Jesus died on the 14th of Nissan, the very hour the yearly Passover lamb was killed.

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 12:3-4 KJV

A letter of St. Irenæus is among the extracts just referred to, and this shows that the diversity of practice regarding Easter had existed at least from the time of Pope Sixtus (c. 120). Further, Irenæusstates that Polycarp, kept Easter on the fourteenth day of the moon, whatever day of the week that might be, following therein the tradition which he claimed to have derived from John the Apostle,…“they observed the practice, which from Apostolic tradition has prevailed to the present time” ---First phase

The question thus debated was therefore primarily whether Easter was to be kept on a Sunday, or whether Christians should observe the Holy Day of the Jews, the fourteenth of Nisan, which might occur on any day of the week.

He enjoyed the instruction of Polycarp, who was a pupil of the apostle John. Irenaeus may have accompnied Polycarp on his journey to Rome in connection with the Easter controversy (A.D. 154).

Acts 12:4 (Tyndale - 1525)

William Tyndale

1494 - 1536

Now whan he had taken him, he put him in preson, and delyuered him vnto foure quaternions of soudyers, to kepe him: and thought after Easter to bringe him forth to the people.

Acts 12:4 (Miles Coverdale Bible – 1535) Myles Coverdale 1488 - 1569

Acts 12:4 (Cranmer's bible - 1541 (The Great Bible)

Myles Coverdale 1488 - 1569

CRANMER— 1539.

Acts 12:4 (Martin Luther -1545)

Martin Luther1483 - 1546

Acts 12:4 (Matthew's Bible -1549)

John Rogers 1500 - 1555

Acts 12:4 (Matthew's Bible -1549)

Acts 12:4 (Geneva New Testament – 1557)

William Whittingham 1524 - 1579

Acts 12:4 (Bishops - 1568) And when he had caught hym, he put hym in pryson also, and delyuered hym to foure quaternions of souldiers to be kept, intendyng after Easter to bryng hym foorth to the people.

Matthew Parker1504 - 1575

Acts 12:4 (KJV-1611)

And when hee had apprehended him, hee put him in prison, and deliuered him to foure quaternions of souldiers to keepe him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

Acts 12:4 (KJV-1769)

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.

Thomas Cranmer

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.

on kai piasas etheto eis phulakên paradous tessarsin tetradiois stratiôtôn phulassein auton boulomenos meta to pascha anagagein auton tô laô

Greek Interlinear New Testament

(3957) pa>sca, — pas’-khah; of Chaldee origin [compare Hebrew {6453}(pecach)]; the Passover (the meal, the day, the festival or the special sacrifices connected with it): — Easter, Passover.

890 A.D. Aelfred Baeda "le dar tide Eastrena ecelice healdan wille“1123 A.D. Old English Chronicles 1200, 1250, 1300; 1389 in English Gild 'be soneday fourthnythe after Easterne“1175 A.D. Lamb Homilies 45 "uwile sonnedei is to locan alswa Ester dei“1200 Trin. Coll. Homily "Forte pene puresdai biforen Estrene dai“1398 A.D. Trevira Barth "Eester daye is tyme of gladnesse“1420, 1440, 1480 "wold not graunte unto Estre next comyng“1447 Bokenham "On Esterne day next folwyng1517 A.D. Torkington - Pilgrimage - "He sawe...Criste rysen upon Estern Day“1593 Hooker Eccl. Pol. "keeping the feast of Easter on the same day the Jews kept theirs"

Oxford English Dictionary The Oxford English dictionary lists many early English literary sources that employed the word Easter to refer to the Resurrection.

CAP 121 And in the same tyme Eroude the king sente power, to turmente sum men of the chirche.2 And he slowe bi swerd James, the brothir of Joon.3 And he siy that it pleside to Jewis, and keste to take also Petre; and the daies of therf looues weren.4 And whanne he hadde cauyte Petre, he sente hym in to prisoun; and bitook to foure quaternyouns of knyytis, to kepe hym,and wolde aftir pask bringe hym forth to the puple.

Wycliffe New Testament - 1390

John Wycliffe1328 - 1384

RHEIMS — 1582

Twelve Languages! An amazing work. The text of the entire NT is laid out with exceptionally fine type-setting in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Danish, German, Bohemian (a Czech dialect), Latin, Greek, Syriac and Hebrew. This is recognized by scholars as the study New Testament. It is also known as one of the rarest items in bibliography.

