Ordinarily, my response to this question would have been more provocative,
not because I have no faith or belief, but because I enjoy invoking a
debate.  Given the constraint I mentioned in my last but one contribution,
this piece is compromise between this predisposition (invoking a debate) and
my religious beliefs.
The following questions will guide my discussion: Why is Jesus Christ
considered an impostor, and by whom? Is He really an impostor?  What did
Jesus do about it?
The contention leading to this question hovers around the claim that Jesus
has been considered to be God, or the Son of God.  A plethora of evidence
exist in the Bible that buttress this claim.  For instance, Jesus' apostles
ascribe to Him names that are names of God.  John called Him the "First and
the Last" (Rev. 1:11, 17, and James 1:17).  Peter also called Him the chief
Shepherd (Peter 5: 4), and John's massive treatise attesting to the deity of
Christ (John 8:58) is relevant.  See also the listings in Iye Eweka's
posting of December 30.
However, several beliefs contend these claims suggesting or leaving the
impression that Christ could be an impostor or a counterfeit. The Muslims
contend that there is no other God but Allah and Mohammed is His prophet;
equally so, Jesus is no more than an apostle.  They claim that God cannot
have a son. In latter years, the Jehovah Witnesses, since the 19th century,
have also made similar arguments arguing that the First and Last solely
belongs to Yahweh in the book of Isiah (41: 4 and 48: 12).   They claim that
'someone who is with another person cannot also be that person."  In effect,
they agree that Jesus is 'godlike' but he is certainly not Jehovah God.
They argue that Revelation 3:14 proves that Jesus is a being created by God,
and having been created, Jesus is presented as a junior partner who is in a
secondary position to God in time, power, and knowledge. (Watchtower
publications, Let God Be True). They further argue that according to John
3:16 the phrase "only begotten" means that Jesus is a created being, thus,
not God.
Is Jesus really an impostor?  Contrary to these claims, there are historical
antecedents that confirm that Jesus is not an impostor but the same Christ
who died on the cross, rose on the third day, and appeared to His disciples.
For example, Thallus  (A. D. 52) and Phlegon  (A. D. 140) cite the darkness
that consumed the world at crucifixion of Christ as evidence of Christ's
historical relevance.  Several other references are pertinent, of course,
that space and time won't allow me to dwell on.  Christ Himself was equally
concerned about public opinion concerning who He really was, and the
disparity between what His followers knew to be His true identity versus the
erroneous conclusion among the general population about who he was. Thus on
the way to Philippi, He asked his disciples: "who do men say that I am?"
His followers said that He is the Son of the living God, God Almighty, the
eternal Second person of the Trinity, who has humbled Himself to the
position of a servant.  He freely offers eternal life to those who simply
believe that He is the Christ.  (Matt. 16: 13-17, John 20: 31 and Rev.
22:17).  The apostles made it clear that the only way to heaven was through
Jesus Christ.  All others who claim to be "the Christ" are nothing but false
pretenders and impostors.
        The presence of so many false prophets has corrupted our faith and
we sometimes fail to distinguish the crooks from the saints.  The difference
between Jesus and the other impostors (the Jim Joneses and the Koreshes of
Wacko fame), I maintain, is the difference between eternity in heaven and
damnation in hell.  Jesus Christ, I contend, is not an impostor; those false
prophets who pretend to represent the Second Coming of the Lord are, but
because of an abysmal lack of biblical literacy, the sheep has lost the
ability to distinguish between the true Shepherd and an impostor.