Origen of Easter
By
Gary Primo
March 31, 2018
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tammuz-Mesopotamian-god
When the cult of Tammuz spread to Assyria in the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE, the character of the god seems to have changed from that of a pastoral to that of an agricultural deity. The texts suggest that in Assyria (and later among the Sabaeans), Tammuz was basically viewed as the power in the grain, dying when the grain was milled.
The cult of Tammuz centred around two yearly festivals—one celebrating his marriage to the goddess Inanna, the other lamenting his death at the hands of demons from the netherworld. During the 3rd Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112–c. 2004 BCE) in the city of Umma (modern Tell Jokha), the marriage of the god was dramatically celebrated in February–March, Umma’s Month of the Festival of Tammuz. During the Isin-Larsa period (c. 2004–c. 1792 BCE), the texts relate that in the marriage rite the king actually took on the identity of the god and thus, by consummating the marriage with a priestess incarnating the goddess, magically fertilized and fecundated all of nature for the year.
The celebrations in March–April that marked the death of the god also seem to have been dramatically performed. Many of the laments for the occasion have as a setting a procession out into the desert to the fold of the slain god. In Assyria, however, in the 7th century BCE, the ritual took place in June–July. In the major cities of the realm, a couch was set up for the god upon which he lay in state. His body appears to have been symbolized by an assemblage of vegetable matter, honey, and a variety of other foods.
Traditional Christianity celebrates Easter as the time that HaMashiyack was crucified and died. The Scriptures say that it was at Passover. Can they both be right? Of course not!
http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/ancient-pagan-origins-easter-001571
Most historians, including Biblical scholars, agree that Easter was originally a pagan festival. According to the New Unger’s Bible Dictionary says: “The word Easter is of Saxon origin, Eastra, the goddess of spring, in whose honour sacrifices were offered about Passover time each year. By the eighth century Anglo–Saxons had adopted the name to designate the celebration of Christ’s resurrection.” However, even among those who maintain that Easter has pagan roots, there is some disagreement over which pagan tradition the festival emerged from. Here we will explore some of those perspectives.
Resurrection as a symbol of rebirth
One theory that has been put forward is that the Easter story of crucifixion and resurrection is symbolic of rebirth and renewal and retells the cycle of the seasons, the death and return of the sun.
According to some scholars, such as Dr. Tony Nugent, teacher of Theology and Religious Studies at Seattle University, and Presbyterian minister, the Easter story comes from the Sumerian legend of Damuzi (Tammuz) and his wife Inanna (Ishtar), an epic myth called “The Descent of Inanna” found inscribed on cuneiform clay tablets dating back to 2100 BC. When Tammuz dies, Ishtar is grief–stricken and follows him to the underworld. In the underworld, she enters through seven gates, and her worldly attire is removed. "Naked and bowed low" she is judged, killed, and then hung on display. In her absence, the earth loses its fertility, crops cease to grow and animals stop reproducing. Unless something is done, all life on earth will end.
After Inanna has been missing for three days her assistant goes to other gods for help. Finally one of them Enki, creates two creatures who carry the plant of life and water of life down to the Underworld, sprinkling them on Inanna and Damuzi, resurrecting them, and giving them the power to return to the earth as the light of the sun for six months. After the six months are up, Tammuz returns to the underworld of the dead, remaining there for another six months, and Ishtar pursues him, prompting the water god to rescue them both. Thus were the cycles of winter death and spring life.
The Descent of Inanna. Image source .
Dr Nugent is quick to point out that drawing parallels between the story of Jesus and the epic of Inanna “doesn't necessarily mean that there wasn't a real person, Jesus, who was crucified, but rather that, if there was, the story about it is structured and embellished in accordance with a pattern that was very ancient and widespread.”
