Zechariah Chapter 9 verse 9 is a portion of the Old Testament that also conveys an atmosphere of expectation and excitement. It is believed to be a prophecy of Jesus Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem 400 years later. Accurately, the verse points out that Christ would be riding on a donkey, a symbol of peace, in contrast to kings mounted on horses riding to war.

    As He rode into Jerusalem, He did not turn to the right on the Temple Mount to crush the Roman army in the nearby Fort Antonio but went into the city where He cleaned out the Temple and prepared Himself to go towards the Cross . On this day when the crowd waved branches to greet Him and quoted Old Testament scripture about Him, He cried. He knew that several days later, He would hear, "Crucify Him." They would not recognise Him as the Messiah and would reject Him. Not only that but He could foresee the terrible times they would bring on themselves.

    Luke 19: 41 - 44 As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it, and said ..........." They will not leave one stone upon another, because you did not recognise the time of God's coming to you."

    In A.D.70 the Roman army under Titus smashed Jerusalem. The city fell in ruins. There was outright massacre of citizens and starvation to such an extent that women ate their young children. Many Jews were made slaves and sent off to other countries under Roman rule, if they survived the journey. I wonder how many remembered the prophecy of Jesus Christ in those dreadful days.

    At the beginning of this year, my cousin in Australia wrote to say that she was coming to visit. As we sat at the airport awaiting the arrival of her plane, I began to worry. What if I could not recognise her? I had not seen her for thirty-odd years. I need not have concerned myself. I knew her immediately. Her features and build were so like her father's. Christ said in John ch.14 v.9, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." We need to recognise the family likeness.

    Let's go back. Would the time of God's coming at Passover be recognised, when the angel of Death killed the first-born if the blood wasn't sprinkled on the doorposts? Exodus 12. Would the Israelites recognise at the crossing of the Red Sea that God was there? Exodus 14 What would they think when they looked up at the pillar of fire or the cloud leading them through the wilderness? God has come? The people marching around Jericho as they watched the walls of the city fall? When Solomon built the temple and the cloud of the glory of the Lord filled it up so that the priests could not do their work? 1 Kings 8:10

    The faith chapter in Hebrews, Ch. 11. All of those people recommended for their faith in this great chapter recognised the presence of God in their situations or they would not have shown such faith.

    None of the Old Testament people were able to see God in human form. James Dobson in the "Focus on the Family" programme made the statement:

    "The entire Old Testament says, "He is coming!"

    "The entire New Testament says, "He is here!"

     God's timing is perfect. Just as the Red Sea and the Jordan waters moved out of the way to let the people through, so God, as a human being, Jesus, came to our earth at just the right time. Mary had this amazing privilege of looking after Him as a baby. Shepherds and wise men came and worshipped Him. Anna and Simeon, the old people in the temple, recognised that the baby Jesus was God.

    Some recognised Him as God as He grew into a man. But many did not recognise Him and He was rejected and crucified. As He hung on the Cross there were three hours of darkness in the middle of the day, there was a great earthquake and the great curtain that hung in the temple split from top to bottom. Do you think that some would start to wonder that maybe God had come and they had killed Him?

     Jesus God came to life again. He went back to heaven but He sent the Holy Spirit to live in us if we will allow Him. It may be the time of God's coming to your heart or mine? Do I recognise Him. Am I willing to let Him take charge of my life? There are false spirits and beliefs that would love you to think that they are god. Only welcome in the Lord Jesus Christ, God who came to this earth to take the punishment for our sins.

    He said, and the Bible tells us, that He will come again. 2nd Peter3:4 says,"They will say, "Where is this coming He promised?" The time is not far away when He will come again, first to take away those who do know Him and then in judgment against the world that would not recognise Him when He came before.

    Revelation 1:7 Look,He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him.