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The Shabbatons On the Meaning of the Biblical Shabbatons Written by David M Rogers www.BibleTruth.cc Published: June 2010 Table of Contents The Holy Days That Are Not Shabbatons A Prophetic Understanding of Shabbaton - Shadows of the Messianic Age If you scan the internet for websites which explain the meaning of the biblical Shabbatons, you will be sorely disappointed. The vast majority of web pages which contain the term Shabbaton are Jewish websites which use the term as a synonym for a weekend get together, a youth event, a "special" seventh day Sabbath, or some other annual social event. None of these usages are derived from the meaning of the term as it is given in the written Torah of Moses. Shabbatons are not parties. Nor are they the private social events of any congregation of Torah observant communities. The Shabbat Shabbatons as found in the writings of Moses have a very specific meaning and usage. It is our goal in this study to examine the biblical usage of the term Shabbaton and discern its meaning and application. The Hebrew word Shabbaton is found 11 (eleven) times in the Tanach, all of which occur in the Torah of Moses. 6 of those times, the word is used in the phrase Shabbat Shabbaton, and the other 5 occurrences the word Shabbaton is used independent of the phrase above. The term shabbaton is used to describe the weekly Sabbath and each of the 7th month moadim. It also describes the 7th year. Our word occurs 11 times in 10 verses: Used of: Sabbath (Shemot 16:23; 31:15; 35:2; Vayiqra 23:3), Yom Teru’ah (Vayiqra 23:24), Day of Atonement (Vayiqra 16:31; 23:32), Feast of Tabernacles (Vayiqra 23:39 twice), every seventh year (Vayiqra 25:4,5).
The terms Shabbat and Shabbaton are
not interchangeable. They do not have the same meaning.
The Shabbat (Hebrew, tB'v;
) is a day of cessation from regular work. The Theological
Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) defines shabbat as
meaning to cease, desist, rest. The
Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HALOT) presents our
word as to cease, stop; to come to an end; to rest. Almost
exclusively, the term shabbat as a noun refers to the seventh day
of the week, which Yahuwah blessed and separated in Creation:
By the seventh day Elohim had finished the work he had been doing; so on
the seventh day he rested from all his work. And Elohim
blessed the seventh day and separated it, because on it he rested from
all the work of creating that he had done. (Bereshith 2:2-3) (More about the seventh day Sabbath below). The Shabbaton is the Hebrew
!AtB'v; one individual and particular tB'v;, such as one that is to be observed in a particularly strict way, or one observed as a special celebration. The "particularly strict way" which the Hebrew !AtêB'v implies is usually indicated by its translation as "cessation, rest, sabbath observance, complete rest." In the body of our study, we will explore two theories about why some days are shabbaton and others are not. The seventh day
Sabbath is called a shabbaton in four different places (Shemot 16:23;
31:15; 35:2; Vayiqra 23:3). The first reads thus:
He said to them, "This is what Yahuwah commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a
day of rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahuwah. So bake what you want to bake
and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until
morning.'" (Shemot 16:23) The Hebrew of the key phrase is:
rx"+m' hw"ßhyl;( vd<qo±-tB;v; !AtôB'v; Literally rendered this reads, "Shabbaton, Shabbat of set-apartness
to Yahuwah (is) tomorrow." The reference of
"tomorrow" is to the seventh day Shabbat. Then, the instruction
which follows seems to explain the significance of the Sabbath being a
shabbaton. So bake what you want
to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep
it until morning.
Special instructions are given in regard to
the manna which was on the ground every morning and which the benei
Yisrael would gather each morning: It seems that the activity
of preparing food to eat was the definitive prohibition which the
Sabbath as a shabbaton requires On the
seventh day, because it is a "Shabbaton, Shabbat of set-apartness to
Yahuwah," the congregation was instructed NOT to go out and gather the
manna, for it would not be found on the Sabbath day. On the
Sabbath, Mosheh told the people,
"Eat it today," Mosheh said, "because today is a Sabbath to Yahuwah. You
will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to
gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any."
