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Venerable Bede was an Anglo-Saxon theologian who lived in the late seventh and early eighth century. He devoted himself to the study of scripture at a very young age, learning Greek, Hebrew and Latin. The writings of Bede provide important information as to the traditions of Easter in the Anglo-Saxon church.

In 664 A.D. the Synod of Whitby was held in the kingdom of Northumbria. The principle discussion of the Synod was centered around the question as to the timing of the celebration of Easter. Should it be reckoned according to scripture? or by Roman tradition? The decision of the synod was in favor of Rome, which brought England more in line with the Roman church in Europe.

Bede attempted to defend, from a theological standpoint, the decision of the Synod to replace the Celtic reckoning with that of the Romans. He tells us that the heathen Anglo-Saxons called the fourth month Easter month, after their goddess Eostra. Bede says that Easter was one of the most important spring festivals among pre-Christian Germanic people, and that it was dedicated to the goddess Ostara or Eostra whose name suggests east and thus dawn and morning light.

Bede records that the name of the festival was transferred to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection when Anglo-Saxon and German heathens converted to Christianity.

Scripture warns that the name of pagan gods are not even to be spoken. Theologians know that, yet each year in contemporary Christian churches around the world, the name of a pagan fertility goddess is proclaimed with honour.

For over 1500 years, Bibles, written in many different languages, referred to Passover and not Easter. That includes the first English Bible, hand written in 1385 by John Wycliffe.

Jesus, which the Bible describes as the Lamb which was slain, was crucified at the time of Passover, a feast of the LORD far removed from the pagan festival of Easter.

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I’m Richard Rives with Just the Facts.

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PAGAN OR CHRISTIAN? YOU BETTER CHECK WHAT YOU'RE CELEBRATING

This word has been adopted from Pagans as an attempt to “inculturate” by syncretism a behavior that is absolutely an abomination. If you recognize “Halloween” for what it is, then this will be no different after you learn the truth. Easter was already one of the two biggest celebrations observed by Pagans, long before Christianity came along. It is my belief that when this is exposed, it will fulfill the prophecies of Revelation 18. Go read it now. Babylon is still with us, but it is going to fall. Easter was celebrated by the Assyrians, the Phoenicians, and the Philistines (Goliath no doubt had an Easter basket). You should look up “Easter” in a Webster’s Dictionary, and do further research in other sources! This festival involved the “Rites of Spring” near the Equinox of Venus, when Pagans believed the Earth Mother was impregnated by the sun. They engaged in ritual sex acts, and used symbols of fertility like eggs, rabbits, and “hot cross buns”. The Babylonian symbol for the “female” was, and is, a circle with a crux beneath. The round cakes were baked for the “Queen of Heaven” (Regina Coeli), and “Great Mother” (Magna Mater), with the “cross” symbol indicating the female. The cross also indicated the Equinox, when the Earth’s orbit “crossed” the celestial equator. Hold on now, because everything will be just fine. This must sound so wild you may think I’m a heretic; but by the end of this you will be very glad to have acquired the truth. This book will only shatter myths, not the “rock” of truth.

To ensure a prosperous growing season, Pagans rolled eggs decorated with bright colors of Spring on their fields, hoping to imbue fertility. These eggs were then hidden from “evil spirits” in rabbits’ nests, another symbol of fertility. The US Federal government does this very thing on the White House lawn every year on Easter Sun-Day. “Easter” is the name of the Babylonian “Mother of Harlots”, Rev. 17, and her image stands as the sun-goddess “Lady Liberty” in New York Harbor. This Colossus statue even has the “tower” headpiece, as seen worn by Artemis. The Hebrew TaNaKh (O.T.) calls her ASHERAH. The 7 horns or sunrays should be a strong indication of her true identity. Her emblem is the flower of the lily, seen illustrated with her on this page. An American society, the Easter Seals Society, uses the fleur-de-lis (French, flower of the lily) as their logo, and they have no religious affiliations whatsoever. (At the Statue of "Liberty", there is a plaque dedicating the image to the Earth Mother, Ishtar). Most “churches” decorate with the lilies on “Easter morning”. Instead of inheriting the truth, they inherited Babylon! If we only study history as people, places, and dates without comprehending “why” things occurred as they did, then everything is unorganized. It’s a junkpile. When you assemble it correctly, it all fits together perfectly, clarifying the path we walk on. “Satan” disguises “himself” — “he” is quite often “female”. We know “he” was behind Nimrod, as Moloch, Baal, Mithras, and so on; but “he” is also Ishtar. Sun-Day is “his” diversion; it’s a lie. I refer to “Easter Sun-Day” as “Beaster Sun-Day”. We don’t have to wait for a “beast”, it’s here right now. The patterns and appointments found in the Writings are the ones that are snubbed, excused, and ignored you will notice.

But you say, “The word ‘Easter’ is in my King James Version”. Translations are not “inspired”, and errors exist by the tens of thousands in many translations! The word in the Greek that underlies the word “Easter” in the KJV is pascha, and it means Passover, from the Hebrew word “Pesach”. All scholars admit that this is an error in translation, and it only appears ONCE, at Acts 12:4. Luke, who wrote almost 40% of the Mashian writings (NT), didn’t put it there as “Easter”. The KJV is the only one with this error, since translators corrected it in all others! There was a previous English translation made by the Catholic priest John Wycliffe during the 14th century.

