WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY SAY ABOUT
CELEBRATING EASTER AND GOOD FRIDAY?

What do children hunting for dyed and decorated eggs, bunny themed baskets filled with candy, treats, and toys, and lies about an Easter Bunny delivering all of these treats have to do with the resurrection of Jesus? Absolutely nothing! Eggs and rabbits were, and still are, fertility and sex symbols of a fertility goddess, hence their use in celebrating Easter every Spring. These fertility customs and traditions are really not connected with the resurrection in any way! They can only be connected with the celebration of Ishtar.  Dyed eggs figured in the ancient Babylonian mystery rites, just as they do in Easter today. The ancient Druids bore an egg as the sacred emblem of their idolatrous order.  According to James Bonwick: "Eggs were hung up in the Egyptian temples. The mystic egg of Babylon, hatching the Venus Ishtar, fell from heaven to the Euphrates. Dyed eggs were sacred Easter offerings in Egypt . Easter, or spring, was the season of birth, terrestrial and celestial" (Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought, pp. 211-212).

Is the church right or are they just playing number games to "try" to make 3 days and 3 nights fit into the Good Friday to Easter Sunday lie they are fostering? Jesus did not rise on a Sunday morning. That's a fact! It's based on when Passover was the year Jesus was crucified. Jewish historical records which God ordained them to keep, plainly show it was on a Wednesday. As Jesus broke the bread and drank the wine at the Last Supper, the evening of Passover, (Tuesday evening after sunset as God counts time, when Passover began), Jesus told His disciples He desired to celebrate this Passover with them, (Luke 22:15). The next day, Wednesday, was the day part of Passover when Jesus became the new Passover lamb for our sins. He died on the cross on a Wednesday. After he was removed from the cross and His body wrapped for burial as was the custom, He was then taken to the tomb and buried right before sunset on Wednesday. Do the math. There is absolutely no way to get three 12 hour days, (John 11:9) and three 12 hour nights from Friday to Sunday. It's just like Jesus said in Matthew 12:40. 3 days, (Thursday, Friday and Saturday), and 3 nights, (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday), means He rose around the same time He was buried, on Saturday, the Sabbath, (how appropriate), around sunset.

Night 1 = Wednesday sunset - Thursday sunrise
Day 1 = Thursday sunrise - Thursday sunset
Night 2 = Thursday sunset - Friday sunrise
Day 2 = Friday sunrise - Friday sunset
Night 3 = Friday sunset - Saturday sunrise
Day 3 = Saturday sunrise - Saturday sunset

The disciples HAD to bury Jesus before sunset on Wednesday. At sunset on Wednesday the First Day Of Unleavened Bread would begin. This is one of God's 7 special annual Holy Days, and it was a day of Sabbath rest just like every Saturday is, so they had to bury Jesus before it began Wednesday evening. Everyone then rested on Thursday, the Special Sabbath. Then the women prepared the spices on Friday to anoint Jesus when they went to the tomb Sunday morning. After preparing the spices, the women then rested on the weekly Sabbath (Saturday). When the women came to the tomb Sunday morning to anoint Him, Jesus was already risen, 12 hours earlier at the end of the Sabbath. "He is not here; he HAS risen,JUST AS HE SAID." (Matt 28:6). Jesus got it right! The church got it wrong!

If your intent is really to celebrate Jesus' resurrection then you should be observing it in any given year, 3 days and 3 nights after Passover. If your intent is to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, and not Easter with all its pagan customs, at least do it on the right day! Think about this before you celebrate Ishtar this year contrary to God's will.

Should Christians Observe The Death Of Jesus On Good Friday, Or On Passover?

What does the Bible say? Is Good Friday even mentioned in the bible? No! What Christians observe today concerning Jesus' crucifixion is a misunderstanding of what God says in Scripture. The Bible says that Jesus died just before a Sabbath day, but WHAT Sabbath day?

"That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near" (Luke 23:54)

Most Christians think that it was talking about the normal weekly Sabbath. It is not! The Sabbath mentioned in the Gospels was the special Holyday Sabbath beginning the Feast of Unleavened Bread mentioned in Exodus.

"Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat, that only may be prepared by you." (Ex 12:15-16)

This week-long feast had 2 special Sabbaths in it. God told the Israelites that the first and last day of this feast would be days of Sabbath of rest. These Sabbaths could fall on any day of the week as the Feast itself changed every year. The year that Jesus died, the Sabbath on the First Day of Unleavened Bread was on Thursday, the Day after Passover which was on a Wednesday, the 14th day of the first month according to what God said. The scriptures confirm that there were two Sabbaths that week. The First Day of The Feast of Unleavened Bread Sabbath, and the regular weekly Sabbath. The women went to buy spices on Friday, after the Special Sabbath had ended, and prepared them to anoint Jesus' body. They then rested on the weekly Sabbath. They then went to the tomb Sunday morning. So, because Christians don't know about the special Holyday Sabbaths for God's 7 Feasts they get confused.

"Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him." (Mark 16:1)

The Sabbath mentioned at the beginning of this verse is the Special Holyday at the beginning of the Feast. The next Day, Friday, they bought and prepared spices. Finally resting on the weekly Sabbath before going to the tomb on Sunday.

"That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment." (Luke 23:54-56)

That day, FRIDAY, was the Preparation Day before the weekly Sabbath! If you don't know about the Feasts and the special Sabbaths it can be confusing. So, there actually were two Sabbaths that week when Jesus was crucified. If you believe Jesus died on a Friday then the events don't make sense. If you allow for 2 Sabbaths that week then it all makes perfect sense. So, if Jesus didn't die on Good Friday, when was He crucified, when and how should Christians observe this day?

Just imagine if you were a parent and one of your children died. How would you feel if your other children, and your nieces and nephews, your brothers and sisters all your family decided to commemorate the death of your child every year on the wrong day. Just imagine you being alone with your sorrow on the actual date he died. Well, that's exactly how our heavenly Father feels every year when His children gather together to commemorate the death of His Son, Jesus, on the wrong day.

Most Christians celebrate Good Friday as the day Jesus was crucified and died. It's always on a Friday regardless of the date of Passover, the day He actually died.

The Jews, and a small minority of Christians, observe Passover on the correct day every year, and have done so for thousands of years. This little flock of Christians recognize that Jesus became the new Passover Lamb when He was crucified and died for our sins, and correctly commemorate His death every year exactly on the 24 hour day of Passover as God commanded. What? God commanded us to remember the death of His Son on a specific day every year? Yes He did!

The evening before Jesus died He gathered with His disciples for his last meal with them. He broke bread that represented His broken body and gave it to them. He gave them wine that represented His shed blood. Jesus then set the example we are all to follow in serving others by washing their feet.

"And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." (1 Cor 11:24-25.)

"So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet." (John 13:12)

This is a command from Jesus, our Savior and God to observe a memorial of His death every year, doing these 3 things in remembrance of Him on the evening of Passover. Remember, as God counts time, days begin at sunset the evening before the day time part of a 24 hour day. ("There was evening and morning the first day". Gen 1:5, "There was evening and morning the second day". Gen 1:8, "There was evening and morning the third day". Gen 1:13, etc.) When does the Bible tell us this last supper with His disciples occurred, and how do we know today when this is, so we can obey God to keep an annual memorial to the death of Jesus on the right day and in the right way? All this occurred the evening of Passover, the night before Jesus died. The Word of God tells us what month and what day the lamb was to be sacrificed. Jesus as the Lamb of God was sacrificed on the same day.

Lev 23:5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at evening is the Lord's Passover.

Ex 12:3 In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers....:

Ex 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

Ex 12:14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.

So, Passover occurs on the 14th day of the first month according to God's calendar. Man decided the new year would begin in the dead of winter on January 1st. God says the new year begins in the Spring as new life emerges. The Passover lamb was killed on the evening before the 14th day. Jesus, the Lamb of God died on Passover day. Obviously the Jews obeyed God correctly and observed Passover on the correct day and in the correct month at that time. But how do we know thousands of years later that the Jews still have the correct date for Passover every year? Likewise, how can Christians know the correct day to celebrate the last super Jesus had with HIs disciples and do all that Jesus commanded us in that memorial service? Could the Jews have the wrong date today? Absolutely not!

God made sure the Jews ALWAYS have the right date for Passover. God mandated that the Jews would be responsible for keeping track of His Words throughout history. His Words in the Scriptures were committed to the Jews for safe keeping. He plainly tells us so in the New Testament so WE can know exactly when to correctly commemorate Jesus death with no human reasoning or interpretation need.

Roman 3:1-2. "What advantage then hath the Jew? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God."

God Himself makes sure the Jews have the correct day every year because He committed unto them His oracles, HIS WORDS given in Exodus and Leviticus. He told the Jews when to keep the Passover and God insures beyond doubt that they would never lose track of the day throughout thousands of years of Jewish history.

There are several places in the Bible that mention the oracles of God. In the New Testament, the term oracles of God refer to the Word of God, the Bible. The New Testament Greek phrase sometimes translated "oracles of God" is logion, (logion being the plural form of logos meaning "word" ). God's words in the Old Testament are His oracles, and they have been preserved by the Jews to this very day. The Jews absolutely have it right!

