The Truth Will Make You Free – Time For Some Truth

In Israel/Yisrael/יִשְׂרָאֵל and wherever Jewish people are around the world, they are often heard saying: The holidays are late this year or The holidays are early this year. However, the holidays never are early or late; they are always on time, according to the Hebrew calendar. Why? Because it is based on our Heavenly Fathers Word. He is the Creator of all things and King of the Universe/ Melek HaOlam.

Unlike the Gregorian (civil) calendar, which is based on the sun/solar, the Hebrew/Israelite calendar is based primarily on the moon/lunar, with periodic adjustments made to account for the differences between the solar and lunar cycles. Therefore, the Jewish calendar might be described as both solar and lunar.

The moon takes an average of twenty-nine and one-half days to complete its cycle; twelve lunar months equal 354 days. A solar year is 365 1/4 days. There is a difference of eleven days per year. To ensure that the Hebraic/Jewish holidays always fall in the proper season, an extra month is added to the Hebrew calendar seven times out of every nineteen years. If this were not done, the fall harvest festival of Sukkot, for instance, would sometimes be celebrated in the summer, or the spring holiday of Passover/Pesach would sometimes occur in the winter.

Hebrew/Israelite days are reckoned from sunset to sunset rather than from dawn or midnight. The basis for this is biblical. In the story of Creation Genesis 1, each day concludes with the phrase: And there was evening and there was morning. . .

Since evening is mentioned first, the ancient rabbis concluded that in a day, evening precedes morning.

A List of Our Heavenly Fathers’ Appointed Times/ Moedim for this year.

There are four Spring moedim and three Fall moedim. 

מועדים   pronounced: Mo-ahd-eem,

Spring Moedim:

Passover – Pesach

Feast of Unleavened Bread – Hag HaMatzot

First Fruits – Yom Habikkurim

Festival of Weeks (Pentecost) – Shavuot

Fall Moedim:

Feast of Trumpets – Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah)

Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur

Feast of Tabernacles – Sukkot

A brief review of the Moedim with dates for this year; for those new to this understanding of the Biblical Calendar.

The Spiritual New Year always begins with the

Spring Appointed Times which in some lists include other events/minor festivals, as well as the 7 Moedim:

In 2022, 14th day of Adar 5783

Purim  פּוּרִים ; “lots”, from the word פור, “pur”

Also (plural) Puwriym {poo-reem’}; or Puriym {poo-reem’}; from puwr; a lot (as by means of a broken piece) 

Strong’s Hebrew: 6332. פּוּר (Pur) — “a lot,” a Jewish feast

Upcoming Purim dates include:

2022, Mar 16 – Mar 17

2023, Mar 06 – Mar 07

2024, Mar 23 – Mar 24

Purim is an unusual holiday in many respects. First, Esther is the only biblical book in which God is not mentioned. Second, Purim, like Hanukkah, is viewed as a minor festival according to Jewish custom, but has been elevated to a major holiday as a result of the Jewish historical experience. Over the centuries, Haman has come to symbolize every anti-Semite in every land where Jews were oppressed. The significance of Purim lies not so much in how it began, but in what it has become: a thankful and joyous holiday that affirms and celebrates Jewish survival and continuity throughout history.

The main communal celebration involves a public reading of the Book of Esther (M’gillat Esther)

Strong’s Hebrew: 4039. מְגִלָּה (megillah) — a scroll

This book tells the story of the holiday: Under the rule of King Ahashverosh, Haman, the king’s adviser, plots to exterminate all of the Jews of Persia. His plan is foiled by Queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai, who ultimately save the Jews of Persia from destruction.

 For those new to mmm, a very warm welcome and there is more information on each of the moedim, click on  links below each one.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/who-was-hadassah/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/double-take-and-casting-lots/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/if-i-perish-i-perish-remembering-purim/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/what-has-a-flower-got-to-do-with-a-servant-heart-salvation-and-a-bridegroom/

In 2022, Passover – פסח

starts on Friday April 15th. 15-22 Nisan

Upcoming Passover dates include:

2022, Apr 15 – Apr 22

2023, Apr 05 – Apr 12

2024, Apr 22 – Apr 29

Passover פסח

Strong’s Hebrew: 6453. פָּ֫סַח (pesach) — passover

Pesach in Hebrew is a major spring festival celebrating freedom and family as the Exodus from Egypt more than 3,000 years ago is remembered. The main observances of this holiday center around a special home service called the seder, which includes a meal, the prohibition on eating chametz, and the eating of matzah.

Chametz (also spelled “hametz” or “chometz”) is any food product made from wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt that has come into contact with water and been allowed to ferment and “rise.”. In practice, just about anything made from these grains—other than Passover matzah, which is carefully controlled to avoid leavening.““““““

 

On the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, people gather with family and friends in the evening to read from a book called the Haggadah, meaning “telling,” which contains the order of prayers,  scripture readings, and songs for the Passover seder. The same that Jesus/Yeshua celebrated with His disciples.

הַגָּדָה, pronounced hah-GOH-doh;

The Haggadah helps to retell the events of the Exodus, so that each generation may learn and remember this story that is so central to Hebrew/Jewish life and history.

Passover/Pesach is celebrated for either seven or eight days, depending on family and community custom. In Israel and for most  around the world, Passover is seven days, but for many others, it is eight days. This includes the days of Unleavened Bread.

Immediately following is

the seven-week period between Pesach/Passover and Shavuot/pentecost, a period of time is known as the Omer.

The Omer has both agricultural and spiritual significance: it marks both the spring cycle of planting and harvest, and the Israelites’ journey out of slavery in Egypt (Passover) and toward receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai (Shavuot). An omer (“sheaf”) is an ancient Hebrew measure of grain. Biblical law forbade any use of the new barley crop until after an omer was brought as an offering to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Book of Leviticus (23:15-16) also commanded: “And from the day on which you bring the offering…you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete.”

This commandment led to the practice of the S’firat HaOmer,

or the 49 days of the “Counting of the Omer,”

which begins on the second day of Passover and ends with the celebration of Shavuot on the 50th day.

 

Hag HaMatzot First Fruits – Yom Habikkurim Festival of

Links below for more posts on:

Passover, First Fruits, Seder Meal, Unleavened Bread, Afikomen & Omer…

https://www.minimannamoments.com/revealing-the-overcoming-resheet-of-bikkurim/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/midweek-mannabite-secrets-of-the-seder-plate/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/afikomen-mysterious-and-hidden/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/unleavened-bread-matzot-week/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/first-fruits/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/13-for-supper-and-only-4-cups/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/counting-our-blessings-with-omer/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/palm-sunday-nisan-the-appointed-time-of-the-lamb/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/not-passing-over-passover-week/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/a-lot-can-happen-in-a-week/

SHAVUOT

In 2022, Shavuot Pentecost starts on Saturday June 4th. : 6 Sivan

Upcoming Shavuot dates include:

2022, Jun 04 – Jun 05

2023, May 25 – May 26

2024, Jun 11 – Jun 12

Shavuot (שָׁבוּעוֹת)

is the Hebrew word for “weeks,”

and the holiday occurs seven weeks after Firstfruits/Passover/Unleavened Bread.

Shavuot, like many other Jewish holidays, began as an ancient agricultural festival that marked the end of the spring barley harvest and the beginning of the summer wheat harvest. In ancient times, Shavuot was one of three pilgrimage festivals during which Israelites brought crop offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem. Today, it is a celebration of

the giving of Torah (Matan Torah – מַתַּן תּוֹרָה)

to the Israelites in the wilderness. It also marks the culmination of the experience of redemption, sometimes called Atzeret Pesach, the Gathering of Passover.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/50-days-later-an-earthly-and-spiritual-harvest-pentecost-shavuot/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/shavuot-2-x-3000-a-marriage-made-in-heaven-conclusion/

ROSH HASHANAH

Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה

1 Tishrei, 2 Tishrei

In 2022, Rosh HaShanah starts on Sunday September 25th.

Upcoming Rosh HaShanah dates include:

2022, Sep 25 – Sep 27

2023, Sep 15 – Sep 17

Rosh HaShanah (literally, “Head of the Year”) is the Jewish New Year, a time of prayer, self-reflection, and repentance/ t’shuvah.

It is an appointed time in which we can review our actions during the past year, and look for ways to improve ourselves, in the coming year. The holiday marks the beginning of a 10-day period, known as the Yamim Nora-im /Days of Awe or High Holidays, ushered in by Rosh HaShanah and culminating with Yom Kippur/the Day of Atonement.

Rosh HaShanah is celebrated on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, which – because of differences in the solar and lunar calendar – corresponds to September or October on the Gregorian or secular calendar. Customs associated with the holiday include sounding the shofar, eating a round challah, and tasting apples and honey to represent a sweet New Year.

The Fall Moedim • Yom Teruah (Trumpets)

Date Of Moed: 1st Day of 7th Month (Tishri – September / October) 

https://www.minimannamoments.com/returning-to-your-first-love/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/apocalypse-of-the-teruahs-cry/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/midweek-mannabite-the-sound-of-the-trumpet/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/blowing-your-own-trumpet-2/

 

YOM KIPPUR

Day of Atonement – יום כפור

In 2022, Yom Kippur starts on Tuesday October 4th. Tisrei 10 9 days after the first day of Rosh Hashanah.

Upcoming Yom Kippur dates include:

2022, Oct 04 – Oct 05

2023, Sep 24 – Sep 25

Yom Kippur means Day of Atonement and refers to the annual observance of fasting, prayer, and repentance. It is part of the High Holidays, which also includes Rosh HaShanah /the Civil New Year in Israel, Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day on the calendar.

Yom Kippur is the moment in time when our mind, body, and soul are dedicated to reconciliation with our Heavenly Father and our fellow human beings. As the New Year begins, we are called to commit to self-reflection and inner change.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/at-one-ment-with-the-one-you-love/

 

 

SUKKOT

סֻכּוֹת ‎

In 2022, Sukkot starts on Sunday October 9th. 15-21 Tishrei 5783

Upcoming Sukkot dates include:

5783 2022, Oct 09 – Oct 16

5785 2023, Sep 29 – Oct 06

 

Sukkot is one of the most joyful festivals on the Hebraic calendar. Sukkot is a Hebrew word meaning booths or huts and refers to the Appointed Time of giving thanks for the fall harvest. The holiday has also come to commemorate the 40 years of the Israelites wandering in the desert after the giving of the Torah atop Mt. Sinai.

Sukkot is also called Z’man Simchateinu /Season of Our Rejoicing/time of our joy, as it is the only festival associated with a specific commandment to rejoice. Sukkot is celebrated five days after Yom Kippur on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, and is marked by several distinct traditions. One, which takes the commandment to dwell in booths literally, is to build a sukkah, a small, temporary booth or hut. Sukkot, the plural of sukkah, are used for eating, entertaining and even for sleeping during the seven-day festival.

They have open walls and open doors, and this encourages a welcome to as many people as possible, inviting family, friends, neighbors, and community to rejoice, eat, and share with each other.

Another name for Sukkot is Tabernacles and another is Chag HaAsif/Festival of the Ingathering, representing the importance of giving thanks for the bounty of the earth, as well as future prophetic meaning when Messiah will tabernacle/make His home with us forever.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/sukkot-the-promise-of-a-permanent-dwelling-place/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/sheltering-presence-god/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/the-sheltering-presence-of-god-cont/

As we are about to begin the

Spring Moedim/Appointed Times….

it is important for us to have some insight into our calendar and its holidays/holy days.

Each year in the springtime, the mainstream Christian world celebrates a holiday called Easter. Many assume that the name of this holiday easter, originated with the resurrection of Messiah Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach but as the information provided here will reveal, this spring tradition of men is actually an older and far less ‘holy’ day than one would think. 

This post is not in any way negating the season and appointed time of Jesus/Yeshuas’ sacrificial, substitutionary death and resurrection; rather an eyeopener to the truth behind the name easter which so many of grew up with and no one told us what it really stands for!

The truth about the name Easter is that we can get so caught up in traditions of men that have grown over time connected to that which is behind the name, that we miss the crucial point of it all. Jesus/Yeshua and His disciples didn’t have eggs, rabbits or a pretty basket.

This is not an attempt to try and spoil our joy but rather an effort to open our eyes to what we have now become accustomed to and as a tradition of men, it is making the word of God of no effect. We need to ask ourselves, where in scripture is the word Easter to be found? Where are we told to celebrate Easter? It is not in there because it is called Passover/Pesach in Hebrew. It is the commemoration of the passing over of the death angel before the children of Israel, the Hebrews made their Exodus from Egypt. The reason they were Passed over was

because of the blood of the Phascal/Passover lamb

placed on the doorposts and lintel of their homes. There was no rabbit, no eggs, or other decorative motifs of western easter decor.  it was life or death and depended on their

trust/faith in the blood of the lamb!

We are mixing holy thing with unholy things when we incorporate the worldly easter traditions and iconography. Can we really believe this is pleasing to our Heavenly Father? Where in the Word of God are any instructions of such easter celebrations? Did the disciples and apostles follow the easter traditions that are not based on any scriptural instruction?

It’s Time For Some Truth

because

The Truth Will Make You Free –

There is so much truth contained in the 7 Appointed times that our Heavenly Father set in His calendar and Jesus /Yeshua is the central focus in them ALL! The old covenant/testament fulfilled in the new.

The following extensive list of quotes have been compiled from researching valid and scholarly sources and it would not take but a few clicks on the internet for any reader to confirm them:

The purpose is to reveal the truth about the origins of this spring ‘Christianized’ pagan holiday.

The point is not so much the hidden meanings of the symbols and story but that of how our hearts are before our Creator, Savior and soon returning King.

Do we decide and choose what days to observe and celebrate, or does Our Heavenly Father? The Bible tells us that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. After reading though them and discerning the truth hopefully it will be helpful information for use in explaining to others the roots of our ‘christian traditions’; and for us to follow His lead – away from non-biblical holidays.

What are we really saying and referring to and paying homage to when we say the word easter? Lets find out….If you have never considered this before let the Fathers Spirit of Holiness prepare your heart, some of the following may be a shock! Its not always easy to admit we have been misled for most of our lives; but I for one, would rather throw away all I have thought was right in exchange for the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE. 

“The English word Easter is derived from the names ‘Eostre’ – ‘Eastre’ – ‘Astarte’ or ‘Ashtaroth’. Astarte was introduced into the British Isles by the Druids and is just another name for Beltis or Ishtar of the Chaldeans and Babylonians. The book of Judges records that ‘the children of Israel did evil …in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, …and forsook the LORD, and served not Him.’ Easter is just another name for Ashteroth ‘The Queen of Heaven.’ Easter was not considered a ‘Christian’ festival until the fourth century. Early Christians celebrated Passover on the 14th day of the first month and a study of the dates on which Easter is celebrated will reveal that the celebration of Easter is not observed in accordance with the prescribed time for the observance of Passover. After much debate, the Nicaean council of 325 A.D. decreed that ‘Easter’ should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the vernal equinox.

Why was so much debate necessary if ‘Easter’ was a tradition passed down from the Apostles?

The answer is that it was not an Apostolic institution, but, an invention of man! They had to make up some rules. History records that spring festivals in honor of the pagan fertility goddesses and the events associated with them were celebrated at the same time as ‘Easter’. In the year 399 A.D. the Theodosian Code attempted to remove the pagan connotation from those events and banned their observance. The pagan festival of Easter originated as the worship of the sun goddess, the Babylonian Queen of Heaven who was later worshipped under many names including Ishtar, Cybele, Idaea Mater (the Great Mother), or Astarte for whom the celebration of Easter is named. Easter is not another name for the Feast of Passover and is not celebrated at the Biblically prescribed time for Passover. This pagan festival was supposedly ‘Christianized’ several hundred years after Christ.” (Richard Rives, Too Long in the Sun)

“There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers. The sanctity of special times [i.e., aside from the Holy Days appointed by God] was an idea absent from the minds of the first Christians, who continued to observe the Jewish [i.e., God’s] festivals, though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals had foreshadowed. Thus the Passover, with a new conception added to it of Christ, as the true Paschal Lamb and the firstfruits from the dead, continued to be observed, and became the Christian Easter. The name Easter (Ger. Ostern), like the names of the days of the week, is a survival from the old Teutonic mythology. According to Bede (De Temp. Rat. c.xv.) it is derived from Eostre, or Ostara, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom the month answering to our April, and called Eostur-monath, was dedicated. This month, Bede says, was the same as mensis pashalis, ‘when the old festival was observed with the gladness of a new solemnity.’ The name of the festival in other languages (as Fr. paques; Ital. pasqua; Span. pascua; Dan. paaske; Dutch paasch; Welsh pasg) is derived from the Lat. pascha and the Gr. pascha. These in turn come from the Chaldee or Aramaean form pascha’, of the Hebrew name of the Passover festival pesach…” (Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 11th edition, vol. 8, p. 828, article: “Easter”)The Origin and History of Easter

“The term ‘Easter’ is not of Christian origin. It is another form of Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean goddess, the queen of heaven. The festival of Pesach/Pasch [Passover and the Feast of Unleavens] was a continuation of the Israelite Hebrews [that is, God’s] feast….from this Pasch the pagan festival of ‘Easter’ was quite distinct and was introduced into the apostate Western religion, as part of the attempt to adapt pagan festivals to Christianity.” (W.E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, William White, Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, article: Easter, p.192)

Ish·tar : Mythology The chief Babylonian and Assyrian goddess, associated with love, fertility, and war, being the counterpart to the Phoenician Astarte. (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000)

The fact that Ishtar was connected to fertility and reproduction gave rise to the springtime renewal of natural birth cycles and in time developed into using images of newborn spring lambs/chickens and rabbits and of course the symbolic egg.

Tammuz: ancient nature deity worshiped in Babylonia. A god of agriculture and flocks, he personified the creative powers of spring. He was loved by the fertility goddess Ishtar, who, according to one legend, was so grief-stricken at his death that she contrived to enter the underworld to get him back. According to another legend, she killed him and later restored him to life. These legends and his festival, commemorating the yearly death and rebirth of vegetation, corresponded to the festivals of the Phoenician and Greek Adonis and of the Phrygian Attis. The Sumerian name of Tammuz was Dumuzi. In the Bible his disappearance is mourned by the women of Jerusalem (Ezek. 8.14).(The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001)

“There is no warrant in Scripture for the observance of the Christmas date  nor Easter as holydays, rather the contrary…and such observance is contrary to the principles of the Reformed faith, conducive to will-worship, and not in harmony with the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. ” (Morton H. Smith, How is the Gold Become Dim, Jackson, Mississippi: Steering Committee for a Continuing Presbyterian Church, etc., 1973, p.98)

“EASTER (AV Acts 12:4), An anachronistic mistranslation of the Gk. pascha (RSV, NEB, “Passover”), in which the AV followed such earlier versions as Tyndale and Coverdale. The Acts passage refers to the seven-day Passover festival (including the Feast of Unleavened Bread). It is reasonably certain that the NT contains no reference to a yearly celebration of the resurrection of Christ.” (International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, edited by Geoffrey Bromiley, Vol 2 of 4, p.6, article: Easter)

“The term Easter was derived from the Anglo-Saxon ‘Eostre,’ the name of the goddess of spring. In her honor sacrifices were offered at the time of the vernal equinox. By the 8th cent. the term came to be applied to the anniversary of Christ’s resurrection.” (International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, edited by Geoffrey Bromiley, Vol 2 of 4, p.6, article: Easter)

In primitive agricultural societies natural phenomena, such as rainfall, the fecundity of the earth, and the regeneration of nature were frequently personified. One of the most important pagan myths was the search of the earth goddess for her lost (or dead) child or lover (e.g., Isis and Osiris, Ishtar and Tammuz, Demeter and Persephone). This myth, symbolizing the birth, death, and reappearance of vegetation, when acted out in a sacred drama, was the fertility rite par excellence.(The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001)

Attis, in Phrygian religion, vegetation god. …Like Adonis, Attis came to be worshiped as a god of vegetation, responsible for the death and rebirth of plant life. Each year at the beginning of spring his resurrection was celebrated in a festival. In Roman religion he became a powerful celestial deity. (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001)

“The festival, of which we read in Church history, under the name of Easter, in the third or fourth centuries, was quite a different festival from that now observed in the Romish [and Protestant] Church, and at that time was not known by any such name as Easter. It was called Pasch, or the Passover, and though not of Apostolic institution [It was instituted by God and by Jesus–Lev 23; Matt 26:17-29; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-20; I Cor 11:23-30], was very early observed by many professing Christians in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Christ [It is a memorial of His death, not His resurrection–I Cor 11:26]. That festival agreed originally with the time of the Jewish [i.e., God’s] Passover, when Christ was crucified …. That festival was not idolatrous, and it was preceded by no Lent” (Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, p.104)

“The name Easter comes from Eostre, an ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess, originally of the dawn. In pagan times an annual spring festival was held in her honor.” (Compton’s Encyclopedia and Fact-Index. Vol 7. Chicago: Compton’s Learning Company, 1987, p.41)

“Easter. [Gk. pascha, from Heb. pesah] The Passover …, and so translated in every passage except the KJV: ‘intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people’ [Acts 12:4]. In the earlier English versions Easter had been frequently used as the translation of pascha. At the last revision [1611 A.V.] Passover was substituted in all passages but this…The word Easter is of Saxon origin, the name is eastra, the goddess of spring in whose honor sacrifices were offered about Passover time each year. By the eighth century Anglo-Saxons had adopted the name to designate the celebration of Christ’s resurrection.” (New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, article: “Easter”)

“It is called Easter in the English, from the goddess Eostre, worshipped by the Saxons with peculiar ceremonies in the month of April.” (Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol II, Edinburgh: A. Bell & C. Macfarquhar, 1768, p.464)

“The name of a feast, according to the Venerable Bede, comes from Eostre, A Teutonic goddess whose festival was celebrated in the spring. The name was given to the Christian festival in celebration of the resurrected Eostre, it was who, according to the legend, opened portals of Valhalla to recieve Baldur, called the white god because of his purity and also the sun god because his brow supplied light to mankind. It was Baldur who, after he had been murdered by Utgard Loki, the enemy of goodness and truth, spent half the year in Valhalla and the other half with the pale goddess of the lower regions. As the festival of Eostre was a celebration of the renewal of life in the spring it was easy to make it a celebration of the resurrection from the dead of Jesus. There is no doubt that the church in its early days adopted the old pagan customs and gave a Christian meaning to them.” (George William Douglas, The American Book of Days, article: Easter)

“EASTER: This is from Anglo-Saxon Eostre, a pagan goddess whose festival came at the spring equinox.” (Joseph T. Shipley, Dictionary of Word Origins, New York: Philosophical Library, MCMXLV, p.131)

“The word Easter comes from the Old English word eostre, the name of a dawn-goddess worshipped in the Spring.” (Oxford Junior Encyclopaedia, London: Odhams, 1957, p.123)

“When Christianity conquered Rome: the ecclesiastical structure of the pagan church, the title and the vestments of the pontifex maximus, the worship of the Great Mother goddess and a multitude of comforting divinities, the sense of super sensible presences everywhere, the joy or solemnity of old festivals, and the pageantry of immemorial ceremony, passed like maternal blood into the new religion,–and captive Rome conquered her conqueror. The reins and skills of government were handed down by a dying empire to a virile papacy.” (Will Durant, Caesar and Christ, p. 672)

“Satan, the great counterfeiter, worked through the ‘mystery of iniquity’ to introduce a counterfeit Sabbath to take the place of the true Sabbath of God. Sunday stands side by side with Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Holy (or Maundy) Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Whitsun day, Corpus Christi, Assumption Day, All Souls’ Day, Christmas Day, and a host of other ecclesiastical feast days too numerous to mention. This array of Roman catholic feasts and fast days are all man made. None of them bears the divine credentials of the Author of the Inspired Word.” (M. E. Walsh)

“The {Roman Catholic] church took the pagan philosophy and made it the buckler of faith against the heathen. She took the pagan, Roman Pantheon, temple of all the gods, and made it sacred to all the martyrs; so it stands to this day. She took the pagan Sunday and made it the Christian Sunday. She took the pagan Easter and made it the feast we celebrate during this season. Sunday and Easter day are, if we consider their derivation, much the same. In truth, all Sundays are Sundays only because they are a weekly, partial recurrence of Easter day. The pagan Sunday was, in a manner, an unconscious preparation for Easter day.” (Willliam L. Gildea, D.D., Paschale Gaudium, in The Catholic World, Vol. LVIII., No. 348., March, 1894, published in New York by The Office of The Catholic World., pp.808-809)

“In ancient Anglo-Saxon myth, Ostara is the personification of the rising sun. In that capacity she is associated with the spring and is considered to be a fertility goddess. She is the friend of all children, and to amuse them, she changed her pet bird into a rabbit. This rabbit brought forth brightly colored eggs, which the goddess gave to the children as gifts. From her name and rites the festival of Easter is derived. Ostara is identical to the Greek Eos and the Roman Aurora.” (Encyclopedia Mythica, article: Ostara)

“Vernal Mysteries (spring heathen rites) like those of Tammuz, and Osiris and Adonis flourished in the Mediterranean world and farther north and east there were others. Some of their rites and symbols were carried forward into Easter customs. Many of them have survived into our own day, unchanged yet subtly altered in their new surroundings to bear a ‘Christian’significance.” (Christina Hole, Easter and its Customs)

“…Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a month corresponding to April. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.” (Funk and Wagnall’s Encyclopedia, article: Easter)

“EASTER: from Old English eastre, name of a spring goddess.” (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1995)

“The pagan festival held at the vernal equinox to honor Eastre, the goddess of dawn, was called Eastre in Old English. Since the Christian festival celebrating Christ’s resurrection fell at about the same time, the pagan name was borrowed for it when Christianity was introduced to England, the name later being changed slightly to Easter. ” (Robert Hendrickson, The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, New York: Facts on File, 1987, p.177)

“EASTER: West Germanic name of a pagan spring festival.” (Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield: G. & C. Merriam Company, 1976)

“The English word Easter comes from the goddess Eastre, whose festival was celebrated at the vernal equinox, and who presided over the fertility of man and animals.” (Betty Nickerson, Celebrate the Sun, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1969, p.38)

“The story of Easter is not simply a Christian story. Not only is the very name “Easter” the name of an ancient and non-Christian deity; the season itself has also, from time immemorial, been the occasion of rites and observances having to do with the mystery of death and resurrection among peoples differing widely in race and religion.” (Alan W. Watts, Easter: its Story and Meaning)

“Before Christ was born the people living in northern Europe had a goddess called Eostre, the goddess of the spring. Every year, in spring the people had a festival for her. The name of our spring festival, Easter, comes from the name Eostre.” (The Easter Book, Milan: Macdonald Educational, 1980, p.5)

“The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similar Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [were] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos.” (Larry Boemler, Biblical Archaeology Review, Vol. 18, Number 3, 1992-May/June, article: “Asherah and Easter”)

“Eostre: Saxon and Neo-Pagan goddess of fertility and springtime whom the holiday Easter was originally named after.” (Gerina Dunwich, The Concise Lexicon of the Occult, New York: Citadel Press, 1990 p.54)

“EASTER: Bæde Temp. Rat. XV. derives the word from Eostre (Northumb. spelling Éastre), the name of a goddess whose festival was celebrated at the vernal equinox; her name…shows that she was originally the dawn-goddess.” (The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989)

“Astarte: a Phoenician goddess of fertility and sexual love who corresponds to the Babylonian and Assyrian goddess Ishtar and who became identified with the Egyptian Isis, the Greek Aphrodite, and others.” (Oxford Dictionary of English)

“Ishtar: ancient fertility deity, the most widely worshiped goddess in Babylonian and Assyrian religion. Ishtar was important as a mother goddess, goddess of love, and goddess of war. Her cult spread throughout W Asia, and she became identified with various other earth goddesses (see GREAT MOTHER OF THE GODS). Great Mother of the Gods: in ancient Middle Eastern religion (and later in Greece, Rome, and W Asia), mother goddess, the great symbol of the earth’s fertility. As the creative force in nature, she was worshiped under many names, including ASTARTE (Syria), CERES (Rome), CYBELE (Phrygia), DEMETER (Greece), ISHTAR (Babylon), and ISIS (Egypt). The later forms of her cult involved the worship of a male deity (her son or lover, e.g., ADONIS, OSIRIS), whose death and resurrection symbolized the regenerative power of the earth.” (www.encyclopedia.com)

When we reflect how often the Church has skilfully contrived to plant the seeds of the new faith on the old stock of paganism, we may surmise that the Easter celebration of the dead and risen Christ was grafted upon a similar celebration of the dead and risen Adonis, which, as we have seen reason to believe, was celebrated in Syria at the same season. ( Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941).

“Thus much already laid down may seem a sufficient treatise to prove that the celebration of the feast of Easter began everywhere more of custom than by any commandment either of Christ or any apostle.” (Socrates, Hist Ecclesiates., lib. v. cap. 22)

“Just as many Christian customs and similar observance had their origin in pre-Christian times, so, too some of the popular traditions of…. Easter dates back to ancient nature rites… The origin of the Easter egg is based on the fertility lore of the Indo-European races…The Easter bunny had its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. Hare and rabbit were the most fertile animals our forefathers knew, serving as symbols of … new life in the spring season.” (Jesuit author Francis X. Weiser, The Easter Book, pp.15,181,&188)

“As with the other Christian holidays, there was also a holiday in ancient times that was celebrated at about the same time. In this case, it was the celebration of the vernal equinox-the tribute to the goddess of spring, Eastre. Eastre was an Anglo-Saxon goddess who is reputed to have opened the gates of Valhalla for the slain sun god, Baldrun, thereby bringing light to man. Easter also refers to the rising of the sun in the east.” (Carole Potter, Encyclopedia of Superstition, London: Michael O’Mara Books, 1983, p.69)

“Then look at Easter. When means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name, as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in this country. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar.” [The Two Babylons (Or The Papal Worship), Alexander Hislop, 1916, Neptune, NJ, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., p.103]

“About the end of the sixth century, the first decisive attempt was made to enforce the observance of the new calendar. It was in Britain that the first attempt was made in this way; and here the attempt met with vigorous resistance. The difference, in point of time, betwixt the Christian Pasch, as observed in Britain by the native Christians, and the Pagan Easter enforced by Rome, at the time of its enforcement, was a whole month; and it was only by violence and bloodshed, at last, that the Festival of the Anglo-Saxon or Chaldean goddess came to supersede that which had been held in honour of Christ.” [The Two Babylons (Or The Papal Worship), Alexander Hislop, 1916, Neptune, NJ, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., p.107]

“Many of the customs associated with Easter are derived from various spring fertility rites of the pagan religions which Christianity supplanted.” (Encyclopedia International, China: Lexicon Publications, 1973, p.190)

“Easter is connected in many ways with early pagan rituals that accompanied the arrival of spring.” (Merit Students Encyclopedia, New York: P. F. Collier, 1983, p.167-168)

“Both of these festivals [Easter and Christmas] have roots in old pagan rituals that they have superceeded.” (G. MacGregor, Dictionary of Religion and Philosophy, New York: Paragon House, 1991, p.207)

“Even though it [Easter] has stood for over fifteen hundred years as the symbol of the resurrection of Jesus to members of the Christian Church, it is not entirely a Christian festival. Its origins go far back into pagan rites and customs.” (Charlotte Adams, Easter Idea Book, New York: M. Barrows and Company, 1954, p.11)

“Many of the customs associated with Easter originate in pagan celebrations of spring.” (New Standard Encyclopedia, Vol 6. Chicago: Standard Educational, 1991,pE-25-E-27)

“There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the [so-called] apostolic Fathers. The sanctity of special times was an idea absent from the mind of the first Christians.” (The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol VIII, Cambridge: The University Press, 1910, p.828)

“Around the Christian observance of Easter as the climax of the liturgical drama of Holy Week and Good Friday, folk customs have collected, many of which have been handed down from the ancient ceremonial and symbolism of European and Middle Eastern pagan spring festivals brought into relation with the resurrection theme.” (The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th ed. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 1992. p.333)

“When Christians first spread across Europe, believers in the new faith changed many of the older rites and ceremonies, adapting them to fit with the life and teaching of Jesus. They did not try to stop people from having a great spring festival for their old pagan goddess, Eostre.” (Julian Fox, Easter, Vero Beach: Rourke Enterprises, 1989, p.11)

About 200 B.C. mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult centered on Vatican hill …Associated with the Cybele cult was that of her lover, Attis (the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus under a new name). He was a god of ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection.” (EASTER: ITS ORIGINS AND MEANINGS by The Religious Tolerance Organization Web site http://www.religioustolerance.org/easter.htm)

Easter Eggs

“Eggs were a primitive symbol of fertility; but Christians saw in them a symbol of the tomb from which Christ rose, and continued the [pagan] practice of coloring, giving, and eating them at Easter. “(New Age Encyclopedia.,Vol 6. China: Lexicon Publications, 1973, p.190)

“The custom may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring.” (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol.5, article: Easter)

“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.” (James Bonwick, Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought, pp. 211-212)

“…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.” (Encylopaedia Britannica, article: Easter)

“Eggs were sacred to many ancient civilizations and formed an integral part of religious ceremonies in Egypt and the Orient. Dyed eggs were hung in Egyptian temples, and the egg was regarded as the emblem of regenerative life proceeding from the mouth of the great Egyptian god.” (Anon, Easter: The Pagan Origins of Common Easter Traditions)

“The egg has become a popular Easter symbol…In ancient Egypt and Persia, friends exchanged decorated eggs at the spring equinox, the beginning of their New Year. These eggs were a symbol of fertility for them….Christians of the Near East adopted this tradition, and the Easter egg became a religious symbol. It represented the tomb from which Jesus came forth to new life.” (Greg Dues, Catholic Customs and Traditions, 1992, p.101)

“The origin of the Pasch eggs is just as clear. The ancient Druids bore an egg, as the sacred emblem of their order. In the Dionysiaca, or mysteries of Bacchus, as celebrated in Athens, one part of the nocturnal ceremony consisted in the consecration of an egg. The Hindoo fables celebrate their mundane egg as of a golden colour. The people of Japan make their sacred egg to have been brazen. In China, at this hour, dyed or painted eggs are used on sacred festivals, even as in this country. In ancient times eggs were used in the religious rites of the Egyptians and the Greeks, and were hung up for mystic purposed in their temples. From Egypt these sacred eggs can be distinctly traced to the banks of the Euphrates. The classic poets are full of the fable of the mystic egg of the Babylonians; and thus its tale is told by Hyginus, the Egyptian, the learned keeper of the Palatine library at Rome, in the time of Augustus, who was skilled in all the wisdom of the native country: ‘An egg of wondrous size is said to have fallen from heaven into the river Euphrates. The fishes rolled it to the bank, were the doves having settled upon it, and hatched it, out came Venus, who afterwards was called the Syrian Goddess’–that is, Astarte. Hence the egg became one of the symbols of Astarte or Easter; and accordingly, in Cyprus, one of the chosen seats of the worship of Venus, or Astarte, the egg of wondrous size was represented on a grand scale.” [The Two Babylons (Or The Papal Worship) , Alexander Hislop, 1916, Neptune, NJ, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., pp.108-109]

“Christians adapted the symbols, ceremonies and name of the spring festivities of Ishtar-Esther-Eostre to create Easter. Jesus breaks through the hard, cold coffin shell of death to be reborn every spring. In the resurrection of Christ, we witness the vernal rebirth of the soul.” (D. Henes, Celestially Auspicious Occasions: Seasons, Cycles and Celebrations, New York: Perigee Book)

“The Persians and Egyptians colored eggs and ate them during their new year’s celebration, which came in the spring.” (The New Book of Knowledge, Danbury: Grolier, 1991, p.44)

“In northern Europe, Eostre, the Teutonic-Anglo-Saxon goddess of dawn, evolved from Astarte in Babylon and from Ishtar from Assyria. Eggs, dyed blood-red and rolled in the newly sown soil at spring equinox, ensured fertility of the fields. The Moon Hare, sacred animal totem of Eostre, laid more colored eggs for children to find. From the name, Eostre, Astarte, and Ishtar, we derive the scientific terminology for the female hormone and reproduction cycle: estrogen and estrus. Easter also derives from Eostre.” (D. Henes, Celestially Auspicious Occasions: Seasons, Cycles and Celebrations, New York: Perigee Book)

“Since man’s earliest time, the egg, symbolizing the universe, figures in creation mythologies including those of China, Japan, Finland, Siberia and parts of Africa. …When today’s children hunt for Easter eggs they are re-enacting one of man’s oldest rituals. ” (Betty Nickerson, Celebrate the Sun, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1969, p.38)

“This [Easter egg hunting] is not mere child’s play, but the vestige of a fertility rite” (Funk & Wagnalls’ Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend, Volume 1, pg.335)

“The egg, as a symbol of New Life is much older than Christianity and the coloring of it at the spring festival is also of very ancient origin. The Egyptians, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans used it this way. Eggs were eaten during the spring festival from very early times. Children are told that the rabbit lays the Easter eggs in a garden for the children to find. This is an adaption of the pagan custom of regarding the rabbit as an emblem of fertility, that is, of new life.” (George William Douglas, The American Book of Days, article: Easter)

“The exchange of Easter eggs, which symbolize new life and fertility, is one of the oldest traditions. Rabbits and flowers are also pagan fertility symbols.” (New Standard Encyclopedia, Vol. 6, Chicago: Standard Educational, 1991. pE-25-E-27)

Easter Lilies

“The so-called ‘Easter lily’ has long been revered by pagans of various lands as a holy symbol associated with the reproductive organs. It was considered a phallic symbol!” (A. J. Dager, Facts and Fallacies of the Resurrection, p.5)

Easter Bunny (i.e., rabbits/hares)

“Nobody seems to know precisely the origin of the Easter bunny, except that it can be traced back to pre-Christian fertility lore. It has never had any connection with Christian religious symbolism.” (Priscilla Sawyer and Daniel J. Foley, Easter the World Over, Philadelphia: Chilton Book Company, 1971, p.104)

“Little children are usually told that the Easter eggs are brought by the Easter Bunny. Rabbits are part of pre-Christian fertility symbolism because of their reputation to reproduce rapidly.” (Greg Dues, Catholic Customs and Traditions, 1992, p.102)

“The Easter Rabbit lays the eggs, for which reason they are hidden in a nest or in the garden. The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility (Simrock, Mythologie, 551).” (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol.5, article: Easter)

“The Easter hare was no ordinary animal, but a sacred companion of the old goddess of spring, Eostre.” (Julian Fox, Easter, Vero Beach: Rourke Enterprises, 1989, p.11)

“Like the Easter egg, the Easter hare, now an accepted part of the traditional Easter story, came to Christianity from antiquity. The hare is associated with the moon in the legends of ancient Egypt and other peoples.” (Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol 7. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 1955, p.859)

“The hare, the symbol of fertility in ancient Egypt, a symbol that was kept later in Europe, is not found in North America. Its place is taken by the Easter rabbit, the symbol of fertility and periodicity both human and lunar, accredited with laying eggs in nests prepared for it at Easter or with hiding them away for children to find.” (The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th ed. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 1992, p.333)

“The white rabbit of Easter, beloved of small Americans, comes hopping down to us from eras when the sun and the moon were gods to men.” (Marguerite Ickis, The Book of Religious Holidays and Celebrations, New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1966, p.133)

Sunrise Services

“The custom of a sunrise service on Easter Sunday can be traced to ancient spring festivals that celebrated the rising sun.”(The New Book of Knowledge, Danbury: Grolier, 1981, p.41)

“Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. (Holy Scripture, King James Version, Ezekiel 8:15-16)

“Cults of the sun, as we know from many sources, had attained great vogue during the second, third, and fourth centuries. Sun-worshipers indeed formed one of the big groups in that religious world in which Christianity was fighting for a place. Many of them became converts to Christianity . . . Worshipers in St. Peter’s turned away from the altar and faced the door so that they could adore the rising sun.” (Gordon J. Laing, Survivals of Roman Religion, p. 192)

“A suitable, single example of the pagan influence may be had from an investigation of the Christian custom of turning toward the East, the land of the rising sun, while offering their prayers…” (F.A. Regan, Dies Dominica, P. 196)

“Others, with greater regard to good manners, it must be confessed, suppose that the sun is the God of the Christians, because it is a well-known fact that we pray toward the east, or because we make Sunday a day of festivity.” (Tertullian [155-225 AD.], Ad Nationes, i 13, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. III, p. 123)

Easter Parades & Wearing of New Clothes

“The Easter Parade which is held after church services in many cultures is another survival from long ago. Before there were courtiers or fashion pages there was a lively superstition, dear to princesses and peasant maidens alike, that a new garment worn at Easter meant good luck throughout the year.” (Marguerite Ickis, The Book of Religious Holidays and Celebrations, New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1966, p.133)

“For centuries, even in pagan times, it had been the custom to put on new clothes for the spring festival.” (Priscilla Sawyer and Daniel J. Foley, Easter the World Over, Philadelphia: Chilton Book Company, 1971, p.134)

Hot-cross buns

Jeremiah 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? (The KJV Bible)

“The hot-cross bun, for example, is pagan in origin. The Anglo-Saxon savages consumed cakes as a part of the jolity that attended the welcoming of spring. The early missionaries from Rome despaired of breaking them of the habit, and got around the difficulty at last by blessing the cakes, drawing a cross upon them.” (Marguerite Ickis, The Book of Religious Holidays and Celebrations, New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1966, p.134)

“The ‘buns,’ known too by that identical name, were used in the worship of the queen of heaven, the goddess Easter, as early as the days of Cecrops, the founder of Athens–that is, 1500 years before the Christian era. ‘One species of sacred bread,’ says Bryant, ‘which used to be offered to the gods, was of great antiquity, and called Boun.’ Diogenes Laertius, speaking of this offering being made by Empedocles, describes the chief ingredients of which it was composed, saying, ‘He offered one of the sacred cakes called Boun, which was made of fine flour and honey.’ The prophet Jeremiah takes notice of this kind of offering when he says, ‘The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven.’ The hot cross buns are not now offered, but eaten, on the festival of Astarte; but this leaves no doubt as to whence they have been derived.” [The Two Babylons (Or The Papal Worship), Alexander Hislop, 1916, Neptune, NJ, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., p.108]

“It is quite probable that it [the word bun] has a far older and more interesting origin, as is suggested by an inquiry into the origin of hot cross buns. These cakes, which are now solely associated with the Christian Good Friday, are traceable to the remotest period of pagan history. Cakes were offered by ancient Egyptians to their moon goddess; and these had imprinted on them a pair of horns, symbolic of the ox at the sacrifice of which they were offered on the altar, or of the horned moon goddess, the equivalent of Ishtar of the Assyro-Babylonians. The Greeks offered such sacred cakes to Astarte [Easter] and other divinities. This cake they called bous (ox), in allusion to the ox-symbol marked on it, and from the accusative boun it is suggested that the word ‘bun’ is derived.Like the Greeks, the Romans eat cross-bread at public sacrifices, such bread being usually purchased at the doors of the temple and taken in with them,a custom alluded to by St. Paul in I Cor. x.28. At Herculaneum two small loaves about 5 in. in diameter, and plainly marked with a cross, were found. In the Old Testament are references made in Jer. vii.18-xliv.19, to such sacred bread being offered to the moon goddess. The cross-bread was eaten by the pagan Saxons in honor of Eoster, their goddess of light. The Mexicans and Peruvians are shown to have had a similar custom. The custom, in fact, was practically universal, and the early church adroitly adopted the pagan practice, grafting it on to the Eucharist. The boun with its Greek cross became akin to the Eucharistic bread or cross-marked wafers mentioned in St. Chrysostom’s liturgy. In the medieval church, buns made from the dough for the consecrated Host were to be distributed to the communicants after mass on Easter Sunday. In France and other Catholic countries, such blessed bread is still given in the churches to communicants who have a long journey before they can break their fast.” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., article: “bun”)

