Is Celebrating Easter Following Jesus?

Audio: https://soundcloud.com/walking-as-christ/is-celebrating-easter-following-jesus
Video: https://youtu.be/oEre50ENrGQ

Let’s start by going to the Word of God, our source of the knowledge of God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit and go to where we learn about why christians keep the holiday Easter…

If you type in Easter in your search tool to go directly to the scriptures that use the word Easter you will only find it once in the KJV Bible(Acts 12:4). In other versions/translations of the Bible you may not find the word Easter at all. It was incorrectly put there in place of Passover, but many other translations like NLT, NIV, and AMP use the correct word, Passover. 

Aside from that, the word Easter Never appears in the Holy Bible.

Why is this if Easter is known as the Biggest holiday in Christianity? 

Answer: It is not a God the Father or Jesus Christ the Son, Biblical holiday/institution

The reality is that the Holy Bible records how Jesus Christ died on the Cross for the sins of all humanity, was buried in a tomb, and rose again. In His rising again we rejoice! 

Read Luke 24:1-53

Because He rose again, so shall His followers/disciples

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4:13-18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:3-5‬ ‭KJV

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Is the day that Easter is celebrated actually the day when Jesus rose again? 

When Easter actually is celebrated is inconsistent. 

-As we learned last week it was Passover when Jesus established the Holy Supper/Communion eating unleavened bread and drinking the fruit of the vine as His body and blood.
*The Gospels according to; Matthew, Mark, and Luke agree in supporting this point.
However, the Gospel according to John(believed to be the last of the 4 gospels written does not even record Jesus establishing the Holy Supper(eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood). In the Gospel according to John, Jesus is actually crucified as the people are preparing for the Passover(passover had not happened yet).

-Though the actual date of the death of Jesus rings inconclusive when considering the Gospel according to John versus Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the indisputable truth is that the date of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is based on the time of Passover. The date that Passover occurs has been established by God and is recorded in the Holy Bible. 

The date that Easter is celebrated is not biblically based. Nor is it based on the time of Passover.
So this year in 2020 Passover started on Wednesday and Easter will be celebrated on Sunday (4 days apart).

4 years Past 2016 – Easter(March 27) Passover (April 22) 

4 years Future 2024 – Easter(March 31) Passover (April 22)
*How can people be commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ nearly a month before the date He was crucified??? 

The date that Easter is celebrated fluctuates and is not actually indicative of the annual day that Jesus Christ actually rose again. Sometimes Easter is celebrated late March, other times; early, mid, or late April.  
The time and date of Passover has been established by God, it is fixed and can not change. To understand when Jesus actually did rise again one would need to judge based on the date of Passover, not the static date of Easter. 

-So Easter is Supposed to be acknowledging Jesus rising from the tomb, but not even the date Easter is celebrated is based on Him rising from the tomb.


‭‭Mark‬ ‭7:6-9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”

Good Friday to Easter (Resurrection) Sunday 3 Days?
The tradition that many of us have been taught is that Jesus was crucified on Friday so we are to acknowledge the Friday before Easter as “Good Friday” (Even though our Master was suffering a cruel death – I doubt any of His disciples were rejoicing they were likely weeping and terrified) and Sunday as the day that Jesus resurrected from the tomb.
*Even if that was the clear truth through the scriptures (which lacks absolute clarity) Jesus was supposed to be buried 3 days and 3 nights. Are there 3 days and 3 nights from Friday to Sunday?
Lets count…NO.

Why Bunny rabbits? 

Biblically the rabbit is an unclean animal.
Deuteronomy 14:7-8
7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.

8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.”
The NIV and the NASB show that the Hare is the Rabbit. 


What About Easter Eggs?
Do Rabbits actually lay eggs?
According to Google AdWords, the phrases Do bunnies lay eggs and Do rabbits lay eggs each receive between 1,000 and 10,000 average monthly searches.
If you thought that rabbits lay eggs you probably thought so because of Easter, the “Christian Holiday”.
No Rabbits do not lay eggs. They develop embryos inside a uterus and, after a pregnancy give birth to often more than 1 rabbit.
*The whole idea of Rabbits and Easter eggs can be traced to Pagan traditions, Not Holy Bible, Not the God of Heaven, Not Jesus Christ. These are traditions of men that many religious establishments that claim the “Christian Faith” accept and advance every year.
*Within the past 24 hours I saw numerous photos of a “Christian Church” that sent “Easter Baskets” to people. Easter eggs and all.

Is advancing falsehood “Like Jesus”?

Why is Ham on Easter?
Why is Ham(the flesh of pigs), also Biblically an unclean food, the common holiday food of Easter?
Deuteronomy 14:7-8
7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.

8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.”

The idea of families and friends coming together to have a meal on Easter seems to be actually stolen from the God ordained Passover.

Why start a tradition that promotes lies and the breaking of God’s Law/Commandments and abandon God’s ordained Holiday’s/Feast Days???

Do you actually think Jesus the man who was the Living Word of God fulfilling all of the Law and the prophets would be abandoning Passover and celebrating Easter and eating pig like many who claim to be “Christians” (Christ followers) today? 
Do you think the Jesus of the Bible would associate Himself at ALL with anything that has Pagan roots like Easter Bunnies and Easter Eggs?
Do you think it is His will that these things at all be associated with HIS CHURCH???

*It seems to me that the Jesus of the Bible would not even have His Name associated with the term Easter.  

Easter has never been a Biblical commandment of God. Passover is, but Easter is not.
We don’t even have any biblical evidence that the Father in Heaven even gave us direction to celebrate the day of Jesus Resurrecting from the tomb. 

Easter is a RELIGIOUS practice, not a practice imitating Jesus or being His disciple. Being His disciple would be doing like He did by keeping the God ordained feast days and His Holy Communion. 

The concept of celebrating a “Holy Day” that was not a Biblical commandment of God but instead a institution of men that at the very least is related to pagan festivals is NOT like Jesus.
*not the Jesus of the Bible, maybe some other Jesus, but not the one of the Holy Bible, not the Son of God. 


Is God is convicting your heart to stop following religious practices that you can not substantiate? Is the Father convicting your heart to stop ignoring His laws, statutes, commandments and the commandments of His Son Jesus Christ?
-Many of us also had a like conviction and with God’s help we obeyed.
We encourage you; Obey God

***Religion NOT based on Truth breeds Unbelief.***
Are you following religion or are you actually following Jesus, living daily as His disciple?
-Myself and the brethren with the Walking As Christ ministry implore you to be a follower/imitator of the Son of God Jesus Christ NOT an imitator of Religion IF your pursuit is the will of God and Eternal Life in Heaven.