EXPLAINING PASSOVER TIMELINE

Transcription

1 EXPLAINING PASSOVER TIMELINE The first month of the year in the Hebrew is called the month of Aviv. Now some use the name Nisan, as the name of the first month, but the name Nisan comes from the Babylonian name not the Hebrew name. So before we get started, we need to understand that the 1 st month of the year according to Yahweh God our Elohim is the month of Aviv, not Nisan. Using the Babylonian name is not proper. The name Nisan is found in the book of Esther in the Tanakh but we know that it of Babylonian origin, and because everything we do here at Holy Impact Ministries is scriptural... you will find us using the Babylonian name of Aviv as the first month of the year... we will us the proper Hebrew name... the month of Aviv for this study. With that being said, I want to talk about this man made, man created, man fabricated, myth... called Good Friday from a biblical and scriptural standpoint. The whole idea of there even being such thing as this Catholic Created Good Friday is laughable on it's face, and we'll throw this to the ground beyond any argument as we move forward, but just think for a moment: If you were to ask a modern day professing Christian today... what day Yahshua (Jesus) was crucified on the cross, they would naturally... and wrongly... proclaim... Good Friday! Everyone knows that right? And when you ask that same modern day professing Christian to show you in the scripture alone... where it tells us that he was crucified on Good Friday... they will simply shrug their shoulders... because they don't have a scriptural foundation for what they believe. And I have found that many of them will simply talk in circles like a dog chasing it's tail, never offering any scriptural evidence for what they believe... because they simply can't. And when you ask them if there anniversary falls on a Friday every year, they will puzzlingly answer no... and when you ask them if their birthday falls on a Friday every year.. they will puzzlingly answer no... and when you ask them if anything kept annually ends up on the same day of the year every year, they will once again answer no... So when you ask them why they think that the anniversary of the death of our Messiah would end up on a Friday every year... once again... they have no answer. They have no idea... why they even believe what they believe. There is no Good Friday found anywhere in scripture. Just like the 1 st day of the week Sunday Sabbath. There is no such thing as a 1 st day of the week Sunday Sabbath ANYWHERE IN THE

2 SCRIPTURE! It's not in there and you can't find it, and the reason you can't find it is because... it's not in there. But they go on preaching and teaching there children and their grandchildren that its in there... even though... it is not. So lets take a look at some scriptural facts so that we can start off on the right foot. The first thing I want to do is to take a look at the three different translations of the word Passover. English= Passover, Hebrew = (Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew H6453) פ סח pesach, Greek = (Strongs G3957) πάσχα pascha NOW... Here are some things we need to remember as we move forward because if you don't know and understand these fundamental truths, you need to go back and read the scripture from the beginning. You need to go have a glass of the milk of Gods Word before you even think about getting into the meat of Gods Word.

3 A true Christian has been grafted into Gods Chosen Israelite people Read: Romans chapter 11, Galatians, 3:29, Jeremiah 31:33, Matthew 10:5-7 Understand that if you are a New Covenant Christian, that the New Covenant is only for The House of Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-33) This Feast day and all of the Feast days given in the Torah are not the Jews Feast Days! They are Yahweh's Fest Days (Exodus 12:11) These Feast Days that belong to Yahweh our Elohim are to be kept FOR ALL GENERATIONS FOREVER! (Exodus 12:14, Exodus 12:19) If you're still out there believing that you're part of some separate Gentile Church or some Elite group of people that have usurped Yahweh our Elohim's only chosen Israelite people, and the very house of David and the Tribe of Judah that our Messiah came out of then you're already lost! If you actually believe that nonsense you're living a lie, and you're chasing after man made, man created, man fabricated doctrines of demons. You need to come out of her lest you share in her plagues, for her iniquities are heaped as high as Heaven and he has remembered her iniquities, and you need to not walk but RUN from that man made theology, or you will be bound to share in her plagues just as our Messiah has already warned us the book of Revelation. It is not hard to understand these things:

4 E1 Deu 30:11 "For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. Deu 30:12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' Deu 30:13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' Deu 30:14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. Deu 30:15 "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. Deu 30:16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Deu 30:17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, Deu 30:18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, Deu 30:20 loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them." What is the Biblical definition of the love of God according to the New Testament? E2 1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. E3 1Jn 2:4 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 1Jn 2:5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 1Jn 2:6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. E4 Rom 3:31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

