Succot Celebration Highlights - 2006

A Song of Ascents. Of David. ‘I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the LORD." Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!’  NKJ Psalm 122:1-2

You have turned my mourning into dancing

In a glorious explosion of color, dance, music and celebration, the sixth annual Succot Celebration, hosted by Barry and Batya Segal, burst into action on the 9th October. As the highly respected statesman of the messianic movement in Israel, Lance Lambert pointed out in his opening address, Succot is the only one of the three major Feasts of the Lord that we are told in Scripture will definitely be celebrated during the Millennium rule of Yeshua the Messiah in Jerusalem.

In anticipation of those wonderful days, that will soon be here, over 600 pilgrims from more than 20 different nations gathered at the conference center of the Kibbutz Ramat Rachel to the South of the Old City of Jerusalem. The atmosphere of celebration and praise to Adonai was set by the Benote Tzion Dance Troupe, with their richly coloured costumes and joyful dancing, the sound of Shofars and the praise and worship of the assembled company.
 
‘You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.’ NKJ Psalm 30:11

In such a scene it was hard to remember that less than two months previously the nation had been at war with an enemy that is determined to completely destroy Israel and annihilate the people. The sense of the Presence of El Elyon (God Almighty) and the praise and worship led by Barry and Batya with Frank and Marlou and the Dew worship band from Holland, lifted the worshipers above the tensions and pressures of the moment. At that memorable opening session Lance Lambert reminded his listeners that God has a plan for every individual, and He also has a plan for Israel, and that all the enemies of Israel will eventually be defeated by the King of Kings Himself.

The next morning the well known former CBS Radio news reporter, David Dolan, gave a serious and sobering report on the current status of the threat to Israel from all the nations described in Psalm 83, including Russia and Iran.

For Bible scholars the next session was a real treat, as Dwight Prior opened up the Scriptures from a Hebraic mindset, bringing the Word of God back to its Jewish roots, showing how we need a deep understanding of the Jewishness of the Messiah Himself, and the society He lived in, to receive a full understanding of the gospels.

That afternoon four buses carried the delegates to a park a mile from the Old City of Jerusalem, where more than 5,000 believers (as reported in local publications and Israel Today) from seventy nations gathered to begin a march through the streets of Jerusalem to the walls of the Old City, to show their love for Israel and their unity of purpose with the Israeli people. The streets were lined with row upon row of the people of Jerusalem, some of them old enough to remember the Holocaust, many of them having experienced deprivation in many different countries before making Aliyah to Israel, only to find the Islamic world and many of the rest of the nations turning against them and threatening their very existence. The reception for the wave upon wave of Christians from so many countries, singing, waving flags and calling out to the crowds lining the streets, was deeply emotional and moving, and anyone who has not experienced such a moment before is encouraged to go to the www.Succotcelebration.com website, and reserve a place at next year’s Succot Celebration.

That evening Francis Frangipane flew in from the Unites States to be with the delegates and to give his support and blessing to Barry and Batya and the work of Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse. Francis has a very special ministry bringing believers back to the most important aspect of their life, that of being formed in the very nature of Christ Himself. At such a dramatic moment in the history of the world, sitting under the Word of the Messiah in the city of Jerusalem, surrounded by people who love Israel and believe fervently in His imminent return, it was a most poignant moment to remember the nature of the One who had died for the sins of the whole world, just a few miles from where we were seated.

On day three Sophocles Christodoulou, a pastor from Cyprus, started the morning session with the bold statement; “I am not a Gentile.” He went on to bring the revelation of the One New Man with a dynamism and freshness that will reach out far beyond the walls of the conference room at Ramat Rachel. In the afternoon the Glory of God fell as David Herzog ministered; when the preaching of God’s Word is accompanied by signs and wonders in the Land where Yeshua Himself taught and healed, the sense of the Presence of God is quite amazing. The scene was set for Barry Segal to finish the day with a powerful message, bringing clarity and light to the central issue of the moment, the threat to Israel and all true believers in Yeshua, from radical Islam, and the need for vigilance and prayer as the Day of the Lord rapidly approaches.

The fourth and final day of a hugely successful Succot Celebration dawned with the sound of rain falling lightly on the warm soil of Jerusalem, the first rain since the springtime, and a sign of God’s blessing on Israel. In the morning Asher Intrater, an Israeli messianic leader, brought a prophetic message on the meaning of the Feast of Succot, and linked this to the urgent need for the Good News of Yeshua to be preached in these times. He had received a vision during the night, when the Lord showed him how short the time is for men and women to be saved.  We were then lifted up in the presence of Adonai by inspirational worship from Karen Davis, who lives with her husband David on Mount Carmel, where the fire of God fell on the prophets of Baal so many years ago. David Davis told of his experience of the fire of the Holy Spirit falling on him when he first came to Mount Carmel, as God showed him that this was the place chosen for him and Karen to set up a refuge for drug addicts and young people in desperate need in the Israel of today. He reminded us of the day when the Spirit of God fell on the disciples the second time, and urged everyone to seek the fire of the Lord to fall on them.

The Succot Celebration is full of life and variety, and in the afternoon the joy of the Lord fell on everyone who came to the session led by Bill and Mary Anne Henderson. It was a time of refreshing that came on the same day as the latter rains fell on Israel. That evening the Deputy Minister for Tourism spoke to us, and warmly welcomed everyone to Israel.

At the final session, Dwight Prior taught on the essential nature of the Feast of Succot, rejoicing in Yeshua. He made it clear that rejoicing at the Feast is not an option, it is a command, and challenged everyone to take rejoicing seriously. However, with Barry and Batya’s son Ariel making his debut at the conference with an awe inspiring performance on the guitar, rejoicing broke out spontaneously and vigorously, and the praises of the people rose up into the coolness of the night, reminding the principalities and powers of the air that there is a God in Israel, and He is loved and worshiped and adored by a faithful remnant, and He will bring Shalom to the city that He loves with all His heart, the wonderful city of Zion. 

An extract from one of the many letters of thanks we have received from those of you who joined us at the Succot Celebration

‘What a wonderful year again in Israel.  The tours, the Conference were all superb, not forgetting all the fantastic ministers, the praise and worship and the dancers.  The conference was so full of God's presence and anointing, one could sense it before the praise and worship even begins.  And hearing another message from the Minister of Tourism was awesome.  I really had a great time and l am definitely coming back for more, Succot Celebration 2007.

I am so thankful to God for this great ministry (Vision for Israel) he has given you and Barry.  May He cause this ministry to grow from strength to strength, and may He send the right people to partner with you.’

The speakers’ resources material and books are available for purchase from the Greetings from Jerusalem website, www.greetingsfromjerusalem.com

Seventh Succot Celebration
September 30 to October 3, 2007
The dates for the seventh Succot Celebration at Ramat Rachel in Jerusalem have already been fixed, and you are warmly invited to attend. It will be followed by an inspirational tour of the most interesting and significant venues in Israel, including visits to places that we have never been to on earlier tours. The combination of Messianic teaching and touring the Land at the time of the one major Feast that has not yet been fulfilled by Yeshua, is a unique experience which will leave you with a deeper and better understanding of the true significance of Israel in the last days.