Churches all over the world are often accustomed to proclaiming on the day we call “Easter”, “The Lord is Risen… followed by the refrain, “The Lord (or He) is risen INDEED!” This is the message of Resurrection Sunday. In the Bible, it was the celebrated ‘feast day’ of First Fruits, following the Feast Day of Passover and the Feast Day of Unleavened Bread. The people of Yahweh – the Israelites from the time of Moses, down through 15 centuries, to the time of Jesus and His disciples 2000 years ago – celebrated these appointed, HOLY, Feast days… HOLY Days… Holidays. That’s where we get the word – Holiday.
There is no doubt in the mind of any true believer that Jesus the Messiah – the Anointed LORD sent by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) – is the central theme of the whole Bible.
Psalm 40:7 “Then I said, ‘Behold I come; in the scroll of the book, it is written of me.’”
Genesis 1:14 “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:”
The word used in Genesis 1:14 – seasons – is wrongly translated. It’s the Hebrew word “MOEDIM”… What does that mean? Appointed times of the Lord. It has nothing to do with seasons like we think of spring, summer, autumn and winter. God put the lights in the firmament of the heaven so we could know when these appointed times – these MOEDIM – are to be celebrated.
Did you count all five of the purposes that the Creator designed for the luminaries of the firmament?
The last two are days “days” and “years.” The first one is “to divide the day from the night.” For the most part those three purposes make the most sense to us because we easily relate to the difference between the appearance of the day and night sky. The idea of “years” reflects the annual cycle of the Earth around the sun. We see the grand display of the constant rotation of the 12 major constellations used by astronomers from Adam’s son Seth and Great grandson, Enoch, down through time… to identify the passage of each year.
But there’s another little secret, hidden in God’s Word when He describes His creation of the starry host of heaven. Take a look at Genesis 1:14 a bit closer. Did you notice the second of the five purposes that the Creator designed for the luminaries of the firmament? He said, “…and let them be for SIGNS and seasons.”
I looked up the word “signs” to see what I could learn from the original Hebrew language about it. There the King James translation into English does a fair job. We think of signs the way we describe a message used to inform us about something coming just ahead of our field of vision. A stop sign conveys a clear message. A directional sign or street sign helps us navigate our path. But most modern people today have not been told that our Creator deliberately positioned the stars on His celestial “canvas” to communicate as sign posts and even gave them names. Isaiah 40:26 says:
“Lift up your eyes on high and see; who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.”
When I dug into the knowledge of the ancients, like the book of Job and others, I discovered that the pagan ideas of the zodiac and what we call astrology, was actually an ancient idolatrous corruption of what God made and calls the “MAZZAROTH” in Job. It’s truly what we can glorify God by calling it biblical astronomy. The classic scripture in Job 38:31-32 notes”
“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide the Bear with her satellites?”
These are all names of star groups with very meaningful and prophetic names. I like to take students on an amazing journey of discovery about God’s signs in the heavens in my book and talks, Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation, but I noticed something else.
Did you ever look at the meanings of the letters used to spell the Hebrew word for signs?
אוֹת ʼôwth, oth; probably from H225 (in the sense of appearing); a signal (literally or figuratively), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc.:—mark, miracle, (en-) sign, token.
It’s the word “OTH” in Hebrew. It’s made up of three Hebrew characters. First is the sign for “first.” It’s the letter “aleph,” the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet… equivalent to our letter “A” or the Greek letter “Alpha.” Next is the letter used as a connector, the way we use the word “and.” It’s the Hebrew letter “vav.” And last is the Hebrew letter “tav.” It was used from ancient times before Moses to signify a person’s signature. It looked like our letter “X.” It is the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet, like our letter “Z” or the Greek letter “Omega.” It literally means “the last.”
The word for sign in Genesis 1:14 and many times throughout Scripture is the very message that Jesus repeated three times in His Revelation to His apostle John when He identified Himself as, “I am the First and the Last.”
So, let’s get back to these “appointed times” – or seasons – as God purposed His starry host.
Leviticus 23:1-2 “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.”
NASB translates it more accurately as: ““Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:”
The first three “appointed times” are Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. They are each one day long. They are all in consecutive sequence, one day after the other (Leviticus 23:4-14).
Deu 16:16 “Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot or Pentecost) and at the Feast of Booths,…”
All Israelite men were to come each year to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, also referred to as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It was an appointed time… an exact series of days on the Hebrew calendar. The fact that Jesus was tried, condemned, crucified, buried and resurrected during this appointed time – this MOEDIM – is no accident. It was an appointment set by Father God.
Fifty days afterward, the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost, was celebrated – marvelously fulfilling the Old Testament prophet Joel’s prophecy, pouring out God’s Holy Spirit on all mankind. The gospel of Christ’s Kingdom was affirmed to all the people of every language group on Earth that was there in Jerusalem for the Appointed Time. These together make up the springtime feasts. They were all witnessed as parts of Messiah’s first coming to precisely fulfill the prophetic Scriptures that were celebrated each year in anticipation of that once-in-history Advent.
Was all this celebration of appointed times only for ethnic Jews?
Numbers 10:14 “If an alien sojourns among you and observes the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its ordinance, so he shall do; you shall have one statute, both for the alien and for the native of the land.”
Just as unrelated gentiles in Moses’ time were welcomed into the household of faith if they believed and acted obediently on their belief in Yahweh, we see God’s acceptance of non-Jews into His family available to all who believe in New Testament times.
1 Co 5:7 “Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
Because the passion of Christ took place the week of Passover (Matt. 26:1–2), the early church quickly understood that Jesus fulfilled the symbolism in the Passover meal as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
The marking of blood on the doorposts (Ex. 12:7–13) has a clear tie to the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross (Rev. 1:1–8), and it is therefore no surprise to see the Lord’s disciples link His death to the Passover throughout their writings.
Matthew describes parts of the sequence of events in chapter 21. After Jesus fulfilled Zecheriah’s prophecy, which foretold, “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’” Mat 21:5
Then Jesus “entered the temple and cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, “It is written, MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER, but you are making it a ROBBERS DEN.” Matthew 21:12-13.
What are they doing that Jesus has to interrupt. They’re cheating people in the house of God.
What has to be done before celebrating the Passover? You clean out the leaven of sin. Messiah had to do it … He said, “It is written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER, BUT YOU ARE MAKING IT A ROBBERS DEN.’”
How did the Jews then make the Father’s House a den of thieves?
For visitors from out of town wanting to obey the Passover command to bring a personal sacrifice, they had to exchange their foreign currency to Roman coins with idolatrous images on the coins. The moneychangers were charging exorbitant exchange rates, stealing from the people.
All this and much more is part of the story of the Feast of Unleavened Bread… the Feast of Passover. What did Roman Catholic religion do to change it into Easter?
Note source study by Rabbi Wayne Davis: http://john1415.org/Festivals/2023-FirstFruits.MP3
Jesus never celebrated an Easter in His life! So how was this holy day changed? And who changed the day He observed, chose, and established as the holy day for eating the emblems of His supreme sacrifice, representing His body and blood? Where is the Biblical record confirming the authority for this replacement? Is this what Jesus wanted to be done?
HOW PASSOVER WAS ABANDONED AND REPLACED
Nobody denies that the early New Testament believers did not celebrate anything like Easter. They continued observing Passover, but now the Passover Appointed Time had a whole new significance and gloriously expanded meaning.
The Apostle Paul maintained the customary observance of Passover, as it was given to him by Jesus Himself. He wrote:
“For I received of the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed [not Easter Sunday!] took bread.” 1 Corinthians 11:23
Keep in mind Jesus Christ was betrayed during the night of Nisan 14 (Luke 22:15-22), which was considered the evening portion of the day of Passover (Exodus 12:6-13). Remember, God begins a new day at evening, commencing at sunset (Genesis 1:5).
With this well-known fact in mind, how then was it changed from the 14th of Nisan (Passover) to the Sunday, following the first full moon, after the vernal equinox, and then assigned the pagan name Easter (Ishtar-te)?
This is no minor change from the original observance that Jesus Christ set forth (especially since people in the Roman Empire were condemned to die when they refused to obey this change). Doesn’t it seem presumptuous, if not heretical, to overrule the authority of Jesus’ own example? Do you really think this is a light matter? How could such a blatant disregard for our Lord’s example and commands be allowed? This is a question all of us should seriously ask ourselves!
First, we have to understand the contention between the Western congregations led by Rome and the Eastern congregations in Asia. This debate intensified during the second century. It’s historically known as the Quartodeciman controversy.
