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NASB | 1 Corinthians 15:17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 15:17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and powerless [mere delusion]; you are still in your sins [and under the control and penalty of sin]. |
Bible Question:
Where does it mention what we call "Easter" in the Bible? (book, chapter, verse) What is the true meaning of "Easter"? How was it origionally celebrated? Was it celebrated at all? How should we regard it today? |
Bible Answer: gatorgirl7563 Boy you have gotten a lot of what I consider lousy answers let me take a stab. First the word Easter is only found in KJV in Acts 12:4. Jesus died on the Passover which represented God's deliverance of the Children of Israel from bondage and death in Egypt. Egypt being a typology for sin. Thus Jesus delivered man from the bondage of sin and the death that occurred because of it. Jesus then became the eternal Passover lamb and fulfilled that feast. Going backwards from the cross for a moment the Passover Lamb was selected 4 days before it was to be killed. That coincides with Jesus' triumphant entrance into Jerusalem four days previous to his arrest and eventual death. This is the day we call Palm Sunday and was the fulfillment of the Day of Selection another feast day connected to the Passover. Stepping forward from the crucifixion Jesus arose three days later on what we call "Easter" but what would better be called "Resurrection Sunday". Just as Jonah spent three days in the belly of fish Jesus spent three days in the heart of the earth as seen in Matthew 12:40. This is a visual demonstration of Jesus' victory over death and hades (hell) The actual name Easter comes from the Teutonic feast of spring. As Christianity spread many of it's holiday's took the names of the ethnic holidays that occurred around the same time. Many oppose accepting these names saying they once were pagan celebrations therefore are foreign to Christianity. However the name does make the holiday what is celebrated makes the holiday. Therefore if we celebrate the arrival of spring on Easter then it is in fact pagan. However if we celebrate the fact the Christ arose from the tomb on Easter then we are celebrating the resurrection not something pagan. Other words the day becomes what we make of it not what we call it. Many of the Easter traditions also came from pagan events. Take Easter eggs they were visual representation of the birth of a new growing season beginning in spring. Today children should be taught those Easter eggs represent the new life given to us by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We should not let the fact that the object once carried pagan importance stand in our way of using it as a visual representation of the truth of Jesus Christ. We just have to insure we are applying correct meaning to it when we do. I personally don’t have any real problem with the name Easter but I prefer to call the day Resurrection Sunday because to me it drives home the purpose of commemorating the day. EdB |