Note: J. Preston Eby, in order to continue to devote his full energy to writing no longer works in the office and does not receive this email. He does, however, respond to any urgent correspondence via snailmail.

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KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES

“Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of God...”

WITNESSES TO HIS RESURRECTION

Originally published March 1976

I invite you to take a journey with me back into history. It is the year 25 B.C., about twenty-one years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us pull back the curtain of time and see what was taking place in that year among the pagan population of Europe – the Germanic people.

As we look we behold great joy and excitement in manifestation throughout all the towns and villages. A special event is about to take place – the particular event which takes place each year at this same season – spring.

It is Saturday evening, the twenty-first of March, a very special Saturday here, known as “Sunnun-abend.” We are in the village of Riesa. Everyone is leaving his home and there is a gathering forming outside the town. Everyone with sufficient strength and ability is collecting an armful of wood from the surrounding forest, and as we watch, they place it around an oak tree and set it on fire. As the huge bonfire begins to burn, everyone commences to circle around the fire. Soon the whole heavens are lighted up by the flames. In the distance we can see other reflections of light in the night sky, for this strange ceremony is being celebrated throughout the land.

Now something new is taking place. All the people are kneeling, solemnly, and begin to pray. They are beseeching a god – no, a goddess – by the name of “Sunna.” She is the “goddess of the dawn” and they are imploring her to end the cold of winter and bring back the long-awaited spring days. After some time the prayer ends, and sacrifices are offered up to “Sunna,” the goddess of the spring. Following the offering of the sacrifices, the people slowly return to their habitations and retire for the night.

Early the next morning, Sunday, a little while before dawn, everyone begins to stir. They arise, leave their homes, and meet again out in the open, this time with their faces to the east – toward the rising sun. Again prayer begins to ascend to their goddess “Sunna” and they are praising her for consorting with the Sun-God and bringing them this long-awaited first day of spring.

It now becomes evident that this day, the first Sunday after March 21, is a holiday. Various celebrations and games get under way. One of the games is to find colored eggs which have been hidden in the grass, around trees, and in other hiding places. These games are a great delight, especially to the children. The eggs are colored bright colors, especially red and gold, to represent the bright rays of the sun. Some of the eggs are given as a sacrifice to the goddess of spring while others are eaten. This is done to symbolize the germinating life of early spring produced through the beneficent blessing of the goddess “Sunna.” A special sacred bread has also been baked and is now offered to the goddess. This bread is called “Boun,” pronounced as our English word “Bun.” (See Mythology by Bryant, Vol. 1, p. 373. Also, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. II, page 34 and Symbolik by W. Menzel, page 180).

Let us now travel down through centuries of time from our date of 25 B.C. Great changes take place throughout the continent of Europe. Vast numbers of people from Persia and Assyria come to the continent and settle there. Observing these peoples it becomes clear that their religious practices in many ways resemble those of the Germanic people that were already in the land. These Eastern people are also worshipping a goddess of spring. The date of the celebration is almost the same, for it too is associated with the beginning of spring. In fact, they also use eggs in their festival, only they mutually present. each other with the colored eggs. This custom came to the Eastern peoples from ancient Babylon. The egg was a sacred symbol among the Babylonians. They believed an old fable about an egg of wondrous size which was supposed to have fallen from heaven into the Euphrates river. From this marvelous egg – according to the ancient story - the goddess “Astarte” (the Babylonian form of “Ishtar” or “Easter”) was hatched. Thus, the egg as a symbol of fertility and renewed life goes all the way back to ancient Babylon. (See Babylon Mystery Religion by Woodrow, p. 152,153 and The Two Babylons by Hislop, p. 12,103,108).

But listening, we learn that there is one major difference between the festival of these Eastern immigrants and that of the Germanic people. The difference is that they have different names for their goddess of spring. The name of the spring goddess of the Eastern peoples is “Ishtar.” The Germans, unable to correctly pronounce the name, call this goddess “Eostre,” which is pronounced as we today pronounce “Easter.” Webster’s Dictionary says of EASTER: Easter, - eastre; original name of a goddess and her festival. The Encyclopedia Americana says under EASTER: It was derived from the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, Eostre.

