As we celebrate Easter, I wonder how many
of us have given much thought to what we do and why we do it.
For the Christian, Easter is a special event each year. On Easter
we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Along
with the substitutionary death on the cross, the resurrection
is the single most important event in history. These are the central
doctrines of Christianity. It is at this time that Jesus Christ,
the Living God incarnate became the Passover Lamb for the whole
world. Salvation of all who call upon the Lord hangs upon this
true and simple act of God's love.
But what about eggs, bunnies, candy, and the
rest? Where do these fit in?
Since you asked, let me tell you. Long ago
(right after the Flood), a man named Nimrod emerged on the scene
of history. His name means "let us rebel". He led the founding
of the first great civilization – Babylon. He led them all
right. He led them to rebel against God. He had tremendous power,
so much that he became a god in the eyes of the people. When he
died, his wife, Semiramis, recognized that without him she might
loose power herself, so she devised a clever plan. (Satan was
the originator of this plan.)
Semiramis was pregnant. She told everyone
that the child in her womb was none other than Nimrod being reborn.
This was the beginning of the greatest perversion of God's plan
for the salvation of man. This perversion borrowed the concept
of father/son deity, resurrection of a god from the dead and several
other slightly Christian concepts. In addition, this gave birth
to the concept of madonna/child worship. Nimrod was the first
of the historical anti-christs. The religions that sprang from
this perversion are what we call mystery religions, or secret
orders. These mystery religions are at the root of astrology as
well.
Nimrod and Semiramis ended up in virtually
every false religion of the old world. The names changed to accommodate
local preferences, but the basic concepts remained constant. In
fact many local cultures were so intertwined that the names were
scrambled. One name sometimes appears in several cultures, or
different names for the same person within a culture also appear.
Check it out if you really want to get confused! In Egypt we have
Osirus and Isis. In Greek mythology we have Bacchus and Venus.
Other names include Baal and Asteroth. Remember them? They were
the gods of the Canaanites who ensnared Israel away from the Lord
over and over again.
What does this all have to do with Easter?
Well, another set of local names included Tummuz and Ishtar. These
are Assyrian names for Nimrod and Semiramus. The Assyrians destroyed
the northern 10 tribes of Israel. Does the name Ishtar sound like
Easter? Well it should. It is the same. The death and "resurrection"
of these false gods was celebrated annually in the spring. The
celebration included coloring eggs, an ancient symbol of fertility.
The ancients even hid eggs for children to find. Rabbits, known
for their prolific reproduction, also became part of the pagan
celebration.
"Now, what's wrong with a little innocent
fun? After all, we don't believe all of that pagan stuff!"
God told the Israelites to destroy all traces
of these false religious practices from among them. He said if
they did not, they would be ensnared and destroyed by them. God
was right! Somehow these things have made their way into the Church
and the lives of Christians.
Shall we condemn those who wish to keep these
ancient traditions as a part of their Easter celebration? No.
What we should be interested in is making the facts known. We
need to properly consider whether we want to celebrate Easter
in Biblical ways that glorify God and His ultimate act of love,
or with colored eggs, rabbits, and pagan rites.
The final conflict between man and God is
described in Revelation 17 and 18. The enemy is Babylon, the birthplace
of rebellion and lies. God declares that Babylon is the mother
of harlots and abominations of the earth. Shall we invite her
into our homes to play with our children, or expel her for the
liar she is? Choose this day whom you will serve.
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