Easter Bonfires

“Pagan festivals celebrating spring included fire and sunrise celebrations. Both later became part of Easter celebrations.” (The New Book of Knowledge, Danbury: Grolier, 1991, p.44)

“….every year, at Beltane (or the 1st of May), a number of men and women assemble at an ancient Druidical circle of stones on her property near Crieff. They light a fire in the centre, each person puts a bit of oat-cake in a shepherd’s bonnet; they all sit down, and draw blindfold a piece from the bonnet. One piece has been previously blackened, and whoever gets that piece has to jump through the fire in the centre of the circle, and pay a forfeit. This is, in fact, a part of the ancient worship of Baal, and the person on whom the lot fell was previously burnt as a sacrifice. Now, the passing through the fire represents that, and the payment of the forfeit redeems the victim. If Baal was thus worshipped in Britain, it will not be difficult to believe that his consort Astarte was also adored by our ancestors, and that from Astarte, whose name in Nineveh was Ishtar, the religious solemnities of April, as now practised, are called by the name of Easter–that month, among our Pagan ancestors, having been called Easter-monath.” [The Two Babylons (Or The Papal Worship), Alexander Hislop, 1916, Neptune, NJ, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., p.104]

“The Easter Eve bonfires predate Christianity and were originally intended to celebrate the arrival of spring.” (Merit Students Encyclopedia, Vol 6, New York: P. F. Collier, 1983, p.167-168)

“The Easter Fire is lit on the top of mountains (Easter mountain, Osterberg) and must be kindled from new fire, drawn from wood by friction (nodfyr); this is a custom of pagan origin in vogue all over Europe, signifying the victory of spring over winter. The bishops issued severe edicts against the sacrilegious Easter fires (Conc. Germanicum, a. 742, c.v.; Council of Lestines, a.743, n.15), but did not succeed in abolishing them everywhere. The Church adopted the observance into the Easter ceremonies, referring it to the fiery column in the desert and to the Resurrection of Christ; the new fire on Holy Saturday is drawn from flint, symbolizing the Resurrection of the Light of the World from the tomb closed by a stone (Missale Rom.). In some places a figure was thrown into the Easter fire, symbolizing winter…” (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol.5, article: Easter)

“Fire, once part of the pagan spring festival, is now a Christian Easter symbol.” (The New Book of Knowledge, Danbury: Grolier, 1981, p.41)

“Spring fire rites to honor the sun god were forbidden until the year 752 A.D. By that time the pagan fires had changed into Easter fires.” (Edna Barth, Lilies, Rabbits, and Painted Eggs: The Story of the Easter Symbols, New York: Seabury Press, 1970, p.15)

“Bonfires on Easter Eve are particularly common in Germany, where they are lighted not only in churchyards but upon hilltops, where the young people gather around and jump over them, dance, and sing Easter hymns. These are remnants of pagan and sacrificial rites in which quantities of tar-soaked barrel staves, branches and roots of trees were burned.” (Priscilla Sawyer and Daniel J. Foley, Easter the World Over, Philadelphia: Chilton Book Company, 1971, p.103)

ALL over Europe the peasants have been accustomed from time immemorial to kindle bonfires on certain days of the year, and to dance round or leap over them. Customs of this kind can be traced back on historical evidence to the Middle Ages, and their analogy to similar customs observed in antiquity goes with strong internal evidence to prove that their origin must be sought in a period long prior to the spread of Christianity.( Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941). The Golden Bough. 1922.)

The essentially pagan character of the Easter fire festival appears plainly both from the mode in which it is celebrated by the peasants and from the superstitious beliefs which they associate with it. ( Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941). The Golden Bough. 1922.)

Lent

“The word Lent is of Anglo-Saxon origin, meaning spring.” (Marguerite Ickis, The Book of Religious Holidays and Celebrations, New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1966, p.114)

“The celebration of Lent has no basis in Scripture, but rather developed from the pagan celebration of Semiramis’s mourning for 40 days over the death of Tammuz (cf. Ezek 8:14) before his alleged resurrection—another of Satan’s mythical counterfeits.” (John MacArthur, Jr., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1 Corinthians, Chicago: Moody, 1984)

‘It ought to be known,’ said Cassianus, the monk of Marseilles, writing in the fifth century, and contrasting the primitive Church with the Church in his day, ‘that the observance of forty days had no existence, so long as the perfection of that primitive Church remained inviolate.’ Whence, then, came this observance? The forty days abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess.” [The Two Babylons (Or The Papal Worship), Alexander Hislop, 1916, Neptune, NJ, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., p.104]

Pagans Still Celebrate Easter

“Sabbats in Modern Witchcraft–Spring Equinox–A solar festival, in which day and night, and the forces of male and female, are in equal balance. The spring equinox, the first day of spring, marks the birth of the infant Sun God and paves the way for the coming lushness of summer. Dionysian rites are performed. The Christian version of the sabbat is Easter. (Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, New York: Facts On File, 1989, p.289)

“Witches celebrate eight major festivals or sabbats each year. The sabbat is a religious ceremony deriving from ancient European festivals celebrating seasonal and pastoral changes. The first is Yule, 20 or 21 December, celebrating the winter solstice. The next is 1 or 2 February, Oimelc, Imbolc, or Candlemas, at which initiations often take place. 20 or 21 March, Eostre, the vernal equinox, is a fertility festival. 30 April is Beltane.” (Jeffery B. Russell, A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics, and Pagans, London: Thames and Hudson, 1980, p.167)

After reading these facts, the choice to reject using the name “easter” should be weighing on our conscience as the right thing to do..

Lets call it Passover/Pesach, and keep the same days that Yeshua/Jesus Himself kept.

We should pray that our Heavenly Father grant us forgiveness and repentance and that His spirit of Holiness comforts and encourages us to step out in faith and “be separate” from the world. We really need to reject the holidays of men and learn about the genuine Holydays of our Heavenly Father and know that in the His word prophetically He says through Zechariah in chapter14:16.

And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

So it is certain they are not done away with…..

שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם‎,

Shalom aleikhem

chaverim and mishpachah!

Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week, you are greatly loved and prayed for daily. Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation or without our Heavenly Fathers’ shalom ENVELOPING you and the deep inner knowing that you are sealed to the day of redemption by the Blood of Messiah Jesus/Yeshua.

Not sure ..you can be…

Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are very precious in His sight.

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.

Yamim Nora’im – Days of Awe or High Holy Days

Although we are still between the mountains of blessing and curses from the last post, and part 3 is coming shortly; it is timely to wish MMM

‘Mishpachah’

‘Family/Tribe’

משפחה 

Mish-pa-KHa,

friends, visitors and every reader

this customary Hebrew greeting…

L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu

 לְשָׁנָה טוֹבָה תִּכָּתֵבוּ 

May you be inscribed for a good year

(in the Book of Life)!

This weekend starts the

Civil New Year

of

5781

in Israel.

It is also the start of the 

Yamim Nora’im

יָמִים נוֹרָאִים

10 Days of Awe

or

High Holy Days.

In Israel and Hebrew tradition,

Yom Teruah – The Day of Awakening…

Rosh Hashanah

(literally the head of the year)

is celebrated as New Years Day.

The holiday is observed on the first 2 days of the Hebrew month of Tishri (i.e., the 7th “new moon” of the year),

which usually falls in September or October, and marks the beginning of

a 10-day period of

prayer,

self-examination

and

repentance

more accurately translated as:

the Ten Days of Return

Aseret Yemei Teshuvah,

עשרת ימי תשובה

which comes to a conclusion on the fast day of

Yom Kippur.

Many believe that the 10 days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is a season, when God is especially close to us; “the gates of heaven are open, and I will listen to your prayers.” Often citing the verse in Isaiah telling the Jewish nation to repent for their sins, he says, “Seek God when He may be found, call upon Him when He is near.”

This period of time represents an opportunity for reflection, repentance, and teshuva – a return to God.

It is an opportunity to regret the missteps of our past while committing to change and rectify our actions in the future. During these ten days, we examine the year that has passed, dreaming and planning for a better year ahead; a year marked by justice, goodness and harmony – true shalom – for ourselves and all of His children.

 

The Hebrew letters of the word

Rosh – ראש – Resh Sheen

constitute the root of the Hebrew word for Genesis,

pronounced

“Be’resheet” (בראשית),

which is the first word in the Book of Genesis.

(Recall that the letter Alef – א,

represents the vowels, a,e,i,o,u, in words.)

While Rosh Hashanah celebrates the Israel Civil New Year, it also signifies the creation of the universe, which Hashem /God completed in six days.

The Biblical name for this holiday of

Rosh Hashanah,

 רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה 

is

Yom Teruah

 יוֹם תְּרוּעָה,

literally

day of shouting or blasting.

On Yom Teruah,

the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar,

it is imperative for every person

to HEAR (SHEMA) the shofar.

The mitzvah

(or biblical commandment [John ( Yochanan ) 14:15]),

of the shofar is

to HEAR – SHEMA 

the shofar being blown,

not actually blow it yourself,

hence the BLESSING,

“to HEAR the sound of the shofar.”

The Torah tells us to blow

a teruah

from a shofar on Rosh Hashanah.

A teruah is a broken-sounding blast which resembles a cry.

This commandment is repeated in three different places.

Rosh Hashanah 2020 began before sundown on Friday, Sept. 18, and ends after nightfall on Sunday, September 20.

 A week later, the High Holidays reach their crescendo with

Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Israels calendar, begins on Sunday, September 27 and ends on the evening of Monday, September 28.

The day is devoted to repentance for sins that were committed during the previous year.

A delicate blend of joy and solemnity, it is a submission to the sovereignty of heaven as everyone is called to awaken to judgment. It is a shofar call to repentance. Yom Kippur is the holy day of atonement, so, may your sins be forgiven, and your coming year be BLESSED.

As believers in Messiah –  Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach, we do not have to depend on the Yom Kippur once a year blood sacrificial system – He was our Yom Kippur sacrifice.

His Blood

paid the price for us

once and for all.

“Leshanah tovah tikateiv v’teichateim—May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year!”

The phrase is short for “l’shanah tovah tikatevu ve techatemu” (לְשָׁנָה טוֹבָה תִכָּתֵבוּ וְתֵּחָתֵמוּ), 

meaning

“may you be inscribed and sealed (in the Book of Life) for a good year”.

Good Days‘, or singular – יום טוב – Yom Tov – Good Day.

Chag sameach…

Literally, good holiday.

have a good holiday

שיהיה לך חג שמח –

This greeting can be used for any holiday, not necessarily a festival.

L’Shanah Tovah

(li-SHAH-nuh TOH-vuh;

li-shah-NAH toh-VAH)

Hebrew meaning is literally for a good year.

A common greeting during Rosh Hashanah and Days of Awe.

It is an abbreviation of

L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem 

(May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year).

L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu

לְשָׁנָה טוֹבָה תִּכָּתֵבוּ

– This phrase is a customary greeting before the Jewish New Year and means

“May you be inscribed for a good year (in the Book of Life)!”

 Rosh Hashanah, people wish each other

“Ketivah v’chatima tovah”

כתיבה וחתימה טובה

“A good inscription and sealing [in the Book of Life].”.

People greet one another with

“ Leshana tovah tikatev v’tichatem”

לשנה טובה תכתב ותחתם

There are many previous posts connected to this season and His Appointed Times/Feasts; they can be accessed through the links are below:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/midweek-mannabite-the-sound-of-the-trumpet/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/at-one-ment-with-the-one-you-love/

 

https://www.minimannamoments.com/apocalypse-of-the-teruahs-cry/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/blowing-your-own-trumpet-2/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/the-hidden-mystery-of-the-kallah/

This is the day for remembering the abundance of His greatness.

Psalm 150

– תְּהִלִּים – T’hillim – praises

Hallelujah – praise yah – hal’lu Yah.

Praise Him with the shofar sound – teka shofar –

Let us not be silent when blessings for Him are in our mouths but let us allow our hearts to express the love and gratefulness we have towards Him as we burst forth in praise and Thanksgiving for all He has done.

Let us remember His mighty acts, the expense of His strength and the abundance of His greatness.

Today let us remember our Creator the One who gives us life and as we breathe let us return every breath to Him in thanksgiving and praise.

Let us remember the way we used to live before we knew Him; and honor the One who gave His life in our place – bearing the penalty of our sin.

Let us remember afresh today the sacrifice that Messiah paid on our behalf willingly losing His life that we might be found.

Today let us remember and rejoice that we have been raised with Him to life everlasting, remembering His triumphant victory over death and the grave.

As we remember and once again become aware of the reality of our salvation; let us release sounds of praise that will finally shatter any doubts and fears that may be lingering in the shadows tucked away in the corners of our minds.

As we remember, let’s proclaim the redemption and freedom that comes with the deliverance and salvation He has provided for every family, tribe and nation.

Let everything that has breath praise yah, for He is strong and mighty, worthy and holy, abundant in greatness and abounding in loving-kindness.

Yeshua is our Master, Deliverer, Redeemer, our Salvation, our Righteousness, our Lord and soon returning King. Today we remember all that He is and sing praises to Him along with the sounds of the shofar hal’lu yah hal’lu El.

Shalom shalom

‘Mishpachah’

‘Family/Tribe’

משפחה 

Mish-pa-KHa,

friends, visitors and every reader…

Stay Alert ‘Mishpachah’….

Please don’t leave this page before making certain Jesus is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

Its all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.

NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Apocalypse Of The Teruah’s Cry

Rosh Hashanah is the start of a New Year in Israel,

It actually means “Head of the Year.”

And it will be the Hebrew Year

since creation, which really gives a clearer understanding of where we actually are in Father’s timeline.

Rosh Hashanah is celebrated for two days. It is the start of the 3 Fall/ Autumn, Appointed Times of The Lord/Feasts /Festivals.

A look at some fascinating facts, mysteries and scriptures connected with Israel’s Fall/Autumn Appointed Times.

The day on which Rosh HaShanah is celebrated is Biblically known as Yom
Teruah (Day of the Trumpet Blasts)

The traditional Rosh Hashanah greeting is

‘shanah tovah’

which means,

good year!

The word U’Metuka

(and sweet) is sometimes added.

When is Rosh HaShanah?  

The Hebrew date is always the same — the 1st of the month of Tishrei.

The dates of Jewish holidays don’t change from year to year; however, a Jewish year can change in length from 353 to 354 or 355 days long.  A Jewish leap year can be 383, 384 or 385 days long and because the Jewish year is not the same length as the year on the civil calendar, the dates of holidays seem to shift quite a bit; consequently that results in the Israels High Holidays falling anywhere from early September all the way into October.

So what date is the holiday on the Gregorian calendar? This year, Rosh HaShanah begins at sunset on Sunday, September 9. 

September, 2018 calendar with Jewish High Holy Days circled

Brief history explaining the reason for the two calendars and why are they different in length?

The civil Gregorian calendar is based on the solar cycle of 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds — the amount of time it takes the earth to make one complete rotation around the sun.

To correct the problem of those extra hours, an extra day is added to February every four years.  This keeps the equinox (when the sun shines directly on the equator) occurring on generally the same date every year: March 19 or 20 and September 22 or 23.

The Jewish calendar is a luni-solar calendar.  It considers three things: the yearly rotation of the earth around the sun, the daily rotation of the earth on its own axis, and the monthly cycle of the moon around the earth.

Each new moon cycle begins a new month or Rosh Chodesh.  

However, there are approximately 12.4 lunar months in every solar year.  In other words, a lunar year is about 11 days shorter than a solar year.

If the Jewish calendar were a strict lunar calendar that had 29.5 days in a month, every 16 years or so the Fall Feasts would be held in Spring, and Passover would be held in autumn.   

To keep the Jewish holidays and appointed times in their correct seasons, every two or three years the month of Nissan begins earlier and an extra month is added.  This 13-month year is called Shanah Me’uberet, literally, a pregnant year.

The additional month of Adar 1 (also called Adar Aleph) is added before Adar, which is designated Adar 2.  

The addition of the extra month guarantees that Passover (Pesach) and the wheat harvest feast (Pentecost / Shavuot) occurs in the spring.   

Between AD 320 and 385, Hillel II, the Nasi (Prince) of the ancient Jewish Sanhedrin, established the calendar that is used today which follows a 19-year cycle, realigning the lunar and solar calendars.

In this system the extra month is added on the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th years of the cycle.  The current cycle began at the start of the Jewish year 5758, which occurred on October 2, 1997.

The Gregorian calendar, however, was created in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII and proclaimed the official civil calendar of Britain and the British colonies of America in 1752.

Below is a chart correlating the 7 Appointed Times with Prophetic Fulfillment in Messiah.

The Feast of Trumpets is also the anniversary of the creation of man. Adam, the first human being, opened his eyes to a world that appeared to have always existed.

More Interesting information of HebraicThought and Concepts.

The ancient Hebrew text ‘Book of Formation’, teaches that there is more to the universe than time and space. There is a soul.

Whatever is found in the universe’s soul is found somewhere in its space. And whatever is found in space, is found in time.

In the soul of the universe there is a consciousness from which all consciousness extends.

In space, there is the Land of Israel, a space from where all space is nurtured.

In time, there is Rosh Hashanah, a time from which all time is renewed.

Rosh Hashanah means Head of the Year.

Not just a starting point, but a head, a new beginning of time in which a new consciousness enters our universe. It is said, that whatever transpires in the coming year is first conceived in these two days.

That is why Rosh Hashanah is called the first day of creation, for only then did the world know it had meaning.

For Israel, on each Rosh Hashanah that scene is replayed, and new meaning is discovered in our world, and the world is born again. (Interesting concept!)

All the cosmos came to be because Hashem, (The Name), chose to invest His very essence into a great drama: the drama of a lowly world becoming the home of an infinite God. A marriage of opposites, the fusion of finite and infinite, light and darkness, heaven and earth.

We would seem to be the players in that drama, the cosmic matchmakers. With our every action, we have the power to marry our mundane world to the infinite and unknowable.

Apocalypse of the Teruah’s cry? A horn that cries?

How can an animals horn cry out?

It’s the cry IN the sound of the shofar!

It is part of hebrew thought that the first time a shofar was heard in creation was when God created Adam. God blew Adam’s soul into him, and the sound it made was the sound of the shofar. Just like God created mankind on Rosh Hashanah, on the anniversary of that day, God is recreating us.

Could it be said that we are God’s shofar?..

The sound of the shofar being blown is the sound of creation.

The breath represents the soul, and the instrument represents our bodies.

The shofar reminds us that when our bodies do the will of our soul, there is song and harmony.

Spirituality is represented by music because music sounds even more beautiful the more notes that are being played, unlike too much speech.

Do each of our souls have a mission to add to the harmony of the world?

The shofar is supposed to change us. It’s sounds are intended to invoke that nagging feeling inside of us that asks us to live a deeper, fuller life in the year to come.

There is a difference between simply hearing it and then going about our lives, and really listening to it and having its wailing sound transform us.

Even though it is not the anniversary of the creation of the entire universe, but that of the human being, it’s the true beginning, as all of time, as we know it, begins on this day.

Why? Because on this day, more than any other, the Hebrew thought is we are empowered to change lanes, to switch direction, to alter and transform our destiny and thereby the destiny of all of creation if as we believe everything is connected!

Through us, truth and goodness can become a flaming torch of light, which was once obscured in darkness and ignorance.

All is defined by destiny. Even the past is redefined by the arrow of its future. The very existence of that time that held that past is re-created once it achieves its hidden destiny. A destiny that only each of us can reveal.

For those whose focus is on Rosh Hashanah, the here and now that is all that matters; for it represents the first day of all of time, future and past.

In biblical times, the shofar was used to tell the people that the King was coming.

What is the correct etiquette when a King comes?

Most likely, we want to impress the King so we make an effort to perfect ourselves and our surroundings.

It was also used as a signal that war was coming. What is the strategy we adopt when war comes? Probably we prepare our weapons, form an army and we prepare to fight.

The shofar was also a tool to help break down barriers. When the shofar was blown at Jericho, the walls came crumbling down. This is why it is also known as the 

Even though sometimes we change from the inside out, it is more often influences from the outside that really have an impact on us. Is it possible that the shofar is necessary because it is a powerful tool outside ourselves and helps us to improve ourselves on the inside?

Our actual bones are supposed to resonate with the sound of the shofar. Do we have the ability to not only hear what the sound is reflecting but to absorb its frequency and let it stir deep within our souls, so much so, that there is an effect on our physical bodies??

Throughout life, our soul is constantly being affected by outside influences: fashion dictates how we dress, advertisements tell us what we like, the media affects how we think, and the people that surround us dictate our reality. Yet, how often do we stop and really listen to the sounds that surround us? How often do we connect to what is inside of us and who is above us? How in tune are we with nature and the spiritual aspects of our lives? How much do the sounds of the outside world drown out the sounds of our soul?

With a new year comes a clean slate, the ability to correct our mistakes, with the power to transform into a newer and better self.

