Passover or Easter

As a Jewish believer in Messiah Yeshua, I do not and will not observe Easter. Why? Because, Easter has nothing to do with the Messiah. Nor, is it even Biblical. There are days that Adonai has given us to observe in order to honor Him and everything to do with Messiah Yeshua, prophetically and Biblically. They are called the Feasts of Adonai, and there are seven of them: Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, The Feast of Weeks, The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement and The Feast of Tabernacles. The Torah, and the rest of the Bible calls these Feasts, "The Feasts of Adonai." Why? Because, they reveal to us, not only Adonai's love for His people, but they also point to the Messiah and His redemption (Exodus 31:13). Including the Sabbath, the Feasts are prophetic and each one serves as a Messianic timeline regarding the Promised Messiah, His Coming and His Return. Holidays like Easter and Christmas have nothing to do the Messiah, and especially have nothing to do with His Redemption. They simply aren't Biblical.

While Passover and Easter are close together this year - with, Passover beginning on Friday evening, April 15th, and Easter on Sunday, April 17th - this doesn't mean that they have anything do with each other. The reality is, that they have nothing to do with each other and shouldn't even be considered to have anything to do with one another. The supposed Good Friday celebration that begins the Easter weekend, cannot be found in Scripture, nor, is it the day of Messiah's death and crucifixion. Neither does Easter Sunday have anything to do with Messiah's resurrection. For that matter, it has nothing to do with Scripture period. The Scriptures from the Tanakh (Old Covenant) to the Brit Chadashah (New Covenant) are clear regarding Adonai's command about the observance of Passover. However, there is no mention (not even one) regarding the observance of any easter celebration.

Every year many will gather together at sunrise on Easter Sunday to celebrate the Messiah's Resurrection, while others will be gathering to observe Passover to remember His Sacrifice, as well as His Resurrection. Both groups will be celebrating the Resurrection of the Messiah.

While Easter is observed to celebrate the Messiah's Resurrection, its origins are not Biblical. Easter, which is named after the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, (otherwise known as Astarte (Semiramis), who was the wife of Nimrod), was first celebrated to honor Tammuz. Nimrod and Astarte (Semiramis) were responsible for the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9) and were worshiped as gods.

Astarte was also known as the "Queen of Heaven" (Jer 7:18), a title later given to the Virgin Mary. According to legend, Astarte hatched from a giant egg and her symbol was the rabbit. She is also known as the goddess of fertility. In addition, she is known as the mother of the religion of Babylon. The Bible may be referring to her in Revelation 17 as the "prostitute of Babylon."

After the death of Nimrod, Astarte "immaculately conceived" Tammuz and told her subjects that he was Nimrod reincarnated by the sun. Tammuz was born on December 25th and was later killed by a wild boar. After his death, Astarte told her followers that Tammuz was the resurrected sun and was then worshiped as a sun god, like his father Nimrod.

To commemorate Tammuz' mourning, ashes were put on the foreheads of his followers and fasting was declared for 40 days in honor of his memory. On the feast of Ishtar, Tammuz' followers would face east towards the rising sun and worship him.

The Bible records the worship of Tammuz in the Book of Ezekiel:

"He said further to me, “You will see still greater abominations that they are doing.” He brought me to the door of the gate of Adonai’s House, which was toward the north. Behold, the women sat there weeping for Tammuz. He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? You will again see even greater abominations than these.” So He brought me into the inner court of Adonai’s House. Behold, at the door of the Temple of Adonai, between the porch and the altar, were about 25 men, with their backs toward the Temple of Adonai and their faces toward the east—and they were bowing in worship eastward toward the sun" - Ez 8:13-16.

The worship of Tammuz at the House of Adonai was not permitted then. Why should it be permitted today? Adonai actually warned us not to worship as the nations do, nor observe or celebrate days reserved for other gods in the Name of Adonai.(Deut 12:29-31).

While Easter's origins are not Biblical, Passover is. According to Messianic prophecy the Messiah would have to fulfill the Feasts of Adonai in order to qualify as the Messiah. If Yeshua had fulfilled Easter, then He is not the Messiah. But if He did fulfill Passover, which commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from Egypt, then He is the Messiah. The Bible has nothing to say about Messiah fulfilling Easter. It doesn't even associate Him with Easter, but it does associate Him with Passover. The Bible Identifies Him as our Passover Lamb and not the hope of Easter:

"Get rid of the old hametz, so you may be a new batch, just as you are unleavened—for Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed" - I Cor 5:7.

In the New Covenant Messiah went on to teach that He Himself is the reason for Passover:

"And when He had taken matzah and offered the bracha, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you. Do this in memory of Me.” In the same way, He took the cup after the meal, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you" - Lk 22:19-20.

When Messiah said, "Do this in memory of Me," He wasn't talking about any communion ceremony and He especially wasn't talking about Easter. He was talking about Passover. He was saying that every time we gather to observe Passover, we do so in memoriam of Him and what He did for us. Easter wasn't even supposed to be considered among His believers.

The Feast of Passover (Pesach) was given to the people of Adonai to remember our deliverance. It was never meant to be abolished or replaced, especially with a day reserved for another god. Let us continue to observe Passover in the fear of Adonai and in remembrance of Messiah.

May you have a blessed Passover