His Servants' Ministry

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HIS SERVANTS' MINISTRY

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Is Easter a Pagan Holiday?

Yes, absolutely! It takes a sick "Christian" to go along with the evil, blasphemous and idolatrous traditions of Easter. "Easter" traditions have NOTHING at all to do with the resurrection of our precious Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Below is an email we sent to our pastor several years ago.

Dear Pastor,

We love you dearly, more than you know. While sitting in church this morning, looking over the program of this extremely special day, we both noticed something wonderful: you referred to this day as Resurrection Sunday, NOT Easter. We both felt really good about that. Then as the program started, you announced an "Easter" egg hunt directly following the service.

How can you follow such a remarkable service with idolatry? As I sat there, I knew I had to do something. The Lord made me quite miserable. I knew I had to say something to you. If I did not say something, one day when I stand before the Almighty Judge, He would certainly ask me why I didn’t.

On our way home, Paul and I discussed sending you an e-mail. The first thing he said was: "Make sure you tell him how Easter got its name."

Please check out what is said below. You are an educated person, and it would be easy to check out if this is true or false. We are sending this to you because we love you and care about you. Paul and Connie

Ashtoreth was the mother goddess of love, war, and fertility. She was also called Astarte or Ishtar (Easter). Ishtar was a goddess that symbolized reproductive power. She was a mistress of the god Baal. She was a goddess of fertility, sex, light and spring. She supposedly had rabbits that laid eggs. Sound familiar? Easter egg hunts are sending a terribly wrong message to our children.

Ashtoreth (Ishtar) can be traced back to the days of the Babylonians and Chaldeans, who lived thousands of years BEFORE Jesus’ birth. These pagan nations kept a spring festival in honor of the goddess Ashtarte (Ishtar), the goddess of spring and rebirth. The historian, Alexander Hislop, in his "The Two Babylons" states very plainly that Easter "is not a Christian name." It wears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing but ISHTAR.

A TRUE Christian should NOT be associated with the worldly "Easter". It is a terrible insult to our precious Saviour and Lord. This blessed and Holy day should be called Resurrection Day, NOT Easter.

Exodus 20:1-6 And God spake all these words, saying, [2] I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. [3] Thou shalt have no other gods before me. [4] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: [5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; [6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments (KJV)

1 Samuel 7:3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Phillistines. (KJV)

1 Samuel 12:10 And they cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. (KJV)

1 Kings 11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. (KJV)

1 Kings 11:33 Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. (KJV)

2 Kings 23:13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. (KJV)

Judges 2:13 And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. (KJV)

Ashtoreth was the mother goddess of love, war, and fertility (she was also called Astarte or Ishtar). Temple prostitution and child sacrifice were a part of the worship of these Canaanite idols.

Judges 10:6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him. (KJV)

Jeremiah 44:17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. (KJV) The Queen of Heaven was another name for Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of love and fertility. After the fall of Jerusalem, the refugees from Judah who fled to Egypt continued to worship her.

1 Cor. 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. (KJV)

1 Cor. 10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. (KJV)

1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. (KJV)

Ishtar was the principal goddess of the Babylonians and Assyrians. Worshiped by the Sumerians as Inanna and by the Phoenicians as Astarte. She was worshipped as the compassionate mother of all life, who brought fertility and relief from sickness. She was also worshipped as the lustful goddess of sexual love and war. Fertility rites are ceremonies of a witchcraft-religious nature performed to guarantee the succession of life. From earliest time humans have performed these rites in an attempt to control the circumstances. Defined as invocations, incantations, prayers, hymns, processions, dances, and sacred dramas, these ritual activities were believed to be closely connected with the processes of nature. The basis for such rites was usually a belief that the principle of life and fertility was one and essential. Sacred marriages frequently have formed part of the fertility ritual; the effectiveness of this symbolic union at times depended on the chastity of the participants. Ritual prostitution, human and animal sacrifice, and displays of ghost symbols were also sometimes believed to stimulate fertility. In a number of ancient societies the role of the god was combined with that of the king, and the fertility of the land and people was linked with the king’s state of perfection and purification.Tammuz was the Accadian sun-god (Adonis of the Greeks), and was the husband of the goddess Ishtar. In the Chaldean calendar there was a month set apart in honor of this god, the month of June to July, the beginning of the summer solstice. At this festival, which lasted six days, the worshippers, with loud lamentations, bewailed the funeral of the god, they sat "weeping for Tammuz" (Ezekiel 8:14).

Let us celebrate Resurrection Day gratefully with praise and worship of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ, NOT buying Easter baskets for our children and having Easter egg hunts. To do this is NOT in any way, worshipping our Saviour! It is going along with the world. It is worshipping Ishtar, the Queen of Heaven, a detestable goddess. Our Holy and Almighty God cringes when you go along with idolatrous practices of the heathen.

