Wherein the bible does it tell us commerate the resurrection of the Lord?

Question

The Bible clearly indicates that the first Christians gathered on the "first day of the week" - not the Sabbath, to commerate the resurrection of the Lord.

Answer 1

I did not write this, I found it here: http://www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/hh/ea... . It just helped me a lot and thought it may help you as well. God bless you.

Easter: Masking a Biblical Truth

In contrast to the general public, which considers Christmas the most important Christian holiday, many theologians regard Easter as the preeminent celebration because it commemorates Jesus' resurrection. As with Christmas, the Easter celebration—rabbits, Easter-egg hunts and sunrise services—have nothing to do with the biblical record of Christ's rising from the dead.

Where, then, did these practices originate?

The Encyclopaedia Britannica tells us: "As at Christmas, so also at Easter, popular customs reflect many ancient pagan survivals—in this instance, connected with spring fertility rites, such as the symbols of the Easter egg and the Easter hare or rabbit" (15th edition, Macropaedia, Vol. IV, p. 605, "Church Year").

The word Easter appears once in the King James Version of the Bible, in Acts 12:4, where it is a mistranslation. Reputable scholars and reference works point out that the word Easter in this verse comes from the Greek word pascha, meaning Passover. Modern translations correctly translate this word "Passover."

Notice what Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words says about Easter: "... Pascha ... mistranslated 'Easter' in Acts 12:4, KJV, denotes the Passover ... 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 Pasch [Passover] held by Christians in post-apostolic times was a continuation of the Jewish 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" (1985, p. 192, "Easter").

Easter's ancient history

The roots of the Easter celebration date long before Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection. Various Easter customs can be traced back to ancient spring celebrations surrounding Astarte, the goddess of spring and fertility. Francis Weiser, professor of philosophy at Boston College, provides these facts:

"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 abundant new life in the spring season" (Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, 1958, pp. 233, 236). (For more information about these symbols, see "Fertility Symbols: Beneath the Dignity of God" ).

Fertility rites and customs were incorporated into religious practices early in history. After Adam and Eve rejected God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), humanity looked for other explanations for life. Forces of nature and seasons that could not be controlled began to be viewed as gods, goddesses and supernatural powers to be worshiped and feared. Man soon created his own gods, contradicting God's instruction against idolatry (Exodus 20:3-6; Deuteronomy 5:7-10).

"The pagan nations made statues or images to represent the powers which they worshiped. Most of these idols were in the form of animals or men. But sometimes these idols represented celestial powers like the sun, moon, and stars, forces of nature, like the sea and the rain; or life forces, like death and truth ...

"In time an elaborate system of beliefs in such natural forces was developed into mythology. Each civilization and culture had its own mythological structure, but these structures were often quite similar. The names of the gods may have been different, but their functions and actions were often the same. The most prominent myth to cross cultural lines was that of the fertility cycle. Many pagan cultures believed that the god of fertility died each year during the winter but was reborn each year in the spring. The details differed among cultures, but the main idea was the same" (Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1986, published on PC Study Bible CD, 1992-96, "Gods, Pagan").

In pagan mythology the sun represented life. The sun supposedly died around the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. (As discussed earlier, the date set for Christmas celebrations is rooted in this myth.) Complementing the rebirth of the sun were spring fertility rites, whose surviving symbols thread their way throughout Easter celebrations.

In addition to rabbits and eggs, another popular Easter custom had pre-Christian origins. "Also popular among Europeans and Americans on Easter is ham, because the pig was considered a symbol of luck in pre-Christian European culture" (The Encyclopedia of Religion, 1987, p. 558, "Easter").

Sex rites and rituals

Ancient fertility rites revolved around gross sexual immorality and perversion. References to these rites are referred to throughout the Bible under a variety of names and descriptions.

The Babylonian and Assyrian fertility goddess was Ishtar, whose name may well have been the origin of the word Easter.

Ishtar symbolized Mother Earth in the natural cycles of fertility on earth. Many myths grew up around this female deity. She was the goddess of love, and the practice of ritual prostitution became widespread in the fertility cult dedicated to her name.

"Temples to Ishtar had many priestesses, or sacred prostitutes, who symbolically acted out the fertility rites of the cycle of nature. Ishtar has been identified with the Phoenician Astarte, the Semitic Ashtoreth, and the Sumerian Inanna. Strong similarities also exist between Ishtar and the Egyptian Isis, the Greek Aphrodite, and the Roman Venus.

"Associated with Ishtar was the young god Tammuz, considered both divine and mortal ... In Babylonian mythology Tammuz died annually and was reborn year after year, representing the yearly cycle of the seasons and the crops. This pagan belief later was identified with the pagan gods Baal and Anat in Canaan" (Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, "Gods, Pagan"). (For more details, see "The Resurrection Connection").Throughout the Old Testament, God expressed His anger with His people when they served these false gods (Judges 2:13-14; 10:6-7; 1 Kings 11:5-11; Ezekiel 8:14-18).

Easter unknown in early Church

The New Testament does not mention an Easter celebration. Early Christians had nothing to do with Easter. Instead, they kept the Passover, instituted by God centuries earlier at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 12:13-14; Leviticus 23:5). Jesus Christ personally kept this festival (Matthew 26:17-18) and gave it a clearer meaning under the New Covenant with His institution of the symbols of bread and wine (verses 26-29). He is the Lamb of God, offered as the true Passover sacrifice for the sins of the world (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7).

Jesus told His followers to continue this observance in remembrance of Him and His death (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Soon, however, pressure to replace Passover with popular Easter customs began to build. This movement was the basis for much contention over the next three centuries.

