Easter

With all the importance traditional Christianity places on Easter one would think that it's observance was commanded by God. After all it is supposed to be the day that Christ had risen.

Doing a biblical word search on Easter only one scripture came up in the King James Version. Act 12:4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. A closer look shows that this is a mistranslation of the word Passover. Other translations corrected this error. RVS: Act 12:4 And when he had taken him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him; intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people.

Scripture shows that Christ's Apostles even after His death and resurrection observed Passover. In 1Corinthians we see the Apostle Paul giving instructions of how the Christians at Corinth were to observe the Passover and not Easter. 1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1Co 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

So where did we get Easter come from? A quick search shows that it came to us from Pagan origins. This was a day used to honor their goddess Ishtar or Eostre.:Origin and Traditions - Long before Easter became the holiday it is today, the spring festival was celebrated by the people around the world. Although associated with the sun and the Vernal Equinox, the celebration was originally based on the lunar calendar. The name Easter is derived from the Saxon Eostre (which is synonymous with the name of the Phoenician Goddess of the Moon, Astarte), a Germanic goddess of spring and the deity who measured time.

So okay it is Pagan but we don't worship pagan gods we just use this day to worship our God. The problem is God warns us not to serve Him this way.
Deu 12:29 When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest in to possess them, and thou possessest them, and dwellest in their land;
Deu 12:30 take heed to thyself that thou be not ensnared to follow them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.

Some will argue that these are Old Testiment scriptures and are only ment for the Jews. Rom 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him: Gal 3:28 There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female: for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus.

The bottom line is: Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Sunday, Not The Commanded Day of Worship

Picking up where I left off about the Sabbath I looked into the other popular reason for Sunday worship which is that is the day Christ rose from the dead. The first delemma I ran into was Christ's own words Mat 12:40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Now there is no way I can get three days and three nights out of a Good Friday crucifiction and a Sunday resurrection.

Upon closer examination of scripture I saw that there were two sabbaths that week. One was an annual Holy day, a high day, and the other was the regular weekly seventh day sabbath.
Joh 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was a high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
The high day that this verse is referring to is the First Day of Unleaven Bread which fell on a Thursday that year AD31.

Biblically a new day starts at sunset. Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

So Christ's body was placed in the tomb just before sunset on Wednesday where according to His own words it was to be there 3 days and 3 nights. Wednesday evening was the first night, Thursday evening the second night and Friday evening the third night. That takes care of 3 nights now Thursday day was the first day, Friday day the second day and Saturday day the third day. In keeping with Christ's own words He would have been resurrected just before sunset on Saturday evening exactly 3 days 3 nights later. So when Mary Magdalene came to the grave site before sunrise on Sunday morning Christ was already gone.

Joh 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher.
Joh 20:2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him.

There was no Good Friday crucifiction and Easter Sunday resurrection which leaves the only authorization for Sunday worship coming from the Roman Catholic Church.