The Sumerian goddess Inanna is known outside of Mesopotamia by her Babylonian name, "Ishtar". In ancient Canaan Ishtar is known as Astarte, and her counterparts in the Greek and Roman pantheons are known as Aphrodite and Venus. In the 4th Century, when Christians identified the exact site in Jerusalem where the empty tomb of Jesus had been located, they selected the spot where a temple of Aphrodite (Astarte/Ishtar/Inanna) stood. The temple was torn down and the So Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built, the holiest church in the Christian world.
Dr Nugent points out that the story of Inanna and Damuzi is just one of a number of accounts of dying and rising gods that represent the cycle of the seasons and the stars. For example, the resurrection of Egyptian Horus; the story of Mithras, who was worshipped at Springtime; and the tale of Dionysus, resurrected by his grandmother. Among these stories are prevailing themes of fertility, conception, renewal, descent into darkness, and the triumph of light over darkness or good over evil.
And there you have it. The “holiest church in the Christian world” sits on the precise spot where the Temple of Aphrodite once stood. Like all other Christian symbols, this too is simply a pagan makeover.
As I expose in my e-book, “The Christian Counterfeit: Constantine’s One World Religion” (available on Amazon, or free to all who write me and request it), Emperor Constantine usurped the original Messianic faith and made it over into his own Mithraic image. Traditional Christianity falsely claims that Constantine converted to Christianity. However, quite the opposite is true; it was Constantine who converted Christianity into his own One World Religion. And, in adhering to the decrees made by Constantine in 324AD, one makes Constantine the god whom they worship in place of Yahuwah. Following this decree, Constantine murdered his wife and son, and waged relentless war against all True Believers and was not even baptized until he was on his deathbed (if he was even alive when he was baptized). The Book of Daniel (Dan. 7:25) identifies the Beast as one who would change the Laws and the times, which is exactly what Constantine did. And, of course, that makes the head of the false church which Constantine created (the Pope), the False Prophet.
Like all Roman emperors, before and after, Constantine desired to be worshipped as “god on earth”. Does not the Pope proclaim the same thing about himself? What better way than to create a clever counterfeit to the true faith, whereby, in bring one’s self under obedience to a 4th century Roman Emperor, in place of Yahuwah, one makes Constantine the god that they worship?
And so, Constantine changed the laws of Elohim to the laws of Constantine (one of the greatest frauds ever perpetrated on mankind), and the appointed times of Yahuwah to the pagan celebrations that Constantine favoured. Thus, Constantine got what he wished for – to be worshipped as a god. All who continue to follow his dictates today are still worshipping him.
And, as we all know, Constantine had hired Jewish scribes to help develop the New Testament as it comes to us today. Did the Jews also have a cock in this fight? You had better believe they did. They desired more than the Romans to separate the True Believers from the Jewish faith. Today, it is the Jews who are largely behind the movement to replace the 10 commandments of Yahuwah with the so-called 7 Noahide Laws and force it upon all non-Jews. It was exactly the same in Constantine’s day. The Jews did not want any non-Jews worshipping as they did. This, of course, is a gross violation of Yahuwah’s command that they proclaim Yahuwah’s name and way of worship to the entire world. Of course, that is nothing new for the Jews.
The Christian world today desperately needs to re-discover the roots of their faith and return to it. The beginning of this re-birth lies in rejecting the commandments of Constantine and adhering to the commandments (10) of Yahuwah and the keeping of His appointed times. The louder we proclaim this truth, the more attention it will receive.
The pot is in desperate need of stirring. That is what Yahushua came to do. That is what He commissioned all His followers to do. It is indeed a dangerous venture, but the reward is definitely worth the risk. Those who seek approval by this world and its man-made religious systems (all of which are rooted in paganism) will get their just reward – eternal death. Conversely, all who have the courage to promote the truth and do not value their own lives above such truth, will see the glory of Yahuwah and eternal life. It is not a path for the weak of heart. Count the costs before venturing forth, because for those who begin the journey and leave it again, the punishment will be worse than if they never began it in the first place.
The time is indeed coming when we will be sorely tested. Be brave and remain faithful to the one and only being that has the power to grant eternal life. Constantine has no such power.
Yahuwah Bless
G.P.