These two goddesses — “Sunna”‘ and “Ishtar” – became one goddess to the European peoples called “Eostre” or “Easter.” The festival remained the same.

WHY EASTER?

Have you ever wondered what colored eggs have to do with the death and resurrection of Jesus? Or Easter rabbits and “hot cross” buns? From a child most of us have been led to believe that “Easter” signified the resurrection of Christ. From about A.D. 325 the church world has observed Easter Sunday as the day that Jesus rose from the dead. But the question is, Did GOD ever command us to celebrate Easter? And the simple answer to that question is, No, He DID NOT! Yet scores of millions are deceived into observing this form of heathen idolatry under the delusion they are obeying some ordinance of God or are honoring Jesus Christ the Son of God!

But how and why did the Christian world accept this ancient pagan festival of the spring goddess from ancient Babylon, Persia, Assyria and pagan Europe? The first three centuries after Christ reveal what transpired. Notice the words of a historian of the third century, Socrates Scholasticus, “Neither the apostles, therefore, nor the Gospels have anywhere imposed Easter” (Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 22). And again, “The first Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals, though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals. had foreshadowed” (Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 8, p. 828). In the early church there simply was no holiday commemorating the resurrection – there WAS NO EASTER! Peter never spoke at an “Easter Sunrise Service.” Paul, who received such abundant revelations from the Lord that it was necessary for him to be given a “thorn in the flesh” lest he be exalted above measure, never received any revelation from Christ about an annual celebration of Christ’s resurrection. He died, never having even heard of “Easter.” No apostle ever commanded it. No prophet ever prophesied it. No angel was ever sent from heaven to declare it. None of the practices or traditions surrounding it are carry-overs from any Old Testament festival which prefigured it. No scripture ever has referred to it. Jesus never instituted it. The Holy Ghost sent down from heaven never bore witness to it. In view of all this, WHY SHOULD SONS OF GOD, walking in the Spirit, OBSERVE IT?

THE FALLING AWAY

Jesus and the apostles foretold a “falling away” from the truth on the part of the great majority of Christians. Said Jesus, “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold” (Mat. 24:11-12). Paul wrote to Timothy, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (I. Tim. 4:1). Again Paul wrote to the brethren at Thessalonica, Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there COME A FALLING AWAY FIRST” (II Thes. 2:1-3). Then, in relation to his prophecy concerning the great falling away, or apostasy, Paul said, “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work” (vs. 7). The “mystery of iniquity” was already working – only some thirty years after the church began! Yes, even in Paul’s day, many among those believers at Antioch, at Jerusalem, at Ephesus, at Corinth, and other places, began to apostatize and pervert the truth of Christ. Divisions sprang up. Devilish heresies came in. The mystery of iniquity was already working INSIDE those visible churches. This apostasy increased! By the year A.D. 125 the majority in most churches, especially in those Gentile-born, were continuing in many of their old pagan beliefs and practices, though professing to be Christians. Gradually, a smaller and smaller number of the churches remained truly yielded to God and walking in the Spirit.

Even in Paul’s day he wrote to the Galatians, “But at that previous time, when you had not come to be acquainted with and understand and know the true God, you (Gentiles) were in bondage to gods that by their very nature could not be gods at all – gods that really did not exist. Now however that you have come to be acquainted with and understand and know (the true) God, or rather be understood and known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly and worthless elementary things (of all religions before Christ came) whose slaves you once more want to become? You observe particular days, and months, and seasons and years! I am alarmed about you lest I have labored among and over you to no purpose and in vain” (Gal. 4:8-11, Amplified Bible). These Christians who formerly did not know God at all, but as idolaters served false gods, were even then returning to a keeping of their PAGAN HOLIDAYS and customs – they were “Christianizing” these pagan customs and keeping them in the name of the Lord! When Paul wrote of the “mystery of iniquity” he referred to these very Pagan Mysteries and doctrines of devils (false gods) which eventually corrupted the whole church, producing MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, that mighty Harlot Church-system (Rev. 17-18) which is with us to this very day in the form of popular organized nominal “Christianity.” After Constantine took virtual control of the visible professing church early in the fourth century, this visible organization became almost wholly pagan, and began excommunicating and persecuting all who held to the TRUTH OF GOD!

