The term restoration connotes returning something to its original condition. The English word literally means bringing back to a former, normal, or unimpaired state or condition as in a "reconstitution of health." The word used in the Greek New Testament for restoration is (apokatastasis), which means a reconstitution or to restore a thing to its former state. When we go behind the Greek to the Hebrew in which the New Testament was either written or thought, we find a very illuminating truth. The Hebrew word translated "restore" or "restitution" is (shalam) meaning to be whole or entire, healthy, secure, tranquil. It is more commonly known as the Hebrew word for peace, a greeting that is used when one meets or leaves a friend. It means peace in the sense of absence of conflict.

According to Acts 3:20,21, restoration is to accompany the coming of the Messiah: "And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things." This passage means two things. 1) When the Messiah comes he will effect a restoration of planet earth to the state of the Garden of Eden. 2) A restoration will prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. Through his chosen servants, God will restore the faith once delivered to the saints to its biblical reality. The church will be restored. Israel will be restored. Biblical worship will be restored. Everything that God has ever spoken by his prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures will be restored to his people.

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their spiritual country, the Israel of God, and promote the restoration of all things to effect the return of Jesus, the Messiah. The watchword for our day is Restoration!

John D. Garr, Ph.D.

The word "Pesach" is commonly translated "Passover." The original meaning of this Hebrew word is more closely associated with "sparing" or "immunity from penalty." When the lives of the first-born of Egypt were taken, the Children of Israel were required to slaughter a year old lamb without blemish and smear the doorposts and lintels of their houses with blood from the lamb, as an act of obedience and faith. They were to eat the lamb, that was sacrificed, in their homes with their families (Exodus 12). Through this act of faith and obedience, they were spared. Every year thereafter, a memorial feast was to take place when a lamb would be sacrificed and a memorial meal eaten in each family. This sacrificial lamb is prefigured in the substitution for Isaac on Mount Moriah, and is a type and shadow of the fulfillment of Yeshua’s sacrifice on the Cross. It is also symbolically represented by the sacrificial lamb on the brazen altar of the Tabernacle (Exodus 23-30). The Feast of Pesach represents the remembrance of the beginning of our deliverance from Egypt (representing the sinful world). In the light of Yeshua’s sacrifice, there is a continuous remembrance of our being spared punishment from sin and coinciding with the Feast of Pesach, there should be a special annual remembrance. The blood shed on the Cross is remembered by God, so that those who have faith in Yeshua are spared the penalty that should be the result of their sin. It is fitting for families in the believing community to celebrate Pesach in an appropriate way which incorporates the original intent of the Feast, but is now celebrated in the light of Yeshua’s fulfillment, including the new interpretation of the bread and wine (Luke 22:12-22). Gathered for this Feast, in the security of our families and communities, we have a practical reminder of the way we are hidden in Messiah and protected by Him.

The religious holiday which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus is know today in much of the Western world as Easter, however, it is wrongly so named. There are many celebrations during Easter that have little, if anything, to do with Christianity.

It is believed that the name Easter was derived by an eighth century Anglo-Saxon named St. Bebe. The name Easter was taken from the spring goddess Eastre who symbolized fertility. The traditions that we associate with Easter such as Easter eggs, bunny rabbits, and Easter baskets are, in fact, all representations of both springtime and fertility rites originating in there and other cultures.

In Europe, Easter is known as Pascha. This name was derived from the Jewish festival of Passover, known as Pesach. Easter is mentioned once in the New Testament in Acts 12:1-4: "Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 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."

When translating this text, the writers of the King James Version of the Scriptures used the word Easter rather than the word that appears in the Greek text. The Greek word translated (should we say, changed to) Easter is (pascha). This is a noun that was translated from the Hebrew word (pesach). If we are faithful to the text of scripture, the term Easter should not have been used. This time of year is rightly called "Passover." Certainly, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead has nothing whatsoever to do with springtime and ancient fertility rites.

-Douglas Wheeler, PH.D., Th.D.