the lunar-solar cycle of the biblical calendar, will always fall on the same day of the full moon.
Constantine did not want the Easter festival to be celebrated at the same time the people (Hebrews and Gentiles grafted into covenant) celebrated their Passover, so the bishops of the Roman Church “christianized” it, and assigned new meaning to it to appease the empire and promote unity.
This is what we call “lukewarm” or “mixing the holy with the profane,” and Yahuah hates mixture.
Our Heavenly Father told us to keep Passover forever (Exodus 12:14).
Our Messiah told us to keep the Passover (Luke 22:19).
Scripture documents that He broke bread with His disciples on Passover (Luke 22).
He was crucified on Passover (John 19:14).
Does this not hold any weight in the hearts of Believers today?
We must do Bible things in Bible ways. We must learn the truth for ourselves, and act accordingly. We must humbly ask ourselves whether or not we are being influenced from the Scripture, or from teachings of men.
Are you willing to test everything?
Are you willing to challenge the things you’ve been taught when presented with new information?
One of the hardest things about accepting the truth is first admitting that you’ve been lied to and deceived.
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but the truth really does make you free.
With love,
Stephanie