Easter Long Before Constantine

Twelve early Christians wrote about keeping the anniversary of Christ’s birth long before Constantine. In fact, one of the first controversies of the church was around 190 A.D., about the date to celebrate Easter. Since eastern Christians, called Quartodecimians, celebrated it at the time of the Jewish Passover, and western Christians favored the first moon after the spring equinox, they obviously celebrated something, or they would have had nothing to disagree about! By the way, the dispute was settled by allowing each side to celebrate it when they wished. Not a single early Christian writer wrote against Easter.

Easter Long Before Constantine Theophilus of Caesarea (180 A.D.) "We would have you know, too, that in Alexandria also they observe the festival on the same day as ourselves. For the Paschal letters are sent from us to them, and from them to us: so that we observe the holy day in unison and together." Epistle on the Question of the Passover Ante-Nicene Fathers vol.8 p.774

Melito of Sardis (died c.190 A.D.) (Quartodecimian) wrote an entire work on Easter called On Pascha.

Irenaeus (182-188 A.D.) wrote an entire treatise on Easter. " fragment 7 Questions and Responses of Orthodoxy.

Polycrates of Ephesus (196 A.D.) was for a time excommunicated by the bishop of Rome for being a Quartodecimian

Tertullian (200-240 A.D.) "We rejoice in the same privilege also from Easter to Whitsunday." The Chaplet ch.3 p.94

Hippolytus bishop of Portus (225-235/6 A D.) criticized Quartodecimians who observed Easter at the same time the Jews celebrate Passover. The Refutation of All Heresies book 8 ch.11 p.123

Origen (225-254 A.D.) "he who considers that ‘Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us,’ and that it is his duty to keep the feast by eating of the flesh of the Word, never ceases to keep the paschal feast;" Origen Against Celsus book 8 ch.22 p.647

Cyprian of Carthage (246-258 A.D.) in his Letters 29, 39, and 54 speaks of Easter-day.

Firmilian (246-258 A.D.) mentions "the celebration of Easter" Letter 74 ch.6 p.391

Anatolius of Alexandria (270-280 A.D.) discusses when Easter should be celebrated. Paschal Canon ch.10 p.146-147. Also ch.15 p.150-151.

Malchion (270 A.D.) (partial) says the evil Paul of Samosata died on the Paschal festival. Letter written by Malchion in the name of the Synod of Antioch against Paul of Samosata ch.2 p.170

Instructions of Commodianus ch.75 p.218 (240 A.D.) "They will assemble together at Easter, that day of ours most blessed; and let them rejoice,”

Methodius (260-312 A.D.) mentions "the fast which prepares for the Easter celebration" Banquet of the Ten Virgins book 3 ch.12 p.321

In Summary: Unless Constantine time-traveled, these early Christians give us proof they celebrated Easter long before Constantine was born.

Ask one hundred NATIVE GREEKS what the Greek word PASCHA means, and ONE HUNDRED out of ONE HUNDRED native Greeks will proclaim resoundingly that the Greek word PASCHA means EASTER, the exact opposite of the critics.

The other common myth which the critics of the Authorised Version promote is the naked assertion that Easter is somehow derived from a pagan festival related to Astarte, the goddess of fertility. Once again, this is merely a demonstration of the malady that plagues this unlearned age, as there is not a SHRED of evidence that a pagan festival ever preceded or replaced the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a celebration which goes back to the very Apostles themselves.

In contrast to the bankrupt and literally absurd allegations that swarm around modern Christendom like locusts, here are the facts - the English word Easter is derived from Saxon and Germanic roots. This was ably noted by many scholars in the past. For example, examine C. F. Cruse's absolutely accurate declaration in 1850 AD regarding the etymology of our English word Easter --

"Our word EASTER is of Saxon origin and of precisely the same importwith its German cognate OSTERN. The latter is derived from the old Teutonic form of auferstehen / auferstehung, that is - RESURRECTION."

Very briefly, the German word Ostern, which means Easter, is a cognate of Ost (east, or rising of the sun), and as Cruse noted, pools from the older Teutonic forms of erster (first), stehen (stand), which then became erstehen (resurrection - older form), and which in turn became auferstehen (resurrection - current form). Thus, ESTER in English, which later morphed into EaSTER, became the equivalent of OSTER which morphed into OSTERN in German.

Neither word was attached in any way to a pagan goddess

the English word Easter means - and has always meant - RESURRECTION - specifically, the RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST. Accordingly, keep this simple truth in mind -

There is a pre-resurrection pascha, and there is a post-resurrection pascha. The difference is night and day, and it is the very resurrection of Jesus Christ himself that forces both the schism and the distinction, that divides the New Testament pascha from the Old Testament pascha, just as he divided the light from the darkness in the very beginning. The fact that this simple truth is not understood by the critics only serves to demonstrate yet again the rampant unregeneracy that permeates mainstream Christianity, for the method of employment of this word in a pre- or post-resurrection context is utterly paramount. Utterly.

