Pagan 'holy day' what is called Easter -- the worship of Nimrod, Semiramis, Tammuz, and ultimately Ishtar (Easter) -- Athena, Minerva, Moloch, i.e.--Baal . . . .htm
Note: Easter was the worship of Baal, Ishtar (Ishtar was the wife of the pagan “son of god” Tammuz,) etc . . . As King Herod was pagan, the context mentions not Passover but what pagans, i.e.: King Herod and the Romans celebrated, i.e.: Easter. The Greek word is Passover, but the context concerns the Roman worship of "Easter" – which was the worship of the goddess Ishtar. The Feast of Easter (Acts 12:4), so is the word Easter the right word? 1.The Greek word which is translated here Easter is the word pascha. This word appears twenty-nine times in the New Testament. Twenty-eight of those times it is translated “Passover” in reference to the night when the Lord passed over Egypt and killed all the firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 12:12), thus setting Israel free from 400 yrs. of bondage. The King James Bible is often criticized here for using the word Easter in this passage. Easter at the time of King James was often used as a synonym for Passover. In fact, Easter was first used as a word by William Tyndale about 1530 A.D.. Easter had been used in reference to the Jewish Passover as early as 971 A.D., and was used even in Old Testament passages in other English translations (Coverdale –1535 A.D.). Therefore, the translators had a reason to make sure to use the word Easter here. To make a distinction between the Jewish “Passover” and the pagan “Easter.” Easter was a pagan holiday named for Ashtaroth, the goddess of fertility (also called Ishtar, Astarte, etc.) often mentioned with Baal (Judges 2:13; Judges 10:6; 1 Samuel 7:3-4). The Philistines built a house to Ashtaroth (1 Samuel 31:10). The goddess Ashtaroth is also called the "Queen of heaven" (Jeremiah 44:17-19; Jeremiah 44:25). Note: Mary is called the “Queen of Heaven” by the Roman Catholic church". Pascha: “Easter” or “Passover”? . . . Though the Jewish Passover was held in mid-month (the fourteenth) and the pagan festival Easter was held later the same month, how do we know that King Herod was referring to Easter in Acts 12:4 AND NOT the Jewish Passover? If King Herod was referring to the Passover, the translation of “pascha” to “Easter” in the King James Version, the Authorized Version, of the Holy Bible is incorrect. However, if King Herod was indeed referring to the pagan holiday "Easter," then the King James Bible IS CORRECT, and superior in that it gives you the correct interpretation of what King Herod was intending and all other modern translations incorrect, including the NKJV (which is NOT a King James Bible) although is called one by name.
To unravel the perceived confusion concerning “Easter” mentioned here, we must look back to verse 3, and to history. In verse 3, the Holy Bible says: “Then were the days of unleavened bread...”. The Passover comes before the “days of unleavened bread”. This we’ve already established and shown above in our notes. The Apostle Peter was arrested during the “days of unleavened bread.” (Acts 12:3) Thus, our investigation should look back to the first Passover (the only time that the Angel of God passed over) and smote the first born (Exodus 12:1-20, specifically Exodus 12:12-13). The Passover received its name from where the LORD promised to “pass over” all of the houses where the blood was applied. (Exodus 12:13). It is after the Passover (Exodus 12:13-15), we find that seven days would be fulfilled in which the Jews were to eat unleavened bread. These are the days of unleavened bread. In Exodus 12:18, we see that the dates of observing these days are the 14th through the 21st of the month. This observance is given more clearly in Numbers 28:16-18 and in Deuteronomy 16:1-8. The 14th day of the first month is the Passover of the LORD. The 15th day of this month is the feast of unleavened bread: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. In verse 16 one sees that the Passover is only considered to be the 14th day of the month. The next day --the 15th day, begins the “days of unleavened bread.” Whenever the Passover was kept, it always PRECEDED the feast of Unleavened Bread. (2 Chronicles 30:15; 2 Chronicles 30:21; Ezra 6:19, Ezra 6:22). It had already come and gone when the Apostle Peter was placed in prison, Acts 12:3-4 and was going to bring forth the Apostle Peter to the people after their pagan holiday of Easter). In Acts 12:3 it states that the Apostle Peter was arrested during the days of unleavened bread. King Herod could not possibly be referring to the Jewish Passover in his statement concerning Easter. Furthermore, the next Passover was a whole year away! The pagan holiday of Easter was just a few days away. The right word then WAS Easter, as we see from our study it was rightly divided, 2 Timothy 2:15, was used correctly ONLY in the King James Bible! Indeed it was God’s providence which led the translators of our Holy Bible, the KJV, to correctly translate the word “pascha”as “Easter.” It did not refer to the Jewish Passover, but to the pagan holiday known throughout history in many different cultures as Easter which was a day that the pagan Romans kept.
Through time, Easter morphed via different cultures to become known as Eostre, an ancient word meaning "spring". The most widely-practiced customs on Easter Sunday relate to the symbol of the rabbit (Easter bunny) and the egg. As outlined previously, the rabbit was a symbol associated with Eostre, representing the beginning of Springtime. Likewise, the egg has come to represent Spring, fertility and renewal. In Germanic mythology, it is said that Ostara healed a wounded bird she found in the woods by changing it into a hare. Still partially a bird, the hare showed its gratitude to the goddess by laying eggs as gifts. The Encyclopedia Britannica clearly explains the pagan traditions associated with the egg. "The egg as a symbol of fertility and of renewed life goes back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians, who had also the custom of both coloring and eating eggs during their spring festival." In ancient Egypt, an egg symbolized the sun, while for the Babylonians, the egg represents the hatching of the Venus Ishtar which in time became known as (Easter,) who fell from heaven to the Euphrates.
The Encyclopedia Britannica clearly explains the pagan traditions associated with the egg. "The egg as a symbol of fertility and of renewed life goes back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians, who had also the custom of colouring and eating eggs during their spring festival." In ancient Egypt, an egg symbolised the sun, while for the Babylonians, the egg represents the hatching of the Venus Ishtar, who fell from heaven to the Euphrates.