Written by: Damien Powell
One of Satan’s biggest deceptions is to trick believers of the Messiah and of YHWH, The Elohim of Israel, in to forcing us to observe days that are not commanded in scripture. Satan tricks us in to celebrating his counterfeit holidays called sabbats (a pagan gathering of witches) that mock the true Holy Days/SHABBAT or Moedim (Appointed times) set by YHWH. This great deception is confirmed when we read Daniel 7: 25:
“He (Satan) will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.”
What is Easter?
Satan has already changed YHWH’s commanded Holy Days for the church which isn’t Biblical, which brings us to the upcoming Feast, which is greatly overlooked by many believers in the Messiah and that day is Passover. Most of us have been deceived in to thinking that Yeshua died and rose on Easter Sunday. However, Easter cannot be found anywhere in scripture, nor the Easter bunny or the Easter egg, which are all pagan. Easter sometimes coincides with Passover and the death and resurrection of Yeshua, so it was easy for Christianity to merge this pagan celebration of the Spring Equinox and sexual reproduction to this date. Easter eggs and bunnies all represent symbols of reproduction and have nothing to do with our Messiah.
The names of Easter are Easter (English), Eastre (Anglo-Saxon), Astarte (Greek), ,Ashtoreth (Canaanite), and Ishtar (Babylonian). What does YHWH think of Easter? Judges 2:13
“So they forsook YHWH and served Baal and the Ashtoreth’s.”
Technically, if we are choosing Easter over Yeshua and the true Biblical day, we are putting a false deity over our Elohim which violates the first Commandment. “Have no other elohim before ME.”
What does it represent?
In my book titled “The Ultimate Spiritual Detoxification Guide: Cleansing Your Spirit of The Impurities of Learned Traditions and Behavior”, I explain from research the origin of Easter. Easter or Ishtar, also known by her biblical name of Semiramis and later called the “Queen of heaven” was the widow of Nimrod and mother of Tammuz. Easter is the bare breasted pagan fertility goddess of the east. Legend has it that she came out of heaven in a giant egg, landing in the Euphrates River at sunrise on the first Sunday after the vernal equinox, busted out, and turned a bird into an egg laying rabbit.”
“To honor this event, pagan sun-worshippers would go out early in the morning and face to the east to watch their sun-god arise over the horizon before having mass (sacrifice) in which the priest of Easter would sacrifice three month old human infants and take the eggs of Easter and dip them in the blood of the sacrificed infants. The blood-red colored Easter eggs would later hatch on December 25th, the same day her son Tammuz (Ezekiel 8:14) would be born.” You now possess the knowledge of the origin of Easter eggs and where dying them in pastel colors have come from.
Choose Passover
The biblical day that Yeshua was crucified on was Passover and then He rose three days later (End of Shabbat), the true Biblical feast. Mathew 26:2 says:
“As you know, the Passover is two days away and the Son of Man (Yeshua) will be handed over to be crucified.”
What is Passover? Passover is when YHWH brought the final plague upon the Egyptians of Pharaoh who would not let His people go. YHWH commanded the Israelites to put the blood of the sacrificial lamb without blemish on the lentils and doorposts of their homes so that YHWH would “Pass Over” their homes and execute judgment on the Egyptians. This event was a foreshadow of the true sacrificial lamb without blemish in Yeshua, whose blood was poured out for us so that sin and death will “pass over” us and we will be free in Yeshua with eternal life. The same way the lamb saved Israel from death is the same way Messiah would save us from death. He is the lamb that takes away the sin of the world.
Yeshua is also described as the Lamb in the Book of Revelation saying:
Revelation 12:11
“And they overcame him because of the Blood of the Lamb, and because of the Word of their witness, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
Revelation 13:8
“And all those dwelling on the earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the slain Lamb, from the foundation of the world shall worship Him.”
Revelation 22:1 And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of YHWH and of the Lamb.” And verse 3
Exodus 12:12-14 says:
“For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am YHWH. And the blood shall be to you for a sign upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial: and you shall keep it a feast to YHWH throughout your generations; you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.”
If you notice, YHWH tells us to keep the Passover Feast throughout our generations forever. This holds true because our Messiah celebrated Passover with His disciples just as His Father commanded. Mathew 26:18-19 says:
“And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand: I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples.” And the disciples did as Yeshua had appointed them; and they made ready the Passover.”