Source: https://earlychurchtexts.com/public/eusebius_quartodeciman_controversy.htm
“Quartodeciman” is simply a Latin term indicating fourteenth. Second century writings reveal the change from the fourteenth of Nisan (Passover) to Easter, with all of its pagan connections, associations, and typologies of fertility and fruitfulness. This was unequivocally contested and rejected by the congregations of Jerusalem and the East. It came to a head when Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna (who was personally taught by John the apostle), faced off with Anicetus, the preeminent bishop of Rome, in about 95 A.D.
You can read the details about this second century controversy in records of the Catholic Church itself.
“The dioceses of all Asia, as from the older tradition [Passover], held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should always be observed as the feast of the life-giving Pasch Passover… However, it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world [primarily the West, represented by Rome] to end it at this point [allegedly a non-biblical based fast ending on Easter Sunday], as they observed the practice, which from apostolic tradition has prevailed to the present time… Synods and assemblies of bishops [not Jesus Christ’s example or the Gospel records!] were held on this account and all with one consent through mutual correspondence drew up an ecclesiastical decree [superseding Christ’s personal example as recorded in the Gospels] that the mystery of the resurrection of the Lord should be celebrated on no other day but, the Sunday [Easter] and that we should observe the close of the paschal fast on that day only. A letter of Saint Irenaeus is among the extracts just referred to, and this shows that the diversity of practice regarding Easter had existed at least from the time of Pope Sixtus. Further, Irenaeus states that St. Polycarp [bishop of Smyrna], who like the other Asiatics, kept Easter on the fourteenth day of the moon [which is really the Passover], whatever day of the week that might be, following therein the tradition which he [Polycarp] claimed to have derived from St. John the Apostle, but could not be persuaded by Pope Anicetus to relinquish his Quartodecimen observance. The question thus debated was therefore primarily whether Easter was to be kept on a Sunday, or whether Christians should observe the holyday of the Jews… Those who kept Easter [Passover] with the Jews were called Quartodecimans” (Catholic Encyclopedia, emphasis added).
Clearly, whether you want to attribute it to the devil or misguided theologians of the first few centuries of the traditional church, there was a long-term agenda to challenge all associations connecting Jewish foundations with Christ’s ekklesia. Remember, Paul said, the household of God (the Church) is…
“built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets [not Synods, Councils, and bishops], Jesus Christ himself being the chief comer stone” Ephesians 2:20.
There was never any such authorization to change this major point of doctrine, disconnecting from Jesus Christ’s own worship exemplified by His life, habits, and customs (1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:6). Jesus Christ never celebrated an Easter in His life! Easter has no Biblical connection by any who claim Christ as their Savior.
Regardless of these verifiable facts; the trend finally became law in A.D. 325 at the Council of Nicaea. Again notice, from the Catholic Encyclopedia: “The emperor himself [Constantine] writing to the churches after the council of Nicaea, exhorts,
“At this meeting the question concerning the most holy day of Easter was discussed, and it was resolved by the united judgment of all present [regardless of the example/commands of Jesus Christ and the original apostolic fathers, Matthew 26:17-30] that this feast ought to be kept by all and in every place on one and the same day [Easter Sunday]…And first of all it appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hand with enormous sin… for we have received from our Savior a different way [Where, is the Biblical proof or Christ’s authorization? Do you see the bitterness toward the Jews?] …and I myself [Constantine] have undertaken that this decision should meet with the approval of your sagacity in the hope that your wisdoms will gladly admit that practice which is observed [Easter Sunday] at once in the city of Rome and in Africa, throughout Italy and Egypt… with entire unity of judgement.”
And finally, under the article “Councils” in the Catholic Encyclopedia again, we read about the purpose of the Council of Nicaea. ‘The first ecumenical, or council, of Nicaea (325 A.D.) lasted two months and twelve days. Three hundred and eighteen bishops were present. Hosius, bishop of Cordova, assisted as legate of Pope Sylvester. The Emperor, Constantine, was also present. To this council we owe the Creed of Nicaea, defining against Arius the true divinity of the Son of God [Arius challenged the divinity of Jesus Christ], and the fixing of the date for keeping Easter [which opposed the Quartodecimans who observed Passover]
It was now made “official”: Easter Sunday, the day after the first full moon, after the spring equinox, became the day to celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection. This was a serious and critical shift of theology. Critical, because it not only changed the day of the observance, but changed the focus, the meaning of the observance. It now became an observance and celebration of His resurrection, contrary to the Biblical admonition of remembering His death!
