Easter Eggs
Eggs. Throughout both written and oral history eggs have been a symbol of new life and fertility in nearly every culture under the sun.
The ancient Egyptians, Persians, Phoenicians, Hindus, and others believed that the universe began by hatching from an egg. (1)
It's no wonder that the egg has become such a prominent symbol of new life given the volume and influence of the view of civilizations throughout time. (2)
How did this food become a part of the Easter celebration?
Given the fact we have already found, that "Easter" is the name of a pagan fertility goddess, it's not difficult to see how the egg came to be associated with the festival of Easter. In fact, the idol, the egg, springtime, sunrise, the hare...all these things have been looked at as symbols of new life, new beginning, fertility, etc...for millennia. In countless cultures throughout time we see a common thread of this fact and how easily the devil has corrupted the truth.
The ancient Egyptians, Persians, Phoenicians, Hindus, and others believed that the universe began by hatching from an egg. (1)
It's no wonder that the egg has become such a prominent symbol of new life given the volume and influence of the view of civilizations throughout time. (2)
How did this food become a part of the Easter celebration?
Given the fact we have already found, that "Easter" is the name of a pagan fertility goddess, it's not difficult to see how the egg came to be associated with the festival of Easter. In fact, the idol, the egg, springtime, sunrise, the hare...all these things have been looked at as symbols of new life, new beginning, fertility, etc...for millennia. In countless cultures throughout time we see a common thread of this fact and how easily the devil has corrupted the truth.
The Goddess and the Egg
According to a myth by Hyginus, an egg fell from the sky, landing in the Euphrates River. Fish rolled the giant egg onto the shore where doves hatched the goddess Venus from within. (3) (4)
Venus was the Syrian goddess of fertility, beauty, prosperity, etc...
Different versions of the myth associate the giant, fallen egg as holding various female idols from Venus to Astarte to Ashtaroth giving clarity to the fact that pagan idol worship is surrounded in confusion and mystery.
Given that all goddesses of fertility come from lies spewed by the enemy it is not difficult to see how the assimilation of various practices and traditions that often accompany the festival of Easter, including the eggs, came into existence.
Again, seeing that eggs have consistently been a symbol of fertility and rebirth it is no wonder that they have come to be associated with the pagan celebration of Easter, who as history shows, was a goddess of fertility and new life.
Venus was the Syrian goddess of fertility, beauty, prosperity, etc...
Different versions of the myth associate the giant, fallen egg as holding various female idols from Venus to Astarte to Ashtaroth giving clarity to the fact that pagan idol worship is surrounded in confusion and mystery.
Given that all goddesses of fertility come from lies spewed by the enemy it is not difficult to see how the assimilation of various practices and traditions that often accompany the festival of Easter, including the eggs, came into existence.
Again, seeing that eggs have consistently been a symbol of fertility and rebirth it is no wonder that they have come to be associated with the pagan celebration of Easter, who as history shows, was a goddess of fertility and new life.
Colored Eggs
So how did the eggs come to be colored in the modern Easter holiday?
Springtime reflected the renewal of life and the brilliant colors that bloom during this season are often times found in a multitude of expressions. In the celebration of the pagan idol Easter vibrant spring colors are often used, including the dying or painting of eggs. Blues, greens, yellows, and other colors are used to represent the 'beauty in nature'. A practice that goes back thousands of years even before the time of Messiah's resurrection.
Red is chosen quite often as a symbol of the blood of Christ, according to most christians. However, is this truly where the tradition comes from?
It is believed by some that the priests of a fertility goddess would impregnate virgins on the altar of that goddess. A year later they would sacrifice the 3 month old baby on that same altar and dip eggs in the child's blood as an offering to the goddess for abundant fertility and life in that culture.
We know from Scriptural record that children were often sacrificed to various idols (Leviticus 18:21-30; Deuteronomy 12:31; Jeremiah 32:35).
"Do not do so to Yahweh your Elohim, for every abomination which Yahweh hates
they have done to their mighty ones, for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their mighty ones."
All the words I am commanding you, guard to do it - do not add to it nor take away from it."
- Deuteronomy 12:31-32
Yahweh absolutely abhorred these practices and told His people to not only abstain from them, but through the period of occupying the land of Canaan, to annihilate the inhabitants for those very deeds (Deuteronomy 9:5; 2:34).
Secular record also shows child sacrifice practiced throughout time. (5) (6) (7)
It is not at all hard to see that from both the Scriptural and secular records of child sacrifice having been a reality, and knowing that nearly every goddess cult had priests that would, at various times, impregnate virgins in their temple, dipping sacred objects such as the egg into the blood of an infant or adult human was entirely plausible, if not a fact.
The professing church has fallen in line with many of the enemy's tactics and combined no few pagan practices with the ways of Yahweh. The Catholic church even admits where most of these traditions originate from and it is not from Yahweh (8).
A person might consider all of this information only to come to the conclusion that those things, having been done in the past (or at least not being done by the person them self), is inconsequential to Yah. I have often thought, in times past, that He knows my heart and knows that I just want to honor Him so it really doesn't matter what I do or how I do it as long as it's for Him. However, I was wrong in considering such things as is anyone else who would succumb to that line of thinking. Here's why:
1. Yes, Yahweh knows our hearts and they are deceitful and wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).
2. You may want to please your heavenly Father, but He has already told us how to do that and how NOT to do that (Leviticus
18:2-5; Deuteronomy 4:2-6; 12:4,32; Jeremiah 10:2; Matthew 5:17-18; 1 John 1:4-6).
3. Remember that Yahweh is the Creator and He is truth! We are just human and prone to error; needing to constantly seek
Him for direction (Proverbs 3:5-7).
4. Consider that we can only please our heavenly Father by faith, and as Paul said, we actually establish the Law/Torah in our
hearts by faith! (Romans 3:31).
5. The New Covenant is all about walking in His ways and not our own (Jeremiah 31:31-35; Ezekiel 36:27; Hebrews 8:6-13)
Consider how HE sees things and how we can best honor Him.
Resources:
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_egg
(2) http://www.feastoffeasts.org/node/107
(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Julius_Hyginus
(4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atargatis
(5) http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070612-tomb-child.html
(6) "Relics of Carthage Show Brutality Amid the Good Life". The New York Times. September 1, 1987
(7) Salisbury, Joyce E. (1997). Perpetua's Passion: The Death and Memory of a Young Roman Woman. Routledge. p. 228.
(8) The Catholic Encyclopedia: "The custom may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring."
Springtime reflected the renewal of life and the brilliant colors that bloom during this season are often times found in a multitude of expressions. In the celebration of the pagan idol Easter vibrant spring colors are often used, including the dying or painting of eggs. Blues, greens, yellows, and other colors are used to represent the 'beauty in nature'. A practice that goes back thousands of years even before the time of Messiah's resurrection.
Red is chosen quite often as a symbol of the blood of Christ, according to most christians. However, is this truly where the tradition comes from?
It is believed by some that the priests of a fertility goddess would impregnate virgins on the altar of that goddess. A year later they would sacrifice the 3 month old baby on that same altar and dip eggs in the child's blood as an offering to the goddess for abundant fertility and life in that culture.
We know from Scriptural record that children were often sacrificed to various idols (Leviticus 18:21-30; Deuteronomy 12:31; Jeremiah 32:35).
"Do not do so to Yahweh your Elohim, for every abomination which Yahweh hates
they have done to their mighty ones, for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their mighty ones."
All the words I am commanding you, guard to do it - do not add to it nor take away from it."
- Deuteronomy 12:31-32
Yahweh absolutely abhorred these practices and told His people to not only abstain from them, but through the period of occupying the land of Canaan, to annihilate the inhabitants for those very deeds (Deuteronomy 9:5; 2:34).
Secular record also shows child sacrifice practiced throughout time. (5) (6) (7)
It is not at all hard to see that from both the Scriptural and secular records of child sacrifice having been a reality, and knowing that nearly every goddess cult had priests that would, at various times, impregnate virgins in their temple, dipping sacred objects such as the egg into the blood of an infant or adult human was entirely plausible, if not a fact.
The professing church has fallen in line with many of the enemy's tactics and combined no few pagan practices with the ways of Yahweh. The Catholic church even admits where most of these traditions originate from and it is not from Yahweh (8).
A person might consider all of this information only to come to the conclusion that those things, having been done in the past (or at least not being done by the person them self), is inconsequential to Yah. I have often thought, in times past, that He knows my heart and knows that I just want to honor Him so it really doesn't matter what I do or how I do it as long as it's for Him. However, I was wrong in considering such things as is anyone else who would succumb to that line of thinking. Here's why:
1. Yes, Yahweh knows our hearts and they are deceitful and wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).
2. You may want to please your heavenly Father, but He has already told us how to do that and how NOT to do that (Leviticus
18:2-5; Deuteronomy 4:2-6; 12:4,32; Jeremiah 10:2; Matthew 5:17-18; 1 John 1:4-6).
3. Remember that Yahweh is the Creator and He is truth! We are just human and prone to error; needing to constantly seek
Him for direction (Proverbs 3:5-7).
4. Consider that we can only please our heavenly Father by faith, and as Paul said, we actually establish the Law/Torah in our
hearts by faith! (Romans 3:31).
5. The New Covenant is all about walking in His ways and not our own (Jeremiah 31:31-35; Ezekiel 36:27; Hebrews 8:6-13)
Consider how HE sees things and how we can best honor Him.
Resources:
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_egg
(2) http://www.feastoffeasts.org/node/107
(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Julius_Hyginus
(4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atargatis
(5) http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070612-tomb-child.html
(6) "Relics of Carthage Show Brutality Amid the Good Life". The New York Times. September 1, 1987
(7) Salisbury, Joyce E. (1997). Perpetua's Passion: The Death and Memory of a Young Roman Woman. Routledge. p. 228.
(8) The Catholic Encyclopedia: "The custom may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring."