The True Meaning of Easter

[JesusFollowerForever]

Dear Friends in Christ,

As we approach the season of Passover, we are reminded of the profound connection between these two celebrations and the fulfillment of God's divine plan through Jesus Christ. Passover, a Jewish festival commemorating the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage, carries deep prophetic significance that finds its ultimate fulfillment in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament, we see the first Passover instituted in Exodus 12, where the blood of a lamb on the doorposts protected the Israelites from the angel of death. This event, though deeply significant for Israel, pointed forward to a greater deliverance. The prophet Isaiah, centuries before Christ, spoke of the coming Messiah who would be "led as a lamb to the slaughter" (Isaiah 53:7). This was not merely a physical deliverance from Egypt, but a spiritual redemption for all mankind.

When Jesus gathered with His disciples to celebrate the Passover meal, He made a powerful statement, which we find in the Gospel of Matthew. He took the bread and the cup, saying, "Take, eat; this is My body. Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins'" (Matthew 26:26-28 NKJV). In this moment, Jesus was establishing a new covenant, one not based on the blood of an animal, but on His own sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.

As we celebrate passover, the significance of Jesus' resurrection becomes central to our faith.
Passover also called Easter is not merely a time to reflect on Jesus' death, but on His triumph over death. In John 11:25-26, Jesus Himself declared, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." His resurrection offers the promise of eternal life to all who believe in Him and do God's will as he Himself did.

Christian Easter is distinct in its focus on the resurrection of Christ. While the Jewish Passover remembers the historical deliverance of Israel, Easter celebrates the victory over sin and death, as Jesus' resurrection offers eternal life to all who believe in Him. It is through His sacrifice and resurrection that Christians are spiritually made alive by the gift of the Holy Spirit, just as the Israelites were physically freed from Egypt, but with far greater eternal significance."

The true meaning of Easter, therefore, is not simply about a holiday or a tradition. It is a celebration of the ultimate victory of Christ over sin, death, and the grave. It is the foundation of the Christian faith. As Jesus Himself said in John 14:19, "Because I live, you will live also." This promise of eternal life, made possible through His death and resurrection, is the heart of passover.

Let us then, this season, reflect not only on the historical events of Passover but on the deeper spiritual truth they reveal. The sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God, and His glorious resurrection are the fulfillment of God's plan for humanity, a plan that began in the Old Testament and was completed in Christ. As we celebrate, let us embrace the life, hope, and freedom that His death and resurrection bring.

The Triumph of the Risen Christ

Upon the morn, the stone rolled far away,
And from the tomb, the risen Christ did rise,
Triumphant o'er the grave, He pierced the day,
To bring us life, through Heaven's wondrous skies.

The Lamb, once slain, now reigns in glory bright,
His sacrifice, the ransom for our sin,
He conquered death, dispelling endless night,
And bids us rise, eternal life to win.

O gracious Lord, whose blood our souls has bought,
In death's dark shade, Thy light of mercy shines,
Now death is vanquished, and our souls are sought,
In Christ alone, we find the life divine.

Through His great love, we live forevermore,
A gift of grace, from Heaven's sacred door.​

Blessings, JFF

"The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci
​

 

[LoricaLady]

Passover is not a Jewish celebration. It was instituted before there were any Jews. It is for everyone. It’s called the Lord’s celebration.

You talk about the meaning of Easter. It has no biblical meaning. Easter was named after Ashtar, a pagan sex goddess,whose symbols were the bunny and egg. What do those have to do with the risen Christ?

Friend, instead of lecturing to people who are rejecting traditions of men that are not in the Bible, why not really study the Bible and find out what it is actually saying yourself?

I recommend The Pauline Paradox video series by 119 Ministries.

 

[JesusFollowerForever]

Passover is not a Jewish celebration. It was instituted before there were any Jews. It is for everyone. It’s called the Lord’s celebration.

You talk about the meaning of Easter. It has no biblical meaning. Easter was named after Ashtar, a pagan sex goddess,whose symbols were the bunny and egg. What do those have to do with the risen Christ?

