James chapter 5 is about end times, pure and simple, and also gives us some serious talking-to about how to come to God with health problems. The writer is the James who was Jesus’ earthly half-brother, a son of Mary and Joseph.
Before I begin I’d like to once again encourage anybody who will listen to please start studying from the King James version of the English language Bible. The KJV is seriously the most accurate English translation from the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages that the original manuscripts were written in, and there are times throughout the Bible when that becomes very important to what we learn.
I do try to keep it as simple as I can, but sometimes things get a bit “deep”. If there are things that you don’t understand, please don’t stop reading. Just put those things on the shelf for a later time, and ask God to bless you with understanding of His Word. He will hear you and if you keep studying, things will fall into place under His guidance.
God always gives us “types” in His Word, so that we can understand from the physical sense to the spiritual sense. He wants us to understand His spiritual connections by using physical ideas that we can relate to.
Here are the verses of chapter 5 of the great book of James, and any comments from me will be written directly below the verse in parentheses. I hope you will enjoy it as I have!
James 5
5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
(Understand that this is written to rich people who are rich because of ill-gotten gains, those who use other people wrongly to attain their riches, those who would thumb their noses at God even while enjoying their riches. They are not rich because God has blessed them, no. There is no happiness in ill-gotten gains. However, if you are rich because God has blessed you, because you love God more than anything, then this verse is not written to you.
And, it is speaking spiritually as well as physically. In the next verse James speaks of motheaten clothing, because your good works are what weave the white linen robes that you will wear in Heaven in your eternal life. Rev. 19:7-8: 7 “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”
Jesus is the Bridegroom, we are the bride who will attend the marriage feast clothed in our white linen garments, which are woven from our good works in this human life.)
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
(See my comments on verse 1 that explain this verse, also read the beautiful verses of Revelation 19, especially Rev. 19:11-16 which I include here. Again the fine linen clothing of the armies of heaven are mentioned in verse 14 (underline mine):
Revelation 19:11-16 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”)
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
(The gospel armour is forever, but ill-gotten gains will rust and develop holes. The treasure that those people will have heaped together for the last days will witness against them and will send them into the lake of fire. We must remember that not everybody is going to make it, but only those who repent when they sin and love God more than they love themselves. Many will not avoid destruction, no matter how severe that sounds.)
4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
(You cannot con God. People who use others to get ahead will have to explain it to God unless they repent and change their ways. Interesting to note this word “sabaoth”, Lord of Sabaoth (it should be capitalized) means “Lord of Hosts”, but in a military sense. See Greek word 4519 in the Strong’s Concordance. It is only used twice in the Bible, this time and again in Romans 9:29, but there it is drawn from the book of Isaiah (aka Esaias as he is called in the Greek). In both cases it is used to warn against the fact that God will call an end to sin, and though He doesn’t resist it now, He will cut it short for righteousness’ sake, and only a remnant of those who have lived will be saved. In other words, those who don’t acknowledge Him and repent of their sins, yes, they will be destroyed.)
5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
(Means they are nourished, fattened up for the day of slaughter, because when you add up their bad works, they are fat with them. And the day of slaughter is coming. I know that may seem harsh, but when we read the word we find that God has strong emotions, very strong, and He really will take hold of those who refuse to love Him. They are going to pay for their rotten actions toward God and toward His children. And it’s not as though God hasn’t warned them many times. They will only have themselves to blame.)
6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
(Speaking of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He was just, he didn’t open his mouth, and yet these evil people condemned and killed him wrongly. All to give us a chance at redemption. Thank you, Jesus.)
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
(Husbandman – farmer. A farmer knows that once you plant the seed, you must have patience for the crop to grow. (2,000 years?)
The early rain causes the seeds to germinate. The latter rain keeps the plant alive, so it can produce fruit. If the plant doesn’t get the latter rain, it “blasts in the field”, dries up and withers and dies.
Think of the rain as the Word of God – it was planted in you sometime in your life, at least a little, and germinated after the planting because of the early rain, which caused interest in you to discover what the Word of God was all about.
But, did you allow the Word of God to provide the “latter rain”, that raining down of His Word as you continued to learn and mature in Christ, or did you close the book and not give it much thought after the first information you received?
Open the book and receive the “latter rain” so that you can be healthy, bloom and produce fruit! That is why we are here in this earthly life, to produce fruit for God, to help others learn about the blessing of Jesus Christ. To be strong, healthy plants for our Father, who smiles knowing that we are getting ready for the Harvest, and bringing others along with us.
Why were you created? For His pleasure! Revelation 4:11 – “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”.
Let us pleasure Him, He who is worthy! What better thing to live our lives for now and eternally? Nothing better.)
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
(Be patient, BUT “stablish your hearts” – the coming of the Lord is going to happen! Be ready!)
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
(Almighty God, the one Judge, our heavenly Father. He stands before the door that we will walk through one day. In the meantime, we need to dissolve any grudges we have against each other in this life, or we could be condemned.)
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
(Think of the prophet Jeremiah, who was lowered into mud up to his neck and had to hang there with ropes under his arms holding him up. He stayed patient and waited on the Lord, but he suffered great affliction, and is one of our examples for patience. Despite our afflictions.)
11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
(When things get tough in these end times, don’t worry, we can endure. God has equipped His elect with all they need to overcome. Are you one of God’s elect, here in the end time, who has a job to do?)
12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
(Don’t listen to the traditions of men. We live by the law of “precedence” in the United States now, but we should be living by God’s Word only. Our courts no longer consider Common Law, which comes right from God’s Word, they instead go by the law of precedence, which is political in nature and often has nothing to do with God’s Word.
I think that God is terribly affronted by the law of precedence. He gave us the Word to guide us and we aren’t using it in our highest courts, and way too often, we are not using it in our lives.)
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
(If you are happy, sing. If you are afflicted, pray.)
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
(Do this! Use the oil of our people (olive oil) which does not heal but it shows our obedience to God’s word. When He sees this obedience, then He can commence healing – if it is His will to do so at that time.
The oil is necessary, follow God’s instructions, and if you question it, remember that the name “Christ” is “Cristos”, which means “the anointed one”. The etymology of the word “Christ” is “healing by rubbing with oil”. Anoint the sick person (or yourself) with oil that you have prayed over, this shows your obedience to God’s instruction. Tell Him as you anoint yourself that you do this in obedience to Him.)
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
(This verse begins with “And”, so it carries from the previous verse telling us to anoint the sick with oil, in the name of the Lord. “And” (once the anointing is done in obedience to God’s instruction), the prayer of faith shall save the sick. Consider also “the sick” meaning those who do not have God’s word in their lives, the depressed, the worn out, the tired. But if you’re physically sick, do this!)
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
(This is talking about being sincere and patient in prayer. Many people want God to perform a miracle in three minutes…have patience, God does what he does in His own time for His own purpose. Keep praying and believe in waiting for God.)
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
(Elias = Elijah. Elijah was just a common man, but he knew the prophecies, therefore God could use him to help people. It is that way with us common folk now when we listen to and understand the prophecies. Prophets and prophecies are the way God talks to us, the way God allows us to understand.
Remember, in Elijah’s time no rain fell for 3 years and 6 months, because Elijah prayed earnestly that no rain would fall.
If this is a prophecy about the time of the antichrist, then we can understand it as meaning that the latter rains will not fall upon the ears of many people for the time that antichrist is here on earth. (remember God’s “types”.)
But for those who earnestly pray and study, the latter rains will be available during end times. They will, they are God’s blessings because those people are producing fruit!
Talk to Him, pray to Him, and know the prophecies, and you will be blessed with the blessing of the latter rain, the spiritual truth.)
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
(This is speaking of Elijah, who remember, was just a common man like you and me. He knew the prophecies, and so he knew that praying earnestly and sincerely, with no strings attached, would receive the blessings of the latter rain, which brings forth what? Fruit! That is what it is all about, we need to produce fruit. Earnestly! Patiently! Pray to Him and you will receive the blessings of the latter rain.)
19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
(Don’t put a bushel basket over your light. That cannot bring forth the blessings of God. I will reiterate, Elijah was just a common man but he knew the prophecies and he prayed earnestly. So he got the latter rain, the spiritual truth, when he needed it. What a blessing from God!
We must follow Elijah’s example, is what part of the lesson is, why the miracles surrounding Elijah’s prayers happened. It can happen to us. He is pointed out to be a common man, just like everybody else, for a reason, so that we can take heart and know that God hears us, loves us, and wants us to produce fruit. Let’s get busy! We will be working for the best boss that ever was or ever will be.)
