“Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.” (Jeremiah 7:17-18)
Who is the queen of heaven spoken of here? Her name is Ishtar (Ashtoreth). The worship of this woman was strictly forbidden by God and was a great abomination to Him.
Easter was a pagan festival celebrated long before the resurrection of Jesus. It was a festival of worship for the “queen of heaven,” Ishtar. She was the goddess of fertility and the wife of Baal, the sun god. Rabbits and eggs were symbols of her power.
God commanded over and over again that man was not to worship Ashtoreth. However, Christians have chosen the name of that same false goddess and have used it as the label for our greatest celebration, the resurrection of Jesus. Does this please God? I think not. God has not changed. His Word is as valid today as it was 3,000 years ago.
To call the resurrection of Jesus “Resurrection Day” is a great witness. After all, that is what we are celebrating, isn’t it? Of all the Christian celebrations we have, I would imagine that “Resurrection Day” is the one that Satan hates the most. It is the commemoration of his defeat.
God wants us to praise and worship Him only. The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with ALL our heart, ALL our soul, ALL our strength, and with ALL our mind. God will accept nothing less.
“So he answered and said, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27)
The Word of God tells us clearly that we are not to give any glory or any honor to any false gods. God is to receive all glory and all honor and all praise forever.
“Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.” (Acts 12:23)
Horoscopes, Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, séances, and Halloween have no place in God’s house. To allow paganism into the house of God is an abomination.
Some may feel that to be concerned about such things is being overly concerned about something that really doesn’t matter. Nothing could be further from the truth. God has never blessed those who went after other gods, even when it was done innocently. His judgment was always complete.
I believe God has many blessings for His church, but many are being held back because the church is afraid to turn loose of its ungodly traditions. Some traditions are good and are of God. Keep those! But the ones that are born out of a compromise with Satan should be cast out.
We as Christians are required to be obedient to God’s Word. We are to read and study His Word in order to know His will. God said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” God’s Word is true. His people do perish because they lack the knowledge to claim all the blessings that God has for them. However, we do not have to perish because we have the knowledge available. We have God’s Holy Word, the Bible, and we have the Holy Spirit as our teacher. We have no excuse. We must know God’s will and we must act on it.
Ask yourself this question. What would Jesus do? Would He celebrate Halloween? Would He title the celebration of His victory and Satan’s defeat with the name of a goddess that His Father commanded mankind to ignore?
Reference Scriptures:
“Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, ‘If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.’” (1 Samuel 7:3)
“For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. They have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David.” (1 Kings 11:5, 33)
“Then the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon.” (2 Kings 23:13)
“But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine. Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD or walked in His law, in His statutes or in His testimonies, therefore this calamity has happened to you, as at this day.” (Jeremiah 44:18, 23)
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6)
Devotion 0438
The Cutting Edge 
What a wonderful concise summary on the true back story of Easter. From my experience most so called Christians not only are unaware of this or seem not interested in truth. I say this because this is the reaction I usually get when sharing this with others. The religious organization leaders I’ve tried to discuss this with also turn a blind eye. Sad, truly sad. No wonder many (dare I say most) of today’s “Christians” are so woefully ignorant of biblical truth.
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