Roll call of over 90 nations opens Jerusalem session of Feast of Tabernacles

The opening celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem saw representatives from over 90 nations present their flags in the Israeli capital’s Pais Arena on Sunday evening.

Thousands of pilgrims made their way from all over the world to attend the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) annual event in Jerusalem, with thousands more watching online live streams of the event.

The event at the Pais Arena marks the first portion of the Jerusalem Feast location, which initially began in the north, at the Sea of Galilee, on Friday.

The evening began with recorded greetings by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose name caused the crowd to erupt into rounds of applause.

Herzog shared his vision of common hope and prayer by quoting Isaiah 56:7: “For My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

He also told the pilgrims that they were living out the biblical prophecy described by Zechariah, that on Sukkot, the nations would gather in Israel.

“The State of Israel will always preserve the freedom of religion and worship and sees you as welcome guests and brothers and sisters,” Herzog said, vowing to safeguard all religious sites without compromise.

These remarks were made against the backdrop of numerous anti-Christian incidents this year.

Just last week Aryeh King, one of Jerusalem’s deputy mayors, warned against the “several hundred and maybe even more (!) Christian missionaries” who he claims will take part in the annual Jerusalem March on Wednesday, Oct. 4.

King has played a leading role in anti-Christian protests in the past, however, so far there have not been any during this year's Feast of Tabernacles.

The first in-person speaker of note was Rabbi Yehudah Glick, a well-known activist for Jewish rights on the Temple Mount and a long-time friend to Evangelical Christians.

Glick was greeted with a thunderous “shalom” by the crowd, before leading the gathering in Hebrew shouts of praise to God with his special ibex horn shofar.

Glick stressed that this kind of shofar was used in the Temple and reminded all tourists to greet their Father in Heaven by going up to the Temple Mount.

The main event of the evening was the ceremonial Roll Call of Nations.

Each nation’s representatives presented their flag on stage, beginning with the region of the world “where the day begins,” namely the Pacific islands.

One of this year's largest delegations came from Fiji, including Fijian Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka, who is leading his government’s effort to open an embassy in Jerusalem. The island nation chartered a special flight from Fiji Airways to bring over 200 Christian pilgrims to Israel.

Joining them were a handful of Fijian soldiers who are part of the United Nations peacekeeping force that is stationed on the Golan Heights in northern Israel.

Among the evening’s most moving sights were the flags of hostile nations being presented in Jerusalem, such as the flags of Iran, North Korea and Lebanon, as well as neighbors Egypt and Jordan.

ICEJ president Jürgen Bühler closed the celebration with a sermon, calling on those present to return next year and bring ten more people with them. This, Bühler said, wasn’t an “ICEJ marketing strategy, but a Bible marketing strategy.”

He exhorted the crowd to have faith and take courage in the prophetic words of the Bible, urging them by saying, “The Lord said, if the nations are coming to present themselves during Sukkot, He says I am going to bless them as a nation. It is not just individual blessing, but I'm going to turn around things in their country.”