Friend, sometimes people wander onto the wrong forum on this website. Perhaps that has happened here with you. Or maybe you don’t understand what messianic Judaism is.

It is a place for Jews, or for Gentiles like me, and by the way, most messianics are Gentiles, who believe that Yahushuah, a.k.a. Jesus, is the promised Messiah of the old Testament as in Isaiah 53.

Messianics have no interest at all in Easter, or Christmas for that matter.

Friend, instead of lecturing to people who are rejecting traditions of men that are not in the Bible, why not really study the Bible and find out what it is actually saying yourself?

I recommend The Pauline Paradox video series by 119 Ministries.

Thank you for the nice comment, have a good one

 

[JSRG]

Passover is not a Jewish celebration. It was instituted before there were any Jews. It is for everyone. It’s called the Lord’s celebration.

Passover in the Bible is instituted in Exodus 12. At that time, there were absolutely Jews. So it obviously didn't predate them.

If someone wants to get technical, it is true they were not specifically called Jews at that point (the first instance of the word "Jew" is in the Book of Kings, I think), but rather Hebrews. However, the terms are at least in the present day essentially interchangeable, and thus it makes little sense to claim that Passover was instituted before there were Jews.

You talk about the meaning of Easter. It has no biblical meaning. Easter was named after Ashtar, a pagan sex goddess,whose symbols were the bunny and egg. What do those have to do with the risen Christ?

There is no Ashtar. Perhaps you meant Ishtar. However, there is no real evidence that the word Easter comes from Ishtar. Nor were Ishtar's symbols bunnies or eggs. These claims, while common, are simply made up.

And finally, in most languages, the word for Easter has no resemblance to Ishtar anyway. It is fairly obvious that Pascua (Spanish) or Wielkanoc (Polish) have no connection to Ishtar.

 

[LoricaLady]

Jews come the trib

Passover in the Bible is instituted in Exodus 12. At that time, there were absolutely Jews. So it obviously didn't predate them.

If someone wants to get technical, it is true they were not specifically called Jews at that point (the first instance of the word "Jew" is in the Book of Kings, I think), but rather Hebrews. However, the terms are at least in the present day essentially interchangeable, and thus it makes little sense to claim that Passover was instituted before there were Jews.



There is no Ashtar. Perhaps you meant Ishtar. However, there is no real evidence that the word Easter comes from Ishtar. Nor were Ishtar's symbols bunnies or eggs. These claims, while common, are simply made up.

And finally, in most languages, the word for Easter has no resemblance to Ishtar anyway. It is fairly obvious that Pascua (Spanish) or Wielkanoc (Polish) have no connection to Ishtar.

Carelessly, I was off on the dating. But so were you, friend. Jews come the tribe of Judah

. All the 12 tribes kept the first Passover so it was never said, at the time, to be a Jewish event.
Jews are currently the basic remnant of the Israelites. They keep Passover, but again, it was to be for all the tribes.

As for Easter being named after a pagan sex goddess, I’ve done my research.

Easter has nothing to do with celebrating the resurrection of Messiah and does not correlate to the lunar calendar the Israelites used to mark high holy days. For just one minor inconsistency, Easter always falls on a Sunday. With the use of the Hebrew, lunar, calendar of Messiah’s time, his resurrection day could never always be on the same day of the week.

If you want to debate this, sorry I don’t have the time. Blessings and bye.

 

[Maori Aussie]

As for Easter being named after a pagan sex goddess, I’ve done my research.

Ēostre - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[JesusFollowerForever]

Passover in the Bible is instituted in Exodus 12. At that time, there were absolutely Jews. So it obviously didn't predate them.

If someone wants to get technical, it is true they were not specifically called Jews at that point (the first instance of the word "Jew" is in the Book of Kings, I think), but rather Hebrews. However, the terms are at least in the present day essentially interchangeable, and thus it makes little sense to claim that Passover was instituted before there were Jews.



There is no Ashtar. Perhaps you meant Ishtar. However, there is no real evidence that the word Easter comes from Ishtar. Nor were Ishtar's symbols bunnies or eggs. These claims, while common, are simply made up.

And finally, in most languages, the word for Easter has no resemblance to Ishtar anyway. It is fairly obvious that Pascua (Spanish) or Wielkanoc (Polish) have no connection to Ishtar.

I was referring in the op post that jesus and the 12 were celebrating passover that some denominations like the catholics are now calling easter but still celebrate, i don't know why some get offended sometimes if is a mystery to me. I really think passover jewish or not should be remembered and why jesus did what he did at the last supper, it is a profound lesson for us all. I love him with all my heart, truly.

Blessings all may the lord keep you from evil always.

 

[Valletta]

Jews come the trib

Carelessly, I was off on the dating. But so were you, friend. Jews come the tribe of Judah

. All the 12 tribes kept the first Passover so it was never said, at the time, to be a Jewish event.
Jews are currently the basic remnant of the Israelites. They keep Passover, but again, it was to be for all the tribes.

As for Easter being named after a pagan sex goddess, I’ve done my research.

Easter has nothing to do with celebrating the resurrection of Messiah and does not correlate to the lunar calendar the Israelites used to mark high holy days. For just one minor inconsistency, Easter always falls on a Sunday. With the use of the Hebrew, lunar, calendar of Messiah’s time, his resurrection day could never always be on the same day of the week.

If you want to debate this, sorry I don’t have the time. Blessings and bye.

Feast Days are chosen for different reasons and many are just a day to celebrate something that is not meant to be on the exact date it happened.

 

[JEBofChristTheLord]

Jews come the trib

Carelessly, I was off on the dating. But so were you, friend. Jews come the tribe of Judah

Almost all of the Jews of today know themselves to come from either Judah or Levi, and some of the Levi know themselves to be Cohen (Priest) in ancestry. I have read reports of small remnants of at least one or two other tribes remaining in India, I don't know how valid the claims are or if the people still remain, the articles were written a while ago. Later there was at least one disproof of one such claim in central Africa..

. All the 12 tribes kept the first Passover so it was never said, at the time, to be a Jewish event.
Jews are currently the basic remnant of the Israelites. They keep Passover, but again, it was to be for all the tribes.

It was and is considered to be for all of the descendants of the man first named Jacob, whom God renamed Israel.

As for Easter being named after a pagan sex goddess, I’ve done my research.

Easter has nothing to do with celebrating the resurrection of Messiah and does not correlate to the lunar calendar the Israelites used to mark high holy days. For just one minor inconsistency, Easter always falls on a Sunday. With the use of the Hebrew, lunar, calendar of Messiah’s time, his resurrection day could never always be on the same day of the week.

The sad part is the naming of a celebration of the Resurrection of Christ the Lord, using the name of a demon, a false god, a devil.

If you want to debate this, sorry I don’t have the time. Blessings and bye.

Not interested in debate. Interested in discussion, with anyone else who is.

 

[JSRG]

Jews come the trib

Carelessly, I was off on the dating. But so were you, friend. Jews come the tribe of Judah

. All the 12 tribes kept the first Passover so it was never said, at the time, to be a Jewish event.
Jews are currently the basic remnant of the Israelites. They keep Passover, but again, it was to be for all the tribes.

I do not see how I was wrong on the dating. It is true that the term Jew was not used until later, and that instead we saw "Hebrew" for quite a while in the Old Testament. And indeed well in the past, Jew was used more specifically to refer to people from Judah. That is why I explicitly said, referring to Jew and Hebrew "However, the terms are at least in the present day essentially interchangeable". In a few rare instances someone may be using Jew specifically to refer to those of Judah, but otherwise it carries the same meaning as Hebrew. If someone says "Jewish holiday" they do not mean "holiday of the tribe of Judah" they mean "Hebrew holiday". So in the modern sense of the word Jew--and the sense that JesusFollowerForever was almost certainly using--they did predate the institution of Passover.

As for Easter being named after a pagan sex goddess, I’ve done my research.

Then you may want to re-do that research because the simple fact remains that your claims were false. Easter has nothing to do with Ishtar, Ishtar didn't have symbols of eggs or rabbits, and at any rate those only became associated with Easter around the 11th and 17th centuries, far too late for any sort of connection.

