Zechariah

A prophet from a family of priests. His family returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile to help rebuild the temple. He began prophesying about 520 BC and may have continued on and off for many years. The first part of his ministry was during the same period as the prophet Haggai. He helped encourage the people to rebuild the temple.

The book of Zechariah includes the five prophecies of Zechariah to the group of Jews who had returned to Jerusalem. The first prophecy encouraged the people to show they were sorry for their wrong actions by changing their ways. The second prophecy reminded the people to complete the temple. In the third prophecy, gold and silver were fashioned into a crown for Joshua, the high priest. This was a symbol for the promised Savior, who would be both priest and king to His people. In the fourth prophecy Zechariah urged the people to be fair with each other. In the fifth prophecy, the prophet looked into the future and made many references to the coming Messiah. Zechariah also predicted that the Savior would enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey.