Agency and Prophecy

Christ has prophecies about King Solomon applied to him The peaceful reign of Solomon was typical or symbolic for the rulership of the Messiah, and therefore, the Messiah is called 'Solomon' and fulfills prophecies which were originally about him.

2 Sam. 7:13-14 I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him.

Heb. 1:5 And again, "I will be a father to him and he shall be a Son to me."

It is also noteworthy that not all of this prophecy was fulfilled in Christ, for it is prophesied that the king would 'commit iniquity' and be corrected—but our Lord was sinless and never required such correction. Even still, this prophecy is applied to Christ by the apostle. And again, the words of Heb. 1:8, 9 are taken from Psa. 45:6, 17 which were originally about King Solomon as well. St. John the Baptist fulfilled a prophecy about Elijah the prophet but he was not literally Elijah. The prophet Elijah was taken into heaven and never saw death. (2 Kngs. 2:10-12.) But St. John the Baptist was both born and died. (St. Lk. 1:10-15; St. Matt. 14:10)

Mal. 4:5 Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.

St. Matt. 11:13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John and if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Elijah was a type or symbol of St. John the Baptist therefore prophecies about the former may be applied to the latter. The preaching of Elijah, which prepared the hearts of Israel for repentance during the days of king Ahab prefigured the preaching of St. John and the ministry of Christ. Therefore, St. John was symbolically called Elijah. By no means was St. John intended to be an incarnation of the prophet Elijah because he fulfilled a prophecy in his stead. The apostles St. Paul and Barnabas claimed to be fulfilling prophecies about the Suffering Servant in the book of Isaiah. 

Acts 13:46, 47 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said… For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, That You may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'

Isaiah 49:6 And he said to me, "It is a great thing for you to be called my servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob and to recover the exiled of Israel. Behold, I have given you for the covenant of a race as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the ends of the earth."

Prophecies of the Suffering Servant are here applied to Paul and Barnabas. But the suffering servant is the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth elsewhere for the NT authors. (Matt. 12:18-21; 1 Pet. 2:22-24, et al)