The word Easter may--may--have an etymological connection with Eostre, a possible English goddess (possible because we are not sure there ever was any such goddess). But even if the word Easter has a connection with Eostre--and again this is a very contested claim--
there is a lack of evidence Eostre was a sex goddess or had anything to do with rabbits or eggs. Such claims are speculation. Sadly, these kinds of false claims are far too common online.

Easter has nothing to do with celebrating the resurrection of Messiah

It has everything to do with it. It's literally what people are celebrating!

I will admit that, in modern times, some have attempted to divorce it from its original purpose as a celebration of the Resurrection. But even then, to say it has "nothing" to do with the resurrection makes little sense.

and does not correlate to the lunar calendar the Israelites used to mark high holy days. For just one minor inconsistency, Easter always falls on a Sunday. With the use of the Hebrew, lunar, calendar of Messiah’s time, his resurrection day could never always be on the same day of the week.

The resurrection occurred on the Sunday after Passover. Setting the time of the celebration of it to the Sunday after the time Passover therefore seems reasonable. Sometimes may point out that we can see Jews having Passover a month after the date of Easter in some years, but that's because the Jewish calendar, as it is presently followed, is off.

If you want to debate this, sorry I don’t have the time. Blessings and bye.

I can certainly understand that, compared to many things, debating on an Internet message board is lower priority. I rarely have a problem with someone not continuing an argument online. Still, the fact remains that your claim is lacking in actual evidence.

 

[Maori Aussie]

Saul of Tarsus (Paul) identified with the tribe of Benjamin. Philippians 3:5

 

[JSRG]

Ēostre - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It is not clear to me whether you are saying this to try to support LoricaLady's posts, or refute it. If it's to support, it doesn't, because this isn't Ishtar at all, and there's no evidence that Eostre (if there was a goddess by that name) had anything to do with rabbits or hares either, or that she was a sex goddess. Or maybe it was to refute it, by pointing to the "true" origin of the word Easter. While it certainly dispenses with the Ishtar claim, I think there are still some issues with the origin being Eostre.

At any rate, for the benefit of readers, I feel it's worth discussing how this doesn't back up the claims that LoricaLady was making, even if this is the origin of the word Easter. The article has some useful information, but unfortunately I think it's a little more credulous on some things than it should be.

We have one mention of Eostre in the historical record. A writer named Bede, in The Reckoning of Time, briefly discusses the English names of months and where they come from, and he mentions that the month that corresponded to April was Eosturmonab (the English calendar was lunisolar rather than solar, so the month obviously didn't mesh perfectly with April, but would have mostly corresponded with it). We can be fairly certain that the name Easter comes from the month, and presumably this occurred due to Easter usually falling into it. Now, Bede mentions that the month name came from a goddess named Eostre who was worshipped in the past and had feasts during the month (due to the brevity of his remarks, it is not clear whether he is referring to the distant past or something more recent, but at any rate it's something that is clearly in the past).

There are, however, reasons to be skeptical of Bede's claims for the origins of the month names, particularly when it comes to Eostre. As noted, we have no references to Eostre anywhere else; it's why the article has to offer a lot of speculations about connections. While it is true that Bede may have had access to records we do not, it should be noted that the preceding month he also ascribes to another goddess (Hretha) who we also have no evidence of outside of this reference of his, giving additional credence to the idea that he was relying on incorrect etymology.

But even accepting Bede's ideas, Bede's remarks on Eostre were quite short (you can see all of them here), and all it says is that the month was named after Eostre and she had a festival at some point in the past in it. If someone offers claims about Eostre that go beyond that, such as claiming she was a sex god, had rabbits as a symbol, or had anything to do with eggs, then they're just speculating. For all we know Eostre (assuming there was actually a goddess named that) was goddess of shrubs.

So even if Bede was right about Eosturmonab being named after Eostre, this would just mean Easter was named after a month that was named after a pagan goddess; this no more puts any real connection between the two than the Fourth of July has with Julius Caesar. And even this is just limited to the name. There is a distinct lack of evidence that any customs of Easter had anything to do with this "Eostre", assuming Bede was right; setting aside the fact we have no evidence that followers of Eostre had anything similar to Easter customs, the timing doesn't work out. Easter customs either predate any possible influence (the Christianization of the British Islands took place centuries after Easter--under the Greek/Latin word pascha--was celebrated and on Sunday) or postdate any possible influence (Easter eggs and Easter rabbits come too late, emerging around the 11th century and 17th century respectively). And even this name, Easter, is not found in most other languages. In truth I wish that English, like the Romance languages, had derived its word for Easter from the Latin word Pascha (itself from the Greek word pascha, which means Easter or Passover), as it would mean cutting off these conversations.

 

[Maori Aussie]

It is not clear to me whether you are saying this to try to support LoricaLady's posts, or refute it. If it's to support, it doesn't, because this isn't Ishtar at all, and there's no evidence that Eostre (if there was a goddess by that name) had anything to do with rabbits or hares either, or that she was a sex goddess. Or maybe it was to refute it, by pointing to the "true" origin of the word Easter. While it certainly dispenses with the Ishtar claim, I think there are still some issues with the origin being Eostre.

Brother, not everyone in the ring is a combatant! My aim is to provide my fellow Christians with information from generally accepted sources, to enable them to form their own views. God Bless!

 

[JEBofChristTheLord]

So even if Bede was right about Eosturmonab being named after Eostre, this would just mean Easter was named after a month that was named after a pagan goddess; this no more puts any real connection between the two than the Fourth of July has with Julius Caesar. And even this is just limited to the name. There is a distinct lack of evidence that any customs of Easter had anything to do with this "Eostre", assuming Bede was right; setting aside the fact we have no evidence that followers of Eostre had anything similar to Easter customs, the timing doesn't work out. Easter customs either predate any possible influence (the Christianization of the British Islands took place centuries after Easter--under the Greek/Latin word pascha--was celebrated and on Sunday)

I see you have decided to disregard Grimm. He has quite a few interesting points.

 

[JSRG]

I see you have decided to disregard Grimm. He has quite a few interesting points.

I'm aware of Grimm's attempt in Teutonic Mythology to argue that Bede was correct when he mentioned the two deities (Hretha and Eostra) being the source of the month names, but Grimm's argument (especially in regards to Eostre) really is little more than a bunch of speculation and conjecture. Especially when he speculates about the idea of a corresponding Germanic deity named Ostara, which people repeat as some kind of fact despite it being nothing more than a speculation of his and there being no reference by anyone to any Ostara prior to him.

 

[sparow]

Passover in the Bible is instituted in Exodus 12. At that time, there were absolutely Jews. So it obviously didn't predate them.

If someone wants to get technical, it is true they were not specifically called Jews at that point (the first instance of the word "Jew" is in the Book of Kings, I think), but rather Hebrews. However, the terms are at least in the present day essentially interchangeable, and thus it makes little sense to claim that Passover was instituted before there were Jews.



There is no Ashtar. Perhaps you meant Ishtar. However, there is no real evidence that the word Easter comes from Ishtar. Nor were Ishtar's symbols bunnies or eggs. These claims, while common, are simply made up.

And finally, in most languages, the word for Easter has no resemblance to Ishtar anyway. It is fairly obvious that Pascua (Spanish) or Wielkanoc (Polish) have no connection to Ishtar.

The word Jew was coined by Shakespear, and he referred to the money changers in England. The covenant is made with Israel, 12 tribes, not Jews. Jesus asked or commanded that during the Passover week, in particular on the 14th day of Nisan, that he be remembered as the Passover lamb.

Easter is Pagan or gentile, Easter represents changed laws and times, the sign that identifies the beast in Daniel.

Bunny rabbits and eggs are to do with Pagan Spring, new beginnings and the alleged son of Nimrod.

 

[JSRG]

The word Jew was coined by Shakespear, and he referred to the money changers in England.

Jew entered English in the Middle English period. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary offers "Alswa hefden þe giwis heore sinagoge" from a homily from around 1225, and various other pre-Shakespeare examples. Obviously the spelling was different--English spellings have shifted quite a bit over the centuries--but the word is right there. Shakespeare didn't coin the word at all. He didn't even coin the spelling Jew, which predates him as well... well, the spelling Iew does, as it wasn't until after Shakespeare that J got differentiated as a separate letter from I; in Shakespeare's time and before they were different ways to write the same letter. If you look at the original printings of his works, they use I instead of J.