(Shemot 16:25-26) The second place where the seventh
day Sabbath is called a shabbaton is in Shemot 31: For six days, work is to be done, but the
seventh day is a Sabbath of rest (Hebrew, Shabbat shabbaton), set
apart to Yahuwah. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put
to death (vs 15). In this text, what makes the Sabbath a complete rest
(shabbaton) is that no work at all is to be performed on that day.
On pain of death, the sons of Yisrael are urged to set this day apart to
Yahuwah and not do any of their work. But nothing is said
specifically about preparing food in this passage. The third occurrence of shabbaton
as delimiting the Sabbath day is in Shemot 35:2-3: For six days, work is to be done, but the
seventh day shall be your set apart day, a Sabbath of rest (Hebrew,
Shabbat shabbaton) to Yahuwah. Whoever does any work on it must be
put to death. Do not gather a fire in any of your dwellings on the
Sabbath day." In this text, the special restfulness of the Shabbat as
implied by the term shabbaton is described by the prohibition of
"gathering a fire." (I lay out in great detail the meaning of the
prohibition of "kindling a fire on the Sabbath" in my study of
Keeping Shabbat).
And the final text in which the
Sabbath day is called a shabbaton is in Vayiqra 23:3 There are six days when you may work, but
the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest (Shabbat shabbaton), a day
of set apart assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it
is a Sabbath to Yahuwah. As in the Shemot 31 passage, this text does not specify
the particular activity which is prohibited by the term shabbaton. While shabbaton was
connected to the prohibition of preparing food on the Sabbath in Shemot
16, in Shemot 35 shabbaton is connected to the prohibition of
"gathering a fire" on the Shabbat. In the other two passages we
are merely told that we are not to do any work on the Sabbath on pain of
death. So, its difficult at this stage to draw the conclusion that
the shabbaton is linked specifically with the preparation of
food. Rather, it seems to prohibit all non essential activity - any
activities that could be taken care of in advance.
What exactly does it mean that no work is permitted on these shabbatons?
This is the million dollar question. People debate the meaning of
work as used in this context all the time. Everybody has an
opinion about what this forbidden work is. Usually, the opinions
expressed are derived from one's own selfish desire to exonerate oneself
from their own cherished activities which people refuse to cease doing
on the Sabbath!
But, let's not guess anymore at what
"work" is. Let's find the definition for "work"
by its usage in the Tanak (the Old Testament).
In Shemot 20:9 and 10, the Hebrew word for "work" is
hk'al'm. (pronounced "melacha").
So it reads, "For six days you may labor and do all your melacha, but the seventh day is a
Sabbath to Yahuwah your Elohim; on it you shall not do any melacha."
Melacha is defined by
The BDB Hebrew Lexicon as "occupation, work." The Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament (TWOT) defines this word as "work, business." And the Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old
Testament (HALOT) renders it "1. trade mission,
business journey, 2. business, work, 3. handiwork, craftsmanship."
The first occurrences (3 times) of our word comes in the account of the
seventh day following the six days of creation: By the seventh day Elohim finished the
work (melacha) that he had been doing, and he ceased
on the seventh day all the work (melacha) that he
had been doing. Elohim blessed the seventh day and made
it set-apart because on it he ceased all the work (melacha)
that he had been doing in creation (Bereshith 2:2,3). How should we understand the meaning of melacha
in Scripture? What was the nature of the melacha
which Elohim was doing here? In other places the melacha
which Elohim was doing in creation is described in different terms: The depths of the earth are in his hand,
and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made
it. His hands formed the dry land (Tehillim 95:4,5). And When I consider your heavens, the work of
your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place (Tehillim
8:3). In the beginning you laid the foundations
of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands (Tehillim
102:25 NIV).
In each of these Scriptures, the melacha
of creation is described as the "work of his fingers" or "work of his
hands." Hold that thought while you consider
this: If the thief is not caught, then the
owner of the house will be brought before the judges, to see whether he
has laid his hand on his neighbor's goods (melacha)
(Shemot 22:8) ...then there will be an oath to Yahuwah
between the two of them, that he has not laid his hand on his neighbor's
goods (melacha), and its owner will accept this, and he
will not have to make it good (Shemot 22:11). Sometimes the Hebrew melacha is translated
"goods" (in the NIV of these verses above, it is translated "property")
and refers to the end result of the work of one's hands. We should understand, then, that the
word melacha refers to human activity (work) that results in
the production of a finished
end product. Just as the "work" of Elohim's hands produced heaven
and earth (an end product), the work which we are forbidden to do on the
Sabbath is that melacha which results in products which
are made or produced by the skill and labor of our hands. It is
easy to see how melacha could also be translated
"occupation," "business," "handiwork," or "craftsmanship." All of
these terms have to do with the work that people do to produce goods and
services. But keep in mind that this is just a
human attempt to understand the meaning of melacha.
If we use my definition above for work, then we will still run into
problems in the grey areas. At this point, we must use common
sense and reasonability. For example, Yahusha said it is lawful
to do good on the Sabbath. And he ordered a man to pick up and
carry his mat on the Sabbath. Thus, reason and the example of
Messiah should show us that there are many things which are perfectly
fine to do on the Sabbath, but which we will be criticized for doing.
The important thing to remember is that your daily occupational
tasks should cease on the seventh-day. With that in mind, we can produce a
kind of general "list" or rule of thumb (but this is not a
"law") regarding work that is forbidden
on Shabbat. Activities which produce an end product are not
permitted, such as any occupational work done to produce an income
(one's normal business affairs) including craftsmanship, work in a field
which ultimately will produce a crop, chores done in a home (which
requires the work of one's hands to accomplish) such as gathering
wood for a fire (or grocery shopping!), and cooking which
produces an end product (a cooked or prepared meal), or anything that
requires someone else to work on your behalf (you are commanded to let
your servant rest, too!). [More on
cooking being explicitly prohibited by Scripture in section below.] Activities which are permitted on
Sabbath include (clearly) Scripture study which makes us wise in our
walk before Elohim, personal hygiene tasks, games which exploit
friendship and fellowship, rest, eating (as long as it doesn't require
melacha on the Sabbath to prepare said meal), and the
like. Also included in activities which are permitted are those
acts of mercy and compassion to help men and animals in a situation
which endangers their health and life. Remember, "it is always right to do
good on the Sabbath." But "good" is not an activity which
profits you.
Each of the appointments (moadim) of the seventh month of the
Hebrew calendar are also called shabbaton. And so, the next 5
occurrences of the Hebrew word shabbaton refer to Yom Teru’ah
(Vayiqra 23:24), Day of Atonement (Vayiqra 16:31; 23:32) and the Feast
of Tabernacles (Vayiqra 23:39 twice).
Of Yom Teruah, which falls on the first day of the seventh month,
Scripture says,
Say to the sons of Yisrael: 'On the first day of the seventh month you
are to have a day of rest, a set apart assembly commemorated with
trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made
to Yahuwah by fire.'" (Vayiqra 23:24-25)
The Hebrew reads,
vd<qo)-ar"q.mi h['ÞWrT. !Arïk.zI !AtêB'v;
Literally, this reads in English, "Shabbaton, a remembrance of trumpet
blast, a set apart proclamation."
Though we are told that Yom Teruah is a shabbaton, no specific
details are given regarding prohibitions. We are merely told that
no regular work is to be performed. What is this "regular work"
which is prohibited on the shabbatons? The Hebrew phrase
here is:
Wf+[]t; al{å hd"Þbo[] tk,al,îm.-lK'
literally is rendered, "all work of service you shall not do."
The Hebrew word for "work" is
hk'al'm. (pronounced "melacha").
And the Hebrew word hd"Þbo[
(pronounced ăvōdăh) means simply labour, service.
So, in Vayiqra 23:24, the instruction is telling us all work of service
is not to be done. In other words, any activity of our hands which
produces a product or service is forbidden on this day. As we saw
above in the examples given regarding the seventh day Sabbath, these
forbidden activities would include such things as preparing food and
gathering a fire.
Yom HaKippurim - the Day of Atonement - is twice said to be a
shabbaton. This is to
be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month
you must deny yourselves and not do any work-- whether native-born or an
alien living among you-- because on this day atonement will be made for
you, to cleanse you. Then, before Yahuwah, you will be clean from all
your sins. It is a sabbath of rest (Shabbat shabbaton), and you
must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. (Vayiqra 16:29-31) And also later, The tenth day of this seventh month is
the Day of Atonement. Hold a set apart assembly and deny yourselves, and
present an offering made to Yahuwah by fire. Do no work on that
day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you
before Yahuwah your Elohim. Anyone who does not deny himself on that day
must be cut off from his people. I will destroy from among his people
anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at all.
This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever
you live. It is a sabbath of rest (Shabbat shabbaton) for
you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of
the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath."
(Vayiqra 23:27-32) Again, as above, no melacha is to be done on Yom HaKippurim.
All work is banned for the day. Because it is
a Shabbat shabbaton, all work is forbidden. Yet, because it
is a day of fasting, it makes sense that preparation of food is
forbidden on this day.
The first and eighth days of the Feast of Tabernacles (Chag HaSukkot)
are called shabbaton.
So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have
gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to Yahuwah for
seven days; the first day is a day of rest, and the eighth day also is a
day of rest. `!At)B'v;
ynIßymiV.h; ~AYðb;W !AtêB'v; ‘!AvarIh") ~AYÝB;
literally, "on the first day - shabbaton - and on the eighth day -
shabbaton."
The prohibition against work is given in verses 34-36 of Vayiqra 23:
Say to the sons of Yisrael: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month
Yahuwah's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a set apart assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present offerings made to Yahuwah by fire,
and on the eighth day hold a set apart assembly and present an offering
made to Yahuwah by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular
work.
Here, again, the word translated as work is
melacha.
The Holy Days That Are
Not Shabbatons
There are three annual biblical appointments (moadim) that are
not said to be shabbatons. Two of these occur in the
springtime. The 1st and 7th days of Chag HaMatzot (Feast
of Unleavened Bread)
are NOT called shabbaton. Nowhere in all the Torah are
these days commanded to be shabbaton. Thus, it is notable
that on these days, food is permitted to be prepared - presumable the
reason they are never called “complete rests.” For seven
days you must eat bread made without yeast. Surely on the first day you
must put away the yeast from your houses because anyone who eats
leavened bread from the first day to the seventh day may be cut off from
Yisrael.
And on the first day there will be a set-apart miqra, and on the seventh
day there will be a set-apart miqra for you. You must do no work of
any kind on them, only what every person must eat--that alone may be
prepared for you (Shemot 12:15,16). Here, we are told not to do "all
melacha" (any melacha), except to prepare that
which you need to eat! The Hebrew is somewhat emphatic: `~k,(l'
hf,î['yE ADàb;l aWhï vp,n<ë-lk'l. lkeäa'yE rv<åa] %a;… ~h,êb' hf,ä['yE-al{
‘hk'al'm.-lK'
literally rendered becomes, "all work
shall not be done for them, except that which is eaten by every person -
that alone shall be done for you." The Hebrew
%a; (pronounced ahk), here
rendered only or except, is a restrictive adverb used to
contrast what precedes it with what follows. The result is that
while work is forbidden, an exception to the rule is being established
here. The conclusion we may draw from this curious statement is
that preparing (boiling, baking) food falls under the umbrella of
melacha. So, while melacha is restricted on the first
and last days of Unleavened Bread, there is an exemption from the rule
for this one thing: to prepare your food. It is important that we assimilate
the point just made. The prohibition against all melacha
includes the preparing of food, except in those cases where special
permission to prepare food is granted. The term shabbaton
implies "no melacha" and visa versa - "no melacha" means
"no work of any kind" (except where an exception is made).
The third annual biblical appointment (moed) which is nowhere
said to be a shabbaton is Chag Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), more
commonly known as Pentecost. If the term shabbaton is
always associated with "no preparation of food," then we might be quick
to assume that on Shavuot, food preparation is permitted, since it is
not called a shabbaton. But before we jump
to that conclusion, consider this: the first and seventh days of
Unleavened Bread are not designated shabbaton, but the permission
to prepare food on those days is explicitly made as an exception to the
rule of "no work of any kind is to be done." So, the combination
of not calling those two days shabbaton with the explicitly given
instruction permitting the preparation of food is what causes us to
conclude that we may cook on those two appointment days.
But what about Shavuot? Neither occurs here. Shavuot is not
called a shabbaton. But neither is explicit permission given for
preparing food! However, there is an explicit instruction about
not doing any melacha!
Here is what Scripture says of Shavuot:
On that same day you are to proclaim a set apart assembly and do no
regular work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to
come, wherever you live. (Vayiqra 23:21) "Do no regular work" is from the Hebrew Wf+[]t; al{å
hd"Þbo[] tk,al,îm.-lK' again using melacha followed by avodah -
"works of service." The prohibition is clear - all work of service
is banned on Shavuot. No work of any kind is permitted. If
the definition of melacha
includes preparing food (and that is clearly implied in Shemot 12:15-16), and no exception here is given, is it
permissible to prepare food on Shavuot? What gives? On balance, since melacha
includes all work done for the benefit of ourselves, including preparing
of food, we conclude that the ban on "all works of service" on Shavuot
must surely include the prohibition against preparing of food, even
though Shavuot is not designated as a shabbaton. We do
not need to find a reference to Shavuot being a shabbaton to
conclude that cooking is prohibited on Shavuot, because the prohibition
against all works of service includes preparations for food.
The two remaining occurrences of the term shabbaton in the Scriptures
are used to describe the seventh year land rest. The instruction
is given as follows: Speak
to the sons of Yisrael and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am
going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath (Heb.
shabbat) to Yahuwah.
For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards
and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to
have a sabbath of rest (Heb. Shabbat shabbaton), a sabbath (Heb.
Shabbat) to Yahuwah. Do not sow your fields or
prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest
the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest
(Heb. shabbaton).
Whatever the land yields during the sabbath (Heb. shabbat) year will be food for you--
for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, and the hired worker and
temporary resident who live among you, as well as for your livestock and
the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten. (Vayiqra 25:2-7)
Every seventh year while living in the Land, all the sons of Yisrael
were to give their fields rest. They are to neither sow nor reap
their fields. All the produce which grows up of itself could be
taken for food. But the crops were not to be harvested for storage
or for sale. Thus, the seventh year was the designated
shabbaton. The usage of shabbaton to
describe the "complete rest" of the land in the seventh year is evident.
No work at all was to be done in the fields. Though shabbaton
when it applies to the appointed days appeared to have had a direct
correlation to the preparation of food, that correlation does not exist
here where the seventh year is in view. As such, it would be
incorrect to connect the primary significance of the term shabbaton
with the instruction not to do any food preparation. The primary
biblical significance of the word shabbaton must lay somewhere
else. This primary meaning is what we shall next explore.
A Prophetic Understanding of Shabbaton - Shadows of the Messianic Age
The Jewish Rabbis have long held that the seventh day Sabbath is a
little foretaste of the Messianic Age. They have a phrase they use
which expresses this thought. Yom shekulo Shabbat is that
saying. It means, "a day that is all Shabbat." What they
mean by this is that the Sabbath day was designed to be a rehearsal of
the time of Messiah's reign over the kingdoms of men. The Sabbath
is to be a day of ceasing from all of our own work, pleasure and
pursuits in order to enjoy fellowship with our Maker. As a shadow
of the Messianic Age, the Sabbath is a time of joy and delight and great
blessing. The writer to the 'Ivrim (the
Book of Hebrews of the Brit Chadashah) talked at length about the rest
that is connected with the Sabbath day. This rest he speaks of
corresponds to the Yom shekulo Shabbat.