As the early church lost the anointing of the Holy Spirit and moved into apostasy from the truth, it devised a way to add immense numbers to its membership rolls. The church leaders decided to make Christianity attractive to the pagan masses by meeting the pagans halfway. Realizing that the vast population of the Roman Empire was pagan, they decided to take the customs and ceremonies of the pagan religions and “Christianize” them by incorporating these practices into the Christian religion. This made it easy for the unconverted pagans to become members. As a result, the heathen populace became “Christians” in droves. The church allowed the unconverted to retain many of their heathen practices and beliefs – in a watered-down, Christianized version. For example, the church was aware that the pagans were used to celebrating a heathen spring festival. So they gave to these heathen festivals a Christian dressing. The new members were asked, not to worship their pagan gods or goddesses on those festival days, but rather to worship the One God and their Saviour on those days... while employing the same pagan customs and traditions in the worship of God. This compromise is admitted by the scholar, Aringhus. He says that the church of that day “found it necessary, in the conversion of the Gentiles, to dissemble and wink at many things, and yield to the times” (Diegesis: The Discovery of the Origen of Christianity, Robert Taylor, Boston, Mass., Pg 237).

In the centuries that followed the culture and religion of the Roman Empire expanded throughout Central Europe. The policy of converting pagans continued. Entire tribes were coerced into accepting the Christian religion. The Christian emperors zealously carried this forth. Charlemagne (about A.D. 800) was especially instrumental in bringing the pagans into the church by the tens of thousands. After being crowned Emperor in A.D. 800, Charlemagne proceeded to conquer the German tribes living in the East. The western part of Europe was already under his control. He forced the German chiefs to be baptized along with their entire people. At. first, the chiefs and their subjects refused, but so ruthless was the pressure placed upon them by their conqueror that finally they saw there was no choice and the defeated chiefs relented. Thus, in one day, tens of thousands became Christians. However, these newly “converted” pagans soon found themselves right at home in the new religion. Noticing especially the resurrection festival that was being kept on their own day of festival the new converts needed little persuasion to join in the celebration of this so-called Christian spring festival, which was so similar to their own traditions in the worship of their spring goddess “Easter.” And so, in the process of time, they were influential in changing the name from “resurrection festival” to “Easter.” Soon, all of Europe was hunting for Easter eggs and eating “hot cross” buns on the day on which, supposedly, our Lord was resurrected!

In this process the Easter rabbit also became associated with the resurrection as the symbol of fertility. Of this the Encyclopedia Britannica says, “Like the Easter egg, the Easter hare came to Christianity from antiquity. The hare is associated with the moon in the legends of ancient Egypt and other peoples... Through the fact that the Egyptian word for hare, “um,” means also ‘open’ and ‘period,’ the hare came to be associated with the idea of periodicity, both lunar and human, and with the beginning of new life in both the young man and the young woman, and so a symbol of fertility and the renewal of life. As such, the hare became linked with Easter.” Of course, this fertility sign existed in all the pagan mystery religions. The “fertility symbols” of the false gods thus became the symbols of the “resurrection life of Christ.”

EASTER SUNRISE SERVICES, EGGS, RABBITS AND HOT CROSS BUNS

Many of the pagans continued to rise early on Easter Sunday morning to face the sun in prayer. Do you think the Easter Sunrise Services are beautiful? The common assumption is that such services honour Christ because He rose on Easter Sunday morning just as the sun was coming up! On the other hand, there was a type of sunrise service that was a part of old pagan customs connected with sun-worship and the imploring of “Sunna,” the goddess of spring, in relation to that sun-worship. Now I do not mean to imply that Christian people today literally worship the sun in their Easter Sunrise Services. But what I am saying is that such practices are an obvious mixture of paganism with Christianity.