So Shakespeare didn't coin the word, and didn't even coin the specific spelling. Where did you get the idea he did?

The covenant is made with Israel, 12 tribes, not Jews.

...who were Jews.

I am aware that originally, the term Jew--or rather, the term Yehudi in Hebrew, the term it ultimately derives from (it went from Hebrew to Aramaic to Greek to Latin to French to English)--was meant more specifically to describe inhabitants of Judah. However, its meaning shifted over time and the term in English nowadays is simply a synonym for Hebrew. So in the definition of the term used in English, those 12 tribes were all Jews.

Jesus asked or commanded that during the Passover week, in particular on the 14th day of Nisan, that he be remembered as the Passover lamb.

I am not aware of any verse in the Bible where Jesus explicitly commands being remembered as the Passover lamb, let alone on this specific date. 1 Corinthians 5:7 describes Jesus as a Passover lamb, but this is not stated as a command, and is not a statement of Jesus anyway. Luke 22:19 has Jesus command to take bread in remembrance of Jesus, but nothing about specifically remembering Jesus as the Passover lamb. Certainly, viewing Jesus as a Passover lamb is a quite reasonable interpretation of the New Testament (the Bible refers to Jesus as such!), but there is no explicit command to do so I am aware of. And there is not a command ascribed to Jesus that this remembrance must be done on a particular date.

Bunny rabbits and eggs are to do with Pagan Spring, new beginnings and the alleged son of Nimrod.

Rabbits and eggs in Easter have no connection to Nimrod, or anything pagan quite frankly. The narrative that they were brought in from some pagan religion is thwarted not only by lack of any plausible connection to other religions, but also by the timing; even if the Romans or Egyptians or whoever else believed in rabbits that laid colored eggs (and there is no evidence they did), Easter eggs aren't attested to until around the 11th century, and the Easter rabbit is first mentioned in the 17th century; these are long after paganism had gone extinct. That's a big reason why the claim that they came from paganism doesn't add up.

 

[sparow]

Jew entered English in the Middle English period. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary offers "Alswa hefden þe giwis heore sinagoge" from a homily from around 1225, and various other pre-Shakespeare examples. Obviously the spelling was different--English spellings have shifted quite a bit over the centuries--but the word is right there. Shakespeare didn't coin the word at all. He didn't even coin the spelling Jew, which predates him as well... well, the spelling Iew does, as it wasn't until after Shakespeare that J got differentiated as a separate letter from I; in Shakespeare's time and before they were different ways to write the same letter. If you look at the original printings of his works, they use I instead of J.

So Shakespeare didn't coin the word, and didn't even coin the specific spelling. Where did you get the idea he did?



...who were Jews.

I am aware that originally, the term Jew--or rather, the term Yehudi in Hebrew, the term it ultimately derives from (it went from Hebrew to Aramaic to Greek to Latin to French to English)--was meant more specifically to describe inhabitants of Judah. However, its meaning shifted over time and the term in English nowadays is simply a synonym for Hebrew. So in the definition of the term used in English, those 12 tribes were all Jews.



I am not aware of any verse in the Bible where Jesus explicitly commands being remembered as the Passover lamb, let alone on this specific date. 1 Corinthians 5:7 describes Jesus as a Passover lamb, but this is not stated as a command, and is not a statement of Jesus anyway. Luke 22:19 has Jesus command to take bread in remembrance of Jesus, but nothing about specifically remembering Jesus as the Passover lamb. Certainly, viewing Jesus as a Passover lamb is a quite reasonable interpretation of the New Testament (the Bible refers to Jesus as such!), but there is no explicit command to do so I am aware of. And there is not a command ascribed to Jesus that this remembrance must be done on a particular date.


Rabbits and eggs in Easter have no connection to Nimrod, or anything pagan quite frankly. The narrative that they were brought in from some pagan religion is thwarted not only by lack of any plausible connection to other religions, but also by the timing; even if the Romans or Egyptians or whoever else believed in rabbits that laid colored eggs (and there is no evidence they did), Easter eggs aren't attested to until around the 11th century, and the Easter rabbit is first mentioned in the 17th century; these are long after paganism had gone extinct. That's a big reason why the claim that they came from paganism doesn't add up.

You may know people who keep Sunday or Easter Sunday. Nimrod is the Sun God, Semiramis was his wife who is not mentioned by name in scripture, but she had a son named Tammuz, a couple of years after Nimrod died, and she claimed that Nimrod, now the Sun God was Tammuz's father.

Tammuz and the Pagan practice are mentioned in Ezekiel 8:14-17. Every Pagan Spring Tammuz comes back to life, Tammuz is the new grass, the rabbits breading, the birds laying eggs, rabbits and eggs, among many others, became fertility symbols, fertility symbols are big in Paganism.

When I read Ezekiel 8:14-17, I read that Easter, the mixture of some of God's stuff with some of Pagan stuff, is an abomination, in the same manner that I read, Passover Lamb, for eat my flesh, in relation to the Lord's supper.

 

[JSRG]

Nimrod is the Sun God, Semiramis was his wife who is not mentioned by name in scripture, but she had a son named Tammuz, a couple of years after Nimrod died, and she claimed that Nimrod, now the Sun God was Tammuz's father.

But these claims are false, and are just speculation from the 19th century that, sadly, continues to get repeated even though it's speculation (and subsequent discoveries have only gone against it). Nimrod, Semiramis, and Tammuz had nothing to do with each other. Heck, Nimrod and Semiramis didn't even live at the same time.

While the dates of various biblical events can vary depending on various interpretations, Genesis 10, where Nimrod is mentioned, would be taking place in the third millennium BC. Now, Semiramis was a much later legendary and mythical version of a real queen named Shammuramat (who was married to Shamshi-Adad V), and she ruled in the 9th century BC. This legendary version changed some things about her, like making her husband Ninus (also legendary and mythical). It is fairly obvious that someone from the third millennium BC could not marry someone from the first millennium BC. Was time travel involved here?

That should be sufficient to dispense with this, but let's go further. Tammuz, alternatively rendered as Dumuzid, was a god in the ancient Mesopotamian religion, but was not the son of Semiramis and Ninus, or of Shammuramat and Shamshi-Adad V. Shammuramat's real son was Abadnirari III, and Semiramis's legendary son was Ninyas. Tammuz didn't have either as a parent, and rather appears to have been identified as the son of the gods Sirtur/Duttur and Ea/Enki (see, for example, here).

The only way to end up with this whole "Semiramis and NImrod got married and had a son named Tammuz" idea is to try to conflate completely different people (some of them legendary!) together. So Nimrod is Ninus (even though Ninus is a legendary figure created much later) and married Semiramis (even though Semiramis is legendary too, albeit more clearly based on an actual person), and then their son was Tammuz, even though Tammuz was actually the son of Duttur and Enki, who are totally different.

The whole idea of Semiramis, Nimrod, and Tammuz having anything to do with each other came from wild 19th century speculations that, as noted above, essentially claimed a whole bunch of people were actually other people (some of them, again, actually legendary or fictional). Time travel also must have been involved, given some of them living in different millennia. It's like saying that Queen Elizabeth I married King Arthur and their son was Sherlock Holmes.

Tammuz and the Pagan practice are mentioned in Ezekiel 8:14-17. Every Pagan Spring Tammuz comes back to life, Tammuz is the new grass, the rabbits breading, the birds laying eggs, rabbits and eggs, among many others, became fertility symbols, fertility symbols are big in Paganism.

Well, first you cite no evidence that Tammuz is actually associated with rabbits or eggs at all. But once again, even if he was, these have nothing to do with Easter eggs or Easter rabbits because they come far, far too late for there to be any possible connection. That is the problem these claims of pagan connection continually run into.

When I read Ezekiel 8:14-17, I read that Easter, the mixture of some of God's stuff with some of Pagan stuff, is an abomination, in the same manner that I read, Passover Lamb, for eat my flesh, in relation to the Lord's supper.

Ezekiel 8:14-17 has no relation to Easter. And given your emphasis on Spring immediately prior to these remarks, it's odd to bring this up given that it is taking place in late Summer, as it mentions in Ezekiel 8:1 this is occurring on the sixth day of the sixth month (Elul), which would fall into either August or September depending on the year.

 

[sparow]

But these claims are false, and are just speculation from the 19th century that, sadly, continues to get repeated even though it's speculation (and subsequent discoveries have only gone against it). Nimrod, Semiramis, and Tammuz had nothing to do with each other. Heck, Nimrod and Semiramis didn't even live at the same time.

While the dates of various biblical events can vary depending on various interpretations, Genesis 10, where Nimrod is mentioned, would be taking place in the third millennium BC. Now, Semiramis was a much later legendary and mythical version of a real queen named Shammuramat (who was married to Shamshi-Adad V), and she ruled in the 9th century BC. This legendary version changed some things about her, like making her husband Ninus (also legendary and mythical). It is fairly obvious that someone from the third millennium BC could not marry someone from the first millennium BC. Was time travel involved here?

That should be sufficient to dispense with this, but let's go further. Tammuz, alternatively rendered as Dumuzid, was a god in the ancient Mesopotamian religion, but was not the son of Semiramis and Ninus, or of Shammuramat and Shamshi-Adad V. Shammuramat's real son was Abadnirari III, and Semiramis's legendary son was Ninyas. Tammuz didn't have either as a parent, and rather appears to have been identified as the son of the gods Sirtur/Duttur and Ea/Enki (see, for example, here).

The only way to end up with this whole "Semiramis and NImrod got married and had a son named Tammuz" idea is to try to conflate completely different people (some of them legendary!) together. So Nimrod is Ninus (even though Ninus is a legendary figure created much later) and married Semiramis (even though Semiramis is legendary too, albeit more clearly based on an actual person), and then their son was Tammuz, even though Tammuz was actually the son of Duttur and Enki, who are totally different.

The whole idea of Semiramis, Nimrod, and Tammuz having anything to do with each other came from wild 19th century speculations that, as noted above, essentially claimed a whole bunch of people were actually other people (some of them, again, actually legendary or fictional). Time travel also must have been involved, given some of them living in different millennia. It's like saying that Queen Elizabeth I married King Arthur and their son was Sherlock Holmes.



Well, first you cite no evidence that Tammuz is actually associated with rabbits or eggs at all. But once again, even if he was, these have nothing to do with Easter eggs or Easter rabbits because they come far, far too late for there to be any possible connection. That is the problem these claims of pagan connection continually run into.


Ezekiel 8:14-17 has no relation to Easter. And given your emphasis on Spring immediately prior to these remarks, it's odd to bring this up given that it is taking place in late Summer, as it mentions in Ezekiel 8:1 this is occurring on the sixth day of the sixth month (Elul), which would fall into either August or September depending on the year.

You seem to be changing the subject with your historical precision. Let me tell you about Paganism, it is always false, always fiction, names change as it moves from culture to culture, it always evolves differently, culture by culture and from time to time.

A good example is the Queen of Heaven, whose name changes from culture to culture and from time to time.

Quote. In like manner, some Catholics attribute to Mary the position and characteristics of the third person of their unscriptural trinity, the Holy Spirit. The official publication of "The Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima," boasting 22 million members, claims:

Mary is so perfectly united with the Holy Spirit that He acts only through His spouse. . . . All our life, every thought, word, and deed is in Her hands . . . at every moment, She Herself must instruct, guide, and transform each one of us into Herself, so that not we but She lives in us, as Jesus lives in Her, and the Father in the Son. (Soul Magazine, November—December 1984, p.4.)

If she has these powers and characteristics, then Mary must be God! There can be no doubt that this adoration of Mary is simply a modern manifestation of goddess worship that began over 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia! In fact, one of her titles, as used by the present Pope, a devoted Marian, is "Queen of Heaven" (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19, 25)! Unquote, Richard T. Ritenbaugh.