¹⁴ And the Lord said to me, ^(A)“The prophets prophesy lies in My name. ^(B)I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, ^[a]divination, a worthless thing, and the ^(C)deceit of their heart.

^14 [a]Because narrow is the gate and ^[b]difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

You Will Know Them by Their Fruits^(A)

^15 (B)“Beware of false prophets, ^(C)who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ^16 (D)You will know them by their fruits. ^(E)Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

Love for God and One Another

4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but ^(A)test the spirits, whether they are of God; because ^(B)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(C)Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³ and every spirit that does not confess ^[a]that Jesus ^[b]Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.