Most Christians view Easter as the most solemn Christian holiday of the year and believe that Jesus was resurrected on Easter Sunday, at sunrise. But was Jesus resurrected on Easter, and does it matter to God? Easter changes the time of Jesus' resurrection, which can obscure your understanding of God's plan of salvation.

Why question Easter?

Easter has captivated and charmed the entire Christian world. Over a billion Christians have accepted a pre-Christian holiday that God never sanctioned. Easter has morphed from Ishtar (Assyrian) and Astarte (Chaldean), names of the same heathen goddess. Jesus never instituted Easter; in fact the only mention of Easter in the King James Version is in Acts 12:4, where Passover (pascha) is mistranslated as Easter. (Most other translations, including the New King James Version, correct this error.) God actually denounces a sunrise religious ceremony in Ezekiel 8:15-18.

Easter is both true and false. True: It focuses on Jesus' resurrection. False: Jesus was raised on a Sunday morning. As we will see, the Bible shows He was raised earlier and that the New Testament Church didn't celebrate Easter but continued the festivals of the Bible.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia admits: "The earliest Christians did not immediately dissociate themselves from the observance of the Jewish feasts. Many references in the New Testament indicate that Jesus and His disciples, as well as the early Palestinian Christian communities, observed the Sabbath and the major annual festivals" ("Early Christian Feasts," New Catholic Encyclopedia, second ed., vol. 5, p. 656, 2003).

Considering such admissions, it seems wise to question Easter's veracity.

Religion mixes truth with error

Religions often make statements that appear true but, under the lens of rigorous analysis, prove to be false. Easter is a case in point. It speaks the truth of Jesus' resurrection, yet it's based on pre-Christian error.

People don't want to hear something that differs from their religious beliefs. It angers them because any erosion of their religious beliefs seems to lessen their personal worth. Most Christians blindly observe human-created religious dogma, often patently false to the core, when the truth would literally fit better. "Don't bother me with the facts, my mind's made up!"

Does Easter add up with Jonah?

Easter misses Jesus' resurrection by at least 12 hours. A Good Friday death and Sunday sunrise resurrection keeps well-meaning Christians in the dark. Jesus was very specific about His death and resurrection. "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40).

Christendom says that Jesus died on Friday evening and ascended on Sunday morning. That equals two nights and one day, not three nights and three days. Would Jonah find this new math a little fishy?

Since we know Jesus died in the late afternoon, He had to be raised in the late afternoon. So His resurrection had to be on the weekly Sabbath afternoon, since He was already risen the next morning (Matthew 28:1-6). Counting back three nights and three days squarely places Jesus' death on Wednesday evening, not Good Friday.

Jonah's time in the great fish validates Jesus' messiahship. It also reveals the importance of the Passover, as well as the wave-sheaf offering in the midst of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (one of God's feasts, not Jewish feasts—Leviticus 23:4-11).

Counting the days and nights that Jesus rested in the tomb leads you from the Passover to the wave-sheaf offering, the meanings of which are intimately tied into your salvation.

Easter changes Jesus' resurrection

Easter exchanges the wave-sheaf offering (a symbol of Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection as the firstfruits of the spiritual harvest of human beings to become children of God; compare John 4:35-36; 20:17; and 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 with Leviticus 23:10-14) during the Feast of Unleavened Bread for an Easter sunrise service.

If you miss when Jesus died, you also miss a deeper understanding of WHY He died (taught by the Passover) and WHY He lives (explained in the meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread). Easter hides the plan of salvation revealed through the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which show the true meaning of Jesus' death and His life.

Easter sunrise services keep over a billion Christians in the dark about the deeper meaning of Jesus' death and life.

Adding celebrations and customs not taught in the Bible, such as Easter, does not please God (Deuteronomy 12:32; Revelation 22:18-19). God commands everyone to repent today (Acts 17:30). Joshua's exhortation stands today: "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

If this brief overview has made you upset or curious, you'll want to check out more details in the article "Easter: Masking a Biblical Truth" from the booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?

The Chronology of Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection
Tuesday: Jesus ate an early-evening Passover meal with His disciples (at the beginning of Nisan 14, Jewish reckoning) and instituted the New Covenant symbols (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus was then betrayed by Judas, arrested and during the night brought before the high priest.

Wednesday: Jesus was crucified and died around 3 p.m. (Matthew 27:46-50). This was the preparation day for the annual, not weekly, Sabbath, which began that evening (Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:31). Jesus' body was placed in the tomb at twilight (Matthew 27:57-60).

Thursday: This was the high-day Sabbath, the first day of Unleavened Bread (John 19:31; Leviticus 23:4-7). It is described as the day after the Day of Preparation (Matthew 27:62).

Friday: The high-day Sabbath now past, women bought and prepared spices for anointing Jesus' body (Mark 16:1; Luke 23:56).

Saturday: The women rested on the weekly Sabbath, according to the Fourth Commandment (Luke 23:56; Exodus 20:8-11). Jesus rose around sunset, exactly three days and three nights (72 hours) after burial, to fulfill the sign of Jonah and authenticate His messiahship.

Sunday: The women brought the prepared spices early in the morning while it was still dark (Luke 24:1; John 20:1). Jesus had already risen (Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:2-6; Luke 24:2-3; John 20:1).