Pagan religions through time paralleled each other, carrying the Sun, Earth Mother, and child model from Babylon to Media Persia, Phoenicia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Celts. The Medes cooked the mythology into “Zoroastrianism”, producing the magician priests called “Magi”. They worshipped Ahura, Haoma, and Ohrmazd as their trinity. (We’ll survey them all under “Trinities” later). The Greeks’ “Zeus” was their sun deity, whose mother was “Lydia”, shown here riding a swan. Notice her headpiece; very much like “Lady Liberty”. Take another look at “Athena” and “Ishtar” on the previous page; those heads are indications that we are seeing the same person.

The Britannica Encyclopedia (1934) states:

“EASTER (es’ter). Ostara, or Eastre, was the goddess of Spring in the religion of the ancient Angles and Saxons. Every April a festival was celebrated in her honor. With the beginnings of Christianity, the old gods were put aside. From then on the festival was celebrated in honor of the resurrection of Christ, but was still known as Easter after the old goddess.” (emphasis mine).

In contrast, the Creator says:

“Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah (Easter) poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and WIPE OUT THEIR NAMES from those places. YOU MUST NOT WORSHIP YHWH YOUR ELOHIM IN THEIR WAY.” Dt. 12. OK, that’s pretty clear. But what happened? The hypothesis of this book states on the outset that as the Pagans were absorbed into Chrisianity, it was the policy to accept everything they were accustomed to celebrating also. Let’s hear it directly from the Catholic organization itself; the Catholic Cardinal John Henry Newman’s book, The Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, published in 1878, states in chapter 8:

“The rulers of the Church from early times were prepared, should the occasion arise, to adopt, to imitate, or to sanctify the existing rites and customs of the population, as well as the philosophy of the educated class. The use of temples and those dedicated to particular saints, and ornamented on occasion with branches of trees (wreaths), incense, lamps, candles, votive offerings on recovering from illnesses, holy water, holy days and seasons (the entire Church calendar), use of calendars, processions, blessings on the fields, sacerdotal vestments, the ring in marriage, chants, the Kyrie Eleison — are all of Pagan origin, and sanctified by adoption into the Church.”

There you have it. But, you may ask, “If Easter was a Pagan festival celebrating the impregnation of ‘Mother Earth’, how did it get mixed up with Christianity?” Christianity’s “Pagan Connection” started with one man more than any other. In 325 CE, the Roman Emperor Constantine I convened what is now called the Nicene Council, gathering 220 elders (bishops) together, in order to unify basic doctrines (teachings), and establish common practices. This “universalizing” produced the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). The Latin word “Catholic” means universal. There was no “Catholic” on planet Earth prior to this Council. The only Council mentioned in the Writings conducted by the first Nazarenes is mentioned at Acts 15, the purpose of which was to determine how to accommodate Gentile converts who were turning to the true Creator. The only topic: circumcision ~ and since immersion in the Name and receiving the Spirit into your heart is our “circumcision”, it was decided that physical circumcision was not necessary (this is a very important beginning text to be understood by all adult male Gentiles!).

Constantine’s Council sought to institute new tolerances for Pagan patterns, and outlaw the patterns that the Savior lived by and taught ~ he had already proclaimed “Sun-Day” as a day of rest dedicated to the sun (321 CE), and now it came time to “syncretize” more Paganism. By not “repenting” and turning away from elementary foolishness, it was simpler to just “absorb” the behavior. Political and religious CONTROL is a slippery thing; so by keeping the Pagan rituals in place, control was maintained with a minimum of effort! “Truth” was twisted by the “spin doctors” so the opposite of truth became our custom. Rather than make 99% of the people conform to a totally new behavior, it was easier to just exterminate the 1%, and put a Scriptural “spin” on the Pagan customs. This is what overwhelmed all our ancestors, being taught these things as young children. Paganism has always been highly skilled at wrapping dissimilar things together, making things appear one way on the surface, and making the loosely understood things shrouded in what they call the “mysteries of the faith”.

In order to blend practices into universal (Catholic) behavior, the real Shabbat (Sabbath) was outlawed, along with Passover and other annual “Jewish” observances. This was a prophecy revealed to Daniel. In the prophecy, four “beasts” or kingdoms would arise, which are clearly (1) Babylon, (2) Media-Persia, (3) Greece, and (4) Rome. At Dani’el 7:25, the 4th beast is clearly described:

“The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on Earth (Rome). It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole Earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom (Caesars/Khasars/Kaisers/Czars ~ Julius Caesar up to Constantine). After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones (Constantine “fused” the sun worshippers with the Nazarene writings, and was not of the family name “Caesar”); he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High, and oppress His saints (qodeshim, those set-apart, especially the Hebrew people), and try to change the set times and the law”. Scripture is a pattern for our living in peace, guiding us with its “LAW”. The changing of the “set times” (or seasonal appointments decreed at Deut. 16 and Lev. 23) were wiped-out and replaced with Pagan observances, imposed by Constantine.

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