A common misinterpretation is to apply this verse selectively to discredit specific modern preachers or movements without biblical discernment, ignoring the broader end-times context and the biblical criteria for identifying false prophets like failed predictions or doctrinal contradictions, or to foster paranoia that dismisses all prophecy outright rather than promoting watchful testing of spirits as commanded elsewhere in Scripture.
Matthew 24:11
King James Version (1769)
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
In Jesus' Olivet Discourse on the signs of the end times, this verse warns of a proliferation of false prophets who will deceive many, underscoring the spiritual deception that will intensify before his return and urging believers to exercise discernment, cling to sound doctrine, and remain vigilant in faith amid widespread misleading influences.