Call of the Harpists from the Pacific and Australia to Jerusalem
I was called by Ps Tom and Kate Hess, from the Jerusalem House of Prayer for All Nations, to join 200 Kings Harpists from the nations at the ‘All Nations Convocation Jerusalem’ (ANCJ). In 2023, this occurred between God’s Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, from 15-29 September, ending eight days before the 7 October war started.
This year, the theme of the annual gathering of up to 2000 delegates from all nations, was ‘Breakthrough for the Isaiah 19 Highway’. We came to pray for Israel and our own and other nations, starting on the Feast of Trumpets. The gathering continued for the ten days of Awe.
God had called His Jewish people to repent, forgive others and get their hearts right before Him and others in those days. This readied them for their most holy day, Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). On Yom Kippur, the Jews’ desire is that their names would be found in Hashem’s ‘Book of Life’. Our gathering was a solemn assembly, after which all delegates travelled around Israel in coaches, in prayer and intercession for the land and people.
See in the video below around 200 of the King’s Harpists from all continents and many nations, including Israel, gathered together with worshippers from close to 150 nations at Amnun Beach on the shores of the Sea of Galilee to minister to the Great King. They are performing The King Reigns.
This year, the Lord’s specific call was to the Pacific Islanders to come up to Jerusalem, the City of the Great King. My strategic call was not only to the ANCJ, but also as a Watchman during the Feast of Tabernacles, and after to join the Welcoming the King of Glory (WTKOG) gathering.
This was when more indigenous brethren from the Pacific arrived in the first week of the war, 11-13 October 2023. The day after was the ‘Voice Referendum’ in Australia. Our calling was to give honour to the King of Glory from the ends of the earth, the islands of the dawn, His possession (Ps 2:8).
Our South Pacific ‘Bethany Gate’ Prayer Watch daily, during the ANCJ, was from 10 p.m.-12 midnight. We cried to God for our nations and helped to sustain the 24/7 Watch of the Lord in Israel (Isaiah 24:14-16). I participated with Pacific Indigenous Leaders, as part of the Australian team at the ‘All Nations Convocation in Jerusalem’.
Together, we represented the Bethany and Golden Gate nations from the Pacific. This is Ps Tom Hess’ Vision of the Gates of Jerusalem having Highways that Lead to the ends of the earth, with Jerusalem at the centre of the map. Please click here for more information on the ‘World Wide Watch’.
Divine Confirmation
As I give this report on the 2023 ANCJ in Jerusalem, I need to give a little background of how it came about that I was there. I had not long returned from an intense prayer assignment in Israel, Jordan and the UK in April and May 2023. In July, I was shocked to receive a call from my Samoan friend Niva, who is Australia’s ANCJ representative, that God was calling ‘His harpists from the Pacific’, and He’d asked her to invite me!
I asked Niva if she knew whether I had a harp. She said ‘No’! I felt an immediate sense of awe and wonder. This required my total dependency on God to get me there and for everything. I had a yearning desire to grow in deeper intimacy with the Lord and to grow in skill as I did my harp practice! For me, it had all begun in December 2019, when my life hit a major crisis.
In God’s mercy, I was invited by Eugine and Angelina Ho to a retreat at Glory Place HOP in Melbourne. The Lord had called Angelina’s mother, Ps Jean Lim from Malaysia, to introduce harp worship into Jerusalem HOPFAN and ANCJ many years ago. That is how ‘The Kings Harpists’ began, restoring harp worship to Jerusalem as in King David’s time.
As part of my recovery, I began to play the harp, focusing on singing Ps 47 and Ps 147 and many of the songs in the book of Revelation. I fell in love with the Lord all over again.
Let us praise Him and proclaim the verses of these Psalms over Jerusalem and Israel in devotion to our Messiah, King Jesus: Psalms 47 and Ps 147:1-7, 11-14, 19-20.
The Kings Harpists perform Halleluyah Hine Ma Tov with Joshua Aaron in worship at the Galilee:
On 6 July, I asked the Lord for His clear, unmistakable sign to show me whether I had really heard His call to GO correctly. This was financially a huge step of faith for me to go for a further five weeks’ assignment in Israel. I felt like a total novice at the harp!
Immediately, one miracle after another occurred, including seeing these rainbows as I stepped out of the dining room door, at the Canberra House of Prayer. I wept before the Lord, surrendered to the Lord’s calling me into His covenant purposes, and said, “Yes Lord, may Your will be done!” Below, you will see the iridescent rainbow on the wall in a position I have never seen before or since.
Then I walked into the chapel!
On 11 September, I left Australia with my suitcase, harp, shofar, music stand and small backpack. It was another miracle I was allowed to board the plane, and put my harp in cabin luggage going up to Jerusalem and back. Just imagine Heaven’s angel administration department getting all the Lord’s harpists to and from Israel!
Arriving at the Ramat Rachel Kibbutz, I felt I’d come back home. I was so grateful to the Lord. He had called me there to represent both Australia and my Jewish people, walking together as the One New Man in Christ, for most years of ANCJ gatherings since 29 September 2000.
Then, I arrived into the intifada, as PM Ariel Sharon walked up onto the Temple Mount. It never crossed my mind that when I would depart Israel this time on 15 October, it would be again in the midst of war. This time with my daughter, who arrived in Israel in the late afternoon of 6 October 2023.
Over 12-15 September 2023, we attended harp school, run by Ps Kate Hess, and some brilliant, very gracious and patient harpists and teachers. In three days, they tutored us to become one in the Lord, singing and playing a large and complex repertoire of glorious worship songs to the Lord. Their focus was on our singing and worship, not performance… it was totally OK to just play the base note for beginners or basic chords, while the more experienced did all the complicated fingerwork.
