Is “Easter” in the original Scriptures?

[Hobie]

Many preconceived ideas and wrong teachings can be brought in and have been, even by well meaning men and become tradition, but not be true. We see this in the idea that the wicked will continue to live eternally in hell, or that man is immortal, etc.. So we have to look at what was brought in from outside of the scriptures, and being picked up although not its true meaning. In the case of this preconception, it actually led to the word being changed from its original meaning, to "Easter". The Greek word that the King James Version translates as “Easter” is actually the word “Pascha” (Hebrew: פסח—Pesach) which means “Passover”. It was during an annual Passover celebration that Jesus was crucified at Jerusalem. Here is the text in question:

Acts 12:4 King James Version

"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."

We find it was translated incorrectly because the bible scholars preconceived ideas led them to this. If we look at the text from previous versions we find it was correctly translated...

Acts 12:4 1599 Geneva Bible

"4 [a]And when he had caught him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to be kept, intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people."

Acts 12:4 Wycliffe Bible

"4 And when he had caught Peter, he sent him into prison; and betook him to four quaternions of knights, to keep him, and would after pask bring him forth to the people [willing after pask to bring him forth to the people]."

And others..

Acts 12:4 Complete Jewish Bible

"4 so when Herod seized him, he threw him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each, with the intention of bringing him to public trial after Pesach."

Acts 12:4 Young's Literal Translation

"4 whom also having seized, he did put in prison, having delivered [him] to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, intending after the passover to bring him forth to the people."

So how could this happen, why would such learned men change something from one meaning to another, simple, because of their preconceived ideas. You see, it has taken time, but Greek philosphy and Ghonosticism had been picked up and in Rome the old beliefs and festivals were still followed by the Romans and many Christian and leaders didnt see a problem with it. One of the first disputes arose as the bishop of Rome allowed the celebration of the Pasch or Passover to continue till the following Sunday so Christians could also celebrate Spring Equinox festival as they had done before. Now the danger of allowing the Christians to join in pagan solstice celebrations was overlooked as the new pagan 'converts' joined the church and swelled the numbers under the bishop of Rome. But other Christian leaders saw the danger of worship according to the old pagan festivals and tried to stop it in what came to be known as Paschal/Easter controversies. The first recorded such controversy came to be known as the Quartodeciman controversy.

Eusebius of Caesarea (Church History, V, xxiii) wrote:
"A question of no small importance arose at that time [i.e. the time of Pope Victor I, about A.D. 190]. The dioceses of all Asia, according to an ancient tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon [of Nisan], on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should always be observed as the feast of the life-giving pasch (epi tes tou soteriou Pascha heortes), contending that the fast ought to end on that day, whatever day of the week it might happen to be. However it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world to end it at this point, as they observed the practice, which from Apostolic tradition has prevailed to the present time, of terminating the fast on no other day than on that of the Resurrection of our Saviour." So the bishop of Rome began the practice of fixing the celebration of Passover for Christians on Sunday and it spread through the old areas of the Empire.Polycarp the disciple of John the Apostle who was now the bishop of Smyrna, came and confronted Anicetus, the Bishop of Rome who had allow the changes in the Passover and other changes to bring in converts. According to Irenaeus, around the 150s or 160, Polycarp visited Rome to discuss the differences that existed between the other centers of Christianity in Asia and Rome "with regard to certain things" and especially about the time of the Pasch or Passover which in Rome were now the Easter festivals. Irenaeus says that Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, observed the fourteenth day of the moon, whatever day of the week that might be, following therein the tradition which he derived from John the Apostle. Irenaeus said that on certain things the two bishops speedily came to an understanding, while as to the time of the Pasch and the change to Easter, each adhered to his own custom. Polycarp following the eastern practice of celebrating Passover on the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Jewish Passover, regardless of what day of the week it fell while the bishop of Rome let it be observed on Sunday.

So the Bishop of Rome ignored the warning and continued to allow the Passover to be observed on Sunday at the pagan Spring Equinox festival and we can see how the Pasch was change to the festival of Easter. But not only was it just the festival as more pagan converts came in, they were allowed to worship on the pagan Spring Equinox festival day which they were used to, while Christians continued to worship on Sabbath. A careful study of the historical records reveals that gradually, with the passing of the years, the Roman bishop tended to use his new day, Sunday, as a ploy for political supremacy over the other churches. Now the danger of allowing the Christians to join in pagan solstice celebrations was overlooked as the new pagan 'converts' joined the church and swelled the numbers under the bishop of Rome. The festival on Easter controversy continued, with the Eastern churches giving it stiff opposition until the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., at which time Sunday was declared the official day for Easter observance. Emperor Constantine immediately followed this, the same year, with civil enactments enforcing it among the churches, and it began to take hold as we see to this day.

So now you can see how this led to the Bible Scholars changing Gods truth, to their preconception of what it was, yet it was from another tradition, not of God.

 

[St. SteVen]

Is “Easter” in the original Scriptures?​

No.

The Greek word that the King James Version translates as “Easter” is actually the word “Pascha” (Hebrew: פסח—Pesach) which means “Passover”.

Do you believe the King James Version is inerrant?

/

 

[NayborBear]

Myself? I blame Constantine for this! Because of his mandating the compromises it took both Christian and pagans to keep peace within his realm. (Rather forcibly mandated I would imagine).

Ishtar over the years became easter! (really quite that simple).

Only took one adversarial scribe to do it too!

 

[doctrox]

From the OP:

So now you can see how this led to the Bible Scholars changing Gods truth, to their preconception of what it was, yet it was from another tradition, not of God.

This presumption has been recently debunked in another thread, post #30 and post #35.

 

[Randy Kluth]

The Greek word that the King James Version translates as “Easter” is actually the word “Pascha” (Hebrew: פסח—Pesach) which means “Passover”. It was during an annual Passover celebration that Jesus was crucified at Jerusalem.

I think the translators were trying to give meaning to modern Christians who recognize "Easter" more than "Passover," which is by God's Law an outdated Jewish practice. Jews still practice it, but it is of no legal value to any ethnicity anymore.

So this is more an effort to communicate than to dilute the Scriptures. A number of versions are less literal because the work of translation is more difficult than simple word for word translation, and some words can be so obscure that they cannot minister to modern people without some liberties being applied in the translation.

It is roughly equivalent to my saying I got attacked by a giant arachnid. I might want to translate that to 3rd graders into "I got attacked by a giant spider." It is not precise but roughly equivalent and speaks better to my specific audience.

The early Christians were not only young in dealing historically with the advent of the New Covenant but they also had to deal with the pagan environment Christianity was being initiated in. That meant they would have trouble communicating Christian truth in a way that responds to paganism and yet is not simply a new form of paganism.

I would commend them for establishing Easter in place of Passover, Sunday instead of Saturday. The fact these things came at times close to Legalism is the product of a relatively young Christianity born in and among pagan peoples. Yet, Christ was big in them, and they made it work. It is left for us at times to unravel the associated by products.

 

[Hobie]

Is “Easter” in the original Scriptures?​

No.

Do you believe the King James Version is inerrant?

/

What about the Wycliffe Bible or Tyndale's, or the Geneva Bible. Are they all 'inerrant', they are all written by men who were inspired, but men still. Only the Ten Commandments can be called 'inerrant' as that was written by God with His own finger.

 

[Hobie]

I think the translators were trying to give meaning to modern Christians who recognize "Easter" more than "Passover," which is by God's Law an outdated Jewish practice. Jews still practice it, but it is of no legal value to any ethnicity anymore.

So this is more an effort to communicate than to dilute the Scriptures. A number of versions are less literal because the work of translation is more difficult than simple word for word translation, and some words can be so obscure that they cannot minister to modern people without some liberties being applied in the translation.

It is roughly equivalent to my saying I got attacked by a giant arachnid. I might want to translate that to 3rd graders into "I got attacked by a giant spider." It is not precise but roughly equivalent and speaks better to my specific audience.

The early Christians were not only young in dealing historically with the advent of the New Covenant but they also had to deal with the pagan environment Christianity was being initiated in. That meant they would have trouble communicating Christian truth in a way that responds to paganism and yet is not simply a new form of paganism.

