By Dr. Jürgen Bühler, ICEJ President

As the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem plans for our Feast of Tabernacles 2025 gathering this coming October, we believe it needs to be a landmark Feast due to this being one of the most critical years in Israel’s modern history. Thus, we are reducing the Feast entry price to an all-time low to draw as many Christians as we can for a solidarity and victory tour to a nation recovering from war and needing our friendship and presence here more than ever.

The footsteps of Messiah
I will never forget when Merv and Merla Watson told me about the very first Christian celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles held in Jerusalem. Back in the late 1970s, the Canadian couple heard God speak to them through Zechariah 14:6, where the prophet foresees a time when all the nations on earth will come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord during the biblical feast of Succot (Tabernacles).

While the Watsons understood this passage speaks of a future time, they strongly felt God was leading them to start this prophetic pilgrimage already now. So, in 1979 they invited friends to join them in going up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. To their surprise, several hundred Christian pilgrims followed their call and joined them in Jerusalem. Preparing for that first Feast of Tabernacles, they wondered how can Christians celebrate a feast that was never part of the Christian calendar. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, they met with a leading rabbi in Jerusalem to inquire on how Gentiles should celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. After receiving the rabbi’s advice, the Watsons left his office, but then he quickly called them back. Referring to the prophecy of Zechariah 14, he said: “When the Gentiles are starting to come now to celebrate Succot, then I can hear the footsteps of the coming Messiah!”

Comfort My people
The presence of Gentiles in Jerusalem celebrating Succot has become a powerful prophetic statement to Israel itself, and a great source of comfort for them. This manifested, in particular, the following year at the first public Christian celebration of Succot in 1980.

During the summer of 1980, the 13 nations that still maintained their embassies in Jerusalem gave in to the threat of an oil embargo by the Arab League by abandoning Jerusalem and moving their embassies to Tel Aviv. The mood in Jerusalem sank, as Israelis saw that the world community buckled under the Arab oil pressure rather than follow moral principles by remaining in Israel’s capital city. An Israeli friend who lived here in those days said there was an atmosphere of gloom in Israel as the people realised that just 35 years after the Holocaust, Jews still could not count on international support or sympathy.

Yet it was during that first public Feast gathering for Christians in late September 1980 when the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem was established to show the people of Israel that they are not alone. Despite the decisions of their respective governments, Christians from around the world stood with the young state of Israel and with its eternal and undivided capital of Jerusalem. It was undoubtedly a God-given kairos moment. When Israel needed love and support, Christians from some 32 nations reacted with love, support and prayer.

From that moment on, more and more Israeli leaders became aware of the new wave of evangelical Christian support for their nation. Jerusalem’s beloved mayor Teddy Kollek attended the official opening of the Christian Embassy in 1980, and the next year the respected Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin, came and addressed the Feast gathering, which had grown to 3,000 Christian pilgrims from around the world. Since then, Israel’s presidents, prime minsters, cabinet ministers, Knesset members and institutional leaders have paid tribute to this growing movement of Christian supporters of Israel. It has grown to such a level that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly applauded evangelical Christians as Israel’s best friends.

A new Kairos moment
Here in Jerusalem, we sense that today we are again in such a kairos moment, similar to 1980. Global antisemitism is on the rise to a level unprecedented since the rebirth of Israel as a nation in 1948. It is a global plague that has been bringing tens and even hundreds of thousands of anti-Israel and antisemitic protesters into the streets of our cities worldwide. In these mass rallies, they openly call for the destruction of Israel “from the river to the sea” and for the death of Jews, mostly with no government intervention.

At the same time, Israel is still mourning the 1,200 Israelis murdered in the October 7 massacre, and still praying for the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, while also dealing with the hundreds of Israeli soldiers and policemen killed or injured ever since the October 7 pogrom. Meanwhile, roughly a third of the nation has experienced post-traumatic stress due to the horrific, inhumane slaughter of masses of innocent Israelis during the Hamas terror invasion from Gaza.

We are now in a time when we cannot just be silent bystanders; rather we are called to demonstrate our love and concern for Israel in real, practical ways, reminding them once again that they are not alone!

A strategic Board decision
In early February, the international Board of Trustees of the Christian Embassy met and made a strategic decision. We prayed that the Feast of Tabernacles in 2025 would become the largest Christian solidarity mission to Israel this year, showing to this nation and people, just as happened 45 years ago, that they are not alone. Envisioning thousands of Christians marching through the streets of Jerusalem once more, we felt it will be a timely, powerful sign to God’s people that He cares for them.

To underline the significance of this moment, the ICEJ Board decided to throw its full support behind this year’s Feast by investing into it as never before. We have lowered the Feast entry fee in a truly unprecedented way. Any Christian that wants to be part of this timely call for solidarity with Israel can join all the Feast events in Jerusalem for a symbolic price of US$ 120. This will cover your participation in the four full days of celebrations in Jerusalem, including the Roll Call of the Nations, Israeli Guest Night, the Communion service in the Garden Tomb, Youth Night, the special prayer and healing sessions, and of course the ever-popular Jerusalem March through the streets of the capital.

This is the lowest Feast price we have ever offered since 1980, and we pray that God will bless and confirm this investment with a loud statement to Israel that we are indeed friends in their time of need. Our prayer is that this year’s Jerusalem March, in particular, will be a powerful exclamation mark of Christian support and comfort for Israel.

Come join ‘Ten from every nation!’
Please prayerfully consider joining us at this year’s Feast alongside fellow pilgrims from all over the world as we gather to worship the King of Kings in Zion and to take to the streets of Jerusalem to powerfully show our love and support. May this be a time to change your holiday plans and to choose Jerusalem instead.

The theme for this year’s Feast is a prophetic challenge to all of us: “Ten from Every Nation.” This passage from Zechariah 8:23 is not calling for a limit of just ten people from every nation, but rather a summons for a minimum of at least ten pilgrims from your nation. That is, make sure there is a righteous remnant of at least ten believers coming to represent your nation at this year’s Feast. The preceding verses of Zechariah 8:20-22 speak of cities and strong nations coming to Jerusalem. It also says that “the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favour of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going’.”

If you sense that God is speaking to you as you read these words, call up friends, even your pastor, your church or prayer group, and say “Let us go at once…, I myself am going.”

I look forward to seeing you in Jerusalem to worship Jesus and to stand together with His beloved people of Israel. Indeed, now is the time to arise and favour Zion! (Psalm 102:13)