Well, it's that time of year again when most children in western culture are looking forward to the Easter Bunny and Easter Egg hunts. Parents will be busy hiding candy of every shape and size in the house or yard–depending on weather conditions. They can choose from a variety of treats, such as, giant chocolate bunnies, marshmallow chickens, cream-filled chocolate eggs or small jelly beans. There are even plastic eggs to fill with little toys, candy and trinkets. This and more to fill their colorful Easter Baskets, all in the traditional pastel colors of Easter. Some kids even get to help mom or grandma with the color-dying of hard boiled eggs as to add to their collection. Even the decorating of the egg has become an art-form around the world, and priceless collectibles for some buyers. So what is it with all this bunny and egg stuff?
Many communities and churches in the communities get into the Easter Festival by having Easter Egg hunts to draw people together or draw the public into churches. Some churches will even give candy treats to the children after they tell them the "Easter Story," which to them is the resurrection of Jesus. (The candy companies sure love these festivals.) However, some churches now call it "Resurrection Day"; either name suggests to people the celebration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Jesus was placed in a tomb after his cruel death on a cross a couple of days before. Now He is alive and is waiting for us in Heaven. Some churches will even have sunrise services in commemoration of that early morning resurrection.
The resurrection of Jesus is the heart of Christianity. Without Jesus' resurrection, their faith and the faith of other people who follow Jesus would be meaningless. But, God never planned for His sons and daughters to celebrate Jesus Christ's resurrection, but instead his Passover. Passover was one of the three Holy Festivals that God established and commanded all the men of Israel to celebrate. However, today the Passover Festival is almost never celebrated by the Christian community. And why?
Most Christian churches have chosen to tie themselves into the pagan festival of Easter, and have even added several other events proceeding the resurrection, with Palm Sunday the week before, Ash Wednesday, then Good Friday, which seems to be Christianity's brief version of Passover or the "Last Supper" that Jesus shared with His disciples. Then there is the Crucifixion and finally the Resurrection two days later, not the three days that Jesus had prophesied, using the prophet Jonah as the example (Mt.12:40). Somebody got it all wrong, and I don't think it was Jesus. What this all adds up to is a lot of compromise and religious traditions.
Jesus' death and resurrection were absolutely necessary for fallen mankind, but our focus is to be on Jesus, not on Easter or Resurrection Day. Jesus is Passover, the Lamb of God. He is also Pentecost, the foundation and Birth of the Church, and He is Tabernacles in which the Body of Christ dwells. All three of these spiritual Holy Days are found in Christ Jesus and are to be celebrated.
All man-made holidays are carnal including the religious ones. It doesn't mean anything to change the name of a worldly or pagan event to sound religious. Non-biblical festivals have no part or place in the Kingdom of God. And they never will.
The meaning of Easter and its timing are derived from the pagan goddess Eostra, the goddess of fertility and sun worship. There are evil spirits, rituals and practices that still influence this holiday. If you wish to know more about this pagan "holiday" you can go to Google. Then all the nonsense to do with eggs and bunnies will make more sense to you. Therefore, I will not elaborate any further on Easter. (I used to celebrate Easter, because that was the way I was taught.)
I thank God for the cross, that Jesus died for our sins, and that he rose from the grave to give us resurrection life. But, most of all I thank him for his everlasting love, his forgiveness, and that His Holy Spirit dwells in me. I also rejoice in the fact that He has given all those who follow Him a place in His Kingdom. And we are to rule and reign with Him in His power and authority. I believe we will all see the difference in time. Let's learn to celebrate Jesus, when and how He would desire us to.
To all my Jewish and Christian friends, HAPPY PASSOVER and GOD BLESS YOU!