I would commend them for establishing Easter in place of Passover, Sunday instead of Saturday. The fact these things came at times close to Legalism is the product of a relatively young Christianity born in and among pagan peoples. Yet, Christ was big in them, and they made it work. It is left for us at times to unravel the associated by products.

Well, the thing is they replaced it with something of another origin. Easter was never about anything about Christ, but about continuing a pagan festival so they could get more people in so they would be more influential than the other churchs, bishops and Patriarchate. It was given a Christian veneer so pagans could join and continue as they had during the Empire. The pagan festival or Spring Equinox festival was characterized by the rejoining of the Mother Goddess and her lover-consort-son, who spent the winter months in death.

Easter is nothing else but Ashtarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the Queen of Heaven. The Easter "buns" were used in the worship of the queen of heaven, the goddess of Easter. As early as the days of Cecrops, the founder of Athens, fifteen hundred years before the Christian era. The prophet Jeremiah takes notice of this offering when he says,

"The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough to make cakes to the Queen of heaven." Jeremiah 7:18.

The hot cross buns were given as offering on the festival of Astarte. The origin of the Easter egg, was from ancient times were they were used in religious rituals throughout Egypt and Greece. Eggs were hung for mystic purposes in temples. These sacred eggs can be traced to the banks of the Euphrates and Babylon paganism. Pagan priests were celibate, tonsured, and received the power of sacrificing for the living and the dead. The goddess in ancient religions was worshipped as the life giver and nurturer and as such, this religion was imbued with sexual undertones. Phallic symbols, as well as symbols of femininity and divine intercourse, were common in ancient temples. Other symbols of pagan worship include the solar wheel dating back to the Chaldeans of Babylon, halos, various pagan crosses, lightning bolts, hand-signals from sun worship cults, tridents, astrological signs, globes as symbols of rulership of the universe, sacred hearts as used in many sun cults, sacred animals, sacred trees, and prayer beads for repetitive prayers even though the Bible admonishes:

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Matthew 6:7

The Babylonian system of worship has essentially been maintained all the way to pagan Rome, and even is hidden as mysterys or ceremonies or otherwise to modern day and can be seen in some form or another.

 

[Hobie]

Now the change from Passover for the Pasch by the bishop of Rome, of that there is no dispute...

Quartodecimans | Encyclopedia.com

Quartodecimanism - Oxford Reference

What does quartodecimanism mean?

Quartodecimanism

Easter or Passover: Which Is for Christians?

Passover (15): Why Jewish Passover and Easter don’t match -Chuck Missler

This is a excellent study...
"Why did POLYCARP and the Asiatic bishops refuse to accept the Roman Method of reckoning the date to celebrate the death of Christ? And why did they the Asiatic churches emphasize the DEATH
of Jesus rather and his resurrection?

The answer can be found in what is written about POLYCARP himself.

"Bishop of Smyrna, 2nd century martyr .... a disciple of St.
John, probably the Apostle. ....Polycarp journeyed to Rome as representative of the churches of Asia Minor and dealt with the Pope Anicetus (155-166) on the Quartodeciman question....
CATHOLIC ENCY. ART. 'POLYCARP ').

Did you catch it? Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John!

Mr. LATOURETTE, writing about Irenaeus in his "HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIANITY" says, "....A native of either Syria or Minor, Isrenaeus had in his youth seen POLYCARP, Bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp, he informs us, had been instructed by the apostles and had talked with many who had seen Christ" page 131.

On the evening of the 14th of Nisan Jesus instituted the NT ordinance of FOOT WASHING (see my study on that question under the Passover studies), among His disciples as a sign of humility to each other, and the symbols of Bread and the fruit of the Vine, to represent His broken body and shed blood for our sins
(John 13:1-15; Mat.26:17,20,26-29).

The apostolic church continued to keep this very special evening and service (1 Cor. 11:17-34).

God's people under the leadership of Polycarp and others of the 2nd century followed the teaching and example of Jesus and the early church, in remembering the death of Christ on the 14th of Nisan (in the Jewish calendar).

People of God today will do the same."...Keith Hunt - Quartodeciman Controversy

 

[Gottservant]

Fabulous people, know when to celebrate; considerate people, know when to mourn (selah)

 

[St. SteVen]

This presumption has been recently debunked in another thread, post #30 and post #35.

You make good points. But the NT Greek actually says: Pascha. Defined as Passover.



/

 

[St. SteVen]

What about the Wycliffe Bible or Tyndale's, or the Geneva Bible. Are they all 'inerrant', they are all written by men who were inspired, but men still. Only the Ten Commandments can be called 'inerrant' as that was written by God with His own finger.

And only the actual tablets. All else is man-made. (prone to error)

/

 

[BarneyFife]

You make good points. But the NT Greek actually says: Pascha. Defined as Passover.

View attachment 40862

/

Hi, SS!

King James-only-ism is a thing I held onto for a number of years simply because I was raised that way and when I transitioned from Baptist to Adventist, I found plenty of sympathizers. I read Wilkinson's "Vindicated" book and found it very impressive (although I can see it for what it is now).

I could've saved myself a lot of time if I'd only gotten my hands on some of Peter Ruckman's hack material. My dad used to watch him on TV in Pensacola and he really liked him. I thought he was a colossal jerk.

But, like with the "eternal security" doctrine I think that, in the back of my mind, I knew it wasn't a hill upon which I was prepared to die, and once I was exposed to some dispassionate criticism, it didn't take me long to realize that the non-English speaking peoples of the world were at a decided disadvantage if I were to cling to my pre-conceptions.


.

 

[Randy Kluth]

Well, the thing is they replaced it with something of another origin. Easter was never about anything about Christ, but about continuing a pagan festival so they could get more people in so they would be more influential than the other churchs, bishops and Patriarchate.

That appears to simply be untrue and designed to criticize. I see every indication that Easter was an attempt to *replace paganism* with something that honors Christ and his Cross. There are boatloads of evidence supporting this, and no evidence supporting your contention that this is a deliberate effort at reestablishing a new form of paganism.

Can it become a new form of paganism? Of course. That's the point I wished to make, that Legalism can replace Paganism. And it has at times and in some places. But was it *initiated* to produce such? Not at all!

It was given a Christian veneer so pagans could join and continue as they had during the Empire. The pagan festival or Spring Equinox festival was characterized by the rejoining of the Mother Goddess and her lover-consort-son, who spent the winter months in death.

There has always been a danger in becoming too pagan-like in order to attract pagans to the Church. But we're not trying to coerce people to become members of a fraternal organization and to give money to sustain a secular "brotherhood."

To maintain the spiritual element in our fellowship Christians have to maintain a purity of doctrine and purity of spiritual experience. That doesn't happen by indulging in pagan practices. Celebrating Easter is not necessarily a form of Pagan Practice, nor it is necessarily a Legalistic Practice, though it can be.

Christians do need to be warned when Pagan symbols begin to appear within traditional Christianity. I know the Masons love to mix Religion and a different kind of Mysticism--a secret order. The Christian cults do the same thing.

My own culture here in the US has been thought to be Christian from the inception of the State. But in reality, the US is full of pagan symbols indicating that the nation was created more as a compromise between religious dogmatism and religious pluralism than a true Christian State.

There was, from the very start, a political compromise between Deism and conservative Christianity. Lady Liberty is more "tolerant" than "Christian!"

 

[Hobie]

Fabulous people, know when to celebrate; considerate people, know when to mourn (selah)

But if its not of God, then who are they celebrating...

 

[Hobie]

That appears to simply be untrue and designed to criticize. I see every indication that Easter was an attempt to *replace paganism* with something that honors Christ and his Cross. There are boatloads of evidence supporting this, and no evidence supporting your contention that this is a deliberate effort at reestablishing a new form of paganism.

Can it become a new form of paganism? Of course. That's the point I wished to make, that Legalism can replace Paganism. And it has at times and in some places. But was it *initiated* to produce such? Not at all!

There has always been a danger in becoming too pagan-like in order to attract pagans to the Church. But we're not trying to coerce people to become members of a fraternal organization and to give money to sustain a secular "brotherhood."

To maintain the spiritual element in our fellowship Christians have to maintain a purity of doctrine and purity of spiritual experience. That doesn't happen by indulging in pagan practices. Celebrating Easter is not necessarily a form of Pagan Practice, nor it is necessarily a Legalistic Practice, though it can be.

Christians do need to be warned when Pagan symbols begin to appear within traditional Christianity. I know the Masons love to mix Religion and a different kind of Mysticism--a secret order. The Christian cults do the same thing.

My own culture here in the US has been thought to be Christian from the inception of the State. But in reality, the US is full of pagan symbols indicating that the nation was created more as a compromise between religious dogmatism and religious pluralism than a true Christian State.

There was, from the very start, a political compromise between Deism and conservative Christianity. Lady Liberty is more "tolerant" than "Christian!"

Notice the truth of the matter..." Victor, Bishop of Rome, even went so far as to excommunicate anyone who observed pascha on Passover. When Emperor Constantine stopped the persecution of Christians in the fourth century, he declared that pascha would be officially celebrated on the Sunday after Passover.... “Several centuries later, the holiday was no longer called pascha but Easter and the date was modified to align with the solar calendar.”

It was changed and aligned with what, we see who they were following..

 

[Zachariah.]

Many preconceived ideas and wrong teachings can be brought in and have been, even by well meaning men and become tradition, but not be true. We see this in the idea that the wicked will continue to live eternally in hell, or that man is immortal, etc.. So we have to look at what was brought in from outside of the scriptures, and being picked up although not its true meaning. In the case of this preconception, it actually led to the word being changed from its original meaning, to "Easter". The Greek word that the King James Version translates as “Easter” is actually the word “Pascha” (Hebrew: פסח—Pesach) which means “Passover”. It was during an annual Passover celebration that Jesus was crucified at Jerusalem. Here is the text in question:

Acts 12:4 King James Version

"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."

We find it was translated incorrectly because the bible scholars preconceived ideas led them to this. If we look at the text from previous versions we find it was correctly translated...

Acts 12:4 1599 Geneva Bible

"4 [a]And when he had caught him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to be kept, intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people."

Acts 12:4 Wycliffe Bible

"4 And when he had caught Peter, he sent him into prison; and betook him to four quaternions of knights, to keep him, and would after pask bring him forth to the people [willing after pask to bring him forth to the people]."

And others..

Acts 12:4 Complete Jewish Bible

"4 so when Herod seized him, he threw him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each, with the intention of bringing him to public trial after Pesach."

Acts 12:4 Young's Literal Translation

"4 whom also having seized, he did put in prison, having delivered [him] to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, intending after the passover to bring him forth to the people."

So how could this happen, why would such learned men change something from one meaning to another, simple, because of their preconceived ideas. You see, it has taken time, but Greek philosphy and Ghonosticism had been picked up and in Rome the old beliefs and festivals were still followed by the Romans and many Christian and leaders didnt see a problem with it. One of the first disputes arose as the bishop of Rome allowed the celebration of the Pasch or Passover to continue till the following Sunday so Christians could also celebrate Spring Equinox festival as they had done before. Now the danger of allowing the Christians to join in pagan solstice celebrations was overlooked as the new pagan 'converts' joined the church and swelled the numbers under the bishop of Rome. But other Christian leaders saw the danger of worship according to the old pagan festivals and tried to stop it in what came to be known as Paschal/Easter controversies. The first recorded such controversy came to be known as the Quartodeciman controversy.

Eusebius of Caesarea (Church History, V, xxiii) wrote:
"A question of no small importance arose at that time [i.e. the time of Pope Victor I, about A.D. 190]. The dioceses of all Asia, according to an ancient tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon [of Nisan], on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should always be observed as the feast of the life-giving pasch (epi tes tou soteriou Pascha heortes), contending that the fast ought to end on that day, whatever day of the week it might happen to be. However it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world to end it at this point, as they observed the practice, which from Apostolic tradition has prevailed to the present time, of terminating the fast on no other day than on that of the Resurrection of our Saviour." So the bishop of Rome began the practice of fixing the celebration of Passover for Christians on Sunday and it spread through the old areas of the Empire.Polycarp the disciple of John the Apostle who was now the bishop of Smyrna, came and confronted Anicetus, the Bishop of Rome who had allow the changes in the Passover and other changes to bring in converts. According to Irenaeus, around the 150s or 160, Polycarp visited Rome to discuss the differences that existed between the other centers of Christianity in Asia and Rome "with regard to certain things" and especially about the time of the Pasch or Passover which in Rome were now the Easter festivals. Irenaeus says that Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, observed the fourteenth day of the moon, whatever day of the week that might be, following therein the tradition which he derived from John the Apostle. Irenaeus said that on certain things the two bishops speedily came to an understanding, while as to the time of the Pasch and the change to Easter, each adhered to his own custom. Polycarp following the eastern practice of celebrating Passover on the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Jewish Passover, regardless of what day of the week it fell while the bishop of Rome let it be observed on Sunday.

So the Bishop of Rome ignored the warning and continued to allow the Passover to be observed on Sunday at the pagan Spring Equinox festival and we can see how the Pasch was change to the festival of Easter. But not only was it just the festival as more pagan converts came in, they were allowed to worship on the pagan Spring Equinox festival day which they were used to, while Christians continued to worship on Sabbath. A careful study of the historical records reveals that gradually, with the passing of the years, the Roman bishop tended to use his new day, Sunday, as a ploy for political supremacy over the other churches. Now the danger of allowing the Christians to join in pagan solstice celebrations was overlooked as the new pagan 'converts' joined the church and swelled the numbers under the bishop of Rome. The festival on Easter controversy continued, with the Eastern churches giving it stiff opposition until the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., at which time Sunday was declared the official day for Easter observance. Emperor Constantine immediately followed this, the same year, with civil enactments enforcing it among the churches, and it began to take hold as we see to this day.

So now you can see how this led to the Bible Scholars changing Gods truth, to their preconception of what it was, yet it was from another tradition, not of God.

East Star Is a reference to the rising sun and the vernal equinox.

As the sun dies at the end of every day, so it is born again in the morning.

On a yearly scale, the sun is dead for 3 months of winter and resserects at the vernal equinox (spring). "And the sun will rise again on the third day".

These patterns and cycles we find within nature, also correlate with the human psyche and everything else that manifests within creation. This is True Law.

East Star as a vernal equinox holiday has been celebrated since before we can remember. That's because it's not something man made up, rather it is an eternal pattern or Truth within nature.

Many stories have been made around this including the resserection of Jesus. There are many other stories exactly the same from many different cultures. Most of them pre dating the story of Jesus by 100's if not 1000's of years.

 

[Bob Estey]

Many preconceived ideas and wrong teachings can be brought in and have been, even by well meaning men and become tradition, but not be true. We see this in the idea that the wicked will continue to live eternally in hell, or that man is immortal, etc.. So we have to look at what was brought in from outside of the scriptures, and being picked up although not its true meaning. In the case of this preconception, it actually led to the word being changed from its original meaning, to "Easter". The Greek word that the King James Version translates as “Easter” is actually the word “Pascha” (Hebrew: פסח—Pesach) which means “Passover”. It was during an annual Passover celebration that Jesus was crucified at Jerusalem. Here is the text in question:

Acts 12:4 King James Version

"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."

We find it was translated incorrectly because the bible scholars preconceived ideas led them to this. If we look at the text from previous versions we find it was correctly translated...

Acts 12:4 1599 Geneva Bible

"4 [a]And when he had caught him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to be kept, intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people."

Acts 12:4 Wycliffe Bible

"4 And when he had caught Peter, he sent him into prison; and betook him to four quaternions of knights, to keep him, and would after pask bring him forth to the people [willing after pask to bring him forth to the people]."

And others..

Acts 12:4 Complete Jewish Bible

"4 so when Herod seized him, he threw him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each, with the intention of bringing him to public trial after Pesach."

Acts 12:4 Young's Literal Translation

"4 whom also having seized, he did put in prison, having delivered [him] to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, intending after the passover to bring him forth to the people."

So how could this happen, why would such learned men change something from one meaning to another, simple, because of their preconceived ideas. You see, it has taken time, but Greek philosphy and Ghonosticism had been picked up and in Rome the old beliefs and festivals were still followed by the Romans and many Christian and leaders didnt see a problem with it. One of the first disputes arose as the bishop of Rome allowed the celebration of the Pasch or Passover to continue till the following Sunday so Christians could also celebrate Spring Equinox festival as they had done before. Now the danger of allowing the Christians to join in pagan solstice celebrations was overlooked as the new pagan 'converts' joined the church and swelled the numbers under the bishop of Rome. But other Christian leaders saw the danger of worship according to the old pagan festivals and tried to stop it in what came to be known as Paschal/Easter controversies. The first recorded such controversy came to be known as the Quartodeciman controversy.

Eusebius of Caesarea (Church History, V, xxiii) wrote:
"A question of no small importance arose at that time [i.e. the time of Pope Victor I, about A.D. 190]. The dioceses of all Asia, according to an ancient tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon [of Nisan], on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should always be observed as the feast of the life-giving pasch (epi tes tou soteriou Pascha heortes), contending that the fast ought to end on that day, whatever day of the week it might happen to be. However it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world to end it at this point, as they observed the practice, which from Apostolic tradition has prevailed to the present time, of terminating the fast on no other day than on that of the Resurrection of our Saviour." So the bishop of Rome began the practice of fixing the celebration of Passover for Christians on Sunday and it spread through the old areas of the Empire.Polycarp the disciple of John the Apostle who was now the bishop of Smyrna, came and confronted Anicetus, the Bishop of Rome who had allow the changes in the Passover and other changes to bring in converts. According to Irenaeus, around the 150s or 160, Polycarp visited Rome to discuss the differences that existed between the other centers of Christianity in Asia and Rome "with regard to certain things" and especially about the time of the Pasch or Passover which in Rome were now the Easter festivals. Irenaeus says that Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, observed the fourteenth day of the moon, whatever day of the week that might be, following therein the tradition which he derived from John the Apostle. Irenaeus said that on certain things the two bishops speedily came to an understanding, while as to the time of the Pasch and the change to Easter, each adhered to his own custom. Polycarp following the eastern practice of celebrating Passover on the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Jewish Passover, regardless of what day of the week it fell while the bishop of Rome let it be observed on Sunday.

So the Bishop of Rome ignored the warning and continued to allow the Passover to be observed on Sunday at the pagan Spring Equinox festival and we can see how the Pasch was change to the festival of Easter. But not only was it just the festival as more pagan converts came in, they were allowed to worship on the pagan Spring Equinox festival day which they were used to, while Christians continued to worship on Sabbath. A careful study of the historical records reveals that gradually, with the passing of the years, the Roman bishop tended to use his new day, Sunday, as a ploy for political supremacy over the other churches. Now the danger of allowing the Christians to join in pagan solstice celebrations was overlooked as the new pagan 'converts' joined the church and swelled the numbers under the bishop of Rome. The festival on Easter controversy continued, with the Eastern churches giving it stiff opposition until the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., at which time Sunday was declared the official day for Easter observance. Emperor Constantine immediately followed this, the same year, with civil enactments enforcing it among the churches, and it began to take hold as we see to this day.

So now you can see how this led to the Bible Scholars changing Gods truth, to their preconception of what it was, yet it was from another tradition, not of God.

The story of Jesus's death and resurrection are in the Bible.

 

[Big Boy Johnson]

The story of Jesus's death and resurrection are in the Bible.

But, there's nothing about easter or bunnys or hiding eggs

 

[Bob Estey]

But, there's nothing about easter or bunnys or hiding eggs

The definition of "Easter" is the day Jesus rose from the dead. The Bible tells us that Jesus rose from the dead.

I can find nothing about any rabbits in the Bible, though I'm guessing there were two on Noah's ark.

I can't remember anyone hiding any eggs in the Bible, though I'm not aware of any rules that say we can't hide eggs.

 

[Big Boy Johnson]

The definition of "Easter" is the day Jesus rose from the dead.

No, the Lord calls it passover... that's what the word was that the KJV translators translated to "easter" in error.

I'm not aware of any rules that say we can't hide eggs.

There's not any rules that say we can't smoke crack either... but, God doesn't support that either