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us
be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but
the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard
did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed
enter that rest, just as Elohim has said, "So I declared on oath in my
anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'" And yet his work has been
finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has
spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day
Elohim rested from all his work." And again in the passage above
he says, "They shall never enter my rest."
It still
remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the
gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore Elohim again set a certain day, calling it Today,
when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." For if
YHUSHA had given them rest, Elohim would not have spoken later about
another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of Elohim; for anyone who enters Elohim's rest also rests from
his own work, just as Elohim did from his. Let us, therefore, make
every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following
their example of disobedience. ('Ivrim 4:1-11) It is clear to anyone who will hear
that the writer is talking about keeping Sabbath and the promises
connected with keeping Sabbath as a sign of fidelity to Elohim.
The "promise of entering his rest" is identified as that rest Elohim
established at "the creation of the world" and of which it says that "on
the seventh day Elohim rested from all his work." And yet,
entering that rest also speaks of another rest to which Elohim's may
enter into. Those who were disobedient in the wilderness did not
go into that rest. It is clear that "that rest" was the entering
into the land of promise under Elohim's authority. The disobedient
ones all fell in the desert and failed to enter the promised land. So, he goes on to say, the
opportunity to enter the rest still stands. Who will go into that
rest? - that is, the "rest" of the Messianic Age? "Anyone who
enters Elohim's rest also rests from his own work, just as Elohim did
from his." In other words, participating in the Sabbath day
rest and ceasing from all melacha is the avenue by which Elohim's
faithful ones will enter into the Messianic rest. Of interest to us here is that the
word translated "a Sabbath rest" in verse 9 is the Greek
sabbatismo,j Used only this one time in the Greek
New Testament, sabbatismo,j
answers to the Hebrew shabbaton. The "Sabbath rest" (sabbatismos)
is entered into by resting on the Sabbath day. By participating
obediently in the Sabbath commandment, the covenantee is "making every
effort to enter into that rest." So the "complete rest" (shabbaton)
of the Sabbath day is a participating in the foreshadowing experience of
the Messianic Age. What's peculiar about the usage of
the Hebrew shabbaton in the Torah is that the days and times
which are declared to be shabbaton are all foreshadowings of the
Messianic Age and they all find their fulfillment in the Messianic Age.
Think about it. The first and last days of Unleavened Bread and
Shavuot are not called shabbaton. These all had their fulfillment
in Messiah's appearance as "Messiah ben Yoseph" - the suffering servant
nearly two thousand years ago. But the seventh day Sabbath, the
four appointment days of the seventh month, and the seventh year are all
presented as shabbaton. Each of these finds its fulfillment in the
Messianic Age. The Sabbath depicts the Yom shekulo Shabbat, Yom
Teruah finds fulfillment at the appearing of Messiah ben David with the
sounding of the trumpet blasts, Yom HaKippurim occurs when Messiah
punishes all his enemies and binds HaSatan, and the first and eighth
days of Sukkot depicts Messiah ruling and reigning in his kingdom.
And the land Sabbaths also foreshadow and find fulfillment when Messiah
rules from Yerushalayim. We suggest, therefore, that the
primary intent and meaning of the Hebrew word shabbaton is to
indicate the complete rest of the Messianic Age. All of its usages
and applications point toward the fulfillment of the Messianic Hope. The
Shabbatons are those appointed times which depict the Messianic Age.
As such, Elohim draws our attention to this by requiring a complete rest
on those days and years. By ceasing from all our work, even from
preparing food, we are better able to hear and respond to the
proclamation of the coming of the Age of Righteousness with Messiah as
the king of all the earth.
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