Interestingly enough there has always been a little flock of the original Church of God founded in the first century that has also correctly kept Passover on the correct day for the last 2,000 years. We find them small and scattered throughout history but always faithful to the correct day of the weekly Sabbath, and God's Holy Days, including the Passover. But that's a study for another time.

So what does this all mean for a true Christian? As God counts time, Passover, the day Jesus died for our sins, according to the Jews, the keepers of the oracles of God, is on TUESDAY April 23rd this year, 2024. This means the commemoration of His sacrifice with bread, wine, and foot washing will be on MONDAY evening April 22, 2024. If you are observing this any other day you are doing it on the wrong day. If you are commemorating the death of Jesus any day this week you are doing it on the wrong day. Your opinion of the days to celebrate or observe doesn't matter. What the oracle of God says, His words in His Scripture does! God can never be wrong! It's not just a matter of obeying the commands Jesus gave us to do this every year in remembrance of Him on the right day and in the right way. It's also a matter of respect! If you love Jesus at least show Him enough respect for Him, and His Father, to remember His sacrifice for YOU on the right day and in the right way! It's not too late for you to get it right this year!

Should parents break the 9^th commandment and “bear false witness”, (Ex 20:16), and lie to their children about the Easter Bunny?  Does lying set a good example as a Christian parent? What happens when the child finds out there is no Easter Bunny? Will they then question the existence of God, or even the resurrection of Jesus?

On Easter Sunday millions of Christians will gather outside, facing East to worship, celebrating the resurrection of the Son of God with the rising of the sun. Does this sound familiar? If so, you may have read about it long before Jesus ever walked this earth. Facing East and worshipping towards the sun at sunrise is a pagan tradition going back thousands of years. What does the Bible say about this?

Ezekiel 8:15-18 says this: “Have you seen this?” he asked. “But I will show you even more detestable sins than these!” Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. There were about twenty-five men with their backs to the sanctuary of the Lord. They were facing east, bowing low to the ground, worshiping the sun! “Have you seen this, son of man?” he asked. “Is it nothing to the people of Judah that they commit these detestable sins, leading the whole nation into violence, thumbing their noses at me, and provoking my anger? ”

How foolish that the Christian churches adopted this sinful pagan tradition of facing east at sunrise on Easter Sunday morning, bowing down and worshiping the “Son of God” at the rising of the sun, just like the pagans did worshiping the “Sun God” Baal and his idolatrous consort goddess, Ishtar. These worship practices are identical, but millions of Christians unwittingly do it every year in spite of God finding it detestable, and it fills Him with anger. He really HATES it!  It’s just another pagan tradition that the church “Christianized” which should be avoided by true followers of Jesus. If you want to be in alignment with God’s WILL, don’t do it!

So how did Easter get injected into the Christian church anyway? Here is what the Encyclopedia Britannica (11th edition, Vol. VIII, pp. 828-829) says: “There is NO indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers. . . . The first Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals, though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals had foreshadowed. Thus the Passover, [the 14th day of the first month] with a new conception added to it, [by Jesus], of Christ as the true Paschal Lamb and the first fruits from the dead, continued to be observed. The Gentile [Catholic] Christians identified the first day of the week with the resurrection, [without Biblical authority], and kept the preceding Friday as the commemoration of the crucifixion, irrespective of the day of the month, [another error].”

Encyclopedia Britannica is 100% correct!  For several centuries after Jesus walked the earth, the original church of God, true followers of Jesus, followed Jesus’ command and celebrated God’s Festivals and Holydays.  This includes observing Passover every year, the day that Jesus instituted during the Last Supper with His new emblems of bread and wine, and related customs. The false Western church on the other hand began incorporating the pagan customs and traditions on the wrong days and in the wrong ways contrary to God’s Will.  Jesus, the apostles, AND the early New Testament Church, BOTH Jewish and Gentile-born believers, observed God's Sabbath and God's Festival Holydays at the correct times, the Sabbath weekly on the 7th day, and the Holydays annually as He commanded in Leviticus 23!  Followers of Jesus today still observe the Holydays as special Sabbath days of rest, but now doing so spiritually, rather than keeping them physically with the customs God originally commanded for the Jews.

Do the Scriptures say observing man-made holidays like Easter is really OK, or does it say what is really the truth about worship that God actually commands?  Does the Bible say the observance of holidays that God absolutely won't accept no matter how sincere we are, is permitted in any way? NO! Will we stand with the truth of God as actually spoken by Him in the Bible without interpretation, or will we continue to follow pagan inspired, man-made, erroneous church teachings and traditions that have no Bible foundation and God hates?  Will we get in alignment with God’s WILL or keep following our churches false holiday traditions and customs or do what the Bible says?