Impostors
Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 1 John 2:18-23 NKJV.
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 NKJV.
Mark Rimkufski arrived a little late for his flight on American Airlines Flight 299 to Los Angeles, which was departing from Miami International Airport. The plane had not yet taken off, however, the gate had closed and the plane was departing. Mark had an idea though; he would use his “Fisher Island Chief of Police” badge that he had in his pocket. He showed airline employees the badge saying that he was an air marshal, and the plane was stopped so that he could board. There was one small glitch in his plan, as there were some real air marshals on board who examined his badge and kicked him off the plane. The impostor, Mark Rimkufski aka Harry Henry Rimm, has been charged by Miami police with impersonating a law enforcement officer, and he also will be charged federally with the impersonation of an air marshal. So, if you were thinking that you would buy an old police badge on eBay so you could use it the next time you arrive late for your flight, you might want to rethink that.
In Chicago, a 14-year-old boy bought a police officer’s uniform and showed up at a police station, and was given an assignment with an actual officer. It was only after their patrol ended that the real officer noticed the boy’s uniform was not quite regulation. The boy has been charged with impersonating an officer.
The 14-year-old boy and the air marshal impostor are only two of a huge number of people who present themselves to others as someone other than who they really are. It is likely that you know some of these impostors personally. The apostle John describes one type of impostor as those who present themselves as being Christians, but really are not; and eventually those impostors are revealed when they begin living as non-Christians live.
The Antichrist, who will be the greatest impostor of all, will soon come upon the world scene. All impostors have at least one thing in common, they are liars. The air marshal impersonator and the police officer impersonator were both liars; if not by their words, by their actions. Those lost people who claim to be Christians are liars too.
When the Antichrist appears, he will perform miracles through demonic power. He will be able to make people believe lie after lie through that same demonic power, and he will eventually claim to be God, and demand the people worship him. However, the apostle John pointed out that many people even then already had the spirit of the Antichrist, and how much more so now. Watch out for those impostors with the spirit of Antichrist who are able to make many believe their lies, especially when their lies are obvious and blatant. Are there any leaders like this in the world today? As the apostle John says, “Little children, it is the last hour.”
(The apostle John pointed out that many people even then already had the spirit of the Antichrist and how much more so now.)