Thousands of us travelled to Israel for the Feast of Tabernacles — then came the news we’d all been praying for

Pastor Regan King was visiting Israel for a large Christian conference when it emerged the Israeli hostages were to be released and the war in Gaza was over. He explains what the atmosphere was like, and why over 1500 evangelicals making a pilgrimage from 70 nations to be in Jerusalem could be a fulfilment of an Old Testament prophecy

This year’s gathering of Christians for the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, organised by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), carried a weight that transcended mere celebration.

ICEJ has long served as a witness to Christian care, love, and support for Israel. It represents millions of evangelical believers around the world and reaches with breadth and depth into Jewish and Arab communities alike.

I pastor The Angel Church in London, which counts among its congregation individuals directly impacted by the conflict in Israel and Gaza over the past two years. I myself am husband to an Israeli Jewish believing wife who has family and friends still in Israel, so the past two years have taken a heavy personal toll.

Earlier this month we joined 1510 other Christians from over 70 different nations in travelling to Israel for the Feast of Tabernacles, where I was working as a chaplain to ICEJ’s 85-strong volunteer team who were putting the event on. 

As the conference was beginning, news broke that…