Alfred Edersheim, a Jew who converted to Christianity in the 19th century, and a master in Rabbinic scholarship, stated it this way when describing the fellowship of Jesus with his disciples at the Last Supper --

"It was to be the last of the old paschas; the first, or rather the symbol of promise, of the new."

The RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST is the cardinal message of the book of Acts, and it positively supercedes every other doctrine throughout. The Apostles did not celebrate the Jewish pascha, for that would have been fatal to the entire tenor of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of all the Old Testament types. Absolutely fatal. In fact, the Apostles celebrated the Christian pascha.

Indeed, even the liberal scholar, Philip Schaff, who was the driving force behind the American revision and who questioned the rendering of the Authorised Version in this passage because he himself didn't understand the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, nevertheless immediately opposed himself by admitting that the semantic domain of pascha forced a notable change and distinction in its different shades of meaning --

"Easter is the resurrection festival WHICH FOLLOWS THE PASSOVER PROPER, but is included in the same festive week."

It doesn't take a savant to figure it out: the death of Jesus Christ - "Christ our passover" (1 Corinthians 5:7) - occurred before the days of unleavened bread. The resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred during the days of unleavened bread, and Luke went out of his way to explain to his readers, "then were the days of unleavened bread."

The RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST occurred during the days of unleavened bread, and God's lexicon takes precedence over man's lexicon.

The day Jesus Christ rose from the dead, the Apostles ceased celebrating the Jewish pascha, which was only a type, and instead began to celebrate the Christian pascha, which was the fulfillment. That's why Christians to this very day celebrate the RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST, and that's why it's called EASTER, for EASTER means - and has always meant - RESURRECTION.

This matter was so universally known among primitive Christians that although a dispute arose in the second century over exactly which day the resurrection of Jesus Christ ought to be celebrated on, there was never the slightest disagreement about the fact that it should be celebrated

That Easter was to be observed BY VIRTUE OF APOSTOLICAL TRADITION was generally GRANTED BY ALL.

Philip Schaff concurred --

"From some hints in the Epistles, viewed in the light of the universal and uncontradicted practice of the church in the second century it may beinferred that the annual celebration of the death and the resurrection ofChrist, and of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, originated in theapostolic age. In truth, Christ crucified, risen, and living in the church, was the oneabsorbing thought of the early Christians; and as this thought expresseditself in the weekly observance of Sunday, so it would also very naturallytransform the two great typical feasts of the Old Testament into theChristian Easter and Whit-Sunday. The Paschal controversies of the second century related not to the fact, but to the time of the Easterfestival, and Polycarp of Smyrna and Anicet of Rome traced theircustoms to an unimportant difference in the practice of the apostlesthemselves.”

It is generally recognized that the INVENTOR of a word is the world's foremost authority on the definition of the word he invents. That's pretty simple. The man who invents the word is the very man who determines what that word means.

William Tyndale INVENTED the English word PASSOVER. As the Trinitarian Bible Society noted --

"When he [Tyndale] began his translation of the Pentateuch, he wasagain faced with the problem in Exodus 12:11 and twenty-one other places, and no doubt recognizing that EASTERin this context would be an anachronism he coined a new word, PASSOVER, and used it consistently in all twenty-two places. It is, therefore, to Tyndale that our language is indebted for this meaningful and appropriate word."

Modern bibles proclaim the "OLD pascha" in a post-resurrection context in Acts 12:4.

The Authorised Version proclaims the "NEW pascha" in a post-resurrection context in Acts 12:4. Yea, the Authorised Version proclaims the RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST.

Which is to say, this word does not occur in any other culture or any other language until the settlement of the Germanic tribes on the European continent sometime after the 1st century AD - that is, well after Christianity. Accordingly, those who attempt to attach EASTER to ASTARTE do so out of sheer imagination.

