Easter, as observed by many, has deep roots in pagan traditions rather than biblical foundations. The name "Easter" itself derives from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eastre or Estera, a Teutonic deity to whom sacrifices were offered in April, with the name later transferred to the paschal feast. This connection is evident in the names of similar fertility goddesses across ancient cultures, such as Ishtar from Assyria, Astarte from Greece, and Ostara from Norse traditions, all celebrated around the spring equinox. Religious historians note that many elements of Easter celebrations were adapted from earlier pagan rituals, particularly those involving death and resurrection themes tied to the spring season. Ancient pagan religions in the Mediterranean often marked the spring equinox with significant celebrations. For instance, the Phrygian fertility goddess Cybele and her consort Attis, believed to have been born of a virgin and resurrected annually around March 22 to 25, were central to rituals that predate Christian observances. Similar stories of death and rebirth were associated with figures like Tammuz, Osiris, and Dionysus, integrated into mystery cults in Rome and Greece. These pagan narratives of resurrection were active in the same regions as early Christian worship, leading to overlaps and disputes over the origins of such beliefs. Easter traditions also bear pagan imprints. Hot cross buns, for example, originated from the feast of Eostre, where an ox was sacrificed, and its horns symbolized the feast in ritual bread, later marked with a cross representing the moon's quarters. Easter eggs, a universal symbol of spring's regenerative life, were revered in ancient civilizations like Egypt and Babylon, often dyed and used in religious ceremonies. The Easter rabbit, another emblem of fertility, traces back to the Norse goddess Ostara, alongside the egg, both representing new life and renewal. These customs, while now associated with Easter, have clear origins in pre-Christian practices, highlighting the holiday's divergence from biblical commands.

Tomorrow, April 16th, 2017, the world's Christians will celebrate Easter, their commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, many of the customs associated with Easter, such as rolling eggs, hunting Easter eggs, eating chocolate bunnies, and enjoying an Easter meal centered around ham, are not found in Scripture. These practices are hand-me-down traditions from various non-Christian and pagan religions. The name Easter most probably derives from a Germanic goddess, Eoster or Ostara, described by Jacob Grimm as the divinity of the radiant dawn and up-springing light, a spectacle easily adapted to the resurrection day. The name Easter may also trace back to Middle Eastern goddesses like Ishtar, Astarte, Isis, Aphrodite, and Venus, often associated with fertility, love, sex, power, and even war. In the first millennium, the Catholic Church allowed pagan Easter traditions to be incorporated into its Feast of the Resurrection, leading to the association of eggs and bunnies with this holiday, symbols of fertility throughout mankind's history. Even chocolate is tied to love and sex as a believed aphrodisiac, while the original Easter bonnet, a circlet of leaves and flowers, symbolized the cycle of seasons and the coming of spring. The Easter ham may relate to a legend involving Ishtar proclaiming that a pig should be eaten on the anniversary of Tammuz' death, as he was slain by a boar.

The celebration of Easter, which supplanted Passover throughout most of Christendom, was influenced by pagan cultures within the Roman Empire. The Roman Church chose to observe Easter partly due to the widespread pagan spring festivals, often named after the fertility goddess Ishtar or variations like Astarte, Eoster, Ostara, Isis, and Aphrodite. From these heathen influences, non-biblical Easter traditions such as the Easter Bunny, dyeing eggs, and giving candy have originated. This syncretism made it easier for the church to assimilate new converts from Greco-Roman paganism and frontier regions like Britain, Germany, and Dacia by blending Christian Easter celebrations with these pagan customs.

Easter, as a name and celebration, does not originate from Christian tradition but from pagan roots. The term "Easter" derives from the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian goddess Ishtar, also known as Astarte in Phoenician culture, who was the consort of Baal, the sun god. This name, slightly altered in English from the Teutonic "Ostern," is linked to idolatrous worship condemned in the Bible as the most abominable form of pagan idolatry. The festival of Easter bears its Chaldean origin openly, being another title for Astarte, the queen of heaven, and is tied to ancient sun-worship practices of the Phoenicians. The customs associated with Easter, such as dyed eggs, also stem from pagan rituals. These eggs were sacred emblems in ancient Babylonian mystery rites, as well as in Egyptian and Druidic ceremonies, symbolizing birth and renewal during the spring season. Similarly, Easter sunrise services mirror ancient sun-worship practices, where participants face east to honor the rising sun, a practice depicted as an abomination in biblical visions. The observance of Lent, a forty-day period of abstinence before Easter, is directly borrowed from Babylonian worshippers and other pagan cultures, including the Yezidis of Koordistan, Pagan Mexicans, and Egyptians, who honored their deities with similar fasting periods in spring. This custom was not part of the early true Church practices and emerged later from these heathen traditions. Easter was injected into professing Christian circles as a substitute for the biblically ordained Passover, which was observed by early followers on the 14th day of the first month of the sacred calendar. Over time, through political and ecclesiastical maneuvers, particularly after the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, the pagan festival of Easter, celebrated on a fixed Sunday, replaced the original observance, marking a significant departure from the practices established by the early Church.

