The "TRUE" meaning of Easter...

Q. What is meant by the term Easter in Acts 12:4? Is this Easter the Jewish Passover or a pagan festival? (Submitted by: Dee) A. First, lets take a look at the verse in question along with the few verses before it: "Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. " (Acts 12:1-4, KJV) The second part of your question needs a bit of clarification and explanation. Biblically speaking, the Passover was not a "Jewish" festival although Jews (members of the tribe of Judah or citizens of the Kingdom of Judah, consisting of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and most of the tribe of Levi) certainly celebrated this festival and still do. The Kingdom of Judah came into being when the other ten tribes of Israel (the tribe of Joseph became two tribes – Ephraim and Manasseh) split from those three tribes at the end of King Solomon's reign. The ten tribe nation was called Israel from that point forward and the citizens of the Kingdom of Judah were called Jews. The Passover festival was an Israelite festival and not just a Jewish festival – it was ordained for all 12 (actually 13) tribes to keep. The holy day or festival known as Passover was never called Easter by the first century church. The word Easter is a derivative of Ishtar, or Astarte or one of other names (such as Venus) given by various cultures to their goddess of fertility. This is the origin of Easter eggs and the rabbit (noted for its rapid procreation) as a symbol of that celebration.

The King James Version Bible was written by scholars whose orientation was toward Catholic and Anglican church doctrines, and this caused some of the errors in translation i.e., the translation of the Greek word pascha, which means "passover", as "Easter" in Acts 12:4. The New International Version Bible correctly translates pascha as "passover": "After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover." (Acts 12:4, NIV) Pascha is correctly translated as Passover elsewhere in the KJV and almost all other reliable translations. Easter is indeed of pagan origin and was originally celebrated at the spring solstice as part of the worship of a pagan goddess of fertility.