"Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. Also you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field." (Ex. 23:14-16) After Yahweh gave Moses (Moshe) the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai He gave him many other ordinances and laws for His people Israel to obey. One of these was the command to celebrate three annual feasts, as explained in the above scriptures. The people Israel have continued to celebrate these feasts, according to Yahweh's command, until this very day. You may be familiar with them by other names. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is also referred to as Passover, or Pesach, in Hebrew. The Feast of the Harvest is also referred to as First Fruits, or Shavu'ot, in Hebrew. The Feast of the Ingathering is also referred to as Tabernacles, Booths, or Sukkot, in Hebrew.

The events in Yeshua's life, as written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, contain references to the celebrations of these feasts. "And His parents used to go to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast." (Luke 2: 41, 42) "Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was at hand'. But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as it were, in secret'. But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach." (John 7: 2, 10, 14) "Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?' And He said, 'Go into the city of a certain man, and say to him, "The Teacher says, 'My time is at hand; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.' "''And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover." (Matt. 26:14-19)

It is evident that Yeshua (Jesus), a Jew, celebrated these feasts. However, His Gentile followers (Christians) do not continue to celebrate them. Instead, Christians celebrate two major religious holidays: Easter and Christmas. In order to understand why Christians celebrate different holidays we need to look at the origins of these celebrations. This newsletter will look at only two, Passover and Easter, because these are about to be celebrated at this time. We will discuss other celebrations in future issues.

Exodus, Chapter 12, gives us the details of the first Passover. "Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 'This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all of the congregation of Israel, saying, "On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household"' Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. And they shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs'. Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste ' it is the Lord's Passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments ' I am the Lord. And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. And on the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be prepared by you. You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance."'"

The origins of Easter are quite different. There is no mention of "Easter" in the Scriptures, not even in reference to Yeshua's death and resurrection. However, Genesis, Chapter 10, records the history of Nimrod, Noah's grandson, through whom the seeds of "Easter" were planted. Nimrod ruled in the land of Shinar, which included Babylon, and he built many cities in Assyria, including Nineveh. When he died, his wife Queen Semiramis continued his legacy, giving birth to a son, Tammuz, whom she claimed was Nimrod reborn, as well as the savior promised by God. When Tammuz was killed he supposedly went to the underworld, from which he was "resurrected" by his mother's tears, as they revived the vegetation, each Spring. Both the son Tammuz and Semiramis were worshiped: the son as the god of the sun and father of creation and Semiramis as goddess of the moon, fertility, etc. Once Nimrod and his people began building the Tower of Babel God confused their language so that they could not understand each other. The people then separated according to their languages, taking with them their worship of their god and goddess. In their different languages they used different names for Nimrod (Tammuz) and Semiramis. She was called Ishtar (originally pronounced "Easter"), Eostre, Astarte, Ostera, Eastre, Ashteroth, and Queen of Heaven. A fable about her tells of an egg that supposedly fell from heaven. Semiramis was hatched from this egg. Thus, the egg became a symbol of the Goddess Easter. (1)

Passover and Easter are celebrated at nearly the same time each year. Yeshua celebrated the Passover immediately before His crucifixion. The Christian "Easter" is, supposedly, a celebration of Yeshua's resurrection from the dead, three days after His crucifixion. Why do some who believe in Messiah Yeshua celebrate "Easter" and not Passover?

Once the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem in the first century, the Jewish believers in Messiah Yeshua scattered throughout the known world and spread their belief to the Gentiles. The Gentile believers (called Christians) eventually outnumbered the Jewish believers. Christianity and Judaism began to take separate paths, with the Roman Empire suppressing Judaism, causing a further split between the two. The Christians chose to distance themselves from the Jews by discontinuing their practices and celebrations. Instead they chose to "Christianize" the pagan celebration of Easter and call it the celebration of Yeshua's resurrection.

"Passover' was to celebrate God sparing His children as death swept over the land killing all those not "under the blood" from the sacrifice that God had commanded.

Yeshua is the One Lasting Sacrifice. He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He is the blood sacrifice through whom God looks upon us and sees us white as snow.

As believers in Messiah Yeshua we celebrate the Passover Lamb's sacrifice for us as He covers us "under" His Blood. Celebrating Passover is not a matter of a party or eggs and bunnies.

Passover is a celebration that God has provided a lasting sacrifice for us through the blood of His Son. We receive our salvation from the fact that death passes over us without harm because in Yeshua's death He paid the price for our death! Now that's something to

C E L E B R A T E !

CHOICE

Celebrating Passover is choosing the Word of God and His instruction over pagan practices that the church has blasphemously adopted to "fit in" with the "world". God never told us to "fit in". He told us to follow Him......

FROM THE BRIDEGROOM

"Choose life!" (March 29, 2001)



BOTTOM LINE


Anti-Semitism was the driving force that separated the Gentile believers in Messiah Yeshua from their Jewish (Hebraic) roots. This separation continued to grow as anti-Semitism flourished throughout the centuries, resulting in the embracing of pagan practices instead of the commands of God.

CURRENT EVENTS

Old news continues as current news. There is a war in Israel, with the Jews fighting for their right to exist. A baby is killed by an Arab sniper, yet the Palestinians call the "Israeli aggressors" war criminals. The critics of Israel side with the terrorist Arafat as he leads his people to assault the Jewish people, while at the same time crying out for "protection for the Palestinian people." And the anti-Semitism continues.....

The church must stand against the enemies of God and stand for the People of the Book...God's Own Choice!

(1) Information summarized from an article about the origins of Easter, written by Paul S. Taylor of Eden Communications; published by Christian Answers Network (ChristianAnswers.Net: on March 29, 2001) URL: ChristianAnswers.Net/q-eden/edn-t022.html.

We understand that this newsletter may be upsetting or confusing to many. We urge you to spend time in the Word of God with His Holy Spirit and let Him show you the Truth of His Word. "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak;" (John 16:13)

He is faithful to do all that He has said He will do.

First Posted April 2001