Timely Lessons from the Life of Hezekiah

God wants us to benefit from the examples He has recorded for us in the Bible. What can we learn from this king who lived so long ago?

With Passover approaching and the introspection one needs especially at this time of year, it seems timely to refer to the example God has given us in the Bible of King Hezekiah. The main accounts of Hezekiah’s reign are found in 2 Kings 18-20, Isaiah 36-39, and 2 Chronicles 29-32.

Remember Hezekiah came to the throne of Judah at the age of 25 years. He ruled with his whole heart by zealous enthusiasm for God, which spread to the people of Judah and throughout Israel. He showed great humility and wisdom and God caused him to prosper through tremendous blessings.

Hezekiah became famous for many things, but I want to look at just one of the reasons why God blessed Hezekiah so abundantly.

Ironically Hezekiah grew up under the rule of his wicked father Ahaz, so he didn’t exactly have a good role model to look to. King Ahaz faltered in every conceivable way against God, even sacrificing one of his sons to Molech through the fire (2 Kings:16:1-4


). Perhaps Ahaz had no time or interest in his son and instead Hezekiah was influenced by his mother Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. In any event, Hezekiah immediately changed everything once he assumed the throne and had the power to do so. God did not expect Hezekiah to take on the huge task of turning the kingdom around by himself. God gave Hezekiah the Hebrew prophet Isaiah to help him throughout his life.

Hezekiah immediately destroys pagan idols

In the first month of his reign, Hezekiah immediately got to work and smashed down all the pagan altars and wooden images throughout the hills of Judah. He began to clean out and repair the temple and restored temple worship. The temple had been neglected for many years to the point where the rooms were full of junk and rubbish, including idols in the sanctuary. Hezekiah gave orders for the Levites to begin the sanctification of the Lord’s house, for them and the animals slaughtered for sacrificial atonement of the sins for all Israel, and this was carried out quickly over 16 days, but not in time for the Passover. There was just so much to do in such a short period of time to be ready for the Passover. You can read about all the details in 2 Chronicles 29 and 30. Hence, King Hezekiah and his people kept a second Passover (Numbers:9:10-12

) and did so with such joy and enthusiasm that they kept the Days of Unleavened Bread for an additional seven days. Hezekiah began his reign with total heartfelt dedication and obedience to God. He also showed godly attitude and concern for his people

In 2 Kings:18:5-7

 we are told, “He (Hezekiah) trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went” (New King James Version). Despite the many accounts of others attempting to overthrow his rule, God blessed Hezekiah for success in conquering his enemies despite seemingly overwhelming odds, and so he conquered the Philistines and the relentless evil Sennacherib.

Hezekiah seeks God to fight for the people of Israel

The famous account of Sennacherib, king of Assyria in approximately 701 B.C., who attempted to overthrow and capture Jerusalem, is a very interesting read in 2 Kings 19. God intervened for Hezekiah by sending an angel to destroy 185,000 Assyrians in one night. Why did God do this? Hezekiah was faithful and sought God through prayer. Hezekiah listened to God through the prophet Isaiah despite Sennacherib’s false words and lies, trickery, cunning, deceit, ridicule, taunting, intimidation and reputation for severe cruelty. In 2 Kings:19:14-19




 and Isaiah:37:14-20





 you can read exactly what Hezekiah did when faced with these threats in the form of a delivered letter. His prayer was so heartfelt, humble and praiseworthy to God. God indeed listened to Hezekiah’s prayers and delivered His people.

Arrogant Sennacherib was feared by so many due to the abject terror he displayed, but as soon as he returned home to Nineveh he was brutally killed by his sons and his untimely end can be referred to in 2 Kings:19:36-37
.

God extends Hezekiah’s life

At some point after this Hezekiah became ill and was near death. Isaiah came to Hezekiah in the palace and told him that he must set his house in order, as he will shortly die. Upon hearing this proclamation Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to God and wept bitterly, asking nothing more than he be remembered for his loyalty (2 Kings:20:1-3

). Even before Isaiah left the building, God told him to return and tell Hezekiah that He saw his tears and He would heal him and add 15 years to his life. Isaiah returned and put figs on the boil of Hezekiah’s flesh and he was healed. 

God did even more than this for Hezekiah. He gave him a sign of his own choosing to know that he would be healed. Through the prophet Isaiah, God offered Hezekiah a choice of whether he wanted the shadow on the sundial to move forward or backward by ten degrees. Hezekiah reasoned that moving time backward would be more difficult, as time always moves forward. This is spoken of in 2 Kings:20:8-11


. Imagine God turning back time for one of us if we asked Him to! 

News of Hezekiah’s illness reaches Babylon

In 2 Kings:20:12-19






 we see that Berodach-Baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, and the Bible says that Hezekiah was responsive to this attention. So much so that Hezekiah welcomed him without regard to intent or purposes, and readily showed him everything he had in his treasury house, his entire armory, and all within his dominion. In fact, there was nothing that he did not show Berodach-Baladan. 

Obviously this was not a wise thing to do. Hezekiah got caught up rather naively in thinking that the king of Babylon and his son meant well and wanted to bring gifts as part of genuine concern for his health and well-being, and to show kindness and peace. Having had God work so miraculously in fighting his battles, news of Hezekiah and his success over the “undefeated” king of Assyria would have spread to far-off lands. It would appear that Hezekiah was caught in a weak moment of pride while abundance and peace prevailed. God allowed for Hezekiah to be tested so he would know exactly all that was in his heart. In 2 Chronicles:32:25-26
 we are told that Hezekiah’s heart was lifted up and that wrath was impending over him, Judah and Jerusalem. But “then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.” 

When Isaiah confronted Hezekiah by asking what the visitors had seen in his house, Hezekiah responded truthfully and told him that not one thing was held back from their sight. Isaiah then declared from the word of the Lord that everything Hezekiah and his fathers had accumulated until this time would be carried off to Babylon. Not only that, but some of Hezekiah’s sons would become eunuchs in the king of Babylon’s palace.

There are always consequences to each and every decision we make. God chose not to punish Hezekiah directly because of his repentant attitude, but the consequences would be put onto the forthcoming generations.

Some lessons for God’s people today

As soon as we understand we must show God obedience. If we put it off for tomorrow that is not being obedient. Be like Hezekiah. He went straightaway in prayer with the letter from Sennacherib and again when told he was about to die. Deal with all things in a timely and humble way. Go to God straightaway. Don’t be tempted to lean on your own understanding (Proverbs:3:5-6
).

God will always be there for us. We may not have Isaiah, but He has given us another, greater Helper. Read John:14:16-17
. The Helper is referred to as God’s Holy Spirit inJohn:14:26.Of course we know that the Holy Spirit is the very essence of the Father and the Son. Jesus was telling the disciples that He would help them.

If for some reason, through no fault of your own doing, you are unable to partake in the Passover despite making every effort to be ready, then God will accept you through the institution of the Second Passover. Do not be disappointed, depressed, sad or angry, but be ready and willing to wholeheartedly join in this celebration as God instructed inNumbers:9:10-12

. God is watching every one of us to see the manner in which we prepare for and keep His Feasts. Prepare well and thoroughly. Keep them in visible joy.

Pray

Prayer cannot ever be underestimated. Like Hezekiah, if we seek God out, He will be found. Do not take matters into your own hands like we sometimes want to do. Lay down your evidence from those against you before God and humbly state your case. He will justify you as long as you have and show total faith and trust in Him

Show God a humble, repentant attitude and heart. This is what pleases Him. Be like King Hezekiah and King David, both of whom had passionate humility, deeply feeling sorrow for their inappropriate actions to the very core of their hearts. God’s mercy is always available to people with a sincere and fully repentant attitude.

Don’t let your guard down. Despite the many blessings God gives to us each and every day, and the mighty battles He fights for us whether through trials and testing, or through vanquishing our enemies, be alert. Not all is as it appears. In Matthew:10:16 God tells us, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

Good Friday - Easter Sunday: It Doesn't Fit With the Bible!

Jesus Christ said He would be entombed for three days and three nights. Can this be reconciled with a “Good Friday” crucifixion and burial and an “Easter Sunday” resurrection, which allows for barely a day and a half in the tomb? Or do the Gospels spell out a surprising, simpler solution that fits perfectly with what Jesus foretold? 

In Matthew:12:38, we read where some of the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign to prove He was the Messiah. “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you,” they told Him (New International Version).

But Jesus responded that the only sign He would give was that of the prophet Jonah: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” ( Matthew:12:40).

