...they... believed a lie... (and now) had pleasure
in unrighteousness. (II Thess. 2:11-12)
Ah, Easter... a day honored by most in contemporary Christianity as
celebration of the resurrection of Christ. Yet, "the vast majority of
ecclesiastical and secular historians agree that the name of Easter and the
traditions surrounding it are deeply rooted in pagan religion."[1] Really?
How could this be? What would any of the ways of God have to do with
the paganism of ancient Babylon; and beyond? And, if these roots were
really so, why does it still continue today?
If the Easter story only stands as a remembrance of the crucifixion and
resurrection of Christ, then it is symbolic of his return from death; a release
of the devil’s hold on the ancient world. At this time of Easter, Jesus was
supposedly accredited as the agent behind the renewal, or return, of the sin-
filled world Adam helped sink us all into - into something better. Now,
Jesus provided another way - giving the populous a new way to salvation.
Yet, Easter, as we’ll soon see, now seems to be tied more to things which
look a lot more pagan, overall: the cycle of the seasons; the welcoming of
spring; the fertility of the land; etc. Why these associations? What does it
all have to do with nature? We’ll now see that Easter could, in actuality, be
the celebration of a “resurrection,” “rebirth,” or “return” of someone… but
who, exactly?
Let’s see…
One source claims that: “The word Easter is of Saxon origin, Eastra, the
goddess of spring, in whose honour sacrifices were offered…”[2]
Wow… the “goddess of spring?” Wasn’t this holiday supposed to be about
the son of God? As we dig deeper into this subject, we, first, need to ask
ourselves: who just might this goddess be? Would any woman, or goddess,
have anything to do with the death and resurrection of Christ? And, if she
did have some kind of role, here, why would she be related to spring time?
We now see another, more popular meaning of Easter: it comes from the
ancient goddess of pagan Babylon! “In Babylonia… the goddess of spring
was called Ishtar.”[3] And, we also see that: “Ishtar was actually
pronounced “Easter” in most Semitic dialects…”[4]
So, what would be this day of Ishtar?
"Ishtar"… was a day that commemorated the resurrection of one of their
(ancient Babylonian) gods that they called "Tammuz", who was believed
to be the only begotten son of… the sun-god.
("The Pagan Origins of Easter", n. d., p. 1)[5]
Seems to be more to it all, besides just Ishtar. In the above, we see that
there were two other gods, here, at least; one was even known as the “only
begotten son of…” Doesn’t this sound familiar to many? Jesus was known
as the only begotten son of God. But who was this Tammuz? As well, who
was the sun-god?
Yes, there just might be another story behind our modern-day Easter; an
ancient one - with parallels to be commemorated in the changes of nature,
from then on. This may actually be the real roots of our Easter holiday.
So, to “let the cat out of the bag” a little early, here, we’ll discover that
Easter is, in large part, the remembrance of the murder of Nimrod: the
pagan builder of the Tower of Babel (see Origins of Babylon - Part 2). As
our revealing progresses, we’ll also see that Tammuz (or Damuzi) was only
another name of this pagan Nimrod; and Ishtar (or Inanna) was actually
another name of the Babylonian Semiramis. And the sun-god? He was
none-other than the cornerstone god the ancient pagans worshipped – all
three, of course, were nothing of Christian origin.
This is the actual story: first, as we recall from Origins of Babylon – Part
2, Shem (a son of Noah) actually killed Nimrod, and cut his body into little
pieces. We recall that he sent a piece of Nimrod to each area dominated by
his Babylonian kingdom… as a message of fear and compliance. Shem
wanted people to turn back to God, and get off of the Babylonian
bandwagon… or else.
Nimrod’s mother and wife, Semiramis, had to use her noggin during this
time; and quickly. She had to come up with something to deflect it all. She
also needed a way to maintain her power over the pagan populous at this
time of crisis; maybe even accentuate her own significance. It all depended
on what kind of story she could cook up; and who would buy it. So, she
needed to come up with a good one.
She did it; and, here’s the way she was able to snake her way into keeping
power and control over the despondent Babylonian people - with religious
hyperbole. After Nimrod (now to be known as Tammuz) was martyred (by
that evil “God-lover”), Semiramis (now to be known as Inanna, or Ishtar)
was totally grief–stricken. She was so despondent and sad that she was
willing to do almost anything to get her slain son back (she must have felt
like dying, as well)! So (in a supernatural or esoteric way), she did just that:
she let the whole pagan world know that she had “followed him into the
underworld!”
