A quarter of the Bible is of prophecies. While no prophecy of Scripture is a private interpretation, not all will be fulfilled. Prophecies can be conditional, superseded, delayed, recurring and established. In this post, we will explore different types of prophecies based on Scripture.

Conditional Prophecies

The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy [it,] if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant [it,] if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.

Jer 18:7-10

Prophecies are God’s words which He speaks through a prophet. God Himself declares that He will not do the good He spoke concerning a nation if it did evil, and He will relent of disaster He spoke about a nation if it did good. Hence, there is no guarantee that a prophecy which God speaks about a nation will be fulfilled but depends on the nation’s actions and ultimately on God’s mercy.

Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

Jonah 3:10

We can clearly see God’s nature in the book of Jonah where He relented from the disaster which Jonah prophesied. This means some prophets do fail the basic test in Deut 18:22.

And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it [is] a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.” Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: “LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit [it] forever.’ So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.

Exod 32:9-14

In the above passage, we can clearly see how God was ready to make the prophecy void which He swore and said to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by destroying His people and pass on that blessing to just Moses.

Superseded Prophecies

The above is just an example for superseded prophecy about new heaven and new earth. There are several superseded prophecies in the Bible. E.g., place of worship in latter days.

Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

John 2:19-21

Will the prophecy of Ezekiel’s temple described in the last 10 chapters of the book ever be built in future? Probably not. This is because we no longer require the temple since all prophecies related to it are fulfilled in Him. When reading Old Testament prophecies, we must also look into superseded prophecies from New Testament since the original prophecies are never going to happen.

Delayed Prophecies

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” … Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they [are] stronger than we.” … ‘According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, [namely] forty years, and you shall know My rejection.

Num 13:1-2,30-31,14:34

It was not God’s intention for making the children of Israel wander in the wilderness. However, the prophecy of inheriting the land of Canaan was delayed by 40 years (each year for each day spent on spying) until all who sinned against God are consumed.

Recurring Prophecies

Some prophecies may already be fulfilled. Yet, they may be quoted as being fulfilled once again. E.g, there are several promises given to David by God which are also considered as Messianic prophecies. These type of prophecies are recurring.

Some examples in recent times include attributing Babylon to a country that resembles the characteristics of Babylon and studying the prophecies associated with it. E.g., Some scholars attribute Mystery Babylon to Rome in the Book of Revelation while others attribute to America. The point is, both may be true if that prophecy is a recurring prophecy.

Non-prophetic Prophecies

Some prophecies are not prophetic when they were told. Nor the person who told was considered a prophet. Yet, several quotes of that person are considered as prophecies being fulfilled long after that person died. These type of prophecies are non-prophetic Prophecies. A good example is King David. Neither did God spoke to David anytime nor was he considered as a prophet during his lifetime. He always called a seer or a prophet when He wants to inquire about something to God.

Who is in God’s right hand? In the above example, Ps 110:1 is clearly a messianic prophecy confirmed by Jesus Christ as in Matt 22:43-44. However, was David actually referring to the Messiah? Probably not. The ‘my Lord’ in Psalms 110 could very well be attributed to king Saul to whom David was playing harp for his comfort as in 1 Sam 16:23. If David was strictly speaking about the Messiah in Ps 110:1, who is the queen at the right hand of God in Ps 45:9?

In the above example, Ps 41:9 is not referring to Judas but rather David’s enemies as we can clearly see in Ps 41:5. However, Jesus confirms this as referring to Him. There are many other examples we can see how David’s life experience are prophetic in nature while they were never intended to be prophecies when David actually sang those. These type or prophecies are non-prophetic prophecies.

Established Prophecies

And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing [is] established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

Gen 41:32

When God reveals anything twice, then the prophecy is ‘established’ as per Scriptures. These prophecies will surely come to pass.

Conclusion

As we saw, there are several types of prophecies in Scriptures.

• Conditional prophecies which will not be fulfilled until certain condition is met.
• Superseded prophecies where the original prophecies may never be fulfilled.
• Delayed prophecies because of someone’s actions.
• Recurring prophecies, that is re-mentioning an already fulfilled prophecy as something yet to be fulfilled or as a fulfilment of another event.
• Non-prophetic prophecies where the statements are not really prophecies when it was told but was referred as prophecies at the time of fulfilment.
• Established prophecies are certain events that are sure to come to pass.