In the Old Testament, God’s people went into the Babylonian captivity because they mixed sun-worship rites into their worship. God showed this to the prophet Ezekiel. “Then said He unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then He said unto me, Hast thou seen this, 0 son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have turned to provoke me to anger: and lo, they put the branch to their nose. THEREFORE will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them” (Eze. 8:15-18). Here then were people that had known God, yet they allowed this mixture of sun-worship to enter in and defile them. And to God it is ABOMINATION.

But, do we really grasp WHAT THIS MOST ABOMINABLE THING IS? It is the very identical thing millions of Christians are doing every Easter Sunday morning – the Sunrise Service – sitting with their faces TOWARD THE EAST, as the sun is rising, in a service which supposedly honors the resurrection of the SON OF GOD, but which, in all reality, has through untold millenniums honored the SUN GOD and his mythical idolatrous consort, goddess EASTER. Deceived into believing this custom is “Christian”, millions practice in this form the ancient pagan celebration of “Sunnan-abend.”

Many pagan converts to Christianity would also bake cakes called “hot cross” buns and eat them at Easter. These were the same “bouns,” the sacred bread the heathen had baked and offered to the goddess of spring. Originally, these buns were made in Babylon and offered to the goddess “Ishtar” (Easter) who was worshipped as the QUEEN OF HEAVEN. It may astonish you, but another of the reasons why God drove Israel of old into Babylonian captivity was this very idolatry – their whole families joined in this idolatrous worship, in making and offering these BUNS! The Lord rebuked Israel for this through the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place... Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven... that they may provoke me to anger... Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place” (Jer. 7:3,17-20). The Hebrew word “cakes” is “kavvan” and really means buns. These “hot cross” buns were incorporated into the practices surrounding the Easter celebration. Thus the man-made festival supposed to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection came to be the embodiment of more and more paganism. And if the prophets of today rebuke the people for it, they generally answer now as Israel did in their day (Jer. 7:25-27)!

Many people reason, “I know Easter is of pagan origin, but after all, we grew up observing Easter as part of our Christian tradition, and what possible HARM can there be in commemorating the resurrection of Christ? After all, we are really HONORING HIM and bearing witness to the world of His life.” Beloved, it is a SERIOUS THING to follow after the idolatry of heathenism and then try to convince yourself that you are a SON OF GOD... walking in the Spirit! God calls such things ABOMINATION! To Israel, the Lord said, “When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go to dispossess, and you dispossess them and live in their land, be watchful that you are not ensnared into following them after they have been destroyed before you, and that you DO NOT ENQUIRE AFTER THEIR GODS, saying, HOW DID THESE NATIONS SERVE THEIR GODS? I WILL DO LIKEWISE. You shall not do so to the Lord your God; for every abominable thing which the Lord hates have they done for their gods; Whatever I command you, be watchful to do it; you shall not ADD THERETO or DIMINISH IT” (Deut. 12:29-32, Amplified Bible).

MANIFESTED RESURRECTION

WHY did God not ordain the Easter celebration of the resurrection of Jesus? Simply because God doesn’t need a DAY, nor a CEREMONY, nor a COMMEMORATION of the resurrection in order to remind the world of the fact that Christ is alive! In fact, those who go to the Easter Sunrise Service to commemorate Christ’s resurrection have MISSED THE WHOLE POINT OF THE RESURRECTION! They, indeed, supply a poor substitute for the real, God ordained proof of the resurrection of Jesus!

According to the Word of God the twelve apostles were WITNESSES TO HIS RESURRECTION. After the ascension of our lord, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and made known the need to choose a man to take the place of Judas. Said Peter, “For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his (Judas’) habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that He was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of His resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two Thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:20-26).

It is important to note that the apostles did not merely ordain a man to the apostleship, but for one specific purpose – to BE A WITNESS WITH THEM OF THE RESURRECTION! They were not selecting a man to take Judas’ place just so they could have twelve men, but they were selecting a man TO BE A WITNESS TO HIS RESURRECTION.

