My wife and I have greatly appreciated your encouraging articles and answers. May our Lord bless you each day in your ministry.
Just some thoughts about your answer regarding the KJV’s use of Easter in Acts 12:4. My understanding is that the Passover occurred before the feast of unleavened bread,so that the word was translated in that instance only with reference to the pagan festival that Herod was still waiting for to finish.
As you can see from the various Gospel accounts, during the Lord’s time Passover, the 14th day of the first month, had been integrated into the Feast of Unleavened Bread that began on the 15th and the two names were used interchangeably. Even today on many Jewish calendars Passover is indicated on the 15th of the month instead of the 14th. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all put the Last Supper on the first day of Unleavened Bread, but Mark and Luke say it was also the day on which the Passover Lamb was sacrificed, meaning it was the 14th. John’s gospel has the Last Supper, and the Lord’s arrest and subsequent crucifixion all on Preparation Day, the day before the special sabbath that began the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
As an example, Mark 14:12 reads, On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
My point is that the two events were often referred to interchangeably, so there’s no conflict with timing in Acts 12:4. Also, why would Luke, writing in the Greek Language, refer to a pagan holiday called the Feast of Ishtar by using a Hebrew word that always meant Passover? I know that in some circles it’s considered a sin to accuse the King James of being wrong, but this is one place where it clearly is.