Traditional view doesn’t fit

But how can we fit “three days and three nights” between a Friday afternoon crucifixion and entombment just before sundown and a Sunday morning resurrection at sunrise? This traditional view allows for Jesus to have been in the tomb for only a day and a half!

Some believe that Christ’s statement that He would be “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” does not require a literal span of 72 hours or even close to that. They reason that any part of a day, even just a few minutes, can be reckoned as a whole day.

Thus, since Jesus died in the afternoon and was entombed just before sunset, they think the closing few minutes of that Friday constituted the first day, Friday night was the first night, Saturday was the second day, Saturday night was the second night, and a few minutes at dawn on Sunday morning made up the third day.

But where, then, is the third night? Even if a few minutes of daylight late on Friday and another few on Sunday morning constitute “days,” this interpretation fails to explain how only two nights—Friday night and Saturday night—can somehow be the three nights of which Jesus spoke.

In fact, Scripture is plain that Jesus had already risen before Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early Sunday morning, arriving “while it was still dark” (John:20:1-2
). So in reality,no parts of Sunday could be counted as a day, as Jesus was already resurrected well before the break of dawn.

Jonah:1:17, to which Jesus referred, states specifically that “Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” We have no biblical basis for thinking that Jesus meant only two nights and one day, plus part of another day. If Jesus were in the tomb only from late Friday afternoon to early Sunday morning, then the sign He gave that He was the prophesied Messiah was not fulfilled.

So which is it? Is something wrong with Christ’s words, or is something wrong with the traditional view of when and how long He was in the tomb?

Let’s carefully examine the details from the Gospels. When we do, we uncover the real story of how Jesus’ words were fulfilled just as He said!

Two Sabbaths mentioned

Notice the sequence of events outlined in Luke 23. Jesus’ moment of death, as well as His hasty burial because of the oncoming Sabbath that began at sundown, is narrated inLuke:23:46-53






. Luke:23:54 then states, “That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.”

In Jewish society of that time, heavy cooking and housecleaning were done on the day before a Sabbath in preparation for it. Thus the day before the Sabbath came to be called “the preparation day” or simply “the preparation.” The biblical Sabbath falls on Saturday, the seventh day of the week. According to Bible reckoning, days begin at sunset (Leviticus:23:32; compare Genesis:1:5, Genesis:1:8, Genesis:1:13), so all weekly Sabbaths start Friday evening at sundown.

Based on these facts, many people have assumed that it is the weekly Sabbath mentioned here, and that Jesus was therefore crucified on a Friday. But two types of “Sabbaths” are mentioned in the Scriptures—the regular weekly Sabbath day, which fell on the seventh day of the week, and seven annual Holy Days (listed in Leviticus 23), Sabbaths that could—and usually did—fall on days of the week other than the regular weekly Sabbath day.

Was the day after Jesus was crucified a weekly Sabbath, or one of these annual Holy Days?

John:19:31 clearly states that this approaching Sabbath “was a high day.” This term does not refer to the weekly Sabbath (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), but in this context to the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, one of God’s annual Holy Days (Exodus:12:16-17
; Leviticus:23:6-7
). A number of Bible commentaries, encyclopedias and dictionaries will confirm that John is not referring to the weekly Sabbath here, but rather to one of the annual Sabbaths.

According to the biblical calendar, in that year this high-day Sabbath fell on a Thursday (meaning it began on Wednesday night at sunset). We can confirm this by looking at the details in the Gospel accounts—which show us that two separate Sabbath days are mentioned.

Luke:23:55-56
 tells us that the women, after seeing Christ’s body being laid in the tomb just before sundown, “returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils” for the final preparation of the body.

They would not have done such work on a Sabbath day, weekly or annual, since it would have been considered a Sabbath violation. This is verified by Mark’s account, which states: “Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices [which they could not have purchased on a Sabbath day], that they might come and anoint Him” (Mark:16:1).

The women had to wait until this Sabbath was over before they could buy and prepare the spices to be used for anointing Jesus’ body. Then, Luke:23:56 tells us that, after purchasing and preparing the spices and oils on Friday, “they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment”—which means they had to have acquired the spicesbefore that Sabbath on which they rested. This second Sabbath mentioned in the Gospel accounts is the regular weekly Sabbath, observed from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

By comparing details in both Gospels—where Mark tells us the women bought spices afterthe Sabbath and Luke relates that they prepared the spices before resting on the Sabbath—we can clearly see that two different Sabbaths are being discussed here.