Notice what Paul says,
“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death [not His resurrection] till he come” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
Our Lord put purposeful significance on Passover concerning His death. This is crucial to understand. Passover is about the death of the sacrificial lamb. That’s what gave us access to eternal life.
Unleavened Bread and First Fruits are two Holy Days afterward for good reason. Unfortunately, combining His death and resurrection, as well as His removal of our sin… into one holy day… and calling it Easter, blurs the profound meaning of all these events by taking away the emphasis that each one deserved in the mind of God in recording the Torah.
We can’t help but ask, “how can we justify the institutional appointment of a holiday that was never recognized by God in the Bible and is symbolically synchronistic with paganism… yet completely eliminate and ignore the Biblical holidays that God’s word specifically commands to be observed throughout all generations of His people?”
If the church today knew about all the additional biblical holy days throughout the year, it would clarify how each step in the salvation/atonement process is prophetically explained. Their enriched meanings and sequence give us understanding and spiritual edification that is lost on the pagan day called Easter, which has no associated symbols or Biblical themes pointing us to our Redeemer.
When you combine the power of a secular tyranny, like Rome, with the fertility symbols and practices adopted from the many outright pagan religions that saturated Rome, what do you expect? Forced compliance and persecution, marginalized the true Ekklesia, reducing its influence. The conversion of the Barbarians, Goths, Vandals, and Huns who overthrew the Roman Empire, may have shown acceptance of Christianity; but their conversion was nominal at best, further filling the Church with pagan practices and superstitions.
Throughout history, the number of Christians remaining faithful to the commandments and testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17) has been small, when compared to traditional Christian communities that have been heavily influenced by the teachings of Greco-Roman culture. Theological Distortions to the original teachings of the Bible, made by many of the popes, bishops, councils, synods, and emperors of the Roman Catholic Church, are despicable. The hard reality is that much of traditional Christianity, both Protestant and Catholic, is not faithful to Scripture.
Notice what Jesus says: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye who work iniquity [lawlessness]” (Matthew 7:22-23).
God’s Seasonal Plan
Seriously, it would do all of us some good to consider this possibility. It is very plausible one can think he is pleasing God when in fact he is not. It’s indispensable to our Lord that we worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Love of the truth is living the truth. It’s easy to say we love and believe the truth, but we must love by “doing” (1 John 3:17-18). The hearers are not justified. Acting on what we know, or living our faith, is key to justification and pleasing the true God (James 2:15-26).
Notice: “And why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and don’t do the things that I say? Whoever comes to me and hears my sayings, and does them, I will shew you who he is like:” Read the remaining verses located in Luke 6:46-49. They are revealing in light of the historical record we’ve discussed today. We’re expected to believe and obey. God expects those who have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them (Romans 8:9) to be an example to others by living the Faith.
It’s the height of arrogance to ignore and alter God’s word in areas He holds the exclusive prerogative to define. The historical record of the Passover/Easter controversy is a prime illustration of man’s attempts to dodge God’s authority. There is absolutely no Biblical directive or Christ-like example throughout the whole Bible authorizing the institution of Easter as a Christian holy day! It’s simply a man-made tradition, with no justification for assimilating ancient pagan fertility rites and symbols, well connected to the “sun-worshipping” religions of Babylon and Rome. Sadly, over the years, it has contributed to misdirecting much of the vast Christian community, rendering the laws of God to no effect because of the traditions of men. Even Yeshua himself had to personally deal with this same deception during His ministry. Notice what He said.
“Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:6-9).
If we never receive the challenges to purge out fruitless and clever distortions from our lives, how can we expect to please our LORD? Why not consider following the example our Messiah left us, and begin keeping the Passover instead of Easter, in the context of its fulfillment in Jesus Christ? The heart of this issue is whose laws will you obey: those of Jesus the Messiah, or the decrees and traditions of men, compromised by the fashion and consumerism of our culture?
