I John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
Wicked and evil men have been jealous of the goodness of God ever since “Cain” “slew his brother”, “Abel” (Genesis 4:8; I John 3:12). These “false prophets” twist the Word of God so as to bring glory to themselves instead of to Christ. They seize positions and authorities that are not theirs, many profess to have powers and authorities that belong only to Jesus Christ. The vilest of them deny that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and truly God. Some will even go so far as to claim that there is no God. And, the meanest of them will coop just enough Christianity to lead the Children of God away into devastating error. Some will distort science to make their false claims. Some will claim to be more wise than the Word of God to justify rewriting the Word of God to fit their own lust for control and relevance. Some will mix paganism and carnal logic with Christianity to attract more followers. Some even make politics their god and use it to manipulate and lead the people away from godliness and into errors that exalts the leaders and oppresses the people. The scripture refers to them as “false prophets”, “false Christs” (Matthew 24:24), “false apostles” (II Corinthians 11:13), “false brethren” (II Corinthians 11:26), “false teachers” (II Peter 2:1), and “antichrists” (I John 2:18). Our Lord tells us how to avoid the traps these arch-deceivers lay for us; He says, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32); that is, make us “free” from the bondage that these “false prophets” seek to cast upon us. To “continue in” our Lord’s “word” is to continually read and study the Word of God and to carefully conform our lives to it!