Thursday, April 13, 2017


Matthew 26:21-25

Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me." And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?"

He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."

Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered Him and said, "Rabbi, is it I?" He said to Him, "You have said it."


Here Jesus gave Judas a clear warning of his fate for what he was about to do. But Judas chose to betray Jesus in spite of knowing the consequences of his betrayal.


Greetings Bible Enthusiast!

Scholars agree that the word Easter comes from Estera, a Saxon goddess whose feast was celebrated at the time of the vernal (spring) equinox, which is also about the time of year of the Jewish Passover.

Other cultures had fertility goddesses whose names may share the same origins. One goddess is known as Astarte (called the Queen of Heaven), and another is Ishtar (Babylonian fertility goddess). Spring is naturally associated with fertility, and the pagan cultures had all kinds of ways to worship the goddess who supposedly bestowed fertility upon the earth.

These ways included worship of the rising sun, and using rabbits and colored eggs as part of their pagan rituals. Sound familiar?

Unfortunately, many of the Easter traditions with which we are familiar originate from ancient pagan rituals associated with the spring festival. What better symbols of fertility than rabbits and eggs? We are unwittingly calling out the name of a pagan fertility goddess whenever we use the word "Easter!"

God Bless You!
Annie

Email Annie

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--TODAY'S NOT SO TRIVIAL TRIVIA QUESTION:

Q. What feast was being celebrated by Jesus and the apostles at the last supper?

Answer below.

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--TODAY'S BIT OF WISDOM/REFLECTION:

"Belief in the Resurrection is not an appendage to the Christian faith; it is the Christian faith."

- John S. Whale




--FEATURED FUNNY:

Upon seeing Little Johnny in his office again, the annoyed principal said, "This is the fifth time this week, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Little Johnny replied, "Thank heaven it's Friday!"

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--ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION:

Q. What feast was being celebrated by Jesus and the apostles at the last supper?

A. Passover


Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"

...So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.

Matthew 26:17-20

Much of the confusion regarding "Easter" as a festival, which was instituted in the third century, is due to the mingling of three events all occurring at relatively the same time:

The Jewish Passover, the pagan spring festival, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To discover the truth we must separate the three.