Certainly, pagan practices have attached themselves to the Easter celebration in the centuries AFTER the Easter celebration was instituted, but to assert that born again Christians attached a pagan word and a pagan celebration to the resurrection of Jesus Christ is nothing short of blasphemy and treason to the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

William Tyndale, who lived four hundred years before Hislop and who was fully aware of the history and etymology of the word Easter - as he was the first person to even use the word Easter in an English Bible - went to the stake for the Word of his Testimony. He would have sacrificed his life many times over before employing a pagan word in his Bible. Here is his own confession concerning the Word of God --

"For I call God to record against the day we shall appear before the LordJesus, to give a reckoning of our doings, that I never altered one syllableof God's Word against my conscience, nor would this day, if all that is inthe earth, whether it be pleasure, honour, or riches, might be given me."Alexander McClure, Translators Revived

In summary, the EASTER celebration was PURELY Christian, a SINGULAR celebration of the RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and types, instituted BY THE APOSTLES, and any assertion claiming that born again Christians adapted the EASTER celebration - that is, the RESURRECTION celebration - to a pagan festival is condemned on its own face by both the Word of God and the Holy Ghost also bearing witness.

In short, while it is difficult to trace all of our cognates to an archetype in particular, we can nevertheless with absolute certainty demonstrate the relationship between our languages and their cognates. This is what makes the naked assertions of the critics so foolish, for they speak without a speck of evidence, whereas the etymological evidence opposing them is simply undeniable.

Additionally, there is a possible problem if we understand this verse to mean the Jewish Passover. Verse three of this chapter states that Peter was taken during, "the days of unleavened bread." The next verse then speaks of Easter in the KJV. If the word is translated as Passover, we have the Days of Unleavened Bread coming before the Passover. In the Biblical use of the term, Passover came before the Days of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:1-8, 15, 19; 13:7; Leviticus 2:11; and Deuteronomy 16:4). Contextually, it would seem that this pascha that followed the Days of Unleavened Bread was not the pascha that preceded the capture of Peter. Instead, it is likely to refer to the Roman celebration of Ostara, hence called Easter.

Don’t let atheists, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, or even fellow mistaken Christians rob you of the joy of Easter. But on the other hand, celebrating what Christians have celebrated together for almost two millennia.

At the turn of the Century an old thief silent crept into this land. This thief had been in Germany, robbing people of faith, robbing them of spiritual power and moral strength. This old thief made its way into the northern part of our country and began to move down the eastern coast, depleting denomination, killing denominations, robbing institutions of their faith, ripping the Bible from the hearts and the hands of the common people. That old thief has been around a long time. It first appeared in the Garden of Eden where Satan said to Adam and Eve, Has God said? Questioning the accuracy and the authority and the acceptability of Scriptures. That old thief began to move in.

Dr. Jerry VinesA Baptist and His Bible

That old thief is who I call Destructive Criticism. Destructive Criticism clips the wings of faith with the scissors of reason. Destructive Criticism submits the warm wonder of the Word of God to the cold merciless analysis of Destructive Criticism. Destructive Criticism had a toolbox it brought with it. It had some diabolical tools in it. In that box was a heretical hammer, driving into the Bible the nails of the anti-supernatural, nails of anti-miraculous. It had a skeptical saw pulling the words from the Bible saying that the Word of God and the Bible are separate things. So that now the Bible is inspired in spots. This spot is inspired, but that spot is not inspired. Now somebody has to be inspired to tell you which spots are the inspired spots.

Dr. Jerry VinesA Baptist and His Bible

Then it had a cynical crowbar, ripping the Bible from the hearts of the common people. I’m here to tell you that conservative scholarship has risen to the occasion in our day and has demonstrated that old Destructive Criticism and all of his tools are flawed. You cannot take the supernatural out of the Bible. You cannot take the miracle out of the Bible. You cannot kick God out of His Bible anymore than you can kick God out of His universe.

A Baptist and His BibleDr. Jerry Vines

First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida

On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln set his name and seal on the proclamation which set four million slaves free. The proclamation was written on four pages of ordinary foolscap in the president‟s own handwriting. The document perished in the great Chicago Fire of 1871. Suppose some slave-owner should seize a former slave of his, challenge him to produce Lincoln‟s Proclamation as the charter of liberty, and say that if he did not produce the original, he would hold him still in slavery; what could the ex-slave do? He could not produce the original, for the original was destroyed by fire. Although he could not produce the original document, he could recover and produce the original text. How? By copies of the same in public documents; newspapers of the period; by translations of the text in French, German, and other languages; by quotations from the proclamation in speeches, periodicals, and books. By comparing and combining all these, he could establish to the satisfaction of a court of law the original message which gave him liberty.

Dr. Jerry Vines First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida

Newer versions are often not as faithful to the original text. As the September-October 1988 The Good News magazine states, .The Authorized or King James Version is clearer and more faithful to the original Hebrew [and Greek] than most modern translations because the King James Version is not an attempt to interpret the text. (page 21).