Verse 29 is absolutely beautiful! Yeshua reveals something that a lot of people may miss after reading the passage. He says the following:
“But I say unto you, I will not drink the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Yeshua just confirmed the words of Father YHWH in Exodus 12:14 that the Passover is to be kept forever; and Yeshua tells us that we will celebrate the Passover with Him when He drinks the fruit of the vine with us in Heaven. So, as believers we need to begin celebrating the true feast of Passover and not the counterfeit holiday of Easter.
So we see that our Messiah Yeshua the one we are to follow, The One who kept the Torah perfectly celebrated Passover and NOT Easter. And Even Josiah in the Book of Kings when he and the priest discovered The Book of The Law they celebrated it because IT IS WRITTEN! 2 Kings 23:21-23 says:
And the sovereign (Josiah) commanded all the people, saying, “Prepare the Pesach (Passover) to YHWH your Elohim, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” For such a Passover had not been prepared since the days of the rulers who ruled Israel, nor in all the days of the sovereigns of Israel and the sovereigns of Judah.”
Is this matter and the words commanded in Torah that serious?
Yes! When Josiah rediscovered the Torah in The House of YHWH he said in 2 Kings 22:13
“Go inquire of YHWH for me, for the people and for all of Judah, concerning the words of this Book that has been found. For great is the wrath of YHWH that is kindled against us, because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this Book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
When is Passover this year?
Passover this year is on April 19th at the beginning of the sunset (twilight) and must be eaten in haste because the Israelites fled Egypt in haste. We are to eat it with roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and Matzah (unleavened bread).
Right after Passover is The Feast of Unleavened Bread!
As stated above, Passover begins on April 19th (14th Day of the 1st month of Abib on Hebrew calendar) and immediately after Passover is Chag HaMatzot/Feast of Unleavened Bread the next day on April 20th (15th Day of the 1st month of Abib on Hebrew calendar).
YHWH tells us this in Exodus 12:14-20 saying:
“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to YHWH---a LASTING ORDINANCE. For seven days you are to eat bread made without leaven. On the first day remove the leaven from your houses, for whoever eats anything with leaven in it from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel. On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat---that is all you may do.”
“Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. In the first month you are to eat bread made without leaven, from the evening of the fourteenth day (Passover) until the evening of the twenty-first day. For seven days no leaven is to be found in your homes. And whoever eats anything with leaven in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an ALIEN OR NATIVE-BORN. Eat nothing made with leaven. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.”
To clarify this, YHWH has just told us that whether you are a native-born Jew or a Gentile that we are not supposed to eat anything with leaven in it for seven days. Also, we are commanded to not to do any work on the 1st day and the 7th day of the feast. According to the American/Gregorian calendar we are not supposed to work on April 20th and April 26th because they are holy days. And from the period of April 19th (sundown)-April 26th we are not allowed to eat anything with leaven in it which is for a period of seven days.
What is leaven? Leaven or (Se’or in Hebrew) are leavening agents that cause dough to rise such as yeast, baking powder, baking soda etc. When leavening agents are combined with dough it becomes Chametz which is baked bread. We are to dispose of any baked breads, cakes, cake mixes containing leavening agents and store bought breads along with the leavening agents as well. None of these items are supposed to even be seen anywhere on our property. We are to eat Matzah, which is called unleavened bread, for seven days.
We are commanded not to possess Chametz or leavening agents because leaven is a representation of sin. So, when we walk like Messiah Yeshua we are supposed to cleanse sin from our lives as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8:
“Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old leaven that you may be a new batch without leaven—as you really are. For Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the malice and wickedness, but with the bread without leaven, the bread of sincerity and truth.”
Once you allow a little sin to enter your life it will grow, causing you to sin even more. So, don’t let the sin/leaven enter your life because it will spread through the entire batch of dough/body.
Why are we as Jew and Gentile supposed to observe this? YHWH tells us in Exodus 13:7-9:
“Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with leaven in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen anywhere within your borders. On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what YHWH did for me when I came out of Egypt.” This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of YHWH brought you out of Egypt with His mighty hand. You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.”
As always let us stand up and fight for the Elohim of Israel through His Son, the Messiah Yeshua in truth. I know this is a lot of information to take in all at once, but my door is always open for any questions that you may have. Feel free to email or call me regarding any concerns that you may have about Passover.
Blessings in Yeshua HaMashiach’s name
Damien Powell