By Hank Hanegraaff

Prophetic stars in the constellation of biblical prophecy are powerful proofs that the Bible is divine rather than merely human in origin. In the words of the Almighty, “I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you” (Isaiah 48:5). Counterfeit prophecy stars are consistently wrong. In illuminated contrast, genuine S-T-A-R-S are infallibly correct.

SUCCESSION OF NATIONS. One of the most significant demonstrations that God has spoken is the undeniable reality that Daniel, writing six centuries before the advent of Christ, was empowered by almighty God to do what no soothsayer or astrologer could. With awe-inspiring precision, he predicted a succession of nations from Babylon through the Median and Persian empires. He also foretold the persecution and suffering of the Jews under the second-century Greco-Syrian beast Antiochus IV Epiphanes, including the despot’s desecration of the Jerusalem temple, his untimely death, and freedom for the Jews under Judas Maccabaeus. Moreover, as Daniel looked down the corridor of time, he got a glimpse of a kingdom that will itself endure forever. Truly, the succession of nations immortalized by Daniel is a spectacular star in the constellation of biblical prophecy.

TYPOLOGICAL PROPHECY. Predictive prophecy is fairly straight- forward. Micah 5:2—“Bethlehem Ephrathah, . . . out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel”—is a predictive prophecy directly and specifically fulfilled in the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. Typological prophecy is more complex in that it involves a divinely intended pattern of events encompassing both historical correspondence and intensification. When Matthew says that the virgin birth of Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Matthew 1:22–23 and Isaiah 7:14), he is speaking of typological rather than predictive fulfillment. Only when the elegance of typology is comprehended can the mystery of Scripture be fully apprehended.

ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION. The prophesied abomination of desolation by which the temple was desecrated in the Old Testament (167 BC) and destroyed in the New (AD 70) is at once a bloody scar and a brilliant star enlightening our minds to the divine nature of the Scriptures. Still, its light has been darkened and its meaning diminished by modern-day prophecy pundits bent on pinning the tail on a twenty- first-century antichrist. While Zionist zeal threatens to light the fuse of Armageddon, we can be absolutely certain that the prophecies of Daniel and Jesus already blaze as stars in the constellation of fulfilled prophecy demonstrating that the Bible is infallibly correct.

RESURRECTION. Resurrection is the brightest star in the the supernatural, resurrection embodies it. When the Jews demanded that Jesus prove His authority over temple, priest, and sacrifice, He responded, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19). Christ’s fulfillment guarantees that there is life after life after life. Life after life in that the redeemed continue to exist in the presence of the Redeemer; life after life after life in that just as Jesus rose bodily from the grave, a starry host of resurrection prophecies guarantee that we too will rise immortal, imperishable, incorruptible.

SUPERSTAR. Every year lots of packages find their way to my doorstep. Were it not for seven points of identification, they might well end up somewhere else. Seven points separate me from billions of options: Name, Number, Street, City, State, Zip Code, Country. Likewise, there are prophecies that identify Jesus as the only One who can emerge through the doorway of Old Testament prophecy. His ancestry was marked and His birthplace foretold. Circumstances surrounding His death were prophesied before crucifixion was invented. The date of His visitation was predicted within historically narrow time parameters. He would work extraordinary miracles and fulfill the law and the prophets. It would be too small for Him to bring back only those of Israel, thus He would be a light for the Gentiles so that salvation would go out to the ends of the earth. Only the hand of God could have etched a prophetic portrait of the Christ in the Old Testament. Only God could cause it to take on flesh in the New. Only Jesus of Nazareth—the unique Superstar—could emerge through the doorway of Old Testament prophecy.

In part adapted from Has God Spoken? 

Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:21 NKJV

SUCCESSION OF NATIONS
TYPOLOGICAL PROPHECY
ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION
RESURRECTION
SUPERSTAR

For further study, see Hank Hanegraaff, Has God Spoken? Memorable Proofs of the Bible’s Divine Inspiration (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011).

 

***Note the preceding text is adapted from The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition: Revised and Expanded (2024). To receive for your partnering gift please click here. ***