The Lord didn’t say to those disciples, “Now boys, be sure to arrange a beautiful, impressive, and well advertised Easter Sunrise Service each spring to bear witness to My resurrection.” What did He say? “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and YE SHALL BE WITNESSES UNTO ME both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). YE shall be witnesses! By virtue of the INDWELLING LIFE of the risen Lord! “You shall receive POWER to be witnesses unto Me – after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you!” It isn’t a DAY, or a SERVICE, or a PROGRAM, or the SINGING of “He arose,” or DYED EGGS which witness to the resurrection of our wonderful Lord. MEN are the witness. MEN filled with the HOLY GHOST, the Spirit of the risen lord! CHRIST ALIVE IN MEN is the witness! CHRIST – speaking, acting, through a body on this earth IS the living proof that He AROSE!

Some teach that the great mark of the resurrection was the empty tomb. People travel thousands of miles and spend, annually, untold millions of dollars to go see that empty tomb in Jerusalem. But the disciples NEVER REFERRED TO IT! They did not need an empty tomb for THEY were the witnesses! Christ was alive in them. The very same power and authority which He had manifested for three and one half years before His crucifixion was now manifested mightily through these men upon whom had come His resurrected LIFE. After healing the lame man at the gate of the temple, Peter was called before the Sanhedrin and the record states, “And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, WHOM GOD RAISED FROM THE DEAD, EVEN BY HIM doth this man stand here before you whole” (Acts 4:7-10). The proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ was in the very fact that HIS POWER had made this man whole! God wants a people today who have the evidence of the resurrection IN THEIR LIVES. The resurrection of Jesus is not a historical fact to be commemorated, but a PRESENT AND ETERNAL REALITY to be demonstrated!

When Jesus appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, the scripture says, “And when we were all fallen to the earth, I (Saul) heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art Thou, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister AND A WITNESS both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I WILL APPEAR UNTO THEE” (Acts 26:14-16). Years after this Paul wrote to the Galatians and said, “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace, TO REVEAL HIS SON IN ME, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood” (Gal. 1:15-16). The preaching of the Son of God was not merely through the words Paul spoke stating that he had seen the Lord, but the preaching of the Son was through the REVELATION OF THE SON in Paul’s life. “To REVEAL HIS SON IN ME, that I might preach Him...” Paul had the evidence of the resurrection in his life and this evidence transcended anything he could tell about what happened to him one day on the Damascus road.

This is RESURRECTION MANIFESTED! This is RESURRECTION DEMONSTRATED! Little wonder that Paul could say, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God” (Gal. 2:20).

This last man Adam has been made a QUICKENING SPIRIT. Not only a quickened spirit, but a quickening Spirit. “And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places IN CHRIST JESUS: That in the ages to come He might SHOW (exhibit, put on display) the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:1, 6-7). “If YE then be RISEN WITH CHRIST, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. But now ye also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; AND HAVE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of Him that created him” (Col. 3:1-2,5,8-10). Thus we see that Christ is not only EVIDENCED in our lives in the realm of POWER, but by His NATURE and CHARACTER FORMED WITHIN US. He is seen and known through us not only because of what He can DO through us, but because of WHAT HE IS in us! Truly it is “CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

God shall have a people in this last hour who shall be so filled with the resurrection life of Christ that they shall be changed even in the atomical structure of their bodies – receiving bodies fashioned like unto His glorious body. “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell (Gr: dwell in union, as in a marriage) IN YOU, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also QUICKEN YOUR MORTAL BODIES by His Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Rom. 8:11).

Christ IS ALIVE! Hallelujah! But don’t talk about resurrection unless you have been RAISED UP WITH HIM. Don’t talk about being glorified unless that glory is SHINING THROUGH YOUR LIFE! YOU are the only witness God desires to the resurrection of His Son. And with the resurrection life of Jesus manifested through a mighty body of Christ in the earth — WHO IN THE WORLD NEEDS “EASTER?”

J. PRESTON EBY

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