Worshipping in Unity
I felt like I’d arrived in Heaven. We were ready to open the ‘All Nations Convocation Jerusalem’ (ANCJ) at the Ramat Rachel Kibbutz on the evening of 15 September. This was the eve of the Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah, ushering in the year 5784 in the Lunar Hebrew calendar. How intimate was the presence of God with us from our arrival, Jesus our King in our midst.
There was so much love flowing between brethren. There were times when we were still, after the Lord was exalted in our midst, through the heartfelt praises of His peoples. Surely, He is exalted over Israel and will be over all the nations of the earth. (Ps 46:10)
We had more harp practice and rehearsals in the morning, then at the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount in the heat before we were ready on a balmy evening to worship.
Followers of Jesus from the nations attending the ANCJ arrived on buses. With over 200 harps, we poured out our praises and prayers for the Peace of Jerusalem over God’s Holy City, His people and all Israel.
Another amazing experience was on the last evening of the ANCJ, on the Friday night of the sabbath, 28 September. On the beach at the Lake of Galilee, we were joined by gospel singer and artist Joshua Aaron. We rehearsed all day with him in the heat for an evening worship concert.
This was on the eve of the full harvest moon rising. It is a prophetic sign, I believe – we are now in the Lord’s season of His Harvest, and despite such war trauma, so many Israelis’ hearts are turning to Yeshua, their King.
There was great joy during the worship gathering, and it exploded at the end with the moon rising on the Lake.
At the time of the moon appearing, I was paying attention to my harp cords when my Maori sister, with whom I was sharing my music stand, nodded intentionally to the distance. My heart was transfixed by the sight of a mystical partially visible full harvest moon arising imperceptibly.
At first, it emerged as a pinky-purple form against the azure blue sky, rising above the Golan Heights’ horizon of the sea of Galilee. It was prophetic, as we were hearing the dulcet tones of Joshua Aarons’ beautiful and evocative voice. He was singing into the heavens: ‘The Spirit and the Bride say Come,’ over and over again as a Call to our Bridegroom King.
Then, as the sun was setting, and the sky became gradually darker, the moon became ablaze with light. It was as if there was a divine shift of Kingdom Eras, in that moment with the sun going down. It was as if the glory of the Gentile nations was diminishing, while the Lunar Glory arose. It seemed as if God’s Kingdom era was arising and taking pre-eminence, with realignment and recalibrations in the heavens.
The Kings Harpists perform Shema and Waymaker in worship at the Galilee:
The Wedding Feast
A week later, on 5 October, I was so blessed to participate in a ‘Wedding Feast’ gathering for 13 hours. This was during the Feast of Tabernacles, God’s Feast that will be fulfilled with the Messiah’s return.
We gathered from many nations in a hotel opposite the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem, with worship banners, musicians and harpists.
The Lord spoke through Isaiah chapter 28, a very sobering word. This came into reality three days later, with the start of the Gaza war on 7 October 2023. This was the Jubilee of the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
I was invited to join harpists, singers, and dancers with banners on the next morning, 6 October, at the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem. This is where General Allenby from Australia alighted from his white horse on 9 December 1917 and entered Jerusalem after the Victory of the Beersheba Charge.
The presence of God took us all up into an extraordinary swirl, singing in the Spirit with harps.
Then, into our midst walked a newly married bridal couple for their wedding photos. They were believers in Yeshua and became swept up in the dance of the Bride.
Our Bridegroom King is preparing us for His Glorious return, for His Kingdom coming, and His will to be done on earth, in Israel and the nations for the Glory of His Name. The question is will we stand with and for Him, and His people and nation of Israel? The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come, whoever thirsts, drink of His Living Waters of Life!” (Rev 22:17, Isa 55:1)
Later that evening, on the eve of the Sabbath, not far from the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem, there was great celebration at the Western Wall. The Jewish Community came out to pray and celebrate ‘Simchat Torah’. This is the eve of the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, when the full year of Torah readings has been completed.
They were ready for the new start of the Torah readings, to start at the beginning again on the next morning of 7 October. On this same day, Jesus stood up and spoke to the religious leaders in John 7:37-39 —
37 ‘On the last day, that great day of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried out, saying,
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said,
out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit,
whom those believing in Him would receive;
for the Holy Spirit was not yet given,
because Jesus was not yet glorified.’
This was the evening of 6 October before the war started on 7 October 2023. The Lord is drawing His Bride to Himself.
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The harpists are so beautiful. I didn’t know you played the harp Hilary. How special to be taking part in all that.
Thank you Hilary. Glory be to God. This is a simply superb write up on your call to Jerusalem and to join the Kings harpists,. Then showing God’s enabling. It gives wonderful insights into the Pacific and Indigenous gathering in Sept -Oct 2023 in Jerusalem.
The songs of praise you included for us from Kings harpists along with Tom and Kate Hess and The Jerusalem House of Prayer for All Nations was a taste of heaven. The players and singers give such honor and glory to God. It was amazing over and over to hear how God led and dovetailed all His plans for the Feast of Tabernacles, all nations coming together to pray and sing praise just before the very day of the Oct 7 war. It reminded me of the Book of Revelation when all nations will go up to praise the King of Glory. (And in Zachariah it says He will send rain on their land and any who don’t go up shall have rain withheld.)
It’s clear God brought all the intercessors and worshippers together to support Israel during her ‘time of trouble’ and terrible onslaught on Oct 7 . Through the prayers of many, He held back a worse attack that had been planned. And He protected all those visiting and brought them home. Amen