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It is written:
Galatians 4:10-11-You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.
One of the great subjects which Christians have often struggled with deals with that of holidays. This is especially true for members of churches of Christ. When younger, I was taught that it was okay to celebrate holidays from a “national” or “family” point of view: but it was not correct or acceptable to God to attach any religious or spiritual significance to holidays. So, Christmas was alright to celebrate as a time for family, but we did not have any special time of contemplation for the birth of Christ. In the same way, Easter was recognized as a fun time for memories, children, and good candy, but was not about the resurrection of Christ.
Recently, I have done a deep dive into the origins, traditions, and celebrations related to the holiday known as Easter. I would like to share with you what I have discovered.
Let’s study.
What Does The Word Easter Mean?
The word “Easter” is a translation of the Anglo-Saxon word Eastre or Estera. Eastre (also known as Ostara) was a goddess worshipped in April by pagans. She was known as a fertility goddess, and so her primary symbols of worship by her followers were rabbits and eggs (known symbols of fertility even in our time). Others believe there is also a reference in the word “Easter” to the goddess Ishtar. Thus, there is a strong pagan connection with the holiday of Easter that predates Christianity.
“In ancient civilizations, goddesses of fertility were revered for their ability to bring forth new life and ensure the continuation of the natural world. These deities were often associated with the earth, agriculture, and the cycle of seasons. They were believed to have the power to bless crops, animals, and human fertility. One of the most well-known fertility goddesses is Ishtar, worshipped in ancient Mesopotamia. Ishtar was the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, and her worship involved rituals and ceremonies that celebrated the arrival of spring. The ancient Babylonians held a grand festival called the Akitu, which marked the beginning of the agricultural year and honored Ishtar’s role in ensuring a bountiful harvest. In ancient Greece, the goddess Demeter was revered as the bringer of fertility and the protector of agriculture. Demeter was associated with the changing seasons and the growth of crops. Her daughter, Persephone, represented the cycle of life and death, as she would spend part of the year in the underworld and part of the year on earth. The return of Persephone from the underworld was seen as a symbol of the rebirth of nature and the arrival of spring. 1.2.2 The Influence on Easter Traditions The worship of these fertility goddesses had a profound influence on the development of Easter traditions. As Christianity spread throughout Europe, many pagan customs and beliefs were incorporated into the Christian celebration of Easter. This was done in an effort to make the new religion more accessible to the pagan populations. One of the most significant examples of this assimilation is the association of Easter with the goddess Eostre or Ostara. Eostre was a Germanic goddess of spring and fertility, and her worship involved the celebration of the vernal equinox. It is believed that the name “Easter” is derived from her name. The symbols of eggs and rabbits, which are commonly associated with Easter, are believed to have originated from Eostre’s association with fertility and the renewal of life. The tradition of decorating eggs during Easter can be traced back to ancient times when eggs were seen as a symbol of fertility and new life. In many cultures, eggs were painted or dyed in vibrant colors and given as gifts during spring festivals. This practice was later adopted by Christians as a way to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (George Stoddard, The Origins of Easter: : Tracing the Ancient Roots and Modern Celebrations of Christianity’s Most Sacred Holiday, 13-14 (Kindle Edition): Independently Published)
What do we know about the goddess Ishtar? The following excerpts are informative.
“She was among the most ubiquitous and protean of deities. She was able to modify her appearance or trappings to adapt to new peoples, cultures, and lands. In the Bible she is called “Ashtoreth.” She is also spoken of in the plural form of her name, “Ashtaroth.” As with Baal, she was everywhere. She manifested in differing forms in different cities, regions, and lands, and her idols could be found throughout the Middle Eastern world. In Canaanite mythology she was connected to Baal and appears often as his wife or consort. Her influence was so great and so pervasive that one can see facets of her nature, her roles, her functions and attributes in a myriad of goddesses from the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and beyond. In the Canaanite and West Semitic world she was called Astarte. The Sumerians called her Inanna. In Assyria, Babylon, and much of the Mesopotamian world she was known as Ishtar. To the Greeks she became Aphrodite. At the same time, her young lover Dumuzi, or Tammuz, became the god Adonis. And to the Romans she became the goddess Venus. Thus the planet behind the Star of Ishtar would be named after the goddess’s Roman name.” (Johnathan Cahn, The Return of the Gods, 66 (Kindle Edition); Lake Mary, Florida; FrontLine)
“Though Ishtar was involved in the ritualized marriage ceremonies of Mesopotamian religion, and though some of her myths involved a form of marriage, there was almost nothing about her that was conducive to marriage. Just the opposite, her nature and acts, her worship and cult, would undermine it. She was never faithful. She was promiscuous. She pursued and seduced lover after lover. She pursued sexual relations apart from marriage and to the detriment of marriage. So the effect of Ishtar’s return to the modern world was the progressive undermining and weakening of marriage. As sexuality was glorified as an end in and of itself, marriage was eroded. As Ishtar had pursued relationship after relationship, so America began doing the same. As the taboo against ending one’s marriage began to end, so did marriages. Under the spirit of Ishtar, divorce became an epidemic and America was filled with broken homes. Passions of the Goddess Ishtar was led only by her will and desires. She had no regard for the consequences of her actions. The idea of denying her desires for the sake of a covenant was to her an anathema. She sought the immediate fulfillment of every impulse. She was the goddess of instant gratification. So with the return of Ishtar, American and modern culture became consumed with instant gratification. Americans increasingly chose their desires over relationships, over preserving their marriages, or entering into them in the first place. A culture of hyper-individualism, self, and self-gratification proved to be toxic to marriage and relationships. As it was Ishtar’s nature to choose sexual pleasure and romance over commitment, more and more Americans did likewise. They slept with each other, lived with each other, but would not commit to each other. Marriage as a lifelong covenant was increasingly viewed as an unnecessary constraint. What was once fornication now became premarital relations and, in time, the norm. The number of Americans living together without marriage and the number of children born out of wedlock or without fathers would skyrocket.” (Johnathan Cahn, The Return of the Gods, 72-73 (Kindle Edition); Lake Mary, Florida; FrontLine)
“As the goddess who dwelled in taverns, Ishtar was strongly connected to the substances of intoxication served and partaken of there. In one of her myths she schemes to take away the powers and blueprints of civilization contained in the tablets of the god Enki. She partakes with him of alcoholic beverages until he becomes intoxicated, at which point she takes off with the tablets. So to Ishtar belonged the powers of both seduction and intoxication. Thus it is of note that at the same time that the sexual revolution was taking hold of America, a parallel movement began, an explosion in the usage of intoxicating substances. After holding steady from the end of the Second World War, the rate of American alcohol consumption suddenly began rising. The escalation would continue for two decades and then would be followed by another escalation that would continue into the twenty-first century. The Mind Alterer But it was another form of intoxication that so dramatically exploded in American and Western culture that it would, in part, define the 1960s: that of drugs. The phenomenon became so widespread that it gave birth to its own culture—the drug culture. Among the most celebrated of the newly embraced intoxicating substances were the psychedelic, or “mind-altering,” drugs that radically altered perception, thinking, and behavior. The state of intoxication and altered consciousness was now glorified as an ideal to be sought after. It was all in keeping with the goddess’s nature. It was her power and will to alter consciousness, perception, and reality. With or without intoxicating substances she was altering the American consciousness. Sex, Drugs, Rock, and Ishtar For the ancient Mesopotamian, the taverns were inhabited by the spirit of Ishtar. It was there that those affected by her allurements were surrounded by three elements: sexuality, intoxicating substances, and music. When the spirit of Ishtar manifested in American culture in the 1960s, two of the three elements also manifested, sexuality and intoxicating substances. The third component would converge as well—music. Each of the three would epitomize the decade that began the transformation of American culture. In 1969 a LIFE magazine article identified the three elements as the counterculture’s new sacraments—“ sex, drugs and rock,” 1 or sexuality, intoxicating substances, and music—the three elements that characterized Ishtar’s dwelling place.” (Johnathan Cahn, The Return of the Gods, 80-81 (Kindle Edition); Lake Mary, Florida; FrontLine)
“It was all there, implicit from the beginning, and made clear, over and over again, in the ancient inscriptions: May Ishtar, Mistress of battle and conflict, turn his masculinity into femininity. 1 She was continually praised for her power to “turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man.” 2 Implicit in the changing of sexuality is the changing of desire. A man transformed by the goddess into a woman would presumably now desire men. A woman changed into a man would presumably desire women. This brings us into the realm of altered desire. The goddess herself boasted of being able to change back and forth between female and male. Though unspoken, it would be implicit that her desire as a woman would be for a man and as a man, for a woman. Beyond that she was the one especially invoked when one was seeking to alter another’s romantic or sexual desire. She was the sorceress. It was her power to change desire. Then there were her priests, her performers, the cultic ministers of her temples, the men who dressed in female garments and took on female appearance. They would serve as examples of her power to alter sexuality. But their transformation went beyond clothing or outward appearance. Some took on women’s names. Some would sing the cultic songs in the female dialect. Some even took on roles akin to consorts or wives. Exile of the Assinnu Thus it was more than appearance or mannerisms. It was sexual. Ancient Akkadian texts give instructions to men on having sexual relations with the assinnu, Ishtar’s feminized men. It was thus a feature of the goddess’s worship for her male priests to perform sexual acts with other men. A large part of Ishtar’s priesthood would today be classified as homosexuals or gay, and her cult as one of androgyny, transvestitism, and cross-genderism. When Western civilization turned away from paganism and the gods and goddesses went into exile, the condoning of homosexuality and other related behaviors came to an end. When the goddess went into exile and her temples closed, the assinnu priests and her other cross-gendered cultic personnel left the temples and followed the goddess into exile. They disappeared. In the new era and civilization, gender-crossing practices such as homosexuality and transvestitism would be seen as immoral, sinful, inversions of the natural order. Such things would now be proscribed by codes of morality, societal convention, law, and Scripture. The licentiousness and transgressions for which the goddess’s sanctuaries were known would now fade into history, become distant memories, and then be forgotten. The Emergence of the Shadow Men But if the goddess was to return, what would we expect to happen? We would expect that the values and practices of her cult and worship would return as well. In other words, if the goddess whose religion involved the acceptance, the open practice, the sanctification, and the enshrinement of homosexuality was to return, then her return would again bring about the acceptance, the open practice, and the sanctification of homosexuality, and its re-enshrinement in Western civilization. And that is exactly what would happen. The goddess would cause homosexuality to come out of the shadows, out of the realm of the forbidden, and introduce it to a civilization to which it was alien and taboo. And when that would take place, it would not be so much a diverting of the sexual revolution but its logical conclusion. The Two Priesthoods The dynamic could be seen in the goddess’s ancient cult of worship. Her female priests and workers, the harimtu, the kezertu, the samhatu, and the istaru, engaged in sexual activity outside of marriage, but they did so with men. So sexuality was at first removed from the one context, that of the marital covenant, but remained within the other, male-female sexuality. But with Ishtar’s male priesthood, from the assinnu to the gala, the divorcing of sexuality from its natural or traditional context, its decontextualization, was taken to another level. The goddess’s male priests removed sexuality from gender, from its biological context of male and female. Thus they represented a deeper level of decontextualization. One priesthood led into the other—or one stage of decontextualization and deconstruction would lead into the next.” (Johnathan Cahn, The Return of the Gods, 119-121 (Kindle Edition); Lake Mary, Florida; FrontLine)
Is Easter Ever Mentioned In The Bible?
The word “Easter” is found one time in the KJV of the Bible.
Acts 12:4 (KJV)-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.
The rendering of “Easter” in the KJV here is admitted by nearly all scholars to be a mistranslation. The Greek word used here is pasche, and is properly rendered “Passover” (even in the KJV) every other time it is found (cf. Matthew 26:2, 17, 18, 19; Mark 14:1, 12, 14, 16: Luke 2:1; 22:1, 7, 8, 11, 13; John 2:13, 23; 6:4; 12:1; 13:1; 18:28, 39; 19:14; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:28). One historical scholar has noted:
“Then look at Easter. What means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name, as pronounced by the people Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in this country. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar. The worship of Bel and Astarte was very early introduced into Britain, along with the Druids, “the priests of the groves.” Some have imagined that the Druidical worship was first introduced by the Phoenicians, who, centuries before the Christian era, traded to the tin-mines of Cornwall. But the unequivocal traces of that worship are found in regions of the British islands where the Phoenicians never penetrated, and it has everywhere left indelible marks of the strong hold which it must have had on the early British mind…. Every one knows that the name “Easter,” used in our translation of Acts 12: 4, refers not to any Christian festival, but to the Jewish Passover. This is one of the few places in our version where the translators show an undue bias. That festival agreed originally with the time of the Jewish Passover, when Christ was crucified, a period which, in the days of Tertullian, at the end of the second century, was believed to have been the 23rd of March. That festival was not idolatrous, and it was preceded by no Lent. “It ought to be known,” said Cassianus, the monk of Marseilles, writing in the fifth century, and contrasting the primitive Church with the Church in his day, “that the observance of the forty days had no existence, so long as the perfection of that primitive Church remained inviolate.” Whence, then, came this observance? The forty days’ abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent of forty days, “in the spring of the year,” is still observed by the Yezidis or Pagan Devil-worshippers of Koordistan, who have inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians. Such a Lent of forty days was held in spring by the Pagan Mexicans, for thus we read in Humboldt, where he gives account of Mexican observances: “Three days after the vernal equinox… began a solemn fast of forty days in honour of the sun.” Such a Lent of forty days was observed in Egypt, as may be seen on consulting Wilkinson’s Egyptians. This Egyptian Lent of forty days, we are informed by Landseer, in his Sabean Researches, was held expressly in commemoration of Adonis or Osiris, the great mediatorial god. At the same time, the rape of Proserpine seems to have been commemorated, and in a similar manner; for Julius Firmicus informs us that, for “forty nights” the “wailing for Proserpine” continued; and from Arnobius we learn that the fast which the Pagans observed, called “Castus” or the “sacred” fast, was, by the Christians in his time, believed to have been primarily in imitation of the long fast of Ceres, when for many days she determinedly refused to eat on account of her “excess of sorrow,” that is, on account of the loss of her daughter Proserpine, when carried away by Pluto, the god of hell. As the stories of Bacchus, or Adonis and Proserpine, though originally distinct, were made to join on and fit in to one another, so that Bacchus was called Liber, and his wife Ariadne, Libera (which was one of the names of Proserpine), it is highly probable that the forty days’ fast of Lent was made in later times to have reference to both. Among the Pagans this Lent seems to have been an indispensable preliminary to the great annual festival in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz, which was celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing, and which, in many countries, was considerably later than the Christian festival, being observed in Palestine and Assyria in June, therefore called the “month of Tammuz”; in Egypt, about the middle of May, and in Britain, some time in April.” (Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons: The Only Fully Complete 7th Edition!, 61 (Kindle Edition): CrossReach Publications)
Is Easter Ever Connected With The Jewish Passover?
Some believe that the Jewish holiday of Passover was the primary precursor of the holiday of Easter. Could paganism have adopted elements of Judaism into Easter celebrations before the time of Christ? This is certainly possible, as pagan religions were generally regarded as being syncretic in nature. There are many examples of how the traditional symbols of Easter are similar in form to both paganism and Judaism.
“Easter Sunday is a Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah and that He fulfilled the prophecy of dying for our sins and resurrecting three days afterward. It is also called Resurrection Sunday. From the time of the Egyptian Exodus, Jews have celebrated this time period with a ritual called Passover. Christians believe that the ritual of the Passover Seder predicted the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah at His first coming. The dates of Passover, and therefore Easter, are different every year because the calculation is based on the lunar cycle instead of the solar Gregorian calendar used by most nations today. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox (March 20). The Name Easter Some people have noticed that the word Easter sounds like it might have come from the pagan Babylonian goddess Ishtar, or the Germanic goddess Eostre. The words sound virtually the same. But just because they sound alike does not mean they are related words. There is no connection with Easter and Ishtar, but the word Easter seems to be connected with Eostre. There is a quote from medieval English church father Bede, who wrote in the early eighth century AD. In his Reckoning of Time, Bede explains what the old pagan names for the months were and what they are called now in Christian times. The month of April was called simply “paschal month” by the English Christians at that time. The Old pagan name of the month of April was “Eostre.” “Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated ‘Paschal month’, and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance.” Bede, The Reckoning of Time 15 What we do know is that the word Eostre in the Germanic and Saxon languages actually means “rising,” like the sun rising in the east at dawn. The month of April was called the month of “the rising” because spring came, and plants began to bud. Eventually a derivative of the word became “East” and that came to mean the direction the sun would rise in the mornings. Either the old English month of April was named after a spring goddess or, more likely, it was named after the season of spring and, later, pagans turned the spring season into a goddess they worshipped. If so, the word Easter has no direct connection to paganism. The Easter Egg On Passover the Jews perform a ritual meal called the Seder. The Easter Egg comes from this Passover Seder ritual. There is a special dish used for the ritual called a Seder plate. It holds several items. One is an egg. In America it is usually a hard-boiled egg, but in the ritual, it is supposed to be fire roasted. The Passover Seder egg is an egg roasted brown by fire symbolizing the temple sacrifices. It is said to represent a new beginning or new life that happens because of the temple sacrifices. As Christians we hold that the temple sacrifices were rituals that pointed to the one sacrifice of the Messiah. If we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, we are given a new birth. The Easter egg, as we know it, came into being when the Eastern Orthodox Church started coloring their hard-boiled eggs red stating it represents a new life in Jesus Christ because of his blood shed as the sacrifice for our sins. Cracking the shell and taking the egg out symbolizes the same thing as the Passover Seder ritual of retrieving the hidden matzah that was wrapped in a white cloth–the resurrection of the Messiah. Did they have the authority to change the ritual? Maybe, maybe not, but the practice did not come from paganism. In the last hundred years or so Easter eggs have become secular and painted with multiple colors with every possible artistic design imaginable. The Easter Bunny Since all nations had to closely observe the spring equinox for planting and hunting, along with looking for the spring equinox, in some areas the people would look for animals to start having young. Rabbits and hares reproduce quickly, so a baby rabbit is a sure sign spring has come. Bird eggs are another sign. Later when the pagans started worshipping the spring season as a goddess, it might have been adapted into some pagan systems. There is no known manuscript, glyph, or stone carving, that connects Ishtar with rabbits. The goddess Asherah is connected with lions and owls, but not rabbits. There are no known records of any kind about the rites of Eostre. Rabbits were a popular motif in medieval church art. In ancient times, it was widely believed (as by Pliny, Plutarch, Philostratus, and Aelian) that female rabbits could reproduce without the aid of a male rabbit. Of course, this is not true, but the idea of reproducing without the loss of virginity led to rabbits being associated with the Virgin Mary. Rabbits are often found in Northern European manuscripts and paintings of the Virgin and Christ Child. The triple rabbit became a catholic symbol for the Trinity and is found on many cathedrals in Europe. By the seventeenth century the Easter bunny and Easter eggs began to blend in Germany. These traditions came to America with the German immigrants in the mid nineteenth century. Shortly thereafter children’s stories of a rabbit that lays eggs came to be.” (Ken Johnson, Ancient Origins of Modern Holidays, 70-74 (Kindle Edition): BibleFacts Ministries)
Is There Any Evidence From The New Testament That The Church Collectively Celebrated The Resurrection Of Christ Yearly?
No. What we do have a record of is the early Christians remembering Jesus’ resurrection in a special way every time they partook of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:42-47; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
May Christians Celebrate Religious Holidays?
This is a subject of intense debate among many within churches of Christ. We know from Paul’s words in Galatians 4:10-11 that he offered a rebuke to Christians who were celebrating pagan holidays. We know that these were pagan holidays because of his reference to pagan gods and goddesses in context.
Galatians 4:9 (NKJV)-But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
Notice how that phrase “elements” is translated in other translations of the Bible:
Galatians 4:9 (GNB)-But now that you know God—or, I should say, now that God knows you—how is it that you want to turn back to those weak and pitiful ruling spirits? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again?
Galatians 4:9 (LEB)-But now, because you have come to know God, or rather have come to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and miserable elemental spirits? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again?
What is especially interesting is that the stoicheia in Galatians 4:9 are used synonymously with the “gods” mentioned in the previous verse:
Galatians 4:8-But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods.
The word used here and translated as “elemental,” “ruling spirits,” and ‘elemental spirits” is the word stoicheia, and it was used by the Greeks and the Persians to refer to spiritual beings of power that were believed to be semi-divine, and which may have been used to help create and sustain the universe. As one scholars describes the ideas behind stoicheia from Ancient Greek usage, he writes:
“Many readers of this book are probably already familiar with some of the mystical speculations surrounding the Hebrew letters in the Kabbalah. These traditions and those of the Mithraists were closely related, both in type and through historical connection. The basic premise of the esoteric study of letters is that there is a hidden affinity between and among the following four aspects. 1. Number 2. Shape 3. Sound 4. Meaning Furthermore, it is held that this correspondence extends from the realm of being or reality (the divine realm), whence it emanates, to the terrestrial realm. Each letter is a true symbol of a higher principle. That is to say, the letter is not a mere arbitrary sign of a principle, but is in fact a part, or manifestation, of it. If the kosmos was created by means of the Word (an idea common to Judaic and Indo-European traditions) then the letters of the word(s) are actually the elements of the cosmic ordering. By consciously absorbing the patterns inherent in the system of stoicheia, the Magian has the divine metagrammar to be able to be able to understand the self and the world in a way similar to the way the gods understand these things.…Each letter, each “element,” contains a mystery, Persian râz. It conceals this mystery behind the simplicity of its external forms, yet it reveals the mystery in the meanings of these very forms. There was probably an older system of encoding the Mithraic Mysteries in some Iranian symbols. The most likely key to this is to be found in the ordering of the yazatas, “gods” or “angels,” contained in the thirty-day Persian calendar.…The first letter is emblematic of the primeval bull sacrificed by Mithras to engender the natural world of plants and animals. In the Semitic system, as reflected in the Hebrew alef-bet, the name of the first letter means “ox.” This further solidified the idea that the first element was a bovine, since during the last centuries BCE, when the Magians were in close contact with the Semites of the Middle East, there was a great deal of cultural exchange between the keepers of the Judaic and the Magian secrets…Agrell, preceding from a Zurvanite position, identifies the second element with “the demonic” and connects beta to the “evil god” Ahriman, who in the Zoroastrian system is responsible for the “evil creation.” In Zurvanite doctrine, Ahriman is the second son of Zurvan/Aion, “evil” is the second principle of life, Angra Mainyu (= Ahriman) is called “the Second,” and in the ancient Iranian cosmological text Bundahishn it is said that the cosmic whore Jahi relates her deeds twice, to the joy of Angra Mainy….The third letter is also a sign of the god Mithras. This time, however, in a transformed, triadic manifestation. Mithras is often called triplasios, the “Thrice-as-much,” in Greek texts….In Mithraic teachings the fourth letter is symbolic of the four natural elements—fire, air, water, and earth. These are represented in Mithraic art in the form of the four horses pulling the solar chariot, or quadriga, of Mithras….The fifth stoicheion is connected to the personification of the primal fire, or spiritual force, embodied in Aion-Zurvan. Aion is the progenitor of the four natural elements embodied in the fourth stoicheion. The pentagram is the symbol of Aion….Epsilon is sometimes identified with the Light, or fiery spirit, in Hermetic teachings….The number six is connected with sacrificial offerings in Mithraism…The seventh element is symbolic of luck and happiness.…This is identified with the eighth sphere of heaven—the primum mobil of the fixed stars beyond the realm of the planets. This is thought to be a surface made of an icy substance and is referred to as the crystal-heaven.…The ι stoicheion is the equivalent of the number nine and is connected with the abstract goddess of fate, or better put, Necessity—Ananke. She was especially honored among the Mithrists and was identified with the aether and the night. She belongs to the sphere of being beyond the fixed stars and planets. Her throne is said to be both above and below these regions.…Ten and multiples of ten are used in Iranian tradition to indicate death and misfortune. In the Bundahishn it is said that Angra Mainyu sent one thousand murderous demons (daêvas) upon the “Pure Man,” and the evil god created ten thousand types of diseases…In the Bundahishn (ch. X) it is related that from the five members (the four legs and the penis) of the sacrificed cosmic bull sprang fifty-five types of grains and twelve types of healing herb…..Twelve is the number of the healing herbs mentioned in chapter 10 of the Bundahishn. These sacred plants are the most powerful of the vegetative cosmos that spring from the marrow substance of the sacrificed bull…The thirteenth letter is connected with the Helleno-Thracian goddess Hekate, who was given great honor by the ancient Mithrists. She is the chthonic goddess worshipped beside Ahriman-Pluto. Among the Greeks, Hekate was sometimes called Persia (or Perseie), which many believed was her name because she was thought to be a Persian goddess. In a magical papyrus (PGM IV.2714) that describes an operation for love that is to be performed on the thirteenth or fourteenth night of the month, Hekate is invoked with many of her aspects. These include a being called the “arrow shooter.” She is magically identified with Diana-Artemis and Aphrodite.…Because of a longstanding structural need to have a sequence of symbols signifying the three main astral phenomena—fixed Stars, Sun, and Moon—and because the Sun and Moon symbols follow xi, Agrell concluded that the fourteenth letter of the alpha-beta was to be identified with the fixed stars in general (see Bundahishn, ch. IV).…Mithraic teachings apparently connected the element omikron to the Sun, or the Light of the Sun. In chapter 15 of the Bundahishn, it is stated that the first men were created when Samaritan (or Gâyomart) died and left behind his semen, which was purified and activated by the revolving Sun. After forty years, the first humans arose—from a fifteen-leafed bush, each having the appearance of a fifteen-year-old girl.…The sixteenth element is to be identified with Mithras himself. In the Hermetic system, this belongs to another invincible god, Serapis. The sixteenth day of the Avestan month is dedicated to Mithras.…According to the Bundahishn (ch. XXI), there are seventeen different forms of fluids—for example, the fluids of plants, the semen of animals and men, blood, sweat, tears, milk, and so on. These fluids are the embodiments of the vital forces of life in plants and animals. These are mingled during the growth process in physical existence. The Avestan-Persian god Sraosha, brother of Mithra, carried the bundle of branches called the baresman. This bundle of twenty-one twigs or metal wires must be held by the Magian priest while officiating at sacrifice. He rules over and promotes the life forces of the world. It is these branches that belong to this element. They signify the ability of the Magian to bridge the gap between getik and menog, the material and spiritual worlds. This stoicheion can also be related to one aspect of the Great Goddess, Anahita, who is mentioned more fully under gamma above. Here it is one of those tripartite aspects, Aredvi, which means “the Moist” that she belongs. She is consistently linked to bodies of water, especially great rivers.…The number eighteen is sacred to the gods of the Underworld and the realm of the dead. In the Avestan-Persian calendar the eighteenth day is dedicated to Rashnu, the second brother of Mithra and judge of the souls as they come to cross the Chinvat Bridge. In his role as a psychopomp, a conductor of the souls of the dead, Rashnu in many ways corresponds to the Hermes of the Greeks.…The microcosm of the human being is contained in the nineteenth element, because in it are found the twelve signs of the zodiac as well as the seven planets (12 + 7 = 19). In Babylonian tradition, nineteen was the number of man. By extension this would also be a number corresponding to the macrocosm, given the widely held idea that the macrocosm and the microcosm are structurally the same. In the Bundahishn (ch. XXX) it is stated that “in fifty-seven years” (of the rulership of Saoshyant) all the dead will be resurrected. This is not a prediction but instead a mathematical/structural formula for transformation: 57 = 3 × 19. In the most ancient Indian mythic text, the Rig Veda, it is told how the cosmic man Parusha was sacrificed and the world made out of twelve parts of him (RV 10:90, 12–14). The next strophe mentions that “seven enclosing sticks” and “thrice seven fuel sticks” were used in the sacrificial ritual. This element can be identified with the Anthrōpos (or Logos) of Hermetic cosmology. Most powerfully, in the Avestan-Persian calendar the number nineteen corresponds to the fravashis—the souls of individual human beings—which are destined for perfection and ultimate resurrection in immortal Final Bodies.…Chapter 7 of the Bundahishn has to do with the creation of the water. There we read how two main streams of primal water (called Rangha and Vanguhi) gave rise to eighteen rivers (i.e., 2 + 18 = 20). Therefore the number twenty is connected to the element of water.…The Avestan calendar dedicates the twenty-first day of the month to the masculine god of fertility and virility, Rama Hvastra. The correspondence between this tradition and the fact that the Greek word for the male sexual member, phallos, begins with this letter/number strengthens the connection between these concepts. The number twenty-one is the number of connection: there are twenty-one words in the most powerful manthra in Zoroastrianism, the Ahunvar, and there are twenty-one twigs or strands of wire that make up the barsom (Av. baresman), the symbolic tool by which the Magian makes connection between the material and spiritual worlds.…But perhaps more important, and more graphically potent, is the suggestion that the cruciform sign refers to the southern, northern, eastern, and western winds referenced in the twenty-second sirozah of the Avestan-Persian calendar in a manthra dedicated to the yazata named Vata…The twenty-third day of the month in the Avestan calendar is dedicated to the god of light and heaven—Ohrmazd. This stoicheion was also associated with Zeus or Jupiter-Caelus. The Mithrists called this god Zeus-Oromasdes (= Zeus-Ohrmazd…..“As the last stoicheion, as the fulfillment of the entire row of stoicheia, and therefore symbolic of the fulfillment of any series of things, the twenty-fourth element is indicative of richness or full power. Agrell sees a trinity of Iranian goddesses in this slot: Ashi Vanguhi (= Good Wealth), Daêna (= Insight or True Religion), and Cista (= Wisdom).” (Stephen E. Flowers, The Magian Tarok: The Origins of the Tarot in the Mithraic and Hermetic Traditions, 70-84 (Kindle Edition): Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions)
For these contextual and cultural reasons, it is likely that the stoicheia were actually personal spirit beings.
“The interpretation of stoicheia as personal spiritual entities is the most compelling view. Consequently this interpretation has commanded manded the consent of the majority of commentators in the history of the interpretation of the passages.12 This view is based partly on the widespread usage of stoicheia for astral spirits in the second and third centuries A.D. (and probably before). The word was used, for instance,, in the Greek magical papyri in connection with the Zodiac: “I conjure you by the 12 stoicheia of heaven and the 24 stoicheia of the world in order that you would lead me to Heracles.”13 It is important to realize that not only pagans used this word to refer to spirits, but Jews also used this word in that sense. The Jewish Testament of Solomon, written during the Roman Imperial period, includes five references to stoicheia as spirit beings. In the following passage the stoicheia are linked with the kosmokratores (cf. Eph 6:12):…These terms further reflect the wide array of vocabulary in reference to spirit beings, shared by Jews and Gentiles alike. Paul drew from this reservoir of terminology with which his readers would be readily familiar.. He showed no interest, however, in discussing what he believed to be true about the starry host. Rather, he lumped all manner of spirits together, affirmed Christ’s superiority, and encouraged believers to be prepared for their hostile intentions and attacks by reminding minding his readers of their past ability to enslave.” (Clinton Arnold, Powers Of Darkness: Principalities & Powers In Paul’s Letters, 54 (Kindle Edition); Downers Grove, Illinois; InterVarsity Press)
Thus, in Galatians 4, Paul is upset over the way that the Christians (some of whom were converted from paganism) are continuing to honor their old religious gods, holidays, and practices. When Christians thus pay homage to paganism, they are elevating the gods/fallen angels which is sinful (Psalm 97:7; 1 Corinthians 10:19-20).
However, there is another aspect to consider with this.
Many view the subject of honoring pagan holidays as Christians from the viewpoint of Christians “reclaiming” what was originally God ordained and stolen by the pagan gods and goddesses. An example of this may be seen in the Old Testament. In discussing the destruction of Jericho (and other Canaanite cities), we are told about “the ban.” This is from the Hebrew word haram, and is often translated as “utterly destroy.” Yet this word had a far wider meaning then “utterly destroy.” Copan points out:
“As a follow-up from our last chapter on hyperbole, this and the next chapters take a closer look at the term perhaps most commonly associated with the charge of “genocide”: haram/herem (verb: “utterly destroy”; noun: “utter destruction”). For those who might think this suggests “annihilation,”1 the biblical text gives evidence that something else is going on here. John Walton and Harvey Walton assert that the word herem is “commonly mistranslated”—for example, “utter destruction.”2 So let’s explore what a more accurate translation looks like…. According to Firth, routine hyperbole in such narratives was a “standard element.”5 He concludes that “totally destroy” and such renderings of haram don’t really fit well within the war-text genre of Joshua. He suggests that “defeat comprehensively” more precisely captures its meaning.6…In Leviticus 27:21–28, a servant, an animal, or a field is “set apart” (haram). But they are not destroyed. Parallel terms indicate that they are “consecrated” (qadash) and are “most holy” (qodesh qodeshim) to the Lord. That is, they are “set apart” for priestly use and cannot be released from this new status. So, a servant may be haram—set apart to serve in the sanctuary—but not killed. We could add that in Joshua 6:17 the entire city of Jericho was “under the ban [herem],” but articles of gold, silver, bronze, and iron were not destroyed but put into the treasury of the Lord’s house (6:24). John Goldingay points out that the verb “devote” (haram) involves “giving something over to God” without having to involve death at all: “So the word doesn’t simply mean slaughtering people.”8 Walter Moberly states that in Deuteronomy specifically, herem is used as “a metaphor for unqualified allegiance to [Yahweh].”9 In addition, after Achan had disobeyed divine orders by taking spoils from Jericho, the Israelites attacked Ai. But because of this compromised situation, the Israelite soldiers were called herem at Ai: “They have become accursed [herem]. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy [shamad] the things under the ban [herem] from your midst” (Josh. 7:12). But just before this, only thirty-six Israelite soldiers were killed in battle (Josh. 7:5). As Firth notes, it doesn’t appear that the Israelite soldiers were targeted for death. All that is meant here is that they wouldn’t succeed at Ai and that some of them might lose their lives if they attempted to fight without correcting the Achan situation.10 Haram as Exile Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God. —Deuteronomy 8:20 ESV Sometimes the term haram refers to being in exile. In Jeremiah, God declared that he would bring the Babylonians “against this land [of Judah] and against its inhabitants,” and “I will utterly destroy [haram] them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation” (Jer. 25:9 ESV). How long would this “everlasting desolation” last? Oh, about “seventy years” (v. 11). And then God would go ahead and make Babylon “an everlasting desolation” (v. 12). Notice that the Southern Kingdom of Judah was not at all exterminated. But the Babylonians disabled its social, religious, economic, military, and political structures. Certainly, Judahites were killed. But the nation survived. This “haram as exile” language was actually anticipated in Deuteronomy 8:20.11 There, God threatened that Israel would “perish” (abad) just “like the nations” of Canaan. Notice this: Israel’s “destruction” of the Canaanites parallels the predicted exile under Babylon (sixth century BC). Just as the Canaanites were “spewed out” of the land (without genocide) so God’s people would be spewed out (without genocide) (Lev. 18:24–28). What is indisputable is that Israel’s (Judah’s) exile was certainly not genocide. On top of all this, Deuteronomy 32:25, which anticipates the same eventual exile, suggests something similar: “Outside the sword will bereave, and inside terror—both young man and virgin, the nursling with the man of gray hair.” And to take hyperbolic language one step further, God would even “remove the memory” of Israel from history (v. 26). What we have here is sweeping language—namely, the merisms of young man / virgin and nursling / man of gray hair—that makes the future exile look like total destruction. But the reality is that this is just military defeat. Yes, the defeat and exile of Judah affected everyone—young and old, male and female. The Chronicler used this very language when speaking of God’s judgment on Judah: “God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar” (2 Chron. 36:17; cf. Jer. 6:11; 44:7; Lam. 2:21; Ezek. 9:6). To call this “genocide” is utter mislabeling…. Walton and Walton, who say that “utter destruction” is a mistranslation, suggest that herem means “removal of identity or removal from use.”12…We see, then, that the term haram as “utterly destroy” needs to be revisited. It can convey “decisive defeat,” “consecration/ removal from ordinary use,” “exile,” or “identity removal.” In the next chapter, we build on this haram theme, looking at how the book of Deuteronomy appropriates and dramatically intensifies this rhetorical language.” (Paul Copan, Is God a Vindictive Bully?: Reconciling Portrayals of God in the Old and New Testaments, 207-210 (Kindle Edition): Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic)
What is especially interesting is that in Canaan, different items (including religious items and persons) that had been devoted to paganism could be refitted to service to God.