Because of her great love for her son, she pleaded for his return, while
down in there. With all of these pleas, she began to feel that the spirits or
gods of the underworld were judging her as heretical. They may have even
killed her while down there, and hung her body up on display (for all to
see). Yet, in her absence, something horrible was going on in the world
above them. The entire terrestrial earth seemed to be just as sad and
despondent as Semiramis was, because of this loss; and began to show it…
by the loss of fertility and life! Crops ceased to grow; animals seemed to
stop reproducing; etc. Unless something was to be done, soon, in the
underworld, the upper, natural world above them - and all life on it - might
begin to head towards the same dire end as Nimrod. So, something had to
be done, to help her, and the entire world, out.
Semiramis was reportedly inside the underworld for a whole of three days.
At the end of these days, she sent a desperate message to her pagan gods
for help. Finally, one of them - the sun-god - felt compassion for her, and
resurrected them both. He brought both the “plants of life” and the “waters
of life” to the underworld, and both were permitted to leave it, and be
brought up, to live again!
This was her story, and she was sticking to it! But, there had to be more to
it…
Most any pagan of the time probably figured out that Nimrod obviously
wasn’t a god to them, because he was dead; and his body was chopped
into little pieces. Obviously, he couldn’t rise from the dead on his own in
this state. So, Semiramis had to continue with a lot more of her
supernatural elements to this story, to make it all believable.
The story continues: after Shem killed Nimrod, Semiramis, reportedly
wanted to gather all of these strewn body parts, and (supernaturally) “put”
him back together. She was able to gather most of the parts, however;
except for one piece - the piece of Nimrod which was never found: his
reproductive organ.
So (according to her), because of the fact that she couldn’t find all of the
pieces, she said the gods clearly couldn’t bring this body back to life. So,
Nimrod would have to be back in another way. And, thanks to the sun-
god, she would be able to bring Nimrod back - as another human being!
So, the pagan sun-god (also known as Baal, Molech, etc.) would (according
to her) come down to their physical earth “in the form of a flame,” and
cause her to bring forth another Nimrod, for all to see! Yes, she claimed
the warming rays of the sun (via the sun-god) caused her to immaculately
conceive; which allowed her to bring forth a baby – now, the reincarnated
soul of Nimrod! Now, they both would (in an esoteric way) be brought
back from the underworld, and back up to the earth.
Semiramis did become pregnant, soon after this; the real father unknown to
most. And, she, now, was able to go around claiming her baby was this
reborn, renewed, or otherwise reincarnated Nimrod! When the baby was
born, it would then be celebrated as a god - as Nimrod, back from the
underworld. Now that he came back, neo-Nimrod would also be given
credit as defeating Shem’s (and his God’s) attempts at death. Reborn
Nimrod was considered savior of the pagan world - because he was the
one able to break the hold of God's death on the world, and keep the false
faiths of the pagan populous alive…
This all occurred during the time-period of what would be, and from then
on, celebrated as the first pagan Easter.
So, to create an annual celebration of this event, the festival of Ishtar (or
Easter) became the commemoration of this conception of Semiramis; her
claim for creating a new beginning for her pagan populous; her renewing
the world at hand (through neo-Nimrod); and her reviving/updating the
ancient pagan religion they once had, in so many ways. She was accredited
for adding any of these new, reviving elements of an otherwise-
questionable religion at the time; morphing it into a deeper, more-complex
Mystery Religion of Babylon, as well!
With the help of these new, esoteric religious elements, she was able, not
only to relieve the problem of Nimrod’s death, but also to elevate herself as
the most important “goddess” to it all! This is where the nature goddess of
the post-flood world comes into play! Also, many symbols of nature we see
around us - especially those pertaining to rejuvenation or rebirth - were
also brought into play, here, as part of the celebration!
The light of the sun becomes symbolic of the “sun-god’s” power; the
rejuvenating time of spring becomes symbolic of this conception, or
revival, of the major god of paganism… none of it, of course, is about the
revival of Jesus Christ. All of this becomes compressed into a single
holiday - the time of Easter.
This supernatural/esoteric story (and all of the symbolism surrounding it)
needed to continue on, a little further, though: neo-Nimrod’s supernatural
stay on this earth, however - as another child of Semiramis - would not be
permanent, at least in the body he was about to receive. This soon-to-be
son of Semiramis would have to die, eventually, as any other human
would. But, that wouldn’t really matter. He, according to these Babylonian
elites (such as Semiramis), was still neo-Nimrod, and Nimrod was still
their supernatural savior. He would live on, in god form, no matter if he
was in the form of a human body, or no.
