Artificial intelligence has reached the point where it can generate photographs of people who never existed, videos of events that never happened, and voices saying things their owners never said. Sometimes the deception is obvious. Increasingly, however, it is convincing enough to fool millions of people.
Naturally, people are asking how they can avoid being deceived. Part of the answer is to become active rather than passive receivers of information. Instead of immediately believing what appears on a screen, we should examine it critically. We can also learn the natural laws governing the world around us. Someone who understands photography may notice impossible lighting; a mechanic may recognize that a machine could not operate as depicted; an engineer may see motion that violates basic physics. Knowledge of reality gives us a standard against which we can test the counterfeit.
Christians should understand this principle particularly well, because Scripture has been warning us about convincing counterfeits for thousands of years. As concerned as we may be about artificial intelligence, Christians should be far more concerned about wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Jesus warned, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-16). Paul gave a similar warning to the elders at Ephesus, telling them that savage wolves would come among the flock and that even “from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:29-30).
The danger is precisely that a wolf in sheep’s clothing does not look like a wolf. A false teacher may speak Christian language, quote Scripture, preach about Jesus, appear sincere, and possess an impressive knowledge of theology. He may even arise from within the church. If we are going to recognize him, we need something more reliable than appearances.
Jesus tells us that we will know these teachers by their fruits. Scripture repeatedly connects fruit with what a person produces through his actions. Paul, for example, prays that the Colossians would walk worthy of the Lord, “being fruitful in every good work” (Colossians 1:10). If we are going to examine the fruit of a teacher, then we need an objective standard for determining whether that fruit is good or evil.
Knowing the Standard
Unfortunately, many Christians have become passive receivers of doctrine. They attend church, listen to sermons, watch Christian videos, and read books by respected theologians without seriously examining whether what they are being taught agrees with Scripture. There is nothing wrong with learning from teachers, but Scripture never suggests that Christians should surrender their responsibility to test what they hear.
The Bereans provide a clear example. When Paul preached to them, they “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). They did not reject Paul merely because his teaching was unfamiliar, but neither did they accept him merely because he was an apostle. They listened and then tested his teaching against Scripture.
It is important to remember what Scriptures they possessed. The Bereans were examining Paul’s teaching against the Hebrew Scriptures—the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. If Paul had been teaching something fundamentally incompatible with them, their examination should have exposed him. Instead, Scripture praises them for performing the examination.
Christians should do the same today. Your pastor should be tested against Scripture. Your denomination should be tested against Scripture. Your favorite theologian should be tested against Scripture. What I teach should be tested against Scripture. No teacher should become the standard by which the Bible itself is judged.
This is why biblical knowledge is indispensable to discernment. God says through Hosea, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” The statement is often quoted generally, but the context specifically connects this lack of knowledge with rejecting God’s instruction: “Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:6). God’s people had lost the very knowledge they needed to distinguish obedience from rebellion.
Paul makes a similar point when warning Timothy that “evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” His answer is for Timothy to continue in what he has learned, remembering that “from childhood” he had known the Holy Scriptures. Paul then declares that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:13–16). The Scriptures Timothy had known from childhood were the Hebrew Scriptures. Those Scriptures, Paul says, remain profitable for doctrine and instruction in righteousness.
Testing Teachers and Spirits
When we abandon an objective biblical standard, we inevitably replace it with something else. Often that substitute is our own heart. We hear statements such as, “I know it in my heart,” “I feel God telling me this,” or “The Spirit led me to this conclusion.” Scripture certainly teaches that God gives His Spirit to His people, but it does not teach that every internal impression should automatically be trusted.
John explicitly commands, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). If every spiritual impression could simply be trusted, there would be no need to test it. There must be a standard outside the impression itself.
Deuteronomy gives an even stronger warning. Moses describes a person who hears the words of God’s covenant but “blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart’” (Deuteronomy 29:19). Modern culture tells us to follow our hearts; Scripture warns us about doing exactly that when our hearts lead us away from what God has commanded. Our feelings are real, but they cannot become the final authority by which God’s Word is judged.
Perhaps the most striking biblical test of a false teacher appears in Deuteronomy 13. God describes a prophet or dreamer who gives a sign or wonder, and remarkably, the sign actually comes to pass. The prophet then attempts to lead the people after other gods. By modern standards, an apparently genuine supernatural sign would be extraordinarily persuasive, yet God commands His people not to follow the prophet.
Why? “For the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 13:3).
This is a remarkable statement. We often wonder why God allows false teachers to arise, particularly when they appear convincing. Deuteronomy tells us that false prophets can actually function as a test of God’s people. The question is whether they know and love God enough to remain faithful to what He has already commanded when something impressive tempts them to abandon it.
Jesus later gives a remarkably similar warning: “False christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). Signs and wonders are therefore not sufficient proof that someone speaks for God. Neither are charisma, sincerity, popularity, theological education, ecclesiastical authority, or the size of someone’s ministry. The question remains whether the teaching agrees with what God has already revealed.
This brings us back to the wolves and their fruit. John gives us a remarkably straightforward standard: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3–4). If a teacher claims to know Christ while teaching people away from God’s commandments, we should not allow his charisma, credentials, popularity, or even apparently miraculous works to overrule the biblical standard.
Know the Original
Artificial intelligence will almost certainly become more difficult to detect. Fake photographs will become more convincing, artificial voices more natural, and generated videos increasingly difficult to distinguish from authentic recordings. As the counterfeit improves, knowledge of the original becomes increasingly important.
The same principle applies to spiritual deception. Scripture warns us that wolves will dress like sheep, false prophets will perform impressive signs, deceiving spirits must be tested, and God’s people can be destroyed through lack of knowledge. Christians therefore cannot afford to be passive learners who outsource discernment to pastors, theologians, or denominations. Neither can we replace Scripture with our feelings and simply assume that whatever seems right in our hearts must have come from God.
We need to know the standard. We need to search the Scriptures as the Bereans did, test the spirits as John commanded, and know God’s instruction well enough to recognize when someone is leading us away from it. The more convincing the counterfeit becomes, the more important it is to know the original.
AI may deceive your eyes and ears. A wolf in sheep’s clothing can deceive you about God. Learn to recognize both, but fear the wolf not the machine.
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