The first, as John:19:31 tells us, was a “high day”—the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread—which fell on a Thursday that year. The second was the weekly seventh-day Sabbath.

Sign of the Messiah

After the women rested on the regular weekly Sabbath, they went to Jesus’ tomb early on the first day of the week (Sunday), “while it was still dark” (John:20:1), and found that He had already been resurrected (Matthew:28:1-6




; Mark:16:2-6



; Luke:24:1-3

). Jesus was not resurrected at sunrise on Sunday morning. When Mary Magdalene arrived “while it was still dark” she found the stone rolled away and the tomb already empty!

When we consider the details in all four Gospel accounts, the picture is clear. Jesus was crucified and entombed late on Wednesday afternoon, just before a Sabbath began at sunset. However, that was a high-day Sabbath, lasting from Wednesday sunset to Thursday sunset that week, rather than the regular weekly Sabbath that lasted from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

While no one witnessed Jesus’ resurrection (which took place inside a sealed tomb), to fit His words and the biblical evidence it had to have happened three days and three nights from Wednesday near sunset until Saturday near sunset—with Jesus leaving His tomb at the end of the weekly Sabbath.

This time line perfectly accommodates three nights (Wednesday night, Thursday night and Friday night) and three daylight periods (Thursday, Friday and Saturday). This is the onlytime that fits Jesus’ own prophecy of how long He would be in the tomb. And, as we have seen, it fits perfectly with all the details recorded in the Gospels.

We can be assured that the entombment period Jesus gave as proof He was the Messiah was the very duration He foretold.

Because most people do not understand the biblical Holy Days Jesus Christ and His followers kept, they fail to understand the chronological details so accurately preserved for us in the Gospels!

An Easter Gift for You

Scripture: “Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, ” John 11:25

During Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This event is the key to understanding the Christian faith. Without Easter morning, what Jesus taught and modeled would only bring us condemnation. “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” I Corinthians 15:17 Let’s learn more about the special Easter gift God has for you.

Love

At the time of Jesus’ coming, the Bible already had many detailed predictions about Jesus’ death on the cross. His own words in Matthew 12:40, Mark 8:31 and John 2:19-21 show He knowingly and willingly went to the cross. “No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily...” (John 10:18). His death was not by accident. It was not for His own glory. He died to rescue us from our sins. “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8)

Life

Easter is not just about the death of Jesus. His resurrection was a victory! Because He conquered death, we can be sure of the resurrection He promises for those who believe in Him. “‘Death is swallowed up in victory’...But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54,57). Jesus’ triumph over death keeps us from spending eternity separated from God.

Hope

Many religious leaders tell of various ways to reach heaven. Yet, no others have shown proof that theirs is the true way. “Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said...After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive…” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

Jesus predicted His own death and resurrection, and then he accomplished it. He also promised to prepare a place in heaven for all who believe in Him. (John 14:1-6) He Himself is the bridge to eternal life. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Will you accept this Easter Gift for yourself? Click here to accept God’s gift of eternal life.

What is Palm Sunday?

Scripture: “And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting,“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest." (Matthew 21:9)

A Triumphant Entry

On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem with an adoring crowd shouting praises and blessings. Some of them thought their conquering hero had finally arrived to help them throw off the chains of the evil Roman empire. So they quoted Scripture by saying Hosanna, “save now!” (Psalm 118:25-26) as an ancient prophecy about the Messiah riding into the city was being fulfilled. (Zechariah 9:9)

It All Went Wrong

Yet the animal he rode was not a tall, powerful war horse, but a humble donkey. And the destiny he rode toward was not to rule an earthly kingdom, but to give up his life. He was to be crowned, not with gold, but with thorns. In a few short days, another crowd would be shouting, not to praise him, but to send him to his death.

The dreams of Jesus’ followers were shattered – and his disciples scattered – when their hero was unjustly tried, mocked, spit upon, cruelly beaten, and then nailed to a cross to die. His friends wondered, how could God let this happen?

All in God’s Plan

Yet it was exactly as the Father had planned it. On the cross, Jesus took on himself the guilt of an entire world’s sin. He was punished so that we would not have to be. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” he didn’t mean that his life was over, but that he had done what he had set out to do. At the moment of his death, the veil in the temple was torn in two (Matthew 27:51), showing that the wall separating God and man was now shattered.

So in what seemed like history’s darkest moment, God was accomplishing the greatest thing ever – the salvation of mankind.

Our Hope Born in Apparent Tragedy

“He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. “(2 Corinthians 5:21) Just like the original man and woman in the Garden of Eden, the crowds proved they were easily swayed. They were praising Him one day and calling for His crucifixion another. Although they didn’t fully understand, their cry of “save now!” was fulfilled in a way they could have never anticipated: “He came unto His own, and His own people did not receive Him, but to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be the children of God, to those who believe on His name.” (John 1:11-12)

How Christian Is Easter?

Where do you get your religious beliefs? Easter is the most important holiday for hundreds of millions of people. Anyone who claims to be Christian should want God to guide and lead them. But could you be misled?

I’m reminded of counterfeit money. Did you know that you could be carrying a worthless bill and not even know it? Counterfeiters are often successful because they make their fakes look like the real thing. Forgery is one of the oldest crimes in history, but it doesn’t just affect money.

Today a much greater counterfeit is so successful that most people don’t even realize they’re deceived. What counterfeit? The religion known as Christianity, as surprising as that may be! Jesus Himself warned about religious counterfeits, saying, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew:24:24).

Deceptive religion and its wrong traditions have been foisted on the world by the greatest forger in the universe, Satan the devil (1 John:5:19; Revelation:12:9). Could religious celebrations like Easter be part of that? Let’s examine three ways to answer the question posed by the title of this article: How Christian is Easter?

A lesson in Satan’s deceptive techniques

To begin to understand how Satan uses religion to confuse and deceive, we need to go back to the beginning—back to the Garden of Eden. And here’s where we find our first point: Satan leads people to decide good and evil for themselves and fools them by making evil look good.

The Bible is clear that God wanted to guide Adam and Eve. But Satan was in the business of deception right from the very beginning. He knew exactly how to make his counterfeit sense of good and evil pass for the real thing.

So how did he do it? He lied. He told Adam and Eve that if they ate of the forbidden fruit, “You will not surely die” (Genesis:3:4). In fact, he contradicted God. But it wasn’t all lies. He also said, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis:3:5).

Did you catch the deception? Part of it was true—the knowledge of good and evil part, but it was only in the sense of acting as God in deciding what is right and wrong. God had placed two trees in the garden—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God wanted to lead Adam and Eve, and for them to choose life. But when they chose the wrong tree, they chose to decide for themselves what was good and bad, rejecting the real truth as to what is good and bad as determined by God.

So right at the very start, our ancestors began rejecting God’s guidance—and that tendency has continued down to this day.

This tells us a lot about the state of our world—it’s filled with error that seems to be truth, fable that seems to be fact, bad that seems to be good. At times it’s hard to tell the difference between the real thing and an evil counterpart. Why? Because of relying on faulty human judgment—especially as perpetuated over many generations. As Proverbs states, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death (Proverbs:14:12;Proverbs:16:25).

Some things seem good and right, but the devil cleverly makes them appear as though they were not evil. Sometimes he does this by mixing in some elements that truly are good as determined by God—though corrupted in context.

And he is so devious in his deception that it will hurt you. He kept Adam and Eve from God, and he wants to keep you from having a great relationship with God, too. He’s also affected Christianity and its customs and practices and wants to deceive everyone so they won’t understand God’s truth.

Sadly, most can’t discern the real from the replica. God’s true days of worship found in the Bible are priceless, but the devil has crafted multiple forgeries—fraudulent, cheap copies of what God gave us that is valuable and good.

It’s true with money. It’s true in religion as well. Satan uses his advanced counterfeiting techniques. He’s constantly working to get you to trust your own sense of right and wrong, following what looks good to you (as influenced by him), rather than listen to and trust what God has to say. Instead you must “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs:3:5).

As with Adam and Eve, God wants to lead you. He wants to guide you in truth and in love. He wants you to honor Him in the way that He directs. And that includes observing the days and the ways that truly honor Him as revealed in the Bible. That’s where God’s Holy Days come into the picture—as opposed to humanly devised holidays and religious traditions.

That’s why it’s important for us to answer the question, “How Christian is Easter?” We first have to recognize the disguising of error as truth, often by the inclusion of some actual truth out of proper context.

Once you understand Satan’s tactic in this, it’s time to take the next step of recognizing Easter for what it is—a counterfeit.

Easter’s ancient, pre-Christian origins

Do you know where Easter celebrations originated? It may seem hard to believe, but they began hundreds of years before Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection!

Genesis 10 tells how, several thousand years ago, people gathered into cities and opposed God. Remember the story? They began to build a massive skyscraper called the Tower of Babel.

Here again we find the devil at work. This time he inspired and used this kingdom of Babylon to help with his slick counterfeiting job. God finally confused the people’s language, and they were scattered over the earth (Genesis:11:9).

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus records what they took with them. What was it? Their religious beliefs and rituals. He wrote that Babylon was the prime source of evil from which all systems of idolatry and false worship flowed.

Did it affect Christianity? Here’s where the story gets very interesting!

The Babylonian fertility gods were Tammuz and Ishtar. Ancient tribes of Europe worshipped a variation of that goddess of spring named Eostre. Do you realize that the word Easter is a variation of this name?

The notable British historian Sir James Frazer writes:

“Under the names of Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis, and Attis, the peoples of Egypt and Western Asia represented the yearly decay and revival of life . . . which they personified as a god who annually died and rose again from the dead. In name and detail the rites varied from place to place: in substance they were the same” ( The Golden Bough, 1993, p. 325).

Alan Watts, in his book Easter: Its Story and Meaning, further explains:

“It would be tedious to describe in detail all that has been handed down to us about the various rites of Tammuz, Adonis . . . and many others . . . But their universal theme—the drama of death and resurrection—makes them the forerunners of the Christian Easter, and thus the first ‘Easter services.’ As we go on to describe the Christian observance of Easter we shall see how many of its customs and ceremonies resemble these former rites” (1950, p. 58).

Yes, history records that centuries before the death and resurrection of Christ, there were already ancient Easter celebrations—springtime fertility festivals honoring resurrection and worship of the rising sun long before Jesus’ birth! This is where we get such popular Easter symbols as rabbits and eggs, which were popular fertility symbols centuries prior to Christianity.

Long before Jesus Christ gave His life as an offering for our sins and was raised to life again, the world had already accepted Satan’s substitute—a counterfeit of how God intends us to worship!

But does it matter to God? Notice what He inspired the apostle Paul to write:

“What do right and wrong have in common? Can light and darkness be friends? How can Christ and Satan agree? . . . How can the temple of the true God and the statues of other gods agree? . . . ‘So come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord’” (2 Corinthians:6:14-17


, New International Reader’s Version).

You see, God wants us to understand the difference, because one thing counterfeiters rely on is ignorance. If you’re unfamiliar with what genuine currency should look like, it’s easier to be fooled. The U.S. Secret Service has 20 Web pages under the title “Know Your Money.” It tells us, “Those who fail to carefully examine the money they receive . . . are potential victims.”

It’s no different when it comes to counterfeit holidays and religion because they also thrive on people’s ignorance—ignorance of the Bible. And that leads us to the third way to answer the question: How Christian is Easter?

How does God want us to worship?

As we have seen, the Easter holiday is unbiblical. It is a counterfeit. But a counterfeit of what? You see, God has other ways He directs us to worship.

Do you know for yourself what the Word of God actually says, or could you be fooled? Several years ago LifeWay Research surveyed American churchgoers and found that 90 percent of them “desire to please and honor Jesus” in all they do. That’s very good! But it also found that more than 80 percent don’t read their Bibles daily!

That’s an amazing disconnect. How can you honor God if you don’t know and haven’t read what actually pleases Him? You can’t honor God with the counterfeit because it’s worthless to Him. So if you’re unaware of what Jesus actually taught, you’re easy prey for an empty imitation!

By not really understanding the Bible, you could be easily distracted. That’s another tactic counterfeiters rely on— diversion. When people pass phony bills, they try to focus the cashiers on other things, hoping they don’t check the money until it’s way too late.

Most Christians aren’t on the lookout for a counterfeiter either. Most just want a church they like, so even a cheap imitation will do. Manmade holidays deflect attention and concentrate on less important issues. You see, if you feel good about what you’re doing, it doesn’t make that much difference what you’re taught. Some churches appeal to that. They appeal to your emotions by talking a lot about love and feelings.