As is with nearly all "Christian" holidays, Resurrection Day is no longer a spiritual holiday. It has in fact been taken over by unbelievers and is a day simply for greedy merchants to make money. But, the divided nature of what the world knows as "Easter" and its symbols, is really not a modern invention. Since its origin as a holy celebration in the second century, "Easter" has never failed to show its non-religious side. In the truth of reality, "Easter" started as a pagan festival. The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an hilarious celebration observing their goddess of spring and rebirth, Eastre. When the second-century Christian missionaries come across the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they tried to convert them to Christianity. They did so, however, in a very underhanded manner. Early Christian converts would have been killed if they tried to celebrate their holy days with observances that did not coincide with celebrations that already existed. The missionaries simply decided to spread their religious message slowly throughout the people, by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do it in a Christian way. Since the devil was in charge of all this evil idolatry, the pagan festival of Eastre took place at the exact same time of year as Christians observed the Resurrection of Christ. It just made sense, for that reason, to alter the festival, and make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, "Easter".

WHY Is The Date of Easter Always Different??

Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was celebrated on different days of the week: Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. In that year, the Council of Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. They decided that "Easter" should be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon. The "full moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon, which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon. The ecclesiastical "vernal equinox" is always on March 21. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.

The Lenten Season . . . What is it? Why is it?

Lent is the 46 day period just before "Easter" Sunday. It begins on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is a celebration, sometimes called "Carnival," and it is practiced around the world, on the Tuesday just before Ash Wednesday. WHY is it? It was planned so people could "get it all out" (go hog wild) before submitting to the sacrifices of Lent. New Orleans, with all its voo doo and witchcraft is the focal point of Mardi Gras celebrations in the United States.

The highlight of the year for Christians is Resurrection Day, the day when our Lord rose from the dead.

Lent is a 40 day season of preparing for "Easter." WHY 40 days? Because, Jesus fasted and was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days.
Lent, then, is supposedly a time of fasting, prayer, resisting temptation and repentance.
Lent is NOT required anywhere in the Bible! NO where does our Lord Jesus tell us to observe Lent; but it is a tradition (man-made rules, Mat.15:9), which Christians (especially Catholics) have practiced for almost 2000 years. In many languages, "Lent" actually means "fast." That is where the custom (tradition) of giving up something for Lent originated.
Lent actually is 46 days, not 40 days. WHY? Because the 40 days of Lent are supposed to be days of fasting (discipline and self-restraint). But Sunday, the Lord's Day, should never be a day of fasting, but a day of celebration! So each Sunday people put off their Lenten disciplines and celebrate.
Lent is 40 "fasting" days spread out over a total of 46 days beginning on Ash Wednesday.

The Cross

The Cross is the symbol of the Crucifixion of Christ, NOT His Resurrection. However, at the Council of Nicaea, in A.D. 325, Constantine decreed that the Cross was the official symbol of Christianity. The Cross is not only a symbol of Easter, but it is considered the "sign" of Christianity. What really disturbs me is the 'cross' is blatantly displayed by people who do not show any sign whatsoever of being "disciples" of Christ! A TRUE disciple of Christ is someone who walks with Him daily, imitates Him daily, and has a close fellowship with Him.It is good that we remember Jesus' death, but it is far better that we remember His resurrection! He lives! Jesus lives! He is NOT dead! He arose!

The So-Called "Easter Bunny"

The Easter Bunny is not something new. This dreadful and evil symbol started with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, a rabbit.

The Easter Egg

As with "Easter" and the Easter Bunny, the "Easter Egg" goes back a long way, long before "Easter" became a "Christian" holiday. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians. From the earliest of times, the "egg" was a symbol of rebirth in most societies. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were poor, they were colored by boiling them with the leaves or petals from certain flowers. Today, people (supposed Christians) still follow this idolatrous custom. Children hunt colored eggs and place them in "Easter" baskets. Too, today, "Easter" eggs are made of chocolate candy, marshmallows or plastic. All I ask is that you seriously consider what I have said here. Most "Christians" won't even finish this article because they will think I am some kind of a "religious fanatic." My friend, I am a fanatic . . . a fanatic about my Lord Jesus. We must turn away from worldly customs, turn away from idolatrous practices. ALL people will one day stand before the Almighty Judge! If you say you are a Christian, and follow these idolatrous customs, HOW will you explain that to Jesus??? Excuses won't work at the Judgment! Those entrusted with the Gospel are watchmen.

Isaiah 21:6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. (KJV) WHAT do I see? I see the wrath of God coming down on many people.

Ezeekiel 33:6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. (KJV) I am blowing the trumpet. I am warning you of the wrath of God to come. Ezekiel was the "watchman" for Israel. Today, anyone who brings God's Word is a "watchman" to God's people. Jeremiah 51:45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord. [KJV]

John 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. [KJV]

Ephes. 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. (KJV)

2 Thes. 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. (KJV)

Rev. 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. (KJV)

Please check out some of the MANY web sites on Easter/Ishtar.

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