09/03/2025
Did God Really Say????
I write to you with a burden on my heart, because we live in days when truth is being questioned, twisted, and redefined. From the beginning, the Adversary’s weapon has not been outright denial but subtle distortion. In the Garden, the serpent did not shout, “God lied!” Instead, he whispered, “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1). That question sowed doubt, and once Eve entertained it, deception and disobedience followed.
When Yeshua was tempted in the wilderness, Satan used the same strategy, quoting Scripture out of context and planting seeds of doubt. Yet Yeshua’s response every single time was firm and unwavering: “It is written” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). Where Adam and Eve failed, Yeshua stood immovable. He showed us the model for victory: anchor ourselves in what God has already spoken, refusing to bend to doubt or tradition. This is the heart of spiritual warfare—whether we will believe what is written, or question it.
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The Warning Against Lawlessness
Scripture foretold a time when many would profess the name of the Messiah but disregard His commandments. Yeshua Himself warned, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the Kingdom… Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21–23). Paul spoke of a coming “mystery of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:7–12) that would deceive those who did not love the truth. John defined sin plainly: “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).
Whenever churches declare that the Father’s commands are “done away with,” they echo that old whisper: “Did He really say?” The result is religion without obedience, form without covenant faithfulness.
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The Sabbath: Eternal Covenant, Not Optional Tradition
The Sabbath stands as one of the clearest commandments in all of Scripture. From the beginning, God blessed and sanctified the seventh day (Genesis 2:2–3). At Sinai He wrote with His own finger: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… the seventh day is the Sabbath of YHWH your God” (Exodus 20:8–11). He called it a sign forever between Him and His people (Exodus 31:16–17). The prophets confirmed it as a future reality: “From one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me” (Isaiah 66:22–23). The New Testament reaffirms this: “There remains, then, a Sabbath-keeping for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9).
Yet mainstream teaching often twists these clear words, asking, “Did God really say the seventh day? Didn’t Jesus change it? Can’t we pick any day we like?” Romans 14, often cited, is not about Sabbath at all but about voluntary fast days in mixed congregations. Colossians 2 is not a cancellation of Sabbaths and Feasts but a defense of believers against pagan judgment for keeping them. Galatians 4 warns against returning to pagan calendars, not God’s appointments. Mark 2 shows Yeshua restoring the Sabbath to its original purpose, declaring Himself Lord of the Sabbath, not its abolisher.
The testimony is consistent: the seventh-day Sabbath was established at creation, affirmed in Torah, upheld by Yeshua, prophesied for the future Kingdom, and still remains today. To treat it as optional is to follow tradition instead of covenant.
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The Feasts of YHWH vs. the Feasts of Men
In the same way, the Feasts of YHWH are not “Jewish holidays,” but the Father’s appointed times. He said, “These are My feasts… holy convocations” (Leviticus 23:2). Passover is to be kept as an ordinance forever (Exodus 12:14). All Israel was commanded to appear before Him three times a year at His Feasts (Deuteronomy 16:16). The prophets declare that the nations themselves will keep Tabernacles in the coming Kingdom (Zechariah 14:16). Paul calls the Feasts prophetic shadows of Messiah’s work—“things to come” (Colossians 2:16–17).
But mainstream Christianity says, “Did God really say keep His Feasts? Haven’t they been replaced with Christmas and Easter?” Yet God warned us not to learn the ways of the nations (Jeremiah 10:2) or to worship Him in their manner (Deuteronomy 12:30–31). Yeshua rebuked religious leaders for setting aside God’s command in order to keep human tradition (Mark 7:8–9).
History confirms the shift: Christmas was adopted from Roman solstice festivals like Saturnalia and Sol Invictus; Easter absorbed spring fertility rites tied to Ishtar and Tammuz. These practices mirror abominations condemned by the prophets: women weeping for Tammuz (Ezekiel 8:14–15) and families baking cakes to the Queen of Heaven (Jeremiah 7:18). Today the Catholic Church even applies the title “Queen of Heaven” to Mary, though Scripture uses it only for a pagan goddess. These are not redeemed practices but the very syncretism God forbade.
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Clean and Unclean: God’s Distinctions Still Stand
Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 clearly distinguish between clean and unclean animals. God calls His people to be holy as He is holy by following these instructions (Leviticus 11:44–47). Isaiah prophesies judgment against those eating swine’s flesh and abominable things at the end of the age (Isaiah 66:17).
Yet many claim Acts 10 proves all animals are now clean. But Peter’s vision was not a menu change; it was a preparation to enter a Gentile home. The vision addressed two categories: akathartos (unclean per Torah) and koinos (common/defiled by oral tradition). In the first century, Jewish oral law often declared even clean foods—and Gentile people—defiled. God’s voice corrected Peter: “What I have cleansed, do not call common” (Acts 10:15). Notice He did not say, “Do not call unclean clean.”
Peter himself explains the vision: “God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean” (Acts 10:28). The vision dismantled human tradition, not God’s dietary commands. To twist this passage into abolishing Torah is once again to echo the serpent: “Did God really say…?”
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Daniel and Peter Both Saw It Coming
Daniel foresaw a power that would “speak against the Most High, wear out the saints, and think to change the times and the law” (Daniel 7:25). “Times” points to YHWH’s Sabbaths and Feasts; “law” to His Torah. History bears witness: the Sabbath shifted to Sunday, Passover was replaced by Easter, Tabernacles ignored for Christmas, and clean/unclean distinctions dismissed. This was prophesied long before it unfolded.
Peter also warned that Paul’s letters would be twisted. “There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction… Be on guard so you are not carried away with the error of the lawless” (2 Peter 3:15–17). This is exactly what we see when Romans 14, Colossians 2, or Galatians 4 are used to abolish the Father’s commandments. Yet Paul himself declared, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! We establish the law” (Romans 3:31). He confessed belief in everything written in Torah and the Prophets (Acts 24:14) and even instructed the Corinthians to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (1 Corinthians 5:7–8).
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The Heart of the Matter
The question has never changed: whose voice will we follow? The serpent whispers, “Did God really say?” The Savior answers, “It is written.”
• God said the seventh-day Sabbath is holy forever. Man says Sunday is fine.
• God said, “These are My Feasts.” Man substitutes Christmas and Easter.
• God distinguished clean from unclean. Man says all animals are food.
• God’s prophets warned against syncretism. Man calls it tradition.
• Daniel said law and times would be tampered with. History shows it came to pass.
• Peter warned Paul would be twisted to support lawlessness. Today we see it everywhere.
The issue is not small. It is covenant fidelity. Yeshua said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Revelation 14:12 describes the remnant in the last days: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yeshua.”
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Beloved, the choice is before us. Will we follow the serpent’s question, rationalize disobedience, and walk in lawlessness? Or will we stand with Yeshua and say boldly, “It is written”?
The Sabbath, the Feasts, and the dietary instructions are not bo***ge. They are covenant signs, blessings, and identity markers given by a loving Father. They set His people apart in holiness.
May we be among the faithful remnant who reject tradition, love the truth, and walk in obedience—not swayed by the serpent’s whisper, but anchored forever in what God has spoken.
For it is written:
“Here is the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yeshua.” (Revelation 14:12)
