Easter No; Passover Yes

As many of you know, Easter originally was a Spring Fertility Celebration in the pagan religion which Rome celebrated.  The Christians, who were more or less, under severe persecution from the government, would commemorate the great events from the scriptures at the same time the celebrations and festivals that the general populace were observed.  So, they remembered the Passover as part of a week-long Festival of Unleavened Bread.   It was conveniently tucked in with the Easter Celebration of the Roman Empire so it wouldn't be so noticeable to those who persecuted Christians.

I say all that to say this:  Passover was a celebration for the Jews who were protected from being killed in Egypt by applying "the blood of the lamb" across their door posts.  When the angels went around killing the newborn children, They would bypass those homes that had the blood applied.  Hence, the name Passover.

Here is an article that thoroughly explains Passover as a Christian Celebration.  I hope that whether you are Jew, Christian or part of a myriad of religious beliefs of the world that you will see the TRUTH... As the Messiah said while He was on earth as the Son of Man, " in the following article.  I was unable to find the author, but when I find it I will be sure and give credit to the person or people who wrote it.

The whole celebration and memorial of the Passover revolved around the EATING of the lamb, and being Passed Over and delivered from Egypt, a type of SIN.  The Jews were never commanded, and never observed, any "memorial" of the DEATH or slaughtering of the lamb itself.  They never celebrated the "death" of the lamb -- which was a type of Jesus Christ, the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).


Rather, they celebrated the VICTORY God gave them over their enemies, the Egyptians, a type of SIN, from whom they were SET FREE by the blood of the Lamb, and the EATING of the Lamb! The shed blood of the Passover lambs actually symbolized the shed blood of Jesus the Messiah who gave His life for our sins; the eating of the lambs symbolized the EATING of the Messiah, or His body given for our sins, and accepting of His sacrifice -- as well as the "eating" of His "flesh," which meant the devouring of His Words and acceptance of His message!  As Jesus said, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. . . . I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.  This bread is MY FLESH, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6:35, 51). Jesus said, "So the one who feeds on me will live because of me (v.57).  He did not mean His literal flesh of course; He was speaking spiritually.  He explained, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.  The WORDS I have spoken to you are SPIRIT and they are LIFE" (v.63).


In other words, the PASSOVER CELEBRATION, which is to be observed and always has been observed, on Nisan 15, the very NIGHT God freed His people from Egyptian bondage and slavery, and DELIVERED them from the power of Egypt ("sin"), is the very same celebration CHRISTIANS are to observe , in the very same manner, in celebration of CHRIST delivering US from bondage to SIN, and bringing us SPIRITUAL DELIVERANCE!  It is a time of reviewing the whole plan of God, from start to finish, and ends up with our LOOKING FORWARD to the return of Christ our Deliverer to bring the Kingdom of God, and to finish His task of complete DELIVERANCE from this evil world of Satan's dominion (Rev.12:9; II Cor.4:4; Eph.2:2).


The True Passover


The true Passover -- celebrated always on Nisan 15 -- points directly and completely to JESUS CHRIST, coming as our Savior and Redeemer and KING of kings and LORD of lords, bringing us COMPLETE DELIVERANCE and ETERNAL SALVATION!  It is a time of awesome joy and fulfillment. It points NOT to just a "dead Christ," hanging on a cross, suffering obloquy and shame -- it points to the LIVING CHRIST, WHO SAVES US from sin and the power and clutches of sin and the corruption of the flesh!  The entire focus of this Holy Day of God is POSITIVE -- not negative!


However, Satan the devil is the great perverter of all truth.  And Satan has also perverted and polluted this awesome truth of the Passover, and turned it into a time of negativism, somberness, sorrow, grief, shame, reproach, self-loathing, contempt, and mourning. 


Notice how subtly he has done this.   The whole emphasis of the Passover is, according to the Scriptures, the EATING of a Feast, especially the lamb, and the commemoration of DELIVERANCE and FREEDOM.  Nowhere in the Scriptures will you ever find any commemoration or memorializing of DEAD people, things or artifacts.  This is a PAGAN custom!  Pagans memorialize birthdays (ie, "Christmas" which is the "mass of Christ," and dates back to the PAGAN custom of observing the winter solstice and the "birth" of the new "sun god" -- observed by the Romans as the "Saturnalia"), death days (ie., "Good Friday," the day they claim Jesus died -- why they would call that "good" is a subtle indication of the devil's trickery, confusing people into celebrating a day God NEVER commanded to be celebrated!).





The Meaning of the Kiddush


Notice!  This event, called a Kiddush or "Blessing" in Hebrew, refers to the bread and wine Jesus told His disciples to take "in remembrance" of His broken body and shed blood.  This final ceremony Jesus held with His disciples before He died on the stake as our Passover Lamb the very next day was not itself the Passover.  It was a special "bread and wine" ceremony to be partaken of throughout the year, when brethren get together


However, this ceremony should not be confused with the Passover itself!


Of course, as we eat the Passover bread, during the Passover meal on Nisan 15, the broken bread REMINDS us of the body of Christ, our Passover Lamb, beaten, pierced and slain for us; and the wine REMINDS us of his shed blood, given for our sins.  This should be literally true, every Passover, every year -- for the EATING of the bread and DRINKING of the wine occurs on Nisan 15, just AFTER the afternoon of Nisan 14, when the Passover was actually SLAIN!  The time sequence is perfect; just as we should expect.


We do not celebrate, however, the DEATH of Christ -- that was indeed the most horrible thing that ever had to happen, an appalling and totally unjust thing.  He literally became SIN FOR US -- a SIN OFFERING.  And as such, God the Father actually had to turn His back on His beloved Son, and let Him die an agonizing death on the stake or tree.  We don't rejoice in the DEATH of Christ, but rather in what that death ACCOMPLISHES FOR US -- the DELIVERANCE FROM SIN that He made possible, and makes possible since He now sits at God's right hand, to evermore intercede for us (Heb.7:24-27).


The Passover therefore is a MEMORIAL OF DELIVERANCE from sin -- not of the horrible death that Christ suffered.  We celebrate DELIVERANCE, just as the ancient Israelites did, and every Jew does today, when they partake of the Passover.  


However, the Passover, like the Kiddush, also is an occasion where we "PROCLAIM the Lord's death TILL HE COMES" (I Cor.11:26).  This is the part of the Passover that those who attempt to observe it on Nisan 14, prior to the true Passover, fail to perceive and observe at all.  The word "proclaim" in the Greek is kataggello  and means, literally, "declare, promulgate, preach, speak of, teach."  This is not a word that connotes "memorialize" at all, but rather "PROCLAIM, PREACH, TEACH" the truth about the significance of Christ's death and how it delivers us from SIN and the power of Satan -- which is the WHOLE SPIRITUAL MEANING of the Passover celebration on Nisan 15!


That very evening we are to TEACH our family, and children the real meaning of our DELIVERANCE from Satan's control, and sin, through Christ, as we rehearse and teach the whole lesson of the Passover  in ancient Egypt, at its foundation, and the plagues upon Egypt, following up with the lesson of Christ our Passover, and continuing the saga through the SECOND COMING of Christ, when He will complete the DELIVERANCE He has made possible and brought to mankind! 


Therefore, Paul said, we "proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (II Cor.11:26) -- that is, the story of Christ's death, resurrection, what it means to us, His ascension into heaven, and the final judgment He will bring on the world in the Great Tribulation, the "Day of the Lord," and the prophecies leading up to HIS SECOND COMING!