Matthew 7:16

Good fruit and bad fruit symbolize moral behavior (see Matthew 3:8, 10; 12:33–37; 13:8; 21:43; Galatians 5:19–23).

False prophets tell people what they want to hear instead of calling them to obey God's will. Deuteronomy 13:1–5 and 18:21–22 provide guidelines to determine if someone is a true prophet. A prophet's words must match with God's word, and a prophet's prophecies must come true.

Jesus explains the first rule. A prophet's actions must match his words to be trustworthy. So, a true prophet's actions will also match God's word. In the same way that fruit shows what kind of tree it comes from, a person's life shows if their inner being is good or not.

Christians should expect false prophets at the end of time (see Matthew 24:11, 24; Acts 20:28–35; Revelation 13:11–18; 16:13; 19:20; 20:10). Christians can avoid these false prophets misleading them. But Christians must be careful and wise (see 1 Corinthians 12:10; 14:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1–3; Revelation 2:20).

The Sermon on the Mount ends with a call to decide about Jesus and his teachings (see Matthew 4:23; 9:35). Those who hear the message of Jesus about the kingdom must obey him to gain eternal life. Or else, they reject him and God will condemn them. There is no third way (Deuteronomy 30:15–20; Psalm 1; Proverbs 12:28; Jeremiah 21:8).