The traditional Jewish celebration of Passover recalls the Exodus from Egypt, when Moses led the Hebrews out of bondage and into the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. After nine plagues failed to persuade Pharaoh to release the Hebrew people, the Lord sent a tenth plague that took the lives of Egypt’s firstborn sons. Moses instructed the Hebrew people to roast a lamb and place its blood on their doorposts and lintel beams to spare their families from the plague. As a foreshadowing of the coming Messiah’s (Yeshua’s) crucifixion centuries later (prophesied in Isaiah 53), Passover coincides today with the Christian celebration of Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection. All people, Jew and gentile, are saved by the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God (John 1:29). This second exodus leads those who repent and accept Jesus’ sacrifice to eternal life in heaven, God’s promised kingdom.

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Roman Easter, Severed Jewish Roots, and Consequences

It was not until the Council of Nicaea, in A.D. 325, that Jesus’ Resurrection Day became known as Easter. The name refers to Ishtar, a pagan goddess of fertility to whom babies were sacrificed, leading to the holiday’s association with rabbits and colored eggs. This paganization of the most holy day of the Christian faith was instituted to remove the Jewish connection, since antisemitism was so pervasive, and to help popularize the new religion among Romans.

While Ishtar is but a myth today, modern society has created its own goddess to which babies are aborted in the womb: the idol of convenience and self-indulgence. In The Return of the Gods, Jonathan Cahn posits that the ancient pagan gods or spirits have returned in a new form, but with the same result: rejection of the God of the Bible and His commandments. Jesus said: “… Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). As a nation, America has fallen away from biblical precepts and the gospel of the cross. Like the ancient Romans, many modern-day Christians have compromised their faith, abandoning the God-given Hebrew law’s command to choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19). For decades, Cahn has warned America of coming judgment for turning from godly values, drawing parallels with the historical judgments upon Israel when it followed pagan practices. He calls for the Church and the nation to repent and return to God.

Constantine changed the day of the week for worship from the Sabbath to Sunday, further severing Christianity from its Jewish roots. Selecting the solstice to celebrate Jesus’ birth further distanced Christians from Jewish tradition, since it was associated with the Roman sun god. Today, most Christians are unaware of these synchronizations with pagan practices (see Sheep Nations, by Dominiquae Bierman).

God’s Prophetic Plan of Redemption

Most Christians are also unaware of the importance of their Jewish roots and of modern Israel’s place in God’s plan of salvation. Since the diaspora of the Jews in A.D. 70, the separation of Christians from their Jewish roots has been widened by gentile Christians’ accusation against Jews as “Christ-killers,” as well as the rabbinical codifying of Judaism and the rejection of Jesus as Messiah among Jews.

The antisemitism of the Romans became embedded in the Church’s false teaching of “replacement theology,” which holds that the Church has replaced the Jewish people and nation in God’s plan. This apostate theology led to the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, pogroms (riots fomented to expel Jews from Russia and other countries), and the Holocaust.

The Church Grafted Into the Olive Tree

Paul refutes this erroneous teaching in Romans 11, revealing that gentile Christians are grafted into the Jewish olive tree and its ancient roots. In truth, Christians should join with their Jewish friends in celebrating the Passover, for it was through the Jewish people that God gave us the Bible, His Word (John 1:1), and salvation! Jesus celebrated His last Passover meal on the night Judas betrayed Him to the religious leaders; it was then that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Communion of broken bread and wine representing His forthcoming crucifixion and resurrection. The connection to the Passover meal is not accidental, but intentional, to show both Jew and gentile that Jesus Christ is the Jewish Messiah for all humankind. Indeed, it was the third cup of the Passover Seder meal, representing redemption, that Jesus offered to His disciples as a remembrance of Him until the day He comes again (Matthew 26:26–29). As the blood of the Passover lamb covered the Israelites in Egypt, so the blood of Jesus covers Jewish and gentile believers today!

Signs of the Times

After the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus’ disciples painfully came to understand His mysterious actions and words. Jesus appeared to 500 disciples and followers in several encounters to confirm His resurrection before He ascended to heaven (1 Corinthians 15:6). Jesus promised to return, and Christians anticipate His second coming at any time; the signs of the times that Jesus described in Matthew 24 and echoed in many Old and New Testament prophecies are evident to all who watch and faithfully expect His return.

Israel Reborn in a Day

Fulfillment of the prophecies for the rebirth of the Jewish nation after nearly 2,000 years (see Ezekiel 37) was accomplished after World War II, on May 14, 1948. Since then, Israel has faced its Arab enemies many times and miraculously survived. This too is the promise of God fulfilled. Christians who deny God’s eternal covenant with the Jewish nation and people are denying the unending promise of God to Abraham and his descendants through Issac (see Genesis 17).

The Ancient Hatred

For decades, the governments of the West, the U.N., and the EU have sought to divide the land of Israel — against the will of God (see Psalm 83:4) — to create an Arab state of Palestine. Yet, the Palestinian refugees were displaced by the Arab nations that declared war on infant Israel in 1948! When they lost the war, the Arab nations would not allow these Arab refugees to assimilate into their states, but rather held them in camps as a political weapon against Israel. This ongoing war to destroy the Jewish nation “from the river to the sea” is another form of the ancient antisemitism. The roots of this hatred go back to Abraham’s two sons, Ishmael and Isaac (see Genesis 21:9).

Cup of Trembling

The Bible prophesies that all nations will come against the nation of Israel, and today we witness the prelude to the fulfillment of that prophetic cup of trembling (see Zechariah 12:2)! Some versions of the Bible translate this as “a cup of reeling and drunkenness to the nations.” While many Americans and the U.S. government claim to support Israel, the cry against Israel’s current battle to destroy Hamas intensifies globally. This, too, is a form of antisemitism. Eric Metaxas, in his Letter to the American Church, book and documentary (free church screenings are available), calls on the Church to stand against increasing antisemitism, as well as to address declining biblical values and shake off the complacency so reminiscent of the German Church during the rise of Hitler and his persecution and genocide of the Jews.

Jordan and Egypt deny access to Gazan Palestinians, keeping them trapped in the battle zone to be used as shields by the brutal Hamas, which values death rather than life. The Shiite Muslim nation of Iran, while Persian, is the puppet master funding the Arab proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, the Syrian militias, and the Houthis. Recently allied with Russia, Turkey, and China for the first time in history, Iran is a linchpin in prophetic end-time fulfillment (see the Bible prophecy overview of Middle East wars titled Looking Back 2023 and Forward 2024, by Bill Salas).

Bless Israel and Be Blessed

The ancient hatred of the Jewish people and nation has been amplified throughout history since the Garden of Eden, when Satan sought to destroy God’s plan for all humankind. The only solution for Jew and gentile, the Church, and all nations is to accept God’s full redemptive plan. Bless Israel, and be blessed (see Genesis 12:3). Receive the salvation of Jesus and be transformed by His grace (see Ephesians 2:8–9). Acknowledge the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and unite in Jesus (see Romans 11:11–12). Support the Jewish people and pray for peace in Israel (see Psalm 122:6). End the unbiblical call to divide the land of Israel for establishment of a Palestinian state (see Joel 3:2, Ezekiel 47:14). Acknowledge and embrace the biblical gospel plan for all Israel to be saved (see Romans 11:25–32). This Passover and Resurrection Day, partake of the cup of redemption and not the cup of trembling! Praise the name above all names, Yeshua Hamashiach, the Jewish Messiah Jesus Christ (“Name Above All Names“, lyric video by Charity Gayle)!

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(Sheryl Dawson is an IFA intercessor who shares words and images at Celebrating Christ. Photo Credit: by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash)