# What Is Bible Prophecy? > Bible prophecy is God speaking beforehand. Deuteronomy 18:22 says a word that does not come to pass is not from the LORD. Ezekiel, Daniel, Micah, and the Gospels are the texts this page opens. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-is-bible-prophecy - Religions: Christianity - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: bible, prophecy, jesus - Updated: 2026-10-11 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) Bible prophecy is a word the Bible says God spoke before the event. Deuteronomy 18:22 gives the test: if a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the thing does not happen, the LORD has not spoken it. Ezekiel says Tyre would be scraped like the top of a rock and built no more, and also that Nebuchadnezzar’s army took no wages from Tyre. Micah, Isaiah, and Daniel speak of a ruler from Bethlehem, a servant wounded for others, and Messiah cut off before the city and the sanctuary are destroyed. This page does not assign those lines to the year 2026 or 2033. It quotes the texts. [When Were the Gospels Written?](/christianity/when-were-the-gospels-written) is the date of the books that report Jesus. [What Does Messiah Mean?](/christianity/what-does-messiah-mean) is the word those prophecies use for him. ## Key Points - [Deuteronomy 18:22](/bible/deuteronomy/18/22) says that if the prophet’s word does not come to pass, the LORD has not spoken it. [Deuteronomy 18:20](/bible/deuteronomy/18/20) says the prophet who speaks what God has not commanded shall die. [(1)](#ref-1) - [Ezekiel 26:4](/bible/ezekiel/26/4) says Tyre’s walls will be destroyed and her dust scraped until she is like the top of a rock. [Ezekiel 26:14](/bible/ezekiel/26/14) says she shall be built no more. [Ezekiel 29:18](/bible/ezekiel/29/18) says Nebuchadnezzar’s army had no wages from Tyre. [(2)](#ref-2) - [Micah 5:2](/bible/micah/5/2) names Bethlehem Ephratah as the place a ruler comes from, whose goings forth are from everlasting. [Isaiah 53:5](/bible/isaiah/53/5) says he was wounded for our transgressions. [(3)](#ref-3) [(4)](#ref-4) - [Daniel 9:26](/bible/daniel/9/26) says Messiah will be cut off, and the people of the prince who comes will destroy the city and the sanctuary. [(5)](#ref-5) - [Matthew 24:2](/bible/matthew/24/2) says not one stone of the temple will be left on another. [Matthew 24:34](/bible/matthew/24/34) says this generation will not pass until all these things are fulfilled. [(6)](#ref-6) The verse does not name a calendar year. - [Matthew 7:15](/bible/matthew/7/15) says to beware of false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing. The test in Deuteronomy is whether the word happens. The page does not publish a count of how many false prophets the Bible names. ## What Deuteronomy 18 Says The law states both the penalty and the test. [Deuteronomy 18:20](/bible/deuteronomy/18/20) says the prophet who presumes to speak a word God has not commanded, or who speaks in the name of other gods, shall die. The test is the next verses. [Deuteronomy 18:22](/bible/deuteronomy/18/22): > When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. [(1)](#ref-1) A failed prediction is the sign that the LORD did not speak it. The verse does not say every hard line in a prophet is already false before the event, and it does not say a reader may ignore the lines that did happen. It says to watch whether the thing comes to pass. ## Tyre Ezekiel 26 is the chapter people call a failed prophecy, and Ezekiel 29 is the chapter that must be read with it. [Ezekiel 26:3](/bible/ezekiel/26/3) says many nations will come against Tyre. [Ezekiel 26:4](/bible/ezekiel/26/4) says they will destroy her walls and break her towers, and that God will scrape her dust and make her like the top of a rock. [Ezekiel 26:14](/bible/ezekiel/26/14): > And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. [(2)](#ref-2) [Ezekiel 29:18](/bible/ezekiel/29/18) then says Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre, every head made bald and every shoulder peeled, yet he had no wages, nor his army, for Tyre. The same book says the city will be scraped bare and built no more, and that this king’s siege did not pay his army. This page states both sentences. It does not invent a reconciliation the text does not give, and it does not drop either verse. ## Messiah in Micah, Isaiah, and Daniel [Micah 5:2](/bible/micah/5/2) is a place and a person: > But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. [(3)](#ref-3) The Gospels say Jesus was born in Bethlehem. [What Does Messiah Mean?](/christianity/what-does-messiah-mean) follows that word. [Isaiah 53:5](/bible/isaiah/53/5) says he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, and that with his stripes we are healed. [(4)](#ref-4) Christians read that of Jesus’ death. The verse is in the prophet. The Gospels narrate the cross. [Daniel 9:26](/bible/daniel/9/26) says that after threescore and two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself, and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. [(5)](#ref-5) The sentence puts the cutting off before the destruction of the city and the sanctuary. This page does not turn the weeks into a calculator for 2026 or 2033. The verse’s claim is the order: Messiah cut off, then the city and the sanctuary destroyed. [Matthew 24:2](/bible/matthew/24/2) is Jesus saying of the temple that not one stone will be left on another. ## What Jesus Said About the Temple and the Generation [Matthew 24:2](/bible/matthew/24/2) is the temple sentence. [Matthew 24:34](/bible/matthew/24/34): > Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. [(6)](#ref-6) The verse says this generation will not pass until all these things are fulfilled. It does not name 2026, 2033, or a list of seven signs. A page that dates the sentence to a modern year has added a number the verse does not contain. [What Is Armageddon?](/jehovahs-witnesses/what-is-armageddon) is the Watch Tower’s reading of the last battle, in their own words. It is not this verse’s calendar. ## False Prophets Jesus names the danger in the Sermon on the Mount. [Matthew 7:15](/bible/matthew/7/15): > Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. [(6)](#ref-6) The next verse says you shall know them by their fruits. Deuteronomy 18:22 gives the fruit that is a failed word: if the thing does not happen, the LORD has not spoken. The Bible does not, on these pages, publish a modern roster or a total count of false prophets. The test is the one Deuteronomy states. [Is Muhammad the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18?](/islam/is-muhammad-the-prophet-of-deuteronomy-18) is that chapter applied to a different claim. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What Are the Prophecies of 2026, and Why Do People Name 2033? The verses quoted here do not mention 2026 or 2033. Daniel 9:26 gives weeks, a cutting off, and a destroyed city. It does not print those years. This page does not add them. ### What Are the Seven Signs of the Second Coming? Matthew 24 does not number a list of seven signs. [Matthew 24:2](/bible/matthew/24/2) and [Matthew 24:34](/bible/matthew/24/34) are the temple and the generation. A seven-item list is an outline someone else made. ### What Generation Will Not Pass Away? [Matthew 24:34](/bible/matthew/24/34) says this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. The sentence does not name the generation by a later century. ### Who Are the False Prophets Now, and What Is the Punishment? [Deuteronomy 18:20](/bible/deuteronomy/18/20) says the prophet who speaks what God has not commanded shall die. [Matthew 7:15](/bible/matthew/7/15) says to beware of false prophets in sheep’s clothing. These verses do not name a living teacher. The sign they give is a word that does not come to pass, and fruit that does not match the clothing. ### Did Jesus Accept LGBTQ People? The prophecy texts on this page do not address that question. [What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?](/moral-questions/homosexuality) quotes what churches have published. ## Keep Reading - [What Does Messiah Mean?](/christianity/what-does-messiah-mean) - [Is Jesus God?](/christianity/is-jesus-god) - [When Were the Gospels Written?](/christianity/when-were-the-gospels-written) - [Who Wrote Matthew, Mark, and Luke?](/christianity/who-wrote-the-gospels) - [Is Muhammad the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18?](/islam/is-muhammad-the-prophet-of-deuteronomy-18) - [What Is the Temple Mount in Islam?](/islam/what-is-the-temple-mount-in-islam) - [What Is Armageddon?](/jehovahs-witnesses/what-is-armageddon) - [What Does the Bible Say About Salvation?](/christianity/what-does-the-bible-say-about-salvation) ## Passages Quoted on This Page ### Deuteronomy 18:20 King James Version. > But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. ### Ezekiel 26:4 King James Version. > And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. ### Ezekiel 29:18 King James Version. > Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it: ### Isaiah 53:5 King James Version. > But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ### Daniel 9:26 King James Version. > And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. ### Matthew 24:2 King James Version. > And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. ### Ezekiel 26:3 King James Version. > Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. ### Deuteronomy 18:20–22 King James Version. > [18:20] But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. [18:21] And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? [18:22] When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. ### Ezekiel 26:3–14 King James Version. > [26:3] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. [26:4] And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. [26:5] It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. [26:6] And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD. [26:7] For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. [26:8] He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. [26:9] And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. [26:10] By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. [26:11] With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. [26:12] And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. [26:13] And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. [26:14] And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Deuteronomy, 18:20–22](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/deuteronomy/18). King James Version 2. [Book of Ezekiel, 26:3–14; 29:18](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/ezekiel/26). King James Version 3. [Micah, 5:2](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/micah/5/2). King James Version 4. [Isaiah, 53:5](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/isaiah/53/5). King James Version 5. [Daniel, 9:26](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/daniel/9/26). King James Version 6. [Gospel of Matthew, 7:15; 24:2; 24:34](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/7/15). King James Version ## See Also - [Messianic Prophecies Jesus Fulfilled](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/messianic-prophecies-jesus-fulfilled) — The New Testament applies Old Testament lines to Jesus. Edersheim counts 456 passages that ancient rabbis read as messianic. Isaiah 7:14 is not in that rabbinic list. - [Is Muhammad the Paraclete or Ahmad?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/is-muhammad-the-paraclete) — Some Muslims hear Muhammad in Jesus' promise of the Comforter, and in the name Ahmad in Qur'an 61:6. John 14–16 says who that person is. - [Is Muhammad the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/is-muhammad-the-prophet-of-deuteronomy-18) — Qur'an 7:157 says the unlettered prophet is written in the Torah and the Gospel. Deuteronomy 18 is the passage most often offered. - [Did Jesus Really Exist?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/did-jesus-exist) — Yes. Jesus of Nazareth was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Paul, the Gospels, Tacitus, and Josephus all place him there, and a skeptic who rejects the resurrection still says the man was real. - [Does Archaeology Confirm the Bible?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/does-archaeology-confirm-the-bible) — The Pilate stone, the Tel Dan stele, Hezekiah’s tribute on the Taylor Prism, the Siloam tunnel inscription, and the Cyrus Cylinder name people and events the Bible also names. Each find has a limit.