Notice how the Encyclopaedia Britannica describes this period: "The earliest Christians celebrated the Lord's Passover at the same time as the Jews, during the night of the first full moon of the first month of spring (Nisan 14-15). By the middle of the 2nd century, most churches had transferred this celebration to the Sunday after the Jewish feast. But certain churches of Asia Minor clung to the older custom, for which they were denounced as 'judaizing' (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book V, chapters 23-25). The first ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 decreed that all churches should observe the feast together on a Sunday" (15th edition, Macropaedia,Vol. IV, pp. 604-605, "Church Year").

"After long and fierce controversies over its date (which is governed by the lunar calendar), the date for Easter set by the Council of Nicaea in 325 is the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox. Easter became the centre of a fixed liturgical structure of times and festivals in the church year" (ibid., p. 499, "Christianity").

Pressure against the Passover

Why did Easter replace the Passover?

Though Easter was clearly pagan in origin, Christian leaders of the first two centuries after Christ's crucifixion employed the same philosophy in establishing the new holiday that they later applied to Christmas. Believing that people are free to select their own times and customs of worship, they went about gradually replacing the biblically commanded Passover with their humanly devised celebration of Easter.

Prejudice also seems to have been a major factor in their decision to make these changes. According to R.K. Bishop: "The early development of the celebration of Easter and the attendant calendar disputes were largely a result of Christianity's attempt to emancipate itself from Judaism. Sunday had already replaced the Jewish sabbath early in the second century, and despite efforts in Asia Minor to maintain the Jewish passover date of 14 Nisan for Easter (hence the name Quartodecimans), the Council of Nicaea adopted the annual Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox (March 21)" (Elwell's Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 1984, published on The New Bible Library CD, 1993, "Easter").

Before A.D. 70, Christianity was "regarded by the Roman government and by the people at large as a branch of the Jewish religion" (Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, The Story of the Christ

Answer 2

No, it doesn't. You are misinterpreting a Bible verse.

Jhn 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first [day] of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you."

This was not a "worship" service. They were hiding out for fear of the Jews.

Act 20:7 "And upon the first [day] of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."

This was Saturday night. The Hebrew day begins and ends at sunset, so "the first day of the week" actually began at sunset Saturday, and he preached until midnight Saturday. Also, the disciples didn't just break bread once a week, they did it several times a week, which gives no special significance to the first day. This passage does not in any way revoke God's 4th commandment.

If you're looking for NT instruction as to which day is the "Lord's Day", take a look at these:

"Luk 4:16 And he [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

"Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,"

Which day is the Lord's Day?

"Mar 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."

"Luk 6:5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. "

But what about non-Jews?

"Act 13:42 ¶ And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. "

"

Answer 3

Actually, they met daily. As Christians, no day is more important than any other. Every day is the Lord's. We worship Him with the way that we live our lives according to the love that He teaches. His teachings, death and resurrection is the reason that we can live eternally with Him some day. So, we must celebrate every day.

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Acts 11:26 New American Standard Bible

"and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch."

Answer 4

The Bible tells us that it is the communion service that commamorates the resurrection of the Lord, and it is found in Luke 22:19 & 20.
"And he took bread, and gave thanks and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in rememberance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."

Therefore the commemoration of the Lord's ressurection has nothing to do with Sabbath or Sunday. The Sabbath is to commemorate God's Creative work in the beginning.

Sunday is to commemorate the act of Rome, claiming to change the Sabbath of God which is the seventh day, to Sunday the first day of the week, as they claim in a doctinal Catechism pg. 174 when asked the question:
"Q: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to intitute festivals of precept?"

"A: Had she not such power...she could not have subsituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for Saturday, the seventh day , a change for which there in no Scriptural authority."

Nobody could have said it better than them who tried to change laws and times!( Daniel 7:25)
You've heard it straight from the horses mouth, they changed it, and they are proud to admit it!

Answer 5

Actually, the Bible does no such thing. We do have examples of the christians meeting together on the first day of the week, but we also have the example of them meeting daily. The only example we have of them receiving a sermon was when Paul was with them and about to leave on a missionary journey. In that case he preached until midnight, then brought a boy back to life.

Answer 6

The first day of the week IS the Christian sabbath. Jesus asks us to remember him in the breaking of bread and offering of wine (transaubstantiated into his body and blood during the mass) whenever we got together. Early Christian fathers settled on Sunday as the day of the week to commemorate the Resurrection as the glorification of G-d on Earth through the weekly mass, since Jesus was crucified on a Friday (day before the Jewish Holy Day - Saturday) in the Gospel writings and rose on the succeeding Sunday (Easter, if you're keeping score at home).

Pax.

Answer 7

Mathew 26:1,2, 26-30 (
Mark 14:22-26
Luke 22:15-20 (:19 Keep doing this in remembrance of me.)
1 Corinthians 11:24 Keep doing this in remembrance of me.

Answer 8

Yes, Jesus rose on the day of Firstfruits in fulfillment of the prophecy of the feasts.

On the Passover, Jesus (the Passover Lamb) gave us his flesh and blood through the Passover bread and wine giving us eternal life and the forgiveness of sins as he taught.

the next day, the feast of Unleavened Bread, Jesus suffered on the cross in prophetic fulfillment of the Israelites suffering after exiting Egypt after the Passover.

The Israelites went through the Red Sea and came out of it at day break, the first sunday after the feast of Unleavened Bread.

In fulfillment, Jesus went into the tomb and rose at daybreak on the first Sunday after the feast of Unleavened Bread.

Jesus rose as the firstfruit of those who had fallen asleep as it states in 1 Corinthians.


The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus falls once a year, the first sunday after the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Answer 9

it doesnt command Easter but its beautiful though

Answer 10

it does not
but someone had to create it. so we did

Answer 11

there is no word Christian in bible, it is fabricated.