So, to explain things a little further, there had to be a bit more to
Semiramis’ supernatural story (at least in regards to how it all was to be
celebrated, here on earth): some time after the time Semiramis and Nimrod
were granted their time back on earth (at the time of Easter), Nimrod (or
Tammuz) would have to leave this earthly abode, and go back into the
underworld… at least for a little while. That was part of the sun-god's plan.
So, just as reborn Nimrod - her son - had to physically die, the god within
him was still considered as god, and would continue on, forever. This
would be commemorated in our natural world too; providing evidence of
this birth/death/rebirth pattern. And, it was manifested for the people -
through the changing cycles of the seasons.
What are we saying here? We’re saying that, in our natural world around
us, the ancient pagan elites began to claim that there were “pointers” to the
truths of this whole supernatural/esoteric story. We were already beginning
to discover these pointers were seen through seasonal changes - the cycles
of the seasons. Spring and autumn would, both, be dictated as the times to
celebrate Nimrod, and the changes he had to go through! Easter, and all the
things that revolve around the time of spring, would be celebrated as Nim-
rod’s revival (because it, obviously, was paired with the reviving warmth of
the sun, the newness of spring, fertility, new life, etc.) - all physical,
worldly “proofs” of this whole revived-Nimrod story (according to them).
The same would work in the autumn period - with physical "proofs" of his
return, back to the underworld (see The Halloween Connection)!
The ancient pagans could, then, be continually convinced of Semiramis’
esoteric story, here, throughout the year - by connecting all of the things
they saw changing around them! That’s why the changing of the seasons,
and spring, are vitally connected to the holiday of Easter! It all seemed to
take on a life of its own with these ancients - when they looked around
them... because Semiramis' first proclaimed it so!
Coming up, we'll also learn more about the time Nimrod (i.e. Tammuz) had
to go back to the underworld, and how that was also set into place - how it
was established (and celebrated) during the time of autumn (see The
Halloween Connection).
So, Easter - from then on - was commemorated as the time of rebirth,
renewal, or reincarnation of a major pagan god. He was brought back to
life - to prove to the world that he was the one who conquered death, and
that his pagan “ways” were the right ways a person should use for their
salvation – not Christ.
Yet, if we think about it, why shouldn’t the pagans around her believe her
story? So much of it seemed to be happening all around them; just taking
on a life of its own.
Again, that’s why the festival of Easter (or Ishtar) is intertwined with the
prevailing themes of fertility, renewal, a descent into darkness, and the
triumph of light over darkness (or, rather, God’s “darkness”), as well as
some triumph of good over evil (or, rather, God's "evil").[6]
The story of Jesus and this epic of Semiramis (or Ishtar, Inanna) did have
some things, possibly, in common; but the story of Jesus’ death, burial, and
resurrection seemed the one “structured and embellished in accordance
with a pattern that was very ancient and widespread.”[7] In other words,
Jesus’ entire story was hijacked by the ancient pagans of Babylon; and
copied, somewhat… two thousand years before his birth!
Today, we see a secular culture celebrating the spring equinox, whilst
religious culture celebrates the resurrection. However, early
Christianity made a pragmatic acceptance of ancient pagan practices,
most of which we enjoy today at Easter. The general symbolic story of
the death of the son (sun)… and his rebirth, overcoming the powers of
darkness, was a well worn story in the ancient world.
("The Pagan Roots of Easter", 2010, p. 1)[8]
So, now we see the holiday of Easter really comes from Babylon -
spreading out, first, to the various nations or empires of the world (such as
Egypt); which sprout up their own versions later. From there, it spread to
the ends of the earth.
But, wait. Could this all really be so? Could the majority of what well-
wishing Christians celebrate at this time really come from something totally
foreign? Could Jesus’ resurrection from the dead really be something of a
“compromise” holiday - first pagan; then adopted as Christian?
As we look further, we’ll discover some of the more popular elements of
Easter, and see how so much of it was, and still is, of pagan origin - having
nothing to do with the resurrection of Christianity’s Lord and Savior!
First, some may try to say that Passover and Easter are almost the same;
yet there are some differences, however. For one, Passover is customarily
celebrated on a certain day of the year; and:
Easter is an ancient spring festival… The date of Easter is not fixed, but
instead is governed by the phases of the moon…
("The Pagan Roots of Easter", n. d., p. 1)[9]
…how pagan is that? Yes, why connect a Christian holiday to the phases of
the moon, anyway? That’s a method a typical pagan - one who looks to the
natural world for "signs" - might use!
