The real McCoy
As my family and I walked around our neighborhood this evening, the subject of Easter came up. My daughter made the comment that she had noticed in a store that decorations for Easter were already out, even-though it’s not even Thanksgiving yet! I took advantage of this “teachable moment” to discuss how Easter is, in fact, a counterfeit of the Biblical Passover. This prompted a question from my daughter that is important to understand in the religious confusion so prevalent in the world today.
My daughter asked, “What is a counterfeit?” I, then, related to her a short story. I asked her if she could imagine an everyday dollar bill. You know that the dollar bill is a unique green color. It has various security features and a specific uniform size. It has a familiar face on it and words that are consistent from bill to bill. Then imagine if you were one of the ladies at the checkout in a store.
A customer comes up to the counter and hands you a fifty dollar bill. The bill looks similar, same size, color and security features even, but once the counterfeit pen is applied against it, if the bill is genuine no mark will be left, but, if it is a counterfeit, a black mark will appear revealing the true nature of the dollar bill.
Understanding the genuineness of Easter is the same way. It may have various similarities to the genuine article, Passover, but once the counterfeit pen is applied – in this case the Holy Scriptures, which are the measure against which all things are determined either true or false; right or wrong; truth or lie; genuine or counterfeit – then, the true nature of this custom and tradition is revealed.
From the flawed logic of the counting of three days and three nights between Friday afternoon to Sunday morning, to the origins of the Easter bunny and colored eggs – a direct link to its pagan genesis, the holiday of Easter is far from the genuine article. Only the Passover that Jesus Christ, the Apostles, and the patriarchs of old kept down through the ages will ever do.
Additionally, the same applies to Christmas. The origins of this day are steeped in pagan customs and things contrary to Biblical teaching. Take for example the scriptures in Jeremiah 10:1-5. This is obviously a clear connection between the ancient pagan custom being described and the modern traditional Christmas tree which is a staple accoutrement of the holiday. The scriptures read:
1 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord: “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. 3 For the customs of the peoples are futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple. 5 They are upright, like a palm tree, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor can they do any good.” – Jeremiah 10:1-5 (emphasis mine)
So, the verdict is in. Nothing but the real thing will ever do. It is in weighing the real with the fake, the genuine with the counterfeit, that we must discern and decide what it is that we will believe and what we will base our traditions and manner of life on. The decision is ours. To learn more, read The Holy Days-God’s Master Plan. Base your beliefs firmly in the word of God. And as for me and my house, and I hope yours as well, we choose “the real McCoy”!
