Easter vs Passover FAQ

Quickfire questions and answers.

1) What is the mainstream view of Easter?

The celebration of Yeshua's death and resurrection. It mainly consists of Good Friday, Black Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday.

2) What is Passover?

Passover was an act of God in Exodus. It was the final plague brought unto Egypt so Pharoah would let the Israelites leave their lives of slavery and bondage. For this final plague, God sent an angel of death to all the firstborn children of Egypt. God instructed the Israelites to slay a lamb and to apply the blood to their doors so the angel of death would not touch them. God says this is an appointed time forever and ever and is now known as the Festival of Passover (Exodus 23:4) and is to be celebrated every year by the killing of an unblemished lamb.

3) Is Passover related to Easter?

Yes - Yeshua died on Passover. He became and fulfilled the foreshadowed prophecy of the Passover lamb for our own lives (unblemished and saving us from death).

4) Are Easter and Passover on the same day?

No.

5) Why are they not on the same day if Yeshua died over Passover?

The Roman Empire decided to move it away from the real Passover date (First New Moon of the year plus 14 days = 14th Nisan) and instead made it occur on the first Sunday after the New Moon after the Spring Equinox.

6) Why did they do this?

To combine their pagan traditions, spring equinox worship, and Christianity into one. The goddess Eostre was celebrated over the spring equinox and symbolized spring, fertility, and rebirth. This is where easter bunnies and eggs come from.

7) When should we celebrate Easter then?

Easter is not a holiday according to the Bible. If you want to commemorate what Yeshua did, you should celebrate Passover, as all the early Church did. This happens on the 14th day of the new year (Which is Nisan, not January)

8) Is Easter OK to celebrate?

God instructed us the following:

Deu 12:4 You must not worship the LORD your God in their way.

Since Easter is a mix of pagan and Christian celebrations, you are celebrating Yeshua as the world wants you to. Me and my family do not celebrate it.

9) Where did chocolate eggs and the Easter Bunny come from?

Pagan idols/gods. In Easter's case, it is derived from many cultures, with the main pagan goddess being Eostre, who is represented by a rabbit and represents spring, fertility, and rebirth.

10) Did Yeshua die on a Friday evening and rise on a Sunday morning?

At first glance, yes, but in reality no. The Bible indicates Yeshua died before a Sabbath (Which is a Saturday) and rose on the first day of the week, which is a Sunday.

This cannot be the case as Yeshua said He would be in the tomb for 3 days and 3 nights. Believing the worldly view does not equal 3 days and 3 nights and you must then accept that what Yeshua said was false.

11) So when did He die and resurrect?

Yeshua was crucified on a Wednesday at 3 pm. He rose again after the Saturday Sabbath, which is a Sunday.

12) This is 5 days, how can it be so?

This is not 5 days, and here is why:

The 2 concepts you need to understand are:

The Romans changed how we measure one day. In Yeshua's time, days were measured from sundown to sundown, but today we measure a day from midnight to midnight.
The structure of the Passover/Unleavened Bread Festival

So Yeshua died before a Sabbath - Yes - but not the normal Sabbath on a Saturday. He died before the special Sabbath on the Thursday.

The Thursday Sabbath then started - nothing happened.
Friday then came - nothing happened. This is because Yeshua said 3 days and 3 nights. So far it has only been 2 nights.
Saturday came - This is a normal Sabbath. Once this day ends (On Saturday evening), the Sabbath is over and Yeshua resurrects on "Sunday"

So from Tomb to Resurrection we then have

Day 1: Wednesday Sundown -> Thursday Sundown
Day 2: Thursday Sundown (Friday) -> Friday Sundown (Saturday)
Day 3: Friday Sundown (Saturday) -> Saturday Sundown (Sunday)

Which accounts for 3 days and 3 nights perfectly!

13) What about the Disciples saying he rose on the third day?

There is only ONE prophecy about the length of time that Yeshua would be in the tomb, and that is the sign of Jonah. This is straight from Yeshua and is proof of his messianic nature.

14) Why do most Churches not agree with this?

There are many possible answers

Easter has been practiced since the Roman Empire made it.
Church institutions teach it to all pastors.
The Old Testament is not even read or understood by believers today
God's commands and appointed times are not followed and are dismissed as "Jewish". God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He has different sides, but they don't contradict each other.
The financial machine of Easter sales and attendance numbers.
Believers don't want to study the history behind the text.
etc, etc, etc...

15) I thought we only follow the New Testament teachings of Yeshua?

If we study what all the disciples wrote & what Yeshua said, we cannot believe God decided to throw away His character. Even Yeshua's two commandments are simply a summary of the 10 Commandments! The New Testament did not exist in Yeshua's time, so what was He teaching from? The Old Testament.

Here are some useful Teachings to read:

16) Will I not go to Heaven if I don't start following these festivals or commandments?

Your salvation cannot be earned by works or following commandments. Yeshua paid the price for you and me.

That being said, how do you follow God? Churches love to say "You must become more like Jesus". Ok, how did Jesus / Yeshua live? What did he teach? What did the disciples like Paul tell you to do? They all told you to follow God's Law and His commandments. Jesus/Yeshua followed the Law perfectly and told us to FOLLOW HIM and become Christ-like.

17) Why do most Churches not agree with you?

Paul's letters are not understood AT ALL. This is the most tragic thing when I hear someone quote Paul to me. Paul was one of the most devoted disciples and lived a life fully according to the Law. If you want to dive deep into his life, read our Teachings.
English-translated Bibles - Words and sentences have lost their original meaning or have been removed.
Lack of understanding of the Old Testament.
Lack of understanding of Yeshua and the Pharisaic sect.
Lack of understanding of Jew and Gentile believers and their history.
The Church is institutionalized and pastors study under authorities that have their pre-conceived ideas. These are then passed on.
Pastors receive a salary/livelihood from their institution and going against the institution would lead to a loss of livelihood.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is the head of all the churches/institutions in the world and this is the agenda they push.
We could go on forever.

18) So if Easter is the name of a goddess, then what should we call the resurrection of Yeshua?

Well, that's just it! You can call it The Resurrection of Yeshua. On Easter, instead of replying to people with "Happy Easter", you can instead proceed to tell them about how Yeshua actually died on Passover which leads to a great open discussion.

What my family and I plan on doing is celebrating Passover and Yeshua's Ressurection on the correct day, which is three days and three nights after Passover.

19) The eggs and bunny are harmless to children, can't we just keep it?

Ask yourself this as a Christian, would you rather your child wake up Easter morning excited because the Easter bunny came? Or that Yeshua died for THEM to live forever and be saved? Also, why not start your own family traditions? Children love fun even if it is biblical, you can still do a scavenger hunt but why not make it about Yeshua? Children can still do arts and crafts but why not make it about the resurrection?

Think of it this way, teaching your child to do/continue pagan traditions (even if it goes against God's Word) because it is "fun" just teaches them and ingrains in them when they are older that it is okay to go against God's commandments now and then because its "fun", which can lead to more serious consequences.

I hope this FAQ helped answer some of the most common questions you might have!