Joshua 6:19-But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.”
Joshua 6:24-But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.
Thus, some Christians look at pagan holidays as Christians reclaiming what was originally honoring to God and that had been stolen by the pagan gods and goddesses.
Some may be bothered by the idea of paying any kind of homage to paganism. However, we each do this every day when we utilize the Roman calendar. Each day of the week is named after pagan gods and goddesses, and throughout the year there are many pagan holidays practiced and celebrated around the world.
“The Greek and Latin names for the days of the week (Sunday through Saturday) were named after the planets. Sunday (Sol, Helios) is named after the sun Monday (Luna, Selene) is named after the moon Tuesday (Mars, Ares) is named after the planet Mars Wednesday (Mercurius, Hermes) is named after the planet Mercury Thursday (Jupiter, Zeus) is named after the planet Jupiter Friday (Venus, Aphrodite) is named after the planet Venus Saturday (Saturnus, Kronos) is named after the planet Saturn. Scandinavian countries have the days of the week named after the planets and their deified ancestors. Sunday is Sunnandæg (day of the Sun) Monday is Mōnandæg (day of the moon) Tuesday is Tīwesdæg (day of Tyr) Wednesday is Wōdnesdæg (day of Oden, also called Woden) Thursday is Þunresdæg (day of Thor) Friday is Frīgedæg (day of Frigga) Saturday is Sæternesdæg (day of Saturn) The ancient Scandinavian chronicles state they were descended from Japheth, the son of Noah. The twentieth generation after Japheth was their ancestor Woden (Odin). This mighty warrior is said to have pulled his people together after some major war. Later he was deified and worshipped as the chief god of the Scandinavians. In Ancient Post-flood History, we detail the ancient chronicles from Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and the Anglo-Saxons. These chronicles are Nennius’s Historia Brittonum, Geoffrey of Monmouth, The Life of King Alfred, Cotton Manuscript, Tiberius A, Vetustissima Regum Septentrionis, Langfethgatal dicta, the Fabii Ethelwerdi Chronicle, and the Corpus Poeticum Boreale. In addition, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Parker Chronicle) presents the genealogies of the six royal houses of Kent, East Anglia, Lindsey, Mercia, Northumbri, and Wessex as being descended from Odin as well. All of this shows that three weekdays were named after a great Scandinavian king, his wife, and his son. Later they were all deified as gods and goddesses.” (Ken Johnson, Ancient Origins Of Modern Holidays, 106-107 (Kindle Edition): BibleFacts Ministries)
By using the names of the calendar, are we trying to honor and worship pagan gods and goddesses?
Of course not.
The same may very well be said of Christians who celebrate holidays that are pagan in origin but which now are seen as paying homage to Christ.
It is also worth remembering here that Paul touched on the subject of personal holidays in the Book of Romans.
Romans 14:5-8-One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
Paul here discusses personal Christian liberties, which may be practiced as long as they are not bound on other believers. If a person wishes to have a personal holiday of devotion between himself and the Lord, that is his right: yet he must not attempt to force that observance on others.
Concluding Thoughts
Let’s sum up some of the things that we have learned so far, and try to make some general applications.
First, it is likely that the yearly festival known as Easter was originally a pagan ceremony devoted to the worship of a fertility goddess: indeed, perhaps to several. It is also likely that the celebration of Easter had connections with the symbols found in the Jewish Passover, and that the early Christians attempted to use these similarities between the religions to sanctify and “Christianize” the holiday.
Second, the translation of Easter in Acts 12:4 is a failing of the King James Version. It is not a reference to the pagan holiday of Easter, but to the Jewish Passover.
Third, the Apostles who were inspired by the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 16:13; 1 Corinthians 14:37;2 Corinthians 12:12) did not authorize a yearly celebration of the Lord’s resurrection for the church assembly. Instead, the church collectively pays special honor to the Lord’s death and resurrection every time they partake of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:42-47; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
Fourth, the decision of a Christian to celebrate Easter or other holidays is a personal matter for each Christian, family, and congregation to decide upon. Each must decide for themselves the level and degree of participation in such. Here also the wisdom of a church’s elders should be tapped (1 Peter 5:1-5). Easter egg hunts? Bunny rabbits? Candy? Sunrise services? These all lie in the realm of personal liberty and expediency. It is highly unlikely that children going on an Easter egg hunt are intending to honor the pagan goddess Ishtar. Motivation matters! However, none of these personal freedoms should be forced on others, nor should they lead the Christian to neglect his responsibility to be in the public worship assembly of the saints and partaking of the Lord’s Supper (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Finally, exercise grace towards your brothers and sisters in Christ. We must bear with each other gently as Christians, speaking the truth in love and bearing with one another in the spirt of gentleness (Ephesians 4:1-16).
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.