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Exploring Torah in Today's World
In every generation, Torah has a voice for those willing to listen. We explore how these ancient words speak into our modern lives—offering guidance, wisdom, and a steady hand in an unsteady world. Our blogs and studies are designed to help you see how Torah applies to the questions we face everyday, from navigating personal struggles to building communities that last. The Torah offers both lessons and lifelines.
Each article, each study, connects you with a tradition that’s both timeless and timely. You’ll find discussions on themes and questions that are being discussed in the Torah Pursuant world.. There’s always something new to discover.
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๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ, ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ก๐๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ
Replacement theology sounds harmless at first. Few people choose it by name. Most drift into it through quiet assumptions that seem reasonable on the surface. If you believe the Church has replaced Israel in Godโs plan. If you believe the Mosaic covenant has expired or lost meaning. If you believe Jewish identity no longer matters in the Kingdom. If you believe the phrase โin Christโ creates a new spiritual category that dissolves Jew and Gentile into one undifferentiated peo
Mark S. Railey
Dec 8, 20253 min read
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๐๐ฐ๐จ ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ (๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ) ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฌ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ: ๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ก ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ?
According to the Torah, what do you call a Sojourner who is not Jewish but loves the Torah and might even live Jewishly? What does the Law command in respect to these Sojourners? Who are they? In the Torah, ืึผึตืจ / ger describes a Gentile who attaches himself to the God of Israel and chooses to walk in covenant loyalty, even when living outside the Land of Israel. Geography never silenced calling. Allegiance traveled with the heart. The most common Diaspora expression of this
Mark S. Railey
Dec 8, 20253 min read
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๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
Some teachers claim that being โin Messiahโ creates a brand-new identity that replaces both Jewish and Gentile identity. They say salvation equals new birth and that new birth cancels ethnic distinctions. This idea is popular because it sounds spiritual. It sounds unifying. It sounds clean and simple. But Scripture never teaches this. ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ง๐๐ฐ ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ. Paul says, โIf anyone is in Messi
Mark S. Railey
Dec 8, 20253 min read
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๐๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ
Modern culture trains us to flatten people into categories. The news speaks in blocs and voting groups. Politics speaks in labels. Statistics speak in averages. Over time, we begin to think in sameness instead of persons. Tragically, many now read the Bible the same way. Scripture never treats Jews or Gentiles as uniform groups. God does not deal with humanity through mass identity. He calls individuals to respond in faith. Among the Jewish people, some will recognize Yeshua
Mark S. Railey
Dec 7, 20252 min read
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๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ืึตึผืจ (๐ ๐ฬ๐ซ) ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ื ึธืึฐืจึดื (๐ง๐จ๐ค๐ก๐ซ๐ขฬ)?
Much of todayโs confusion over โOne Torahโ comes from a simple mistake. The Torah never treats all Gentiles as a single group. Instead, it uses clear categories with different covenant relationships. When those categories get blurred, verses meant for one group are applied to everyone, and theology becomes tangled. The first word is ื ึธืึฐืจึดื / ๐ง๐จ๐ค๐ก๐ซ๐ขฬ. This refers to a true foreigner, a person from the nations who remains outside Israelโs covenant life. A nokhrรญ may trav
Mark S. Railey
Dec 7, 20253 min read
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๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ
One Torah folks often claim that Jews and Gentiles disappear into a mystical third identity called "In Christ." By that, they mean, salvation through Yeshua. But the Torah teaches that Jews and Gentiles have different obligations and requirements. Thus, the One Torah idea is fundamentally flawed. They also teach that Acts 15 tells Gentiles to go to the Synagogue each Sabbath to learn from Moses. However, going to synagogue was a path to table fellowship and not a command to s
Mark S. Railey
Dec 6, 20252 min read
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๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง โ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ฌ
Gentiles do not become Jews in Messiah. โYou, once Gentilesโฆ are brought near by the blood of Christ.โ (Ephesians 2:11โ13 NKJV) Calling does not change at salvation. โLet each remain in the same calling in which he was called.โ (1 Corinthians 7:20) One Torah does not mean one identical covenant yoke. โWhy put a yokeโฆ which neither our fathers nor we could bear?โ (Acts 15:10) Acts 15 defines Gentile obligation, not a temporary shortcut. โIt seemed good to the Holy Spiritโฆ to l
Mark S. Railey
Dec 6, 20251 min read
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๐๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ญ โ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐กโ โ ๐๐๐ซ๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐ฒ
Paulโs understanding of the Gentile mission arose from a convergence of Israelโs prophetic Scriptures, Second Temple apocalyptic writings, his Pharisaic training, and the lived synagogue God-fearer movement he encountered in the Mediterranean world. The Hebrew prophets foretold an end-time turning of the nations to Israelโs God without their conversion to Israelโs ethnic or covenant status (Isa 2:2โ3; Zech 8:20โ23; Isa 49:6). Paul explicitly interpreted his Gentile converts t
Mark S. Railey
Dec 6, 20252 min read
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๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ: ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ก, ๐๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ!