Source: https://www.cgi.org/new-page-56
Bonus Segment
SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFYING WHO MADE THE CHANGE
After the Council of Nicaea, the Roman government grew more entangled with doctrinal matters of the Church. That derailed it further from the mission Jesus established.
“Theodosius became the last emperor to rule the entire Roman Empire before its administration was permanently split between the West and East (A.D. 379-398). He made Christianity the State Religion of the Roman Empire. Institutionalized church membership was compulsory. Forced conversion filled state sponsored “churches” with unregenerate people.
Jesus declared his victory over the “gates of hell” by voluntary, spiritual and moral means. It was the work of HIM building HIS Ekklesia, one human life – like lively stones – at a time. Up to that time conversion was by a genuine change in heart and life. But now the military spirit of Imperial Rome had entered the Church.
Some would say that the Church had conquered the Roman Empire. But in reality, the Roman Empire had conquered the Church. It began remaking the Church into the institutionalized image of the Roman Empire. The Church had changed its nature, and continued its great Apostasy predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. It became a political organization in the Spirit and pattern of Imperial Rome.
The Imperial Church of the 4th and 5th centuries began a millennium of Papal abominations, making it an entirely different institution from the persecuted Church of the first three centuries. In its ambition to rule, it forgot and lost the Spirit of Christ” (Halley’s Bible Handbook, “Paganization of the Church,” p. 760??).
Now, I’ll give you the details about this second century controversy found in the actual records of the Catholic Church itself. A careful reading of this might help clarify the debate over Easter.
“The dioceses of all Asia, as from the older tradition [Biblical Passover], held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should always be observed as the feast [of the life-giving Pasch Passover]…
However, it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world [primarily the West, represented by Rome] to end it at this point [allegedly a non-biblical-based fast ending on Easter Sunday], as they observed the practice, which from apostolic tradition has prevailed to the present time…
Synods and assemblies of bishops [not Jesus Christ’s example or the Gospel records!] were held (meaning ‘convened’) on this account and all, with one consent, through mutual correspondence, drew up an ecclesiastical decree [superseding Christ’s personal example as recorded in the Gospels] that the mystery of the resurrection of the Lord should be celebrated on no other day but the Sunday [i.e. Easter] and that we should observe the close of the paschal fast on that day only.
A letter of Saint Irenaeus is among the extracts just referred to, and this shows that the diversity of practice regarding Easter had existed at least from the time of Pope Sixtus. Further, Irenaeus states that St. Polycarp [bishop of Smyrna], who, like the other Asiatics (meaning the eastern church), kept Easter on the fourteenth day of the moon [which is really the Passover], whatever day of the week that might be, following therein the tradition which he [Polycarp] claimed to have derived from St. John the Apostle, but could not be persuaded by Pope Anicetus to relinquish his Quartodecimen observance. The question thus debated was therefore primarily whether Easter was to be kept on a Sunday, or whether Christians should observe the holyday of the Jews… Those who kept Easter [Passover] with the Jews were called Quartodecimans” (Catholic Encyclopedia, emphasis added).
5 Major Differences Between Passover and Easter
Most consider Passover a Jewish holiday and Easter a Christian one. But when we compare the biblical Passover with Easter, we find big differences.
See https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/blog/5-major-differences-between-passover-and-easter/
If you asked most people what they would associate the words Passover and Easter with, you would probably get something like “Passover is Jewish and Easter is Christian.” But would this basic answer be correct?
There is a big difference between Passover and Easter, but you may be surprised to learn that it isn’t that one is Jewish and one is Christian.
So, what is the difference between Easter and Passover? What do we discover when we compare them to each other: Easter vs. Passover?
Here are five major differences between the biblical Passover and Easter.
Difference 1: Passover’s biblical origin vs. no biblical reference for Easter
The origin of the Passover is found in Exodus 12.
The Israelites had been under harsh slavery to the Egyptian Pharaoh, who had refused to let them go. Because of Pharaoh’s stubbornness, God sent a series of plagues on Egypt and was about to send the 10th and final plague: killing the firstborn of all people and animals.
God would spare, or “pass over,” only those who smeared lamb’s blood on their doorway (Exodus 12:12-13).
The day was called the Passover and was to be kept by Israel as a memorial of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:14; Leviticus 23:4-5).
What about Easter?
You can’t find Easter commanded in the Bible. The word is actually located in Acts 12:4 in the 1611 King James Version, but most scholars recognize it as a clear translation error (modern translations replace it with the word Passover).
There are over 70 references to Passover in the Old and New Testaments—but no legitimate references to Easter.
To learn more, read our article “Origin of Easter.”
Difference 2: God-ordained vs. human tradition
One of the significant differences between Passover and Easter is this: The Creator God commanded Passover to be kept by His people. He never commanded anyone to observe Easter to commemorate Christ’s resurrection.
Who commanded Easter’s observance?
It is a historical fact that the Catholic Church commanded Easter’s observance at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325. Church leaders did not appeal to scriptural authority, only their own authority, to make the change. Sadly, Christ’s warning against substituting human tradition for the commandments of God was ignored (Matthew 15:3; Mark 7:13).
The Council of Nicaea established that Easter would always be celebrated on a Sunday and wouldn’t be tied to the phase of the moon, thus distinguishing it from the biblical Passover.
You can learn more about the history of this change in our article “The Days They Changed but Couldn’t Kill.”
Difference 3: Passover’s fixed day vs. Easter’s movable day
God ordained the Passover to be kept annually on a specific day: the 14th day of the first month on the Hebrew calendar (Deuteronomy 16:1; Leviticus 23:5).
The Catholic Church persecuted the early Christians who kept the Passover, calling them Quartodecimans (Latin for “14thers”) and Judaizers.
The Passover was so despised that “in 325 CE the Council of Nicaea established that Easter would be held on the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the vernal equinox. From that point forward, the Easter date depended on the ecclesiastical approximation of March 21 for the vernal equinox” (“Calculating the Easter Date,” timeanddate.com).
This gave Easter a movable date that wouldn’t fall on the Passover. Even then, the Western churches use the Gregorian calendar and the Eastern churches use the Julian calendar, so their dates for Easter differ.
To learn more, read “Festival Calendar: Which Calendar Should We Use?”
Difference 4: Passover as a memorial of Jesus’ death vs. Easter as a celebration of His resurrection
Jesus Christ was ordained as the Passover Lamb that would be sacrificed to make freedom from the penalty of sin possible (John 1:29). The Passover of Exodus 12 pointed forward to Christ’s sacrifice 1,500 years later! Just as the Israelites were saved from death by the lamb’s blood, we can be saved from eternal death by Christ’s blood. (To learn more about Christ as the Passover lamb, read “Why Is Jesus Called the Lamb of God?”)
The Passover of Exodus 12 pointed forward to Christ’s sacrifice 1,500 years later! At His last Passover, Jesus instituted unleavened bread and wine as new symbols—representing His broken body and blood. He commanded us to “do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). The apostle Paul taught us to keep it on the “same night in which He was betrayed”—the evening of the Passover (1 Corinthians 11:23).
To learn more, read “Should Christians Celebrate Passover?”
Easter purports to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. The problem is, though His resurrection was essential, Christ never commanded that it be celebrated with an annual observance or holiday. There is also no record of the apostles or early Church celebrating it. Plus, biblical evidence shows Jesus didn’t even rise on a Sunday morning.
Difference 5: Passover symbols vs. Easter symbols
The symbols of the Passover are full of meaning.
Jesus Himself is “our Passover” and “sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). The unleavened bread represents His sinless and broken body (Matthew 26:26). The wine represents His blood that was poured out for us (Matthew 26:28). The foot washing represents the humility and serving attitude of Jesus, which we are to emulate (John 13:5-8, 9-11, 12-15).
Every element of the biblical Passover is grounded in deep spiritual meaning.
The primary symbols associated with Easter are eggs and bunnies. But these have deep roots in ancient pagan practices. Bunnies and eggs are ancient fertility symbols that were appropriated years after Christ’s resurrection. Even the name Easter has origins in an ancient pagan goddess.
What does that have to do with Jesus and His sacrifice or His resurrection? To learn more, read “Bunnies Don’t Lay Eggs and Other Reasons to Ditch Easter.”
There are stark differences between Passover and Easter. We hope our readers will deeply consider these differences, reject Easter’s meaningless traditions and take a closer look at the biblical Passover and other “feasts of the Lord” found in the Bible.
Watch the video at the end of this article to learn how the Passover was incorrectly changed to Easter. https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/blog/5-major-differences-between-passover-and-easter/