Easter, as celebrated by many today, has deep roots in pagan origins that trace back to ancient Babylon. The day known as Ishtar commemorated the resurrection of Tammuz, believed to be the begotten son of the sun god Baal. Semiramis, a powerful queen of Babylon and mother-wife of Nimrod, claimed to have descended from the moon in a giant egg, falling into the Euphrates River at the first full moon after the spring equinox. She became known as Ishtar, now pronounced Easter, and her moon egg became known as Ishtar's egg, which is the origin of the Easter egg. Semiramis also proclaimed that Tammuz, who loved rabbits, made them sacred in the Babylonian mystery religion. When Tammuz was killed by a wild pig, she declared that a pig must be eaten on Ishtar Sunday, or Easter Sunday, as part of the celebration, alongside rabbits and eggs. Additionally, a forty-day period of sorrow, now recognized as Lent, was established prior to the anniversary of Tammuz's death, during which no meat was to be eaten. Sacred cakes with a "T" on top, known as hot cross buns, were eaten to honor Tammuz. These customs, including the forty days of Lent, eggs, rabbits, hot cross buns, and ham, are rooted in the pagan mystery religion of Babylon, revealing the deceptive influence of satan in filling lives with idolatry through these celebrations. God abhors such pagan practices and desires His people to separate themselves from these worldly customs, recognizing their true origins and the abomination they represent in His sight.

Easter, like other pagan holidays, is deeply rooted in ancient practices of sun worship and cults centered around fertility goddesses, such as Isis or Osiris. Its modern celebration is tied to the Vernal Equinox on March 21st, with Easter determined as the first Sunday after the full moon following that date. This connection reveals the pervasive influence of pagan traditions in shaping the timing and nature of such observances within the broader calendar of seasonal festivals.

The practice of Easter, with its pagan origins, is reflected in the customs described by Jeremiah, such as the making of hot-cross buns (Jeremiah 7:18). Ezekiel also envisions worship akin to sunrise services (Ezekiel 8:16), highlighting the heathen practices tied to these celebrations. These ancient customs, recorded as prophecy, are relevant to our modern times and point to the common traditions we observe today. We are commanded not to learn or follow the way of the Gentiles in these idolatrous practices, as they go against the fundamental commandment against idolatry found in Exodus 20:4-6.

Easter, like many religious festivals in the so-called Christian world, carries a thread of pagan origins. The Easter bunny, often seen as a symbol of the holiday, is fundamentally a fertility symbol, reflecting the ancient emphasis on reproduction and renewal that characterized pagan celebrations. This connection reveals how deeply rooted pagan elements have become in modern observances, woven into the fabric of what many consider sacred traditions. Satan has cunningly masked these origins, deceiving the world into accepting such symbols and practices as part of worship, hiding the true nature of these pagan influences in plain sight.

At one time, the Protestant world would not tolerate practices originating in paganism to infiltrate their worship of God. Among these were Christmas and Easter, recognized as obviously pagan, along with other unacceptable pagan practices. Initially, these observances were tolerated within their assemblies on a small scale, but today, Easter is so respected that it is accepted without question and celebrated with as much enthusiasm as the pagans did in their day. So accepted is Easter that those who keep it now have to learn to tolerate those who may reject these festivities. The acceptance of outright paganism has been foisted upon a nominally Christian world, despite evidence proving the claims of its origins are false. The blame for this shift can be laid at the feet of satan, who has worked deception through unbelieving, deceived men to blunt the seriousness of sin and undermine the importance of God to human well-being.

The pagan origins of Easter are deeply rooted in ancient religious practices that influenced the Israelites, as seen in their frequent backsliding into idolatry. Asherah, also known as Ashtoreth, Astarte, Easter, Artemis, Diana, Ishtar, Isis, Semiramis, and other names, was a prominent deity worshipped alongside Baal in Israel and Judah. These false gods were central to rituals that coincided with significant dates, often mirroring the timing of God's commanded festivals. Special feast days in ancient Near Eastern religions, such as the day of the full moon on the fifteenth day of the month, were marked by extra sacrifices and ceremonies, paralleling the timing of the Days of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles, both beginning on the fifteenth day of their respective months. A seven-day feast of Baal, coinciding exactly with the Days of Unleavened Bread, featured sexual acts and other abominations performed in groves and on housetops, believed to invoke heavenly blessings. This close proximity in timing led many Israelites to conflate their worship of Baal with service to the true God, a deception that persists in modern times with celebrations like Easter, which have no connection to the God of heaven despite sincere intentions.

Easter Sunday, celebrated by many as the day Jesus rose from the dead, is marked by glaring contradictions to the biblical accounts of Christ's death and resurrection. Among these contradictions are the obvious pagan fertility symbols of bunnies and eggs, which bear no connection to the profound significance of the death, burial, and resurrection of mankind's Savior. These elements highlight a disconnect between the observed traditions and the scriptural narrative surrounding the events of this holy week.

The Christian churches of this world, influenced by Hellenistic Christianity and Greek philosophies like Gnosticism, have adopted practices such as the celebration of Easter, which are not rooted in biblical instruction. This acceptance is tied to the broader antinomian spirit that pervades these churches, rejecting the centrality of God's law. The Worldwide Church of God, after doctrinal shifts following Herbert W. Armstrong's death, also embraced Easter celebrations alongside evangelical Protestant Christianity, reflecting a move away from strict adherence to biblical law. This trend of incorporating unbiblical practices like Easter is seen as part of a larger lawless attitude that Jesus Christ warns against, emphasizing the need to hold fast to God's truth to resist such influences.