Possibly, some of Christianity had arrived to those of pagan persuasion,
over time; and Easter had to become an amalgamated holiday - a holiday
made to "fit in with everybody."
Also, how many modern Christian churches might have those "sunrise
services" on Ishtar's day, or make attempts to face the rising sun (in the
east) at a time?
Although we see no celebration of Easter in the New Testament, early
church fathers celebrated it, and today many churches are offering
"sunrise services" at Easter – an obvious pagan solar celebration.
("The Pagan Roots of Easter", n .d., p. 1)[10]
At these “sunrise services,” seems the main quantifier, here, is - of course -
the sun. Why? What’s the importance of having a service at sunrise,
anyway - or having to face it - if there wasn’t at least some connection to
the sun, here? In the Bible, we do see the ancient pagans of the past would
maintain:
…their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the
east, and they worshipped the sun toward the east… for they… have
returned to provoke Me to anger… - Ezek. 8:16-17 (KJV)
Interesting how the Bible also stated how these acts actually provoked
anger in the Lord! Again, why? Of course, it was because the observation
of the sun seemed a serious infraction to God - and all of it was related to
paganism!
These customs of Easter honor Baal… (who) is still worshipped as the
"Rising Sun" and his house is the "House of the Rising Sun."
("The Pagan Origin of Easter", n. d., p. 1)[11]
How about the Easter Egg?
Going back to Semiramis’ supernatural story (above), we'll discover that
there was even more to her pagan symbolism, here on earth: she claimed
that (in an esoteric way) her godliness “came down from the moon in a
giant moon egg that fell into the Euphrates River.”[12] In other words, the
egg now had become the new symbol of the new “ways” she laid out for
the populous. Her supernatural egg was now considered “emblem of
generative life,” and rebirth... the "Ishtar egg."[13]
The origin of the Easter egg is based on the fertility lore of the Indo-
European races… The egg to them was a symbol of spring… In
Christian times the egg had bestowed upon it a religious interpretation,
becoming a symbol of the rock tomb out of which Christ emerged to the
new life of His resurrection.
("The True Origin of Easter", n. d., p. 6)[14]
Eggs, since ancient times, were known to be “very prominent as symbols
of new life and resurrection.”[15]. So, as most of us could probably guess,
the Bible never authorized any use of eggs as part of any celebration
dealing with Jesus Christ. But, why do we still have Easter eggs, today?
What about the Easter Bunny?
The hare, the symbol of fertility in ancient Egypt, a symbol that was kept
later in Europe… Its place has been taken by the Easter rabbit.
("The True Origin of Easter", n. d., p. 7)]16]
Even in our modern day, rabbits could also be thought of as symbols of
fertility. It’s obvious to figure out why: they, often, are thought to “breed
like rabbits!’ Eggs and rabbits both seem to be fertility symbols, here; and
both a part of Ishtar's day - nothing to do with Jesus Christ.
Tammuz was noted to be especially fond of rabbits, and they became
sacred in the ancient religion, because Tammuz was believed to be the
son of the sun-god, Baal.
("The Pagan Origin of Easter", n. d., p. 2)[17]
Truth is… most anybody could probably conclude the rabbit and egg have
nothing whatsoever to do with Christ’ resurrection. They have to come
from these old, idolatrous customs of paganism. God even told Christians
not to mix what is Godly with what was already pagan, regarding His
worship! Yet, today, in regards the story of pagan Nimrod (Tammuz) and
Jesus, it seems that it…
…is a remarkable coincidence… that the Christian and the heathen
festivals of the divine death and resurrection should have been
solemnized at the same season… It is difficult to regard the coincidence
as purely accidental. ("The True Origin of Easter", n. d., p. 9)[18]
Do you think these religious parallels would both “just occur” on their own,
over time - the same way; or would they, maybe, have been assimilated
for some reason? Could this conglomeration have been done for the sake of
those in the religious hierarchy - whatever hierarchy they were from - to
assure themselves acceptance, assimilation, or even convenience from the
people? Could this have been a way for pagan authorities of old to
somehow “Christianize” something they always held sacred, and known
their congregations held sacred… for a very long, long time? Note how
many places of modern "Christian" significances, such as churches, were
really built over top of ground (or temples) that were once of highly
regarded by pagans of old? Again, why?
