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Note: You can recognize False Prophets by making use of Matthew 7:15-29: Jesus there warned his followers about false prophets, and then explained how we can recognize them. He said in verse 16 we can know them by their fruits. He goes on to explain what those bad fruits are: Failing to do the will of Jesus's Father [see verse 21]. Jesus also said demonstrating love for God and neighbor was the foremost way to confirm we are his followers. (Luke 10:27) A lack of real love then, always shows up false prophets. Jesus also indicated in verse 22 that some would believe they were his servants, when they were not. How were such individuals deceived? How can we avoid being deceived ourselves? Jesus clearly says in verse 26 it was because they were not following his instructions. That is the power of the Bible, and only of the Bible can provide it! The Bible contains the teachings of Jesus. We can learn what his instructions are by reading the Gospels. (Mark 12:24) Anyone presenting anything other than the Bible as Jesus instructions then, is likely a false prophet. [Protect yourself! Become familiar with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.]
Matthew 7:15-29 ALT
(15) "But be watching out for the false prophets, who come to you* in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
(16) "By their fruits you* will know them. They do not gather a grape cluster from thorns, or figs from thistles, do they?
(17) "In the same way, every good tree yields good fruits, but the rotten tree yields evil fruits.
(18) "A good tree is not able to be yielding evil fruits, nor a rotten tree to be yielding good fruits.
(19) "Every tree not yielding good fruit is cut down and is thrown into fire.
(20) "Consequently, by their fruits you* will know them.
(21) "Not every one saying to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, _but_ the one doing the will of My Father, the [One] in [the] heavens.
(22) "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, we prophesied in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and did many miraculous works in Your name, did we not?
(23) "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you*; be departing from Me, the ones practicing lawlessness!'
(24) "Therefore, every [one] who hears these words of Mine and does them, I will compare him to a wise man who built his house on the solid rock;
(25) and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat against that house, and it did not fall, for it had been founded on the solid rock.
(26) "And every [one] hearing these words of Mine and not doing them will be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand;
(27) and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat against that house, and it fell, and its fall was great."
(28) And it happened, when Jesus finished these words, the crowds were being astonished at His teaching,
(29) for He was teaching them as [One] having authority and not like the scribes.
When groups assert they have other books or materials which are equal to the Bible, stating such materials are spiritual food the same as the Bible, they should be suspected as false prophets. Maybe some have some teachings which are mostly true, but still go beyond the Bible in some areas. You must always remember: You can only depend on and put faith in the Bible as spiritual food. If you follow the teachings of men and they are wrong, you are responsible because you have the Bible available to protect you. If you define (and exercise) your faith using only the Bible, you will never need to fear you might be among those cast aside by Christ as he warned in verse 23. Please note also in verse 28, people were amazed by Jesus's way of teaching, that largely because he quoted the Bible as the authority for what he said. (Matthew 4:4&7) We need to be cautious to listen only to those who do likewise! (Acts 17:11)
Matthew 7:15-29 ASV
(15) Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.
(16) By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
(17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
(18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
(19) Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
(20) Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
(21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.
(22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works?
(23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
(24) Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock:
(25) and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and if fell not: for it was founded upon the rock.
(26) And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand:
(27) and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof.
(28) And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching:
(29) for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
Matthew 7:15-29 CEV
(15) Watch out for false prophets! They dress up like sheep, but inside they are wolves who have come to attack you.
(16) You can tell what they are by what they do. No one picks grapes or figs from thornbushes.
(17) A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.
(18) A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit.
(19) Every tree that produces bad fruit will be chopped down and burned.
(20) You can tell who the false prophets are by their deeds.
(21) Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones who obey my Father in heaven will get in.
(22) On the day of judgment many will call me their Lord. They will say, "We preached in your name, and in your name we forced out demons and worked many miracles."
(23) But I will tell them, "I will have nothing to do with you! Get out of my sight, you evil people!"
(24) Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock.
(25) Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on solid rock.
(26) Anyone who hears my teachings and doesn't obey them is like a foolish person who built a house on sand.
(27) The rain poured down, the rivers flooded, and the winds blew and beat against that house. Finally, it fell with a crash.
(28) When Jesus finished speaking, the crowds were surprised at his teaching.
(29) He taught them like someone with authority, and not like their teachers of the Law of Moses.
Matthew 7:15-29 BBE
(15) Be on the watch for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside they are cruel wolves.
(16) By their fruits you will get knowledge of them. Do men get grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?
(17) Even so, every good tree gives good fruit; but the bad tree gives evil fruit.
(18) It is not possible for a good tree to give bad fruit, and a bad tree will not give good fruit.
(19) Every tree which does not give good fruit is cut down and put in the fire.
(20) So by their fruits you will get knowledge of them.
(21) Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will go into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the pleasure of my Father in heaven.
(22) A great number will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, were we not prophets in your name, and did we not by your name send out evil spirits, and by your name do works of power?
(23) And then will I say to them, I never had knowledge of you: go from me, you workers of evil.
(24) Everyone, then, to whom my words come and who does them, will be like a wise man who made his house on a rock;
(25) And the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house, but it was not moved; because it was based on the rock.
(26) And everyone to whom my words come and who does them not, will be like a foolish man who made his house on sand;
(27) And the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house; and it came down and great was its fall.
(28) And it came about, when Jesus had come to the end of these words, that the people were surprised at his teaching,
(29) for he was teaching as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
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You will note the reference windows often include more than one translation of the Bible. The reason is to strive to gain the best possible understanding of the original Hebrew and Greek. Since we don't speak those languages, we rely on those who have come before and made the effort to translate those texts into English for us. Considering several translations gives the benefit of the understanding of several translation committees or individuals.
The Translations we quote are:
ALT - Analytical Literal Translation
ASV - American Standard Version (by the American revision committee in 1897).
Darby - 1889 Darby Bible
DRB - 1899 Douay-Rheims Bible
BBE - 1965 Bible in Basic English
LITV - Literal Translation of the Holy Bible
KJV - King James Version
MKJV - Modern King James Version
NWT - New World Translation
Webster - 1833 Webster Bible
RV - Revised Version
YLT - Young's Literal Translation