5 Alright now that we have taken a drink of some of the Milk of Yahweh's Word, lets get more into the Meat of it, and back to our Passover Time line. So lets go back to the beginning and lets take a look at the commandment of the Passover: E5 Exo 12:1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, Exo 12:2 "This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Exo 12:3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. Exo 12:4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Exo 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, Exo 12:6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. Exo 12:7 "Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. Exo 12:8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Exo 12:9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. Exo 12:10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. Exo 12:11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. Exo 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. Exo 12:13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. Exo 12:14 "This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. Exo 12:15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

6 Exo 12:16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. Exo 12:17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. Exo 12:18 In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. Exo 12:19 For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. Exo 12:20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread." So then... the question becomes... did our Messiah die on the Catholic created Good Friday or not? He could not have died on both the Catholic Created Good Friday and on Passover at the same time because the two days are completely different days, so if we're going to commemorate the anniversary of the death of our Messiah on the day he died... we need to find out where in the Scripture it says that he died. And I can even go one better than that my friends... I can even show you in the Scripture where our own Messiah with his own mouth, and his own breath, and his own voice stated clearly, unequivocally, and with out stutter the very day he would die... he told us which day it would be before he died he told us which day it would be. I want you to follow along with me as we nail this down and lock it down tight with in the Scripture: E6 Mat 26:1 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, Mat 26:2 "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified." Now with this scripture staring us in the face... red letter words from our Messiah himself... who specifically and unequivocally points to the very day of his crucifixion... how in the world... could we have the audacity... and the pomp... to call him a liar, and move this most Holy, Sanctified Day to accommodate a PAGAN FESTIVAL? TAKE A BREAK HERE? (Back w/ all 4 gospels agree, died on Pass.!!)

7 Another scriptural fact that we need to pay attention to is that all four gospels agree that our Messiah died on Passover day which was also known as Preparation Day for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Lets take a look at each of the 4 gospels to verify this scripturally, so that we can identify it as a fact. E7 GOSPEL OF MATTHEW: Mat 27:62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate Mat 27:63 and said, "Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise.' Mat 27:64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last fraud will be worse than the first." E8 GOSPEL OF MARK: Mar 15:42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Mar 15:43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Now many Christians get totally duped and deceived when they see this scripture in the book of Mark because they see that the next day was the Sabbath... so they automatically think it's going to be the 7 th Day Sabbath, not knowing that there are more Sabbaths than just the 7 th Day Sabbath according to scripture. And the reason they don't know this is because they don't read the first half of the book, so they don't know any better. So how is it, that the next day was a Sabbath? Well lets take a look at our Time Line Chart and some scriptures: E9 Lev 23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD's Passover. Lev 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. Lev 23:7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. Lev 23:8 But you shall present a food offering to the LORD for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work."

8 So we can see that the first day of Unleavened Bread which comes right after Passover Day is a High Sabbath Day where no work is to be done, and because we don't read the first half of the book... we don't know or understand these things... you can't read one half of any book... and think you know the story. Lets continue with the Gospel of Luke: E0 GOSPEL OF LUKE: Luk 23:54 It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. Luk 23:55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Luk 23:56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. So on the day after Passover which was the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread they rested because it was a High Sabbath for them as commanded in Leviticus 23:7... lets move onto the Gospel of John: GOSPEL OF JOHN: Joh 19:14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth

9 hour. He said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" Joh 19:15 They cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." Joh 19:16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, Joh 19:17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. Joh 19:18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. These scriptures leave no room for speculation or debate. Our Messiah was crucified on Passover day, also known as Preparation Day NOT GOOD FRIDAY EVERY YEAR! ACCORDING TO ALL FOUR GOSPELS AND THE MESSAIH HIMELF! We've also shown that according to scripture... he was not in the ground from Friday to Sunday which is only one day and two nights... but hat he was indeed just as he said he would be... in the ground for three days and for three nights according to scripture. How many days did our Messiah proclaim over and over again that he would be in the Earth? Was it two days and one night or was it THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS according to scripture? Mat 12:38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." Mat 12:39 But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Mat 12:40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Joh 2:18 So the Jews said to him, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?" Joh 2:19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Joh 2:20 The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" Joh 2:21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. Joh 2:22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. Even the Pharisees knew that Yahshua had proclaimed that he would rise not in two days.. but in three days:

10 Mat 27:62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate Mat 27:63 and said, "Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise.' Mat 27:64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last fraud will be worse than the first." So the question then begs... how do you get three days and three nights out of a crusifixtion that took place on Friday? The answer... you don't... it's mathematically impossible, and those who teach and preach such things know it. Jud 1:3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Jud 1:4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. These people who teach and preach Good Friday instead of Passover... are perverting the grace of our God into sensuality... (candy, brightly colored Easter eggs, and Easter bunnies, sun rise services, Easter bonnets, hot cross buns) all of it... nothing more than sensuality! And do you suppose that they are denying our only Master and Lord Yahshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ... by hiding the actual anniversary of his death, burial, and resurrection from his people?. You bet they are.. whether they know it or not... this is exactly what they are doing... they are perverting the grace of our God into sensuality, and denying our only Master and Lord Yahshua HaMashiach Jesus Christ his very remembrance. They have made void the Word of God in order to hold onto their own traditions, and this is exactly what the religious leaders of our Messiah's time were doing: Mat 15:6 he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. Mat 15:7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: Mat 15:8 "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; Mat 15:9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

11 Our objective here today is to prove beyond any doubt, beyond any argument, beyond any man man doctrine, theory, or theology... that Passover Day is indeed the anniversary of the death of our Messiah. There is no other day, there is no other weekend, there is no such thing as Good Friday, Easter, or Resurrection Sunday other than what the Passover brings. Passover is God ordained and God Sanctified... Easter is man ordained and man sanctified... it's just that simple, and we're going to prove that to you hear today beyond any argument that can be made, and beyond any doubt. Passover is the first festival of the season, and both Passover and Unleavened Bread are considered to be one feast not two different events. Passover comes one day before Unleavened Bread, hence, Passover was sometimes referred to the Day of Preparation. It was commanded in the book of Leviticus that the Israelite's removed all the Levin from there houses for the 7 days of Unleavened Bread. Leaven is a representation of sin according to the scripture. 1Co 5:7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 1Co 5:8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. This is significant when understanding the feast of Unleavened Bread and why our sinless Messiah was in the Earth with out sin for those three days and three nights, on the 1 st day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. SHOW PASSOVER TIMELINE HERE:

12 So first we have the Passover which is also known as the day of Preparation before Unleavened Bread, and it's important to understand that the first day of Unleavened Bread and the last day of Unleavened Bread were also known as a High Sabbath days: Lev 23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD's Passover. Lev 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. Lev 23:7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. Lev 23:8 But you shall present a food offering to the LORD for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work." The first day of Unleavened Bread, and the last day of Unleavened Bread were both High Sabbath days, where it's commanded that no work be done on these days. These are of course different and apart from our Elohim's 7 th Day Sabbath that he sanctified and set apart from all other days, and called Holy, and said would be a sign between him and his people. The Passover day commemorates the day that the Israelite's began their march out of Egypt during the Exodus. While Passover is a 1 day event... Matza or the beginning

13 of Unleavened Bread is a 7 day event totaling 8 days in all. Because the Exodus from Egypt happened so suddenly, there was no time for the Israelite's to prepare their staple food, they were in a hurry to get out of Egypt so there was no time to bake bread for the journey.. therefore they left the yeast or Leaven out of the bread and simply made a quick flat bread for the journey, and it was made in a pan much the way you would make a pancake. The last day is called Bikkurim also known as First Fruits. Firstfruits occurs the day immediately following the 1st day of Matza, aka Unleavened Bread. So we have the commencement of each festival on the 14th, 15th, and 16th of Aviv. The final day of the festival is the 21st of Aviv. The 14 th is Passover Day, the 15 is the start of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the 16 th is the 7 th Day Sabbath, and the 17 th is First Fruits where the High Priest is to wave the sheaf offering before Yahweh our Elohim to signify the reaping of the harvest. Lev 23:10 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the Firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, Lev 23:11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. I think it's safe to say that we've also shown that the word Easter never appears in any of the gospels or any of the letters to the churches, if fact.. the very word Easter is not found anywhere in the original transcripts in the Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic transcripts period... However... : I would like to address another mistake found in the King James Version of the Bible, and I know we have a lot of King James Version cultists out there who like to worship their translation of the Bible more than their Elohim, but we've shown several mistakes in King James Version, and I'd like to address and expose this one as well. In the King James Version of the Bible we find the word Easter used one time in Acts 12:4: Act 12:4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Now to prove that this word Easter was wrongly inserted by the translators appointed by King Jimmy... here are the facts:

14 Now with this in mind... the argument that the King James Cultists will make is this: We have to go back and read the scripture to understand their argument so lets take a closer look: Act 12:1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. Act 12:2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. Act 12:3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) Act 12:4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Acts 12 verse 3 is where they make their argument and their mistake at the same time. You see their argument is that at the time of the taking of Peter the days of Unleavened Bread were already going on so the Passover had already past, so naturally the Easter Event must have been coming up. Now this once again my friends comes from not reading the first half of the book. They did not know the customs, or how the Feast Days worked and they did not understand