The Roman Catholic Church had a practice of incorporating pagan
festivals - of pasting “Christian” names over them and calling them
“Christian.” This was done to make “Christianity” more palatable
and familiar to heathen worshippers, whom the Church was trying to
attract. ("The True Origin of Easter", n. d., p. 9)[19]
It might easily be understandable, now, to conclude why such
“assimilations” took place in our past. Many of the people in a (formally-
pagan) empire such as Rome probably wouldn't be as willing to give up
their pagan gods too easily - those they accredited for giving them their
lives and well-being! That's for sure. So, to assure greater assimilation with
these up-and-coming Christian narratives they were facing, religious
authorities had to do something, and fast. Sounds logical. It even sounds
somewhat understandable why they had to do this - in some twisted, self-
centered way. But, regardless, should this be the right way for people's
devotion? Or, is this more of a power play, or means to maintain control,
on behalf of ancient, religious establishments?
Here’s what God says, regarding how His people should live, in a land
formerly occupied by pagans:
When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee,
whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and
dwellest in their land; Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by
following them… and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying,
How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise…
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add
thereto, nor diminish from it. - Deut. 12:29-30, 32 (KJV)
In other words: do things God’s way. Don't adopt these pagan ways of old,
and combine them. God’s ways are not to be a mixture of His ways and
any pagan "ways" of the past, of which people held previously.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD
your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall
ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring
you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall
do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the
LORD your God. - Lev. 18:2-4 (KJV)
Again, as harmless as some of these amalgamations might seem, the
combining of ancient pagan elements with Christian elements could, at
first, pacify some of the masses, for some of the time. But, what possible,
detrimental side-effects could such a mixture have on any new seekers of
the Christian faith? All they see are the same old pagan ways being dressed
up, with a new look. And, what god might people actually be pointing their
worship towards, once these pagan elements begin dominate the
conversation? Also, what pathways might these additional elements help to
turn one towards, if a person begins to feel that they're all not solely from
the God of the Bible? As we see, it really does make a difference.
Could the “+” - on top of those hot-crossed buns
of Easter - actually stand for a letter: “T”…
for the god Tammuz?
The Halloween Connection could help us to dig even deeper, and learn
even more about those pagan/Christian infusion problems we have here.
Footnotes
[1] The True Origin of Easter, 4, https://rcg.org/books/ttooe.html (accessed June 8, 2016).
[2] The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter, 2, http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-
legends/ancient-pagan-origins-easter-001571?nopaging=1 (accessed June 8, 2016).
[3] The True Origin of Easter, 5, https://rcg.org/books/ttooe.html (accessed June 8, 2016).
[4] The True Origin of Easter, 4, https://rcg.org/books/ttooe.html (accessed June 8, 2016).
[5] The Pagan Origin Of Easter, 1, http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract1.html
(accessed June 8, 2016).
[6] The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter, 3, http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-
legends/ancient-pagan-origins-easter-001571?nopaging=1 (accessed June 8, 2016).
[7] The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter, 3, http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-
legends/ancient-pagan-origins-easter-001571?nopaging=1 (accessed June 8, 2016).
[8] The Pagan Roots of Easter, 1, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/
apr/03/easter-pagan-symbolism (accessed June 8, 2016).
[9] The Pagan Roots of Easter, 1, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/
apr/03/easter-pagan-symbolism (accessed June 8, 2016).
[10] The Pagan Roots of Easter, 1, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/
apr/03/easter-pagan-symbolism (accessed June 8, 2016).
[11] The Pagan Origin Of Easter, 3, http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract1.html
(accessed June 8, 2016).
[12] The Pagan Origin Of Easter, 2, http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract1.html
(accessed June 8, 2016).
[13] The True Origin of Easter, 6, https://rcg.org/books/ttooe.html (accessed June 8, 2016).
[14] The True Origin of Easter, 6, https://rcg.org/books/ttooe.html (accessed June 8, 2016).
[15] The True Origin of Easter, 6, https://rcg.org/books/ttooe.html (accessed June 8, 2016).
[16] The True Origin of Easter, 7, https://rcg.org/books/ttooe.html (accessed June 8, 2016).
[17] The Pagan Origin Of Easter, 2, http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract1.html
(accessed June 8, 2016).
[18] The True Origin of Easter, 9, https://rcg.org/books/ttooe.html (accessed June 8, 2016).
[19] The True Origin of Easter, 9, https://rcg.org/books/ttooe.html (accessed June 8, 2016).
Copyright 2016, Brett T., All Rights Reserved