But let me tell you why that’s dangerous: It can cause you to choose what you believe and what you practice based on how you feel rather than on God’s clear teaching in the Bible. As we’ve already seen, God warns us that a way can seem right to people but lead to death. His Word explicitly tells us not to try to honor Him with pagan religious customs (Deuteronomy:12:19-32












). And it’s important that we follow exactly what He says.

That’s the issue! The devil wants you to have religion—but one that only resembles true worship so he can keep you in the dark. God, on the other hand, wants you to become an expert at identifying the counterfeits so you don’t fall for an imitation. Here’s how you can begin: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy:2:15, Revised Standard Version).

That means you should carefully examine what you believe and what you practice and make sure it agrees with the Bible. Just claiming something is Christian, or just saying it honors God, doesn’t make it acceptable to Him. Did you know that the Bible doesn’t mention the early Christians celebrating Easter? They had nothing to do with this holiday. Instead, they kept the Passover and the other festivals of the Bible (Luke:22:8, Luke:22:11, Luke:22:13,Luke:22:15; 1 Corinthians:5:7-8
; Acts:18:20-21
; Acts:20:16).

Passover, along with the other true biblical festivals—that’s the real thing. Easter is just a cheap imitation. Jesus Himself gave Passover even deeper meaning under the New Covenant.

And He expected His followers to continue observing the New Testament Passover. As Paul explained, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians:11:26). The Bible nowhere tells us to have a special celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection—much less with a recycled pre-Christian observance. But Jesus explicitly tells us to have a specific memorial of His true Passover sacrifice—His death for our sins (1 Corinthians:11:23-28




).

The big switch

So, you may ask, with such clear instruction, how did Easter replace the Passover?

Notice carefully what noted historian Will Durant wrote: “Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it” ( The Story of Civilization, Caesar and Christ, Part 3, 1944, p. 595, emphasis added throughout). That’s amazing! And yes, after the original apostles passed from the scene, Christianity underwent an astounding transformation.

Sir James Frazer, quoted earlier, noted that Easter followed the pattern of Christmas (another festival of pre-Christian origin) in being accepted and promoted as the Roman church—now the center of the religion—compromised with paganism:

“Motives of the same sort may have led the ecclesiastical authorities to assimilate the Easter festival of the death and resurrection of their Lord to the festival of the death and resurrection of another Asiatic god which fell at the same season. Now the Easter rites still observed in Greece, Sicily and southern Italy bear in some respects a striking resemblance to the rites of Adonis . . . The Church may have consciously adapted the new festival to its heathen predecessor for the sake of winning souls to Christ” (Frazer, p. 359).

If you look into history, about 300 years after Christ the Roman Emperor Constantine became the greatest promoter of non-biblical Christianity. Expanding his empire and uniting the Roman church included the three things we’ve been talking about: disguising evil as good, accepting a substitute, and a true lack of biblical understanding.

Those early church leaders believed they could choose their own times and ways to worship. New converts from paganism didn’t need to throw away their religious traditions and rituals. Those counterfeit sacraments and artificial practices were absorbed right into this very different version of Christianity.

But God doesn’t mince words. The Bible tells us, “If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life” (Revelation:22:18).

Is Easter Christian?

The bottom line is that Easter does not and cannot represent a resurrected Jesus. Like any counterfeit, it’s hollow. It’s empty because God didn’t design it. Instead, it perpetuates the ungodly practice of honoring false gods.

Notice what Paul writes about mixing idolatrous pagan practices with true Christianity:

“What I am saying is that these sacrifices which people make are made to demons and not to God. I don’t want you to be partners with demons. You cannot drink the Lord’s cup and the cup of demons. You cannot participate at the table of the Lord and at the table of demons” (1 Corinthians:10:20-21
, God’s Word Translation).

So remember: Easter is a product of people determining for themselves good and evil under Satan’s influence. Easter is a counterfeit of how God intends us to worship Him. And Easter is not biblical. God has other ways He directs us to worship.

So isn’t it time to take a more meaningful approach to religion than such holidays? God gives us a much more important alternative—the genuine article, which is authentic Christianity. And it’s not found in Easter or any manmade holiday, but instead by worshipping God in spirit and in truth—on the days He commands!