The imposter. I recently received an email from PayPal, or so I thought. It all looked legitimate, including the PayPal logo, email address and wording that encouraged me to carefully review the invoice that was due for payment and to report anything that looked like fraudulent activity by clicking on the link provided. PayPal is a trusted sender, right? I sat there thinking, what on earth did I buy for $499.99 and then I saw the words BITCOIN. It was a scam email, yet it appeared authentic. It was an imposter, masquerading as a trusted entity, sending a fraudulent, phishing email designed to lure me in through deception and misrepresentation, and to make a malicious attack, potentially robbing me financially but also potentially theiving my identity. Sort of has a familiar ring.
John 10:10 says the enemy, the imposter is the thief who comes ONLY to steal, kill, and destroy. That’s his sole mission. John 8:44 describes the enemy as the father of lies where lying is his native language. That’s the expression of his character. 1 Peter 5:8-9 describes the enemy as a roaring lion that roams and prowls around just looking for someone to devour and devastate. That’s his drive. (Personally, I prefer the Lion of Judah). Ephesians 6:11-16 tells us the imposter mounts a brutal war every day and deliberately schemes to bring a raging assault against God’s people as he fires off flaming arrows of suffering, sickness, brokenness, crushed dreams, heartache, rejection, and abandonment to name a few. That’s his ruthless battle strategy. Genesis 3:1-5 describes him as the imposter he has been since the beginning, seeking to seduce humanity and turn them away from their perfect God. That’s who he is. The imposter has intentionally chosen the weapons of deceit and misrepresentation from his armoury. They’re his “power tools”. The enemy was acutely aware of how he would enact the assault on the first humans, knowingly ushering in the most vitriolic, devastating attack on humans intended to strip them of all God created them to be as the crown of His creation. He took their crowns and laughed. The shattering of God’s image in people and the distortion of their identity, purpose, and destiny was his end game. And guess what, nothing’s changed. BUT GOD! – God was never going to leave His good creation and the people He loved as wounded soldiers on the battleground of Eden, permitting the enemy to win. At the resurrection of Jesus, there was a mighty blow to the imposteras Jesus re-established God’s authority on earth and defeated death. And in the in between, until Jesus comes again, the ring in the imposter’s ears is a resounding tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
Like the phishing scammers and imposters who disguise themselves as trusted entities and aim to get our attention through everyday things like buying goods, so too the enemy of God disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), the imposter, offering everyday goods, and pretending to be like God. Yet in the next breath he is our greatest accuser (Revelation 12:11). He’s nothing like God. In the game of phishing, there is a higher authority who deals with fraud. So too the highest authority over every realm, Jesus, is scheduled to crush the enemy under His feet at the appointed time. Colossians 1:10-20 declares Jesus was supreme in the beginning and He is supreme in the end, towering over everything and everyone. The imposter is on borrowed time. Remember his credentials and his resume and then bring the Lion of Judah to bear on him and all his onslaught. #Spoiler alert: Jesus always wins.
So, friends, get your “true God” on today.
Best days to come.
Wen