15 the Hebrew culture or the 2 nd Temple Jewish culture of that time and so they completely drop the ball here in the book of Acts. Lets take a look at what the scripture really says: Eze 45:21 "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall celebrate the Feast of the Passover, and for seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten. You see the Passover was always considered part of Unleavened Bread they were not two separate Feast Days according to the Israelite and Jewish people... so when it tells us in Acts 12:3 that those where the days of Unleavened Bread, that included Passover and the Jews all understood that. Lets take a look at another scripture to see this: Luk 22:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. So you see my friends after properly translating Pascha 28 times... they wrongfully translated it as Easter just that one time in Acts 12:4... now you tell me my friends... why? Could it have anything to do with the fact that the King James Version of the Bible was being translated during the time of the Reformation? Could it have anything to do with any of these I'll let you ponder that one.

16 Not until after the Civil War did Americans begin celebrating this holiday: Easter first became an American tradition in the 1870s (p. 5). Remarkable! The original 13 colonies of America began as a Christian nation, with the cry of No king but King Jesus! The nation did not observe Easter within an entire century of its founding WHERE DID EASTER COME FROM: Since Bede the Venerable (De ratione temporum 1:5) the origin of the term for the feast of Christ s Resurrection has been popularly considered to be from the Anglo-Saxon Eastre, a goddess of spring the Old High German plural for dawn, eostarun; whence has come the German Ostern, and our English Easter (The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, Vol. 5, p. 6). The fact that vernal festivals were general among pagan peoples no doubt had much to do with the form assumed by the Eastern festival in the Christian churches. The English term Easter is of pagan origin (Albert Henry Newman, D.D., LL.D., A Manual of Church History, p. 299) On this greatest of Christian festivals, several survivals occur of ancient heathen ceremonies. To begin with, the name itself is not Christian but pagan. Ostara was the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring (Ethel L. Urlin, Festival, Holy Days, and Saints Days, p. 73) In Babylonia the goddess of spring was called Ishtar. She was identified with the planet Venus, which, because [it] rises before the Sun or sets after it appears to love the light [this means Venus loves the sun-god] In Phoenecia, she became Astarte; in Greece, Eostre [related to the Greek word Eos: dawn ], and in Germany, Ostara [this comes from the German word Ost: east, which is the direction of dawn] (Englehart, p. 4) The widely-known historian, Will Durant, in his famous and respected work, Story of Civilization, pp. 235, , writes, Ishtar [Astarte to the Greeks, Ashtoreth to the Jews], interests us not only as analogue of the Egyptian Isis and prototype of the Grecian Aphrodite and the Roman Venus, but as the formal beneficiary of one of the strangest of Babylonian customs known to us chiefly from a famous page in Herodotus: Every native woman is obliged, once in her life, to sit in the temple of Venus [Easter], and have intercourse with some stranger. A forty-day abstinence period was anciently observed in honor of the pagan gods Osiris,

17 Adonis and Tammuz (John Landseer, Sabaean Researches, pp. 111, 112) Alexander Hislops, The Two Babylons, pp , says this of the origin of Lent: The forty days abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshipers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent of forty days, in the spring of the year, is still observed by the Yezidis or Pagan Devil-worshipers of Kurdistan, who have inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians. Such a Lent of forty days was held in spring by the Pagan Mexicans Such a Lent of forty days was observed in Egypt The origin of the Easter egg is based on the fertility lore of the Indo-European races The egg to them was a symbol of spring In Christian times the egg had bestowed upon it a religious interpretation, becoming a symbol of the rock tomb out of which Christ emerged to the new life of His resurrection (Francis X. Weiser, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, p. 233) Around the Christian observance of Easter folk customs have collected, many of which have been handed down from the ancient ceremonial symbolism of European and Middle Eastern pagan spring festivals for example, eggs have been very prominent as symbols of new life and resurrection (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1991 ed., Vol. 4, p. 333) Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought, James Bonwick, pp : Eggs were hung up in the Egyptian temples. Bunsen calls attention to the mundane egg, the emblem of generative life, proceeding from the mouth of the great god of Egypt. The mystic egg of Babylon, hatching the Venus Ishtar, fell from heaven to the Euphrates. Dyed eggs were sacred Easter offerings in Egypt, as they are still in China and Europe. Easter, or spring, was the season of birth, terrestrial and celestial. The Easter bunny is not a true Christian symbol (John Bradner, Symbols of Church Seasons and Days, p. 52), and Although adopted in a number of Christian cultures, the Easter bunny has never received any specific Christian interpretation (Mirsea Eliade, The Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 558).