The shofar is our call to action – an alarm!

The power is within us. Once we hear the call, it is our job to make it real.

And so too, every morning, we are all reborn from a night-time taste of death.

Since Father created earth by His spoken word and creation is still in motion and at every moment—in the smallest increment of time—every particle of the universe is still being projected into being out of absolute nothingness, as it was at the very genesis of all things.

The feast of trumpets is the season of Teshuvah – the season of repentance/return.

Teshuvah is the Hebrew word from the root word SHUV meaning to return.

Hosea 3:4 -5 Jeremiah 3:22; Isaiah 30:15.

The great mystery is that in ancient times God has set up this entire age as a Hebrew year. The Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot, starts the civil new year, however on the Sacred Calendar it represents the end of the year, not the beginning.

So the season of repentance comes at the end.

Teshuvah has a double meaning; as well as returning to God, it can also mean physical return. So the days of Teshuvah contain another secret, that of an apocalypse, a revealing, that Israel must return to the land of promise and to Jerusalem.

Teshuvah is not just for a week for a season, but a lifestyle.

We are to live our whole lives with Teshuvah hearts and the greater the Teshuvah, the greater will be our continual returning to Him.

Teshuvah signifies that the time of Israel’s repentance and their subsequent return to Messiah will happen at the end of the age. So in a way the Hebrew year waits for Israel to repent and turn, Teshuvah, in order for it to come to its conclusion. This is why we are to pray for Israel to return to Messiah and why the Appointed Time WILL surely come.

The Rabbis/Teachers compare the coming Messianic era to the full moon, the hope of redemption and His coming is compared to the new moon.

The Talmud, (compendium of rabbinical teachings and discussions), teaches that when the Messiah returns, the moon will cease to diminish and remain as large and bright as the sun.

So while the celebration of the new moon reminds us of His coming, it also reminds us to renew our awareness of His Presence in our lives, and to push forward into the growth and change that He has for us, becoming all He created us to be.

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”  (Psalm 8:3–4)

In truth, we need only awaken the spark of God within our own souls. That spark within us connects with the Infinite Light of God above. The circuit is complete and a new cycle begins. For this reason we are called His children, and we call Him our Father. We are created beings, yet there is something of us that lies beyond creation. It is the One who sustains the universe who breaths within us.

On Rosh Hashanah, God is addressed as both

Father/Avinu/Avinou

and

King/Malkeinu/Malkaynou

Father, because there is something of Him within each of us.

King, because He dictates what will be and what will not.

Indeed, as we choose, so He will dictate.

Choose life.

Words to Avinou Malkaynou

Our Father Our King Hear our voice

Our Father Our King We have no King but You

Our Father Our King Renew For us a good year

Send us complete healing to the sick of your people

Our Father Our King

Inscribe us in the book of life

fill our hands with your blessing

Our Father Our King 

Fill our storehouses with plenty

Our Father Our King

Hear our voice have compassion upon us

Our Father Our King Hear our voice

Our Father Our King Hear our voice

_______________

Avinu malkeinu sh’ma kolenu


Avinu malkeinu chatanu l’faneycha


Avinu malkeinu alkenu chamol aleynu


V’al olaleynu v’tapenu

Avinu malkeinu


Kaleh dever v’cherev v’raav mealeynu


Avinu malkeinu kalehchol tsar


Umastin mealeynu

Avinu malkeinu 
Avinu malkeinu


Kotvenu b’sefer chayim tovim


Avinu malkeinu chadesh aleynu


Chadesh aleynu shanah tovah

Sh’ma kolenu
 Sh’ma kolenu Sh’ma kolenu

Avinu malkeinu Avinu malkeinu


Chadesh aleynu

Shanah tovah

Avinu malkeinu
 Sh’ma kolenu


Sh’ma kolenu
 Sh’ma kolenu
 Sh’ma kolenu

A King speaks and his word is fulfilled. God speaks and the world comes into being. 

When we speak the words of Torah/Scripture, they resonate in the heavens and beyond. Spoken words have sound and frequency which is part of creations makeup. Why? Because they are His words, and they are on the rebound to Him. He spoke, He said and He watches over His Word to perform it and it will not return to Him void. Is.55:11

The central observance and widespread custom of Rosh Hashanah is sounding and listening to the blowing of the shofar on both mornings of Rosh Hashanah. The shofar is made from a hollowed-out ram’s horn. It produces three ‘voices’

tekiah (a long blast), 

shevarim (a series of three short blasts) and 

teruah (a staccato burst of at least nine blasts).

Click http link below for more information and on the mp3 bar to hear the different shofar sounds.

(The sounds will begin after 15 seconds)

https://www.minimannamoments.com/blowing-your-own-trumpet-2/

The shofar is blown at various intervals during the Rosh Hashanah morning service. When all added up there are 100 ‘voices‘ in total.

On Rosh Hashanah, we cry out from our very essence, from our spirit man, with the call of the shofar; Father replies, sending His very essence towards His creation.

The shofar cries out from the raw essence of the soul, to its Beloved, the One who is the raw essence of all being. It’s not a human voice but rather the howl of an animal horn and when its sound is heard it is so primal that the mind ceases to think and the heart skips a beat, the throb of life suspended for a moment in time.

That is the moment that heaven and earth connect. The base nature of our souls here on earth reach up to touch the divine essence above as He reaches down and the RE-union is made. Our souls press upwards bursting through the veil into the heavenly dimension, escaping the constraints enforced upon it by our earthly bodies.

For there are many things that are important even essential for us and often words flow out in a burst of emotion, rich words, expressive and vibrantly imbued with life.

And then, there are things that shake us to the very core – challenging all that we have known and believed.

Things that do not wait for the right words or the mind’s permission, in this case, the mind cannot fathom them, the most expressive words could not contain them. These are the things that can only break out in a cry, in a scream, and then fall into silence.

This is something of the sound of the shofar: From the very core of our souls our hearts crying, ‘Father! please don’t leave – let your presence remain always!’

Another significance of the shofar is to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac’s place as an offering to God;

as we remember Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son, and pray that He should stand by us as we pray for a year of life, health and prosperity.

Rosh Hashanah is the start of the Yamim Nora’im (High Holidays).

At the time of writing, the Holy Day, (Yom Kadosh), of Yom Kippur, is just a week away and the people will gather in synagogues for 25 hours of fasting, prayer and inspiration.

The days in between are known as the 10 Days of Repentance,

or the Ten Days of Return/Days of Awe

and they are an especially propitious time for teshuvah, for returning to the Father.  Before the

Yom Kippur is followed by the joyous holidays of Sukkot and Simchat Torah.

Parallels of Khataah – The Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur

The sacrifice that took away guilt and which was also the guilt, called the Asham. On the day of atonement there was a sacrifice that took away the sins of all Israel. It was a sacrifice of a parallel nature and contains a parallel mystery. It was called the sin offering it was the offering that took away sin.

Messiah was the old covenant/testament mystery revealed in the renewed covenant/testament, it was a shadow of Him as He was and is THE sacrifice that takes away the sin of the world.

In Hebrew the sin offering is called the Khataah. It has a double meaning. One is, sin offering, and it also means the sin itself.

As Messiah is the mystery, He is the Khataah and the same as in the mystery of the Asham.

(Asham = the sacrifice becomes the very thing it removes, in this case sin, more explanation to follow).

Messiah had to become sin itself in order to fulfill scripture. 2Corinthians 5:21 He made Himself who knew no sin to be sin. Matthew 1:21.

Both the sacrifice and the sin are called Khataah meaning that, not only does the sacrifice have the name as the sin but the sin has the name of the sacrifice that removes the sin.

Every sin has or carries the name of the sin offering and if Messiah is the sin offering, the Khataah, then every sin has His name, for every sin has the name of the sacrifice.

So in the Hebrew language every sin we’ve committed, repented of, been forgiven for and is now under His Blood, bears His name, the name of the sacrifice. So therefore He owns our sin. They are no longer ours, they belong to Him now, so we cannot keep them for He is the owner of them His name is on our sin.

Isaiah 53:7 – 11; two Corinthians 5:21

One of the sacrifices offered in the temple was called the Asham.

It was for a specific purpose it removed the guilt of the one who offered it up.

Asham means guilt offering.

However it also means the guilt, which seems to be a paradox, yet they do in fact go together.

How can the guilt and the guilt offering connect in this way?

Because the criteria of the Asham, the guilt offering, was that it could only take away the guilt of the one offering it by first becoming the guilt. A full representation and identification of it. The priests action of laying hands on the Head of the sacrifice was a physical indication of this.

As in Isaiah, he prophesied that Messiah would be crushed, pierced and wounded for our transgressions and sins. However in the Hebrew original text it says more and declares that His life would become an Asham.

 The same word Asham, used also in Leviticus. Here it is referring to the animal sacrifices offered up by the priests to redeem the guilty.

In Isaiah it is not referring to animal sacrifice but of a human life, that of the coming Messiah.

Here he tells us Messiah is the Asham and the Asham is the Messiah. This indicates that not only does He die to remove our guilt but He becomes the guilt itself. Looking at His death, we see both the sacrificial act and the guilt itself. The guilt of our guilt literally nailed to the cross\tree

The conclusion is therefore, if Messiah is the Asham and the Asham is the guilt, when the Asham dies so does all the guilt and shame.

All have died and been removed, gone forever and why He could say these words from the cross,

And very timely the old year is finished too and now on Rosh Hashanah, the traditional start to the holiday feasts, begins with two loaves of round challah, (bread). The round shape symbolizes the cycle of life and the crown with which God is coronated every year as King of the Universe.

To add sweetness to demonstrate the wish for a sweet new year, the challah is dipped in honey before taking the first bite. 

Many people eat pomegranates on Rosh Hashanah, demonstrating their wish for as many merits as the pomegranate has seeds. It is commonly said that the pomegranate has 613 seeds, corresponding to the 613 mitzvahs in the Torah. However, this has yet to be empirically demonstrated by seed counters worldwide!

Rosh Hashanah emphasizes the special relationship between God and us: our dependence upon God as our creator and sustainer, and God’s dependance upon us as the ones who make His presence known and felt in His world.

 Let’s Bless one another with the words

 ‘Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim,’ 

‘May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.’

You are loved! Abundant shalom and New Year blessings to every reader from your family and friends at MMM.

PLEASE Don’t leave this page without making that life-saving decision – time is running out. Don’t miss the day of your visitation!

The Shofars Voice is Calling for you today!

This life is NOT all there is!

You are not here by chance!

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…Don’t put it off one more moment…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You are now Born Again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and you are part of the ever growing family of believers. You will never be the same again!

Midweek Mannabite-The Sound of the Shofar Trumpet

Heavens Door is Open – Are You Ready To Go Home?One Day the Trumpet will sound and He will return for His Bride…If this was your last day on earth…are you ready to meet the Lord?The reason for this question is that one day one of these years, the Lord Jesus our Messiah, Yeshua Ha Mashiach will return for us, His Bride, the congregation of His body of believers. The One New Man combination of Jewish and Gentile followers of I AM that I AM – Who IS The Way The Truth and The Life.          John 14:6,

Derech Emet Chaim 

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.  Matt.24:36 KJV

For those who choose NOT to get ready, Jesus promises to come as a thief. Revelation 3:3 KJV This strongly suggests He may have some knowledge as to when He is returning.Jesus was ascended at this point and was giving revelation to John.

‘Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.’ 

 

The promise to watching believers is His appearing will not be a surprise.

‘But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.’ 
1 Thessalonians 5:4

Jesus made everything. He knows how it all works together. ‘All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made’ .
John 1:3 KJV

One key may be in the Annual 7 Appointed times of the Lord.

Jesus exactly fulfilled the first 4 appointed times* when He came the first time over 2000 years ago. It is more than possible that He Will fulfill the last 3 when He returns the 2nd time.

(* SEE Previous Posts )

 For He said Matt 5:17

‘Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.’

 The law is the (Torah) and the Holy Scriptures (Tanakh).) and includes all The Commandments given to every believer. Being saved/born again,does not give us the right to choose which ones we will keep. Being under Grace is not a reason to do and live as we please or a license to sin.Also from the beginning in And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

 ‘But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.’  1 Thess. 5:1

Why?

Because they were very familiar of the annual appointed times.So bringing all these things together offers an interesting concept that Jesus could return for His Bride sometime around the Fall Festivals./Appointed times.

With the Spring Feasts of Messiah, we look back and rejoice over our past redemption and deliverance. In the same way Jesus fulfilled those…

with the Fall Feasts we look forward to our future deliverance and return of our King. This is a time that we prepare ourselves as His Bride and make sure we are ready to hear the Sound of the Shofar!Here’s some facts and some traditions of men regarding Rosh HaShanah. It is the head of the Jewish year, the time when God reinvests Himself in creation as He is crowned king of the universe through prayer, shofar blasts, and celebration.The man-made traditions and customs that were not derived from the Hebrew’s Holy Scriptures (Torah, Tanakh) but emerged during, and have evolved since, the Babylonian Diaspora, and have been greatly expanded upon in the Talmud (Rabbinical commentaries).

is the Jewish Civil New Year.

The words Rosh HaShanah mean “Head of the Year,” Jewish New Year. Rosh in Hebrew means “chief or head” and shanah means “year.”Rosh HaShanah is the head of the year on the civil calendar, and is also known as the birthday of the world since the world was created on this day Jewish tradition believes that Adam was created on this day (Mishnah, San Hedrin 38b). How did they decide that this was the day of the year the world was created? Because the first words of the Book of Genesis (Bereishit), “in the beginning,” when changed around, read, Aleph b’Tishrei, or “on the first of Tishrei.” Therefore, Rosh HaShanah is known as the birthday of the world, for tradition tells us that the world was created then.The number of the year changes on Rosh HaShanah. This year, we change from 5777 to 5778. The Hebrew Calendar says it is 5778 years from the creation of the world, as determined by counting back years in the Bible. The setting of this date is credited to Maimonides, who mentions it in his book, Mishneh Torah: Sanctification of the Moon, 11:6, written about 1178 CE, but it may have been in use for some time before that. This kind of numbering is called Anno Mundi meaning “Year of the World.”

ROSH HASHANAH: NAMES, THEMES, AND IDIOMS

Rosh HaShanah is referred to in the Torah as Yom Teruah, the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar (or the Day of the Awakening Blast). On Yom Teruah, the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar, it is imperative for every person to hear (shema) the shofar. The mitzvah (or biblical commandment [John (Yochanan) 14:15]), of the shofar is to hear (shema) the shofar being blown, not actually blow it yourself, hence the blessing, “to hear the sound of the shofar.”Teruah means “an awakening blast.” A theme associated with Rosh HaShanah is the theme “to awake.” Teruah is also translated as “shout.” The Book of Isaiah (Yeshayahu), chapter 12, puts the shouting in the context of the thousand-year reign of Messiah, the Athid Lavo. The Messianic era and shout is mentioned in Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 42:11; 44:23; Jeremiah (Yermiyahu) 31:7; and Zephaniah 3:14. The first coming of Yeshua is associated with a shout in Zechariah 9:9. The ultimate shout is the rapture (natzal) in First Thessalonians 4:16-17.Whether it is by the blast of a shofar or the force of a supernatural shout, God’s goal is to awaken us!For this reason it is written, “…

Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14 NAS). The Book of Ephesians has many references to Rosh HaShanah and the High Holy Days. For example, in Ephesians 4:30, being sealed unto the day of redemption refers to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. God gave this festival to teach us that we will be judged on Rosh HaShanah and will be sealed unto the closing of the gates (neilah) on Yom Kippur.The shofar is the physical instrument that God instructed us to use to hear (shema) the sound of the shofar teaching us to awake from spiritual slumber (1 Corinthians 15:46).

THE OPENING OF THE GATESThe gates of Heaven are opened on Rosh HaShanah so the righteous nation may enter (Isaiah [Yeshayahu] 26:2; Psalm [Tehillim] 118:19-20). Because the gates of Heaven are understood to be open on Rosh HaShanah, this is further evidence that the rapture (natzal) of the believers in the Messiah Yeshua will take place near or on Rosh HaShanah.

  1. Teshuvah (repentance)

  2. Rosh HaShanah (Head of the Year, Birthday of the World)

  3. Yom Teruah (the Day of the Awakening Blast [Feast of Trumpets)

  4. Yom HaDin (the Day of Judgment)

  5. HaMelech (the Coronation of the Messiah)

  6. Yom HaZikkaron (the Day of Remembrance or memorial)

  7. The time of Jacob’s (Ya’akov) trouble (the birthpangs of the Messiah,Chevlai shel Mashiach) 

  8. The opening of the gates

  9. Kiddushin/Nesu’in (the wedding ceremony)

  10. The resurrection of the dead (rapture, natza1)

  11. The last trump (shofar)

  12. Yom Hakeseh (the hidden day)

Rosh HaShanah is the first of the month of Tishri in the Jewish calendar.

Rosh HaShanah is the first of the ten ‘Days of Awe’ Yamim Noraim, the 10 days of atonement. 
BUT, in the Bible, Rosh haShanah lasts for only one day, and Yom Kippur is the only (solitary) day of atonement which comes at the end of the Days of Awe.

Rosh HaShanah, with Yom Kippur ten days later, are often referred to as the High Holy Days. The three High Holy Days established by God are:

1 – The first day of the Feast Of Unleavened Bread (Chag Ha Matzoh) – Passover

2 – Pentecost (Shavuot) very late in spring, fifty days from the first Sunday following (after) The Passover.

3 – The first day of the Feast Of Tabernacles (Sukkot  – 15 Tishri  (15 days after Rosh haShanah.)

     These three God-ordained High Holy Days are Annual Pilgrimages to Jerusalem. ” Ex. 23:14-17; Lev. 23; Deut.16:16

there are only GOD’S Holy Days 
which the Sons of Israel were commanded to faithfully observe 
as their form of worship of The God Of Abraham.

The Old Testament Holy Days were ordained by God as 
”Appointed Times” which He considers Holy unto Himself.

Hebrew Calendar Date.Yom Teruah, 1 Tishri 5778

Eschatologists consider Rosh haShanah (Yom Teru’ah) the most likely time that Ye-shu’a (Jesus) will return to the earth for His second coming. However we cannot discern exactly WHICH YEAR Ye-shu’a (Jesus) will return.Rosh haShanah is called “The Day That No-One Knows” 
because it is the only Hebrew Feast / Festival day that falls on the first day of a month Rosh Chodesh.

Since the first day of any Hebrew month depends on the sighting of the first tiny sliver of the next waxing moon following a new moon, no-one knows exactly when Rosh haShanah will begin until the next waxing moon is sighted and the 7th Hebrew month (Tishri) is officially declared to have begun. Discover The Significance Of Rosh Chodesh.On Rosh HaShanah, we remember the Creation of the world and we look ahead to the Judgment of God.Traditionally sweet things are eaten on Rosh HaShanah: apples and honey to express our desire for a sweet year ahead.followed by

One of the themes of Rosh HaShanah is the “Book of Life.” It is an ancient metaphor expressing the idea that we don’t know what lies ahead of us, but that God knows all.

The traditional greeting for Rosh HaShanah is L’Shanah Tovah Tikateivu (l’sha-NAH toe-VAH tee-ka-TAY-vu) which means “May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year.” A shorter form of the greeting is Shanah Tovah which means “[Have a] Good Year” A very short greeting for the day is “Goot yom tov!” Yiddish for “Good holiday!”On Rosh HaShanah we hear the sound of the Shofar [ram’s horn.]The Fall Feasts are a Blueprint for Restoration Sacrifice, Atonement and are joyful. They also include the ingathering—this is the path along which the Fall Feasts of Israel move.

“Blow The Shofar At The New Moon, At The Covered Time For Our Feast Day. For It Is A Statute For Israel, An Ordinance For The God Of Jacob. Ps 81:3-4

This is also a reference to:

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

 1 Thess 4:16 KJV

 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

On Rosh HaShanah, we make a special effort to make teshuvah,* to repent of old sins and to forge new ways of living.

(*see previous post)

Many Jews around the world celebrate 2 days of Rosh HaShanah.

This year, Rosh HaShanah starts at sundown on September 20, 2017.Street sign in Jerusalem.

In essence there are two Jewish New Years – the first is the biblical one in the spring, Nissan/ Passover which is largely ignored, and the second is the morphing of the biblical Feast of Trumpets on the first day of the seventh month into a new Jewish New Year. Which this year will fall on Sept 21/22 Followed by Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement on sept 30th.

Then a weeks celebration called Sukkot or Booths or Tabernacles this begins on Oct 5 and continues through Oct 13.

Teshuvah ends with Rosh Hashanah which is the sounding of the Shofar.

Why are there 2?

The answer goes back to the 70-year time period that the Jewish nation spent in captivity in Babylon. The first deportations into captivity rounded up the distinguished young thinkers and leaders of the day. The Book of Daniel comes in here as over the period of the two and a half generation sojourn in Babylon, the Jewish people borrowed a number of technological innovations from their hosts. Among them was the use of Aramaic as a common language (the adaptation of the Aramaic script to express the Hebrew language) and a willingness to follow the Babylonian commercial calendar (the new year of which started in what is today late September).Jesus is the fulfillment of the Festivals—He is our atonement and joy, and in Him we have a new beginning and a new life.

As Paul writes, “We are a new creation in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

For believers it’s a time to rejoice and to look up for our redemption draweth nigh and be identified with the wise virgins who were ready and awaiting the return of the bridegroom. Keep your lamps trimmed and be filled with Holy Spirit, Ruach HaKodesh for when midnight comes, we do not want to be on the wrong side of the door.And the trumpet will sound…let’s all make sure we have ears to hear it.

But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Matt 25:7