INTRO: Now we call this day Easter Sunday. I preached a message one year on the day we call ‘Good Friday’ and called the message, “It wasn’t Good and It Wasn’t Friday.” Now I will tell you that this is not Easter morning either. Go to Acts 12 (read verse 4). Now if you use the KJV, you will find the word ‘Easter’ in this verse. The word translated ‘Easter’ here, is the word ‘pascha’. I have high regard for the KJV but to translate this word as Easter is a very bad translation. The translation of a Greek word as ‘Easter’ certainly is not inspired. The word ‘Easter’ never occurs in the Bible. The word ‘pascha’ means Passover. Let me quote here from McClintock and Strong, an encyclopedia written about 100 years ago.
Easter is a word of Saxon origin, and imports a goddess of the Saxons, or, rather, of the East, Estera, in honor of whom sacrifices being annually offered about the Passover time of the year (spring), the name became attached by association of ideas to the Christian festival of the resurrection, which happened at the time of the Passover: hence we say Easter-day, Easter Sunday,, but very improperly; as we by no means refer the festival then kept to the goddess of the ancient Saxons. So the present German word for Easter Ostern, is referred to the same goddess, Estera or Ostera… The occurrence of this word in the A.V. of Acts 12:4 — 'Intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people' — is chiefly noticeable as an example of the want of consistency in the translators. In the earlier English versions Easter had been frequently used as the translation of pasca. At the last revision Passover was substituted in all passages but this.”
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