Many people often think of Good Friday & Easter as a time when they celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus, but the true origins of Easter, (as I pointed out in one of my previous articles, "Easter- Do You Really Know The Truth About It?"), date back to Ancient Babylon and their pagan goddess, Ishtar (which the name "Easter" originates from). In fact, Easter was also a time in ancient mythology where the resurrection of the god Tammuz was celebrated. In fact, if we are to go back to the origins of when Jesus died and follow the Hebrew Calendar, you would see that the days in which Good Friday and Easter are celebrated each year do not coincide with Nisan 14, the very day in which the Hebrews were commanded to celebrate the Passover. This information is key, as to when to celebrate the anniversary of Jesus' death.
You see, the night of the "Last Supper" as people call it, was in fact Nisan 14. That is the day that is recorded in the Bible when Jesus sat down with his apostles and had his last meal. The same night that Judas betrayed him and the same night that he commanded his apostles to commemorate this event for the sacrifice that he was about to make on behalf of the world, when he said “Keep doing this in remembrance of me.”--- Luke 22: 19
THE PASSOVER or THE LORD'S EVENING MEAL
When Jesus sat around the table with his apostles there were two significant events they were observing. As always that night had served as a night to remember the "Passover" that took place in Ancient Egypt when God sent the angel to passover the land as part of the 10th Plague. If the angel came to the home and saw that the blood of a lamb had been marked over their door, then the angel "passed over" it and spared the life of the firstborn. As history proves, there have been archealogical findings in Egypt that actually support the Bible's mention of the 10 Plagues including the Exodus itself.
By the time Jesus and his apostles were observing this anniversary of the Passover, he had another commandment to make for this very same day. He told his apostles from then on to keep celebrating this night, now in remembrance of him. This was for the sacrifice that he was about to make of giving up his life on account of imperfect mankind. He used the wine and the unleavened bread as symbols of his blood and his body that was to be poured out and sacrificed for our sins.
Another thing to mention is that back then the day started at sundown and ended the next night at sundown. Therefore the night of Nisan 14 not only is a night to observe "The Lord's Evening Meal" or Last Supper, but the anniversary of Jesus' death, being that he died that very next day which was still Nisan 14.
Every year the date is different as the Hebrew Calendar does not work according to the calendars that we use in this present time. So in order to properly observe this date, we must do it according to the Hebrew Calendar.
So now you know what Nisan 14 is and why Christians were commanded to observe it. For more information in regards to the true origins of Easter, please read "Easter- Do You Really Know The Truth About It?"
(Copyright 2014)- Dreaming Casually