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐๐ซ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ก A lot of good people feel trapped between two fears. On one side they fear lawlessness. On the other side they fear โmixture.โ In that fear, some erase the difference between Jew and Gentile. Then they treat every Israel command as a universal command for all believers. No room remains for different callings in one body. The Bible does not teach that! ๐. ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง, ๐ง
Mark S. Railey
Dec 6, 20253 min read
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๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฒ
Paganism is often misunderstood. In Scripture, paganism does not mean anything that came from non-biblical cultures. Paganism means the worship of false gods through ritual devotion. The word comes from the Latin ๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ , which described rural people who retained polytheistic worship after the gospel spread through the cities. Biblically, paganism is not about objects or language. It is about allegiance. โYou shall have no other gods before Me.โ (Exodus 20:3 NKJV) The
Mark S. Railey
Dec 5, 20253 min read
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๐๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ "๐๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง"
Dear Pagan Observer, I hear your concern for holiness. That's great! Scripture calls us to guard our worship and never mix idols with devotion to YHWH. On that point, we stand together. Where your conclusion overreaches is in assuming that historical parallels equal biblical prohibition. Scripture addresses intent and worship, not reused cultural forms. Paul faced the same issue and answered it plainly: โAn idol is nothing in the worldโ and ordinary practices are not sinful u
Mark S. Railey
Dec 5, 20252 min read
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Is the "One Torah" group the new sect of the Pharisees?
โSome of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, โIt is necessary... to command them to keep the law of Moses.โโ (Acts 15:5 NKJV) Did you notice the "command them to keep the law of Moses"? How many times have you heard the One Torah folks teach Gentiles are to keep the whole Torah? All 613 Laws of Moses? This directly contradicts the clear Instructions of the disciples of Yeshua. You may study the whole Bible and obey the Torah by only doing what it commands
Mark S. Railey
Nov 30, 20251 min read
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๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ
Christmas is an attempt to honor the wonder that Luke records. The birth of Yeshua is announced with glory in the heavens and hope on the earth. Angels proclaim โGlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!โ (Luke 2:14 NKJV). Shepherds hurry to Bethlehem and find the newborn King just as they were told (Luke 2:15โ20). When believers try to set aside a feast or a family day to remember this moment, they are simply trying to shape this sacred story int
Mark S. Railey
Nov 28, 20252 min read
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๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ค๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง๐-๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ
Many believers who love ืชึผืึนืจึธื / Torah and follow Yeshua do so with good hearts and honest hunger for truth. Their desire for unity appears to be holy. Their longing for obedience seems honorable. Yet along the way, some common misunderstandings creep in. These do not come from rebellion but from over-extension. In our desire to defend unity, we sometimes press Scripture farther than it actually speaks. One frequent mistake is confusing unity with sameness. Scripture never t
Mark S. Railey
Nov 28, 20252 min read
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๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐๐, ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ๐๐๐: ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ซ ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ก
Sometimes I open a social media thread about Gentiles, Torah, Israel, and identity, and it feels like someone handed me a box of tangled extension cords and said, โGood luck.โ The comments start rolling in: โข โGentiles who keep Torah eventually become Israel.โ โข โIf you want to be fully obedient, youโll need to take the same steps Israel did.โ โข โCircumcision is the sign of real covenant faithfulness.โ โข โYouโre only halfway in until you take on the whole Torah.โ No one says
Mark S. Railey
Nov 27, 20253 min read
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๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ฌ โ๐๐ฌ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅโ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ญ? ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ก-๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฌ๐ก๐ฎ๐
A lot of confusion happens when a Gentile believer starts keeping ืชึผืึนืจึธื / Torah, celebrates the ืืึนืขึฒืึดืื / moโedim, honors Shabbat, and loves Israel. Many begin to ask, โDoes this make me Israel?โ So letโs step back and look at what Scripture actually says, without leaning on rabbis, traditions, or modern denominational boundaries. Just Bible. The Torah describes several kinds of non-Israelites. Some Gentiles lived in the land because Israel did not drive out every nation
Mark S. Railey
Nov 25, 20253 min read
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๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐
Some ideas feel comforting because they give us a sense of control. They simplify the world. They offer the thrill of โhidden insight.โ They confirm what we already want to believe. But comfort is not the same as truth, and a disciple of Yeshua cannot cling to ideas that feel right when they are not right. A pure heart refuses deception even when the lie makes us feel strong, smart, or safe. This is why we must let go of false teachings like โChristmas is paganโ or the claim
Mark S. Railey
Nov 23, 20253 min read
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๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ: ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ซ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐กโ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ
One of the most common mistakes in todayโs Messianic, Hebrew Roots, and post-denominational churches is the idea that ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ซ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ. Many believers assume that if Jews and Gentiles are equal in Messiah, then they must live identically, follow identical commandments, or shape their spiritual identity the same way. This sounds logical, but biblically it is ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ. Equality in Scripture never erases God-given identity. ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐
Mark S. Railey
Nov 22, 20253 min read
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๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ: ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐, ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐
Some teachings appeal to the ego before they endanger the heart. One of the most toxic is the claim that Gentile believers in Yeshua are โthe true Israel,โ โreal Jews,โ or โlost tribes returning.โ It flatters pride. It promises a secret identity. It offers spiritual importance without a biblical foundation. And it has misled many sincere Torah-pursuant Gentile believers who walked away from the Church only to discover, too late, that they were being shaped by an illusion. ๐๏ฟฝ
Mark S. Railey
Nov 20, 20254 min read
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๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง
Many dear brothers and sisters love God with all their hearts. Some of them have grown wary of Christmas because they were taught that it is pagan. I understand that fear. But fear can harden the heart if we never stop to look at the fruit. Yeshua told us to judge teachings by what they produce. He said a good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit (Matthew 7:17). That is where our conversation begins. ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ญ๐ A w
Mark S. Railey
Nov 17, 20254 min read
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